Sebastian’s brows furrowed before he glanced around the room. The lamp wasn’t very bright and Vlad couldn’t tell whether Sebastian was blushing or not, but he did look mildly embarrassed now. Mostly he looked confused.
Finally, his face cleared. “I sleepwalked, didn’t I?” he said with a resigned sigh. “It happens sometimes, when I’m stressed.”
Vlad shrugged. “Don’t know, don’t care, get out.”
Sebastian studied him. “Am I making you uncomfortable?” he said, cocking his head to the side, a strand of dark hair falling over his eyes. The innocent, almost childish sleepiness from moments ago was gone.
“Yes,” Vlad said. “I’m not in the habit of having half-naked gays in my bed.”
“For the record, I’m not gay. I told you: I’m bi.”
“Same difference,” Vlad said, closing his eyes. “Get out. I barely slept thanks to you and the idiots who attacked you.”
A pause.
“Do you know anything new? About those men?” Sebastian’s voice sounded strange.
“Yes,” Vlad said, without opening his eyes.
He almost smiled when he heard Sebastian make an annoyed, impatient noise.
“And?”
“They confessed,” Vlad said, snorting. Fanatics like that were idiots. “They all are from religious backgrounds, they all think they’re doing God’s work.” Vlad sneered. While he was far from being an LGBT supporter, he despised religious bullshit like that even more. “Apparently their cult wants to eliminate ‘demons’ with big reach, people who can influence the society by coming out and speaking up. Apparently you and Tristan DuVal fit the profile.” It was all pretty standard and not challenging at all. All things considered, those people were amateurs, not the professionals Vlad was used to dealing with. Boring.
“You could’ve at least pretended to be a little concerned,” Sebastian said.
Vlad opened his eyes.
Sebastian’s lips were pursed, his dark eyes stormy. “But then again, why would you be when you agree with those bonkers?”
Vlad gave him a flat look. “You have a short memory. I saved your ass from them just a few hours ago. If I wanted to, I would’ve let them take you and kick you to death. Hmm, maybe I should have.”
“You’re such an ass,” Sebastian said. “And you can’t even deny you agree with those lunatics.”
“Don’t put words in my mouth.” Vlad closed his eyes again. “Good night. And you’re welcome. No need to thank me for saving you.”
There was a long silence.
“Thank you,” Sebastian finally grumbled, barely audibly.
Vlad smiled and opened his eyes. “What was that?”
“Don’t be a prick,” Sebastian said. He was glowering at Vlad, but there was a hint of something sincere in his eyes. But then it was gone, replaced with devilish mirth. “I’m very grateful,” Sebastian said. “Thank you so much, Vlad.”
Vlad looked at him suspiciously.
Before he could say anything, Sebastian leaned in and pressed his soft lips against his unshaven cheek. “Thank you,” he murmured, his voice low and a little husky. “You were amazing. It was kind of hot. Made me all hot and bothered.”
Vlad shoved him away. “Fuck off.”
Snickering like a kid, Sebastian rolled off the bed and strode out of the room. “Good night, straight guy,” he said at the door, blowing him a kiss.
Vlad just glared, wiping his cheek furiously. His face was hot, he realized with annoyance. He was fucking blushing. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d blushed and felt so off balance.
With an irritated sigh, Vlad switched the lamp off, lay back on the bed, and closed his eyes, determined to erase from his mind everything that had happened in the last few minutes. He was about as successful as when he had tried to forget what happened all those months ago in a certain hotel room in Moscow.
And it was just the first night under the same roof as that little shit. He had no idea how he was going to survive this without killing anyone.
Chapter 6
A few hours later—much too soon for Vlad’s liking—his alarm went off and he got out of bed, grouchy and still a bit unsettled but determined to ignore Sebastian. He wasn’t going to respond to provocations. Sebastian likely wanted to provoke him into saying or doing something homophobic, to give Luke an excuse to get rid of him. Well, if that was the case, they both were going to be disappointed.
Finished with his morning routine, Vlad padded out to the kitchen, seduced by the mouth-watering smell of a fry-up.
He had expected to find Luke by the stove, but it was Sebastian.
Vlad stopped in the doorway for a moment before entering the kitchen and taking a seat at the table. He glared at the empty plate in front of him.
“Morning,” Sebastian murmured, sounding amused and entirely too chipper for this hour.
Vlad fucking hated morning people. He didn’t trust them. And it looked like Sebastian had decided to continue what he’d started last night and keep getting on his nerves.
“I see you’re particularly charming in the morning,” Sebastian said, filling up a plate for himself.