Page 12 of Purple Protector (Eiloren Clan #3)

A ARON WASN’T USED TO having anyone take care of him. He’d been living on his own for years, and even when he’d been at home, his parents hadn’t been particularly caring. He’d gotten used to doing everything on his own, even when he was sick.

It was a stark contrast with the way Birch was behaving.

As soon as Palmer had said it was safe to do so, Birch had led Aaron out of the infirmary.

He’d offered to carry him, but even though Aaron would pay to be carried by Birch, he’d told Birch that he could walk.

People had already seen him being carried around the hallways by Marlin.

He didn’t want to have to go through that a second time.

No one knew what had happened beyond their small group, and Aaron was pretty sure that Killian and Hedley wanted to keep things that way.

He doubted it would work for long because when so many people lived together, information had a way to find its way out, but at least for today, they should be able to keep things quiet.

Aaron yearned for a bed—or a nest in this case. He didn’t really care which as long as he could stretch out on a soft surface and close his eyes. The bump on his forehead pulsed with pain, and he had a headache building.

He’d thought that Birch would show him where he would be staying when they got to his rooms and then leave, maybe to report to Killian, but that wasn’t what happened. Birch did show Aaron where he would be staying, but he hovered there as if he expected Aaron to say something.

Aaron eyed the nest in the center of the room and shuffled his feet. “Thank you.”

Birch was still staring. “Do you need anything? I can have some food brought up, or I have water. I also have some snacks in the kitchen.”

“I’m fine for now, thank you.” It was awkward, so Aaron looked around, trying to distract himself. His gaze stopped on personal objects on a dresser. He frowned, then realized what he was seeing. “This is your room.”

Birch rubbed the back of his neck. “It is. I don’t have a guest room.”

“I can’t kick you out of your nest.”

“You’re not. I offered for you to take it, and I’m fine with it. You need a nest more than I do right now.”

“What about tonight? Where are you going to sleep?”

“I’ll shift and sleep on the floor.”

“No.”

Birch stared. “What do you mean, no?”

“Exactly what I said. I won’t let you sleep on the floor. Your nest is big, especially if you stay in this form. We can share it.” Even if Birch shifted, there would be plenty of space in the nest for his dragon form and for Aaron. Aaron wasn’t big, especially next to a dragon.

“That’s not necessary.”

Aaron crossed his arms over his chest. He could be stubborn when he wanted to, and Birch was about to find out.

“Either we share the nest, or I go back to my room.” He’d do it, even though he’d rather not.

He wouldn’t kick Birch out of his nest, dammit.

If Birch was so uncomfortable that he didn’t want to share with Aaron, Aaron wouldn’t stay with him.

He’d rather go back to his own rooms and deal with the uneasiness.

“I’m supposed to stay with you and protect you,” Birch pointed out.

“And you can’t do that if you’re sleeping next to me?”

“If you decide to return to your room, I’ll have to go with you, and we’d have the same problem.”

He was right, dammit. “Then we’ll just have to share the nest.”

“Aaron.”

“No. I don’t know if it makes you uncomfortable to share a nest with me because of who I am or if you wouldn’t want to do it with anyone, but I’m not going to do anything weird. I wouldn’t.”

Maybe Birch knew that Aaron had a crush on him, and that was why he didn’t want to share.

Maybe knowing that Aaron had feelings for him made him uncomfortable.

Aaron wanted the floor to open up and swallow him, but unfortunately, he wouldn’t be going anywhere without Birch.

The two of them were stuck together, no matter how they felt about it, although Aaron knew that if Birch asked, Killian would find someone else to take his place.

Things wouldn’t be so bad if Marlin were the one to protect Aaron, but he didn’t want a stranger following him around.

“If you’re uncomfortable, we could ask Marlin to protect me instead of you,” Aaron offered.

Birch shook his head instantly. “Killian asked me to do it.”

“He’s your friend. If you tell him that you can’t do it, he’ll find another solution.”

“I want to protect you, Aaron. You’re right. We can share the nest. We’re both adults, so there’s no reason for us to be so awkward about it. Besides, I can protect you better the closer I am to you, right?”

And there was no being closer than sharing a nest. Aaron wasn’t sure that was how it worked, but who was he to argue? Birch had given in. He’d sleep in the nest next to Aaron.

If Birch thought this conversation was awkward, it would be nothing next to how awkward that would be.

* * * *

B IRCH HAD DECIDED NOT to look too deeply into why he wanted to take care of Aaron so badly.

Did it matter? Aaron needed to be protected, and Birch was willing to do it.

That was what mattered. The fact that they would have to share a nest didn’t, although it might make things awkward.

Thankfully, Aaron seemed to be okay with it.

If he hadn’t been, Birch would have slept on the floor, no matter what Aaron thought of it.

It wouldn’t be the first time, although it had been a while since the last time it had happened.

He wasn’t a kid who went to sleepovers anymore.

“I can send someone to pack your things and move them here,” he offered.

Aaron was already shaking his head before Birch was done speaking. “No. I want to do that myself, but not today.” He hesitated. “I know you don’t have any clothes I can borrow, but I’ll figure something out.”

He seemed convinced of that, but Birch could see he was uncomfortable. He couldn’t imagine it would be great to sleep in the button-down shirt Aaron was wearing.

Aaron wasn’t wrong, unfortunately. Birch didn’t have any clothes that Aaron could borrow. He knew someone who did, though, and as soon as Aaron disappeared into the bathroom, Birch had his phone out.

Taylor was closer to Aaron’s size than Palmer, who was much taller. Taylor was more muscled than Aaron, but he’d probably have something Aaron could borrow. Thankfully, he answered right away.

“Hey, Palmer told me something happened to Aaron. Is he okay?”

“He was attacked in his room, but he’ll be fine. He’s staying with me for now, and he doesn’t feel like going to his room.”

“I can understand that. He’s not used to violence.”

“He’s not, but he also can’t sleep in a button-down shirt and dress pants. Do you think he could borrow something of yours? I’ll wash it and get it back to you as soon as he doesn’t need it anymore.”

“Yeah, of course. You don’t even have to ask. Want me to bring you a few t-shirts and sweatpants? That way, he can change tomorrow morning and doesn’t have to go around in the clothes he slept in the whole day.”

“That would be great. Thank you.”

“What for? Us clan humans have to stick with each other, yeah? And I like him. I don’t want this to scare him so badly that he leaves.”

Birch agreed with that, so he was happy that Aaron had decided to stay. He might still change his mind, but Birch didn’t think he would. Aaron wouldn’t give this up just because someone had attacked him.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t scared. Birch needed to get his hands on the attacker ASAP so that Aaron would feel safe again. The problem was that he had no idea where to start. Marlin was already looking into it, but with only the color of the dragon, they wouldn’t be going very far.

Taylor did as he had promised and brought around a few changes of clothes, including socks and underwear.

Birch didn’t understand why humans felt the need to be covered so strongly that they used socks, but he’d stopped trying to.

It was a cultural thing, and since he wanted Aaron to be comfortable, this was the least he could do.

He sent Taylor on his way with the promise that Aaron would call him later tonight and went to the nest room.

Aaron was nowhere to be seen, so Birch left one change of clothes by the bathroom door and put the rest in a drawer in the nest room.

Since he didn’t have anything else to do, he fussed with the nest, adding more pillows and pushing the blankets this way and that until he heard footsteps behind him.

Aaron’s skin was flushed, and his hair was damp. He looked comfy in the clothes, but he hadn’t put on the socks, so Birch could see his bare feet. They were pale and long, with neat nails and a smattering of dark hair.

“The nest is ready for you,” he said, gesturing at it.

Aaron bit his lower lip as he looked at it. “It looks great. Uh, thanks for the clothes.”

“They’re Taylor’s. He said to call him once you’ve rested and feel better.”

“It’s going to take a little more than a nap to feel better, but I’ll call him.”

When he didn’t move to climb into the nest, Birch took his hand. Aaron didn’t pull away like Birch half expected him to. He allowed Birch to guide him into the nest, but when Birch made to lean back to grab a blanket, Aaron clung to his hand.

“Can you stay? Please?”

It was clear that he expected a rejection.

It would make sense since they didn’t know each other well enough to share a nest, but after what had happened today, it wasn’t a surprise that Aaron didn’t want to be alone.

He was still scared, and he was in a new place.

He might not know Birch all that well, but he trusted him.

He trusted Birch to keep him safe while he slept.

Birch couldn’t say no, and he didn’t want to. He slid into the nest, keeping enough distance between them that they didn’t touch. It was awkward, and Birch couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so tense in his nest. Probably never. He loved burrowing under the blankets at the end of a long day.

It seemed to be enough for Aaron. He smiled softly and settled in with his head pressed into Birch’s favorite pillow.

His eyes fluttered shut, and Birch was careful not to move until he was sure that Aaron was asleep.

He wouldn’t go back to Killian’s office, but once Aaron was out, Birch would call both Killian and Marlin to see if they’d found anything new about the attacker.

Unless this dragon had a personal grudge against Aaron, Birch would guess that they’d been sent by someone. Pearl was the first name that came to mind, but she wasn’t the only one of Killian’s siblings who might be trying to get to Killian through Aaron.

Or maybe the dragon just didn’t want humans here. No one had ever attacked Palmer or Taylor, but they weren’t as visible as Aaron, who’d grown somewhat close to the king and who was working to give the clan more visibility.

Aaron snuffled softly, and Birch looked down at him. He looked at peace, and Birch hoped that would continue once Aaron woke up.

He started to roll to the side to leave the nest, but Aaron caught him before he could. He swung an arm around Birch’s waist and snuggled close. He pressed his face against Birch’s neck, and Birch felt his entire body relax as if it had been waiting for Aaron to feel safe.

Birch couldn’t take that from him. If Aaron wanted to use him as a pillow, then Birch would stay where he was. He had his phone in the pouch around his neck so he could text Marlin instead of calling. One way or another, he’d find out what was happening.

As long as Marlin had found out, anyway.