Ronan looked like he wanted to argue, but Aiden couldn’t hold in his anger and frustration a second longer. When Mara had moved for Ronan, Aiden had nearly climbed over his desk to get at the woman. Not that he believed she could actually harm him, but he was beyond rational thought when it came to threats against his family, and now apparently Ronan.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Aiden shouted, making them all jump.
“I was telling the bloody truth!”
“And putting your bloody head on the chopping block!” Aiden stomped around his desk to close the distance between him and Ronan. He was barely aware of Winter and Fox quickly moving out of his path. Ronan backpedaled, looking a strange mix of confused and mutinous. “You could have lied. You could have served as a spy within their ranks. You could have lied so you could safely slip away later.”
“My safety doesn’t matter in the face of a threat to you. I only care about protecting you.”
“Idiot! You can’t do that if you’re dead!”
Ronan opened his mouth to argue, but Aiden didn’t want to hear it. He slammed his lips down over Ronan’s, swallowing his moan or possibly just whatever he was going to say. The vampire stumbled backed until his shoulders slammed into the wall. Strong arms wrapped around Aiden’s waist, pulling him in tight, and finally some of the panic started to ebb. Ronan was safe. No one touched him. No one was going to touch him, ever.
One hand moved up to cup the side of Aiden’s face, slowly gentling the kiss until Aiden finally pulled away enough to suck in some air.
“I’m safe,” Ronan murmured, lips brushing the corner of his mouth.
“You’re not safe from me,” Aiden grumbled.
“Well, if this is your idea of torture, then I submit fully to your expertise.”
“Eww…ahhh…come on, he’s my father,” Winter complained loudly. “I just…the mental images.”
“Grow up!” Fox said with a laugh. “Of course Aiden likes to get all kinky like—” The rest of his sentence was muffled, and Aiden glanced over his shoulder to see a red-faced Winter covering Fox’s mouth with his hand.
“Don’t. I just can’t right now,” Winter grumbled.
Aiden could certainly do without the audience, but Winter was right. The timing was bad. Reluctantly pulling away from Ronan’s arms, he turned all the way around to find Marcus furiously typing into his phone.
“Marcus!” he cried out. His eldest son’s head jumped up to reveal a very guilty expression. “Are you reporting back to your other siblings?”
To his utter shock, Marcus smiled broadly. “Reporting with pictures.” He turned his phone around to reveal a picture of him and Ronan in a tight embrace, lips pressed together as if he were Aiden’s only source of oxygen. Dear God, save him from this night.
“It was the only way to prove to them that I wasn’t making it up.”
“You could have not told them,” Aiden suggested.
Marcus grunted. “Where’s the fun in that?”
Whatever witty reply Aiden thought he might use was lost to Ronan’s laughter. It was easier to turn his ire on Ronan. The man was driving him insane.
“You don’t get to think any of this is funny. You’re acting as if you have no clue about the kind of danger you’re in,” Aiden growled, pointing at Ronan.
Pushing away from the wall, Ronan attempted to wrap his hand around Aiden’s finger, but Aiden jerked it away. “What choice did I have? I was told that if you didn’t agree to follow the Ministry’s wishes, the entire Varik clan would be killed. If I told you their plans, I’d be killed. There is no choice there. I obviously tell you so you can be prepared for whatever nonsense the Ministry comes at you with.”
“And your life?” Aiden tossed a hand into the air. “Your life just doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things?”
“No, it doesn’t.” Ronan reached out again and captured Aiden’s hand. “You have a family that loves you, a clan that needs you. You have an entire domain of vampires who need you to lead and protect them. I’m just a mercenary and part-time executioner for the European Ministry because I’m bored. But if I protect you and your family, maybe I can look back on my long existence and say I’ve finally done something worthwhile.”
“Damn,” Winter swore softly. “I really didn’t want to like you.”
“Don’t worry, kid. I’ll think of a new reason for you,” Ronan threw over his shoulder with a wink.
Winter winked at him, his top lip curled slightly. “Save it, old man. You already did.”
“Ronan, you could have lied. You could have gone along with their plan and acted as a spy until we could come up with a way to sneak you away from them,” Aiden argued.
“Maybe if we had planned for this meeting,” Ronan countered. He shook his head. “You and your family already didn’t trust me. Do you think that would have improved if I came to you and said I was just pretending, that I was really a spy wanting to help you? Your sons would have laughed their asses off.”
Marcus made a noise in his throat. “It’s true. We wouldn’t have believed him.”
“So, sacrificing your life was about earning our trust?” Aiden demanded sharply.
“No, it was about doing the right thing. Not that I needed to. You never would have gone along with Mara’s nonsense. You saw right through their plans. She was just trying to use me against you.”
“So, you simply run headlong into the problem, mouth running and sword waving, because Ronan is invincible. You haven’t changed a bit in all this time,” Aiden snapped.
“I was trying to protect you!”
“The only problem is that I’m always right on your heels when you go rushing in. It’s a wonder we both didn’t get our heads lopped off before we even became vampires.”
Aiden sighed and rested his head on Ronan’s shoulder. This wasn’t what he wanted for his old friend. He didn’t want his life in danger, didn’t want the European Ministry putting a target on his back. He couldn’t deny that he was incredibly touched by Ronan’s actions, though. He hadn’t been surprised at all by his words when Mara had turned to him. The man he’d known growing up rarely lied, and usually only to create a bit of mischief. Ronan had favored using the truth to stir up chaos rather than lies.
“What do you plan to do now?” Aiden inquired.
Ronan lifted the hand he was still holding and brushed his lips across Aiden’s knuckles. For just a moment, Aiden closed his eyes, savoring the feel, not caring what Marcus or Winter could see. His Ronan was in danger, and he could steal this small moment for himself.
“I’ve still got a few tricks up my sleeve. But it would give me some more breathing room if you might allow me to find exile in your domain.”
Aiden’s head popped up, and he gawked at Ronan for a second like the man had lost his mind. “Of course you’re staying here. As if I’d let you anywhere near Europe again.”
Ronan grinned, and Marcus cleared his throat, interrupting them.
“Do you still want to call a clan meeting to discuss what we learned about the European Ministry?” he asked.