“I think anyone with a fiance like yours would be off in her own little world. Is he really a billionaire? What would that be like? I can’t conceive of a billion dollars. He met last night with the hospital board and is giving a huge donation in thanks for taking such good care of you. He had this room guarded day and night.” Her voice turned dreamy. “He said you were his world and he couldn’t breathe without you. Imagine a man saying that right out loud to a roomful of other men. I’d give anything to have my husband feel that way about me.”
“He probably does,” Jaxon murmured, afraid of saying anything else. She was not engaged to Lucian. “Did he call himself my fiance?”
What else could I do, honey? Refer to you as my lifemate? They understand that being your fiance gives me certain rights to direct your life while you are ill. They would never understand that as my lifemate you are the other half of my soul. Do not panic yet. I am merely ensuring your safety.
I don’t understand what being a lifemate means.
I could explain it to you… he offered solemnly.
No! I don’t think I want to hear another word about it! Not one word, Lucian. She knew darn well that he wasn’t in the least bit serious, and his annoying habit of laughing at her was going to get him into major trouble. He had the idea that because she was so small, she was not a force to reckoned with. She intended to change that impression soon if he kept it up. A billionaire? Isn’t that just a bit dramatic? What if someone asks you to prove it? I thought the idea was to keep a low profile. She was deliberately impudent, trying to hide the fact that she was happy he was so very real.
Hiding out in the open is always the best way. And living for centuries gives one the ability to amass a fortune. It is relatively easy. The more money one has, the more one has the ability to hide his true identity. People expect a certain amount of eccentricity in those with money. Thus, it is merely another tool I use.
You cannot be a billionaire on top of everything else. You’re making me completely crazy. You know that, don’t you?
“Jaxx!” Barry Radcliff was in her doorway, his large frame leaning against the jamb, a huge grin of relief spreading across his face. “Thank God. They kept telling me you were getting better, but for some reason or other, I could never actually lay eyes on you. They’ve been feeding me all kinds of crap about some fiance. I keep telling them you don’t have one, but no one listens to me, not even the captain. He claims he met the guy, some foreign billionaire, and that the rumors are true. I thought maybe that bullet in the head put me in another world.”
The nurse left to give them privacy.
“At least you have an excuse.” Jaxon was so relieved to see someone normal, she felt like crying again. “And why didn’t you keep your butt out of that warehouse, like I told you? Do you have a hero complex, too, Barry?”
He walked slowly, carefully, across the room as if his legs were shaky and managed an awkward, one-armed hug.
I forgot to mention I am a very jealous man, honey. Do not go too far with being happy to see this male. The texture of Lucian’s voice in her head was the same, yet not. It was softer than ever, velvet over iron. A subtle warning.
Get over it. He’s my partner. Deliberately Jaxon hugged Barry back when normally she never would have done so.
You hide your own feelings from yourself. You regard this one with great affection.
If that’s so, it was pretty dumb of you to clue me in on my true feelings, now, wasn’t it? she asked sweetly, allowing Barry to retain possession of her hand as he sat at the end of her bed. “Do you remember what happened, Barry? Because I don’t remember anything but getting shot.” She was curious. She didn’t have a clue how either of them had gotten out of the warehouse when they were both seriously wounded.