Page 75 of D'Vaire or Nothing
“A few kisses first.”
Heathcliff hauled Brinley into his arms the second the mage rose from the sofa. “Definitely kisses.”
∞∞∞
Grinning, Heathcliff watched Brinley get tackled to the ground by the pair of pesky Faedrekans that lived in the backyard of D’Vaire. Heathcliff wasn’t sure what game they were playing, but Brinley was enjoying himself immensely. His laughter filled the air as the door behind Heathcliff opened to reveal Kieran, Scheredin, and the High Kings D’Vaire.
The two wolf sentinels tied to Aleksander and Rafe’s souls raced forward to join Brinley and the Faedrekans.
“I wish I could tell if Brinley is enjoying himself here at D’Vaire,” Kieran teased as he sat on a chaise and pulled Scheredin onto his lap.
“I guess we’ll lose a Duke when Heath moves out,” Aleksander drawled as he tugged Rafe into his arms.
“We probably have too much royalty anyway,” Scheredin added, humor dancing in his green gaze.
“Leave Heath alone,” Rafe said. “Things are going well with you and Brinley?”
Heathcliff’s smile grew wider as he thought about the way they’d cuddled that morning. They’d kept their clothes on andslept through the night. Heathcliff hoped to get his hands on the mage again soon, but he was happy there was more to their burgeoning relationship than desire.
“It’s hard to believe I met him on Friday,” Heathcliff remarked. “Fate looked inside me and brought me someone who fits me.”
“Now do you understand why I pretended to be elven?” Kieran asked. “I didn’t want any obstacles in joining my life with Scher.”
Heathcliff shook his head at his brother. “No, because you were deceitful. If Scher were a less forgiving person, you’d be sitting in an ugly house with me while Filmore continued to hurt his people.”
“Not true. I was given a guest room here at D’Vaire.”
“Scher, you can do better than my brother.”
The dark warlock chuckled. “Nope, he’s my match. Just like Brinley is yours.”
“I didn’t understand myself,” Rafe commented. “My life was a mess. So was I. But still, Sander touched something in me on the day we met. We were texting within hours. I thought the last thing I wanted was a mate. But Sander had already stolen my heart.”
Aleksander kissed Rafe’s blue-streaked black curls. “That was only fair. You stole mine.”
“Honestly, I thought people moved fast in books. Not in reality,” Heathcliff said.
“Well, I’m glad Brinley is sweeping you off your feet,” Kieran responded. “You deserve to be happy, and if it wasn’t moving quickly, you’d be thinking it to death. Have you discussed D’Vaire?”
“I haven’t shied away from discussing anything with Brinley,” Heathcliff informed him. “From the beginning, I made it obvious that I refused to be parted from you. No force on theplanet is keeping Scher from your side, and naturally he needs Brexton too. I didn’t want to spook Brinley completely, so I didn’t mention that I’d be packing up the entire household to move us in with him. Turns out I probably didn’t need to say shit to him. I saw his face in the living room. This place did its magic and sucked him in. He mentioned it to me last night. He needs peace. Fire requires control. This place and me give him serenity.”
“No place better on earth,” Rafe said, grinning as he snuggled into Aleksander’s embrace.
“Where are we talking about?” Brinley asked as he jogged over to join them. His clothes were dusty, but the mage appeared unconcerned as he lifted his chin to offer Heathcliff a kiss. Happy for the opportunity, Heathcliff brushed their lips together and tugged his dirty mage into his arms.
“I was telling my brother how much we’re going to love living in your apartment,” Heathcliff commented with a grin.
Brinley rolled his eyes, and his glance cut to where Kieran sat. “Heath hasn’t even been to my apartment. I already told your brother I’ll move here. And that was before I visited. I love this place.”
“Good, because we’re not letting Heath go,” Aleksander said.
“And Renny has already mentioned to me how exciting is that we’re finally getting a D’Vaire mage,” Scheredin said, referring to the Grand Warlock’s familiar. “We have the Arturuses in our extended family, but none of them carry our name or live here.”
Brinley gasped. “I can be a D’Vaire. Brynewielm Duke-mate Brinley D’Vaire. No more silly Brinley Brimstone. My parents are the worst.”
“I think it rolls off the tongue nicely,” Heathcliff teased. “You should keep it. Or hyphenate.”
Pulling away and heading for the pair of wolves waiting for him at the edge of the deck with their tails swishing through the air, Brinley smiled slyly. His gaze locked with Heathcliff’s. “I’d mention what else rolls off my tongue nicely, but shifters have sensitive hearing, and Heath doesn’t want me discussing certain lovely purple objects in their earshot.”
