Page 41 of Wreaking Havoc
Sascha waved a dismissive hand. “This is modern America. That only happens half the time nowadays.”
Kai still didn’t give him a smile. Real tough crowd. Instead, he cocked his head toward Sascha’s phone, his expression unreadable. “I called for reinforcements. They have not yet arrived.”
The words took longer than they should have to penetrate Sascha’s fuzzy brain. “You…what?”
Like that had been its cue, his phone buzzed on the table, charged enough now to power back on.
Sascha picked it up. He had…twenty-seven text messages from Alexei? Plus quite a few voice mails. And almost as many texts from Ivan, but that was no surprise, considering how Sascha had left things the day before.
He gaped at Kai. “You called Alexei?”
The phone buzzed again, Alexei’s name popping up on the screen.
Sascha answered it in a daze. “Hello?”
His brother’s voice rang out, sounding harried and more than a little pissed. “Sascha? Thank fuck. Where are you? That asshole gave me the name of the town but not the goddamn address, then hung up and never answered again.”
Sascha rattled off the address on autopilot, his head still too stuffed full of cotton to fully process what was happening. All he knew is that he’d kill for another glass or ten of water.
Alexei grunted his acknowledgment when he was done. “We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
Well, all right then. Apparently Sascha was now going to be hosting his brother. His brother he hadn’t seen in two years. His brother who’d left—leaving Sascha behind—when he couldn’t handle Ivan’s shit anymore. His brother who still didn’t know Sascha had been stabbed, or that he was technically in hiding.
Sascha set his phone in his lap, trying to figure out what emotion to feel. “You called Alexei,” he said again.
Kai shrugged. “You said he was the better brother.”
Sascha supposed it was preferable to Ivan showing up out of the blue and demanding to know who Sascha’s new demonic bodyguard was.
He pushed the covers off him, giving Kai a pleading look. He wasn’t sure his limbs would hold him. “Can you—I need to shower. I smell like death.”
Kai’s brow furrowed at the last word. Touchy, touchy.
But he helped Sascha into the bathroom.
And then made no move to leave.
Sascha started toeing off his sweatpants, one arm clinging to the sink for balance, feeling too crappy to be even slightly self-conscious about it. His entire body was covered in a thin film of dried sweat, and he needed it to be off him immediately. He cocked a brow at Kai, who was standing stubbornly in front of the door with his arms crossed. “This shower isn’t big enough for the two of us, you behemoth.”
Kai transitioned into human form in an instant, arching a brow in turn.
Touché. Sascha turned on the water. “Fine.”
He watched Kai vanish his trousers while he waited for the water to heat. It honestly all had Sascha feeling a bit pouty. He had a superhot guy wanting to shower with him and was too sick to do anything about it.
Although, he did graciously allow himself to be bathed, instructing Kai on the right shampoo and conditioner, both of them pointedly ignoring Kai’s growing erection.
Kai even dried him off once they were out, using one of the fluffy towels to dry him and another, fresh one to wrap him in, like Sascha was a little kid or something. He paused there, hands gripping the terry cloth. “You’re healed now?” he asked Sascha, the words almost stilted.
Sascha assessed himself. He did feel worlds better after his shower. “The worst of the fever is over, I think,” he reported. “And I have some meds I can take for anything lingering.”
Kai nodded once, the weird tension he’d been holding seeming finally to melt, then led Sascha back to the bedroom. “Your brother didn’t get here fast enough,” he said, sounding decidedly unimpressed.
“Well, he lives in Colorado,” Sascha explained. “Plus, you forgot to give him the address.”
Kai stroked a lock of wet hair back from Sascha’s face, his gaze soft. “I would have found you if it were me.”
Oh. That was… Sascha cleared his throat, wincing at the lingering ache. “Yes, well, you’re a magical demon, so…”
