Just a Bit Wicked (Straight Guys 7)

Forcing himself to stop thinking about Roman, Luke focused his attention back on Vlad.

“Yes,” he said innocently, biting back a smile when Vlad’s jaw clenched. The guy clearly wasn’t happy about the brevity of his answer.

Seven seconds passed before Vlad finally spoke again.

“He hasn’t come over,” Vlad said, his eyes still on his phone.

“No,” Luke confirmed, looking away for a moment to hide another smile. “Did you expect him to come over often? We aren’t really that kind of friends. He’s busy with Tristan’s fashion line, I think.”

Vlad said nothing.

Luke studied his hard profile. Although Vlad didn’t unnerve him anymore, he couldn’t help noticing that there was a coiled promise of violence in the line of his body. Luke wondered what kind of life Vlad had led for that tension to be so deeply ingrained in his mannerisms even while Vlad was supposedly relaxed and safe. Vlad was different from Roman in that regard: Roman was all controlled power and dominance, while Vlad gave off tense, aggressive vibes, as if he might explode any moment. Having seen what Vlad was capable of, it made Luke a little wary, although he knew Vlad wouldn’t put a finger on him.

“Do you like Sebastian?” Luke said, against his better judgment.

Vlad’s shoulders stiffened, even the illusion of him being relaxed gone. Luke kind of expected Vlad to deny having any homosexual inclinations, so he was very surprised when Vlad simply said,

“No.”

His curiosity spiking, Luke said, “Did you forget I saw you and him? Kissing?”

Once again, he waited for “I’m not a faggot” or another homophobic slur.

Vlad surprised him again. “You’re such a kid,” he said, without scorn. “You don’t have to ‘like’ someone to kiss them.”

Luke rolled his eyes. If he had a penny for every time someone underestimated his experience or his age, he would be the richest man on Earth.

“You know, I wasn’t exactly enamored with Roman the first time we had sex,” Luke said. When Vlad turned his head to him, Luke smiled, amused. “Did you really think I was so gullible? Roman hated my father and I knew he was using me.” He cocked his head. “Actually, compared to that, I don’t understand why you and Sebastian didn’t get along from the beginning—”

“He fucked my girlfriend while I was babysitting you in Switzerland,” Vlad said flatly.

Luke blinked. That was news to him. He hadn’t even known Vlad had a girlfriend.

“That doesn’t sound like Sebastian,” he said, his brows furrowing. “I mean, he does sleep around, but he’s not an asshole. He doesn’t fuck with other people’s relationships.” He paused. “So you had met him before you came to London?”

“Yes. I went to his hotel in Moscow, wanted to teach him a lesson.”

Luke winced, glancing at Vlad’s massive fists. Sebastian wasn’t a small man by any means, but he was no match for that kind of brutal strength. After seeing Vlad’s fists in action against those homophobic lunatics, Luke knew Vlad hadn’t used even half of his strength against him—Luke wouldn’t have been alive if he had.

“Did you?” Luke asked.

“No,” Vlad said gruffly. “He pissed me off so much I...” Licking his lips, he averted his gaze. “He distracted me.”

“How?”

“Doesn’t matter.” Clearly that was all Vlad was going to say on the subject.

“Seb is very handsome,” Luke said, a little wistfully. He’d always been a bit envious of Sebastian’s looks. Sebastian managed to look beautiful and strong. No one would call Sebastian a cute kid. He was only a couple of years older than Luke, but people thought he was years older and far more mature than him. Although Luke no longer had any hang-ups about not looking very manly, sometimes he wished to be taken more seriously. It would have certainly made his job much easier.

Luke looked at Vlad. “Don’t you think so? That he’s handsome?”

“He’s...” Vlad’s jaw clenched. “He’s very—” He cut off whatever he was going to say and pursed his lips.

“He’s very handsome,” Luke said.

“He’s not that handsome,” Vlad grumbled. “He looks like Snow White.”

Luke chuckled. “You’re saying it like it’s a bad thing.”

“He’s very pale. His eyes are too dark in contrast. His lips are so red they look painted.”

Luke hummed noncommittally, covering his mouth with his hand to hide his smile.

“His ass is huge,” Vlad said. “He has chicken legs.”

“Yeah, he looks positively tragic.”

Vlad peered at him suspiciously and scowled when Luke finally broke into helpless giggles.

“Come on, you like him, admit it!”

“I don’t,” Vlad said tightly. “I don’t like him the way you’re implying. He pisses me off most of the time.”

“Which way do you like him, then?” Luke said, unwilling to drop the subject while Vlad seemed uncharacteristically talkative.

Vlad glared at him. “I said I didn’t like him.”

“You said you didn’t like him the way I was implying,” Luke said, smiling. “Which means you like him in some way.”