Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
But with sleep and a temporary safe space, he could think and plan.
When he was bored and restless, he acted without thinking, which almost always got him into heaps of trouble.
When he was on the run and in danger, he made careful plans that kept him alive.
Rolling onto his side, he reached across the bed to find only cool sheets. There had been a slender, warm body pressed to his when he snuggled under the blankets earlier. Where was Alexei?
Shoving up on one elbow, he looked around the dimly lit bedroom to find Alexei straddling a chair turned backward, his arms resting on the chair and his chin on his arms as he watched Soren. Not the most settling way to wake up. He would have preferred to pull Alexei’s naked body against his and wake with pressing slow, wet kisses along all that perfect skin.
But then, maybe they weren’t at that stage.
And maybe he had bigger things to worry about than kisses and sex.
“How long was I out?” His voice came out sounding as if he were gargling gravel. He shoved a hand through his hair and scratched his scalp, trying to get his brain fully online.
“About four hours.”
“Shit,” he winced. That was longer than he’d intended. He’d hoped to sneak a couple of hours. “Did you sleep?”
“A little.”
“Was it because of me?”
Alexei shrugged, his gaze dipping to the blankets rather than Soren’s face. “I’ve never slept with someone like that.” He frowned and looked as if he were going to say something else, but he suddenly shook his head. “We need to talk.”
“This is cruel. You’re going to be serious before I’ve had coffee.” Soren flopped down onto the bed and covered his face with both hands. “Please don’t say the whole ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ thing, because I’m gonna start crying.”
As he’d hoped, he managed to draft the smallest laugh out of Alexei. The assassin was being far too serious, and he preferred his flirty, playful side.
“You’re an idiot. We both know it’s totally you. It couldn’t possibly be me.”
“Ha!” Soren dropped his hands to the bed and pushed until he was nearly sitting upright. “I call bullshit. I’m amazing.”
Alexei wrinkled his nose, but his hungry eyes were eating up every inch of him that was visible beneath the twisted blankets. “You’re also old.”
Soren smirked and made a show of rubbing his chest. “Maybe, but you’ve been struggling to keep up with my old ass.”
His mouth popped open as if he meant to argue, but only a groan came out. “Stop distracting me!”
“Do you have any idea how adorable you are when you’re angry?”
Dark eyes narrowed on him, and Soren had to bite his lip to keep from chuckling. Alexei looked as though he were contemplating how to best dispose of his body.
The assassin shoved to his feet. “I’m getting the duct tape.”
“No!” Soren shouted and laughed at the same time. He reached out for his lover. “Come back to bed. We’ll talk.”
Alexei snorted but at least sat down in his chair again. “Oh yeah, because we get so much productive talking done while we’re in bed together.” He took a breath and released it. “I’m trying to be serious. We need to talk.”
Yeah, they did, but Soren preferred to put it off. He wasn’t ready for reality to pop this bubble they were hiding in. Come on! He’d only had this little taste of bliss for a few hours. Did he really have to let it go already?
Judging by Alexei’s grim expression, the answer was yes.
“Fine,” he sighed. He adjusted the pillows so they were piled up behind his shoulders, and he straightened the sheet across his naked lap. It was time to act like an adult. Probably was for the best, given the number of people attempting to kill him.
“I want you to give me the hard drive and leave Paris today.”
Soren’s good mood evaporated in a heartbeat. “If you’ll recall, that’s exactly what I was attempting today…er…” He glanced toward the window to find that it was incredibly dark out. “Yesterday,” he corrected.
“Yes, but you still had the hard drive at the time. I want you to give it to me. I will personally put you on a plane and get you out of France.”
A scoffing noise escaped Soren, and he folded his arms tightly over his chest. This was all garbage. “No.”
“What?”
“I fucking said no!”
“Why? You were offering to give me the ten million from the sale of the hard drive yesterday. Just give me the damn thing.”
Soren sat up straight and held up his index finger. “First, you were threatening to kill me yesterday, so yeah, I was trying to buy my goddamn life. That’s not still on the table, right? You didn’t change your mind while I was sleeping. Trying to get your hands on the fifteen million after I give you the hard drive. You didn’t say that so you could get off?”