Page 10 of The Vampire’s Receptionist (Charmed Away Temp Agency #4)

CHAPTER TEN

Kian had barely sat down at his desk when Dorian poked his head out of his office. “Kian? Can I speak with you for a moment?”

He bit back a sigh. He’d hoped the vampire wouldn’t make things awkward by continually bringing up what happened.

That hope seemed to be in vain. Snagging his coffee, he joined Dorian in his office, doing his best to keep his expression neutral.

His eyes narrowed when he took Dorian in.

He’d thought after meeting with his feeder, the vampire would look less run down.

If anything, he was edging close to how he’d looked when they first met.

“Did you not meet with your feeder?”

He was aware he wasn’t supposed to ask, but he ignored that little rule. He’d gone to bat for Dorian with SR. He thought he would put in the effort to take care of himself after their meeting.

Dorian’s cheeks flushed a little at the question, and he didn’t answer right away, gesturing to the chair across from him. “Please sit.”

Confused, he did as asked, sitting across from the man. “What’s going on?”

“I was hoping you could tell me.”

His frown deepened. “Tell you about what?”

The vampire studied him with more suspicion than he had the day before. Kian felt his hackles go up automatically. He didn’t think Dorian was the type to discriminate, but apparently, he was wrong.

“I don’t know what you think I did, but I didn’t do shit. Aside from helping you, which I’m seriously regretting right now.”

That seemed to startle Dorian, and he put his hands up in a calming gesture. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m merely trying to understand.”

“Understand what?” he barked, throwing his hands in the air. For a second, he forgot he was holding his coffee. If it hadn’t been a to-go cup with a lid, he would have drenched himself.

Dorian rubbed his neck awkwardly, his expression embarrassed. “Forgive me. I’m struggling to find the words. I’ve never… fed from anyone with fae blood before. I’m not sure if my reactions to you are unusual or not. I thought perhaps you might be able to give greater insight.”

That made him pause. He knew he reacted weirdly to the blood donation, but he didn't think Dorian did. He never gave any hint that he was as into it as Kian had been.

“I’m not sure it’s appropriate to talk about sex in the office.”

Startled, Dorian’s gaze jerked to his. “What? I’m not– That is–” He looked flustered, and Kian realized their reactions definitely weren’t the same if he was that surprised by his comment. He fought back a grin. Was it wrong that he kind of enjoyed putting that look on the guy’s face?

“Sorry. Ignore that. What were you saying?”

Clearing his throat, Dorian drew in a breath to center himself. Kian fought harder against a laugh. It wasn’t funny. He shouldn’t laugh at the guy for being flustered with his line of questioning.

“You said earlier that you’ve given blood donations before. Has there been any reaction to that from others?”

Well, that was purposely vague. Dorian seemed to be avoiding telling him exactly what was happening to him. Kian chose to answer his questions first. He wasn’t going to force the man to speak up.

“From my end? None. A mild sense of euphoria, which is normal. It doesn’t last long, and I’m healed after a good night’s sleep.”

“And from the vampire?” he asked, more insistent this time.

“Not that I’m aware of.” He waited, but besides the disappointed expression, Dorian wasn’t giving anything away.

“You know, it’d help me if you’d explain what you’re going through.

I was a paramedic, and I spent the last fifty years bouncing around the medical field.

I might be able to help with more information. ”

Surprised, Dorian raised his eyebrows. “That long? But you’re so young.”

He snorted, shaking his head. “You of all people should know better than to guess a supernatural’s age based on looks. I’m a lot older than I appear. My age isn’t important right now, though. I’ve got the experience to help you. Let me.”

Indecision flickered over Dorian’s face for a moment before he relented.

“Alright. To answer your earlier question, I did see my feeder last night. We’ve been contracted together for five years now without issue.

However, last night I found myself feeling a little sick to my stomach beforehand.

I couldn’t finish feeding like I normally would.

” He looked hopefully at Kian. “Has anyone else reacted like that to you before?”

Kian wished he’d have a better answer for the man. He hated telling him no. But aside from his reaction to Dorian, all his blood donations had been incredibly normal. No one had ever contacted him about it, at least.

“Um… Not as far as I know, but as a paramedic, I don't really get to follow through on how patients are doing later on. I can maybe ask around?”

With a resigned sigh, Dorian nodded. “I’d appreciate it. I’ll meet with my feeder again tonight. Perhaps it was a fluke.”

“You’re under a lot of stress. Stress does strange things to supernaturals,” he pointed out.

“I’ll ask around, see if I can find anything out, but I’m not sure it’s got anything to do with my fae side.

I’m not the only fae who’s given blood donations.

It’s rare, but it’s happened before. I’ve never heard of adverse reactions after drinking fae blood. ”

Dorian nodded again, though he didn’t look like he fully believed it had anything to do with stress.

It honestly worried Kian a little. He’d never heard of vampires having adverse reactions to blood, especially not after feeding from him.

He hoped it didn’t have anything to do with him.

He’d been trying to help, not make things worse.

With nothing left to discuss, Kian went back to his desk, doing his best to focus on answering phone calls and checking in with his temps.

So far, only Morgan had had any unpleasant experiences.

He was one of the few humans on staff, though, and a little quicker to feel intimidated in certain situations.

When he had a free moment, he called the man to check in, hoping to catch him on his lunch break.

“Moonfall Pack Security, this is Morgan speaking. How can I direct your call?”

“Hey, Morgan. It’s Kian.”

The customer service tone fell away and Morgan’s voice brightened on the line. “Kian! How are you? I was worried about you yesterday. Did everything turn out okay?”

It was nice that the man cared about his well being, so he took a minute to reassure him. “Everything is fine. I was never in any danger. Honestly, I don’t think you were either. When I released the spell, he stopped himself from even touching me. He would have done the same for you.”

“Oh, well, that’s a relief. That really freaked me out.” He went quiet for a second before speaking again. “I’m sorry for telling Morana. I tried to keep it vague, but she saw right through me. I’m not a great liar.”

Kian huffed, shaking his head. “Well, I guess that’s not a terrible quality to have. Next time, I’m making you swear a vow when I need you to keep a secret, though.”

“That’s fair. So why are you calling? Don’t tell me you need me to come back,” he pleaded.

“No, no,” Kian reassured him quickly. “I was just calling to check in with you. Yesterday was kind of rough, and I didn’t get a chance to check on you after I portaled you out. How are you?”

He heard Morgan let out a breath of relief, and after meeting the asshole werewolf, he understood. The guy gave him a creepy vibe, too.

“I’m alright. A little disappointed that I couldn't get another marketing job. Poppy was working reception for this place, but it’s pretty relaxed here, and the people are nice. It’s better than before.”

“That’s good. I know you want more marketing experience, but I wouldn’t want you to make yourself uncomfortable just to get it. I’ll talk to Morana, see if we can find you more jobs in the field you’re interested in after this whole thing with Spellbound is settled, yeah?”

He didn’t have a lot of say in where people went normally, he was just another employee before now, but he hoped his experience as liaison meant Morana would hear him out.

It wouldn’t be that hard to ask Morgan first if he was interested in the marketing jobs, so long as he wasn’t on schedule for something else.

“Thanks, Kian! That’d be great!”

“No problem.” He heard Dorian’s door open, and his eyes tracked the vampire as he went to the breakroom to get himself another coffee.

It was strange to Kian that he never asked for him to do it.

He was like the CEO of the division, but he still got his own coffee and snacks. It was kind of refreshing, actually.

Dorian’s presence reminded him of his request the day prior, so before he hung up, he asked Morgan if he’d be willing to meet with Dorian so he could apologize.

“I’m not sure…” Morgan said hesitantly.

“I can be there too, if you want. I promise, he’s not dangerous. He was neglecting his health and ignoring the need to feed. Stupid, yes. Dangerous, not so much. He feels genuinely remorseful about it, and he wants to apologize in person if you’ll let him. If not, he’d like to email instead.”

After taking a few minutes to think about it, Morgan eventually agreed. “Alright, we can do that. With you there, though, if you don’t mind. He really freaked me out yesterday.”

“I get that. And I promise, you’ll be safe. Can you text me when you’re free so I can share the information with him?” Hopefully, Dorian could figure out whatever the hell was going on with his feedings that made him feel so ill before meeting with a fragile human.

“Sure. I’ll send you a text. And Kian?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for protecting me. It means a lot. You’re a good friend.”

All the irritation he’d held for Morgan for spilling the beans evaporated, and he felt himself smiling. “You are too, Morgan. I’ll talk to you later. Have a good lunch.”

They hung up just as Dorian came back out of the breakroom, coffee in hand and his eyes locked on the cup. That insane urge to laugh at the vampire bubbled up, and he had to press his lips tightly together to stop himself. The guy seriously loved his coffee.