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“Um. Try more like nearly four hours sleeping, and pretty deep, too. I messaged you and knocked on your door for ten minutes before letting myself in,” Josh told him. “I was worried about what I was going to find.”
Aaron flipped his brother off. “Neither of us is ready for that yet.”
“Yeah, well, you look worse than you did this morning. Do you need me to call Sam?”
“Maybe? Probably. I want him to check Marshall over.” He slumped deeper into the couch as a wave of tiredness hit him and his head began to pound.
“Really, Brother, you look like crap. I’m going to get Sam to come and see you both.”
“Thanks.” He could feel Josh hovering and cracked an eye open, trying not to wince as the light hit his retina. “What?”
“There was a reason I came looking for you,” Josh said. “Cousin Harlan’s here, and he wants to see you.”
The groan Aaron gave was one of frustration rather than pain. “What the hell does he want?”
“All he’s said is that he wants to see you,” Josh replied. “I’ve told him you’re not available today, and by the looks of you, you aren’t going to be ready to see him tomorrow, either.”
“Can you ask Dad to talk to him?”
“I’ll try.” Josh eyed him keenly before pulling his cell phone from his pocket. After tapping at the screen and giving a satisfied nod when it chimed back at him, he stared at his brother. “Sam’s on his way.”
Aaron rested his head on the back of the couch and closed his eyes. He must have dozed off because the next thing he knew, Sam was sitting next to him.
“Aaron, you awake?”
“Mmm, yeah. Sorry, dozed off for a second.”
Sam frowned at him and took his wrist in his hand, checking his pulse. “What have you done today?”
“Normal routine. Got up, had breakfast, went to work in the office. Just after noon, Marshall and Saint got back, and Marshall was in a bad way. We came back here and lay down together. Josh says we’ve been asleep for hours, but I feel like I haven’t slept in days and am suffering from the worst hangover known to man or shifter.”
“How’s Marshall now?”
“Dunno, he’s still asleep,” Aaron yawned, and his eyelids drooped.
A warm hand settled under his elbow, and Sam gently urged him upright. “Come on, back to bed for you. I’ll check on Marshall at the same time. Josh, can you get some food, please? Something easy to snack on.”
“Of course,” Josh said, jumping to his feet. He patted Aaron on the shoulder. “I’ll speak to Dad and get him to deal with Harlan. You and Marshall rest up, okay?”
“Thanks, Josh,” Aaron said before Sam guided him into his bedroom.
Marshall was still asleep and hugging the pillow Aaron had been using. Aaron’s heart swelled at the sight. He liked seeing his mate in his bed. He only wished they both had more energy to do more than sleep.
Sam got Aaron settled on the bed, and he gratefully relaxed into the soft mattress. Marshall reached for him, and Aaron slid closer until Marshall was tucked against his side. They both gave deep sighs, and for a second, Aaron could have sworn a slight smile tugged at Marshall’s mouth.
Sam took his temperature and rechecked his pulse, making notes as he went.
“I’m going to wake Marshall up, so I can check him over too,” Sam told him.
“Let me,” Aaron said. “He’s ex-Special Forces. You know what Rafe and Blake are like if you come up on them suddenly.”
Sam nodded his agreement. “Good idea. I’ll go and see where Josh is with the food. Give you a couple minutes’ privacy.”
Aaron waited until he’d left the room before gently stroking a knuckle down Marshalls’ stubbled cheek.
“Time to wake up, Marshall.”
Marshall’s eyebrow twitched, and his lashes fluttered. Aaron gave into temptation and pressed a kiss to his sleep-softened mouth.
