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“I’ll get this stuff on your sheets,” Andrei said because he couldn’t think of anything else.
Lucas snorted. “I’ve got more sheets. Lay down. I’m fucking tired.”
Without further argument, Andrei slid under the sheets and lay on his stomach while Lucas flipped off the lamp on the nightstand by his side of the bed. As soon as Lucas was settled under the covers, he pulled Andrei close, wrapping their bodies together so their limbs were tangled under the cool sheets.
“Better than a pillow,” Andrei murmured, his lips grazing Lucas’s neck.
“Fuck you. I’m using your ass as a shield in case someone breaks in here.” Andrei huffed a laugh, not missing that his glib words were undermined by the fact that Lucas was slowly running his fingers through Andrei’s hair in a soothing caress.Chapter 11A noise woke Andrei. He blinked, fighting the urge to jump immediately to his feet. The bedroom was bright with sunlight, but it wasn’t his bedroom. It was Lucas’s. Somehow he’d forgotten that he’d fallen asleep wrapped around the larger man. Now he lay on his still tender back with Lucas pressed against him, his arm across Andrei’s chest. They couldn’t have been asleep for more than four hours, but it had been a deep, peaceful sleep that left Andrei feeling more rested than he’d been in a long time.
Very carefully, he slid out from underneath Lucas and stood by the side of the bed. Relaxed at last, Lucas was even more handsome. The lines around his mouth and eyes had disappeared, taking years off his face, softening some of the man’s sharp edges.
Another noise echoed up from the first floor and Andrei bit back a growl of frustration. He’d rather climb back into the nice, warm bed and wrap around Lucas’s pliant body for another hour, see if he’d be willing to wake to more of what they’d enjoyed last night, but someone was in the penthouse. Considering that the alarms hadn’t gone off, Andrei was willing to bet that it was one of Lucas’s trio of friends, but he wasn’t going to take a chance with Lucas’s life.
Grabbing the gun off the nightstand, Andrei paused, looking around the bedroom. His clothes were missing. Fuck, Lucas had walked off with them, likely throwing them back in the guest room. With a frown, he snatched up a pair of sleep pants draped over the arm of a chair and pulled them on. They would be fine until he got rid of the intruder. Then he could either get his own clothes or climb back into bed in his boxers.
Andrei descended to the first floor on silent footfalls. He’d tried gazing over the railing on the second floor to get a glimpse of the person, but he couldn’t see that part of the kitchen from where he stood. As he turned the last corner, Andrei raised his gun in both hands, ready to put a slug in the bastard’s chest.
Ian rose from where he’d bent over to pick up a bag and shouted, dropping the eggs in his hand on the hardwood floor. “What the hell!”
Andrei breathed a sigh of relief and immediately lowered the gun. “What are you doing here? Mr. Vallois didn’t warn me that you’d be coming over.”
“Lucas probably doesn’t even know what day it is,” Ian grumbled as he grabbed the paper towels off the counter to start cleaning up the eggs. “I stop by on Wednesdays and Fridays to have breakfast with him.”
Andrei put the gun on the island counter and bent to help him pick up the egg shells. “I’m sorry I startled you.”
As the last of the mess was cleaned up, Ian stepped back and he started to say something when his eyes snagged on the sleep pants. Andrei’s heart gave a little jump as he prayed that the other man didn’t recognize them. But all hope was lost when a slow smile spread across Ian’s face and his eyes narrowed when he met Andrei’s gaze.
“Nice pants,” Ian drawled. Andrei waited. There was going to be more. “I gave those to Lucas for Christmas. I recognize the little skulls.”
Andrei couldn’t stop himself from looking down. The design had looked innocent, but Ian was right. What he’d thought were little white dots were actually skulls.
“I forgot to pack something to sleep in and Lucas loaned them to me,” Andrei said. It wasn’t a complete lie. They were on loan from Lucas even if the other man didn’t know about it. The rest of his comment was complete garbage and they both knew it.
“Mmmhmm,” Ian hummed with a smile.
Andre almost growled. “It’s not what you think.”
Ian turned back to the counter and started pulling food out of his canvas bags. “And what am I thinking?”
Andrei didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t make it worse, but Ian didn’t need to think that something was happening between them. It was only a matter of time before word got back to Rowe. Then he’d be out of a job fast … again. Or maybe something worse.
