Page 16 of Taken By The Vampire King

I nodded at the customer’s back as he walked away. “You done this kind of thing before, Benedict?” I didn’t want to sound too friendly or welcoming. I was doing all this shit under protest. I literally didn’t have a choice.

“I guess you could say that.” He nodded. “I’ve amassed a lot of experience in a lot of different areas over the years, and bar keeping is just one of my many talents.”

“Jeez. With yourself around, you certainly don’t need a fan club,” I muttered, then blushed when he seemed to pick up my quiet words and laughed.

“Some free advice for you,” he replied. “Be your own biggest fan.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah. Thanks.”

“All the best bartenders give advice.” He glanced at where Pierre and Harry still had Dad between them. “They look like good guys.”

“Yeah, they’re great.” I started to relax. They’d keep Benedict under control for me. “Regulars, too. Come and meet them.”

Benedict put a glass he’d been wiping back in the rack above the bar and followed me toward Harry and Pierre’s booth. It had gotten to the stage where I could’ve just labelled it; no one else ever sat there.

“Hey, cher.” Harry’s eyes crinkled around the corners as he smiled, and I grinned back.

“Hi, Harry, just wanted to introduce you to Benedict. He’ll be managing the bar while I…”

“She’s going on vacation,” Dad interjected, and Benedict frowned slightly, just a quick tug at the center of his eyebrows before his expression smoothed out again. Probably so fleeting that no one else even saw it.

Pierre cocked his head, his gaze quizzical. “Vacation?” He and his brother knew enough about my business to be aware that I couldn’t possibly afford time away, never mind an actual trip somewhere.

“Mysterious benefactor. She’s a lucky girl, my Leia.” Dad grinned broadly like he had something to be proud of, and this time Harry did frown.

I stopped looking at him and focused on Pierre instead. I didn’t want to talk to Dad. He’d gambled me away, and now he seemed pleased with himself over it. “I’ll be gone for a month, so Benedict will be managing The Pour House while I’m away.”

Pierre nodded. “Sounds like a good plan.” He cast some side-eye toward Dad.

“Well, anything you need, Benedict.” Harry half-rose and extended his hand to Benedict. “Anyone helping Leia out earns our help in return.”

Benedict nodded as he clasped Harry’s palm. “Just Ben is fine, and thank you. I’ll be sure to let you know if I think of anything.” Then he nodded toward Dad. “You’ll be collected tomorrow to start your own vacation.”

“My vacation?” Dad’s eyes widened. “That’s not something I agreed to.”

“Perhaps not.” Benedict flattened his lips and the corners of his mouth dipped. “But Nic was pretty insistent. You’ve been booked for a month’s rehabilitation therapy, and you’ll be assessed again at the end of the month.”

Nic. I couldn’t imagine referring to Nicolas Dupont so informally, but the idea teased a thrill of excitement through me. I quickly squashed it, though. I needed to get through this month without memories of the man’s lips and tongue. And his hands. Fuck, his hands as they’d moved heat over my skin. I’d wanted him to touch me again. Anywhere. Everywhere. But that wasn’t going to help me.

“You’d look churlish and ungrateful to refuse help, Jean,” Harry cautioned, his expression stony as he watched Dad glare at no one in particular.

Benedict shrugged, but the movement was tight. “I guess change is hard. I’d advise that turning up there with a hangover might not look great, though.”

“We’ve got him, and we’ll make sure he doesn’t lose himself in a bottle tonight,” Pierre said. Then he looked at me. “You go and enjoy your time. Don’t worry about a thing.”

I nodded, gratitude warming me that these men cared enough to help. Maybe not Benedict—I didn’t know him—but I couldn’t have gotten this far without Harry and Pierre at my back, watching over me.

Benedict turned to me. “I think you should go home and pack.” The gentleness in his eyes made it more of a suggestion and less of an instruction, but it was still a statement that didn’t have no as an answer.

“That won’t take long.” I answered with a hair flip and an annoying nervous giggle that slipped out without my permission. I didn’t have a great deal worth taking anywhere, especially given I didn’t entirely know what was expected of me. Anxiety prickled up my cheeks. If Dupont expected ballgowns and evening dresses, he’d called in the wrong contract.

“Good luck.” Dad raised his glass in my direction, his eyes gleaming a little too brightly.

“Cut him off now,” I said quietly, and Benedict and Harry nodded.

“We’ll make sure he gets to where he needs to be,” Harry said, and I nodded before turning to the door.

Every step across the bar was one I had to think about. There were nights when I hadn’t wanted to leave because it meant returning home to another place that hemorrhaged money faster than I could earn it. But today I didn’t want to leave because I was scared of the unknown and what I would find there.

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