Ivan slumped forward, eyes shutting completely as he lost the battle with consciousness. Nix pushed him gently back into the chair, wheeling it over behind the desk.
He hit the intercom button, modulating his voice to fit Ivan’s. “No interruptions for the rest of the day.”
“Yes, Mr. Kozlov,” the secretary responded promptly.
And now all Nix had to do was wait.
It didn’t take nearly as longas Nix had expected for Ivan to stir.
Strong force of will indeed.
Or such a lack of trust in his surroundings his subconscious was unwilling to remain unconscious for any extended period of time.
Or maybe a little of both.
In the meantime, Nix had explored the office. Or the whole floor, really. The office he’d been summoned in was high-ceilinged and expensive-looking with its hardwood floors and big windows, but it was…empty, for lack of a better word. There was the massive desk, sure. Ivan’s chair and a few on the other side. An uncomfortable-looking leather couch. And that was mostly it. No decorations. No plants. Not a throw pillow to be found.
Like Ivan was allergic to comfort. To beauty.
There was also a fat stack of ledgers on the desk Nix had peeked through. Ivan seemed to be in charge of a number of businesses, varying in their levels of legal legitimacy. Nightclubs with gambling in the basement and drugs passing through them. Laundromats used for laundering more than just clothing. Property on the docks that gave him some serious leverage with other families wanting him to look the other way on their suspicious shipments.
A busy man indeed.
Besides the main entrance off the elevator hallway, Ivan’s office had two other doors. One led to a smaller inner office with a large conference table, and another led to living quarters of sorts, containing a bathroom that was surprisingly luxurious given the austerity of the other rooms and an inner bedroom with a spare bed, some extra sets of suits, and an absurd number of locks on the door.
Clearly Ivan spent the majority of his time here. There was noone else on the floor, not even the secretary Nix had spoken to. Perhaps she was on the level below?
Nix had been tempted to go down and see her—he did so love meeting new people—but he hadn’t wanted to leave Ivan unattended.
And it seemed that had been wise, as the human was rousing already. Nix hopped onto the desk in front of the chair Ivan was passed out in, crossing his legs and waiting to be noticed.
Ivan blinked blearily for a moment—looking awfully cute as he did so, like a disgruntled owl—before his features settled into their usual cool mask, distrust practically radiating off him. “What did you do to me?”
“Moi?” Nix pressed an innocent hand to his chest. “Not a thing, my dove. The contract takes it out of a person. Your body needed to recharge.” At Ivan’s continued suspicion, Nix gave in to the urge to roll his eyes. “Ican’tharm you, even if I wished to. The contract doesn’t allow it. I can only ever act in your best interests.”
There was an almost imperceptible release of tension in Ivan’s body. “Right,” he murmured. “And Sascha hasn’t come looking for his Book yet?”
“I told your secretary not to disturb you.” At Ivan’s sharp look, Nix shrugged. “I didn’t think you’d want anyone else to see you incapacitated. Was I wrong?”
There was a brief flash of surprise across Ivan’s face, there and gone in an instant. Was it so foreign to him, to have someone else watching his back? It must have been, the touchy creature.
Nix scooted a little closer on the desk so his knee was mere breaths away from brushing into Ivan. “So what now?”
“We wait. I need Sascha and his demon for my next move.”
Nix nodded seriously because that seemed to be the right thing to do. “I see.”
They stared at each other for a bit. Ivan didn’t seem to blink much, other than the times when he was clearly processing somesort of shock. It could have been creepy, but Nix enjoyed the intensity, especially paired with the little curlings of desire Ivan had no idea he was giving off.
How long would it take him to break? To acknowledge his attraction to Nix’s form? With how much Ivan seemed to value self-control, Nix was a little worried it could be a very, very long time.
But then again, time was something Nix had an awful lot of.
Eventually Ivan spoke again. “Tell me. Why did you accept the contract if you’re an incubus?”
Nix smiled guilelessly, swinging his top leg so it tapped Ivan’s chair. “I like to be useful.”
Ivan’s hand darted out, clamping tightly around Nix’s ankle, halting his movement. “Is it in my best interest to lie to me?”
