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The doctors brought him gradually out of the coma so by the time Max was allowed into the room, his father’s eyes were open.
Karson took one look at his only child, a smile lifting his eyes. “Max.”
Max damn near started crying right there, so relieved it felt like his heart would burst. He went to his father’s side, sitting on the edge of the bed to give him a hug, careful to avoid jostling anything. His father was weak after two months but hugged him back, neither letting go for a long moment.
Max drew back to look him over. “Dad. How do you feel?”
“Like a Mack truck hit me. What happened?”
“Well…it wasn’t a Mack truck, but you were in a very bad car accident. A drunk driver plowed into you from the side. I don’t think you even saw him coming. Idiot was doing over ninety, or so the police said. The car could only protect you so much.”
Karson took this in with a troubled frown. “I have no memory of this.”
“It’s okay, the doctors said you might not. You had a severe concussion because of the accident. Apparently, it’s normal not to remember the trauma that inflicted it.”
“Oh.”
His father did look better. The bruising and swelling on his face were gone, his arms didn’t look like he’d gotten into a fight with a machete and lost, and the gash on his forehead had healed. He still wore full casts on both legs, but at least he was healing in the right direction.
Karson Monroe was never one to be slow on the uptake, so when he looked around the hospital room, clearly VIP, his confusion showed. He was the only patient in the room. Big picture windows displayed a view over the city, and an ensuite bathroom with a jetted pool was visible through the open door—this obviously wasn’t a typical hospital room.
“Max,” Karson said uncertainly, “why am I in a room this fancy?”
“A lot has happened while you’ve been asleep. I’m not even sure where to begin.”
“Start anywhere,” his father suggested, eyes locked on his son.
Max started at the place he knew his father wouldn’t like—the auction. Karson was unhappy with the choice Max had made, but he visibly bit the reproach back as Max kept talking, explaining how his worst fears were never realized, and all because of Zander. How carefully he’d been protected and cared for since that day, how they had discovered Max was a vampire’s mate, and Max’s gradual realization that he was in love with the man who technically owned him.
Putting up a hand to stay him, his father begged, “Wait. Wait. The vampire who bought you, he really never did anything to you?”
“Refused, even when I told him he could. He’s the gentlest soul you’ll ever meet, Dad. He bought me solely to get me out of there. It took a racing accident, where he was very hurt, to get him to feed from me.”
“I’m going to church and praying a full day when I get off this damn bed,” Karson swore. “You dodged a bullet there, Max. All right, so you fell in love with this man. Does he love you?”
“Ardently. If you ask him, I am the entire reason there is a sun in the sky. You wondered why you were in this VIP room, right? This is just one of the many, many things he’s done for my sake. He made sure you have the best of care. He spoils me terribly. I can’t even recount how much he’s bought for me.”
“He must be very rich.”
“Filthy rich I believe is the right term.” Max took his father’s hand in his, needing to impart all of this and have his father understand. “He revoked our contract so I could freely choose to stay with him or not.”
Karson nodded slowly, brows furrowed. “But a vampire’s mate is rare, right? Like one in a million? Letting you go like that, wasn’t he risking you?”
“It wasn’t a risk at that point, for either of us. Our hearts were already committed to each other. But he didn’t want that contract hanging over our heads, so he broke it. That’s the quality of the man I love. You’ll see for yourself when you meet him.”
“This is a lot to take in. Tell me what happens next. Will you quit school?”
“No, he’s quite adamant I keep going. He’s even paid all my expenses for it.”
His father hadn’t expected that answer, eyes going wide with surprise. “Really? I thought a vampire’s mate was more like a trophy wife.”
“Yeah, me too, but he knows I want to be an architect. He won’t stand in the way of anything I want to do.”
Karson looked relieved and sank into his pillow a touch more. “When can I meet him?”
“Very soon. He’s almost here to meet and talk with you.”
“Good, I want to meet him. To thank him, too. He’s done a lot for our family.”
