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“That’s a couple of them.”
Stopping the spinning drumstick, Geoffrey laughed and pointed the stick at Sven. “Awesome. You’ll have to teach me about them. When we go out tonight. During dinner or maybe while we stop for drinks.”
Sven pressed his lips together, trying to find the right way to tell Geoffrey that they needed to stay in where Sven could keep him safe. They’d had no time to do any research on who could be stalking Geoffrey or the level of the threat. Heading straight out into public was not a wise decision, but he also didn’t want Geoffrey feeling like he was a prisoner.
Geoffrey made a tsking sound as he sat back in his chair again, the drumstick spinning in his right hand. “I’m starting to recognize that expression. You don’t want to go out.”
“It’s dangerous.”
Frowning, Geoffrey turned back toward his computer screen as if he were dismissing Sven, but he didn’t get the feeling that Geoffrey had really managed to ignore him.
“What’s your schedule? If you send me your complete list of appointments, I can prepare now so your plans won’t be interrupted.”
Geoffrey sighed and looked back at Sven. He was frowning, but it didn’t feel like the frown was actually directed at him. “I don’t have set plans. I just…kind of wing it. I usually go out to dinner or drinking with friends a few times a week. Shake my ass at the club a couple of times a week. Friends text me with invites. We do brunch or tapas. You know, whatever comes up.”
He made it all sound so light and easy, but Sven had no clue how anyone functioned like that. He didn’t have close friends he met for dinner and drinks on the fly. He’d gone out for beers a few times with Royce, a coworker. He saw his sister. They had dinner on Wednesdays when he wasn’t working. He had work and self-defense classes he taught. The rest of his life, he was alone.
“How do your friends know when you’re going to clubs?”
Geoffrey tapped the drumstick in his left hand on the smartphone sitting face down on the desk. “Social media.”
That was a totally different animal they would have to get into. Sven didn’t do social media. He wasn’t on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or any of those other…things. But he’d had more than one client already where he had to request that they shut down their accounts in order to protect them. That was not a conversation he wanted to have with Geoffrey. At least not yet. They needed to tackle his house first. The other could wait a little while.
“You look hungry,” Geoffrey suddenly announced, snapping Sven out of his thoughts. “I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten all day and I make a mean stir-fry. Got all the ingredients already.” Dropping his drumsticks on the desktop, Geoffrey jumped to his feet and walked toward the doorway where Sven was standing. Sven immediately backpedaled, putting space between himself and the smaller man. “Let’s go make an early dinner and figure this shit out. Maybe then you’ll stop looking at me like you want to eat me.”
Sven watched Geoffrey saunter off toward the kitchen while his own mouth hung open. He was not looking at him like he wanted to eat him. But now that the words had been said, the image was in his mind…his mouth moving over every inch of that lithe body, Geoffrey’s breathless cries filling his ears. God, he wanted that. And he had no business doing so.Chapter 4Glad Sven couldn’t see his smirk, Geoffrey kept his face turned away as he pulled chicken, mushrooms, and vegetables from the refrigerator. He set them on the island, then turned a burner on low to start heating his cast iron pan. Though he didn’t cook all that much, the kitchen had been a major part of his decision to buy the house. The sharp, white cabinets and stainless steel appliances looked clean and bright when sunlight streamed through the three tall, narrow windows over the sink. He liked the way the light sparkled on the gray marble countertops.
He set his cutting board on the island, listening to Sven moving around in the living room to his left as he made the calls to his office.
It felt so strange to have him in his home. The blond giant took up serious space, but it wasn’t only his size that impressed—he had an air of security about him, a solid core of strength in both personality and build. He felt steady. Reliable.
Safe.
That feeling was like an aphrodisiac. And Sven was so damn sexy, Geoffrey loved looking at him. He’d been drawn to Sven the first time he saw him, and it wasn’t all about his looks either. He fascinated Geoffrey with his seemingly gentle nature while his job could entail anything but. He’d heard talk before and after his classes at Ward, stories of Sven intimidating anyone who threatened his clients, rumors of him taking down a dangerous guy in a single blow. And then, he’d watched Sven patiently teaching the people in his self-defense course, being extra careful with both men and women. Geoffrey had taken him down once and he wasn’t stupid. He didn’t know if it was because he was the smallest person in the class or what, but Sven was even more cautious with him. He hadn’t fought back.
