Just a Bit Wicked (Straight Guys 7)

Sebastian did his best not to look over his shoulder at Vlad, who could likely hear every word. “Why does he have to stay here if the cult was caught?”

“I thought I told you that the cult wasn’t the only reason Vlad was here? There’s—”

“You shouldn’t be talking about it,” Vlad cut in from behind them, and Sebastian flinched. Vlad’s voice sounded a lot closer than Sebastian had expected.

Luke sighed. “I feel like a prisoner in my own home,” he muttered before raising his voice. “When Roman is back, you’ll stop being my bodyguard. I would convince Roman to fire you completely, but I know you and Roman go way back and he has a soft spot for you, for some reason. He thinks you’re loyal.”

“I am,” Vlad said before sighing. “Luke.”

Luke turned around, and Sebastian did, too, curious despite himself.

Vlad glanced at him, his face unreadable, before focusing his gaze on Luke with a resolute expression. “Look, I know we didn’t get off to a good start,” he said. “I didn’t make your situation easier. I didn’t stop my men when they roughed you up—”

“You joined them, once,” Luke hissed, crossing his arms over his chest.

Vlad got a pinched look on his face. “I wasn’t exactly sober that time. We were celebrating my birthday and one thing led to another. You were an easy target.”

Luke chuckled. “Is that your idea of an apology? Because if it is, you’re doing it wrong.”

Vlad shrugged, his shoulders hunching a little. “I’m not trying to apologize or pretend to be a better man than I am. I’ve done far worse things than roughing someone up, and if I apologized for all of them, we’ll be here all night.” His gaze flicked to Sebastian for a fraction of a second before settling back on Luke. “Recently someone told me I was a bully. Maybe they were right. But what happened back in Russia was a singular lapse of judgment, not something that happened regularly—Roman would have fired me a long time ago if it was. So you can stop looking at me like I’m going to jump you and beat you up. I won’t, no matter how much I disliked you.”

Luke bit his lip. “Disliked me? Past tense?”

Vlad rolled his eyes, smiling at Luke. “Can’t stand the thought of someone not being wrapped around your little finger whenever you bat your pretty eyelashes?”

Luke scowled, but his lips were twitching up.

Sebastian watched the exchange, his stomach twisted into unpleasant knots. When he realized what exactly the ugly emotion was, Sebastian looked away, freaked out. He couldn’t really be stupid enough to get jealous over Vlad. He wasn’t.

But he couldn’t deny that he didn’t like watching Vlad smile at Luke the way he never smiled at him, Sebastian, and he didn’t like Vlad noticing that Luke’s eyelashes were pretty.

Fuck, he was being ridiculous. Of course Luke’s eyelashes were pretty; Luke was probably the prettiest bloke Sebastian knew, with the exception of Tristan DuVal. Of course Vlad noticed how pretty Luke was: he wasn’t blind, and he was gay, no matter what Vlad told himself.

Maybe Vlad even secretly fancied Luke and that was the reason for his antagonism toward him.

His cat yowled protestingly when Sebastian crushed her too tightly to his chest. He forced himself to relax his grip.

“All right, I’ll go,” Sebastian said awkwardly, feeling like it was secondary school all over again and he was the invisible, geeky loser. “Bye, Luke. Thanks for everything!”

He got into the lift before either of them could say anything.

Once inside, he banged his head against the wall and sighed.

“This was pathetic,” he told Hermione, pressing his cheek to hers. “I’m such a loser.”

It didn’t seem to matter how good he looked now; he would always feel like an ugly duckling at heart. Yes, it was obvious Vlad had been attracted to him, but it was just that, a superficial attraction to a good-looking guy. He was nothing special for Vlad. It could have been anyone.

He was nothing special.

Chapter 18

“Have you spoken to your friend?”

Luke lifted his gaze from his laptop and settled it on Vlad.

The Russian was lounging on the couch, his eyes fixed on his phone. Luke studied him with interest. Ever since they had talked and cleared the air between them a week ago, Luke felt much more comfortable in Vlad’s presence, but they weren’t exactly friends and he still couldn’t get a good read on him.

“What friend?” Luke said. “I have lots of friends.”

“Sebastian,” Vlad said, his tone casual, perhaps too casual.

Luke eyed him curiously. He wasn’t blind: he had noticed that there was something going on between his grumpy bodyguard and Sebastian. Luke couldn’t say he approved—he thought it would end in tears for Sebastian—but then again, everyone told him the same thing about Roman, and Luke had never been happier. Sure, Roman wasn’t an easy man to be with, but Luke felt good with him. Good, safe, and so very in love.