Something bitter was churning in Cooper’s gut, something beyond just his nerves about Ivan’s anger. Nix was so beautiful, and Chaos seemed so fond of him. It had only taken one word from Nix for Chaos to back off of Ivan.
Cooper hadn’t known Chaos could be so obedient.
He cleared his throat, wanting an excuse to get out of the room. “Let me just grab that book for you.” He hurried into the computer room and grabbed the Book off his desk before coming back quickly to hand it back to Ivan.
Ivan.
Cooper had never seen his cousin actually cautious of another being before, at least not since Dimitri had died. Ivan was usually the scariest person in the room, and he knew it. But apparently now Cooper’s demon—the one he’d been holed up in a hotel room playing faux honeymoon with—was scarier.
It almost made Cooper smile, but Nix and Chaos werestillhugging, so he couldn’t quite manage the curl of his lips.
“There’s a meeting the day after tomorrow,” Ivan said after staring at the Book in his hands for a long moment. “If you and your demon would like to attend.”
That was the politest request for a work event Cooper had ever gotten from his cousin. Come to think of it, Cooper was pretty sure he’d never gotten arequestat all before. He received orders, curt and cold and nonnegotiable.
It was so far from the norm that Cooper didn’t even know how to respond. “Um…what about?”
Ivan didn’t glare at him or snap at him for asking unnecessary questions. “We’re making some changes,” he answered instead, side-eyeing Chaos, who’d finally released Nix. “Getting rid of the rest of Sergei’s men, for one.”
Therest ofSergei’s men. “Does that mean you found him?” Cooper couldn’t quite keep the relief out of his voice. An angry Sergei wasn’t someone he’d ever wanted to run into. Not after he’d been the one to spot the inconsistencies in Sergei’s finances.
“He’s in the trunk of our car,” Ivan said, matter-of-fact.
Of course he was. Of course Ivan had been running around with his right-hand man in the trunk of his car. Alive or dead, he hadn’t specified, and Cooper wasn’t going to ask. If Sergeiwasstill alive, it wouldn’t be for long.
“Will it be fun?” Chaos asked Nix—not Cooper—tugging at the other demon’s arm like a little kid. “The meeting?”
“You might get to kill someone,” Nix told him, his voice full of fondness.
He said it like it was a reassurance. And it probably was because, unlike Cooper, Chaoslikedviolence. Thrived on it, it seemed. Vicious and wild—that was how he liked his humans. And his fellow demons, apparently. No doubt Nix had a vicious side, if he was spending this much time with Ivan unscathed.
Cooper could almost picture the two of them together: Nix and Chaos, wrapped around each other in that Void of theirs. But he stopped himself before the image could crystallize. Chaos had told him no sex thoughts. Because Nix could smell them.
Nix, who was so beautiful, and probably looked even more beautiful naked…
Had Chaos seen him naked? He must have. They’d been together for centuries.
“Fuck,” Cooper swore, unable to find a way out of his circling thoughts.
All three of his guests turned to look at him, and Cooper could feel the blood drain from his face. That was three people’s very intense attention to have on himself.
As if summoned by Cooper’s discomfort, Chaos finally left Nix’s side, bounced over to perch on the coffee table again, and tugged Cooper into him with an arm around his hip.
Despite his embarrassment, Cooper let out an inaudible sigh of relief at the touch. Chaos might have been wild and vicious by nature, but he’d also become a comfort to Cooper these last few days. His touch was as reassuring as it was sometimes…stimulating.
No sex thoughts, Cooper reminded himself.No thinking about Chaos on his knees, his mouth around your dick. Bad brain. Bad, bad brain.
Luckily, Ivan seemed to attribute Cooper’s outburst to its most likely cause: the thought of the impending “meeting,” which would no doubt end in bloodshed.
“Cooper doesn’t involve himself in the violence, usually,” Ivan explained to Nix, like it was a funny character quirk.
“He won’t have to, though, if I’m there,” Chaos said immediately, patting Cooper’s hip.
That was actually kind of nice to think about. Cooper had never had anyone to protect him before, when it came to these things. He’d been to plenty of Mafia meetings, and…his heart jumped at the thought of it. Bloodshed. Betrayal.
“Cooper will let you know,” Chaos told them suddenly, his hand tightening on Cooper’s hip as he seemed to register Cooper’s anxiety. “Or he won’t. But you two can go now. You’re still scaring him.”
Was he really dismissing Ivan, just like that?
