“Ask what?” Ivan asked absently, his searching hand beginning to move rather enticingly closer to Nix’s package.
“Ask Alexei,” Nix reminded him instead of thrusting up into Ivan’s touch. See? He was completely focused, despite Ivan’s wandering hand. Nix could be an amazing right-hand manandbed partner. “And Sascha too. Ask your brothers for help, Vanya.”
That was what Nix would do in a pinch—ask Kai or Chaos. Hell, he’d even take his chances with Nightmare, if he was completely desperate.
Ivan stiffened under him—and not in the fun way. “My brothers never help,” he said coldly. “Alexei’s too selfish. Sascha’s too scattered.”
“Have you everaskedthough?”
Ivan stared at him for a moment, then took out his phone. He hit a few buttons, and Alexei’s name popped up on the screen.
They waited.
No answer.
Ivan cocked a brow at him.
Nix huffed. “Try again.”
Ivan tried again. And once more.
On the third attempt, there was, instead of an answer, a requestfor FaceTime. Ivan accepted it, his expression unreadable. He had the phone angled so Nix was off-screen but able to see well enough. Which was good because Nix was curious about this middle brother.
But the man who appeared on the other end didn’t look like Ivan at all. And he certainly didn’t look any older than Sascha. He looked young and…small, with dainty features and a mess of dark hair.
“Where’s Alexei?” Ivan asked immediately.
Ah. So this wasn’t the middle brother at all.
Nix studied the screen. Was this the vampire, then? He looked more like a little doll than a creature of the night. But then again, Chaos was proof enough that deadly force could come in small packages.
The vampire scowled at Ivan fiercely. “Alexei’s not here.”
“I can see him behind you.”
Ivan had a point. There wasn’t another face on the screen, but there was clearly a broad body behind the vampire. It looked like he and Alexei were sitting on a couch together.
The vampire sniffed. “He doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“Why did you pick up, then?”
“You kept calling.”
“You could have put the phone on silent,” Ivan said, exasperation breaking through the ice in his voice.
The vampire’s scowl deepened. “I was trying to show him videos ofcats.” He said it like an accusation. “I hit the button onaccident.”
Well, this was cute and all, but the argument was becoming both ridiculous and fruitless. Nix leaned into frame, waggling his fingers. “Hello, there. We haven’t met. I’m Nix.”
The scowl dropped from the little vampire’s face immediately, his gray eyes widening. “Oh, hello. I’m Jay. You’re very beautiful.”
Nix liked him already. “Well, thank you, sweetness. You’re adorable yourself.”
There was some muffled grumbling on the other end, but Jay didn’t seem to pay it any mind. He put his face closer to the phone’s camera. “Are those horns on your head? You’re a demon, aren’t you? Do you have wings?”
Nix grinned at his eagerness. “No, but I do have a tail.”
“Amazing,” Jay breathed. He cocked his head. “What are you doing with Ivan? He’s awful.”
