want to be far behind her, but he shot Thomas and Marcus an acknowledging glance. “I’m going to put her to bed, stay with her. She’ll be all right. We’re all right.”
Thomas brushed a hand over Rory’s shoulder, brotherly affection. “Check yourself over good. You’ve got some scratches on your arms.”
Shit. The last thing he wanted tonight was an injury to his legs that would require tending. Hopefully he hadn’t hit anything on his topple from the chair.
“I hear you, Mom,” he said, amiable about it. “Stop looking so worried.”
Thomas’s faint smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Tell yourself that. Your hands are shaking, and you look a little pale.”
“You know where we are if you need us,” Marcus added. Even as he put a reassuring hand on Thomas, his glance returned to the cottage, watching after Daralyn.
“It’s good,” Rory told him. He hoped Marcus understood, because he couldn’t explain how he knew that. He just did.
After Rory followed Daralyn into the cottage and closed the door, Marcus and Thomas returned to their own porch. Marcus wasn’t surprised when Thomas took a heavy seat on the front stoop. Marcus sat down next to him, putting a hand on his broad back. Thomas was understandably shaken up, but reassuring him helped Marcus settle down himself.
Daralyn’s feral behavior had been startling, but the big shock had been Rory’s comparative steadiness. Thinking about that put more confidence into the words Marcus spoke to Thomas now.
“He’s okay. They both are.”
Thomas ran a hand over his face. “Fuck, he was right for kidding me about acting like Mom. I was about to demand he take off his pants so I could check him myself.”
“Good luck with that. He’d never strip around me.”
Humor flitted through Thomas’s gaze, but he remained serious. “He’s strong, Marcus, but he’s also vulnerable to infection. Plus a bunch of other stuff when he gets stressed, mentally or physically. Weaker immune system, and his heart and lungs are more at risk, because he’s in a chair.”
“He does the PT regularly,” Marcus reminded him. “Which includes standing cardio. They strap him into that machine that I personally think could convert to some very interesting uses in the off hours. PT room by day, BDSM dungeon by night.”
“Tell Rory that and he’ll never go to PT again.” Thomas sighed. “I know he’s an adult now, and he takes care of himself, does all the things he should to keep himself healthy. Hell, he’s grown up so much. Left behind a lot of the baggage. And out there, with her…who’d have thought he’d turn out to be that mature of a Dom, this soon?” He shot an amused look at Marcus. “Must be the mentor he has.”
Marcus grunted. “Didn’t feel that way when I saw her. It’s different with your own sub. I thought I’d fucked up, given him advice based more on you than on her.”
“No.” Thomas touched his knee, leaned against him, drawing and giving strength at the same time. “Though I don’t like to think about it much, you were a hell of an experienced Master, long before I met you. You knew Rory was going to figure this out. And he did.”
Thomas gazed across the yard to the cottage. The blinds were still drawn, but the lights were on and all was quiet. “When he came out, he was as freaked out as we were, but then something clicked, kicked in, when he reached her.”
Hearing Thomas confirm what he’d seen steadied him further, too. Marcus ran a hand down Thomas’s back, hooked his thumb in the waistband of his jeans.
“And damn if she didn’t respond to it, right in front of us.” Thomas looked at him. “At that moment, I couldn’t have raised my voice to her the way he did to save my life, or hers. I’m not even sure you could have.”
“Hmm. When it comes to Daralyn, I think we both have a serious big brother, little sister complex. Rory doesn’t.” Marcus nudged Thomas. “And don’t be too freaked out by his sudden onset of maturity. He’ll have a snarky, angry moment tomorrow and remind you why he’s your annoying little brother.”
“Even the anger… It’s still there, but he manages it better. It seems more targeted at the people who hurt her. Which is totally understandable.”
“Yeah. A lot of that to go around.” Marcus’s expression clouded, his green eyes thoughtful. Thomas touched his leg, drawing his gaze.
“Hey. You okay?”
“Yeah.” Marcus pulled himself out of his head, gripped Thomas’s shoulder and