“I’m sure glad Kyler and Gage got out of there. I didn’t know them well, but I met them a couple times before I had to disappear. I wondered about them as I did Carlo on the many long nights I spent hiding. I’m so relieved that they’re all safe.”
“Kyler and Gage feel the same about you. When the search teams were coming up empty-handed, they had their beloved Kash and me out on the streets looking for you. They never forgot you, Keagan.”
“That’s nice to hear.” Suddenly, Keagan changed the subject, and it was a change Sergio delighted in. “You think I’m your beloved?”
“I know you are my beloved. I scented you in your apartment and found you in the hospital. They told me you were dead, but I found you.” Sergio leaned over and kissed the side of Keagan’s head and took his hand in his holding it lightly but securely.
Keagan looked confused at first and then spoke. “The guys who beat me up took my wallet. It had my license in it, nothing else, just my license.” Sergio nodded.
“The one who took your wallet was killed in one of those alleys off Main Street and ended up in the morgue at the hospital with your wallet in his pocket, so we were notified.” Sergio took a deep cleansing breath, ridding himself of the horror that had befallen him when he thought Keagan was dead. “I went to the hospital and found you on an upper floor, unconscious but very much alive.” Sergio leaned over and kissed him again, but this time Keagan turned his head and offered Sergio his lips instead. It was a lovely kiss filled with hope and understanding. “I’m so glad I found you,” Sergio said and kissed him again.
“I know this is a lot to take in after everything that you’ve been through, but I mean to prove to you that I am here for you always. Fate brought me to you, and I will stand with you, support you, and love you for a lifetime.” He laid it all out and hoped it wasn’t too much too soon. Keagan’s smile and those adorable dimples told him it wasn’t too much or too soon.
“I have some issues I won’t lie, but I know what a beloved is, and I know that such a commitment is sacred and forever. With that said, I’m asking for time. I just got my life back, and I need to heal. Not the physical heal, you did that for me, and I thank you. I need to heal here.” He pointed to his head. “And I need to heal here.” He pointed to his heart.
“All I ask, for now, is that you not shut me out.” Sergio ran his fingers down the side of Keagan’s face loving the feel of the warm, smooth flesh the stitches and discoloration gone.
“I won’t shut you out. You give me a sense of stability and comfort. I will never shut you out.” That’s all Sergio needed to hear. His beloved needed time, and he could give him time but also attention, plenty of attention.
“I know that being here in the Coven might be a strain on you and your comfort level, so I’ve arranged for us to spend a few days at a friend’s rental home. It’s a nice brick colonial. Plenty of comforts there.” Sergio smiled when he saw that Keagan was interested.
“We can live like ordinary, normal people for a few days while you continue to heal.” Sergio added.
“I like that idea; I like it a lot.” Keagan leaned over, and Sergio gathered him up into his arms. He wanted time, but it would seem he also needed plenty of contact which was good because Sergio was craving his beloved.
CHAPTER SIX
They stopped at Keagan’s apartment, and Sergio helped him picked up a few things he would need, and then they drove over to the rental. They arrived late in the afternoon. Sergio looked pleased when he found that his friend Kash had gone ahead and had the place cleaned and prepped for their stay.
Keagan entered and felt comfortable immediately, just as Sergio had promised. It wasn’t that the place reminded him of anything particularly, it just felt like a home, and he needed that feeling right now. They could just settle in for a few days and continue to get to know one another. It was going to be perfect.
He couldn’t deny what he felt for Sergio and knowing what he did about vampires and their beloveds, he didn’t question the validity of Sergio’s claim. But Keagan didn’t know him, he was drawn to him, needed him even, but he didn’t know Sergio and Sergio didn’t really know him.
Sergio carried their luggage inside and up to the master bedroom, and Keagan found he had no problem with them sharing a room. He’d met Kash and the twins before leaving the Coven, and Keagan saw how happy Kyler and Gage were and how attentive their beloved was to them. He hoped that his future would look the same. He still held onto doubts, but that was just his nature.
His intuition that had served him well in the past told him to just keep going and see where it would lead. They’d talked on the way over about Keagan’s plans now that his life was his own again, and he could tell that Sergio wasn’t on board with him dancing. Sergio told him that Master Hadden had given him restitution in the form of a considerable amount of cash into his bank account and that with it, Keagan would not have to work at all if he didn’t want to.
It wasn’t ever his desire to be a dancer in the
