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“Some time with their dicks in each other,” Devil said.
“Jesus,” Rhys rolled his eyes. “Are you always like this?”
“Yes,” Blade said. “Absolutely always.”
“Once I’ve fucked Dare half to death and revived him, we’ll come back to the ranch. I want to see everyone again.” I’d either want to celebrate my future with Darren with them, or I’d need Blade’s old cabin as a place to hide while I grieved.
“See? I told you,” Devil said.
Carlo took his arm. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Thanks,” I said. “To all of you. I didn’t mean to bring this down on you, but I’m glad you were willing to help.” Darren reached for my hand and squeezed it. He knew how hard this was for me.
“Any time,” Rhys said. “You’re our brother.”
“Damn right,” Blade added.
When they’d all left and shut the door behind them, I turned to face Darren. “You promise you’re all right?”
He cupped my cheek in his hand. “I promise.”
“You need some rest.”
“Is that all I need?”
I grinned. “For now.”
“I really am sore and tired.”
“Then let me tuck you into bed and hold you.”
He frowned. “I should call Xavier first.”
“Devil talked to him, and of course he knew everything that had happened anyway. Fucking magician.”
“This was my mission, my favor to him.” His words stung for a moment. “Fox? What’s wrong?”
I shook my head. “Nothing.”
“You’re not a mission to me now. You know that, right?”
“I guess.”
“Damn it. I love you. What more do you need?”
“I need to hold you.”
His soft smile warmed my heart. “Just let me call him, and then you can.”
He made the call, and I insisted he put it on speaker. I needed closure on this too.
X answered almost immediately. “Darren. I was wondering when I’d hear from you, but I thought it would be tomorrow.”
“I wanted to check in since this was my mission. Fox is here too.”
“Since it was originally mine. I kept Darren alive, by the way.”
X chuckled. “You did.”
“How badly are you hurt, Darren?”
“I’m fine. Just bruises and cuts, nothing bad.”
“Good. I’m glad you both came through this.”
“Were you worried?” I asked.
“Only a little.”
Darren huffed. “Are we even now, or do I still owe you?”
“You still owe me one thing.”
Darren scowled at his phone. “What is that?”
“Don’t close yourself back up. Let Fox take care of you for as long as you both want.”
“That’s great advice,” I said as color rose in Darren’s cheeks.
“Darren, can you do that?”
“I can.”
“Good. Then we’re even, but you know you can still call me anytime.”
“I know.”
“Goodbye. Get some rest.”
He ended the call before we could respond. “He always has to have the last word.”
“Yes, he does,” Darren agreed.
I helped Darren take a brief shower. We were both too tired to do anything but clean up. We slipped into bed, and I pulled the covers up and spooned around him.
He leaned back into me and sighed. “I’m exhausted, but I don’t know if I can sleep. I’m too wired.”
“Then just talk to me. Tell me what X was like as a kid.”
“About like you’d expect. By the time he was five or so, he was already developing plans to outwit anyone who tried to tell him what to do, nannies, teachers, his parents.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” I paused for a second, wondering if I should even ask my next question. “So were you and his sister…”
Darren shook his head. “No. I’ve only ever been attracted to men. We were friends, though. I could always count on her.”
“Are you still friends now?”
“Nothing happened to change our relationship, but we rarely talk now. We’re both busy, and… I don’t want to fuck up her career by association. She has it hard enough being a woman in the Senate. I don’t need to fuel rumors about her being involved with me.”
“Right, because no way would the press assume you were just friends.”
“Exactly.”
“She associates with X, though.”
Darren huffed. “He’s family, and he covers his tracks better than I do.”
“Because you don’t care, not because you couldn’t.”
“Yes.” His voice was growing softer. He was getting sleepy.
“Tell me about Anna.”
“Hmm?”
“X’s sister. What is she like in private? I’ve only ever met her during official functions.”
“Anna’s… She’s…” He didn’t say anything else. I kissed the back of his neck and breathed his scent in deeply as I let myself start to drift off too.
34
DARREN
I woke a few hours later. Fox had closed the blinds, but I could still detect the glow of bright sun outside.
I stretched and turned over to face Fox. He muttered but didn’t open his eyes. He was lying on his back, stretched out over about three-quarters of the bed. The fact that it made me smile rather than pissing me off showed just how far gone I was over him.
I was surprised how refreshed I felt from the sleep I’d gotten. My neck and ribs still hurt, and my cheekbone was tender to the touch. Overall, though, I was doing much better, better enough to be ready for something more than rest to make me feel better.
