by Kaye Draper
I braced my hands on the wood of the windowsill and hauled my ass up through the window. Flicking on the light, I turned and leaned back out the window, a weird, butterfly feeling in my gut. Fuck. The guy was even prettier now that I could really see him. And his clothes were ruined too, his t-shirt and jeans splattered with mud and water.
“Thanks,” I managed to mutter. “You know...for not letting me drown.” Breathe, he’d told me. Keep breathing. At least someone wanted me to stay alive. “What are you gonna do about that?” I gestured at his clothes.
He shrugged and gave me a lopsided smile. “In case you missed it, I have an affinity for water. I’ll just tell my mom I fell in the river.” He rolled those mesmerizing gold eyes. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
I shook my head at the idiot. “Okay. Well. Bye.”
I ducked back inside, feeling like a complete moron. Pressing my hand to the center of my chest, where a strange, tingling sensation was driving me nuts, I went to get a change of clothes.
Breathe, Sam. Just keep breathing.
Chapter 9
The next time I swam up toward consciousness, I actually managed to wake up. I was expecting a phoenix to be hovering over me, but the hand stroking my hair this time was big and green. I blinked blearily at Emerson. “Hey, big guy.”
He gave me a soft, relieved smile as he sank down into the chair by the bed. “Hi, Sam.”
Angel had rolled onto his side at some point, and his bandaged arm was draped over my waist. I carefully lifted his arm, noting that although his hand was still puffy, it wasn’t as bruised and painful looking as it had been before. He was lucky he even had an arm left at all. A human definitely would have needed amputation after how mangled it had been.
Untangling myself from the siren’s long limbs, I scooched over enough to stretch, then eased myself up to sit against the headboard. I was happy to feel my injured arm was back to normal. I hesitated for a minute, then gave in and reached out to stroke my fingers through Angel’s soft hair, brushing it back from his face. He had dark circles under his eyes, but his smooth skin was flushed with a healthy pink undertone, rather than bone white with blood loss.
“How long was I out?” I asked, glancing at Emerson.
The ogre was watching me with a fond look on his face. “Three days.”
I gaped at him. “Three days?” How was that even possible? I should be like...sitting in a puddle of my own urine right now or something.
He shrugged, but his warm brown eyes looked haunted. “I was worried, but Angel’s mom said their kind go into a...stasis...or something when they’re hurt. She said he could sleep for a week and it wouldn’t be anything to worry about—apparently they usually do it under water though.” He shook his head. “Their magic is so strange. Anyway, I guess it effected you too? Now that you’re...bonded?”
I sighed and rubbed a hand over my face. Shit. “Yeah. I guess so.” Forcing myself to look up, I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Em,” I said on an exhale. “But I had to do this.”
He frowned at me in confusion. “What are you apologizing for, Sam?”
I waved a hand at the creature curled up against my thigh. “For freaking mate bonding another guy without at least running it by you and Fin first?” And for bonding to not just any guy, but a guy who had the potential to change everything about me if he put his mind to it. I was so bad at this whole relationship thing. I would have done it again in a heartbeat, even if it pissed Fin and Em off, but I thought maybe I should still say something? What if all my insecurities were right, and I suddenly became someone else, submissive and void of personality, living only for my bonded mate? Fin and Em would grow to hate me.
Emerson shook his head at me, and I just knew he was going to say something painfully sappy. “You deserve to be happy, Sam,” he said, proving me right. “And he’s what you need. I’m never gonna judge you for that.”
I put my head in my hands. “So sappy.”
He huffed a laugh and reached out to ruffle my hair. “Yeah. And that makes you happy too, doesn’t it?”
I groaned. Ah shit, this whole new path of accepting things was going to be painful as fuck. “Maybe,” I grumbled. “So, Angel hasn’t woken up this whole time? And where’s Theo?”
Em just gave me a patient look. “Not yet. But the doctor says he isn’t in any danger anymore. All his vitals are fine. He’s just...tired.” He shrugged at the mystery of siren cur physiology. “Theo was here the whole time. He refused to leave you guys for a second. But Jules finally dragged him away and made him take a shower and eat something before he met with some city officials about something.”
I sighed and turned to swing my legs over the side of the bed, giving myself a minute to orient to being upright. “Fin?”
Emerson sighed. “Is in your room pouting because he thinks he messed up by casting luck over Angel.”
I turned to him in surprise. “What? Why?”
Emerson ran a hand through his hair, and I realized it had been a long few days for him too. He might seem rock solid, but my Em was sensitive. And staying in the background quietly supporting us all while we lost our fucking minds must get tiring after a while.
“Because you bonded to Angel even though you’ve avoided it for so long,” he said tiredly. “Then you passed out and didn’t wake up for days. Fin thinks he saved Angel by messing you up.”
I stood, bracing myself on the nightstand when that threw off my equilibrium. Being bedridden for days was no joke, even for a cur. “I’m going to kick his ass for being an idiot,” I promised darkly.
Emerson stood and grabbed my upper arm to steady me. “Sure, Sam. But maybe do that after you get cleaned up and eat something.”
I huffed. Damn him for being right. And for being so damned caring. I gave into another surge of mushiness and lurched toward him, wrapping my arms around as much of the hulking brute as I could manage, burying my face in his broad chest and inhaling his comforting scent. Now that I was admitting to myself that I needed them—all of them. It seemed like I’d never get enough.
Fuck. Maybe the events of the last few days had caused some sort of brain damage.
Pulling myself out of Emerson’s grip, I turned to the bed and bent to press a kiss to Angel’s forehead. “Keep breathing,” I whispered, repeating his words from so long ago, my throat thick with emotion.
Then I turned toward the door. I smelled like three-day old roadkill. A shower sounded amazing.
The shower in my suite at Theo’s big-assed mansion was ridiculous. Every time I looked at it, all I could think of was that a good bit of the population of America had no running water—or if they did have running water, they sure as fuck didn’t waste it on things like fancy showers. But today, I fully appreciated my position as viceroy of this fucked-up town. I turned the water temperature up so high and stayed in there under the multiple jets of water so long that my skin looked scalded when I finally got out. Then I got dressed in my standard uniform of sports bra, fitted black long-sleeved t-shirt, and leather pants. I doubted I was going to have to go sliding around on the ground kicking monster ass today, but it made me feel better—more grounded—to suit up like I was about to go off killing shit.
Dragging a hand through my damp hair, I yanked it back into a short, messy ponytail and hurried downstairs and through the mansion to the back kitchen. My stomach was gnawing on itself. If I didn’t eat something soon, I might lose what was left of my mind. The kitchen staff was used to me sneaking in and stealing things. I hated having staff wait on me hand and foot, and it was a pain in the ass to call for something when I could just walk down and get it. But I stopped on the threshold of the enormous, stainless steel and marble room, nearly knocked off my feet when the head cook bowled into me and had the fucking nerve to hug me.
“Viceroy!” the round little woman said, pulling back and putting some distance between us when she realized what she’d just done. Fucking humans and their weird lack of boundaries. “You’
re awake! We’ve all been hoping to hear it.” She turned and bustled over to one of the refrigerators, pulling out a platter of thick steak. “I saved this just for you. Sit down, sit down!”
She waved at a nearby stool and I sank onto it, confused as always by her fussing. I just needed some damned food. It wasn’t a big deal. But...I wasn’t going to say no to steak. I watched hungrily and tried not to drool while she heated butter in a big frying pan and lightly seared each side of several juicy slabs of meat. She shoved the heaven-loaded plate my way, then started laying out all sorts of other crap on the counter around me. Bread, fancy cheese, fresh fruit, cake.... I ate until I thought was going to explode.
“Alright!” I said, holding up my hands in defeat when she tried to give me the rest of the tray of decadent chocolate fudge. “No more! Gods, what is wrong with you?”
She made a clucking sound at me, sounding like a disgruntled chicken. I could feel a few other sets of eyes on me from the other staff who were busy prepping things for dinner tonight, but when I glanced around no one met my eye. A couple smirked though. I narrowed my eyes at the head cook.
“Theo told us a bit of what happened to you and our siren. He said you were donating a bunch of your energy to helping Angel heal. And he wanted us to make sure we had lots of fresh food for you when you woke up because shifters have high metabolism. She pressed her lips together and put a mug of something rich and creamy on the counter in front of me...some ridiculous, creamy coffee drink with whipped cream piled about a mile high. Where did they even get the cream for that?
I sighed and took the damned coffee cup. Her explanation made things clear. The staff was always kind to me, for whatever reason. But they loved Angel. The siren had a way of sweet talking people into just about anything. And...it slowly dawned on me that he was probably the reason I always found an extra dessert with my meals. Between him and Theo, every sneaky little comfort I’d enjoyed here was probably all orchestrated. The assholes.
I tried not to grin.
My momentary acceptance of the attention I’d been too blind to see until just now was ruined by Jules gliding into the kitchen as if he was on a mission. His gaze zeroed in on me and I stood, sending my stool backward to bang against the opposite counter as my heart kicked in my chest like a riled-up donkey-dragon fiend.
“Viceroy,” the butler said, immediately. “Mr. Rivers is awake and asking for you.”
I jolted into motion, sloshing hot, sticky coffee all over my hand. Then I backtracked and set the cup on the counter. “Thanks, Meg,” I mumbled as an afterthought, not even looking at the head cook.
Then I was out the door, darting around Jules and taking the stairs three at a time, running toward Angel, when even now part of me was saying we should really be running away. I shut that part up with a sharp mental bitch slap. Angel was awake.
I slid to a halt in front of his open bedroom door, taking in the chaos that had erupted. Everyone was excited that the siren was with us again. My eyes darted around the room, finding Fin, Emerson, Dr. Johansen and one of her minions, Athena...Jules nudged me from behind, and I turned to find him holding a pile of blankets and sheets in one hand, and a loaded tray of food in the other. I grabbed the food and got out of his way.
I felt like everyone in the room turned to stare at me when they realized I was there. I could feel their gazes, and my face lit up like a torch, I was blushing so damned hard. I wanted to snarl something at them, but all I could do was stare into Angel’s luminous golden eyes.
For fuck’s sake, Sam, stop standing there and do something. I felt like a rabbit pinned in the sights of a predator, my heart thundering and my whole world narrowing.
“Is that for me?” Angel asked in a soft voice that carried right down to my bones. His eyes flicked down to the tray I’d forgotten I was holding.
I lurched into motion, walking over to plop the platter in his lap. “Eat up,” I told him dryly. “The kitchen staff has all gone insane waiting for you to wake up. What did you do to them?”
A bit of a smile curved one corner of Angel’s perfect mouth. “Do?” he drawled, as if this were just any other day and we were back to our usual banter. “I was just myself. I can’t help it if people love me.”
He looked down at the tray and bit his bottom lip, then picked up a grape and popped it in his mouth, closing his eyes like it was the most amazing thing he’d tasted in his life. His left arm was still bandaged from the wrist to the shoulder, and Dr. Johansen had just finished putting it into a soft sling that supported and immobilized it at his side.
“Don’t push it with that arm,” the doctor said in her no-nonsense tone. “You can take it off to bathe and dress. That’s it. And have someone help you the first few times you get out of bed. I’ve got a guard waiting for me in the clinic who smashed his fool foot during training. Call for me if you need me.” Then she packed up and left, her assistant trailing in her wake.
Angel looked down at his food tray, then at his useless arm and sighed. I was struck with the stupid urge to hand feed him like a helpless child. I crossed my arms over my chest and refused to give in.
Theo, apparently, didn’t care about anyone’s dignity. He sat in the chair next to Angel’s bed, and quickly and efficiently cut all his food into bite-sized pieces. He did stop shy of feeding his mate like the overeager bird-brain he was, setting the tray back on Angel’s lap instead. The siren huffed a laugh, and the sound had something unwinding in my chest, releasing a tension I didn’t even know I was carrying.
Then Theo squeezed Angel’s shoulder lightly and headed toward the door, pausing by me to give me a sharp look that was filled with all the recent fear and pain we’d both endured. “I have to go do some work. You’ll watch him?”
I rolled my eyes. What was I, a nanny now? “Get lost,” I snapped.
He arched a brow at me. “Thank the Gods I didn’t hire you expecting you to quietly follow orders.”
I ignored him and turned away as he hurried off to do whatever sovereign thing needed doing so badly. Then I drifted over to Angel’s bedside, where he was listening to a stupid story from Fin and Emerson about the time I’d gotten my ass handed to me by a pack of fiends that looked like over-sized honey bees.
It was great to see the assholes bonding and all...but did it have to be at my expense? I sank down into the empty chair beside the bed and just watched them, my cat side content just hearing their voices and knowing all my mates were safe, mostly content, and all in one place.
I didn’t know I’d drifted off until someone jabbed me in the ribs with a small, blunt finger. “Saber!”
I growled before I even opened my eyes. Fin and that fucking nickname. I was going to murder him one day. “It’s a good thing you’re so cute and little,” I snapped. “Otherwise, you’d be wearing your guts for a hat right now.”
I opened my eyes to find the leprechaun grinning at me. “So, you’re feeling better then? Good to hear.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, but when he gestured impatiently, I leaned over and pressed a kiss to his wicked mouth. “I’m fine,” I finally said when I pulled back. Then I remembered what Emerson had said about Fin being afraid he’d messed something up with his luck magic. “Whatever you did worked. So, thank you, Fin.”
He reached up and ruffled my hair fondly, and I was relieved to see that his bright green eyes didn’t look haunted, like they had when he was busy blaming himself for Ahura’s death. “Anytime, Sabertooth.”
I straightened and smacked him in the back of the head. “Oh, fuck off.”
Angel’s soft laugh reminded me that we had witnesses. I looked over to find the beautiful siren watching me and Fin with a soft expression. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he said, his eyes never leaving mine. “But are...we okay?” He lifted his one good hand, gesturing to me and Fin, then to Emerson, who was standing on the other side of the bed.
I swallowed hard, not wanting to have this conversation right now. “No one’s bleeding anymore,” I
said dryly. “So, I think we’re good.” I waved at his tray to keep him from pressing the issue. “You’d better eat that, or Meg will be up here shoving fudge and cake down your gullet.”
He arched one silver brow at me. “Is that supposed to be some kind of threat? Honestly, Sam, you need to learn to enjoy the sweet things in life.”
I refused to rise to the bait. “Eat.”
He shoved a few cubes of some sort of meat in his mouth and chewed, his cheeks puffed out comically and his eyes crossed. I snorted and tried really hard not to actually smile at the moron. For a second there, it almost felt...like when we were kids. I blinked rapidly as my eyes watered. For fuck’s sake. Now I was about to get all weepy?
Fin let out a long, put-up sigh. “I’ve had enough of this. I’m going to see if there’s any work to do.”
I shook my head at him. He was just being Fin. He wasn’t really bothered.
Angel nudged the tray toward me with his good hand. “Did you eat, Sam? There’s way too much food here. I don’t really need that kind of energy right now.”
I took the tray and set it aside. “Don’t worry. Meg got to me before you woke up.” Once the tray was out of my hands, I didn’t know what to do with myself. Angel didn’t need energy from food. Implying that he needed some other kind of energy?
Emerson shifted from foot to foot, then looked around the room as if he was in search of something useful to do—or an escape. “I guess I’ll go too. So you guys can have some time alone.”
“No!” Angel and I both spoke at the same time, and we sounded equally desperate.
Emerson just glanced between us, his black eyebrows raised. “You both...you have to talk about it sometime,” he breathed out, as if he was utterly taken aback that we could both be so stubborn and scared. Then the ogre just shook his head like he was disappointed in the way the universe worked. “I give up.” He sank down into the chair on the other side of the bed, making the poor thing creak under his weight.