Page 16 of A Guard and a Gardener

He didn’t respond.

I frowned, twisting my neck to peer up at him. “Jiron?”

His amber eyes were glazed over as he stared past me. A single tear rolled silently down his cheek, and a muscle twitched in his jaw.

Shit.I pushed his hands away and sat up, cradling his face in my hands.

“Jiron,” I begged. “Can you hear me? Come back to me, please?”

I’d seen him like this before, but it never got easier to bear. And we’d always been in the palace grounds before, surrounded by other people who could help...althoughhelpwasn’t really the right word. Nothing could draw Jiron’s mind out of wherever it went when he sank into one of his episodes, not until it had inflicted its cruel torment on him and left him gasping and shaking and shivering.

Still, at least in the palace he’d be with his friends, and have the healer nearby. I cursed again and scrambled off his lap, dragging my trousers and boots on. I hated to leave him alone but if I ran, if I really pushed myself, I could be back within the quarter hour, and-

“Wyatt, you little fucker.”

I froze, my head turning impossibly slowly towards the familiar voice as though my mind stupidly thought that if I didn’t move, he wouldn’t see me. As if a shirtless Lukian could possibly camouflage himself in this perfectly serene grove that had lost all its lustre the moment Jiron fell prey to his past once more.

Macario was leaning against a tree, arms folded and one hip cocked in that effortlessly sexy pose that had once had me drooling over him. His biceps bulged impressively under his shirt. My ex-lover was a stonemason – or at least he had been, before he turned up drunk too many times and was let go by his master – and while not as large as Jiron, had the same broad shoulders and thick muscles. I had a fucking type, alright?

“Mac,” I said in relief, not daring to dwell on how he’d found me or the horrible thought that he’dfollowedus. All I could see was his huge arms, large enough to maybe even bear Jiron’s weight,if I helped him. “I need to get da...Jiron back to the palace. Do you think you can carry him?”

Macario’s shoulders lifted and dipped in a careless shrug. “Probably.”

The word was thrown out boastfully and was dripping with ego and disdain. I held back my sigh, willing to overlook it if he’d justhelp, but the man didn’t move.

I swallowed. “You’re not going to, are you?”

“Got it in one.”

“Don’t be an asshole, Mac,” I hissed, my hands dropping to my hips, and he snickered like he always did when I tried to stand up to him.Adorable, he’d called me once, patting me on the head like I was a Blessed puppy yipping at his heels, and then held me in a headlock to remind me of our size difference when I’d attempted to bat him away.

“Speaking of assholes,” he drawled, “don’t think I didn’t see you draping yourself over him like a little whore. If you’re that desperate to get fucked, Wyatt, all you have to do is apologise and I’ll come home.”

Oh, there were so many things I wanted to say to that, starting withI have nothing to apologise forandit’s not your home, but...

“I don’t have time for this,” I said wearily. “If you’re not going to help, get lost. I’ll handle it myself.”

I took a step towards the undergrowth that led back to the main path, only for Macario to peel himself away from the tree and move to block me.

“Except,” he said in a low tone that sent a shiver through me – and not the good kind that I felt with Jiron – “you owe mesomething, Wyatt. Don’t tell me that pretty, empty head of yours has forgotten what we agreed just this morning.”

“I don’t...” I faltered, glancing back at Jiron who was still sitting on the blanket, unmoving. I could take off running and Mac wouldn’t be able to catch me, not in the thicker brush surrounding the clearing, but it would mean Jiron being alone with him. Somehow that felt worse than leaving him on his own.

“What do you want?”

Macario gave an irritated sigh. “For fuck’s sake, Wyatt, this shit is what made me need to clear my head the first time.”

“Clear your head?” I repeated hollowly. “You mean cheat on me?”

“You’re just...” Mac gestured at me with a short, sharp flick of his hand. “A lot, okay? Needy. Time-consuming. Always wanting attention but not willing to give it in turn.”

I swallowed. That wasn’t true.

Was it?

“We can talk about this another time.”

“No, Wyatt.” He took a step closer, not seeming to care when I flinched backwards. “You promised me this morning that you’d get me my money. Enough for me not to have to ever see you again.”

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