Chapter 35
“Mr. Raul! Wake up!”
Raul slowly blinked his eyes half-way open. Shelly, one of the human staff members, stood in front of him, her brow creased with worry.
“What is it?” he mumbled, his head thick with sleep. The sun was up and it was already starting to affect him. After he’d left the main house, he’d decided to bunk down on the couch in his small office at the back of the stable for the day. He hadn’t expected anyone to bother him back here.
“It’s Mr. Ji-Su. He left the ranch.”
That woke him. His eyes opened fully and he sat up. “By himself?”
“Yes. And the gate guard said he seemed like something was wrong but he was trying to hide it.”
“How long ago did he leave?”
“Twenty minutes or so. The guard tried to call you—.”
“But I don’t have my phone on me.” It was in his office and he hadn’t stopped to pick it up when he left the house.
“We searched but no one could find you until I thought to look back here.”
“Damnit,” Raul cursed. He thanked Shelly before he swiftly returned to the house to retrieve his phone. As soon as he had it in hand, he sent a text message to Ji-Su. Where are you? He didn’t have to wait long for a reply. Unfortunately, it wasn’t an answer to his question.
I knew that I wasn’t enough for you.
Raul stared at the words on his phone screen.
What the hell did that mean? He blew out a frustrated breath.
Fuck texting. He wasn’t going to get real answers without speaking to Ji-Su directly.
He pressed the button to call his phone instead.
The phone rang twice then clicked when the call connected.
“Hello, Raul.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m safe. Don’t worry, you won’t have to rescue me from the side of the highway again.”
“I didn’t think that I would. I only want to know where you are.”
“I wanted some time to myself to think after last night.”
“Okay, I understand that. But I would feel better if I knew where you were.”
Ji-Su didn’t answer. Raul could hear the light sound of his breathing. But he couldn’t hear his heartbeat to help him understand what he was feeling.
“You know I can have your phone pinged.” Raul knew that would be invasive. But he didn’t fuck around when it came to Ji-Su’s safety.
“I know.”
“I’d rather you tell me where you are.”
A soft sigh came over the line before Ji-Su answered.
“I’m at the Willow Bend Hotel.”
Again, Raul was relieved. The Willow Bend Hotel wasn’t far and it was a safe, upscale establishment.
“Thank you for telling me. Can I come to you?” He paused and glanced at the window where yellow sunlight framed the edges of the blinds. His jaw clenched with frustration. He wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon. “Once the sun sets. Just to talk.”
“You won’t try to drag me out of here?”
“I will never treat you that way Ji-Su. The only way you’ll leave that hotel is if you want to. But if you plan on staying, I’m going to station some guards there—simply for my piece of mind.”
“You’re always protective of me.”
Raul frowned. Ji-Su didn’t sound happy about that. “Is being protective a bad thing?”
“I didn’t think it was.”
“But you do now?”
He didn’t get an answer.
“It sounds like that’s something we should talk about.”
“Yeah, it is. You can come and we’ll talk.”
“I’ll be there the moment the sun sets.”
“See you then,” Ji-Su said before he ended the call.
Raul tossed his phone on the desk. With a heavy sigh, he dropped his head in his hands and rubbed his temples.
This was his fault. He’d handled the situation all wrong.
His goal had been to get out of the shower as fast as possible before he gave in to the urge to fuck Ji-Su with wild and unrestrained passion until he was satisfied.
Unfortunately, his lack of an explanation before his escape had hurt Ji-Su.
He wanted—no—he needed to fix this. Right now.
But sleep was coming for him whether he wanted it or not.
The early morning sun felt like the warmest heat lamp, making his head logy and lulling him into sleep.
He should be asleep already. His age and worry for Ji-Su were the only reasons he was able to stay up this far past sunrise.
Raul slowly pushed himself to his feet and went to his office door.
The day butler, Xavier was there waiting for him.
“Ji-Su is at the Willow Bend Hotel. Send guards there. I want one on his floor and one in the lobby. They’re not to stop him if he leaves. But if he does, I want him followed.”
“Understood.”
“I’m going to sleep, but have guards ready to go as soon as the sun sets.”
“Yes, sir.”
Xavier left to carry out his order.
Raul headed up to his room, his movements slow and sluggish.
Fuck. If he didn’t get to his bed soon, he’d be sleeping on the hallway floor.
It didn’t matter that he couldn’t see the sun and that only meager rays from one uncovered window spilled into the hall.
Its presence in the sky affected him just as the moon’s presence affected wolf shifters.
But the way vampires were affected by the sun was different from shifters and the moon.
The moon gave shifters energy. The sun drained it from vampires.
He made it to the master bedroom at the end of the hall and pushed the cracked door open all the way to go inside.
Raul looked at the bed. The sheets were still tangled, the comforter tossed aside, the wrecked headboard a visual reminder of how close he’d come to giving in to the rougher side of his desire.
Raul sighed and moved forward. He had enough energy remaining to remove his boots before falling on the bed fully dressed.
Turning on his side, he grabbed Ji-Su’s pillow.
He pulled it close, wrapping his arms around it and pressing his face to the pillow case.
Ji-Su’s scent was on the pillow. Raul inhaled, breathing in the scent of his lover as he finally allowed the sun to push him down into deep sleep.