The Darkest Kiss (Riley Jenson Guardian 6)

"You'd better get in there, boy, while the surgeon is feeling kindly."

Hope flitted briefly across Rhoan's tired features. "But he's your son - "

"And he's your soul mate. And I know he'd probably be more comforted by your presence than mine. Go, son. Go see him."

"Thank you," Rhoan said, and scrambled after Raina. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and walked down the hall with her.

I smiled at Yann. "Thank you."

Yann waved the comment away. "Your brother is probably the only reason Liander held on. That was a bad wound, lass."

"I know."

His gaze briefly slipped to the raw wounds still visible on my arm and my face. "I guess you do."

He sat back down. I leaned against Quinn's shoulder and finally allowed myself to relax.

Liander was going to be okay, and so was my brother.

Maybe fate wasn't such a bitch, after all.

A day later, the doctors confirmed Liander was out of the woods. They'd moved him out of intensive into a general ward, but they still had him restrained. Apparently, they wanted to give it one more day before they allowed him to shift and accelerate the healing.

But at least with him now in a general ward, Rhoan could finally sit by his side and hold his hand. That was what he'd been doing for the last twenty-four hours, and Jack appeared to understand. He hadn't hassled Rhoan once about getting back to work.

Maybe it was just my love life he couldn't show any sympathy for.

I handed Rhoan a coffee and a burger, then sat down beside him. For the first time in days, he actually looked relaxed. I took a sip of the bittersweet liquid, tried to pretend it was hazelnut and nice, then said, "So what are the plans, then?"

He unwrapped the burger and took a bite, then washed it down with the muck they had the cheek to call coffee. "Once he's cleared to leave, I plan to take him home and look after him."

"His home, or our home?"

He met my gaze and gave me a tired half-smile. "Our home. It's what he wants."

My heart did a happy little dance for Liander, but part of me couldn't believe Rhoan really meant it - that he wouldn't change his mind sometime down the track, and break his lover's heart all over again. "What about what you want?"

He took another bite of the burger, then shrugged lightly. "You were right before."

I raised my eyebrows. "This is a first. Not me being right, because I usually am, but you actually admitting it."

He snorted softly. "Enjoy it while you can, because it won't happen again."

"Oh, I'm sure it will. Me being right, that is."

He grinned and leaned sideways, hitting me lightly with his shoulder. Coffee slopped over the edges of my cup, splattering my jeans. "Hey, careful. It may not be good coffee, but it is coffee, so let's not waste it."

He shook his head and finished the burger. After tossing the wrapper in the trash, he said, "I was always so scared about making a commitment and then dying, leaving Liander to cope alone. I never really thought about the opposite happening."

"We all have to die sometime, Rhoan." But may it be many, many years away, and not on the job, as Iktar had stated.

"Hell, yeah, but you and I, we have a higher rate of succeeding than most others."

"You know, that's a really depressing line of thought when I'm sitting in a hospital filled with sick people and ghosts." I took a sip of coffee, then added, "So because you've suddenly realized that Liander is as vulnerable to death as you and me, you're letting him live with us?"

"And I'm going to share more of myself with him. I'm going to try and give him what he wants, up to a point, because he deserves better of life and better from me."

I smiled. "Well, that's true."