A Vampire's Muse

Chapter 12

Calum tapped his fingers against his wooden desk in a frantic rhythm, his chin propped against his other hand. In the opposite corner of the room, his butler watched him silently albeit with a barely concealed irritated look on his face.

“A penny for your thoughts, sire?” The latter finally spoke after a long, long deliberation in his head. “You’ve been acting like this for quite some time now, instead of paying attention to the stack of paperwork in front of you.”

“Spare me the nagging, Thomas.” His gaze found the abandoned paperwork on his desk and for the first time in decades, work seemed too overwhelming. Calum rubbed his temples. “I worked like a dog for centuries, have I not? I believe I can afford to take it easy for once.”

Thomas found this incredulous. “I thought you’ve been feeling a lot better these days. Was I mistaken?”

The butler studied his master’s features—his pale skin, his typically sunken eyes, and even the expressions he donned seemed to have a sheen of life in them. Over the centuries that the pair have known each other, Thomas thought nothing about Calum could surprise him anymore, but recently—ever since he bonded with the Avery woman—the former’s only been more and more amused.

“I am. I have long forgotten how it was like to consume the blood of a mate,” Calum answered while turning his hands over slowly and examining the veins underneath his skin. The bluish tint appeared less prominent, a sign of his improving health. “I reckon I have been more in the mood for frolicking than working nowadays.”

Thomas was even more stunned as if he wasn’t already. After clearing his thoughts, he said, “Well, I guess work can wait for a little bit. After all, you’ve been nothing but hardworking all this time, sire.”

A ghost of a smile formed on Calum’s lips. Without meaning to, his mind immediately told him to pay his Avery dear a visit, like an instinct. “I suppose I do.”

His butler hesitated for a few moments before finally relenting to his curiosity. “Are you…planning to visit your mate, sire?”

“What of it?” Calum’s red eyes pierced into him, defensive and almost sheepish. Upon realizing how suspect his reaction seemed, his features relaxed and grew inquisitive. “Would that…Would that be strange, perhaps?”

“No, sire. I think it’s normal for bonded mates to meet frequently.”

“I thought so.” With a flick of a hand, he continued, “Go purchase a bouquet of flowers for me. I want to see Avery swoon.”

Thomas bowed his head and moved towards the door. “Right away, sire.”

A split-second later, Calum stopped him with a curt ‘Wait!’ and rubbed his chin with a hand in thought. “Although…I doubt a feisty assassin would fall to such flattery.”

“What gift shall I prepare instead?”

Calum pushed himself off his chair and began pacing around the room, still lost in thought. He racked his brain for any ideas, all the while imagining how Avery would possbily react to receiving them only to end up chuckling to himself, much to Thomas’ confusion. “No matter what I came up with, I could only imagine her scowling face.”

Thomas c****d his head. “So, what’s the plan, sire? Would it even be the point of giving something that you’re so certain Miss Avery wouldn’t like?”

He turned towards the window, his gaze settling on his manor’s expansive front garden yet his thoughts remained tracked onto the concept of the first woman Calum’s had trouble reading. “Perhaps it is because of her line of work, but she is merely cautious. I have no doubt it would not take me long to break through her defenses.”

Calum’s confidence, however, crumbled the moment he alighted his carriage in front of the Black Rose Guild building.

***

The man with dirty blonde hair was looming over Avery near the entrance of the building, right where everyone within the area could see them easily. He could vaguely recall meeting him once before when he was at the verge of going berserk from starvation. Their closeness was undeniable, with their close proximity and the playful grins etched on their faces. Calum had never seen Avery sporting such a look on her face when they were together, and the realization of it made him uneasy for some reason.

The two didn’t notice him at first. It was only until he was within earshot that they finally snapped their heads to his direction. Calum’s eyes focused on Avery and caught how fast her smile dropped upon seeing him.

“The boyfriend.”

He finally turned to the man beside her, albeit only for a second, before subtly shooting Avery a teasing look, his brows raised. “Is that what she told you?”

“I know our previous encounter was a bit unpleasant,” the man interjected and stepped in between him and Avery, reaching out a hand for a shake. “Let me properly introduce myself. My name’s Kyle.”

Calum tried to recall whatever was unpleasant about the first time they met but apparently, he was too focused on Avery at the time that he barely even remembered the guy. Nonetheless, he faked politeness and shook his hand. “Calum Reed.”

“I guess you’re here to surprise Avery,” Kyle replied as he retracted his hand. “We’re about to head out to work, so I don’t think she can spare you some time at the moment.”

He frowned. “Let my lover speak for herself.”

Annoyance flashed across Kyle’s features although he was clearly trying to remain civil. He relented quicker than Calum thought he would, stepping out of the way and turning around to pat Avery’s shoulder gently. His lips curved into a small smile and his voice turned soft as he addressed her, “I’ll go wait for you inside. Scream for me if anything goes wrong.”

Avery nodded, returning his smile. “Will do.”

Calum watched their interaction closely and couldn’t help but catch the gleam in her eyes that he knew annoyingly well. If one were as old and experienced as he were, it was pretty easy to tell. He scoffed under his breath.

“Why are you here?”

He met her stare. “What, am I not allowed to come see my lover at work?”

Despite the irritated look she sported on her face, he still caught the hint of pink blossoming on her cheeks and the tip of her nose. Avery avoided eye contact and crossed her arms across her chest. “If you’re here to…t-to feed…” She cleared her throat as she sank into the clothes she was wearing. “I can’t because I’m supposed to be working.”

As if it was instinct, the images of Avery from last night, moaning and sweaty and utterly beautiful underneath him flooded his head. He recalled how warm her soft touches were, how exhilarating her body felt. A burst of desire surged in him. If he had no self-control, he would’ve taken her again then and there.

He chuckled and placed a hand on the small of her back to pull her closer against him. Then, leaning in to whisper in her ear, Calum replied, “Tempting. But I am here to deliver a gift.”

“A gift? What for?” She looked up at him with wide eyes, more curious than repulsed by the idea—a completely different reaction than what he was expecting. The smirk on his face widened.

Calum then hooked a finger around the knot on the cravat he was wearing, and with one smooth pull, he managed to take it off completely. “Nothing grand. With your personality, I am aware you would not accept it.”

Without waiting for her reply, he broke the hug to tie the fabric around the handle of the knife she kept sheathed on the harness strapped to her thigh. His cravat, luxurious and clean, covered the ragged fabric on it. Calum smiled at what it symbolized.

Once he was done, he paused for a moment to admire his handiwork. When he looked back at Avery, she was staring at her knife with her mouth ajar, but thankfully receptive to the gift.

“Now, you have a piece of me everywhere you go,” he told her, taking her hand with his and placing it on top of the handle. “You shall never remove this, you understand, Avery dear?”

She finally snapped out of her initial surprise and jerked her hand out of his touch, but the gesture didn’t seem to offend Calum. “Just go. I need to go back to work.”

“Alright, I should take my leave now.” But just when he was about to turn around and march back to his awaiting carriage, Calum told her, “However, I would appreciate it if you would pay more attention to me than that blonde friend of yours. The way you look at him makes it too obvious, Avery dear. People might misunderstand.”

The blush on her face deepened. “Shut up and go.”

Calum planted a brief kiss on her mouth before whispering against her lips, “Stay alive.”