His Phoenix Read online

  “I’m sorry you had to experience that, my sweet.”

  She shrugged. “It’s in the past. You make me feel better somehow. Like you’re healing that part of me.”

  I leaned over and kissed her. “I’m glad I can help heal your pain.”

  “Me too.” She yawned and stood from the table with her plate. “I know you had big plans for me in bed, but I’m beat, and now I’ll have to get up early to finish my work before my 9:00 am class.”

  I stood and took the plate from her. “I did have plans, but your wellbeing comes first. Go on up to bed and I’ll take care of this for you.” I kissed her forehead.

  “Thanks. Your bed or mine?” She asked as I was going through the kitchen door. I stopped and turned to her.

  “Always mine, my sweet. I never want to sleep without you beside me.” My heart skipped and I realized I too needed to eat before bed. “Do you mind if I call a feeder over? I need to recharge as well after our fun earlier.”

  Charlotte seemed to think for a moment. “I guess if we’re mated, I’ll have to get used to your eating habits. I don’t mind you having someone over for dinner.” She laughed at her own joke and I smiled.

  “Great. You go ahead to bed and I will take care of my feeding before I join you. It’ll be at least thirty minutes, so don’t wait up for me.”

  “Okay.” Charlotte came over and gave me a goodnight kiss before heading to bed.

  I called one of my male feeders over and fed in my downstairs office.

  When I made it to my bedroom, Charlotte was wrapped around one of my pillows and sound asleep. I quietly approached the bed, slipping my pillow carefully from her grasp and slid myself into its place.

  “Goodnight, my sweet,” I whispered, kissing her forehead.

  She mumbled something and snuggled closer.

  It didn’t take long for me to drift off to sleep.

  ∞∞∞

  I awoke the next morning to Charlotte still wrapped tightly around me.

  “Good morning.” She said, smiling from where her head was laying on my chest.

  “Good morning, beautiful. Did you sleep well?”

  She nodded and kissed my chest. “I did. Better than I have in a long time actually. How about you?”

  “I slept like the dead.”

  She smacked my chest and laughed. “Coming in with the dead jokes, are we?”

  I grinned. “I am undead.”

  “True. Guess I should go find me a man more lively.” I reached for my mate as she jumped off the bed. “Bam! In your face, dead man!” She started doing a very bad victory dance.

  “I’ve had enough of this,” I said, moving quickly to grab her and pin her beneath me on the bed.

  “You’re fast.” She was a mixture of shocked and turned on.

  “I am. Want another demonstration?”

  She looked at the clock beside the bed and sighed. “Unfortunately, I’m gonna have to pass on that offer. I have an hour to get my homework done and get to class.”

  “I’ll make coffee.” I rolled off the bed before helping her up.

  We went into the bathroom and took care of our morning hygiene routines before heading downstairs.

  Charlotte sat down at the dining room table to work while I went to the kitchen to make coffee for her.

  “Hey, babe!” She called to me from the dining room.

  I poked my head through the kitchen door, smiling at her pet name. “Yes, my sweet?”

  She was blushing.

  “I was just wondering if you might make me some toast since you’re in there doing kitchen things.”

  “Is that all you want? I can make you eggs too, or bacon?” I wanted to make sure she was fed well before going off to classes for the day.

  “Eggs and toast are fine. Leave the yoke for me to dip my toast in.”

  “Of course. I’ll be out in a few minutes with breakfast and coffee.” I went back into the kitchen and got to work on making eggs and toast.

  Once everything was ready, I plated the food and filled a mug with coffee before carrying them to the dining room.

  I set them down beside where Charlotte was working.

  “Thank you.” She said, giving me a brief smile.

  “You’re welcome. Eat up! I’m gonna grab the things for the coffee. I forgot to ask how you like it. You can fix it how you like, or I can do it for you.”

  “Black is fine, babe. Don’t worry about it. Don’t you need to feed?”

  I loved that she remembered my needs even though she was busy. “I do. I just wanted to make sure you were taken care of first.” I kissed the top of her head. “I’ll stop by one of my feeder’s houses on the way to work. While I have you here and I’m thinking clearly, I want to ask if you’re okay with my brother coming over for dinner tonight?”

  Charlotte stopped writing and looked up at me. “What time would dinner be?”

  I sat down at the table. “I don’t know. Say, six-thirty? Would that work for you?”

  “My last class is at six. Can we make it seven?”

  “Absolutely. I will let him know dinner is at seven. He’ll be excited to get to meet you.”

  Charlotte let out a small laugh before going back to her work. “No pressure, right?”

  “None at all, my sweet. My brother will love you.”

  “I don’t need him to love me, Ben. I’ll be happy to have him like me.”

  I stood from the table. “And like you, he shall. I need to go get ready for work. Come say bye before you leave.”

  “Will do. I’m almost done with this paper.”

  I headed upstairs to get ready and let my brother know we were on for dinner tonight.

  As I suspected, he was excited about meeting my mate.

  I looked out the window to see the car I’d purchased for Charlotte the day before had been delivered sometime this morning. I hope she didn’t mind too much that I’d chosen for her. It was a red BMW with all the extras. Only the best for my mate.

  Chapter Eleven

  Charlotte

  I finished my schoolwork and then headed upstairs to find Ben.

  “Ben, I’m about to head to class!” I called out as I reached the third floor.

  “In here, my sweet.” He called from inside his office.

  I went inside and was greeted by his predatory smile.

  “You need to feed soon, don’t you?” I asked.

  “How can you tell?” He answered my question with his own.

  I laughed. “Because sometimes you smile like you want to eat me.”

  He stood and moved quickly, stopping in front of me. Our bodies were so close to touching. “Have you considered maybe that’s because I do want to eat you.” His cool breath tickled my face. “Only in the most pleasurable ways of course.”

  “Uh-huh. Somehow, I find that hard to believe. I think right then you looked at me that way because you’re hungry and I’m food.” I was trying to hold eye contact, but my eyes kept wanting to wander to his mouth. He had an amazing mouth that could do amazing things.

  “Charlotte.” His voice pulled my focus back to his eyes. They were crinkled at the edges from the grin he was wearing.

  I stepped back so I could think clearly. “What?”

  His grin grew. “I said, I love you. I don’t think you heard me though. You seemed distracted.”

  “It’s not my fault your mouth is distracting,” I crossed my arms over my chest.

  “I understand.” His eyes strayed to my breasts before focusing back on my face. “I find everything about you distracting.”

  The alarm on my phone went off breaking the moment.

  “I need to head to class.” I felt awkward all of a sudden, not really sure how this whole domestic thing worked. Did we kiss? Hug?

  “Come here,” Ben answered my thoughts by pulling me against his chest and kissing me. “Drive safe, my sweet. I’ll see you tonight when you get home from your last class.” He kissed me again before releasing me.
/>   “Wait a minute. What do you mean drive safe?”

  Ben was grinning again. “I might have bought you a car yesterday.”

  “You did what?” I hurried to the window to look outside. There parked beside Ben’s black BMW was a red one. “Ben,” I said quietly, not sure of what to say.

  He wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed the top of my head. “Do you like it.”

  “I love it.” I turned in his arms and pulled him down for a kiss. “How did you know my favorite color?”

  He chuckled. “Lucky guess. I’m glad you’re not mad at me for buying it. I just want you to be safe and have time to take care of yourself.”

  “I know.” And I did. I could physically feel his intentions.

  “Let’s get going, my sweet. I want this day over so I can have you all to myself again.”

  I laughed. “The feeling is mutual.” We walked out to our cars. Our cars. That would take some getting used to. “Benjamin,” I said as he was getting into his car.

  He stopped and looked at me. “Yes, my sweet?”

  “I love you too.” I smiled at his smile. He really was a stunning man, vampire, whatever.

  We got in our cars and went our separate ways. Him to work, and me to a day filled with back to back classes.

  It was weird having a car and driving myself places.

  When I’d lived with my dad, we’d shared his car, but when I moved out, I'd had to start using other methods of travel. Having my own vehicle was weird. A good weird, and convenient.

  ∞∞∞

  By the time I got out of my last class of the day, I was so tired I had my phone out and ready to order an uber before I remembered my car sitting in the parking lot.

  “You smell like Benjamin.” A female voice said from behind me as I started to open my car door.

  I turned quickly to see a tall woman standing behind my car. The fact that she could smell Ben on me, told me she was either shifter or vamp.

  “Well, I am his mate. I would hope that I smell like him.” I felt a sudden deep need to stake my claim on him.

  The woman huffed out a laugh and stepped closer so I could see her better. She had strawberry blonde hair and almost black eyes. “I see. You make sure to tell your mate that Athena said hi. I’d love to catch up with him soon. Just because we’re old lovers doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”

  I knew she was trying to get to me. “I’ll be sure to let him know you said hello. If you’ll excuse me, he’s expecting me home for dinner. Have a good night, Athena.” I didn’t give her a chance to respond before getting in and starting the car.

  There was no one parked in front of me, so I drove forward out of the parking lot, leaving her standing there staring after me.

  When I pulled into the driveway, I noticed a black SUV parked out front. Ben’s brother must be here.

  Getting out, I headed inside.

  “There she is,” Ben said as I stepped in the front door.

  “Here I am.” I gave him a forced smile. I wonder if he’d ever been this excited to see Athena.

  He approached me and pulled me into a hug. “What’s wrong, my sweet?”

  I instinctively hugged him back. “I met an old friend of yours after class,” I pulled back to see his expression. “She said her name was Athena.”

  He frowned. “Athena? You’re sure that was her name?”

  “Yes. She said to tell you hi and something about you two being old lovers.” I tried to step away.

  Ben only held me tighter. “Charlotte.”

  I held a hand up to stop his explanation. “It’s fine, Benjamin. You’ve been alive for a long time. It would be stupid for me to expect you to not have past relationships. It’s just something about her made me want to stake my claim on you. To prove to her that you were mine.”

  “That’s the mating bond,” A man said from behind Ben. He looked almost identical to my mate. “I’m Cidrick.” He held his hand out to me.

  I pulled away from Ben, stepping around him to shake Cidrick's hand. “Charlotte. My friends call me Charlie.”

  Cidrick smiled that same predatory smile I’d gotten from Ben so many times before. “Nice to meet you, Charlie.”

  “Same.” I turned to look at Ben. “Are you two twins?”

  Ben and Cidrick laughed.

  “No, my sweet. I’m three years older than, Cid. We both look like our mother, which is why we look so similar.”

  “I see.”

  Mrs. Lent appeared from the dining room, cutting me off. “Dinner is served. I’ll be heading home if that’s alright with you, Mr. Valtor.”

  “Of course." Ben said, opening the front door for her. "Thank you for staying late, Mrs. Lent. Tell your husband I said hello.”

  “I will. Goodnight, everyone.” Mrs. Lent waved as she went out the front door.

  “I’m starved. Why don’t you gentlemen keep me company while I eat, and, Ben, you can tell me about Athena and why she went out of her way to talk to me.”

  Cidrick offered me his arm. “Right this way, madame.”

  Ben wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me to him. “I think I can escort my mate, Cid.”

  I giggled at the jealousy I felt coming from him. Wait. I turned a surprised look at Ben. “How can feel what you’re feeling?”

  The question had been burning in my mind all day. We hadn't completed our bond, yet, I was feeling so strongly connected to him.

  He grinned down at me. “We’re mates, my sweet. I can feel what you feel as well, but only if you’re close enough. We’d have to complete the bond to feel each other from a distance.”

  “Right. If only it could be done without me becoming a vampire.”

  Cidrick cleared his throat. “I’ll meet you two at the table.”

  “Let’s get you fed and discuss all this afterward.” Ben kissed me sweetly. He tasted slightly like what I could only guess was blood.

  “Tastes like you’ve already had dinner.” I teased.

  “Indeed. I should have brushed my teeth afterward. My apologies.”

  I patted his chest. “No apologies needed, babe. It doesn’t bother me to taste blood knowing it’s what keeps you alive.”

  “You are a magnificent human, Charlotte,” Ben whispered and kissed me again.

  I don’t know what it was about him, but I couldn’t get enough of him.

  I grabbed his tie and pulled him closer, deepening our kiss. “Benjamin,” I moaned when he grabbed my hips and ground his erection against me.

  My stomach suddenly growled loudly, making us laugh.

  “Let’s get you fed.” Ben nipped my lip before stepping back and leading me into the dining room.

  Cidrick was sitting at the head of the table near the kitchen door. Ben sat us to the left of him, making sure he was sitting between us. I didn’t understand his jealousy.

  I wouldn’t lie and say his brother wasn’t attractive. They were practically twins, so it would be impossible to find one attractive and not the other. That was as far as it went for me though. Cidrick was easy on the eyes, but I felt absolutely nothing romantic toward him. I wasn’t even sure if we were going to be friends yet.

  I filled my plate and ate while the guys discussed their latest security contract. They were hired to protect a politician's wife while he was traveling for his campaign. Since it was so high profile, Cidrick had decided he would be head of her protection detail, which meant he’d basically be joined to her hip. He would need to find a way to feed without her knowing. He seemed clever, so I knew he would figure it out and still be able to make sure nothing bad happened to her.

  If vampires were as tough as I thought they were, that lady was in good hands with Cid.

  Finishing my food, I pushed my plate away and turned to Ben. “Okay. Now that I’m fed and want to take a nap, why don’t you tell me about Athena? She seemed a little surprised that you had a mate.”

  Ben shook his head and frowned. “I don’t know why that would both
er her. She left me for my brother after all.”

  I glared at Cidrick. “You stole your brother’s girl?”

  He threw his hands up. “Hey, I did no such thing. She broke it off with him and then came after me. She was convinced she was the bloodmate to one of us. When Benny told her there was no bond on his end, she thought she’d have one with me. She didn’t. I felt bad for turning her down, she was a sweet girl, if not a little crazy." He grinned. "I don’t mind a little crazy.”

  “I don’t think you’d want that particular type of crazy, Cid. Can I call you Cid?” I asked, not wanting to offend him. Some people liked going by their full names.

  He smiled. “Go ahead. Cidrick is very old school sounding, ya know because we’re forever years old at this point.”

  I laughed at his joke. “How old are you guys?” I wanted to know the age of the man I was going to spend my life with.

  “Ben hasn’t told you?” Cid asked, and I shook my head. He looked at Ben. “Benny, this is information a girl should find out on a first date. Your mate should know how old you are.”

  “I would have told her if she'd asked, little brother. We’ve just been distracted with other things in between our get to know each other talks.” Ben’s hand rested on my thigh and I gave him a warning look. He just smiled. “We’re roughly three hundred and thirty years old, my sweet.”

  I was shocked by his words. I was expecting him to say a hundred or maybe a little more, but over three hundred was a little mind-boggling.

  “You’ve gone and scared the girl with your oldness, big brother.” Cid laughed.

  I slid my hand into Ben's and intertwined our fingers. “I’m not scared, just a little shocked is all. You guys could be a thousand and it wouldn’t change how I feel about you, Ben.”

  He leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Thank you, my sweet.”

  I squeezed his hand and laid my head on his shoulder. “You don’t have to thank me, babe. You do, however, have to meet my dad soon.”