Page 51 of Roman

Danny couldn’t even begin to tell his vampire the whole jumble of anxieties filling up his brain at the moment, so he went with the most straightforward. “Lucien visited me at work tonight.”

Roman immediately went rigid, looking at Danny with rapidly darkening eyes. “What?” he ground out.

“It’s fine. I’m fine,” Danny rushed to reassure him. “He just came to talk. To tease me a little, I think.”

“To…tease you.” Roman’s fingers dug into Danny’s upper arms.

Okay, maybe not the best choice of words. That sounded a little bad, actually.

This was not Danny’s night for superb communication skills, that was for sure.

“Yes? He didn’t hurt me. He’d already—already fed for the night, judging by the man who died in our trauma bay earlier.” Danny very deliberately did not mention what—or more accurately, who—that man had looked like. No need to set Roman off in a nuclear way.

Roman’s eyes softened slightly, and his fingers gentled. “Oh, mon pauvre petit, I am sorry. Sorry you had to bear witness to another of his victims.”

Danny shrugged. “Not to be callous, but I’ve seen worse. And from what I heard, this guy wasn’t such a nice guy. Not saying he deserved to die, but—it could have been worse is all.”

“Yes. It could have been much worse.” Roman’s voice was low and harsh. “I should have known he would try to approach you in my absence. I thought the hospital would deter him. Luc may be relatively careless with his violence, but I still didn’t believe he would risk anything with the security cameras. Getting caught on film can make life very tricky for someone who doesn’t age or change appearance. I underestimated him. I should not have left you alone.”

Danny resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He understood the sentiment, but he couldn’t have an escort every hour of every day. It wasn’t realistic. “I can’t just notwork, Roman.”

“You can though, actually,” Roman insisted, eyes intent on Danny’s. “Like Soren said. I can provide for you. Be your…vampire sugar daddy, was it?” He tilted his head in question.

Don’t laugh, don’t laugh, don’t laugh.

“No, you can’t,” Danny said firmly. “I won’t stop what I do just because of one deranged loose cannon. We don’t even know he wants to hurt me.” Although, the dead doppelgänger might be a bit of a giveaway, but Danny wasn’t about to tell Roman about that.

Not with him already all grr-y about a single visit with his old friend.

Roman just sighed, releasing Danny’s arms to gently grab his hand, kissing Danny’s knuckles lightly.

Oh. Well, that was sweet.

“Let me take you home, then, lovely.”

Back at the house, Roman herded Danny over to the couch and wrapped him in a blanket, ordering him not to move.Like I’m some sort of invalid. But really, Danny wasn’t complaining. It was kind of nice, being constantly pampered.

More than kind of nice, if he was being honest.

He looked up as a steaming mug was placed on the coffee table in front of him. “What is with you and tea?” he asked Roman with a grin.

Roman gave him an indignant look. “It is comforting to drink something warm, is it not? And I cannot give you coffee—humans cannot have caffeine too late, or they will not be able to sleep.” He sounded oddly like he was quoting from something.

“How and why do you even know that? Aren’t caffeine-related sleep studies a bit modern?” Danny questioned, taking a sip of his tea.Mm. Chamomile with honey.

“I read is how,” Roman retorted, adjusting Danny’s blanket. “And the why is obvious.”

Did he mean because of Danny? To take care of Danny? Should Danny be flattered or offended thinking of Roman looking up tips on human habits?

How to Best Care for Your Humanby Some Vamp Dude.

“You know, technically it’s notlate; it’s the morning,” Danny felt the need to say.

“Splitting hairs, little king. It is bedtime for you. Drink your tea.”

Danny didn’t obey right away, fingering the handle of the mug as Roman sat next to him on the couch. “You know, I’ve always been the caretaker. I mean, I guess notalways. I remember Gabe taking care of me when I was a kid, after my dad died. When my mom was still grieving. But by the time I was in junior high, I felt like I was on my own. My mom was there, but we were less mother and son and more of a team, I guess? And then she…you know.”

Roman wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling Danny into him. “I know, lovely.”

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