by Kell Amber
The butler stared at him for a long moment. Declan’s eyes were the barometer of his soul. Light green when happy, dark green when sad, and an uncertain hazel when upset. Phoenix hated the hazel, the color facing him right then.
“I think Master Lorrie might be the one you owe the apology to,” Declan reproved.
“It’s all right, Declan. I was baiting him.” Lorrie climbed to his feet with a rueful grin.
Declan raked a hand through his sunshine gold hair. He kept it cut in neat, even layers that always made Phoenix long to ruffle it. Declan debauched would be quite the sight. Not for the first time he wondered what his butler would look like naked and in his bed, but he refused to upset his household by making a pass at the only person keeping his world together.
“Please refrain from getting yourself killed,” Declan scolded Lorrie before turning on the heel of one highly polished shoe and walking back out the door.
Phoenix glared at his friend. “You got me into trouble. My coffee will probably be cold when I wake up.” He hated it when Declan was upset with him. Instead of the smooth operation of a happy Declan, the entire household suffered.
Lorrie laughed. “I can’t believe you let that human rule your house with an iron fist.”
Phoenix shrugged. “Declan keeps things in perfect order. That’s an irreplaceable skill. I won’t have him worried about whether a visiting vampire is going to bite him. He’s off limits and that’s final.”
Lorrie picked himself up off the floor. “Does he ever leave the house?”
“Of course.” Phoenix searched his mind. “Wednesdays. Every Wednesday, he has off.”
“Where does he go?” Lorrie asked, his eyes lit with curiosity.
“Why the hell do you care? Stop speculating about my butler. In fact, go home. We’ll work tomorrow.” Phoenix didn’t like Lorrie’s new interest in Declan. No one should be thinking of his servant—at all. Maybe he should stop inviting people to his house, it only encouraged them to think Declan would be available. Other vampires became jealous when they saw how efficient Phoenix’s butler ran his household.
For the first time in centuries, his good friend rubbed Phoenix’s nerves completely raw. Not to mention the next day was Wednesday, the worst day of the week. He didn’t care if Frank, the under butler, did a decent job. He wasn’t Declan. Declan added a certain panache to everything. He didn’t only bring Phoenix’s coffee but positioned it at the perfect angle with the exact amount of blood he liked.
Lorrie scowled. “Tomorrow is Wednesday, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe we should start having Wednesdays off. Frank never gets my drink right,” Lorrie mused.
Phoenix laughed. “We don’t get days off. You can’t oversee the behavior of a coven if you’re not available when they need you.”
Lorrie gave a long sigh. “Fine. But I think giving the butler a day off is highly overrated.”
“Me too. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As Phoenix sat there watching the fire, Declan arrived with a familiar tray. Phoenix watched as the butler set down the serving platter. A silver coffee pot and a plate of his favorite cookies rested on top.
“I thought you were off for the evening. By the way, how did you know I was strangling Lorrie?”
Declan smiled. Phoenix paused in reaching for his cup to admire the unusual sight. Sometimes he forgot his stiff and precise butler was still in his early twenties. He ruthlessly pushed that information to the back of his brain where it belonged.
“You were making so much noise I figured I’d best save Master Lorrie,” Declan explained.
Phoenix laughed. “And how did you know it wasn’t me being injured.”
Beneath his fascinated gaze, Declan lifted one eyebrow. “I don’t think so. Master Lorrie might be irreverent and not give you the proper respect your position deserves, but he’d never physically attack you, and if he did, I’d take care of him.”
Phoenix propped his chin on his hand, fascinated. “And how would you stop a vampire?”
Declan held up his hand, showing off the wide antique ring he always wore. “This is a poison ring. I keep hemlock powder inside for protection.”
“Really!” Concentrated hemlock powder could easily knock a vampire unconscious, if not kill him. Pleasure filled Phoenix as he regarded his employee in a new light. Meticulous, shy Declan had titanium balls to show his vampire boss he carried around enough poison to take out a vamp. “I never knew. Aren’t you a man of surprises? Wait, you’ve always worn that ring.”
Declan gave him a mischievous smile. “My mother gave it to me when I told her I was going to work for a vampire. I know you won’t attack me, but you often have guests.”
Phoenix nodded. “Excellent idea. You might want to consider a dart gun also.”
Declan turned around and lifted the back of his perfectly tailored jacket to expose both a small dart pistol tucked in the back of his waistband and an extremely fine ass.
“Um, good job,” Phoenix managed to choke out over his surge of lust.
Shit!
Declan put down his jacket and turned back around. “Is there anything else I can get for you, sir?”
Lay naked across my knees. Let me fuck you unconscious.
Phoenix shook his head to both answer his employee and try to knock the naughty images from his head. “No, thank you.”
Declan took a few steps toward the door before stopping. “I have to confess that I fiddled with your coffee.”
“What do you mean fiddled?” Had his trusted servant poisoned him? And if so why would he tell Phoenix about it?
His servant’s fidgeting drew Phoenix’s attention. Declan’s usual calm demeanor rarely showed fraying like it did now. “The new order of synthetic blood hasn’t arrived yet. I used some of my own blood for your brew. I don’t know the health of your other employees so I didn’t want to chance polluting your system.”
A sick or diseased person’s blood could mess up a vampire for months. Phoenix appreciated his butler’s care even as his dick hardened over how his coffee would taste like Declan.
“Thank you. Next time, don’t feel you have to sacrifice your own body for my coffee.”
Declan blushed a pretty pink color as he nodded. He turned and headed out the door without another word.
Anticipation had Phoenix pausing as he held the cup to his lips. The aroma sent his gums tingling. Tilting the cup, he sipped at the bitter liquid. The acidic taste of the coffee hit his tongue a second before another flavor exploded across his senses with the power of a tsunami.
Declan’s blood had a more complex signature than any Phoenix had ever consumed before. It only took a moment to realize why. His butler wasn’t entirely human, definitely part human, but human and something else, something with an ancient bloodline.
Humming contently, Phoenix polished off his cup of coffee and poured another from the small pot provided. Enough energy buzzed through him as he finished the rest of his work that he wondered how Declan’s amazing blood tasted directly from the source.
About the Author
Amber Kell has made a career out of daydreaming. It has been a lifelong habit she practices diligently as shown by her complete lack of focus on anything not related to her fantasy world building.
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When she told her husband what she wanted to do with her life, he told her to go have fun. During those seconds she isn't writing, she remembers she has children who humor her with games of 'what if' and let her drag them to foreign lands to gather inspiration. Her youngest confided in her that he wants to write because he longs for a website and an author name—two things apparently necessary to be a proper writer.
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Despite her husband's insistence she doesn't drink enough to be a true literary genius, she continues to spin stories of people falling happily in love and staying that way.
She is thwarted during the day by a traffic jam of cats on the stairway and a pupp
y who insists on walks, but she bravely perseveres.
@amberkell
amber.kell.7
amberkell.wordpress.com
[email protected]
