Aiden smirked. “Well, one might believe you.” It was something he’d said often enough to other vampires and received the same skeptical look time and again.
Ronan leaned over and quickly kissed him before stretching out again with a happy sigh. “True. You believe me.”
“What kind of contract work did you do?”
Ronan’s smile disappeared and his body stiffened, but Aiden was proud of him for telling the truth. “Executions.” Sighing, Ronan rolled over to meet Aiden’s gaze. “I wish I could tell you something else, but I can’t. I was bored, and death is what I’m good at. It’s what we were both trained in as humans, and it’s the same training I got as a vampire. I’m a skilled hunter and I’m not ashamed of it. I did get to pick and choose my jobs. I tried to make sure that my targets were evil people. That they’d acted cruelly to others. But I’m not naïve enough to think that all my information was good. I tried.”
Aiden moved the hand on Ronan’s chest so that it covered his rapidly beating heart. “I have no right to judge you. We’ve all done things that we regret or aren’t particularly proud of. I know you’re a good man, and you kept yourself safe so you could come back to me.”
“I just don’t want you to be disappointed in me. If I’d known you were alive, so much would have been different.”
“Don’t. I don’t regret my life, because it’s brought me a lot of happiness along with heartache. And in the end, it brought me right here to you.”
Ronan grinned, relaxing on the pillows again. He drew in a deep breath as if he could suddenly breathe easier. “See. This is why you’re king. So much wiser than me.”
Aiden snorted. “Doubtful. What I don’t understand is how the Ministry’s contracted executioner was permitted to join its peaceful envoy to meet the new king of the Americas? Were you contracted to kill me before you even boarded the plane?”
Ronan flinched and snuggled even closer, his arms wrapping tightly around Aiden. “Don’t even say those words,” Ronan admonished. “No one is going to touch you. I-I can’t allow it. Won’t allow it.”
Pain shot through Aiden as he felt Ronan drag in several short, shuddering breaths. The fear of losing Aiden was clearly a living, breathing thing inside of Ronan, and Aiden could understand it. He’d already lost so much. He didn’t want to contemplate losing Ronan now. “Nothing is going to happen to me. You’ll keep me safe. I know it,” Aiden whispered.
Ronan nodded against his shoulder, his arms loosening at last. “I will.” Taking a deep breath, Ronan released Aiden enough to look him in the eye. “I’m sure they thought they were sending someone over to possibly end the king, should the meeting fail to go as they hoped, but I didn’t give a shit about their plans. I told them that I could keep their emissary safe and scout the area. Get a feel for the sentiment among your people. Essentially, be a spy.”
“I know you haven’t painted your life as having many ties, but are you comfortable leaving that all behind?”
Dropping back on his pillows, Ronan laughed loudly, the joyous sound filling the room. “Are you kidding?” he finally asked incredulously. “Am I ready to leave behind nothing to come here and spend the rest of my existence wooing you? Protecting you? Driving your sons absolutely crazy? Yes. Yes to all of that.”
Aiden snickered. “I think you’re underestimating how much my sons are going to drive you crazy.”
Ronan’s smile became a little crooked and surprisingly fond. “No, I don’t think I am. They’ve given me a pretty good taste so far, and I have to admit, I’m loving it. They aren’t intimidated by me, and their obvious love of you makes me want to adore them all the more. I’m hoping when they see how happy I make you, they’ll learn to like me a little bit.”
“They will.” Aiden snuggled in close, his heart feeling so full in his chest he thought it was going to burst. For the first time in too long, he felt happy. Truly, completely happy. There was no doubt in his mind this was what Julianna would have wanted for him. He was sorry they’d had this so briefly, but he believed that she was at peace now and wanted him to find that happiness again.
“You understand that being with me means being in a clan again. A family. A family that likes to meddle in all of your affairs,” Aiden murmured into Ronan’s shoulder.
“You mean a family who sneaks into your hotel room in the middle of the day to threaten you if you intend to hurt their beloved father? Yes, that’s exactly the kind of family I want.”