Page 52 of Roman

There was a moment of silence, both of them in their thoughts.

“Do you not like it, then? My taking care of you?” Roman was clearly trying to keep his tone light, but Danny could sense the tension underneath.

Was his vampire afraid of rejection?

“No,” Danny reassured. “I like it very much. Very, very much. Too much, maybe? I didn’t even really know I had this side of me, this part of me that wants to be coddled like this. And now I feel like I’m getting addicted…”

Danny felt a lump forming in his throat, making it hard to bring the words up, but they had to be said. He was getting in too deep, standing out on a ledge, and he had to make sure he wasn’t in it alone.

He made himself say it. “What happens when you leave? When I’ve become dependent on this and you walk away?”

“Walk away?” Roman sounded genuinely perplexed, but Danny couldn’t bring himself to look into his vampire’s eyes, to see what expression was on his face. “Why would I ever walk away?”

“Well, that’s what people do, isn’t it? They leave. One way or another. My dad, my mom, Gabe. It’s just how life works. The people you lo—” Danny bit his lip. “—people leave.”

Roman’s fingers were on his chin then, pulling Danny’s head gently to look him in the eyes.

“And that is what you think I will do one day? Leave you? Inevitably?”

Danny nodded ever so slightly.

Unexpectedly, Roman smiled then. Tender and a little sad, but genuine nonetheless. “Ohh, mon Dieu. My lovely mate. Life has not been fair to you.” He gripped Danny’s chin a little tighter. Not hard enough to hurt but enough to make sure Danny was paying attention. “Listen to me, Danny. I am not leaving. Not ever. Not unless you want me to, and even then, I can make no promises. You are mine. I am yours.”

Danny swallowed hard. “But—”

“No buts, little king. I am realizing I have made an error. I have underestimated the trauma you hold. But if you need me to tell you every single day that I am staying, I will tell you. Gladly. Often. Always. That I am yours. Forever, if you will have me.”

And then Danny was crying, and he wasn’t even sure why. But it was as if the weight of the last decade of his life was crashing in on him, the loneliness and the stress and the worry. As if now that there was someone by his side to help shoulder the burden, he could finally process it.

He cried until there was nothing left, until he’d purged some of the doubt out of his system.

They didn’t make it to Danny’s room to sleep. Roman just covered them both with the blanket, tucking Danny to his side on the couch.

“You make me feel loved,” Danny whispered right before sleep overtook him.

“You are.” The words were whispered, but Danny could hear them clearly.

thirteen

Roman

Romanknewhelookedsuspicious, prowling the alleys around the hospital in his dark coat, but he was hoping to lure another suspicious character out of the shadows.

Goddamn Luc.

Roman should have known the bastard would seek Danny out, even with the hospital security cameras. Roman had thought it would be enough—dropping Danny off and picking him up, keeping him from stepping out of the hospital alone—but it was too tempting for the psychopath, finally having someone Roman actually cared about to mess with.

To what end though? That was the question.

Roman wasn’t quite sure exactly what Luc wanted with Danny. He hadn’t attacked the boy last night, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t.

Who knew how his mind worked anymore?

Roman could feel his demon itching to come out of his skin at the thought of Luc lurking around Danny with unclear intentions. It was restless, wanting to get back to their mate, to have him in their sights.

Me too, mon monstre. Me too.

Roman hadn’t liked dropping Danny off at work that night. He had wanted to wrap himself around the boy and refuse to let him go. Roman had even asked Danny to take the night off, but his stubborn mate had refused, insisting he wasn’t going to let “one puny, little threatening encounter” interfere with his duties.

---