Aiden couldn’t completely muffle the snort as a thought occurred to him. “I’m sure my sons know it now, considering the noise we made.”
There was movement under him briefly as if Ronan shrugged. “I don’t know. I have a feeling they’ve all wandered off and found interesting ways to amuse themselves.”
That was so very true. All their love was shiny and new. It needed to be explored thoroughly.
With some grumbling on Aiden’s part, Ronan managed to roust him from his very comfortable spot and into the shower. There they spent a little time getting clean and a lot of time exploring ways to bring each other pleasure. By the time Aiden stumbled back to bed, his legs could barely carry him. Under the covers, he snuggled close to Ronan, their arms and legs entwined so that Aiden was no longer sure where he ended and Ronan began.
“Aiden?”
He hummed softly, proving that he hadn’t drifted off to sleep just yet.
“Your power?”
There was no stopping the stiffness that invaded his limbs at Ronan’s question. He trusted his lover, didn’t think he reviled him for it, but his soul shied away from thinking about his so-called gift. Ronan tightened his arms around Aiden as if he could protect him from his own mind.
“Go ahead and ask. I trust you.”
Ronan spent several seconds peppering Aiden’s temple and the side of his face with slow, sweet kisses. He didn’t speak until some of the tension fled Aiden’s body again. “Your gift…I’ve never heard mention of it before. Not even in rumor or whispers.”
“Because I haven’t used it in centuries.” Ronan’s hand ran down his back and up, digging into muscles and massaging away old fears. Cuddled close in the darkness, in Ronan’s warmth, his touch, his wonderful scent wrapping around him, it was easier to talk of old horrors. “When you live long enough, I think there’s no avoiding becoming a monster. Even if only for a little while. My first few centuries as a vampire were not good ones. I was consumed by my grief. I’d lost you. Failed you. I hated myself for not escaping with you immediately when you suggested it.”
“You couldn’t have known what would happen. Neither of us could have,” Ronan quickly said, but Aiden was already shaking his head.
“It didn’t matter. I was beyond logic for a time. When my gift arrived, I saw it as a sign that I was supposed to be death. I slaughtered my clan, the vampires who made me and tore me from you that first night. It took me nearly fifty years, but I traveled back to where we were ambushed that night. Naturally, there was no sign of you. I slaughtered the humans who had been the enemies of your family all those years ago, even though I doubted any of them even recalled our names. I wandered for a long time, killing vampires. No one spoke of my gift because I left behind no one to speak of it.”
“What made you stop?”
He huffed out a dark, bitter laugh. “I saw the ravages of the Black Death. I saw its indiscriminate touch. The waste of life. The children sobbing next to dead parents as the illness slowly stole their lives away. My anger and vengeance were nothing compared to it. I was small. A pathetic child screaming against the darkness, and I decided, no more. I studied other fighting styles. I’d be able to defend myself should I be attacked, but I wouldn’t use my gift again. I told myself that I would have to accept what fate handed me. If I was not strong enough to win in a fight, then that was what fate willed.”
“But tonight—”
“My resolve broke. I broke.”
“You didn’t,” Ronan forcefully said, immediately rallying to Aiden’s defense. The warmth it conjured in his chest was short-lived, though.
“I did, my prince.” Aiden lifted his head to look into Ronan’s dark, worried eyes. He refused to run from this. “I think the threats against my family have steadily worn me down over the past several years. For too long, we fought constant attacks from those who saw us as a threat because of Julianna, because of our close bond, and ultimately, because too many sensed that I was incredibly old. We won each time, but I could always see a new battle waiting on the horizon. I was tired.”
“And I was the final straw that broke your resolve.”
“No, Ronan. You were my first glimmer of hope. You were the first thing I wanted for myself in so very long. I’m not proud of what happened tonight, but I refused to be bullied by the Ministry another second. They needed to know that I would protect my family, my mate, with everything that I had.”
Ronan’s arms tightened around him and captured Aiden’s mouth in a long, demanding kiss, wiping away any lingering doubts. “Thank you. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for risking the lives of your children for me.”