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She gave a little shrug. “Oh, you know, the usual. Playboys, lots of lube and an assortment of nipple clamps and butt plugs.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Andrei said with a groan. Lucas turned to find the bodyguard’s face bright red and his eyes wide in horror. A loud laugh erupted from Lucas, filling the room. He ignored the pain in his ribs as he clasped Melissa to him, hugging her tightly.
“You have always been my favorite,” he said in her ear.
She snorted, hugging him back. “Please, everyone knows Snow is your favorite.”
“You’re my favorite female.”
Lifting her head, she gave him another devilish smile. “I’ll buy that.”
“I do have one important question for you.” He jerked his head over, motioning toward Andrei standing just across the room. “Boxers or briefs?” There was no missing the glare Andrei was directing at both of them, but it certainly wasn’t going to stop her.
“Actually, brightly colored banana hammocks.”
“Melissa!” Andrei closed his eyes.
Lucas turned, putting his back to the rest of the room, so that he could direct his heated gaze toward Andrei. “That puts a lovely image in my head,” he said in a low voice.
“She’s not serious.” Fire lit up Andrei’s cheeks. Lucas couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or anger or maybe both.
“That’s a shame.” Though personally, he hoped that wasn’t true. He’d never liked the look of those. Give him a nice tight pair of boxer briefs any day.
Melissa leaned up on her toes and brushed a quick kiss to his cheek. “Actually, I didn’t pack any for him so I would imagine that he’s going to be going commando very soon. You have fun with that.” She patted his chest twice.###
It was nearly one when everyone finally left. The detective had tried to put a protective detail on him, but Lucas turned it down. It was bad enough that he had Andrei on his heels every hour of the day, tempting him. He didn’t need a second set of babysitters watching his every move.
Sarah, unfortunately, wasn’t pleased with his decision, confident that one bodyguard wasn’t enough to keep him safe. Lucas felt no need to inform her that Rowe would be cooking up more defensive measures to keep him safe. For now, Lucas had needed Sarah only as a witness to prove that he was fully cooperating with the law.
When the front door was shut and locked, the silence in the penthouse was almost unsettling. Melissa’s laughter mixed with Ian’s pleasant chitchat with the nearly mute detective had made a somewhat boisterous atmosphere while Lucas tried to evade Sarah’s attempt to prod him for more information. Of course, dodging his lawyer made keeping Ian and Hollis separated difficult. He didn’t want that damned detective too close to Ian.
And then there was Andrei. More than once during that long hour, Lucas had looked up, his eyes searching for his guardian to find him standing almost hidden near the back wall, watching everything. Alone and detached. He could feel the man’s shadowed gaze on him. He’d been torn between wanting to pull Andrei into the conversation that flowed so easily about him, to see that elusive smile spread across his lips at some ridiculous, teasing comment, and wanting everyone else to get the fuck out so he could be alone with him.
Now when he looked up, Andrei was nowhere to be found. Disappeared back to the guest bedroom or making his rounds. Lucas ignored the feeling of disappointment, clutching tight to the physical ache that wracked his body. The half pill he’d taken wore off more than an hour earlier and now he didn’t want to contemplate the long walk back up to his office to answer more emails before Candace arrived.
Pushing away from the door, he took two steps when he noticed a bottle of water on the kitchen island with a note taped to it. He changed direction and entered the kitchen to find a half Percocet next to the bottle. In neat, tight handwriting, Andrei had printed:Take the Percocet. Eat lunch. Portobello ravioli is on the top shelf.
Your assistant doesn’t deserve your bitchy attitude.Lucas bit his lower lip, unsuccessfully fighting a smile. The man was right. He was cranky and Candace would silently tolerate it, but she didn’t need to. Popping the pill and draining half the bottle, Lucas grabbed the ravioli out of the fridge. He banged around the kitchen, making far more noise than necessary, expecting Andrei to come investigate, but he never did. Lucas finished eating alone and he was disturbed by the disappointment that continued to nag him. Andrei had said he would become little more than a shadow in his life when he was present and he was proving true to his word.
The phone rang, not letting Lucas think on it long. The security desk called up wanting to know if they should allow Candace Parkes up to his penthouse. Lucas agreed and hung up. He started for his office, planning to warn Andrei that his assistant was on her way up but he nearly ran into the man as he descended the stairs.
