Nix shivered, ready to disappear his clothes right there and then. He hoped Ivan tugged at his tail again when he fucked him—the underside of the base was deliciously sensitive, and Ivan’s rough handling in the restaurant had been a delightful revelation.
A throat cleared.
Ivan’s face was an icy mask in an instant as he looked around Nix to his lieutenants. “Is there a fucking problem?” he asked, low and dangerous.
“No problem,” Jace answered quickly. He and Tag were frozen in place in their seats. “We just thought maybe you’d want…privacy?”
“Be nice,” Nix told Ivan under his breath when it looked like Ivan might bite Jace’s head off at the mere implication that his lieutenants were reluctant to watch him fuck his husband right in front of them.
But really, they should be so lucky.
“Out,” Ivan barked instead. “Now. I’m done with you.”
The two scurried off but not before giving deferential nods to Ivan and Nix. So polite, these boys.
Nix swung his leg around so he was straddling Ivan, toyingwith the buttons on his shirt. “I thought we weren’t relying on fear anymore.”
“A little fear never hurt anyone.” Ivan slid his hands under Nix’s blouse to caress his lower back. “I need to keep them in line. The way they look at you sometimes…”
“How do they look at me?”
“Like they wouldn’t mind a ten-foot nude portrait of you hanging in my office.”
Nix laughed. “Darling, you married an incubus. I’m a desirable commodity. Get used to it.” He ground down in Ivan’s lap, practically purring when Ivan began hardening against him. “Or maybe stop manhandling me in front of them, and they won’t get naughty ideas.”
Ivan raised his hips to meet him. “You’re the one who jumped in my lap.”
“And what are you going to do about it?”
Ivan captured his mouth in answer, kissing him hungrily. His hands were suddenly everywhere at once, stroking Nix’s back, his hips, twisting the barbells in his nipples. “I want to fuck you over my desk,” Ivan rasped, licking and biting his way down Nix’s throat.
“Oleg’s waiting for us,” Nix told him even as he tilted his head back to give him better access.
“Let him wait,” Ivan murmured against his skin.
It was a tempting fucking thought. Still…
“No, no, no.” Nix gathered his strength of will and escaped Ivan’s grasp, rising from his lap. “Because once your balls are drained, you’re going to look longingly at your laptop and start working again.” He held out his hand. “We’re going home.”
Ivan took his hand and stood, making no attempt to hide the bulge in his slacks. “I have an office at home. There’s a desk there too.”
Nix shook his head, grabbing Ivan’s laptop and shoving it inhis bag. “We’re not setting foot in there tonight. I’ve always wanted to take a bubble bath—your presence is required for the experience.”
Ivan cocked his head as he watched Nix furiously gather his belongings. “I’ve been working too much, haven’t I?”
Nix fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Yes. You have.”
“Aha. There will probably be another week or so of this, and it’ll ease up as the others take on more responsibility.” Ivan rubbed a hand over his face, as if dreading the next seven days. “I’m learning to rely on other people. Are you proud?”
His question had been sarcastic, but Nix answered sincerely anyway, “Immensely.”
Ivan sighed heavily, slipping into his coat. “We need to tell Tara she can go.”
“I already did,” Nix told him with a grin. At the door to the office, he stopped Ivan with a hand on his chest. “Vanya.” He grabbed Ivan’s face, staring into his eyes and speaking firmly. “I am very, very proud of you.”
Ivan blinked at him. “The things you say.”
And Nix would keep saying them. The wounds Ivan had been given growing up ran deep and would take time and care to heal. Their soul bond had filled many of the fissures, and their physical connection was unlike anything else in this world, but sometimes Ivan needed the words, even if he didn’t realize it.
