Page 55 of The Vampire's Receptionist
Kian pointed at Dorian. “His feeder called him old as dirt. We’re just going to get a little payback.”
Dorian’s face twitched against a scowl. While what Kian said was true, it wasn’t the whole truth. Harlem used to be his feeder. He wasn’t anymore. And Dorian wasn’t sure he wanted to go back to their arrangement. Not after he’d fed from Kian. The pleasure shared between the two of them was exhilarating, and he craved more every time he fed from Kian.
That might be part of the problem, though. He wasn’t sure how he would feel after he was cured. And until he could better feel out Kian, he didn’t want to mention it. He decided to keep his opinions to himself, watching and listening as Morgan and Kian came up with ideas to get back at Harlem. He only had to step in twice and steer them in another direction. Nothing that Kian suggested was at all dangerous or threatening, it was all in good fun, but Harlem was easily embarrassed and he didn’t want to upset the poor man. A little teasing was fine, and he liked the idea of drawing in the new boyfriend in some way since Harlem was being so protective of the man, but he didn't need to push him too far. He mostly went along with the pranks because it made Kian happy.
As their plates were taken away, and Dorian offered his credit card to the waitress to pay for the meal, Morgan sighed.
“Back to the grind, I guess. Here’s hoping my next assignment doesn’t have any pushy assholes working there.”
Dorian frowned, but neither seemed interested in explaining. Kian put a hand on top of Morgan’s, patting it supportively.
“You’ll find something good, I’m sure.”
Morgan peeked over at Dorian, batting his eyelashes. “No chance you’re looking for more help, right? I wouldn’t say no to earning more fancy chocolate.”
Dorian chuckled, shaking his head. “Unfortunately not. We requested enough temps to cover the basics. My office doesn’t need more than someone at reception to cover the phones. And Kian does a lovely job on his own.”
He looked at Kian, expecting the man to snark about how Dorian refused to let him do more than what was requested of him when he was hired. He often did when Dorian left his office to get his own coffee or grab something from the printer. But when he turned to face Kian, he was scowling, and the look was a lot darker than Dorian expected.
“Well, that sucks. Does your boyfriend get spoiled like that? Or is that position open for applications?” Morgan continued. His flirting wasn’t something Dorian was unused to. There were some people who enjoyed being spoiled, and when he showed himself to be the type to spoil the people who were important to him, they often acted that way in hopes of gaining more of his attention. He always politely declined. But he was busy looking at Kian. The more Morgan flirted, the more annoyed Kian got.
He wasn’t sure what overcame him, but he responded before he could think it through, offering Morgan a kind smile. “I’m seeing someone, I’m afraid.”
Kian sucked in a breath. Bumping Kian’s foot with his own, he flashed him a small smirk before giving his attention back to Morgan. Kian hadn’t yet agreed to make what they were doing public. Dorian wasn’t even sure if he considered it a relationship. He changed the subject any time Dorian hinted at one. Dorian wanted a relationship, but he understood Kian might want to wait until things were clearer. They still had a lot to figure out with his health first before making any big decisions.
For now, he was content with letting Kian know that while they were spending time together, he wouldn’t be seeing anyone else. He wasn’t going to make it obvious to Morgan if that wasn’t what Kian wanted. He did however, watch the gorgeous man out of the corner of his eye, enjoying the flush in his cheeks.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Kian’s mind and heart were at war for the rest of the afternoon. A part of him wanted to argue with Dorian. From the way he spoke, it sounded like he believed they were in a relationship. That was not the case. They were fooling around while Kian was responsible for feeding Dorian. He didn’t want to admit to himself that he was jealous when Morgan started flirting. He was just teasing, Morgan wasn’t that forward usually, but it still pissed Kian off. He almost vibrated with the need to stake a claim.
The conversation replayed in his mind on a loop, and by the time the day was done, the jealousy was so intense, he forgot completely that he’d intended to sit down and discuss with Dorian the limits of their relationship. At the restaurant, it sounded like Dorian was saying they were in a relationship and he had wanted to set things straight. He marched straight to Dorian’s office the moment the clock struck five p.m., not bothering to knock as he pushed the door open.
Dorian was hard at work, reading through a contract Kian had brought him from legal earlier that day. He looked surprised to see Kian but not unhappy. That soft smile made Kian’sstomach tighten, and just the thought of Dorian sharing it with someone else compounded the jealousy by a lot.
“You can either drive us to my place, or I’ll portal us. But we need to go. Now.”
Dorian’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, but Kian wasn’t in the mood to wait. He needed this man in his bed. He needed to mark that pretty golden skin so that everyone would know he was satisfied and well taken care of. He needed to not be standing around in Dorian’s office debating this.
“Kian, I’m not–”
“I’m your feeder, Dorian. I get to decide when we have our sessions. And I’m not going to let you overwork yourself and skip meals again. So pick. Car or portal.”
The poor vampire looked disgruntled, but he relented when Kian’s expression never wavered. “Car. I don’t want you to overwork yourself right before having to feed me. Have you checked in with Doctor Chapman recently?”
Kian waved that away, coming around the desk and physically pulling Dorian out of his chair. He was taking way too long, and Kian felt fine. He wasn’t going to put himself on that stupid doctor’s radar if he didn’t have to. If the doctor was too busy to check on him, he only saw that as a good thing.
He tapped his foot impatiently as Dorian grabbed his things and ignored all the questioning looks Dorian kept giving him. He was about ready to ignore Dorian’s request for a car when the vampire finally gestured for him to leave the office and followed behind him. Still stewing in his irritation, he said nothing as they waited for the elevator and rode it to the first floor. He started grumbling when the elevator stopped more than once to pick up more passengers, and his fingers flexed with the urge to open a portal. Why would people choose to wait this long when they could just open a portal home?
He bit back a growl when Taron waved at them in the lobby, hoping beyond all measure that Dorian didn’t stop and chat. It looked like Taron wouldn’t be deterred without talking to them, and Kian was ready to storm off, but he was stopped by Dorian’s hand around his elbow.
“Hello, Taron,” Dorian greeted politely. “I’m afraid we have somewhere to be right now. Can we catch up later?”
Taron slowed, his head tipped curiously as he glanced between them. “Uh, sure. Just wanted to invite you to Tony’s party. It’s this weekend.”
Dorian dipped his chin in acknowledgement. “Send me a text with the information. We’ll be there.”
Kian wasn’t sure if he was annoyed that Dorian was making the decision for him, or pleased that he just assumed they’d go together. It only made his frustration worse, and he was grateful when Dorian started moving again, leading him outside.
