Six
Varos
The next day, Varos sat behind his desk and eagerly awaited Avalon’s lunch. She’d already had something delivered, this time from one of those places that seemed to make food in the blink of an eye. When he heard Calinda greet her at the front desk, he unpacked the bag’s contents. Marcus heard her approach as well, shooting up from the desk and rushing to the door.
Lysander was the only one who didn’t seem amused, keeping his eyes on his work. “You’re acting like starving children.”
Marcus shrugged it off. “I mean, she does smell delicious .”
Truly like a child, Marcus counted a couple of seconds after Avalon knocked before jerking the door open. Her smile warmed the dull space the moment she stepped in.
“We were hoping to see you again,” Marcus greeted her. “We were so pleased when your delivery arrived.”
“I hope that’s okay. Sometimes they’re late so I thought sooner would be best.”
“Very clever and very trusting of you. We could eat it all up.”
Though humans seemed to like that type of food, Varos would much prefer to taste her . Yes, her blood was sure to taste delightful, but he was more interested in her lips. He’d daydreamed about it since meeting her again in the elevator, but that’s all it could ever be—a dream.
Though they enjoyed their time with her, both men knew that it would never be more than what they had in that moment. Yes, they’d stolen a few forbidden touches from her, even a gentle kiss here and there, but nothing more than that would ever come from it.
“How was your day?” he asked as she rounded his desk and took the seat he offered.
“Not too bad at all. And yours? Do you have another lunch later?”
“We do.”
Varos hated lying to her, but it was important to keep their secret. They had enlightened a few humans over the years of their existence, but only the ones that were about to die. Avalon was too precious to become one of them.
Marcus took a seat across from Varos’s desk, smiling wide at Avalon. “We have decided on an event we would like to take you to.”
“And when would that be?” She returned the smile, though Varos wasn’t sure if it was because of Marcus or the thick chocolate drink she was sipping.
“Friday night.”
“What time?”
“Around nine in the evening.”
“Only if that isn’t too late for you,” Varos offered.
“Not at all,” she hummed. “Where are we going?”
“The Lone Star Flight Museum.” Marcus continued to explain before Avalon could speak. “We know it’s a little farther away and if you don’t wish for us to pick you up, we’ll pay for transportation.”
She took her time, chewing on a bite of her sandwich, her eyes focused on the wall behind Marcus.
“Please don’t feel pressured into either choice,” Varos added, wanting her to know that she was safe and able to make her own decisions.
“So, I can meet you there?”
“Of course, you can.”
She nodded, her shoulders dropping as she relaxed. “What’s the dress code?”
Marcus shrugged. “I don’t believe it has one.”
“You two are aware that she can just look it up herself, right?” Lysander muttered from across the room.
Marcus’s jaw clenched, his gaze whipping to Lysander. “What are you implying? That we think she isn’t clever enough to do so?”
“Then why not tell her?”
“Because she can decide herself if she would like to be surprised or not.” Varos turned to Avalon, watching her amused gaze flicker between the other two men. “It is up to you.”
“Okay…” she said light-heartedly. “Do the three of you always bicker like this?”
With bright eyes, Marcus rested his elbows on the desk and leaned towards her, cocking his head like a joyful little puppy. “Why? Does it amuse you?”
“It’s quite entertaining,” she admitted, that beautiful blush sweeping over her cheeks again.
A rumble from Lysander let everyone know how he felt about the situation, but Varos could see how Marcus was planning on using that to his advantage. He’d always been the mischievous one out of all of them, and teasing Lysander was his favourite pastime.
He moved to Marcus’s desk to work, giving Avalon space to eat her lunch. Marcus had never been interested in human work and though it wasn’t to anyone else’s standards he was happy to play along.
After finishing her sandwich, Avalon reached for her chocolate drink again and sipped away, enjoying the view. She seemed fascinated by it, her mind seeming to blur out everything else around her. Marcus was also enjoying his view—the one of Avalon.
She sighed in awe, chewing the straw between her teeth. “Yeah, I really wouldn’t get any work done if I had to sit here all day.”
“That’s why I let them do the work,” Marcus chuckled.
She joined in the laughter, her gaze still out the windows. “Well, you must be a very good friend to them if they keep you around.”
Lysander let out an alarming noise that almost seemed like he was choking, but even Avalon recognised it as one of amusement.
Avalon opened her mouth to reply, interrupted by the sound of her phone. With an annoyed glance at her screen, she silenced the noise.
“Time to go back?” Varos asked, unable to hide his disappointment.
“Unfortunately. Can I come back tomorrow?”
“Please do.”
Varos stood by as she cleaned his desk and joined Marcus by the door. Before she stepped out of the office, she turned back to them and flashed them a sweet smile and a quick wave.
He caught Lysander’s disapproving gaze out of the corner of his eyes, but he ignored it. He focused on Marcus’s emails. Even if they were addressed to him, Marcus never bothered with any sort of work and Varos now took over without even asking.
Marcus returned moments later, a faraway grin on his face. He sprawled out on the couch, his legs spread wide open.
“Care to share what is making you so bubbly?” Varos asked curiously.
“She wanted to know why you never offer to take her back to her office and she thought it was very sweet of us that we didn’t want rumours of her spreading through her workplace. She called us gentlemen.”
“If only she knew…” Lysander mumbled under his breath.
“As if we’ll ever let her see any other side of us. Just because you choose to live like a monk doesn’t mean we should as well.”
Lysander’s blue eyes darkened, zeroing in on Marcus. “You’re playing with fire.”
“More like a cute little ball of fluff.”
“We won’t hurt her,” Varos stepped in.
“You might be able to resist sinking your fangs into her neck, but that doesn’t mean you won’t hurt her.”
“We will be sure to let her know nothing serious would come from this.”
“But that doesn’t mean she won’t fall for you—if she hasn’t already. You saved her life, gave her a new start. Of course that’s going to stir feelings deep within her. She’s not a toy. Why would you give her false hope like that?”
Marcus stood abruptly, eyes blazing red. “I liked it better when you stayed out of our business.” Before Varos could say anything to calm him, Marcus stormed out of the office and slammed the door behind him.
“You both know I’m right.”
Leaning back in his chair, Varos let his gaze drift to where Avalon had sat moments ago. “I know.”