“I’m sorry you were hurt,” Lucas said. His voice was rough and he was no longer meeting Andrei’s gaze.
“Thank you. But it’s not so bad. If it means you’ve got to put that green goop on my back for a few days, I think I can suck it up.”
“You’re too kind,” Lucas muttered, giving Andrei’s hair a little tug before releasing it. “Let’s go back to bed. I told Candace not to stop by the penthouse until after ten so we can catch a few more hours of sleep.”
Andrei nodded, following Lucas back toward the kitchen where the other man placed the gel in the fridge. His eyes caught once again on the Japanese kanji tattooed down Lucas’s spine between his shoulder blades. The black ink was just so damn sexy and unexpected against his perfect skin.
“What do the symbols mean?” Andrei asked.
Lucas’s right hand reached over his shoulder as if to touch the tattoo, a slight look of surprise filling his gaze. “The first two mean brother. The second two mean warrior and the third is heart.”
“Snow, Rowe, and Ian.”
Lucas didn’t reply, but one corner of his mouth kicked up in a half smile before he motioned with a jerk of his head for Andrei to follow him back to the second floor.
Andrei stopped at the door to the guest room when they reached the second floor and watched Lucas continue down to the master bedroom. The other man turned, his eyes almost glowing in the dim morning light, as they stared at each other in silence for several seconds. Andrei’s body heated from head to toe. Just a few steps and he’d be back at Lucas’s side, his lips against his, his tongue thrust deep into his mouth until they both moaned. Something in him knew if he went down there Lucas wouldn’t turn him away. Not again.
But he didn’t move. Maybe Lucas was right. Maybe it was too fast. They needed to think about this. Lucas was still his client. Could they work together if they let their arrangement become physical? Was it the danger of the fire that was driving them together? Andrei didn’t think so, but he could wait one night. Get his head on straight and then he’d try again. Good night,” he murmured.
Lucas’s gaze raked over him. “Good night,” he whispered back and then disappeared into his own room.
Yeah, they weren’t done yet.Chapter 9Andrei wasn’t really surprised when Rowe showed up while Lucas was ensconced in his office with his assistant. He didn’t bother to get up from the barstool in the kitchen where he’d settled with coffee and a book. He hadn’t been reading, just holding the book and staring at the gathering of clouds in the overcast sky.
And thinking a lot about what was happening between him and Lucas.
He had nothing to compare them to—these feelings Lucas raised in him. Nothing even remotely close to the fire that had burned him alive the night before. Rowe stalking into the kitchen forced him to shove all that aside.
His boss didn’t look any less pissed than he had when he’d stormed into the hospital room for the second time last night to put Andrei back on the job. Truth was, Andrei loved this job and felt like a part of the family when it came to Rowe’s business. He’d been to dinner at Rowe and Melissa’s more times than he could remember, so even though he’d felt he deserved the firing for not putting his foot down, it had still hurt at the time. If he’d learned anything the last few days, it was that Lucas meant everything to the men in his circle. Everything.
And Andrei understood more and more why with each hour he spent with the man. He rubbed his chest, wondering about the tightness he felt there, the inability to take a full breath when he thought about how he’d felt with the man’s hands and mouth on him the night before.
Rowe stood in the kitchen, thumbs tucked into the pockets of his jeans as he stared at Andrei. It looked like maybe he’d stayed up most of the night, too. Dark circles shadowed his green eyes and lines bled out from lips pinched tight. His auburn hair stood in spikes over his head.
“Coffee?” Andrei pointed at the carafe on the island.
Sighing and shaking his head, Rowe walked with casual familiarity to the cabinet that held the mugs and grabbed one of the large black ones in the back. “Is there still food from Ian in the fridge?”
“A lot.” Andrei marked his place in his book and laid it down. “I had some of the leftover paella for breakfast. I thought about asking for a raise so I could afford to eat at Rialto every night but figured now wasn’t the best time.” Might as well jump in and get the tongue-lashing over with.