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Everything was in neat and tidy order. Forms were filled out and ready to be filed. Philippe had seen his email in the past, and every item was dealt with in a timely manner.
But then, Rafe had run countless nightclubs over the years. He knew what it took to make them a success and who he needed on his staff to keep it running smoothly. This current club was no exception.
After Blush had burned to the ground, Rafe—in his stubbornness—had bulldozed the site and rebuilt it exactly as it was. Only the name changed. He’d christened it The Phoenix and filled the place with firebirds and dancing flames. Cheeky bastard.
There was no stopping his lover when he wanted something.
And amazingly, Rafe wanted him. Philippe felt it in his lover’s touch, in the caress of his eyes whenever they were in the same room, heard it in the rough tone of his voice. It was intoxicating to be loved so completely.
Maybe that was why he was so damn restless.
Rafe was out of town with Winter and Fox, visiting the witch Zelda, leaving him to keep an eye on the nightclub and the rest of the Variks. Not that The Phoenix or the Variks needed him. Everything was running smoothly with or without him.
In fact, all of the city seemed to have grown quiet in the past year since Aiden had officially claimed the position of king. There were still some grumbly shadows and pockets of trouble, but nothing like when the Ministry had been running things. His special gift of locating abandoned vampires hadn’t pinged in months.
It all left him feeling…useless.
Rafe needed him, of course. His sweet lover always made him feel desired and loved, but was it wrong if he wanted a little more?
He was accustomed to running his own clan and keeping up with the demands of his clan members. But now he was a Varik. Jullien had found his place within the Variks and was balancing most of his time between The Phoenix and Lola. The Variks were pretty self-sufficient, even if they were all a touch insane.
Philippe needed to find a new hobby or something. Otherwise, he was going to start driving Rafe crazy with clinginess.
Sinking even lower in the chair, he swung it around to stare out the glass wall overlooking the dance floor. From where he sat, he couldn’t see much of the nightclub, mostly the flashing lights and a handful of people. But at least they all looked happy.
A soft knock on the door had Philippe swinging back and jerking upright in the chair as if he were trying to hide his slump.
“Rafe?” Gideon’s gentle voice drifted through the opening before he poked his head inside of the office.
“Hello, Gideon!” Philippe called maybe a little too enthusiastically, but Gideon was a wonderful distraction from his current gloom.
“Oh! Philippe! I’m sorry to disturb you.” Gideon flinched and took a step in retreat.
Philippe desperately held on to his smile. It wasn’t that he didn’t get along with Gideon. It was just that the young vampire was so skittish around him that Philippe had never been able to build a strong rapport with him. As soon as Gideon saw him, he was usually turning on his heel or quickly walking away as he was now.
“You’re not. Come in! Come in!” he beckoned. He waved both hands toward the vampire, urging him inside while he strolled to the other side of the desk. “Is there something I can help you with?”
Gideon stopped trying to leave, but he remained in the doorway as he spoke. “Oh, um…I was just looking for Rafe. I didn’t mean to trouble you.”
“You’re not. Rafe has just gone out of town for the evening with one of his brothers. He probably won’t be home for another hour or so. I was just sitting in Rafe’s chair, trying to figure out what to do with my night.”
Okay, maybe he was sitting in Rafe’s chair because he missed his mate and it seemed slightly less pathetic than spending the night curled up in bed with Rafe’s pillow clutched to his chest.
Gideon continued to stand in the doorway, staring at the floor with his arms wrapped around his slender chest. The man was willow thin and tended to wear baggy clothes that sort of draped over him, accenting his thinness. His dark-brown hair fell past his shoulders and crowded his face, making it hard to see his expression. He was a beautiful creature with delicate features and enormous eyes that appeared to swallow his face. When he smiled, his mouth was large and bold, but those smiles were rare and generally saved for Rafe or possibly Ethan and Fox.
“Is there something I can help you with? I don’t think I saw you on the schedule to work tonight. Do you need to change your schedule for the week?”
The vampire shook his head, keeping his eyes locked on the lush carpet that stretched across the room. He said nothing, leaving Philippe floundering as to what he needed.
“Gideon…have I done something to make you uncomfortable with me? If I have, I never meant to and I’m very sorry.”
Gideon’s head snapped up at that question, his eyes wide in his too-pale face. “No! Never! You’ve been nothing but nice to me. You take good care of Rafe.”
“But you’re uncomfortable with me…” Philippe nudged.
Gideon’s arms tightened around his chest, his hands gripping his elbows and twisting up the cream-colored sweater he was wearing. “I…I was afraid that you might not like me, because…because of how I am with Rafe.”
Philippe smiled softly. Gideon was afraid of Philippe striking out at him in the name of possessive jealousy. And yes, maybe he was possessive of Rafe, but he was also confident in his place in Rafe’s life. He had no doubts about where he stood in Rafe’s heart.
