After accepting his drink from the bartender, he turned toward the camera positioned near the front of the room and offered a small smile he could feel didn’t do anything to wipe the pain from his eyes.
“You know, when this is over, I’m going to fuck you on that rug in the office that looks like you skinned a yeti,” Kairo claimed. The bastard had waited until he was taking a sip of his drink before he made that statement. Naturally, Isidore gasped, sucking some of his water down the wrong pipe, leaving him choking for a second.
A hand slid across his shoulders and Isidore jerked upright, still trying to catch his breath. He almost moved away when he caught sight of Soren’s gentle smile.
His “boyfriend” patted his back a couple of times. “You okay, baby?” He didn’t need to ask. They were all connected on the same comm system, so every last one of them had heard Kairo’s comment. Including his sister.
“I knew that was a fucking rug!” Justin chimed in. “I was going to ask where you got it.”
“I’ll send you one after I get settled in California,” Athena offered.
“And you wonder why I don’t want to return home anytime soon,” Alexei muttered, his voice near a whisper. “I’m terrified to think of where you’ve been having sex with me out of the house.”
“I’m just glad my brother is finally having sex,” Athena grumbled.
He wanted to snap at his sister that his sex life was none of her business, but he was standing in the main room with many of their guests. He couldn’t risk anyone overhearing them.
And where the hell was she? Shouldn’t she be stuck mingling with these people as well?
Ugh. She was probably taking a break with Ed somewhere a little less stressful. Ed, Charlie, and Justin were alternating between guard duty for Athena. One of them was supposed to be with her all night. Soren was sticking close to his elbow most of the night, but if he had to dip away, one of the other guys was supposed to be within his line of sight.
“Put your arm around my waist,” Soren said softly through a clenched-teeth smile.
Isidore turned his body more toward his fake boyfriend and wrapped an arm across his back, resting his hand on his hip. It felt weird. Awkward. Evil. As if he were cheating on his very sweet and caring boyfriend right in front of him. It didn’t help that Soren also had a boyfriend who was an assassin and very grumpy about this arrangement as well. Soren might have appeared earlier in the evening with a couple of new hickeys on his throat that had required Athena to work some makeup magic. Alexei had staked his claim.
Not too different from Isidore’s night, though the marks Kairo had left were mostly internal.
Isidore leaned close so he could whisper directly in Soren’s ear. “Are you sure Alexei isn’t going to chop my hand off?”
“He’s not going to touch you,” Soren chuckled. “I promised him that if he doesn’t get to shoot anyone on this job, we’ll take one after this where he does. It’ll help work off his frustration.”
“He’s very lucky to have such an understanding boyfriend,” Isidore murmured.
“Yes. Yes, I am,” Alexei added. “But that hand you got on his hip better not wander a single millimeter lower.”
Soren snorted while Isidore quickly scanned the room, looking for the short and dangerous man.
“I just popped in to bring Kairo a drink and a snack. I can see that fucking hand on the camera,” Alexei explained.
“Babe,” Soren said in warning.
“Yeah, yeah. I know. Sorry, Izzie. You’re doing great. Really. I’m just a possessive asshole,” Alexei apologized, which helped to erase the feelings of guilt churning up the acid in his stomach.
He wanted to reply, but his Aunt Maria was approaching with a sweet smile and a very determined look in her eye. As soon as she was standing in front of him, she turned her plump cheek in his direction in full expectation of a kiss despite the fact that the last time they’d spoken face-to-face she’d called him a cold-hearted bastard who didn’t deserve to be considered part of the Panopoulos family.
There had been no apologies for such comments. Time had passed and it was simply expected that such things would be swept under the rug.
His fingers tightened on his glass, and he leaned forward, bussing a quick kiss across her cheek while trying not to drown in the overwhelming scent of her perfume.
“It’s good to see you, Aunt Maria. Have I introduced you to my boyfriend, Soren?” Isidore said in English, stepping back into Soren’s waiting arm as if he’d become a safety net.
The older woman with the poofy black hair that was clearly dyed and the eye makeup that just might have made some drag queens cringe and say “Oh, honey” frowned at him. “No. He doesn’t speak Greek?”
“Not yet. He’s still learning,” Isidore replied, switching languages to match her. He smiled warmly over at Soren and returned to English. “But my Soren is dedicated to learning our language. He’s making great progress.”
“You’re being too sweet, dearest,” Soren replied, tapping the tip of Isidore’s nose with his fingertip. “I feel like I’m the world’s slowest learner.”
“You’ll get it. I just have to keep giving you rewards for each achievement,” Isidore promised. Kairo and Charlie had instructed that he needed to lay hints that he was spoiling his new boyfriend to see if it would push one of them into saying or doing something that would give them away.