Midsummer Phoenixes (Phoenix Immortal)

5. From the Ashes

From the Ashes

amory

CHAPTER 1

May 30

I t was around eleven, dark out with stars bright in the clear sky above Newstaten. Soyer had made three pasta salads and one tomato and eggplant casserole, all of which sat on his dining table between us. He had spent hours in his kitchen, chopping and cooking and occasionally asking me to get up from my reading spot on his couch to come over and try something. He’d kept careful track of my reactions, at least it had felt like that.

“I still can’t believe you bought part of the Moonlight,” I told Soyer, eating the last piece of my perfectly cooked eggplant. It melted in my mouth, and made a conscious effort not to moan.

“You can’t? Do I need to show you the receipt?”

“That’s not what I mean.”

I piled some more of the eggplant on my plate while Soyer frowned at one of the salads, the one with the mayo and mandarin oranges and roasted cashews.

“What is it that you do mean then, my heart?”

“I like that salad. But maybe use almonds or walnuts instead next time you make it.”

Soyer’s attention shifted from the pasta to me. “Hmm. What are you distracting me from, Amory?”

I’d been meaning to bring this up for a while, but hadn’t been able to make myself. I said, “Won’t it be weird? If you are my boss?”

Soyer fixed me in a black-eyed stare. “I’m a silent partner, that’s all. Although...” He grinned. “I could order you around all night. Would you like that?”

I chuckled. “Not as much as you would.”

“Hm. You know my libido too well. I think I’d also enjoy groping you.”

Hearing him talk like this still made heat rise to my cheeks. At the same time, I liked being a part of his fantasies.

“You’re not groping me at work. You’re already groping me enough when I’m staying over.”

Soyer used his fork to point at the offending pasta salad. “I spent more time with my hands on those mandarins than on you, my heart.” He tilted his head. “Are you telling me you are feeling neglected?”

I finished the last bite of my eggplant while I considered my answer. “Maybe a little.”

“Maybe a little.” Soyer reached over and cupped my hand with his. “I can’t have that.”

The unspoken desire hung there between us. It was evident on his face too, evident in the grip he had on my hand, not painful, just...comfortingly possessive.

“Let’s just put the food away first, okay?”

Soyer groaned. “Damn fucking tease. I’ll do that. You go upstairs and get on the bed for me. No clothes.”

I nodded, words failing me. I loved the ease of this, the ease with which desire could become manifest with barely a word. I stood and walked toward the stairs, knowing full well he was watching me. I could practically feel his eyes all over me. I was halfway up the stairs when it occurred to me to look back down at Soyer, who hadn’t moved, was watching me like a spider might a fly in his web.

“You’re really going to put all the food away, right? Or do you want me to do it?”

“Yeah, you are a damn fucking tease, Amory.” He stood, picked up the bowl of mandarin pasta salad. “But fine. Get up there. And you better get naked before I’m done here, or else I’ll tear your clothes right off you.”

I shivered, longing for his touch, maybe even longing for my clothes to be torn off.

I did hurry though, and I got my pants off when a soft chuckle from the sliding doors to Soyer’s bedroom made me turn. He was standing there, of course he was, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed.

“I’m your boss, Amory,” he said, his black eyes full of sparks. He came toward me, his fingers digging into my T-shirt. “Do I really have to show you how to do such a simple thing as undressing yourself?”

“Soyer.”

My shirt tore under his punishing grip.

“Yes, my heart?”

He pushed me toward the bed, his hand covering the phoenix on my chest, his mirror phoenix, the part of me that would always be his.

“You didn’t have to tear that off me,” I said, though I couldn’t help smiling.

“Agree to disagree.”

My calves came up against the bed, and I let myself drop backward. Soyer smiled like the Devil, his black eyes bright with excitement. I kept looking at him but crawled backward toward the headboard. Soyer let me, at least while he stripped. Him taking off first his shirt and then his pants happened fast. He was already hard, something which I had come to expect by now. Adore, even. It made me feel so special, knowing that he was hard for me.

“I need to pounce on you. I need to be all over you,” Soyer said.

“Oh, okay.”

He sighed. “I need to have you very badly, but you get to choose: me in you or you in me.”

He said that with the hungry kind of intensity he sometimes got, a lot of the time when he told me to run up the stairs or to the guest bedroom downstairs with the firm promise that he would make me cum wherever he caught me. Which he had done. Each time that he had promised.

Still, right in this moment, I froze up, and Soyer took a half step back. I wasn’t even sure why I froze, I just knew he noticed, was ready to pace himself, and I didn’t want that.

He opened his mouth, most likely to tell me that we could also cuddle if I preferred, but I held up my hand.

“No, don’t. We’re...fucking. You’re going to fuck me. But I think I’d prefer me in you if that’s okay?”

A slow smile stretched over his lips. “Technically, that means you’re going to be fucking me, Amory.”

“Ah. Technically.”

Which was when he got on the bed, fast, as if the gravity he exuded were reversed, as if I were the dead star pulling him in.

Our lips crushed together, rough, fast, hungry, but underlying that, softness, because the root both his and my desire sprang from was love. Between his kisses, he spent some time touching me, making sure I was hard, making sure I was good and ready.

He straddled me, looking down. I was pretty sure he liked that, having me underneath him. He was assertive, maybe even dominant, I knew that, but in so many ways, he wasn’t like the kind of dominant guy I’d read about in all the fiction novels.

He wasn’t as vampiric as most of them, but he also never wanted to domineer me. I cherished him for it. And I knew I was safe with him, always.

Done with his drinking in the sight of me, Soyer moved.

Without taking his eyes off me, Soyer reached for the unscented lube he preferred and started working on himself. I watched knowing he liked me watching. And the sight was...one of a kind, his muscles rippling and straining as he touched himself, his eyelids drooping slightly.

“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he said, his abdomen and thighs trembling as he moved his hips on his own fingers. “I should be filming you or taking pictures of you.”

I grinned. “Why, when you can have the real thing?”

I reached between my legs to touch myself—I just wanted to show him the real thing—but he didn’t like that. With a growl, he leaned forward again and grabbed my wrist.

“Amory, what do you think you are doing, hmm?”

“I just wanted, just wanted...to give you a show?”

He licked his lips, not quite smiling. “Is that right? You wanted to give me a show when I’m about to fuck you?”

“Technically,” I said, but then my voice turned into a quiver. He was touching my cock, playing with me, using his slick fingers to caress my balls. “Technically, I’ll be fucking you.”

“Amory. Amory, Amory. Why do you have to be so cheeky? Sweet men like yourself tend to get themselves into all kinds of trouble with their words and their slutty ways. As your boss, I absolutely need to do something about it.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” He squeezed my balls, just a little bit. It wasn’t painful, but I gasped, unprepared for the sensation.

Soyer gathered my wrists and placed them above my head.

“I want you to do this properly,” he said, and with absolutely no fanfare, he got in position and slid down on my cock.

I hadn’t been prepared for that and sort of screamed, the sound fading into a long moan when his tightness squeezed around me. And Soyer, my firebird, he looked triumphant, biting his bottom lip, not really hiding that grin. With the lights from downstairs and just the few I turned on in here, shadows cascaded over his skin and the phoenix bird that lived there while he moved with immense certainty.

“Feet up. I want you to use your hips.”

I gasped. “Ngh-ah!”

He smirked. “Amory, I said to pull your feet up and use your hips.” Soyer stroked along my sternum, clearly enjoying that I had trouble keeping up with him.

“Yeah,” I said, doing my best to do what he’d told me and bend my knees in a ninety-degree angle.

With my knees pointing at the ceiling, I tried thrusting into him. It wasn’t really working. Soyer chuckled.

“You have so much to learn, Amory.”

“I can’t…I’m going to cum, Soyer.” And I was about to. It was watching him that did it, seeing his desire, and yes, being close to him in this way, during sex. He was still squeezing me, a special kind of torture.

“Not quite yet, you won’t,” he said.

He leaned back, making it impossible for me to even try thrusting again, but that clearly wasn’t necessary. Soyer knew how to move when he was on top. Today, he was rougher than normal, not in a bad way, but there was no doubt in my mind that I was being ridden, that he was in charge of what was happening here.

He reached back to caress the inside of my thighs, then bent forward to look me in the eyes, observe me, cherish me with unblinking attention.

“I love you,” he said. I came maybe three seconds later.

Soyer squeezed my nipples while I came. It was weird and good and really a lot to handle, especially with him not stopping, not stopping at all. When I was done, I whimpered, lifted my arms, caught his eyes, and stopped.

He did too. “Look at me,” he said.

Gazes bound, my attention all his, he jacked himself off, except it wasn’t a fast twitching of his hand. He made the whole thing slow and enthralling to watch, so aware of my eyes on him and enjoying the fuck out of it.

And I stared, of course I did. His warm skin, the firebird on it patterning it with magic, his flawlessly painted nails catching the light, and the way he watched me watch him. It was one heck of a show, and it was only for me.

“You’re really fucking hot,” I blabbered.

Soyer laughed. It faded into a rough groan. His hand sped up, and very soon, he was cumming on me, the heat of him covering me.

With him panting, we broke apart.

“No, stay,” Soyer said when he felt me stir, wanting to get up and get clean. I knew he wouldn’t, knew he liked the messiness of sex, and that was fine.

“Let me just wipe some of this off, okay?”

Soyer sighed. “It’s not that. I want to hold you for a moment.”

I smiled at him. “Okay.”

Not that much later, I was asleep in his arms. When I woke in the morning, I discovered he had cleaned me up and held me all night.

CHAPTER TWO

May 31

I wiped down our new and shiny coffee makers with a damp cloth. Earlier, I’d made a pot for Lindy, Dwayne, and myself, and the machines were a joy to use.

It was nine pm, and we were finally almost done with getting everything ready for the reopening.

Dwayne was still busy making a huge batch of Pride brownies. He’d declared that with the diner’s remodel, it was time to change it up and move on from the traditional rainbow cupcakes we served for the Pride Parade and have the brownies for the entirety of June.

I glanced over my shoulder over to the counter where the fire had been. Where I had burned and made everything burn with me. It was still a lot to accept as reality, but if I was being honest, Soyer was okay, and that was all that mattered.

“Kid,” Dwayne said, looking out from the passthrough. “We have a new server starting tomorrow.”

My face fell. “Right. For Jenny.”

He nodded. “Yeah. For now anyway. Told them you’d show them the ropes. They have service experience, but still might be good to keep an eye on them in case they need a little help. Told them you know where everything is and all the rest of it.”

I nodded. “Okay. I guess I do. Them?”

“Yeah, them.”

I accepted the pronoun choice though it made me curious to meet that new guy. Or gal. Colleague. I took another look around the diner, admiring the new flooring and counter, shiny blues and chrome everywhere. I’d made sure everything was ready, the menus lined up and the salt, pepper, and sugar shakers full, everything out and waiting for the morning shift.

A key clicked in the front lock and a moment later, the bell above the door twinkled.

“Call it a night,” Dwayne told me with a wink, then vanished back to get his kitchen set up the way he liked.

I turned. “Welcome to the Moonlight Diner.”

Soyer locked the door behind himself.

“You know, I think I missed hearing that.” He leaned on the counter and crooked a finger at me. “Weird. Seeing you here and not in your uniform.”

I bit the inside of my cheek as I walked toward him, said, “Sorry, boss.”

“Hmm. No. That won’t really do.” He lowered his voice. “Not here anyway.”

He looked me over, and in that moment, I understood what it meant to have someone undress you with their eyes.

“Technically, you are my boss though.”

“Technically, I am your boyfriend who happens to be the silent partner at the place where you work.” He leaned in closer. “It’s one thing if you call me boss when my cock is buried inside you, another when you do it here where there might be actual work or—worse—responsibilities involved. Makes me uncomfortable. I’ll say hi to Dwayne. You finish up here. I have dinner waiting at home.” He left me with reddened cheeks and walked along the counter and toward the back.

I waited until he was almost at the swing door, then said, “Yes, boss,” in what should have been barely loud enough for him to hear.

But Soyer’s hearing was acute, and he turned, dark eyes wanting to pull me in. A slow smile crept over his face before he headed through to the back.

I wasn’t always sure I read these things correctly—I often didn’t—but I liked him looking at me like that. Like I was his and special and desired.

With my cheeks still flushed, I petted the new coffee makers. “See you tomorrow.”

Turning off the lights in the Moonlight before the reopening felt special, meaningful. I was looking forward to my next shift.

CHAPTER 3

June 1

Soyer, after taking me to my place where my new uniform was, had promised he’d come to the diner a little bit earlier than usual today. He’d not wanted to leave my apartment, had suggested he’d be fine riding the subway with me and walking me to the Moonlight. Part of me hadn’t wanted him to leave, but I wasn’t a kid who needed someone to walk them to school anymore.

“My fiercely independent lover,” he’d called me before kissing me goodbye and heading out.

I’d made it to the subway early, looking forward to working again after the long break. The subway was still relatively full at this time, and so I ended up standing. I spotted Ben when the train swayed in a curve.

The werewolf was in a tee and jeans, his ballcap shading his eyes, almost blending in with everyone else if it hadn’t been for his bouncer’s build. I waved at him, then pushed past people to get to him, their annoyed grumbles making me feel guilty for making a fuss.

“Hey, Ben. How’ve you been?”

“Uh. Fine, sir. You?”

“Excited to get back to work. We’re having the reopening today. But I guess you know that.”

He nodded, looking down.

“Were you headed there too?” I asked.

Ben looked at me, seeming relieved. “Yes, actually. Thank you, sir.”

Which was when things clicked for me. “Wait. Oh, wait. Have you been following me?”

“Uh…”

“Did Soyer tell you to follow me?”

“Well, Mr. Bennet is very private, but he cares about you a great deal.”

I groaned. “For real?”

Ben had the decency to look guilty.

I pulled out my phone—the fancy phone Soyer had given me—and called him.

“What is it? Work boring you already?”

“Did you tell—” I looked around, lowered my voice. “Did you make Ben follow me?”

He responded with a few seconds of silence, then said, “Did you see Ben on your way to work?”

“We’re on the subway together. I met him on the subway. He’s right here.”

“Ah. Well, yes, I did hire him on for bodyguard duty. Didn’t hire him to be seen filling that duty.”

Ben bit his lip. His hearing had to be good enough to pick this up, even on the subway with all that background noise.

“Don’t be mean. You could’ve told me. He doesn’t need to hide and stalk me like some creep.”

“I could have told you. Chose not to. I’ll not apologize, my heart. I care for you greatly. We’ll discuss how Ben is to discharge his duty later.”

He said that so softly that the anger went right out of me. “Well, it’s fine, but—honestly. Were you going to make him stand outside the diner all night? He’s coming inside where he can have, I don’t know, dinner if he wants to.”

“That will be fine. Ben, I will be in touch. My heart, I’ll see you later. I love you.”

“Love you too,” I said. When we had hung up, I stared at my screen. “Such a micromanager. Guess you’ll get to be part of the reopening, Ben.”

The werewolf smiled. “Happy to. Thank you, sir.”

Now, all I had to do was get him to not call me “sir” for the rest of the night.

“Dwayne told me you’d show me the ropes,” Rae said.

They wore the guys’ uniform, but their eyeshadow was spectacular, shades of blues and glitter, the lashes so long they had to be fake. They had their dark blond hair up in a chignon decorated with rainbow ribbon flowers, and their nails were painted a bluish white and very glittery.

“Yeah, right.” I tied my new apron in the back. Our shift hadn’t started yet, and Kelly and Gwen still made their rounds.

At the bar, his ballcap next to the cup of coffee I’d gotten him, Ben was frowning at his phone.

I pointed. “My section is usually tables one to ten. Clockwise. And we split the bar left to right as well, although if you see someone needing something and take care of them, that’s fine. Oh, and there’s a regular who comes in pretty late. He used to sit in my section, but he moved to table seventeen. I still take care of him, if that’s okay.” I cocked my head. “If it’s slow, you can leave early anyway.”

Rae’s eyes widened. “I’ve been told I leave at three. I wouldn’t want to make a mistake and get the boss angry at me.”

Ben glanced over at us, frowning.

I said, “Dwayne’s pretty relaxed about that sort of thing. Like, if you have an emergency or need to take a sick day, he’s the last person to get mad at you.”

Rae nodded. “I think I’ll stay until closing if you don’t mind.” They turned on a dazzling smile. “It’s probably lonely, right? You all by yourself in this big old diner? I’m really good company.” They leaned in. “I dance.”

Ben sighed and returned his attention to his phone. I looked back and forth between the two of them. Something told me it wasn’t Dwayne who had hired Rae, and I didn’t want them to get into trouble either.

“Sure, that’s fine. Three in the morning for the both of us it is. You don’t have to dance though.”

Their face fell. “Are you sure?”

Ben looked up again.

“I mean, if you want to dance?”

“Yes! Always.” They pointed at Ben. “This one’s in my section, right? He looks very critical. Should I get him something sweet to make him smile?”

Ben snorted. “Not my kind of flavor, sugar.”

“Your loss,” Rae said and headed for the opposite end of the counter.

I put a menu in front of Ben. “Pick what you want. It’s on the house. Or on Soyer, I guess.”

Ben’s eyes crinkled with humor. “Thanks. And thanks again for those earbuds. The best I ever had, sir. I actually prefer them over my Bluetooth speakers these days.”

“Just call me Amory, and you are welcome.”

I left him to his menu to get started on my tables.

With Soyer now a co-owner, I should have expected the diner to fill up when, on any other day, it would have emptied an hour into the late shift. I had no idea which of our patrons were pawns, but I had no doubt that some were.

I caught Ben a few times, giving people a long look and texting. I stopped at his corner of the counter on my way to take care of table seven.

“You okay? Are you sure I can’t get you anything other than egg salad on rye?”

“Oh no, sir. This is fine.”

“Call me Amory. Sir sounds weird,” I said, trying for about the fourth time.

Ben looked around. “If you insist, sir.”

I sighed and shook my head. Did I have to talk to Soyer about giving Ben the okay to just call me by my name? I wished I knew how all of this worked, pawns and cursed, rules of a world I now knew existed but didn’t really understand yet.

At table seven, I pulled my notepad from my apron. Both it and the pen came with the Moonlight’s logo, a crescent moon and three stars, and I sort of loved that. I wasn’t sure why we were still doing paper and not digital, seeing as how mostly everything had been updated after the fire, but maybe some things just had to stay the same even if you burned down the old and rebuilt.

“Have you decided?” I asked the four.

“Hmm, I’m not sure about the salad dressing,” the blond man bun on the left, closest to the window, said.

“Are you fucking kidding? Man asked you something. Don’t you dare do that bitchy salad dressing act here, ” the tallest and broadest of the four said. He was on my right, closest to me. “I’m sorry about him. I’m Atkins by the way. It’s nice to see this place reopen.”

I nodded. “Thanks. We’re excited to be back finally. Thanks for visiting us today.”

“I just wanted to know if they use real balsamic,” Man Bun said, sounding mildly despondent.

The other three groaned. Atkins turned to me. “That one? He’ll be having the chili cheese fries.”

“What?! No. I want salad!”

“Well, that’s too fucking bad then, isn’t it? Cheese fries, and I’m sorry about him. Idiot does yoga a minimum of three times a day and can’t stop talking about fiber. He juices kale, which really isn’t too bad, but then he also juices onion, and I have no words. I have no idea how that fucking happened.”

I was having a flashback to Valentin, Simeon, and Elias walking in here, but these four had a different vibe. Not different enough that I really doubted they were pawns.

“Would you maybe like a salad on the side? And we use real balsamic vinegar. Dressings’re all made fresh.”

“Aw, yes please,” Man Bun said with a beaming smile.

I took everyone’s order and asked Dwayne to make the salad big and the cheese fries small. After that, I collected dishes from tables three and nine and brought them back to the kitchen, then stopped on the staff-only side of the swing doors, taking a few steps back toward the storage room at the end of the hallway. I looked around and pulled out my phone to text Soyer.

Amory

Do you know an Atkins?

Soyer was fast, the three dots barely there.

Soyer

Depends. Is he annoying you?

Amory

No, just came in with three other guys and weirdly introduced himself. Then ordered fries for a guy who wanted salad.

Soyer

Yeah, that’s Atkins. And his nephew, who’s a bit of an oddball.

Amory

You know them all? Are they pawns??

Soyer

Yes

Soyer sent, and that was it.

Amory

??

Soyer

I answered.

I rolled my eyes at the screen and clamped my mouth shut to keep my groan in.

Amory

But what are they?

Soyer

Werewolves, but very well-behaved ones. Except for yoga wolf, who has a yoga studio and might offer you free classes.

I blinked at the screen, leaned forward so I could check the kitchen and see if Dwayne had noticed me slacking and using my phone at work.

Amory

I can’t tell if that means you want me to go to yoga or you don’t want me to?

Soyer

Whichever you want. You’re taking Ben either way.

I couldn’t help it. I smiled at my screen, typed,

Amory

I love you too.

My phone back in my apron, I walked out to the front of the diner. Before I could so much as check if anyone at my tables was trying to catch my eye, I spotted a vampire waving from a counter seat, hollering, “Amory!” loud enough for everyone to hear.

I waved back and headed behind the counter while he stopped his act and settled.

“Elias, hi.”

He was wearing a suit, the tie loosened and the first button on his shirt open. “I have a need, Amory. Also, happy reopening. It’s so crowded already. And what a unique crowd.” He turned to look at the unusually busy diner.

“Thanks. Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I’m just glad people enjoy being back here, you know.”

“Oh, silly. Of course everyone would want to be here. Aren’t you going to ask me about my need? It’s urgent.”

He gave me his brand of puppy dog eyes.

“Let me guess. You want a milkshake.”

“Yes.” He nodded eagerly. “Chocolate, please.”

We’d been out for juice a couple of times now—and a part of me was still amazed that I was hanging out at a juice bar with a vampire these days. That was a twist to anyone’s life story.

“I only have vanilla. Rainbow sprinkles though. Dwayne ordered them especially for Pride Month.”

Elias’s face fell. “But Amory. Please. I want chocolate. Oh, can I have chocolate with cherry syrup on top, hmm?”

Rae walked by behind me, heading for the coffee machines, and Elias’s gaze followed them for a bit before settling back into a pleading look he aimed solely at me.

“Vanilla and rainbow sprinkles,” I said. “I’m not helping you get into trouble.”

Elias sighed, planted the side of his face on the counter. “I guess if you say so. And happy reopening again. I mean, I came in here to say that in person, you know. I made an effort to be a supportive friend. You’d think I’d get a treat for that, for showing my support without fail. To my dearest friend.”

I leaned forward. “You know what? I’ll add some cherry syrup to the sprinkles. Happy now?”

Elias lifted his head. “You are the best, Amory! Thank you.”

The bell above the door twinkled.

CHAPTER FOUR

“Welcome to the Moonlight Diner,” I told the newcomers.

“Huh. I hope no one called you here,” Elias said to the group of triplets who had just walked in.

It took me a moment. I’d seen twins, but never triplets. These three were blond and brown-eyed, and their faces made me think they were quick to smile. They all wore jeans and T-shirts, nothing identical, but similar.

“We’re stopping by for dinner, Mr. Hawthorne,” one of them said, giving me a friendly nod.

“We heard the food was excellent,” said the second, this one in a dark blue shirt.

I looked around. “Counter or the table behind you.” I indicated table one. The three of them slid right into the booth. “I’ll be with you in a moment.”

Elias made a moue. “But you promised me syrup, Amory. Sweet, sticky syrup all over my cream.”

“It baffles me how you can make that sound so dirty.”

“Does it really?” He gave me innocent vampire eyes again.

“Fair enough. I’m sure you’ll manage to wait for a hot second. All good things to those who wait, you know.” I grabbed three menus.

“Hmm. Valentin says the exact same thing when I tell him I can’t wait any longer.”

I looked over my shoulder. “Are you sure you want that cherry syrup?”

Elias sighed dramatically, dropping his head back on the counter. “Yes, please.”

That left him silenced, at least for the time being. I rounded the counter, checking on my tables as I walked past on my way to table one.

Once there, I handed out the menus, wondering what those three were. Blue Shirt, White Shirt, Gray Shirt each gave me a warm smile and thanked me for the menus. Maybe they are werewolves. Wolves have several babies, right, so maybe werewolves do as well.

Either way, they knew Elias, and that was good enough for me. “Do you know what you want to drink?”

“Yes,” they said in unison, which was a little weird, but I had broken out in flames just on the other end of the counter, so I wasn’t going to judge.

“We’re having a strawberry milkshake, iced chai tea, and the homemade raspberry lemonade,” Gray Shirt said.

“All right. I’ll get those ready for you.”

I headed back, but stopped at table seven where Man Bun was waving at me.

“Could I please have another salad?” he asked. Kale lover or not, his small plate of fries was gone.

“Sure. More fries as well?”

The man—or werewolf—next to him answered, “Yes, please.”

“Actually, if you could make that two,” Atkins said.

The wolf next to Atkins leaned forward. “Three, please.”

Atkins sighed. “We’re going to become regulars here, Mr. Saintclair.”

That they knew my last name would have upset me if I hadn’t talked to Soyer earlier, but knowing he knew them, I smiled.

“We love our regulars. I’ll get those fries and salad for you. Please leave room for our Pride brownies.”

One of the wolves gave a longing whine at the mention of brownies, but I wasn’t sure which one. It was sort of endearing. I went back to the kitchen and left the order with Dwayne before putting one of the rainbow-glazed brownies on a plate.

“Break?” Dwayne asked.

I shook my head. “No. For my...friend out there.”

Dwayne nodded and added a grunt, his way of saying, All right, but you can take a break if you need it .

I went back outside and put the brownie in front of Ben. “Happy Pride.”

He looked from the brownie to me. “Thank you. Are there chocolate chips in this?”

“It’s a Pride brownie, so yeah,” I said, mostly because I’d overheard that same conversation between Lindy and Dwayne yesterday.

“I like chocolate chips,” Ben said, and I saw one of the werewolves with Atkins look over, presumably to check out the brownie. Or Ben? I didn’t even know if werewolves were gay, if it was a problem if they were.

Then again, I knew Soyer and I weren’t a problem for Ben. I mulled that over and started on making Elias’s milkshake.

“You left me all alone, Amory,” the vampire said when I put it down in front of him. The cherry syrup had collected at the bottom of the tall glass, looking like a thimble full of blood. That sort of made it the perfect milkshake for a vampire, and I hoped Elias wouldn’t get into trouble for getting me to make it for him.

“The diner’s full, and I have to work.”

Elias blew a raspberry. “Isn’t talking to me part of your work?” He gave me the puppy eyes again. “I missed talking to my friend over a nice milkshake, you know.”

“We can chat when I have a moment. Or we can go on another juice date.”

For some reason, that got him to brighten up. He even lifted his head off the counter.

I was about to tell him he could just have told me that was what he wanted when the door chimed again.

“Welcome to the Moonlight Diner,” I told the two healers who walked in. I remembered them all too well from back when they had taken care of me and my broken jaw and nose. After those two pawns had come in here and beaten me up.

Lynn waved, and Duncan gave me a casual nod. Elias looked over his shoulder. And frowned.

“Amory, our juice date. Please focus.”

“Just text me,” I told him and got the drinks for the triplets ready.

I stopped in front of Duncan and Lynn to hand them each a menu.

“You healed up well,” Duncan said.

“Yeah. And thank you. For that. I know I was a mess, but I remember you two were really nice.”

Lynn waved her hand as if to dismiss that. “Aw. You were fine. We’ve dealt with worse, believe me.”

“So true,” Duncan said. “You weren’t growling or calling me names or trying to bite my head off. Makes you practically a perfect patient.”

I really wanted him to elaborate and tell me what out there was in the business of biting off heads, but healer-patient confidentiality was probably a thing, even among pawns. I had to ask Soyer about that.

“Busy night,” Lynn said, leaning over to Duncan. “I told you we had to be here for the reopening.”

“Did you? Was that before or after you told me about your new kitchen cabinets?”

Lynn pointed at Duncan. “Total kitchen envy. Can I get a coke?”

“Sure. You’re remodeling too?”

Lynn pulled out her phone and showed me a few photos of a kitchen in that messy stage, but on the way to looking really nice.

“It will be glooorious,” she said, dismissing me and my tray.

I didn’t miss Elias’s noisy slurping or the way he was licking whipped cream from his finger, but I had people to serve.

The triplets watched me approach with their drinks.

“Sorry for the wait time. Strawberry milkshake?”

Gray Shirt lifted his hand. “No worries. We’re not in a hurry.”

I served them the rest of their drinks and pulled out my notepad.

“We need a few things,” Blue Shirt said. “Some of them to go.”

“We can do that. I can take your to-go order after you’re done with your meal.”

“Great,” said White Shirt. “In that case, we’re having the chili cheese fries, the mushroom scramble on sourdough, the quiche, and the veggie scramble with baba ghanoush.”

“And two side salads with ranch and extra tomatoes,” Gray Shirt added.

“Coming right up,” I told them, jotting it all down.

For the next half hour, I was busy with my tables, same as Rae, who managed just fine without me. They didn’t just walk from one table to another, they swayed gracefully almost as if dancing.

When we met at the coffee machines, it was pretty much coincidence. They were spooning arabica into the left-most one.

“Why’s there no music?” they asked, drumming the coffee spoon against an imaginary drum. “These pants fit very nicely, and I wouldn’t mind moving my hips.” To underline the nice fit of the pants, they spun on the balls of their feet.

Because they hadn’t, I hit the button on the machine, setting it to brew before answering.

“Dwayne doesn’t like background music. He says it gives him a headache.”

Rae stopped turning and cocked their head. “What if it’s a customer’s birthday?”

“We don’t celebrate customers’ birthdays.”

“What? What if it’s my birthday?” Elias hollered. Vampire hearing, I supposed.

“You’ll have to bring that up with Dwayne,” I told Rae. I looked at Elias. “And you can have extra sprinkles.”

I got the puppy eyes again. “Maybe it’s my birthday today.”

He was half done with his milkshake, the cherry syrup making it look bright pink.

“Friend of yours?” Rae asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “He’s also our web design person.”

That got Elias to suck on his straw smugly.

Rae crossed their arms. “Is there sound on our website?”

“No,” Elias said. “But there could be.”

I sighed. “There won’t be. And we have no music nor do we ever sing ‘Happy Birthday.’ Some people would consider that a perk.”

Rae pushed out their bottom lip. “But some people don’t work here. We do.”

“No music,” I said.

“But you’ll remember I suggested it?”

“I won’t.”

Dwayne—probably having overheard—interrupted with food that was ready to go out, and I took the triplets’ to-go order, basically another dinner for three and then some, and served several rainbow brownies.

From my side of the counter, I overheard the blond man bun with Atkins moan when he ate half of his brownie in one big bite, having foregone the dessert fork and simply using his fingers. Patrons that you could make happy this easily? Best reopening in my book.

“This is what’s wrong with all that kale and all that tea and that fucking onion juice,” Atkins commented. “None of it contains chocolate chips.”

I hid my chuckle by turning around in order to grab the fresh pot of coffee to make another round of refills. I never made it to the coffee machine, because Elias got my attention in a dramatic full-body wave.

“I’ll have to go now,” the vampire said.

“Birthday party?”

He rolled his green eyes, but made the movement big so that it involved his head and shoulders. “It’s all your fault for saying that thing about the sprinkles. Obviously, I will be celebrating in an appropriate fashion, and you will be invited.” He motioned at the diner. “This went well. People will enjoy coming here. You are simply too nice to just about everyone, it’s bordering on being irritating.”

I groaned. “That’s my job. Which I enjoy.”

“You’re like Cinderella. Not the real one, but the sweet, sanitized version from the cartoon.” He stood. “Text me about juice. You absolutely neglected me tonight, and we must catch up.”

“I didn’t neglect you, but I’ll still hang out with you,” I told the vampire. The fruit juice vampire. There was probably a joke in there somewhere.

“Pfft. Thank you for the cherry syrup. With any luck, that will get me in trouble.”

He left too much money on the counter, but shook his head when I opened my mouth to tell him so.

Coffee pot finally in hand, I stopped in front of Lynn and Duncan, refilled both their cups.

“Amory, I need your opinion. Or deciding vote,” Lynn said, so I stopped.

“What are we voting for?”

“Bad taste in kitchen décor,” Duncan said.

Lynn snorted and turned her phone around to me. “We have rustic.” She had a couple of images, almost a mood board, all warm wood with the grain still visible, with cream painted cabinets and dishes with blue polka dots. “Timeless.” The next kitchen mood board was all straight lines and shades of taupe, lighting hidden underneath the hanging cabinets, and a fancy induction hub. “Last, badass.” I couldn’t say how I knew, but the all-black kitchen with the neon sign mounted above a floating shelf, with lush green plants adding color, I knew that was the one she was going for.

“Right, the last one,” I said.

Lynn dropped her phone on the counter with an I-told-you-so gesture directed at Duncan.

“No, no, no. Tell her which one you would want to cook in,” Duncan said.

Soyer’s blue kitchen with the huge fridge and the fancy appliances I have no idea how to operate, I thought and felt myself smile.

“Well…”

Lynn’s face fell. “Huh?”

I shrugged. “I’d like a blue kitchen. With good daylight.”

Lynn’s face fell, and she scrunched up her nose. “You two know nothing.”

“Says the person who accused me of kitchen envy,” Duncan said.

“Says the man who misses every social occurrence and therefore cannot be expected to keep up with trends in kitchen design,” Lynn said. She looked at me. “And you have spent too much time in this haven of blues and delicious food. Now you’re just conflating the two.”

“I don’t think I can argue that,” I said and left them to it.

Over the next half hour, the wave of people who had come in at the start of my shift began leaving. I could practically tell which of them were pawns by the way they tipped, by how polite they were.

With that lull in patrons, I told Rae I’d be in the back for a short break.

In the storage room, still freshly stocked though not as cramped as it had been before the fire, I pulled out my phone and started texting.

Amory

If all the pawns you have come in here are as polite as today’s crowd, I really don’t mind. Serving faultlessly friendly people is kind of nice.

Soyer

Are you trying to talk me into getting you a raise, Amory? Or is this your way of telling me that someone misbehaved?

Do I need to follow up with Ben about that?

Soyer’s use of emojis was as ever over the top. I knew for a fact Ben was a nice guy. Back when I had burned, he had done his best to protect both me and Jenny. But I definitely didn’t want Soyer to text him like some helicopter boyfriend.

Amory

Neither. I’m just saying your pawns are nice people.

Soyer

Not my pawns, and you’re just saying that because you don’t know them.

Standing there, staring at Soyer’s words on my screen, I realized something. I’d been with him every single day over the last two months, and right now, I was missing him.

Amory

That nephew werewolf didn’t ask me to do yoga with him btw.

I typed, at a loss about what else to send. I couldn’t tell Soyer that I missed him. He’d come here right away. Yes, I wanted that, but also...I wasn’t a capable vampire graphic designer with a degree. I was only a waiter, albeit a good one. I would not stand here in our storage room, crying for my boyfriend to come hug be and make me feel better. I could handle myself.

Soyer

Good for him.

Although I researched yoga pants so that I would be able to imagine what you would look like in them. Thorough research, Amory.

Amory

Wait, were you watching porn?

Soyer

No. I looked at yoga pants and imagined you wearing some. Why would I watch porn without you?

My cheeks heated. I looked down the hallway to make sure no one was sneaking up on me.

Amory

I never know. With your rampant libido.

Soyer

My libido may be rampant, but it needs you to get going. And it’s getting ready to go right now.

My jaw dropped as all my world constricted to his words on the screen.

I read the message a couple of times, just like the cards he sent along with his flowers.

Amory

I’m still at work.

Soyer

Are you working right now?

Amory

Short break, but I’ll go back out in a second.

Soyer

Or you could stay for a few more minutes, tell me all about how slutty you have been, parading your sweet little ass around in that tight uniform.

I gasped, looked back out at the hallway. Then I typed. And stopped. And deleted. Finally, I sent him,

Amory

I think I know what you want to do, but I don’t know how.

Soyer

Do you want to do what I want to do?

My cheeks flushed.

Amory

Yes

I sent before I could think better of it.

Soyer

Then let’s try this together, okay? I’ve actually never sexted with anyone else either. But look: ??

I’m prepared

A nervous chuckle escaped me, and I bit my lip as I tried to keep myself from Googling that particular string of emojis. Not that I couldn’t guess what they meant. Soyer knew what he was about to do.

Amory

You don’t have to lie to make me feel better.

Soyer

I know. I’m not. It’s my first time.

Tell me. Have you been out there, showing what is mine to other men?

I hesitated, then typed,

Amory

Yes.

I had no idea if I liked this. It wasn’t especially arousing, not here, not with the distinct possibility of Dwayne or Rae just walking in on me. I couldn’t deny that it was exciting though.

Soyer

Amory, you’ve only been out of the house for a few hours. Have you already been a little slut?

I took a deep breath. This was Soyer. It was okay to take the plunge.

Amory

Maybe a little bit.

Soyer

I don’t believe that for a second. I’ve seen you take my cock, and I know exactly how much you love that.

No one who enjoys getting cock as much as you do is ever just a little bit a little slut.

I wasn’t sure what to write back. I wished Soyer were here. I started, stopped. Started again.

Then, I remembered what Rae had said about the uniform.

Amory

I can’t really help it. Those new uniforms, they fit really snugly.

Was that even sexting?

Soyer

What a little devil you are, Amory.

Are you telling me that it’s not your fault, that it’s the pants that can’t contain your needy little ass? That’s getting me really hard right now, Amory.

I was so blanking. I didn’t know the ins and outs of this, and I was afraid of letting Soyer down.

Amory

That’s okay. I like your hard

I couldn’t. But I made myself.

Amory

Cock.

Soyer

Yes, I know you do. Are you alone right now, imagining what I’d do to you?

Amory

I’m alone.

Soyer

And your imagination is forsaking you? Well. Right now, I’m in the mood for pushing you against a wall, undoing your pants.

Imagine what that would feel like for a moment.

My hands on you, my mouth against your neck.

My hand covering your mouth, because we both know you can be a noisy little slut when it’s done right.

Well, maybe this wasn’t so bad. Maybe it was actually really, really good.

Amory

It’s your fault for making me scream. You’re too big. And you always know...

You always know.

Soyer

I do. If I were there right now, I’d ruin your break.

I’d get you as slick as I can and then put my cock inside you.

And I know that you’d be taking it so well with that slutty hole of yours.

Amory

You shouldn’t do that. I’m at work.

Soyer

And I’m your boss.

When I want to fuck you because you are a flirt, that’s my prerogative. Isn’t it?

Amory

Yes.

And fine, this was doing something to me. I checked the hallway quickly, but no one was coming for me.

Soyer

And if I want to make it so you finish your shift on weak knees, your hole slick and trembling every time you lay eyes on me, then that too is my prerogative. Yes?

Amory

Yes.

I was tempted, so tempted, to run into the bathroom. Call him? Could I? But no, that was weird.

Soyer

Amory. Now I have to wonder, do you say that to everyone who promises you a good time, a good fuck? Hmm?

Amory

No. You know I don’t.

I hesitated.

Amory

I mean, honestly, play aside, you do know I would never, right?

Soyer

...

I know, oh love of my immortal life.

Stop being a distraction, Amory. I want to imagine fucking you in the storage room until you cum, your mouth stuffed with napkins so you don’t scream.

The coast was still clear, and so I escaped to the staff restroom finally.

The restroom was just one room, a sink on the right wall with a mirror mounted above and a shelf with air freshener, hand cream, and feminine hygiene products underneath it. Dwayne insisted we keep the sanitary pads and tampons stocked for those who might need them during a shift.

Soyer

Amory?

Soyer texted.

Amory

Sorry. Had to hide in the restroom.

Soyer

I bet you did. Door’s closed?

Amory

Yes.

Soyer

Get those pants open.

Now.

I did, the illicitness of this making me pay attention to every little noise, the sounds coming from the kitchen, the patrons back in the diner. I leaned against the sink, barely daring to look at myself in the mirror as I worked my belt and zipper open.

Amory

Done.

Soyer

Good.

We were talking about how you’ll be taking all I have to give, my sweet employee of the month, all while I push you up against a wall and am balls-deep inside of you.

I want you to pinch one of your nipples, right now.

I hesitated. Not for very long, and I was shocked about myself when I rolled my left nipple between my thumb and forefinger, the fabric of my shirt somehow making this feel all the more like a thing I shouldn’t be doing. I corrected my own thinking. I knew this was okay. So long as I didn’t get caught.

Amory

I did.

Soyer

How good you are being. Did it feel good?

Amory

Yes.

Soyer

Nice. Now your cock. Touch it. Just the tip tho.

I bit my lip and looked down into the sink. Texting one-handed was not my strength.

Amory

Yes.

Soyer

That good?

I paused, just so I could text.

Amory

Yes, it’s good.

Soyer

Good. Do you want to know what I’ve been doing?

Amory

Yes.

Soyer

I’ve been fucking my hand all this time.

I think you have some catching up to do.

Touch yourself, all of your cock.

And don’t be fucking delicate about it. I want us to cum together.

I’d been starting to masturbate halfway through reading his text. One of the things not being with anyone before Soyer had taught me was how to get myself off, and as it turned out, it wasn’t something you forgot.

I bit down on my lip harder, almost until it hurt.

Amory

Wish you were here.

Soyer

Wish you were here too. No, wish I were there.

To put my scent inside of you, all over you.

To kiss you. Rtghmmmn,.

Right now.

Those two words made me cum.

Halfway through, I threw my hand up, slick with my own precum, to cover my mouth and keep quiet. I shuddered. I saw colors, lights flashing and sounds going quiet until reality dared flood back in.

Soyer

Amory. Amory?

Soyer had texted.

Amory

Here. Came. Got to clean.

I put the phone on the shelf above the sink right next to the tampons and sanitary pads.

Soyer

You really are a dirty little slut. My dirty little slut. ??

I barely saw the text while I was washing my hands and wiping at myself and the sink before the phone rang with an incoming call. Soyer had made me promise I’d never set it to silent and always answer if and when he called.

And so I did, setting it to speaker.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah. Just, well. This got a bit messy. And I need to get back out there. It’s so busy.”

A snort. “You can take a fucking break to help your boss get off, Amory.”

“Shh!” I said, but I was smiling. “This was fun.” I didn’t speak very loudly, nearly whispered.

“Fun, huh? You’re fun. I miss you, my heart. While I did enjoy this, I’m not sure it should be repeated. I prefer doing the deed, not talking about it via text.”

I gave the sink another wipe down, washed my hands again, then my face.

“That libido of yours.”

“Yes.” A pause. “Too much?”

“No. I mean, yes, sometimes, but you always ask and make sure it isn’t in the moment. And you’re a mind reader, and I trust you. With my mind, you know. Also with the rest of it.”

Soyer chuckled on the other end, and I heard him move. I wondered whether he was upstairs in his bed or on the couch. I imagined him with his pants down, but not bothered at all by the fact.

“You have no idea what that means to me, my heart.”

I examined myself in the mirror, turned left and right. I didn’t look like someone who’d just gotten off while on break. Or did I?

“Well, it’s true. Okay, now I really have to go back out there.” I splashed water in my face again, just to be safe, dried it with a paper towel.

“You do that. Oh, by the way, Ben will be taking you to and from work from now on, and he’ll be sitting at that counter while you move your delicious butt to and fro.”

My knee-jerk reaction was to tell Soyer no, that this was too much. But it really wasn’t. Not after what had happened here, not after those two pawns, not after the vampire, the witch blade, and me breaking into flame.

So I told him, “I can live with that.”

“Good to know. But I was just informing you, not making a suggestion.”

“Big bad Black Shuck.”

“No, your big bad boyfriend. Now go back out there before hearing your voice tempts me to come over now. I’ll be by past midnight.”

“I’ll be saving you some cherry pie.”

“I know.”

He hung up, and I unlocked the restroom door—and found myself face to face with Rae.

“Hi,” they said.

“Ugh.”

They waved a hand, silencing me. “Dwayne asked where you were. He got a fidgety look as if he wanted to send search and rescue, so I said I’d check on you.”

“Erm, you could have knocked. I was just...in there. And then Soyer called.”

Rae rolled their eyes. “Please don’t explain. Those two at the counter talking about fancy kitchen sinks are asking for Pride brownies to go, and I’m not sure what to tell them. I let them know I’m new and not yet entitled to make brownie decisions.”

I nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”

CHAPTER FIVE

I packed Lynn and Duncan four brownies. I figured they were going out to heal more people, and a few extra brownies really were the least I could do, both as thanks for them helping me and to show appreciation for their efforts in helping others.

By around eleven, the door jingled, and after greeting the newcomer, I cocked my head. It was one of the triplets again, although he had changed, now wearing scrubs, sneakers, and a jean jacket. He slid into a seat at the counter, in my section.

“Welcome again,” I said, placing a menu in front of him. “Back for seconds so soon?”

He shrugged. “We get hungry. It was a long shift. You know what it’s like, spending hours on your feet.”

“Oh, so you were just on break earlier,” I said. The extra food had probably been for his colleagues back at whichever hospital he worked at.

“You could say that. I’d like a grilled cheese with tomato soup and a side salad with extra tomatoes, please. And a strawberry milkshake.”

I nodded. “All the best comfort food.”

He sighed, nodded.

I didn’t want to bother a doctor or nurse with conversation they might not need after a long day, grabbed the menu, and passed the order on to Dwayne.

The door twinkled yet again.

The writer came in. It was early for him, not yet midnight. He looked around, saw me, quickly looked away when we made eye contact.

“Welcome to the Moonlight Diner,” I said.

He nodded and headed for his table. Luckily, it was free even though we still were fuller than usual.

I caught Rae on their way to the kitchen, plates in hand.

“That guy who just came in is the regular I mentioned. The one I usually take care off.”

They glanced back over their shoulder. “Table seventeen? Sure, all yours.” They took one more step. “Do you think we should put on some music?” Their puppy dog eyes weren’t nearly as good as Elias’s, but they were definitely trying.

Ben chuckled.

“You go ahead and ask Dwayne.”

“And that from the man who gave the vampire cherry syrup.”

They walked off, but that definitely confirmed that they were here because, well. Because they knew vampires were a thing. And knew Elias was one.

I had no time to think about it further. Ben cleared his throat and leaned back.

“Yes?”

“Sir, that guest who just came in. Do you know him?”

I lowered my voice. “The writer. And no, I don’t. But he’s been coming in here for years. He used to sit and write at table three until Soyer claimed it for himself. The writer’s the silent type, mostly has pie and coffee.”

“Hmm.” Ben nodded.

I grabbed the coffee pot and a cup, also one of our new menus. They were the same apart from a few updates such as the cherry milkshake and mention of our house dip. It also mentioned crêpes were available on request, a concession to Lindy Dwayne wasn’t really happy about. He had extracted a promise from me to recommend his fluffy “real” pancakes instead and not bother him with requests for “flimsy sheets of flavorless batter.”

The writer knew the old menu, and I hoped he’d appreciate this new and improved version. As I approached his table, he was opening his laptop. That meant it was the ghost in the machine lover who was with him tonight. Maybe he’d tell that lover all about the new menu, about the fresh colors and fancy new dishes, and maybe next time when he brought his notebook lover, he’d act all surprised about it, keeping up the pretense, making sure neither lover learned of the existence of the other.

Then again, I wasn’t sure that lover—either lover—would be interested in the menu. Living in a machine probably meant the real world wasn’t all that exciting. And really, I wasn’t sure anyone but me was as excited about all those little changes to the Moonlight.

I poured the writer some coffee and placed the menu next to his laptop. He looked at it as if he had no idea what it was, as if it were an alien object in the clear skies of his mind.

“We just made a few updates,” I told him. “Thought you might want to check them out. Or do you know what you want already?”

He looked at his keyboard, glanced up, glanced at the menu.

“Could I get a slice of cherry pie, please?”

“Sure.”

I left him, knowing full well he wasn’t the chatty type. I passed Rae, who was humming and moving to their own music, a plate with a Pride brownie in each hand.

“He said no?”

They shrugged. “Didn’t ask. I thought I’d give you all a taste of what you are missing out on first.”

They pirouetted toward their table to serve the brownies. I got the writer his cherry pie and put one slice aside, just in case. I didn’t want Soyer to come in here on the very day we reopened and not get his pie.

Maybe I’d been off work for too long, but I even pulled out my fancy new phone and took a picture of the slice, sent it with the words “All yours.”

Soyer, of course, responded within seconds.

Soyer

The pie or you?

he sent.

Amory

Lol, pie. Maybe both.

Soyer

Amory, are you trying to get me hard again? This time, I’ll have to come over there and take you into the office to help me with that.

Amory

Stop it, lol. I’m working.

Maybe take a cold shower.

Soyer

Look at you, my cruel lover.

Thank you for saving me pie.

I’m really looking forward to it.

And because Rae hummed their way back to the counter, I put my phone away again.

For the next hour, it was busy, but slow enough to fall back into the easy rhythm I knew and loved about the night shift. Dwayne looked out a few times, checking how many people there were. The triplet left after his meal, but around midnight, new people came in, a slow trickle a lot like you’d see on Saturdays.

Several of them seemed familiar from that time when pawns had come in here to get a look at me, when I’d first met Elias. There were the two women who’d sat at the counter and asked about my flowers that day as well as the man who’d inadvertently sat at Soyer’s table and had been made to leave when Soyer got here.

The man sat at table one now, eyes glued to the screen of his phone, though he took his time perusing the menu.

When I put dishes in the dishwasher by about one, Dwayne was still in the middle of frying things.

“Should I tell everyone the kitchen is closing?” I asked.

Dwayne looked over his shoulder. “No. We only just reopened. This is good. The new kid handling things out there?”

I gave him a thumbs-up. “Yeah, Rae is great. They really don’t need me to show them anything.”

Dwayne gave a satisfied grunt which told me the conversation was over.

I heard the bells twinkle from back there and walked out to the front. When I came through the swing doors, my breath caught just a tiny little bit.

Soyer had just come in, but he’d not yet taken his seat at his table. He just stood there, eyes on me. He looked as if he was waiting for something.

I walked over to him. My heart was thumping in my chest. I wanted to hug him, kiss him, but this was work.

Before I could speak, Soyer said, “I have not been greeted.” A cheeky little smile played around his lips.

I said, “Welcome to the Moonlight Diner.”

His smile stretched. He walked toward me, put his hand on my cheek.

“Glad to be back here.”

He held my gaze for long seconds before he broke both it and the touch and sat at his table. Once comfortable, he looked up, lifting his left eyebrow.

“Right. Your pie.”

“All mine, I believe you said.”

“Yup.”

I turned on my heel before I could grow too embarrassed. On my way, I noticed Ben, who sat there, sort of slumped down as if he wanted to make himself small.

“Relax. He’s all bark and no bite,” I said.

I thought that was going to be funny, given Soyer’s Black Shuck nickname, but Ben looked at me in wide-eyed shock, and I reflexively apologized.

The coffee was fresh. I poured Soyer a cup at the counter, putting it and the pie on a tray, then got him a Pride brownie from the kitchen as well.

Of course he watched me closely as I picked up the tray and walked toward him.

“Coffee, your pie, and a Pride brownie.”

“You spoil me.”

I shrugged. “Everyone gets a Pride brownie. I did plate yours with love though.”

Soyer chuckled. “I just realized a terrible truth.”

“And what’s that?”

He took his time cutting off the corner of the brownie with his fork and eating it. Finally, he said, “You missed work.”

“I guess I did.”

“Hmm. Sit a moment.”

I looked around. “But—”

“Just a moment. For me, please.”

I felt bad, especially since Rae still sashayed from one table to the other and Dwayne was prepared to stay longer, but I sat.

“Oh, you have to be nice to Ben. Can you promise?” I asked.

Soyer looked at me. Then he picked up his coffee to slurp noisily.

“You, my heart, are a menace. And you really don’t look it. I might have to put a warning label on you.”

“Is that a yes?”

Soyer sighed. “Fine. He’s not going in the woodchipper after all.”

Back at the counter, Ben coughed. I looked at him and watched as Rae patted his shoulder.

I narrowed my eyes at Soyer. “You totally knew he’d be able to hear that.”

Soyer sipped his coffee, this time managing without any slurping at all. “Maybe.”

“You’re terrible. Can he at least go home now, call it a night? And—I don’t know—I think he needs a set of Bluetooth speakers for emotional damages.”

More coughing from the counter, though this time, I didn’t turn around.

“A menace.” His eyes roamed over me. “I’ll have to get a closer look, decide where I can put that warning label.”

“I’m not really kidding, you know.”

Soyer sighed. “Fine.” He looked past me. “Ben, head home. Get yourself some nice Bluetooth speakers, just like my lover instructed. My lover who—in exchange—will not balk at you walking him to work from here on out.”

“Works for me. There are worse things than having a werewolf bodyguard.”

Soyer, very casually, moved his plates aside and said, “Amory, if you keep this up, I will not be able to control myself. I will have to grab you by that adorable bow tie, and then I’ll lead you to the back and—”

“Shh!”

I leaned over in an attempt to cover his mouth with my hand, but Soyer was faster. He grabbed me by the wrist, a mischievous grin on his face, and sucked on my pinky and ring finger before letting me go again.

Ben, having walked up to our table, cleared his throat, said, “Have a good night, Mr. Saintclair, Mr. Bennet. Thank you.” He said the last to me, then hightailed it out of the diner.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Dwayne looking out from the passthrough, but just for a moment. Still, I was slacking and shouldn’t be.

“Before you go,” Soyer said just as I got ready to tell him I had to. “I have dinner, technically dark lunch, waiting for us. Will you come home with me, Amory? I’d love to celebrate your first day back at work.”

That made me smile and completely forgive him his teasing of Ben. It was so typically Soyer.

“I’d love to. Though, not going to lie, I think I might fall asleep during that.”

“Hmm, that’s fine. I’ll simply leave your dessert in the fridge so I can feed you sugar for breakfast.”

“Okay then.”

With my tray under one arm and my body light and tingly, I made it back to the counter where I picked up Ben’s plates, then made another round of coffee refills. No one seemed to have been bothered by me sitting down with Soyer, not Rae, not Dwayne, and not any of the patrons either.

The last two hours were uneventful, and they went by quickly. The writer stayed until the end, asking for a grilled cheese after all, though he mostly hid behind his screen, deep in conversation with his ghost in the machine lover. After earlier, I wondered if maybe the two of them were doing what Soyer and I had done—sexting, if that’s what it was called when you weren’t on a phone.

But no. I figured if they were, I should have seen it in the writer’s behavior, should have seen some fidgeting, but he was calm and shy as always.

More intently than I watched my patrons, Soyer watched me, his eyes barely wavering. Dwayne announced the kitchen was closing twenty minutes to three, prompting one final order of buffalo cauliflower from table one, the quiet guy who was totally occupied with staring at his phone still.

We had the diner to ourselves by a quarter after three, and when I switched off the lights in the front, the four of us found ourselves standing just outside the kitchen.

Dwayne looked at Rae and myself. “Nice job, you two. Good first day back.”

“Good job to you as well,” Soyer said. “I’ve seen several new reviews pop up. One praises the buttered pancakes with maple syrup and berries.”

Dwayne snorted. “Damn right. Fucking crêpes.” He pulled his hairnet off. “Now let’s get out of here. No need to stay for the morning shift.

CHAPTER SIX

I should have been dead on my feet after all the many people I’d served, but I wasn’t. Instead, I had the energy to smile at Soyer’s door person, and my good mood only grew as we rode up to his floor on the elevator.

“Look at you,” he said, unlocking the door to his house.

“What?”

“Too damn fucking sweet, and all it makes me want to do is bend you over furniture, but I can’t because I promised you dinner.”

I laughed, sliding off my summer jacket just before Soyer could do that for me. The nights were cool, but still, how he managed with his coat in June, I had no idea.

“You think I joke.”

Soyer, my jacket in his hand, cupped my neck and pulled me in for a kiss. My world exploded when I opened myself up to him, to his almost rough, hungry kiss. It might have lasted a minute or ten, I wasn’t sure. All my senses went into overdrive.

I had missed him, missed him so fucking much, and with the kiss, happiness overcame me.

Soyer pulled back with a growl, and I said, “Fuck.”

“Upstairs,” he said.

“Yeah.”

He dropped my jacket and his coat. His hands went to my shirt, and I felt the strength in his arms, getting ready to tear. I pulled back, steadied his wrists, all of which gained me another growl and Soyer going for my neck to nip the skin above my Adam’s apple.

“Just don’t tear my uniform. It’s new.”

“Fucking tease. I’ll buy you another. Fuck, I’ll buy you a dozen.”

Soft as he so often spoke with me, I said, “Soyer. Make love to me.”

My mind reader, my undying lover, he understood. Instead of tearing, grabbing, biting, he slipped his hands free of my hold and used them to frame my head. He looked me in the eyes. The fire still burned in his black ones, but those flames were banked now with affection and care.

“Whatever you want, my heart.”

He kissed me on the lips and took my hand to lead me up his spiraling stairs.

Once in his bedroom, we undressed. He let me do my own buttons, at least those on my work shirt, not so much my pants. For some reason, I started giggling, and then we were both laughing by the time we tumbled on the covers arm in arm.

“Anything you want?” he asked, his breath warm against the shell of my ear.

“Let me be on my belly,” I said. “Earlier, you talked all about how you wanted to put your cock inside me.”

Soyer let me turn over, tossed the pillows away so they wouldn’t bother me, and bit my neck.

“Amory. I always want that. Hmm, let’s see.”

With one hand on my hip, he got me into position, propped up by one of the pillows he had discarded, my arms in front of me.

This, exactly this, was what I had imagined gay sex was like, back when I’d still lived at home. Back then, I couldn’t conceive of much else, just knew, deep down, that I wanted to, even if it was difficult to admit, at least early on. I’d been scared of my desires. By some miracle, I’d just been more scared of getting rid of them, and maybe, just maybe, getting kicked out had been better in the end than staying in that house longer to be told—over and over—that I was broken, dirty, aberrant.

“You think very loudly,” Soyer said, kissing a path from my neck along my spine.

“I’m just happy everything worked out. I’m happy. Though I’m also sorry about almost burning down the Moonlight, but the sum total of my life, especially including meeting you, is very positive.” Soyer bit my butt cheek. “Hey!”

“Amory, I’m about to fuck you until you cum on my pillow. Is a little bit of sexy talk too much to ask? I’ll take moaning, even. You can just be quiet and moan into the mattress while I rail you. Gently.”

I shivered. “Okay.”

“Good.”

Soyer kissed me just above my crack. I trembled while at the same time tensing, really not wanting him to kiss further south, not before I’d taken a shower and soaped that area properly.

Soyer, generally less bothered by messy things, sighed but didn’t comment nor push my comfort zone. He walked toward the side table on his knees to grab his lube. Once in position, I felt his slick fingers on me.

“You know, I could do this all day long,” he said. “Just eat and fuck, eat and fuck. Maybe it would get boring at some point, but I think I’d enjoy it for several years before then.”

“We’ve been doing that since March,” I said, just barely managing to keep my voice steady. He’d pushed his fingers inside me, and Soyer knew the pleasures touch could bring. He also knew exactly how to walk that line where the pleasure was good but not total, not enough. It was torturous.

“What, done moaning into the mattress already? Shame. And that’s just been a few weeks. Weeks of having you on your knees is nothing, Amory.”

He stretched me suddenly, and a strangled sound broke from my lips, ruining whatever other response I might have thought of.

“Yes. Those are the noises you make when you are on your knees, your ass pushed out like a present for me to claim. My Amory.”

“You’re always so…so…sooo…ah!”

“Hmm?”

“Soyer…”

“Yes, my heart?”

“P-please, you…I need…I think-k-ah!”

He leaned over, his hand landing flat on the sheets next to my face. “And why the fuck are you thinking, Amory? Should we see if my cock can fix that issue for you?”

“Yes,” I said, and very briefly, I caught the fire in his dark eyes.

His gentleness, for what followed, was acute, and yet, it was as if there wasn’t any gentleness at all, just fire, lust and desire, the need evident in how he pushed inside with his slicked cock, first slow then fast, tender always. I had to match my breathing to his rhythm, because it was punishing, the depth inside me he reached, the way in which this position made it difficult for me to really...hold on or control much of anything.

That part too was exhilarating. Something that might have been very scary with another man was bliss with Soyer.

“Yes, there you are, the bone marrow of your mind,” he said.

My body felt as if it were floating, and I didn’t mind, loved that.

Soyer tangled his fingers in my hair, thrust, and I almost came. On the next thrust, the orgasm exploded out of me, messy and good and deep, a total body high like no other.

“Yes, fuck, yes,” Soyer said, then growled and trembled above me, thrusting deep before stopping.

I felt his heat inside of me, his own orgasmic twitchings, near synchronous with my own ebbing ones.

“That was good,” Soyer said after a while, his fingers trailing up and down my back before he finally pulled out. “Hmm. And that view is to-die-for.”

“Don’t,” I managed.

“Fucking puritans. Anyway.” He flopped down next to me, pushed and rolled me until we were on our sides, looking at each other. “I got you flowers. Pretty apricot roses for the occasion of the Moonlight’s reopening. They’re downstairs where the food is.”

I smiled. “Thank you. I love getting flowers from you.”

“Hmm. I know. Still hungry?”

“Really hungry.”

“Breakfast in bed?”

“Nah. Crumbs get everywhere. Let’s go downstairs and eat. And I want to see my flowers.”

Soyer groaned. “Fine. I did laundry earlier. Your bathrobe is on the heated shelf in the bathroom.”

That made me open my slightly sluggish eyes wide. “Thank you.”

“Just a bathrobe.”

“But thank you. It’ll be warm. Like a hug from you.”

“Amory, my heart, if you want me to hug you”—he moved until he could fold his arms around me—”I am right here, and I love holding you close like this. You have but to ask.”

“I’ll try to remember that.”

“Yeah, you do that.”

“Soyer?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m really looking forward to that warmed bathrobe though.” And I wouldn’t mind cleaning up a little, but he was my mind reader, so he’d know.

“Should never have ordered that thing.” He chuckled. “Wear it when you next break out in flame.”

I shifted so I could look him in the eye. “I don’t ever want to burn again. I think I burned for you because you were a stupid fucking asshole idiot and died, and I don’t want you to ever fucking do that again. Okay?”

He cocked his left eyebrow. “Noted.”

“Good.”

“So I made stuffed spring squash and stuffed bell peppers with stuffed melons and blood oranges for dessert. It was after our little text exchange. Putting fillings in things was sort of on my mind.”

“You’re trying to distract me with food. With sexy food,” I said but rolled out of bed. I’d learned that getting up naked—especially after sex—would always be awkward, at least if I did it. “It’s working.”

“Good,” Soyer said, not moving from the bed.

I could feel his eyes on me as I pushed one of the screen doors open a little wider in an attempt to shorten my walk to the bathroom, if only by a few steps.

“What a fine ass you have, Amory,” I heard Soyer say.

I didn’t react. I was embarrassed. But then...I also felt flattered, one more thing I needed to relearn, reexamine.

“Thanks,” I said in an attempt to speed that process up. The words were whispered, and I didn’t think Soyer was going to hear.

Yet, when I heard him get up too, step out of his bedroom, he said, “You are welcome, my heart.”

I turned, stopped, the mess between my legs temporarily forgotten. It didn’t matter for a moment that I was naked or that he was. Our eyes met, and I thought, Soyer, my firebird, I will burn for you forever .

He smiled a muted Mona Lisa smile as if he’d heard that thought, as if in response to it.

And I was sure he had, phoenix mind reader that he was.