Page 76 of D'Vaire or Nothing
Heathcliff’s jaw went slack as Brinley jogged off to play with the animals, and the men around him laughed. “He just…he…well.”
“I love your mate, Heath,” Kieran crowed.
Although he hadn’t said those words aloud yet, Heathcliff was quickly realizing that both he and his phoenix adored the spunky mage rolling in the dirt with the beloved D’Vaire animals.
Chapter 7
Thursday rolled around, and Brinley wasn’t happy about it. Since arriving, he’d reveled in how lucky he was to be at D’Vaire. In addition to spending nearly every waking hour with Heathcliff, Brinley was getting to know the other people under the enormous roof. The meals were delicious.
The vibe of the household was calm and peaceful, and Brinley had been happily seduced into every aspect of the High Draconis Court of D’Vaire. There had even been an evening matebond ceremony the previous night thanks to another D’Vaire, who was an elf, meeting their other half at Deck of Cards. It’d been a charming experience, and Brinley had shed a few happy tears.
But nothing had conquered his heart as easily as the phoenix watching him with guarded silver eyes as Brinley stuffed his belongings into a bag. In less than an hour, Brinley needed to be at work. He was on the schedule for the next couple of days, and it was the grand opening of the resort. Hearts bar would likely be crammed with people.
Usually, a thought like that filled Brinley with joy. More people meant being busy, and hopefully tips would roll in so he could add to his savings. But nothing about his life was the same as it had been less than a week ago. Brinley didn’t want toleave Heathcliff. His spirit was already flagging at the thought of how little he’d see the shifter until his next day off, which was Tuesday.
Tears threatened, and Brinley swallowed to dislodge the lump in his throat. Fate was supposed to bring him a mate, but no one had warned him that his other half would capture his soul so fast.
Heathcliff walked to him and lifted Brinley’s chin with his finger. “Are you okay?”
Shaking his head, Brinley collided with Heathcliff and hugged him tight. The phoenix grunted in surprise, but his arms came around Brinley. His wide palms coasted over Brinley’s faded T-shirt, and Brinley softly wept as Heathcliff dropped kisses on his head.
“This is stupid,” Brinley complained, his voice gruff. “We’re adults. We have lives. I shouldn’t be so sad because I have to work. It’s just that I’m going to be so busy and tired. What if I don’t see you until Tuesday?”
“What’s wrong with teleporting here after work?”
Brinley shifted so their eyes met, and he exhaled slowly as the light caught Heathcliff’s gaze and a flash of blue swept through the silver. Heathcliff hid none of his emotions, and there was a wealth of feeling in them. The warmth in Heathcliff’s gaze told Brinley he wasn’t alone in losing his heart.
“I don’t know. We haven’t talked about what happens now,” Brinley said. “I have work. You do whatever it is you do all day. Do you have a job? Or do you wait until someone needs a fancy fire Duke? I have no idea how royalty works.”
Heathcliff chuckled. “I’m at the beck and call of the High Kings, but mostly my services are used to protect the Coven of Warlocks if any of them leave the estate. Or if Kieran needs to travel somewhere. The rest of the time, I do work. As I told you, Kieran is a game designer. Shortly after I moved in, he told methat my blunt honesty could be an asset and suggested I try to work at the company he chose for quality assurance. Although I didn’t know shit about video games, I liked it. Every day I test video games and put together detailed bug reports so they can fix things before the consumer has to deal with them.”
“So, you’ve been on vacation this week?”
“Mates come first. I took a couple of days off so I could be with you while you were here. I’m back at work on Monday. My boss refused to consider letting me return any earlier. Kieran picked a great company.”
Brinley pulled himself together, but panic raced through him. “So, you work days finding errors and I’m at a bar at night. When the fuck are we going to see each other, Heath?”
“Relax, I can pick my hours. We’ll work it out. Do you think I’m willing to allow anything to get in the way of our relationship?” Heathcliff asked. “It hasn’t even been a week, but nothing is more important than you. I thought I wasn’t ready for Fate to match me. But I was wrong. I’ve been waiting for you. Not just anyone, but you. My feisty fire mage. My beast and I want to share our lives with you.”
Brinley reached up to cup Heathcliff’s face in his hands. “It’s wild, and I hated growing up in a house with people who followed their instincts without giving their actions any thought. I told myself I’d squash any of my impetuous urges, but I can’t resist you. No, I’ll be honest. I don’t fucking want to resist you. Maybe I’ve been putting off making decisions about my life because I needed Fate to bring you to me. All I know is that I don’t want anything to come between us. Not a job. Different homes. My fear of fucking up and making an ass of myself in front of all your fancy family members. None of that shit.”
“You haven’t made an ass of yourself. I want the same things as you, Brinley. Move in here. Give up the apartment. It’ll save you money. I don’t want to get in the way of your dreams. Ifyou want to work, go to school, or spend every day rolling in the dirt with the animals outside, I’ll support you.”
“I guess I need to figure out my path.”
“I guess you do.”
“Heath?” Brinley asked, then gently brought their lips together in a sweet kiss.
“Yeah, baby?”
“I want to live at D’Vaire.”
“It’s hard for me to imagine anyone coming to this house and meeting my family and deciding it’s not for them.”
“You’re right,” Brinley said, brushing his thumbs over Heathcliff’s cheekbones. “Your family is incredible. They’ve treated me like I belong here from the second I arrived. I expected to feel awkward. Well, I did when I met the superuses, but that’s because I wound myself up. Not my finest moment.”
“You need to move on. It wasn’t that big of a deal.”
