Page 23 of D’Vaire or Nothing (D’Vaire #44)

B rynewielm Duke Heathcliff D’Vairefenix walked out of the King of Clubs restaurant hours after arriving at the beautiful resort aptly named Deck of Cards. He wondered if his stomach had ever been so full.

“That was delicious,” said Heathcliff’s beloved brother, Kieran D’Vairefenix. He took the hand of his dark warlock mate, Scheredin D’Vaire.

“I ate so much,” remarked Scheredin’s familiar, Brexton. “But I have no regrets.”

“Me either,” added Jena, the familiar of Scheredin’s sister.

Kieran’s silver eyes that occasionally flashed a soft purple met Heathcliff’s. “So, where are we headed now?”

With a shrug, Heathcliff stuck his hands in his pockets. “I don’t know.”

If Heathcliff was being honest, he’d assumed his dinner companions would suggest something lively to do in the resort.

That would give Heathcliff the perfect opportunity to feign tiredness so he could sneak upstairs to read the latest mystery by his favorite author, which had been released that morning.

Heathcliff loved books and had waited impatiently for months for the next installment in the series he adored.

“I think from the way Heath isn’t making eye contact with anyone that he definitely has something planned,” Scheredin commented as he watched Heathcliff with his inquisitive green gaze.

“New book,” Kieran said with a smirk. “I’d bet you anything he has something exciting to read and wants to ditch us.”

Brexton gasped dramatically. “Ditch us? But we’re your family, Heath. We’re here in beautiful, vivacious Las Vegas together to celebrate this incredible resort our beloved Emperors have painstakingly worked on for probably years. And you want to escape to your room to read a book?”

Since Heathcliff refused to be anything but blunt and honest, he nodded. “Yes.”

“Usually, we can force him to stay with us to protect us, but the resort is family only,” Jena remarked with a purse of her lips as she absentmindedly braided the end of her thick ponytail. “Somehow, the Grand Duke is allowing us to walk around wherever we want without Dukes or sentinels.”

“Didn’t stop him from following our High Kings around, but whatever. As for Heath, we’ll have to find something to do that will interest my brother,” Kieran told their companions.

“My book interests me,” Heathcliff muttered.

“What if we make you a deal?” Scheredin asked. “I can appreciate the lure of a good book, so I don’t blame you for wanting to go read it. But we want to hang out with you too. How about we go do something together for one hour, then we’ll let you go upstairs to the suite?”

Heathcliff loved his found family and was grateful they’d decided to keep him years ago after his former tribe had forced poison down Kieran’s throat.

Desperate to save Kieran from the torment Heathcliff had suffered through twice when his parents and other siblings had volunteered him to go through the experience, the Brynewielm Duke had called Scheredin.

It had changed his life forever in the best ways possible.

“One hour. No more. No less,” Heathcliff stated firmly. “Where are we going?”

Kieran took Scheredin’s hand. “Let’s keep it chill and calm the way Heath likes it. How about we head to Hearts bar and get a drink?”

“I’m probably going to have to jump around to make some room for a beverage, but I’m game,” Jena responded.

“I’m pretty positive that’s not how digestion works,” Heathcliff told the familiar as they left the restaurant behind them to head to the Hearts bar they’d passed earlier on their way through the resort.

“Maybe not for elf-phoenix hybrids like your biological people, but I’m a warlock familiar. Totally summoned from magic,” Jena replied.

Brexton patted her shoulder. “Jena, I’m a familiar too, and I’m with Heath. Jumping won’t help you.”

“Walking can aid you in passing gas to make you more comfortable as you digest,” Scheredin commented.

“Why do you know that?” Heathcliff asked.

Scheredin shrugged, and it made the chunk of his black hair—which refused to do anything but stick straight up—bounce. “I’m not sure where I learned it. Maybe it’s not even true, but it sounds better than jumping around. I think if I did that right now, I’d throw up.”

“ Eww ,” Jena said. “I don’t want to make room like that.”

“No one else wants you to either, especially since some poor soul is going to have to clean that up,” Heathcliff drawled.

“We always have the weirdest fucking conversations,” Brexton commented.

Moving ahead of his family so he could open the tall door designed to look like an ace of hearts, Heathcliff smiled. “We’re D’Vaires. If we aren’t weird, we’ll get kicked out of the mansion.”

“That’s definitely not how that works,” Scheredin muttered.

Laughing, Heathcliff waited for everyone to walk into the bar.

His chuckles died the second he followed them inside.

Thanks to his elven ancestors, he’d lacked sexuality until that moment.

To Heathcliff’s horror, his cock tented his trousers, and the sharp spicy scent of pink peppercorns consumed his senses.

Somewhere in the bar was his mate. Desperate to find him or her, Heathcliff looked around.

His gaze unerringly landed on a man with shocked blue eyes and brown hair glowing a little red in the bar’s moody lighting.

Heathcliff’s phoenix screeched with delight and a desire to know everything about the ignis mage staring at them.

“Heath, what’s wrong?” Kieran asked.

Too busy staring at the man, Heathcliff barely heard his brother’s question. His mate was in dark pants paired with a black-and-white shirt with giant red hearts down the right side.

“Wrong?” Heathcliff repeated dumbly as he edged farther toward the mage.

Although he wanted to run to the man Fate had given him, Heathcliff needed his body to calm first. The last thing he wanted to do was point his erection at his other half as they spoke.

It was mortifying to have no control over his hormones, but Heathcliff understood the overwhelming attraction.

The sorcerer was pretty with his nearly pouty lips and the slight upturn of his nose. He’d enhanced his dark lashes and added a bit of liner to give his eyes a smoky look that suited a man born to manipulate fire.

“Heathcliff, why the fuck are you still standing near the door? What’s wrong?” Kieran demanded.

With some blood finally returning to his brain, Heathcliff blinked heavily and glanced briefly at a concerned Kieran.

“Ignis mage,” Heathcliff said. “Do you see him?”

“Tall hot guy with blue eyes?” Scheredin asked.

“Tall is relative, I guess,” Kieran murmured.

“Yeah, yeah,” Brexton retorted. “Our people are short. So, I’d guess the mage is maybe eight or nine inches over five feet. Tall to us. Not to the towering phoenix shifters with us. Anyway, what about the mage, Heath?”

“He’s my mate,” Heathcliff answered, though the reality of the situation was far from settling in.

Kieran cheered and the other three clapped, which drew the attention of everyone in the bar. The guests were family, so questions would be asked later, but Heathcliff didn’t care. His lone concern was learning more about the mage.

“Let’s go introduce ourselves,” Scheredin insisted as he led the charge toward the startled sorcerer with Kieran in tow.

To spare the man from being interrogated, Heathcliff followed his family, and his phoenix grew calmer the closer he stepped to the ignis mage.

As astonishing and frightening as it was to find the other half of his soul, his beast’s instincts were already screaming for him to claim the man with a bite.

“Hi, I’m Scher, what’s your name?” Scheredin asked.

The ignis mage swallowed thickly and kept his blue gaze locked on Heathcliff’s face. “Hi. Yes, hello. Um, my name is Brinley.”

Heathcliff was desperate to touch him, so he stuck his hand out to shake. “Hi, Brinley. I’m Heath.”

“Brynewielm Duke Heathcliff D’Vairefenix,” Kieran muttered.

“Oh, nice to meet you, Your Grace,” Brinley said as he slid his elegant hand into Heathcliff’s. The touch of his mate soothed Heathcliff, and his anxiety dropped by several notches as he smiled at Brinley. The ignis mage offered him an enchanting grin.

It sucked to pull his arm away, but it would’ve been weirder to hold on to Brinley forever, despite Heathcliff’s phoenix begging him to do just that.

Heathcliff introduced the rest of their group, and Brinley greeted them, but his captivating gaze kept returning to Heathcliff. He’d take that as an excellent sign.

“I know you’re working now, but maybe we could talk later?” Heathcliff asked, almost pissed at himself for nearly rushing upstairs to read a book. If Scheredin hadn’t talked him into staying out for an hour, he would’ve missed meeting Brinley.

“I’d like that very much, Your Grace,” Brinley said, pulling out his phone and giving Heathcliff his number.

“Please call me Heath.”

Brinley cocked his head. “Aren’t you going to give me your number?”

“Yeah, sorry, I swear I’m usually not scatterbrained, but I’m overwhelmed. I wasn’t expecting to meet you.”

“It definitely hasn’t sunk in for me that I’m standing here talking to my mate right now.”

“I nearly missed you,” Heathcliff confided, then gave Brinley his number.

“Yeah, my brother is desperate to read a new book and wanted to ditch us,” Kieran said.

“I can handle this on my own, thank you,” Heathcliff told Kieran.

His younger brother grinned. “You almost forgot to give him your number.”

“Do you have any siblings, Brinley?” Heathcliff asked.

“Technically, yes,” Brinley remarked. “But we haven’t talked in years.”

“Is it possible you’re in the market for a new brother?” Heathcliff asked. “I have one I’m trying to get off my hands. Goes by the name Kieran. Tall, annoying. But he can shift into a fiery phoenix, and he does come with a warlock and his familiar.”

Excitement raced across Brinley’s arresting features. “Heath, you’re a phoenix shifter? That’s incredible.”

“I think you’re missing the point here, Brinley. Am I being adopted by you or not?” Kieran asked.

“Sorry, my apartment is way too small for three more people. I’m just going to hang out with Heath if that’s okay with you.”

Delighted with Brinley’s teasing, Heath pocketed his phone and smiled. “Call me after your shift?”

“Absolutely.”

“Brinley, is there a problem with our guests?” a woman asked as she bustled over to Brinley’s side.

“No, we were being rude and monopolizing his time to ask him a bunch of questions about the resort,” Kieran said. “But thankfully, His Grace told us to stop bothering Brinley so he could get back to work. Can we seat ourselves at a table?”

The woman’s gaze landed on the shiny gold-and-silver ring of rank stamped with the D’Vaire crest on Heathcliff’s hand, and she smiled.

“Welcome to Hearts, Your Grace,” she said.

“You and your companions are welcome to have a seat wherever you want. If I could make a suggestion, I’d grab that one along the wall.

It’s in Brinley’s section, and I’m sure he’s happy to continue to answer whatever questions you have about our incredible new resort. ”

“Thank you, I believe we’ll do that,” Heathcliff replied. They darted to the table and sat. “Get a drink, then we’re getting out of here. Brinley doesn’t need us hanging out and making him nervous on the first damn night this resort is open.”

“Tell your phoenix to settle down,” Kieran suggested. “One beer. We’ll drink it fast. None of us want to make Brinley uncomfortable. Plus, we have to go over your plans for later. What are you going to say? What will you ask him?”

Heathcliff offered his brother a sly grin as he thought of the mistakes Kieran had made at the start of his relationship with Scheredin.

It was impossible to resist the temptation of teasing his brother.

“I was thinking of wearing something like a long elvish tunic and pants, giving him the name I use when I play video games, and insisting we bind our souls in the next few days despite being a phoenix who grew up without a single elven custom.”

Scheredin laughed so hard he snorted. “Kier, he’s right. You’re the worst person to give advice on how to start a relationship. I wanted to kick your ass.”

“But you’re a forgiving warlock who gave me a second chance. I did everything right after that,” Kieran insisted.

“Except you lied about returning for a ceremony that nearly robbed you of your memory, and the only reason you were cured was because as soon as you were unconscious, I called Scher,” Heathcliff said.

“Suddenly, I feel sorry for Brinley,” Kieran groused as he slumped in his seat.

“The lesson to be learned here is that mistakes will be made, but in the end, Fate almost always gets it right,” Brexton insisted. “Kieran and Scher are happy. So are the other couples in our family.”

“I haven’t thought much about finding my other half,” Heathcliff confided.

“No real reason for that. I was waiting for Fate. Strange as it may sound, I feel ready. I just met him. But I’m eager to make this work.

” A phoenix trilled happily in his head.

Man and beast were united in their new goal of building a relationship with Brinley.

“Good,” Kieran replied. “You deserve to be with someone who loves you unconditionally. I already know you’ll give that back. You’re honorable, kind, and caring. In all seriousness, I’m here for you. Whatever you need, ask us. We want you and Brinley to succeed.”

“Great, now shut up because he’s on his way toward us to take our orders.”

“Hey,” Brinley said when he reached their table.

“We want beers. Centaurian Brew. I’ll drag these fools out of here the second they’ve guzzled them down so we can get out of your hair,” Heathcliff stated firmly.

Brinley laughed. “Okay, I’ll bring those right over. Go upstairs, read a few chapters of your book, and I’ll call you in a few hours.”

“ Aww , he remembered you wanted to read a book,” Jena commented, leaning her head on Brexton’s shoulder. “That’s so cute.”

“We were talking to him, like, two minutes ago. It’s not that surprising that he remembered,” Kieran remarked, but he was smiling.

“Be nice,” Scheredin chided his other half. “I think it’s awesomesauce.”

“I’m probably too excited and nervous to read though,” Heathcliff responded. The truth was, he wasn’t sure how he was going to relax knowing that in a few hours he’d be on the phone with Brinley. As far as Heathcliff was concerned, time couldn’t move fast enough.