The door opened. Elias spoke as I turned in my chair. “I thought you’d like to know your guest is up. He went up to his room. He made no complaints.”
“Thank you.”
I had to hand it to Elias. He had my back. I paid him well, but he went above and beyond the job description. The thought reminded me he and my staff were due for raises. I was over-generous and I knew it, but it kept them happy. That made me content.
“Shall I set the dinner table for two later?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. I’ll say yes and if that changes I’ll let you know.”
“Very well, sir.”
I got up, stretching my body, thinking about going to the downstairs gym for an hour. But first, I wanted to check on Kirion.
My office was on the second floor down from Malin’s gaming room. The floor was silent, but he was somewhere around. Bored and probably planning his next trip.
I took the stairs two at a time to the third floor and stood in front of Kirion’s door, suddenly hesitant. Would he think I was being intrusive? He was an adult. He knew how to take care of himself. But the alpha in me burned to see him face to face. He’d been injured. Did he need more medicine? Something more for the pain?
The Scotch had put him straight to sleep, which he’d probably needed, but that had no doubt long worn off.
Something in me forced my hand up, not caring if Kirion would think I was meddling. I rapped loudly on his door. It opened almost immediately.
Kirion stood before me, blinking slowly. He still looked a little sleepy but he was on his feet. That was good. His bandaged hand hung limply at his side.
“I came to check on you. How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”
I couldn’t help but look past him into the room. His computer sat on a table nearby. But not much else had changed. In the future, I hoped to see him order things he wanted—bedding, new curtains, even furniture—things to make the room more his.
“I’m feeling good. The nap was good.” His eyes darted everywhere but at my face.
“Are you in pain? I’ve got whatever you may want for that.”
He lifted his hand waist-high, staring at it. “It smarts a little.”
“You need to stay hydrated. Drink water. I can have juice brought up.”
“Um, there’s some in the fridge,” he said softly.
“Good. Anything you want, just ask.”
His shoulders came up. His chest rose as he took a breath to speak. “Are you all right?” he asked. “You looked pretty shocked today. When—when it happened.”
“I’m not the one who was hurt.”
He nodded. “But you went all pale.”
Had I? “Well, I didn’t know how badly you were hurt.”
He nodded a second time.
I gestured at his computer behind him. “Can you even type?”
“Yeah. My fingers work. It tugs a little but the bandage has stayed tight.”
“We’ll change it tonight.” Damn. I was all over this as if I couldn’t leave it alone.
Certainly, I took my responsibility seriously, but I was already wanting to unwrap him and examine the wound. What if we’d left a glass shard or two? What if he was allergic to the antibiotic? What if the cut didn’t close right and started to bleed again?
“Okay,” he replied. Now he was staring at me, a divot forming between his eyebrows. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
