Chapter 10 #2
Marcus growled, “The rescue what? Do I even want to know?”
“Probably not, dear brother,” Rafe snickered.
Winter squeezed Aiden’s arm, drawing his gaze to him. “Last night, what I said, I was telling the truth. We want you dating and falling in love again.”
“Not that we were expecting you to be interested in men,” Rafe muttered.
“Oh yes, because you’ve got a monopoly on bisexuality,” Bel tossed at his twin.
Winter growled beside him. “The point is that we want you to be happy.”
“But are you sure you want to be involved with Ronan? I’ll give you that he’s handsome—” Bel started but was cut off by an objection from River. His son quickly nuzzled his mate, murmuring something along the lines of Ronan being nowhere near as handsome as Wyatt and River.
“But he’s with the Ministry,” Winter finished.
Aiden sighed. “Yes, I’m well aware of that and the fact that the Ministry likely has an agenda against me.
Right now, Ronan and I are simply talking.
We haven’t seen each other in a very long time.
We each thought the other had been killed the night we were turned.
I would like to have the chance to learn about him while we try to uncover the Ministry’s plan. ”
“Do you trust him?” Marcus asked.
Aiden hesitated, but only because he was surprised that he had an answer so quickly.
“Yes, I do. I know Ronan. I know I can trust him. I only hesitated before because I was afraid. However, I don’t trust his traveling companions.
So while I am talking to Ronan, I’m not opposed to my sons looking into the other two envoy members. ”
“And you’ll be careful?” Winter prodded.
With a nod, Aiden pulled Winter in for another hug. “I’ll be careful. If Ronan raises any red flags in my mind, I promise to share them. The European Ministry will not hurt me or this clan, I swear.”
“And we will try to meddle less in your burgeoning love life,” Rafe murmured.
“Never in my life did I imagine that I would be having this conversation with my sons,” Aiden sighed.
“Just wait for when we sit you down for the talk about the birds and the bees.”
Winter snorted out a laugh, and Aiden groaned loudly. “Good night, Rafe and Marcus. We will talk later at a more reasonable hour, after the sun has set.”
Rafe and Marcus wished them a good sleep before ending the call.
Aiden hugged his youngest one last time.
His heart warmed further when Fox hurried over and crushed him in a tight hug, whispering an apology against his chest. The little witch was too sweet for his own good and the perfect match for his grumpy son.
They slipped away, returning to their new home through the secret underground tunnel that linked it to Bel’s home.
He looked up to find a gentle smile on Wyatt’s lips as he descended the last of the stairs. “We are sorry, Aiden. We never meant to make you feel like we didn’t have faith in your judgment.”
“Thank you, Wyatt.”
“Ronan is settled in the room at the end of the hall. I just put fresh towels in the guest room next to it if you would like to use it. You can stay here and sleep, or I can take you home now.”
Aiden shook his head. “No, I’d prefer to stay for the day, and I’m assuming that someone around here knows how to make a decent breakfast.”
“Mmm…waffles,” River hummed happily.
“Ugh. No, sleep. I need sleep.”
Aiden should have felt the same way after the hunt and chase with the MacPhersons followed by the heated discussion with his sons. While his body was exhausted, his brain was wide awake, asking questions with no clear answers. Maybe after a shower, he’d be able to relax and sleep.
He followed the trio up the stairs and while they disappeared into the master bedroom at the opposite end of the hall, Aiden headed straight for the shower in the guest room.
He washed off the dried sweat, dirt, and blood before slipping into a pair of lounge pants and a plain gray T-shirt that had been left out for him.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he shoved a hand through his damp hair.
He should climb under the covers and sleep, but his brain refused to calm.
It wasn’t so much that he was worried about his sons.
They’d settled their fears for now, but he knew it would be a reoccurring conversation for a while.
He wasn’t entirely convinced they would stop their meddling, but at least they might slow down a little.
No, his mind was on Ronan. They’d kissed.
After a thousand years, they’d finally kissed, and it was even more divine than Aiden had thought it would be.
He hated that they’d stopped kissing. He’d rather be on his knees in that abandoned building, still kissing Ronan if he had the choice.
He longed to feel Ronan’s hands on him, hear the noises, taste his need on his tongue.
But while the kissing was wonderful, it left Aiden uneasy. Where did it leave them? When it came to Ronan, they could never have just a meaningless fling. Even if they never kissed again, there were too many old and new emotions tangled up between them.
Moving forward, what were they facing? Assuming Ronan wasn’t really trying to kill him or betray him as part of the Ministry’s plot, where did that leave Ronan? Would he betray the Ministry for Aiden?
Oh, God. He would.
Just the thought sent a chill through Aiden. Ronan was a fucking madman when he wanted something. If he decided he wanted Aiden, then screw all the European Ministry.
Pushing off the bed, Aiden crossed the guest room and stepped into the hall. He paused, staring at the door to Ronan’s room. What would confronting Ronan now change? Certainly not Ronan’s mind if he was right. No, it was better if he left Ronan to his dreams for now. Aiden needed to think.
With any luck, his friend had fallen asleep. There was no sense in disturbing him. He also didn’t want to give Ronan the wrong idea that he intended to crawl into bed with him.
Aiden was really tempted to do just that, though. To feel hands on his body again. It had been so long.
Nope. Nope. Not gonna think about that.
Aiden turned on his heel and silently walked to the kitchen. He was going to get a drink of water and shove everything from his mind so he could sleep. When he’d slept and was dressed in his own clothes, then he’d let himself mentally wade into this quagmire.
But he’d barely poured himself that glass when he heard soft footsteps shuffle into the kitchen behind him. He knew who it was without looking. Just a feeling, really.
“Couldn’t sleep?” Ronan asked in a low voice so as not to disturb the rest of the house.
Aiden shook his head before he looked at the open doorway.
The man was dressed in only a pair of borrowed sleep pants that hung low on his narrowed hips.
His wonderful, slightly furry chest was bare, making Aiden’s palms itch with desire.
He wanted to run his hands through all that hair, to caress him and trace all the old scars with his fingertips.
Instead, he motioned toward the fridge. “Would you like something? Blood? I know Bel keeps plenty on hand.”
“No, I’m good. What’s bothering you, Aiden?”
Placing his glass on the center island, Aiden moved just a tiny bit as Ronan fully entered the room, keeping the marble-topped block between them.
It felt safe to have that distance separating them.
But it wasn’t about not trusting Ronan. He didn’t trust himself and his vaunted common sense he spoke of to his sons.
Of course, Ronan noticed and smirked, but he didn’t try to close the space between them.
“Is it your sons? Or me?” Ronan prodded.
“Everything is fine with my sons. They’re just worried about my safety after losing their mother not long ago.”
“So it’s me.”
Aiden sighed. “It’s not that simple.”
Ronan leaned forward and placed his forearms on the island. A smile still played on his lips, but there was worry in his dark eyes. “Was it the kiss? You seemed to enjoy the kiss.”
“The kiss was amazing, and you know it.”
The vampire released a heavy breath of relief and dropped his head down. “Thank God, because I plan to kiss you again.”
“But what happens after we kiss?”
Ronan smiled at him. “Hopefully, we kiss again. And again and again. I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of kissing you. It was like licking heaven.”
Aiden snorted. “Licking heaven? How did you ever get laid with comments like that?”
His grin never wavered as he shrugged. “You only gave me a taste, but I want it all. I want to hold you, taste every inch of you, give you pleasure unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.
You’re going to be perfect, and I’m pretty sure the experience is going to kill me, but I don’t care. You’re worth dying for.”
“Don’t talk like that,” Aiden snapped. He grabbed the edge of the counter as he tried to center himself and his emotions. “I already lost you once.”
“And as you told your sons, I’m not going anywhere. Not unless you kick me out of your domain, and even then, I have my doubts. You might even have to tie me up and chuck me on the plane personally.”
“You’re avoiding my question.”
“Because in truth, I don’t know what happens after we kiss.” Very slowly, Ronan stepped around the edge of the counter and approached him. Part of Aiden said, Run, stay out of arm’s reach, but he didn’t move. He didn’t want to run from Ronan anymore.
Reaching out, Ronan placed his hand over Aiden’s, loosening his grip so that his fingers were no longer clenching the edge.
He massaged each tense digit, his rough, calloused fingers moving over his skin to knead the muscles in his palm.
“There is no rush. I know we both feel like we must catch up for lost time. I’ve been pushing, anxious to finally have you in my arms after many lifetimes of regret, but there is no need to rush. We have time.”
Some of the anxiety started to leak out of Aiden as Ronan continued to rub his hand. No one had ever done that for him. He never thought such a touch could be intimate and consoling all in one. “Do we have time? The Ministry…”
“We’ll figure out the Ministry. The truth is that you don’t trust me, not fully at least.” Aiden took a breath and opened his mouth to argue, but Ronan shook his head.
“We’ll get there. You trust me with some things, like your lips, but I want everything.
And as much as it pains me to say this, I don’t fully trust you.
We both have too many secrets and bad experiences separating us.
Time will fix that. I believe we’ll find a way to trust each other completely. ”
Aiden smirked. “You make it all sound so easy when we both know that it’s not.”
“No, it won’t be easy. We’re both incredibly pigheaded. I’ve never been particularly good at listening to you, even though you’ve always been the smarter of the two of us. You like to overthink everything.”
Tilting his head up to look at Ronan, his eyes narrowed. “And what do you suggest instead of thinking?”
Ronan leaned in and captured his lips in a slow, draining kiss that had Aiden reaching up with his free hand to grab the back of Ronan’s neck, holding him captive.
Kissing was supposed to be a bad idea, but he couldn’t remember why when Ronan’s tongue was sliding along his in a slick, sinuous dance that was zapping out brain cells.
He just wanted to go on kissing the man forever.
It would be even better if a corner of the kitchen counter wasn’t between them.
Breaking off the kiss, Ronan brushed his lips across the side of Aiden’s mouth and smiled against his cheek. “I’m thinking that kissing you might solve a lot of our problems.”
“Likely not, but I’m willing to try.”
“But not today,” Ronan stated, shocking him. Aiden released his hold on Ronan’s neck and leaned away so he could look directly into his eyes. “You need rest. You’ve been through a lot recently. We have time. We’ll talk about everything, particularly the Ministry. Work out a plan together.”
Aiden frowned. “I don’t recall you being so responsible.”
Ronan made a little scoffing noise in the back of his throat. “Give me a little credit. It has been a thousand years. I have changed a tiny bit since you last saw me.”
“Maybe…” Aiden teased.
Moving close again, Ronan brushed a kiss to Aiden’s cheekbone. “I want you to sleep, and we’ll talk.”
Aiden couldn’t help it. He flinched when Ronan said “sleep.” He was too aware of Ronan’s gift, but he didn’t believe he’d used it. Hoped he wouldn’t at least.
“Aiden, I would never use my gift on you,” Ronan continued calmly, proving that he felt Aiden flinch.
“Not even if it was for my own good?”
“Dammit, you caught my loophole,” Ronan joked. Aiden glared at him, and Ronan smiled. “No, not even then, but I may throw on lots of guilt about how you’re torturing me by not letting me protect you.”
“I appreciate the warning.”
Ronan kissed him quickly one last time before releasing him and stepping backward. “Get some rest. We have time.”
Aiden felt himself relax at Ronan’s words. Maybe that was all he needed to hear. They had time. The world wasn’t ending around them, and they had time to figure out what they wanted.