With a Kiss (5 page)

“I didn’t do anything. He just woke up,” Liam mumbled.

“And that was when he hit you?” Dr. Blackwell asked.

Shocked into looking the doctor in the eye, Liam opened and closed his mouth several times, but no words emerged.

“No,” Jenny said, from his left. “The bruises were from before you got to the hospital, right?”

Liam turned to her, but he still couldn’t make words happen.

“Honey, you only ever come here outside regular visiting hours when he’s been drinking,” Jenny said, very softly.

Feeling the heat rush to his cheeks, Liam dropped his gaze to the floor and let it stay there.

A moment passed. Dr. Blackwell cleared his throat. “Let’s see what damage has been done.”

It was, well, it was the kind of examination a doctor gave someone who’d been beaten up by his boyfriend. Liam knew the routine well enough. He had all the pat answers lined up in his head and went through them on rote, trying not to care that Marcus was on the other side of the room and could still hear every word he said.

Liam closed his eyes for a moment. It was pointless for him to try to keep secrets now. Marcus had heard it all—every stupid confession, every pathetic little admission. Liam’s eyes were still closed and he was still cursing himself for being so stupid, when the exam came to an end and Dr. Blackwell stepped away.

“Well?” Marcus demanded.

Liam blinked open his eyes.

Dr. Blackwell peered down his nose at him. “Nothing serious. His ribs are bruised, not broken. His lip and his other bruising will heal on its own. The only treatment is rest…” His words slowly faded away.

Marcus didn’t say a word, but Liam could damn near feel the temperature in the room drop. He obviously wasn’t impressed with the doctor’s answer.

“But I suppose I could prescribe some painkillers and some anti-inflammatory,” Dr. Blackwell added quickly. “They’ll keep him more comfortable while the injuries heal.”

Marcus turned to Liam. “Come here.” His voice was so different compared to when he spoke to the doctor; it could easily have been mistaken for coming from a different person.

It never occurred to Liam to try to disobey. He stepped forward.

“I’m fine,” he whispered. “I really don’t need anything. If I wasn’t so clumsy then…”

Marcus’ fingertips pressed lightly against Liam’s mouth and silenced him. “You can both go now,” he ordered the doctor and nurse, never once breaking eye contact with Liam.

The door had closed behind them before Marcus dropped his hand back to the bed. “It’s far too late for lies.”

Liam swallowed rapidly, but didn’t try to speak. He stared down at where Marcus’ hand rested on the sheet. Every line of the vampire’s body seemed different now he was awake. It was impossible for Liam to put his finger on what the difference was, but ever since he’d fed—

“Look at me, Liam.”

Liam found himself closing his eyes instead.

“You’re not going back to his house tonight.”

Liam’s gaze snapped up to meet Marcus’. “I should…”

The vampire shook his head and Liam’s ability to speak dissolved away as if it had never existed.

“You’ll stay here tonight.”

It sounded so much like a statement of fact; Liam had no idea how to contradict it. He glanced at the chair by the side of the bed. Even the uncomfortable molded plastic looked tempting.

“Ralph can be dealt with in the morning,” Marcus said.

Liam glanced back to the vampire. Ralph probably wouldn’t even notice he was gone. He’d have hell to pay when he saw his boyfriend next, anyway. The chances of him staying at the hospital displeasing Ralph even more were low.

“I want you to stay.”

Liam met the other man’s eyes.

Marcus wanted him there. As soon as that fact registered inside Liam’s head, everything else seemed far less important. He nodded and took a step back toward the chair.

Marcus’ hand was instantly wrapped around his wrist. “Where are you going?”

Liam waved his free hand toward the chair. “I…do you mind if I sit down?” Suddenly it was obvious that he should have asked before taking such a liberty. Heat rushed to Liam’s cheeks at being caught out on such bad manners on top of everything else.

“You can’t sleep on that. You’ll lie here, next to me.”

“What?” Liam automatically tried to take a step back, but the grip around his wrist didn’t yield in the slightest.

“You’ll sleep next to me,” Marcus repeated.

Liam looked at the bed Marcus lay in as if he’d never seen it before. There was no logical reason why he should agree to do any such thing, except that he wanted to. Liam looked at the other man’s grip on his wrist. It was strong, but it was careful, too. His grip didn’t hurt, it just wrapped around him, making him feel strangely safe and protected.

“What would the doctors and nurses think?” Liam said.

Marcus paused for a moment. Liam was sure that the other man checked whatever his first response would have been, but when he finally spoke, Liam couldn’t have been more surprised.

“They’ll probably assume that, after so long trapped in my sleep, I was reluctant to sleep alone tonight.”

Liam met Marcus’ eyes. There wasn’t even a hint of emotion on his face, but Liam was sure that meant nothing. He’d always known that Marcus would be good at hiding his pain if he ever woke up.

“I…” Liam nodded. “Okay.” There was no way he could say anything else.

Marcus carefully shifted himself across to the far side of the narrow hospital bed.

Well aware that he should be putting up far more of a protest, Liam somehow found it impossible to bring the words to his lips. The idea of hiding away in the hospital all night appealed. Hell, as much as he should hate to admit it, the idea of curling up with Marcus appealed, too.

Blushing a little at his complete lack of coordination, Liam carefully climbed onto the free side of the bed. The mattress was warm where the other man had lain. Marcus’ arm looped around his shoulders. That was only to make the best use of the limited room. Liam was sure of that, but it still felt like Marcus was keeping him safe and encouraging him to curl more comfortably into his side.

The vampire’s body was wonderfully hot against Liam’s chilled frame, and when Marcus pull his blanket up around Liam’s shoulders, a snug little cocoon formed around them both. Resting his head carefully on Marcus’ shoulder, Liam did his best not to take up too much room, not to jostle the other man.

Closing his eyes for a second, Liam tried to focus on timing his breaths so they didn’t compete with Marcus’ but settled neatly into time with them, but he was sure there was no way he’d actually be able to sleep.

The bed was too small, he was pressed too tightly against a man he barely knew, and he never had slept during the nights after Ralph had been out drinking.

No, Liam told himself, as he subconsciously snuggled a little bit more comfortably into Marcus’ embrace. He wouldn’t sleep. He’d just close his eyes for a few moments…

Chapter Three

Marcus stared up at the bland white ceiling above the hospital bed, unable to move a single muscle. It would be too big a risk to even twitch. Liam needed his sleep. Marcus glanced down at his prey as Liam stirred only to snuggle in against him once more.

A soft, contented little noise escaped from the back of Liam’s throat as his arm slid a little farther around Marcus’ torso. The gentle caress went straight to Marcus’ cock. Risk or no risk, there was no way he could stop his shaft from rising in response to the boy’s occasional squirming.

Three years of being unable to react to any stimulus only made his cock more eager to show off its newly regained ability to harden. Six months of fantasizing about the boy who’d just climbed into his bed wasn’t quite the equivalent of a cold shower.

Marcus barely held back an irritable growl. It wasn’t natural for a vampire to sleep with his prey this way. His whole body screamed that prey were for sucking and screwing. A bag of blood was no substitute for a vein.

If there were any justice in the world, he’d already have his cock buried in Liam’s arse and his fangs penetrating his neck. Blood would be flowing into his mouth, hot, salty and full of the pleasure Liam gained from having his master screw him hard into the mattress.

Marcus closed his eyes for a moment, but quickly opened them again. Even with Liam wrapped around him, it felt far too much like he’d never be able to lift his lids again if he allowed them to fall. He instinctively tightened his hold on the other man, as if the sweet little sub could somehow protect him from the darkness he’d been trapped in for so long.

Rolling his eyes at himself, Marcus found himself absentmindedly rubbing his thumb against the bandage still wrapped around his index finger. Moving carefully so as not to disturb Liam, Marcus brought his hand to his mouth and caught hold of the edge of the dressing with his teeth. It only took seconds for him to have the damn thing off and tossed aside.

Still lying almost flat on the bed, he held his hand above his face so he could study his fingers properly. A bright white scar extended from the crease inside the top knuckle, over the flesh of the fingertip, continuing almost all the way over to the top of the fingernail.

Marcus stared at the mark, as if he could somehow make it disappear if he glared at it hard enough. It remained as vivid as ever. Nothing would get rid of it now. It would be there for the rest of Marcus’ life, and for far, far longer than Theo Wallace lived.

Ice cold fury burned in the center of Marcus’ chest, right beneath where Liam rested his head. The prey whimpered slightly as if he could somehow sense his companion’s displeasure.

Marcus frowned. He patted Liam vaguely on the shoulder. “Hush. You’re fine.”

That seemed to do the trick. Marcus made a mental note of Liam’s response for future reference. If he were going to keep the boy permanently, he’d have to learn how humans needed their masters to treat them.

Looking for a distraction from his anger, Marcus turned his head very slightly and looked toward the visitor’s chair. It was a cheap plastic thing that looked as uncomfortable as hell. There was no way Liam should have spent so many hours sitting on it. His arse was probably still sore.

Marcus only just managed to stop himself sliding his hand down from where it rested on the small of Liam’s back to check.

Eager to remind himself why that would be a bad idea, Marcus made a concerted effort to make his mind travel back to Liam’s first return visit to his room.

* * * *

“Hi.”

Marcus mentally sighed. So he had come back—the boy from the previous week. What the hell was his name?

“Um…I’m Liam Bates. I stopped by last week. How are you feeling?”

Even after years spent unable to move a single muscle, Marcus still tried to lift an eyebrow at the question. How the hell was he supposed to feel, trapped in this damn bed, surrounded by idiots?

“I’m doing okay,” Liam went on. “I brought a magazine. I thought you might like to hear a bit about what’s going on in the world. Just in case you wake up. That could come in useful, right?”

There was no way Marcus would have ever managed to keep back a sarcastic response if he’d had even the tiniest bit of control over his vocal cords. As it was, he had little choice but to allow the other guy to go on uninterrupted.