Page 31 of By The Moon

“You didn’t want them to see me naked.”

“No, not really.” Louis held Jerome again and appeared outside the hospital. Walking inside, they were met by one of the nurses on duty. “He needs help.”

“Gray’s called and informed us. Let’s get you through to one of the rooms so we can examine you.” The blonde haired vampire pointed down a corridor and walked ahead of them.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to be a bother to you.”

“No bother at all and I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with that. Skylar of all people.” Shaking her head, she looked Jerome up and down. “You have a few bruises so let me get one of the doctors to examine you. I’m Shirley, by the way.” Opening the door to an exam room, she waited for them to enter before closing it behind her. “Get on the bed, Jerome. It is Jerome, isn’t it?”

“It is.” Louis helped Jerome onto the bed then pulled a chair closer and sat next to him, holding Jerome’s hand in his own.

“Good. Stay here and I’ll let the doctor on duty know where you are. It should only be a few minutes.”

Shirley left the room and Louis squeezed Jerome’s hand. “I’m sorry.”

“What for? It wasn’t your fault. I take it this Skylar works for one of the bad vampires?”

Louis winced but nodded. “By the sounds of it.”

“That must be difficult for you. It seems you’ve known him for a long time and now you find out he’s been betraying you.”

Louis stared at Jerome and wondered again how he could be so lucky to have a mate like him. He’d been kidnapped and hurt, but he was showing concern for Jerome. “What matters to meis what happened to you. I should have spotted something and I didn’t. I failed you.”

“Stop.” Jerome squeezed Louis’ hand. “How could you have possibly known he’d do something like this? Has he ever made you think he was anything other than your friend?”

“No, but—”

“No buts, Louis. I met him for the first time at our party and he was nice to me. He never made me feel like I was in the way. I never felt like I had to be careful around him. Now Gray clearly has issues with humans and he told me he was working on them, which I appreciated, but Skylar? No idea at all.”

“I’ve known him for decades. I should have picked something up.”

“Are we doing the blame game?” A male vampire entered the room holding a tablet in one hand. “I take it you’re Jerome, Louis’ mate. It’s nice to meet you. I’d hoped it would be under better circumstances but here we are.”

“Steve.” Louis felt most of his tension drain away when he recognized Steve.

“Louis.” Steve approached the bed and looked Jerome over. “I need you to wear one of those lovely hospital gowns so I can do a thorough exam. I believe I heard you couldn’t communicate?” Jerome nodded. “We’ll take bloods and do a full workup. We need to know what drug you were given so we can find a counteragent. I’ll stand outside. Give me a shout when you’re ready and I’ll examine you.”

Steve left the room and Jerome quickly changed into the green hospital gown. “Sexy,” Louis murmured, earning him a small smile.

“Yeah?”

“No.” They both smiled at each other and once Jerome was back on the bed, Louis shouted for Steve.

“Much better. Let’s check you out.”

Louis sat and watched Steve perform Jerome’s exam, noting all the marks, abrasions, and bruising on his skin. “Luckily there are no broken bones. You put up a good fight. Right. I’ll get one of the nurses to come in and take your blood and leave a prescription for some pain medication.” Steve walked to the door. “I hope to see you again but under better circumstances.”

“Thanks, Steve.”

Steve left and Jerome changed back into his clothes. They waited for the nurse to take his blood, get his prescription filled, then Louis took them home. “Fancy a bath?”

Jerome groaned and nodded. “It might help me loosen up. I’m all stiff and achy.”

“Get undressed and I’ll get the bath started for you. Coffee?”

“Please.” Louis kissed Jerome and left him in their bedroom, entering the bathroom to start the bath. Once that was underway, he went into the kitchen and put the kettle on. He could hear Jerome’s soft groans and clothing rustling as he undressed.

Leaning on the counter, Louis closed his eyes. He could have lost his mate. Skylar knew they were coming and was in the process of trying to leave with Jerome. If Louis had entered the room a few seconds later, Jerome wouldn’t have been there and he might have never seen him again.

---