He led Ivan out of the shower, drying them both off quickly and tucking Ivan naked into bed before following right behind him. He drew Ivan to him after settling in, and Ivan placed his head on Nix’s chest, sighing as Nix stroked his hair.
Nix loved Ivan’s strength. His fire and his ice. But there was a certain sweetness to moments like these, when Ivan was soft and pliant, allowing such a tender touch.
“I’ll keep caring for you, Vanya,” Nix told him, barely above a whisper. “For longer than you can even fathom.”
He’d thought Ivan might have already been asleep, but he was mistaken. “Because you love me?”
Nix grinned. “Because I love you.”
A ghost of a smile graced Ivan’s lips, and then in a surprising burst of energy, he rolled them over, pulling Nix on top of him, delicious bare skin against delicious bare skin. He pressed Nix’s head down to his shoulder. “Come, demon. Sleep.”
And the draining force of the bond forming must really have gone both ways, because Nix did.
The next weekwas a flurry of activity as aspects of the business were rearranged, different responsibilities handed over to new, loyal men.
Alexei and Jay had stayed for longer than either Nix or Ivan had expected, but they’d eventually flown back to Colorado five days after the bloody meeting.
At their goodbye, Alexei had looked Ivan in the eye, both brothers tense and expectant. “We spend Christmas with our den,” he’d said.
Ivan’s lips had twisted into a bitter shape. “Noted.”
“But there’s always New Year’s. Sascha would be pleased.”
Ivan hadn’t exactly smiled, but it had turned out Nixdidget to see some manly clapping on the back. It had seemed like more a competition of strength than a sign of brotherly love, but he supposed it was all about baby steps.
What Nix hadn’t gotten to see much of was Chaos or Cooperaround, but he hadn’t really expected Chaos to participate beyond the initial bloodshed. According to Ivan, Cooper was still completing any work requested of him, so they knew the two of them were both alive and hopefully well.
Nix would give Chaos a few more weeks before he hunted him down. If it went much longer than that without word from his friend, he’d put up a fuss.
But for now it was Friday, and Ivan had been holed up in his office for far too fucking long. Nix flounced down the hallway, stopping to gab for a minute with Tara (he’d convinced Ivan it was a truly insane move to have his secretary on an entirely different floor) before barging his way into Ivan’s office.
Jace and Tag were there, sitting across from Ivan’s desk, but they didn’t so much as twitch when Nix plopped himself sideways into Ivan’s lap.
They’d gotten used to the sight in the past week.
Ivan for his part just wrapped an arm around Nix’s waist and shifted him slightly to the side so he could still see his laptop. “And who do we have managing the last three nightclubs?”
“Well, Sascha has the one you gave him…,” Jace said.
“Give him the other two, if he wants them. He can handle them remotely well enough. Just tell him to run it by you if he needs more help than we’ve given him.”
“Sure, boss.”
“Anything else?” Ivan asked his lieutenants.
Nix shut Ivan’s laptop firmly before they could answer. “I’m afraid that’s it, boss,” he drawled.
Ivan arched a brow at him. “Tiring already of your interior decorating?”
Nix had been rearranging and redecorating Ivan’s apartment so it wasn’t so starkly depressing. It would do until Nix decided exactly what kind of human dwelling he wished to spend the majority of his time in. And Ivan had given him free reinbecause he was, underneath his stubborn bossiness, a very smart man.
“I’ve just had a ten-foot-tall nude portrait of myself commissioned,” Nix told him, batting his lashes. “You don’t mind, do you?”
Ivan smirked at him. “You can hang it in here,” he said, calling Nix’s bluff. “Give me something to look at while you’re off spending my money.”
“Or you can come home now and have the real thing,” Nix countered.
Ivan ducked his head, running his nose along Nix’s jaw as his hand trailed over his hip. “Why wait until we’re home?” he murmured.
