Page 29 of The Vampire's Receptionist
Surprisingly, Taron both noticed Dorian’s turmoil and didn’t tease him for it. He threw an arm around Dorian’s shoulders, hugging him lightly.
“You’re alright. I don’t actually think you’ll hurt him. I’m just around as a precaution.”
It was the same thing Ozen said the night before. One by one, his friends were reassuring him that they didn’t see him as a monster. The question was, was it enough after the way they treated him when Dorian first came to after his attack?
Kian decided to take a shower and get dressed before feeding Dorian again. In part because he fully believed he’d need a nap afterward and didn’t think he’d have the energy later, but also because he wanted to try to… relieve some tension beforehand to see if it helped with his reaction to Dorian’s feedings. He tried really hard to think of anything other than silky black hair and that shiver-inducing chuckle, but in the end, it took maybe a few minutes of thinking about the feeling of Dorian feeding from him to actually get him off.
This was bad. Really bad. What were the chances the stupid druid would have answers for them when he came for his visit this morning? He showed up last night but only stayed long enough to make sure Kian wasn’t suffering from the small feedings before leaving. He didn’t have any answers then, nor would Kian have been awake enough to actually hear them at that time.
Dressed in a comfortable sweater and yoga pants, because he wasn’t going anywhere today and wanted to be comfortable, hewas in the middle of drying his hair when he heard a knock at the door. He shut off the blow dryer long enough to call out, “Come in!” before getting back to it. He hated leaving his hair wet.
“Kian?” Dorian’s voice called in question.
“I’m in here,” Kian said, his attention on the mirror and his hair. It took work to keep it looking nice, work he put in every damn morning, only to pull it back into a ponytail because he was too busy to let it get in his face. Maybe he should cut it off to make his life easier. He made a face at the mental image. No, he really didn’t want to do that. He’d put up with the maintenance.
Dorian appeared in the doorway, fully dressed as well in a button-up and slacks, which must have been casual for him with the lack of tie and jacket. Kian was grateful he hadn’t rolled up his sleeves. He would completely ruin the effects of the tension relief in the shower, looking like that.
“Is something wrong?” he asked over the sound of the dryer.
Dorian shook his head quickly. “No, nothing like that.” He hesitated, discomfort etched into his face. Kian shut off the blow dryer to give the man his full attention.
“What is it?”
“I–” He sighed heavily. “I hate to bother you, but I’m supposed to be in a meeting in a little while. I was wondering if we could push the feeding up a little. I would wait until later if I thought I could get away with it, but…”
“But there’s no way I, or any of your friends, would let you get away with that. Sure, that’s fine. When is your meeting?”
“In twenty minutes,” Dorian said, his shoulders slumped in defeat.
“Give me five to finish this. Do you happen to know if I can get someone to forward my work phone to my cell while I’m here? Might as well make myself useful while you’re busy.”
“You shouldn’t push yourself,” Dorian argued.
“Neither should you,” Kian shot back, pointing his comb at the vampire. “If you can work while recovering, so can I. It’s not like my job is that difficult right now. I answer phones and make appointments to meet with you. I can do all that with a notebook and my cell phone without breaking a sweat.”
Dorian’s expression flattened. “I find I don’t enjoy how easily you undermine my decisions. I hurt you yesterday and continue to make demands of you. The least I can do is give you time off to recover.”
“If I felt the need for it, I’d happily accept. But if you make me sit around all day with nothing to do but rest, you’re asking for trouble. I don’t do well with boredom.”
Instead of continuing the argument, Kian turned the blow dryer back on. It was definitely to make the vampire stop talking, and Dorian absolutely noticed if the scowl was anything to go by. Kian was still grinning a few minutes later when he joined Dorian in his room for his next feeding. Why was tormenting the vampire so much fun?
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Taron bounced into the room just as they sat beside each other on the edge of the bed. Already anxious about keeping his reactions from Dorian, Kian felt the discomfort skyrocket when Taron skipped past the spot Ozen had sat in by the door and walked straight up to them.
“What are you doing?” Dorian asked, a layer of exasperation in his tone.
“Helping. I’m supposed to stay close, right?”
Dorian closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Feeling bad for the man, Kian spoke up to redirect Taron.
“Actually, Ozen waits in the hall. As long as the door is open, you can hear if something goes wrong, or set a timer to make sure he doesn’t go too long. You don’t need to watch.”
Lie. Big lie. Ozen stayed in the doorway or sat in a chair by the door, but he was always in the room. Kian was just tired of having an audience, and Taron seemed like he wouldn’t question things too much.
“Oh, shit. Really? My bad. Alright, how long before I should check to make sure things are alright?”
“No longer than five minutes,” Kian insisted. “It shouldn’t take that long, so anything more than that is a red flag that he can’t stop on his own.”
