Chapter 3 #3
“My room is five doors down,” he said with a nod towards it. “Come and knock if you need anything.” He set Ji-Su on his feet in front of the guest room door. “Get some rest. We’ll talk in the evening when you wake up.”
He waited until Ji-Su went into the guest room and closed the door before he continued on to the master suite.
Sitting down on the bench at the foot of his bed, Raul ran his hands through his hair as a multitude of emotions swept through him.
Fury that Cedric had hurt Ji-Su. Relief that he’d been able to help him before anything worse had happened.
And beneath the anger and relief there was an almost giddy happiness. Ji-Su was here in his home.
He’d tried to put the sweet-faced young man out of his mind over the past few days.
But since he hadn’t been able to do so, he’d resolved to track him down.
There were only a few blood pet agencies in Michigan and assuming Ji-Su went through one in Dear Lake, that narrowed the list even further.
It probably wouldn’t have taken long to find him.
But now he didn’t have to search him out because he’d found Ji-Su by chance.
The circumstances for their second meeting were unpleasant but he couldn’t deny that he was happy that those circumstances had brought them together. And now that he had Ji-Su, he would make sure that the lovely human never experienced anything like what Cedric had done to him ever again.
ONCE THE DOOR CLOSED on Raul, Ji-Su stood there for a moment listening to his footsteps fading away as he went down the hall.
He was in a house with a virtual stranger, but he didn’t feel afraid.
And he’d let a couple of friends know where he was and who he was with for the extra peace of mind.
He’d also texted Cedric to let him know that he wasn’t returning to the town house today even though he didn’t particularly care if Cedric knew where he was.
After hitting send on that text, he’d immediately muted Cedric’s notifications, not wanting to read anything he had to say.
Now that his head was clear, he was surprised that he’d ended up in this situation.
Had he overreacted to Cedric’s taunts? Maybe.
That wasn’t the first time the vampire had said something hateful to him.
But it was the first time he’d freaked out as a result of his thoughtlessly cruel words.
Maybe his annoyance at Cedric ignoring the boundary he’d set for his practice and streaming times yet again, combined with the blood loss had caused it.
He didn’t know. He’d just known that he had to get out of that town house.
At least he had somewhere nice to spend the day.
Ji-Su looked around the bedroom he was in.
The style and furnishings fit what little he’d seen of the rest of the house—which appeared to be a big, luxurious ranch.
A dark wood, four poster bed was the main focus of the room.
Gauzy white fabric draped over the top as a canopy and fell gracefully down each post. The wall behind the bed was gray stone, the rest were painted a pale cream.
Several throw rugs covered the wood floor, and curtains with a muted Southwest motif hung from the large windows.
Ji-Su looked at the clock on the nightstand.
Almost six. After two months living on a vampire’s schedule, the early morning hour was now his bedtime.
Tired and ready to sleep, he stripped down to his underwear, leaving the socks on as well, then climbed into bed.
As he lay there, he pushed his angry thoughts of Cedric aside to think of Raul.
The big man suddenly appearing out of the darkness on the busy highway should have terrified him.
He had been scared for a moment. But the second he’d recognized Raul, the fear had immediately drained away.
There’d been nothing except concern and worry all over the vampire’s handsome face.
And the dramatic way he’d swept him off his feet to carry him to his car had made Ji-Su feel protected and safe.
He was grateful for Raul’s assistance. Wandering the highway in the dark while he was so out of it could have led to something much worse than a cut on his heel.
And he couldn’t believe the way Raul had cared for him once they’d arrived at his home—feeding him, washing and bandaging his feet.
The vampire’s hands were large and rough, but every touch had been gentle as he’d quietly addressed his needs of water, food, and first aid.
He’d verbally expressed his thanks to Raul for his kind treatment, but he wanted to do something more to show his gratitude after he left the ranch.
Right now, however, he was too exhausted to think of an appropriate way to say thank you.
Ji-Su pulled the covers up to his chin and closed his eyes. The memory of Raul sweeping him off his feet played again in his head. He had to go back to Cedric in the evening but as he fell asleep, Raul striding to his rescue was all he could think about.