A Phoenix Reborn at Christmas (An MM Monster Christmas #4)

Chapter 1

Chapter

One

“Merry Christmas! Now, what can I get—” Leo froze mid-sentence, words dying on his lips as the bell above the door tinkled and the most striking man he’d ever seen entered the Magic Bakery.

The tall stranger’s orange gaze swept over the store. An elegant brow rose. He angled his chin upwards, showing off high cheekbones, a straight nose, and a regal jawline.

Leo gaped.

Light radiated around the stranger. The stranger tossed his brilliant red hair. Golden embers sparked amongst the rich red strands.

Who was this man? But more importantly, was he single? And would he be interested in some late-night activities with a hearth witch baker like Leo?

Leo slid his gaze down the man’s body, taking in his lean torso and fine clothes. Leo bit his bottom lip. As nice as the clothes were, he’d really like to undress the man and see what was beneath.

“I’ll have that one!”

Leo blinked and turned back to the customers at the counter. “Sorry?”

Right. I’m meant to be serving. He smiled at the family of gnomes in front of him.

“You want which one?” Leo asked, but he tilted his head and angled himself so the stranger could get the best view of him.

Leo knew he was quite handsome. And people always said he had a nice smile. So Leo made sure to smile brightly.

“That one! The Christmas tree cookie,” the first child said.

“And I’ll have two snowflake cookies.” The second child held up two fingers.

“You can’t have two!” the first child protested. “That’s not fair—”

“You can each choose one thing,” one of their fathers said.

The second child pouted. “Just one snowflake cookie, then.”

“I’ll have that cookie.” A third child pointed, finger pressing against the glass. “No, I’ll have that one! No, that one!”

Leo chuckled. “It’s hard to choose when there are so many options.”

She nodded, eyes wide as she took in all the different baked treats.

A heavy sigh drew Leo’s attention. Leo looked towards the striking stranger. The man stood, arms crossed, nose high and brows furrowed, watching the children at the counter with obvious disdain.

Leo frowned. What was his problem?

“I want that cake! That one right at the back!” The third child pressed her face and fingers against the glass.

The handsome man rolled his eyes. Then tapped his foot. And with every tap, Leo found that the stranger grew less and less attractive.

Seriously, what is wrong with him? He can’t wait a couple of minutes so the children can choose their food.

Leo turned to the child and smiled. “This one?”

The gnome nodded, white curls bouncing.

“Christmas fruitcake. Good choice!” Leo plated the food. But he kept casting glances at the attractive man. Now he looked like he’d sucked on a lemon. Apparently, the beautiful exterior did not match the interior. What a pity.

“And what will you two have?” Leo asked the fathers.

“I feel like something sweet today,” the first father said as the gnome children carried their plates to the tables in the bakery, all newly decorated with garlands and baubles. It was December first after all, which meant it was officially the Christmas season.

“Me too,” the second father said as he studied the display. “Although, I don’t know what.”

They leaned towards the display, thick white brows lowered as they tried to decide.

“Really!” the stranger whispered.

Thankfully the gnomes were too busy discussing the pros and cons of the different baked goods to hear.

Who does this arsehole think he is?

Could he really not wait a couple of minutes politely? Did he really think he was so fucking important?

Well, if he couldn’t wait without being a rude fuck, Leo would just make him wait longer.

“I’d be happy to talk you through your options.” Leo grinned at the gnomes. He flicked a glance at the impatient customer with the magnificent red hair. “I can even give you a few samples.”

An exasperated noise escaped the stranger. Leo’s grin stretched wider.

“So these are the different cookies we have.” Leo then went through the different options.

The gnomes nodded and listened.

The gorgeous man’s toe tapped faster. His eyes, fixed on Leo, narrowed. A few times, Leo met his gaze, smiling as broadly as he could. The man’s orange eyes flashed briefly.

Leo almost laughed. But instead, he explained the names and ingredients of the different baked goods to the gnomes. He dragged it out, wanting to make the handsome customer suffer for being so insufferably arrogant.

A few times, as the man tossed or ran his fingers through his hair, bursts of embers flashed. Finally, the two gnomes took their plates of several baked goods to the table with their children.

Leo turned to face the man. He pasted on a chipper smile. “Good day,” he said in his most cheery voice.

The man stalked towards the counter, pulling himself up to his full height. The scent of soot lingered in the air around him. He opened his mouth to speak, but Leo got in first.

“We at the Magic Bakery pride ourselves on serving all our customers with dedication, love, and care so everyone can enjoy their visit. So thank you so much for waiting so patiently.” Leo dragged out the last word.

The man in front of him took a deep, slow breath. His eyes bored into Leo.

“Now how can I help you today? Is this your first visit to our bakery?”

The man grimaced. “It is. And it will be the last time I come to your dirty little bakery.”

Leo clenched his teeth as he smiled. “Well, we thank you for your visit.”

The man lifted his nose higher in the air. “I needed to eat. And there were issues with my lunch today. This was the first place I found that looked somewhat reasonable. I’m questioning that now.” He slid a long, elegant finger along the counter, as if wiping at imaginary dust.

What a fucking prick!

Leo knew the counter was spotless. He’d wiped it ten minutes earlier.

“And I wouldn’t have come if I’d known the service would be so lacking in standards.” The man flicked his gaze up and down Leo, as if examining a flea he wanted to squash.

Leo gave an exaggerated frown. He placed a hand over his heart. “I’m so sorry for my poor service skills. You’re right. I should have pushed the other customers aside to tend to you and your urgent need for baked goods.”

The man bristled. “Do you know who I am?”

Leo studied the man in front of him. And once again he was struck with how ridiculously attractive he was. Too bad he was a colossal dick. Leo definitely had no interest in any sort of late-night, sexy times with this twat.

“I’m sorry.” Leo tilted his head. “Should I know who you are?”

“I am Lord Percival Everflame, of the Everflame phoenixes!” He pulled his shoulders back. “You must have heard of my family’s wealth and status in society. And today, I have important work to do, which you and your poor customer service have kept me from.”

The lord sniffed. “I shouldn’t have to waste my time waiting for a dirty horde of children to get some cookies.”

Leo kept his face neutral. He had heard of the Everflame phoenixes. But only vaguely. He knew they were rich and important. He got the sense that they didn’t really belong in this part of town—the poorer part, that was.

But this man being a phoenix explained why he radiated light, the smell of ash in the air, the bursts of embers in his hair, and his flashing eyes.

Still, his family name didn’t excuse him for being a stuck-up twat.

“What can I get you, Lord Percival Everflame?” Leo swept his arm and bowed low so his head almost touched the ground.

The phoenix’s lip curled. “You have some nerve!”

“I have a lot more than nerve.” Leo smiled and gestured to the display.

“I have cakes, cookies, savoury and sweet pies, truffles, pastries, and of course plenty of bread. All fresh. So what can I get you, Your Lordship?” Was that how one addressed a lord?

He had no fucking clue. Nor did he give a flying fuck.

Lord Everflame’s mouth fell open. He moved his lips for several seconds, clearly not knowing how to respond to Leo and his blatant rudeness. After a moment, he seemed to collect himself. He drew himself up.

“What sort of pie?” he snapped.

“Today we have individual mushroom and leek pies. It’s—”

“I’ll take one.” He turned away, as if he didn’t want to lower himself by looking at Leo a second longer than necessary.

Leo had made the mushroom and leek pies earlier that day. He usually enjoyed when customers ordered them.

As a hearth and kitchen witch, he provided and cared for his customers through his food. But today he kind of hoped he’d accidentally dropped stones into the pie and Lord Percival Everflame would choke on them.

“That’ll be forty bells. Will you eat it here?”

“I’m not eating here!” Lord Everflame glanced around. He pulled out his purse and placed several coins on the counter. “Just hurry up so I can leave!”

Leo gritted his teeth. He packaged the pie and took the coins.

As he counted out the change, he couldn’t help but glance at the phoenix. It really was a shame the stunning phoenix was such a haughty dickhead.

Leo wondered if he’d be as rude during sex, tapping his foot, sneering at his lover as he said, “Well are you going to suck my cock or what?” Leo smothered his laugh as he handed the change back.

The phoenix looked it over. “What is this? You’ve given me the wrong change. You’re ten bells short! What, are you a common thief too?”

“Oh.” Leo glanced at the coins in the phoenix’s palm and saw that he was right. “Right. Sorry.”

“Sorry?” The phoenix scowled. “You can’t keep this bakery clean, you make me wait, you are terrible at serving your betters, and you can’t even count! What good are you?”

Leo’s cheeks flushed as he counted out the ten bells. He dropped them into the phoenix’s hand.

“Like I said, I’m sorry.” Because even though Lord Percival Everflame was a giant knobhead, Leo had made a mistake and so had to apologise. But still, the words caught in his throat.

Leo pushed the packaged pie across the table. “Merry Christmas!” he said, trying to muster up some holiday cheer. There was no way he could muster up a smile for this shitfucker.

The phoenix picked up the pie. “Christmas. Of course you’d celebrate Christmas.” He scoffed. “It’s all frivolous nonsense. Just a complete waste of time!” He glanced around the bakery. “And an excuse to put up tacky decorations.”

Then he glided out the door without a backward glance. The bell tinkled.

Leo let out a breath. He didn’t think he’d ever met anyone so repulsive in his life! The phoenix might be the most handsome man he’d ever seen, but his insides were as appealing as rotted meat.

At least the phoenix wouldn’t return to their “dirty little bakery” with their “poor service.” Which meant he’d probably never have to see the prick again.

“Thank fuck,” Leo muttered.