Sighing, Andrei turned around and leaned his shoulders against the window to look at Lucas. “I’ve seen guys crippled in these fights. Some even killed. And the fighters keep coming back. They get in deep and they say just one more fight to get on top again, but their bodies can’t do it.”
For the first time since Lucas had met Andrei, the younger man looked lost and vulnerable, struggling with memories of a life that he’d escaped and Lucas couldn’t feel anything but relief.
“Were you ever that desperate?”
“No.” He paused and sighed, his dark eyes rolling up to stare at the ceiling. “Yes. I never got in with the house. Never bet. But there were times when I knew if I didn’t win, I wouldn’t have money for food for a week or I wouldn’t have rent for the month and I’d be homeless.” He closed his eyes and took another deep breath. “But you knew when you were standing opposite a guy that he was just as desperate as you. He had a baby to feed or a debt hanging over his head that could mean his life. And…and you just couldn’t let yourself think about it as you’re beating the shit out of him because if you didn’t win, you didn’t eat.”
Lucas pushed to his feet and walked over to stand in front of Andrei, the only sound in the room the soft rustle of his slacks. Andrei opened his eyes as Lucas placed a hand on his neck, his thumb stroking his jaw. “I’m glad you were injured.”
A wry smile lifted one side of Andrei’s mouth, though sadness still filled his lovely dark eyes. “Really?”
Lucas leaned in and placed a small, open-mouthed kiss on Andrei’s chin, letting the tip of his tongue slide along the prickle of whiskers. “That injury means that you’re right here with me in this moment.”
“Is this a good moment?” he asked, his voice becoming husky. There was a thread of something else in his tone, wariness and maybe a vulnerability that tugged at something deep within Lucas, prodding him on.
Lucas continued to kiss along Andrei’s jaw until his lips brushed against his ear. “It’s the start of a very good moment.”
“Is this a mistake?”
Every muscle in Lucas’s body froze for a second and then another as he considered Andrei’s question. It was the same question that had hammered against his brain since Andrei first strode into his hospital room. Fear of the unknown claimed that his every move toward Andrei was a mistake, but instinct said it wasn’t. It couldn’t be a mistake, not when he needed him so damned bad.
“Does it feel like a mistake?” Lucas replied, hating that he’d answered his question with an evasion.
“No.”
“Should I stop?”
“No.” The denial escaped Andrei as a harsh exhalation as he wrapped his arms around Lucas. “No regrets.”
Lucas wasn’t sure if the man was talking to him or himself, but the concern was immediately shoved aside when Andrei roughly kissed him. Everything—the people threatening Lucas’s life, Andrei’s past, Cincinnati’s moneyed elite, their friends, the expectations of the world—was forgotten in the growing heat of their kiss.
Long fingers pulled at Andrei’s bow tie, sliding it from around his neck before moving down to unbutton his shirt. An approving hum rumbled up his throat as Lucas parted the material, fingertips brushing against bits of skin.
“Are you seducing me?” Andrei asked.
“Yes.” Lucas gathered up fistfuls of Andrei’s shirt and jerked it free of his pants so he could run his hands up his bare stomach and across the hard muscles of his chest.
“How could anyone say no to you?” Andrei chuckled, leaning a little to press his chest into his hands. He was a cat stretching in the afternoon sun, soaking in the attention.
Lucas placed an open-mouthed kiss on his neck, his tongue skimming along warm skin until Andrei shivered. “I’ve never seduced anyone like this,” he confessed. “Never wanted anyone as badly as I want you.” His hot breath brushed across the damp skin, sending another shiver through him.
Stepping back, Lucas shrugged out of his jacket, letting it fall to the floor, followed quickly by his tie, shirt, and T-shirt. Andrei’s dark eyes followed his hands, his gaze growing hungrier with each motion.
“Why seduce me?” Andrei’s voice was low and rough, as if he’d dragged it up from the bottom of his soul.
“Because I want you as desperate as I am. I want you moaning and begging beneath me.” Lucas slowly unbuckled his pants and Andrei’s hands clenched at his sides as if he were fighting to keep from grabbing him. “I want to make you come so hard you shout my name loud enough for the neighbors to be jealous.”
Unbuttoning his pants, he shoved them down to his ankles, leaving on his boxer briefs. They did nothing to hide his straining erection pushing against the soft material. Andrei licked his lips, his eyes skimming over the other’s man body, wringing a groan out of Lucas. He took one step forward and Andrei finally snapped free, meeting him in a clash of rough hands, running over as much exposed skin as they could find and it wasn’t enough. Lucas jerked at garments while his tongue tangled with Andrei’s. The room was filled with low grunts and the occasional tearing of seams.