Rollo sat on the bed. He laid the cool cloth over Petyr’s forehead and held his hand.

“You have to wake up,” Rollo said quietly. “Adam and Ellie need you. And so do I.” He stared at their joined hands. “I tried to forget about you, but I couldn’t. The gods aren’t always fair, but you dying like this would be downright cruel.”

Petyr seemed to take a deeper breath, and Rollo leaned closer. Yet nothing happened. Rollo actually closed his eyes and started praying. His chest constricted as he opened his eyes again and lifted Petyr’s hand to kiss it.

Petyr’s fingers flexed in his, and Rollo looked up to see Petyr’s eyes opening. They seemed unfocused at first, but Petyr fixed his gaze on Rollo. “My head. It’s pounding,” Petyr said softly.

“You need to drink.” The decanter by the bed stood empty, so Rollo bit his own wrist. “You may find this distasteful, but—”

Rollo cut himself off as Petyr grabbed his wrist and latched onto it. He tried to remain calm but struggled. Having his mate drink from him so aggressively caused his body to stir. When Petyr let go and fell back on the bed, Rollo licked the wound to close it and then resumed wiping Petyr’s face, cleaning the small amount of blood from his chin.

Rollo said, “It may not be fair to say this now, but we must talk about me turning you. You seemed so much stronger last night. I never would’ve expected to find you like this today.”

Petyr’s breathing seemed labored, but he looked much better as he sat up. “I probably didn’t drink enough last night.”

Rollo wasn’t in the mood to hear excuses. He took Petyr by the back of the head and made the man look him in the eye. “Your children need you. This isn’t about me.”

A tear rolled down Petyr’s cheek, and he swiped at it as he pulled away. “I need more time to think about it.”

“If that’s your answer, fine, but I’m not leaving your side from now on. Not unless someone else is with you.”

Petyr lowered his gaze. “Your cock is hard, and your eyes are black.”

“I know, but that’s my problem.” Rollo grabbed at an extra pillow and put it over his lap. “My mate was just drinking from me moments ago. Quite aggressively. Hard to fight it.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, wondering what Petyr was thinking. “What can I do to convince you that my help doesn’t come at a price?”

Footsteps sounded, and Petyr looked away.

Helen came back in, and Petyr flushed as she rushed over to him. “Glad to see you’ve revived without this.” She waved a bottle of smelling salts and set it down on the dresser. She brought some cloths to the bed, taking the one in Rollo’s hand. She looked at the blood on it. “You had a good drink? Feel better?”

Petyr nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

Helen looked questioningly at Rollo. “Some broth, perhaps? Something else?” Her gaze went back to Petyr.

“Broth would be good. A bit of bread.” Petyr lay back again. “My stomach’s unsettled, but it won’t hurt to try.”

“I’ll bring up a tray then. I’ve already got a pot going.” She hurried out of the room after giving Rollo a pointed glance.

After a few seconds of silence, Rollo said, “I know it’s a big decision, but time might be running out. I did some reading last night, and blood diseases can be unpredictable.”

“The doctors told me that.” Petyr shifted against the pillows and rubbed his forehead. “My friends, the few who know about you, assumed I was coming here for you to turn me. I didn’t tell many people about my illness. Didn’t want a big fuss. Just sold everything and packed up and left. I know now how dangerous that was.”

“Don’t dwell on it. You’re here and safe.” He hesitated before he said, “And I can heal you if you’ll let me.”

Petyr’s response surprised him. “How do vampires just accept it? The mate they’re given. How do you know if you like me for myself or because I’m your mate?”

“I’ve known vampires who rejected their mates. Who’ve been rejected by their mates. Fated mates who were very unhappy. Some couples move much too fast. That’s why I wasn’t very aggressive. I wanted us to get to know each other. Especially since you’d never had a male lover.” He licked his lips. “Every time we saw each other, I wanted to kiss you. But I held back.” He took Petyr’s hand. “I regretted it. I admired you for standing by Nora because you’d gotten her pregnant. Admired your priorities. But I regretted not kissing you. Not making it clearer how much I wanted you to accept me. Not suggesting that you didn’t have to marry Nora to take care of her and…” He sighed. “I’m tired of regrets.”

Rollo pushed the pillow on his lap aside and moved closer, cupping Petyr’s cheek. Though his eyes went wide, Petyr didn’t pull away as Rollo kissed him.