“Well, knock a few days off that estimate. I’m not going to sit idle,” Lucas grumbled.
“Can I get you anything else?”
“No – wait!” Lucas looked around while patting his pockets with his right hand. “Where’s my cell phone?”
“I have it. Your doctor said you can’t have it back until tomorrow.”
“Fine. Send two texts for me. Tell Candace Parkes to be here at one to work,” Lucas instructed as he toed out of his shoes, the only things from that horrible night that apparently hadn’t been ruined.
“And the other?”
“Your boss. Tell him he’s a fucking asshole.”
Lucas flopped down on the bed, pulling the comforter around him with his right arm. He was exhausted and the room was spinning. Sleep and a shower in the morning would make the world a more tolerable, coherent place again. Maybe then he wouldn’t feel this unrelenting attraction for Andrei Hadeon.
He never heard Andrei leave the room or flip off the light. He was dead to the world within seconds.###
Andrei walked out to the kitchen and stood staring out at nothing, trying to get his heart to stop pounding. The blood coursing through his frame felt like it was on fire. His hands shook, forcing him to shove them into his long dark hair just so he wouldn’t have to see the evidence that he was obviously cracking.
It was that damned smile. Lucas had looked up at him with that slow lazy grin that lit his soft green-gray eyes with mischief. The combination of painkillers and alcohol had loosened him up, made him so damned appealing. A slow burning fire set loose in Andrei’s stomach and all he could think about was leaning down to taste that smile.
Standing at the edge of the bed, it had taken all his control not to grab the man and kiss him until that low growl rumbled back up his throat. He burned with a need to explore every inch of Lucas’s mouth and that smile. Find some relief from the tightness of his own skin and the throbbing of his groin.
But that didn’t make any fucking sense. Andrei wouldn’t have labeled himself as anything more than a little bi-curious. Yeah, he’d messed around with a few guys, but his sexual adventures on that side had always involved copious amounts of alcohol, boredom, and at least one woman to help even things out. There had been no touching beyond what was necessary to get off and there was definitely no kissing.
Lucas threatened to disrupt everything. Yes, Andrei had appreciated handsome men, but he’d never felt an urge to touch, to slowly explore every muscle. That fucking smile and that low purr in his voice when something amused him. Andrei had known too few people like Lucas — a man so comfortable in his own skin that nothing seemed to unsettle him. He didn’t question himself or doubt himself or who he was. He had an inner strength that was intoxicating to be around, even when the man was drugged out of his mind. Maybe even more so then. That fierce restraint had eased…and made Andrei want to crawl into bed with him. Or just on top of him.
What the hell was he supposed to do? Nothing. Not a damned thing. Company policy strictly forbade any kind of fraternizing with the customer—man or woman. Andrei felt a snicker rise in his throat. Like Lucas Vallois would give him a second look if his ex-girlfriend was anything to go by. Rich, beautiful, and educated from a good family—that was probably the man’s type. He could have whoever he wanted, man or woman.
Of course, it was all the more fitting that Andrei found himself attracted to his boss’s best friend. Yes, just perfect. Not only would he lose his job, but Andrei had little doubt that Rowe would beat him senseless if he found out that Andrei took advantage of his injured friend.
That thought was funny in itself. Andrei knew he was not seeing Lucas Vallois at his best, but even concussed, drugged and drinking, no one could get anything past the man. He’d watched the too-smooth Stephanie Breckenridge try to manipulate Lucas and he’d neatly outmaneuvered her.
Fuck, this assignment was going to be rough. Andrei could only hope the unexpected attraction was a fluke. Maybe it would die when he saw Lucas acting more like himself. He was sure he’d seen glimpses of it in the hospital when Lucas locked horns with Rowe. Arrogant and stubborn, Lucas was probably just like every other rich snob he’d protected over the past three years.
Dropping his hands back to his side, he looked up at the time on the microwave and cursed softly under his breath. It was barely nine o’clock. Too early for bed and he was too wired for sleep even if it was late. A few beers would have taken the edge off but Andrei never drank on the job.