Oh, he was sharp. Nix’s grin grew slightly less guileless. “White lies don’t count, handsome.”
Ivan only stared back at him, all cold and expressionless, his fingers digging into Nix’s skin. He was probably amazing at poker, as long as he didn’t touch the other players.
Nix sighed, kicking his foot to break Ivan’s hold and stretching out on his side on the desk, facing Ivan, placing his own head on his palm. “Maybe I was bored,” he offered. “We’re stuck between contracts, you know. In a place called the Void. There’s nothing to do. Nothing to see.” Unless spying on the human world counted as a hobby. “No one to fuck,” he added pointedly.
Ivan quirked a brow. “You think we’ll be fucking?” he asked, his tone suggesting it was the most preposterous concept he’d ever heard of. Like Nix had suggested they ride an ostrich straight to the moon.
Just as an example.
Nix arched his own brow. “A demon can dream, right?”
Ivan’s fingers flexed. “You’re lying on my ledgers.”
“So I am.” Nix bolted upright, just to be obliging. Maybe also to see if Ivan would flinch.
He didn’t.
“Why do you have all these, anyway?” Nix asked, pushing at one of the ledgers. “Shouldn’t everything be digital now?”
“They’re left over from my father’s time. I’ve been…modernizing since he passed. Though, it’s a slow-as-fuck process. I’m going to have Cooper digitize them.”
“Who’s Cooper?” Nix asked quickly, much more interested in the people in Ivan’s world than the business. “Is he hot?”
He didn’t miss the flash of annoyance on Ivan’s face, there and gone as quickly as his surprise had been.
Ooh, was Nix’s mafioso feeling possessive?
“My cousin,” Ivan said coldly. “Also my employee. He takes care of the…digital side of things.”
“And is he h—”
“Did you miss the part where he’s mycousin,” Ivan snapped, finally letting some of that temper out in his voice.
Nix grinned at him. “Testy, testy.” And no wonder, with those massive bags under Ivan’s eyes. Nix wagged a finger. “You need real sleep.”
Ivan ignored him.
“I saw a bedroom,” Nix pressed. “Sleep while we wait for Sascha. We can tell your people to let us know if he arrives.”
Ivan leaned back in his chair, pinching at the bridge of his nose. “And how am I going to explain you?”
“Tell them I’m your new personal assistant,” Nix said, placing a good amount of emphasis on thepersonalpart of things.
“You?” Ivan’s gaze roamed over Nix, hot as a brand. “Looking like that?”
Nix glanced down at himself. “And what’s wrong with the way I look?”
Ivan’s eyes flicked to Nix’s shirt, then back down to his leather pants. “Flamboyance doesn’t play well with the Bratva.”
Nix narrowed his eyes at him. Sure, he could shift forms at will, if it was really an issue. But he didn’t want to—not for any extended period of time. Ivan had accepted the contract with Nix as he was (and yes, Nix had tricked him, but so what?), and Nix couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a contract where he’d gotten to be himself. Ivan couldn’t take that away from him already. “Lucky you’re the boss, then, isn’t it? What you say goes, isn’t that right?”
Ivan’s fingers flexed again. “That’s right.”
The lust tendrils in the air thickened, as did the tension in the room.Oh, Ivan. Babycakes. Boss man. You’re too easy.
Nix licked his lips exaggeratedly. “We’re all just here to serve you, aren’t we?” he crooned, leaning closer. Close enough to smell Ivan’s cologne, some intriguing scent with a peppery finish.
And just like that, the lust in the air dissipated. Ivan’s expression shuttered, all the heat leaving his gaze. “You’re toying with me,” he accused flatly.
