Chapter 8 #2
The little car was spunky and powerful with plenty of grip to hold the road through each of the tight turns.
Trees blurred past Ronan’s window, but he barely noticed it or the road.
He could barely pull his eyes off how Aiden looked in the dim glow of the interior lights.
Just a minute ago, he’d been sure he wouldn’t get to see Aiden tonight, and now he was sitting beside him as they sped into the night.
“Ethan said you weren’t seeing visitors,” Ronan stated when he finally got his seat belt buckled. He didn’t want to get Aiden’s family in trouble, but he thought Aiden should know if his family was trying to keep them apart.
Aiden released a long breath. Steering with his right hand, he balanced his left elbow on the door and rested his head against his hand.
“Yeah. Sorry about that. I thought I needed some space to think. But the moment I got that space, I felt…” he drifted off and drew in another breath.
“I don’t know. Trapped, maybe. Of course, I realized then that it’s been weeks since I last fed properly.
As I was sneaking out, I heard you talking to Ethan and knew I wanted to see you. ”
“Really?” he asked, failing to catch the question before it jumped from his lips. Lovely. Now he sounded like a teenage girl. “Wait. Sneaking out?”
Aiden rolled his eyes, but there was a slightly embarrassed smile on his lips. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to go hunting at my age with a chaperone?”
Ronan threw his head back and laughed. He was laughing so damn hard, he couldn’t breathe.
Tears slipped from the corners of his eyes, and he might have even snorted.
Aiden had been a trained fighter and killer before he’d been reborn a vampire.
He had lived more than a thousand years, and Ronan had no doubt that he’d honed his skills to a sharp, lethal edge.
The fact that Aiden’s sons felt the need to protect him…
Well, it was sweet.
And adorable.
Aiden switched hands on the steering wheel so he could reach over and shove Ronan’s shoulder. “Asshole!”
“I’m sorry,” Ronan gasped, trying to get a hold of his laughter. “It’s sweet.”
“Go to hell.”
He drew in a deep breath through his nose and slowly released it as he wiped his eyes a final time. God, when was the last time he’d laughed that hard? A thousand years, at least.
“I’m serious. How many people can say they’ve got family that cares about them like that?”
Aiden’s shoulders relaxed a little and he sank into his chair. “True. They’re very protective.”
“I’m guessing they have no idea…”
Aiden made a disgruntled noise in his throat.
“No, not in the least. Until this year, they thought I had maybe a few hundred years under my belt, and I saw no reason to correct them. I…I liked who I was when I was with them, who I’d become.
Telling the truth meant changing that image they had of me. ”
“You were happy to forget about all those dark years that came before,” Ronan murmured.
Aiden flinched. “Ronan, I—”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that. We were good friends. We had laughs. Good memories. But we also spent a lot of our time waist-deep in blood and shit. I’m sure it was more of the same after you became a vampire. Who wants to remember that?”
“Yes.”
“But all that’s changed now. You’ve got an amazing family. Those sons of yours…and their mates…” Ronan drifted off, chuckling.
“They are something special.”
“How do you do it? How do you manage them and their…”
“Insanity?” Aiden supplied. “I imagine myself something of a tiny man in the middle of a train yard. I just try to keep them from running into each other and possibly pedestrians.”
Ronan snorted. “All while trying to not get crushed yourself.”
“They’re all good men at heart. They’re passionate like their mother.” Ronan watched the bright smile form on Aiden’s face at the mention of the woman, but then it faded almost as quickly to an expression of darkness and pain.
“So, we’re hunting?” Ronan asked, forcing some lightness into his voice.
It was better to change the subject completely.
Yes, he was dying to know more about this Julianna Varik, and he could easily ask around for the information he sought, but he wanted to hear it all from Aiden’s lips.
He wanted his old friend to confide in him, trust him with the information.
But he understood about not wanting to talk about old pains. While he trusted Aiden, there were plenty of things in his past that he was in no hurry to discuss.
Aiden choked out a surprised laugh. Ronan’s segue wasn’t even subtle in the slightest, and he didn’t care.
“Yeah, if you don’t mind tagging along. This gives me a chance to feed and spend time out of the house. We get some time to talk.”
“And you figured that I wouldn’t act like a chaperone.”
Aiden stopped the car for a red light as they neared downtown Hartford and glared over at Ronan. “If you try, I will kick your ass.”
Ronan scratched his chin. “I don’t remember too much ass-kicking happening last night.”
Aiden made another scoffing noise. “I’m pretty sure you only remember the dancing.”
A low humming rumbled up Ronan’s throat and his heart skipped at the faint blush that painted Aiden’s cheeks. “I remember all of it, but yes, the dancing was my favorite part. You’ve always been light on your feet, but who knew you’d fit so well into my arms?”
The man behind the wheel swallowed hard and licked his lips.
For a moment, Ronan was sure he’d slipped back into heaven.
Aiden might have been unsettled last night and dealing with some complicated emotions, but the fact that Ronan was sitting there right now, that Aiden was looking at him with open longing, meant that his stupid comment hadn’t created irreparable damage.
Flicking his gaze out the windshield, Ronan’s smile turned to a smirk. “The light is green.”
“What?” Aiden asked, blinking a little slowly.
Before Ronan could reply, a car horn blared behind them.
Aiden jumped, jerking his gaze straight ahead.
He pushed on the gas and continued through the intersection.
Ronan wisely swallowed his laughter. He might have won at swordplay last night, but he didn’t doubt Aiden could kick his ass if he put his mind to it.
“You’re an idiot,” Aiden muttered after several seconds of silence, earning a bark of laughter from Ronan.
Any lingering tension between them was broken, and they slipped into an easy conversation about moving to Connecticut and other interesting places they’d lived in over the years.
Fifteen minutes later, Aiden pulled into a secured parking garage and turned off the engine. As he climbed out of the car, Aiden reached into the backseat and grabbed a plain-looking jacket. He even popped a black ball cap on top of his chestnut locks.
Ronan cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes at Aiden’s unexpected attire. “Are…are you in disguise?” Ronan teased.
Aiden glared at his friend, but there was no real fire behind the look. “The area I prefer for hunting will allow us to move without catching much notice from the humans, but other vampires tend to lurk there as well.”
“Ahhh…King Aiden prefers to escape their notice.”
“If you’re going to be this sort of helpful, I’m happy to leave you behind.”
“No. No. I’ll play along. But maybe I should tweak my appearance as well.
” He stripped off his jacket and tossed it into the passenger seat before pulling his sweater over his head.
The cream color made him into too much of a beacon in the darkness, and he didn’t want to ruin its softness if they found trouble.
Underneath he wore a plain black T-shirt tucked into his slacks.
Placing the sweater into the car, he pulled on his leather jacket.
He looked up to find Aiden smirking at him. “Feeling appropriately dangerous now for hunting?”
Ronan pointed at his friend across the roof of the car. “You understand just as well as I do the importance of looking the part when you’re out hunting.”
“Uh-huh,” Aiden muttered as he pressed the button on the key fob to lock the doors. “Come along, dangerous man. The hunting grounds are still several blocks away.”
There was no stopping his huge grin as he walked beside Aiden across the parking garage to the stairs leading to the street level.
This man—away from his family and the trappings of his new station—felt more like the Aiden he remembered.
Not that the other man he’d met was bad.
He just felt stifled, as if he were being hemmed in by obligations, duties, and maybe even the worries of his family.
It was nice to get Aiden away from all of that so they could spend a little time together.
They walked several blocks in relative silence, but it was surprisingly comfortable.
It was only when they reached an area where the buildings looked more rundown and the streetlamps were more often broken than not that Aiden grew more cautious.
The shadows moved here and there, as both humans and vampires watched them pass.
Aiden’s posture changed, his shoulders tensed, and his steps turned silent.
The hunter was out, looking for his prey.
Despite his broad shoulders and strong arms, there was something sleek and pantherlike about Aiden.
Ronan was surprised that he found the man even more sexy, but he almost wished he were still human so he could be Aiden’s target just once.
“I should have asked. Do you need to feed?” Aiden inquired softly.
“I was careful to feed before coming into your domain. I wasn’t sure if the new lord would permit me to hunt here. Unless I find a bit of trouble, I should be fine for at least another three weeks.”
“Let’s hope you stay out of trouble.”
“Do you have any suggestions for keeping me entertained?”