They stepped out of the car, and then Ivan was ducking his head back in to threaten his driver. “If anyone finds me here, your life is forfeit.”
Nix tossed in a quick, “Bye, Oleg!” and threw him a kiss forgood measure, hoping to offset Ivan’s panicked harshness. So touchy after one little bullet.
Then again, when Nix thought aboutIvangetting hit…
That fake deliveryman should pray to all his gods that Nix didn’t get his hands on him first.
They were given a room quickly enough after Ivan intimidated the poor woman at the front desk, pushing past any questions of a reservation with cold indifference and a heavy credit card. Ivan was on his phone in the elevator, presumably talking to Jace, instructing him to pick up the security footage and to detain Tara until Ivan and Nix had a chance to speak with her, then to stand guard at the hotel and shoot Sergei on sight if he should appear.
Nix eavesdropped shamelessly and with great interest. How exciting it all was.
As soon as they were in the room, the door bolted behind them, Ivan turned to Nix.
“Strip.”
Nix placed a hand on his chest in faux surprise. “Why, Ivan.”
Ivan gave him a frustrated look. “I don’t care that you say you’re fine. I want to see.”
Far be it for Nix to refuse to get naked when his master commanded. Nix snapped his fingers, the jacket sliding off and his bloody shirt disappearing. (He didn’t actually need the snapping, but it added an extra bit of fun, and he figured they could use the levity.)
The bastard had gotten him squarely in the chest. Twice. Ivan stared hard at the blood that remained, then wiped his finger through it, revealing the unmarked skin below.
The hand he brought up to his face so he could eye the blood was shaking, but his voice was firm with his next command. “Change back into your demon form.”
Nix cocked his head, then widened his eyes in surprise as he realized Ivan’s reasoning. “You think this might be an illusion?”
It was laughable, that Nix would only be pretending to be unharmed, but he shifted anyway. The blood smearing his chest turned a dark purple, but his skin stayed unmarked beneath it.
Nix hadn’t realized quite how tightly wound Ivan had become until the tension in his frame eased. “Good,” he said with a harsh breath. “Good.”
He eyed Nix’s nipple piercings for a long moment before his gaze tracked down the rest of Nix’s torso, as if Nix might be hiding more bullet wounds from him. His assessment stopped abruptly at the waistband of Nix’s low-waisted leather pants, where a bit of red lace was peeking out provocatively.
Ivan’s gaze shot back up to Nix’s. “What the fuck is that?”
Nix grinned at him, all sharp teeth. “My panties, of course.”
He thought for a moment that Ivan would turn away, perhaps begin to strategize revenge or something equally appropriate, but his human surprised him. “Show me,” he ordered.
Nix wouldn’t make him ask twice. He snapped his fingers, and his leather pants went the way of his shirt.
Ivan was close enough that the long breath he let out cooled Nix’s skin. “Jesus.”
Nix preened. He was awfully fond of this conjured pair of red lacy underwear. He liked the way it framed his bulge in particular. He hadn’t been sure if Ivan would feel the same, given his silly ideas about appropriate appearances and whatnot, but the budding tendrils of desire cutting through Ivan’s panic said otherwise.
And yet Ivan’s gaze was roaming over Nix again, like his brain hadn’t caught up to the evidence before him. Nix grabbed his chin, forcing Ivan to meet his eyes. “Ivan Kozlov,” he said firmly. “I am ademon. A gun isn’t going to be the end of me.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Ivan swore.
It was Ivan’s scent more than his words that made Nix take notice of the fact that he was trembling not in fear but in rage. Itwas thick in the air, spicy and hot, a rich, heady sauce blanketing whatever arousal Nix’s naughty panties had inspired. “I’m sure you will,” Nix murmured.
They stood there, breathing each other’s air, and Nix soaked up that rage, letting it run through him in turn. Anger wasn’t usually his food of choice, but it was still a strong human emotion, and those were hard to resist for a demon.
Ivan’s gaze kept dropping back to Nix’s panties, where Nix’s cock was beginning to strain against the lace.
He couldn’t help it—Ivan was acting all fierce and angry and ordering people to strip willy-nilly. How was Nix meantnotto get turned on?
He’d been very good in Ivan’s office earlier. He’d feasted on Ivan’s desire and had asked for nothing else for himself in return. But he wanted more now. He wanted that thick cock inside him. Wanted Ivan to paint his insides the way he’d painted his face. Wanted to drain Ivan of all he had, then coax him back to hardness and do it all again, until Ivan was begging Nix for a reprieve.
