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So, this lingering bad feeling had everything to do with his relationship with Royce.
When they’d left Tuscany, the adrenaline rush had stayed with them on most of the plane ride home. Royce had found plenty for them to do.
He shivered with the memory, then remembered Royce’s face after calling his uncle. He had set the meeting up for the morning. Marc glanced at the clock beside the bed—three a.m. So, five hours away. He twisted slowly—just enough to look at Royce, who was still asleep. This was the only time the man’s features completely loosened up. Even when relaxing, faint lines showed between his eyebrows.
Royce carried a lot of pain from losing half his family, then later, his boyfriend. But Marc couldn’t help but feel there was more to the story because so much guilt came through the man as well. That could be from his ties to a crime family, but no, there was more. And he wanted to know. He wanted to know everything about Royce Karras.
He wanted to see the man happy.
Marc leaned closer and inhaled, loving the scent of his shower gel on him. He wanted to scoot closer and rub his cheek on Royce’s beard. He’d developed a real kink for the thing. He still felt a little burn on his inner thighs and spine.
Now he just wanted to wake him for sex.
Royce’s arm and leg tightened, pulling him closer. Closing his eyes, Marc basked in the furnace he’d been pulled into. The temperature must have dropped after they’d fallen asleep, and the room was cold. One of those freak, late spring temperature drops. Great.
He turned back over and started to crawl out from under Royce to turn on the heat, but the man only held him closer. “Stop squirming,” he rumbled into Marc’s ear. “You’re so warm.”
“Me? You’re the one generating all the heat in this room.”
Royce rocked his hips, rubbing his hard dick against Marc’s ass. “Mmmm…” he groaned.
“Something woke me.” Marc tried to lift his head, then laughed when Royce grabbed on to his ear with his teeth. “Ouch, fucker.”
“Stay still and I’ll show you fucker.”
That sleep-grumbly voice did all sorts of wicked things to his insides. Marc happily accepted that offer only to go still for real when his phone rang. He blinked at the clock next to his bed again. “That’s probably what woke me. It’s the middle of the night. It has to be important.”
Royce stiffened. “Is it mine?”
“No.”
Royce lifted his arm, and Marc grabbed the phone and snuggled back against him with the covers pulled up to his chin. “One of us is going to have to brave the room to turn on the heat, and only one of us is here to protect me.”
“Ah, I see how it is now.” Chuckling, Royce gave him a hard kiss on the jaw. “Answer the damn phone.” He slid out of the bed and hurried naked across the room, his round ass the only thing Marc could see then.
With that view, he didn’t even bother looking at the phone before answering it. “Hello?”
“I need to speak to you.”
He sat up at the whispered, broken voice he easily recognized. “Richard? What’s going on?”
“Not on the phone. I’m at the hospital. Can you come now?”
“Of course!” He scrambled out of the bed and grimaced at the cold. Hurrying to his dresser, he pulled out a pair of jeans. “Which one?”
“UC and don’t tell Gabe and Lilah.” Richard gave him the room number and hung up.
Always the asshole. Shaking his head, Marc pulled out another cashmere sweater. He loved the things, and he’d noticed that Royce touched him often when he was wearing them. He thought his own tactile senses were strong, but Royce possibly had him beat.
Or…he just couldn’t keep his hands off Marc. He was okay with that possibility.
Worry over his brother edged into his mind. Marc would not have been the first person Richard called in the past. If he’d even called at all. Out of all his siblings, Richard seemed to have the hardest time with him. Especially his sexuality. So why had he called only him?
“Where are we going?” Royce had already started pulling on jeans and a sweatshirt.
“My brother, Richard, is at UC hospital.” He watched Royce frown as he dug around in his bag. He pulled out one sock and frowned harder.
Marc tossed him a pair of his own, knowing the man needed to do laundry.
Royce smiled his thanks and sat on the chaise to put on the socks. “It could be a trick.”
“It could. Guess it’s a good thing I have my bodyguard with me.”
The corner of Royce’s mouth turned up in a half smile, and he pulled out his phone to text the person on night duty at Ward. Marc had noticed they had a pretty tight system. Royce had even sent periodic text messages while they’d been in Italy.
