Page 26 of D’Vaire or Nothing (D’Vaire #44)

I t was undeniably the best day of Brinley’s life. Following a sexy night with Heathcliff, Brinley had woken up much as he had on Saturday morning. Except, instead of teleporting home in shame, the mage had snuggled against Heathcliff and smiled as he waited for the shifter to open his eyes.

Since that auspicious start, they’d spent the day together. They had a leisurely breakfast and burgers for lunch. Their single disagreement had happened prior to Brinley gorging on pancakes, sausage, and bacon at the Deck of Cards buffet. He’d elected to shimmer home to shower and change.

Heathcliff had wanted to bathe together. But a naked wet Heathcliff was far too much temptation for Brinley, and he was trying hard not to focus on his hormones. Which wasn’t easy since Heathcliff was the sexiest man he’d ever met. And Brinley knew how he tasted.

The eager Duke had even tested out his oral skills before they’d fallen asleep, and Brinley didn’t know how anyone could be so skilled at sucking cock without experience, but he had no complaints. He was reaping the rewards of Heathcliff’s eagerness and ingenuity.

However, Brinley wanted more than a good time. What he desired most was Heathcliff’s heart, and he was determined to win it. Brinley supposed it was only fair as he was already losing his own to the gorgeous shifter.

Had they really met just two days ago?

“What are you thinking about?” Heathcliff asked, suspicion ripe in his silver eyes with their flashes of blue.

“You. What color is your phoenix?”

“Blue.”

“Okay, your eyes make sense. They flash blue like flames.”

“Is that really what you were thinking?”

“No, first I was thinking about your dick. Then your mouth. But mostly I was focused on how much I want our relationship to work.”

Heathcliff reached out and took Brinley’s hand as they leisurely strolled through the massive resort.

Brinley had seen more of the hotel and its many amenities in the past couple of hours than he had since being hired a couple of weeks prior.

Delighted with the bit of affection, Brinley stopped walking long enough to kiss Heathcliff’s cheek.

“Don’t worry, Brinley, we’ll make this work.”

Brinley kept thinking about Heathcliff’s past, and he wanted answers.

“I have faith in us too,” Brinley said. “But I want to talk about last night.”

“You sucking me off? Or later when I returned the favor?”

Brinley chuckled. “Before both of those glorious events. I want to learn about your past.”

“What do you want to know?”

“I feel like you’re leaving a lot out,” Brinley remarked. Heathcliff was blunt, and that was Brinley’s preferred method of communication too. “Let’s start at the beginning. Phoenix shifters and their fucked-up traditions.”

“Turns out it’s not all phoenix shifters.

We’ve met the Eldrvalkyria since arriving at the Council, and they never did that shit.

But this group of shifters I’m related to would have an annual tradition.

They’d stab some warrior in the heart. He’d die.

His phoenix would be reborn. Three days later, he was as good as new, if not a bit stupid to go along with such a barbaric rite annually. ”

“You never knew those morons?”

“Nope, my ancestors met them. The Tarinthi elves. Some of them found mates with these idiots. Inevitably, hybrid children were born.”

“Because anyone with elvish blood has to wait to have sex and needs to make up for lost time immediately.”

Heathcliff grinned in a way that had desire curling deliciously in Brinley’s belly. “Especially if they’re with an extremely sexy mage with a talented mouth.”

It was far too much of a temptation for Brinley to resist kissing Heathcliff, so he once again stopped their stroll to brush their lips together.

“Want to grab a drink?” Brinley asked, already leading Heathcliff to the open-air bar near the fancy restaurants. The place had a single occupied table, and Heathcliff waved at the pair.

They grabbed seats, and Brinley opted to order a beer from their server despite the early hour.

He was treating the day as a vacation since he was with Heathcliff, and he didn’t have to work until Thursday.

It would probably cost him a fortune to indulge in a drink at a resort, but Brinley refused to berate himself for that until later.

“Who’s that?” Brinley asked, referring to the couple who’d greeted Heathcliff with smiles. “They look familiar.”

“Vampyr Lord Nikolai Volkov and his mate, Lord James Volkov.”

“Does everyone you know have a title?”

“No, and don’t worry about it, they’re normal people.”

“Okay, okay,” Brinley said, resting a hand over his heart and he assured himself he could handle having a fancy Duke for a mate. After all, it was Heathcliff, and he was definitely far more than a title. “Let’s get back to the morons and the elves.”

“Right. Where were we?”

“Hybrid kids were born.”

“Yeah, they grew up. Some were warriors. They likely volunteered at first to be part of the tradition. Only, their journey was different. They lost their memories. Everything gone in a second. They struggled to regain their health. Six long months of weakness and fatigue. It split the once-happy Tarinthi elves and the shifters. Some elves wanted it to stop. Others championed the ancient practice. Eventually, it ended as you would expect. The Tarinthi packed up and abandoned the shifters.”

“Good for them. I fucking love the Tarinthi.”

“But there were hybrids no longer welcomed by the phoenixes. They didn’t want to be elves,” Heathcliff explained.

“They wanted to be shifters. A man named Filmore defended their cause. He convinced them not to follow the Tarinthi. The phoenixes didn’t want them either, but they could be their own people.

The Tarinthfenix. Through the centuries, Filmore did away with every elven custom.

Which is why I don’t have long hair, wear a tunic, forgo underwear, or do anything else elven.

To make the process of dying more consumable for the masses, Filmore created a tea the followers could drink that would render them unconscious as their phoenix burned away the elf. ”

“Well, he’s a fucker.”

“And I was one of his warriors. My parents loved that. Trusted me. Wanted me to make them proud. Maybe I wanted it too. I don’t know.

I don’t remember. What I recall is being terrified.

So fucking scared. I didn’t even know my name.

I was too weak to do anything for myself.

At night, I would cry. Cry copious tears and wish I could be whole.

And then there was Kieran. He was so fucking pissed at me, and at first I didn’t know why.

He wanted me to remember things I couldn’t. And I was a different person.”

Brinley blew out a slow breath to keep his fire from escaping. The thought of Heathcliff in pain and petrified made him want to set the entire planet ablaze.

“How were you different?”

“I used to be sunny. Talkative. Now I’m quiet.

I prefer books to people. I’m blunt. I sugarcoat nothing.

It was too sudden and jarring for Kieran, who was my best friend.

He couldn’t handle it. Kieran started protesting each year during our three-day celebration that culminated in someone being volunteered to die.

They switched to that because Filmore supposedly wanted the burden shared among the tribe, but I think it was because the warriors were sick of being the lone people to do it. ”

“Okay, help me understand this. Filmore the fucker didn’t mind that Kieran was protesting?”

“Of course he cared, but he couldn’t do shit.

My brother is wickedly smart, and he learned how to program computer games.

We didn’t have land or money. But Kieran had wealth coming in regularly.

Kieran gave nearly everything to the tribe to try to help them.

They supported Kieran because he put food on their tables.

Filmore didn’t do anything but wag his dick through the village. ”

“Your brother programs video games?” Brinley asked, amazed. “I wonder if I’ve played any of them.”

“If you play a lot, then probably. He’s prolific. But he met Scheredin. Stupid man pretended to be an elf to expedite his mating ceremony, which nearly cost him his matebond. Pissed me off. You don’t lie to your mate.”

“To be fair, you do have adorable little pointed ears.”

“Adorable?”

“Yep, adorable.” Brinley reached out and ran a finger down one of those pretty ears. A heartbeat later, his mouth fell open. “Oh, shit.”

“What?”

“Pointed ears,” Brinley squeaked. His head fell forward, and he wanted to cry. “Your brother has earrings and a painted cheek. The second hoop. We aren’t getting it, are we? Everyone is going to know for eternity how obsessed I am with your big purple dick.”

Heathcliff laughed. The sound was so vibrant, Brinley glanced at him and scowled. How dare he be happy about this disaster?

“Brinley. Baby. You need to have intercourse. As long as I don’t fuck you or you don’t fuck me, we’ll get the second hoop.”

Brinley tried not to whimper at the thought of waiting to ride Heathcliff’s gorgeous cock, but his mood brightened somewhat at the thought of not outing their inability to control their hormones to everyone for eternity.

“I’ve never topped,” Brinley whispered as he toyed with his beer instead of meeting Heathcliff’s lovely silver gaze.

“That’s okay, I don’t really want to bottom. I mentioned it because I need to be fair and not discount anything, but in the past two days, all I’ve envisioned is sliding into you.”

Brinley made a wild gesture between his head and Heathcliff’s as a rush of relief filled him.

“You and me. Same wavelength. Okay, okay. But no sex chatter. No thinking about your beautiful dick. We gotta talk more about fucking Filmore. Kieran meets Scheredin. You’re pissed at him.

You’ve already drank this shit twice by now? ”

“Yeah, and I thought I didn’t have to worry about Kieran.

There were rumblings each year because Filmore hated him and his protests, but no one was going to volunteer him.

If Kieran lost his memories, the games would stop and so would the money.

But Kieran left. Went to D’Vaire to be with Scheredin.

That didn’t stop him from sending cash because that’s how Kieran is.

But Filmore had the advantage of being there daily.

He loved fucking propaganda, and people remained loyal to him despite how shitty he was as a leader.

For weeks, Filmore convinced everyone the money would stop.

Kieran was gone, and he’d tire of giving away his income.

The tide was starting to turn by the time the next annual celebration rolled around. ”

Brinley drank deeply, swallowed, and set his beer on the table.

He hated what he was learning but was also morbidly fascinated.

As long as he kept reminding himself that Heathcliff would never have to worry about poisons or losing his memory again, Brinley could keep his fire contained. “But Kieran was long gone.”

“And I told the dipshit to stay away, but he refused. Kieran returned by himself for the ceremony. I nearly killed him myself. But instead, I watched as my parents and siblings helped hold Kieran down to force him to drink poisonous tea.”

“Those fuckers.”

“I hadn’t begun to forgive them for what they did to me, but the final straw was them hurting Kieran.

As soon as Kieran was unconscious, I called Scheredin.

It took some serious work, but they cured him and invented an antidote.

The sentinels tracked Filmore and found him to ensure he paid for his actions, and they helped everyone else.

My family is part of the Council now, but I don’t speak to them.

So, I understand why you’ve separated yourself from your blood relatives too. ”

“Sometimes people suck.”

“Yes, they do.”

“I’m glad you got away,” Brinley said, kissing Heathcliff’s cheek. “I’m happy you stayed at D’Vaire.”

“They didn’t actually give me any choice. That was the best thing that ever happened to me. I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but I can’t leave. D’Vaire is more than family. More than a place. It’s part of my soul. Like my phoenix. Like you are now.”

“And you thought I’d ask you to come live in my shitty small apartment? Please .”

“So, you’ll come to D’Vaire?”

“Like, when?”

“What’s your schedule this week? You need to meet everyone. We can start with the D’Vaires who live in Arizona. It’ll be easier that way than to bombard you with everyone here at the resort.”

“I’m off until Thursday, Heath, and I’d love to meet your family. The real ones. The ones who love you unconditionally and would never dream about forcing a shitty poison down your throat.”

“I hope we can work it out so you’re willing to someday call D’Vaire home.”

“Your life scares me. At least all the fancy people in it,” Brinley confided.

“But I want to be with you, Heath. I do. We’ll figure it out.

My future isn’t decided yet. I have a job.

A crappy apartment and some clothes. That’s it.

Everything else I’ve earned is in savings, waiting for me to figure out my life.

Maybe Fate thinks I’ve procrastinated long enough. ”

“I’m here to help you however you want. Hold your hand while fancy people are nice to you or to talk through your choices. I want you to be happy. Not just run off somewhere to be with your mate.”

Overcome with affection and gratitude, Brinley scooted closer to Heathcliff on the little sofa at their table and rested his head on his shoulder. “I really like you, Heath.”

Heathcliff took his hand and laced their fingers. Then he brought their arms up and pressed his lips to Brinley’s skin. “I really like you too. So does my phoenix.”

“I can’t wait to meet him. Fire and fire. Even though the old Magus Superus was a fucking moron, flames can work together sometimes.”

“The best of them can.”

Brinley agreed. Growing convinced that Fate had offered him the finest of mates, he thanked her for allowing him to meet the wonderful shifter who was stealing his heart.