Sergei knew damn well he had no business getting too attached to Dom, and he told himself he wasn’t. He had to admit, though, he really, really liked this—lying beside Dom, his arm draped over Dom’s broad chest and his head resting on a powerful shoulder, with a strong arm around his own shoulders. The hand laying gently on his upper arm, the slow rise and fall of Dom’s chest, the warmth of his skin—it was luxurious. Almost as addictive as the sex. Maybe more than that.
It was no wonder their late night liaisons were inching farther and farther into the mornings after. And the fact that Dom was one of them… it barely even registered anymore. Right or wrong, dangerous or not, he was just Dom.
After God only knew how long, Dom broke the silence. “Can I ask you something?”
“Can’t promise I’ll answer.”
“Fair enough.” Dom absently ran his hand up and down Sergei’s arm, probably oblivious to how much Sergei loved that gentle, affectionate contact. “Why do you work at that club?”
“Hmm?”
Dom’s hand stopped. “You’ve got an amazing body, but… I can’t imagine stripping is the only thing you can do.”
Oh, it isn’t.
He was much too raw to talk about what he did in the club, but it was better than thinking about what else he did. Sergei shifted a bit, lifting himself up on his elbow so he could see Dom’s face. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with stripping. Do you?”
“I—well…” Dom stammered, his cheeks turning pink. “That’s not what I meant. I’m sorry. I guess I just…” He touched Sergei’s face. “I guess I was just curious. I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right.” Sergei hooked his leg over Dom’s, slipping his bare foot under Dom’s other calf. “And it isn’t like I’m going to strip forever.” He laughed quietly. “There’s… a point of forced retirement, you know?”
“I suppose there is.” Dom combed his hand through Sergei’s hair, fingertips grazing Sergei’s scalp and sending goose bumps prickling down his spine. “What will you do after that? I mean, ten, fifteen years from now—what do you think you’ll be doing?”
Sergei swallowed.
It doesn’t matter to you. You’ll probably be in prison. Or dead. And I’ll be in another hemisphere, moving on from this life.
Sergei cupped Dom’s cheek, the stubbled skin warm beneath his palm. “I guess I’ll figure it out when I get there.”
Dom gave a subtle nod, as if that was enough of an answer. No judgment, no approval or lack thereof—simply an acknowledgment that the question was answered.
“What about you?” Sergei asked.
“What about me?”
“In ten or fifteen years, do you think you’ll still be…”
Dom sighed. “If I’m still alive, I’ll still be in Cape Swan, still a part of my family’s organization.” He drew a soft arc along Sergei’s cheekbone with the pad of his thumb. “If I saw an alternative that didn’t involve a bullet, I wouldn’t be part of it in fifteen minutes, never mind fifteen years.”
“Have you ever thought about leaving?”
“Every day of my life.” Dom’s voice sounded hollow. Haunted, even.
“But you can’t? Ever?”
Shaking his head, Dom looked in Sergei’s eyes. “If I could, I would. But other people have. And Corrado always finds them. Wherever they go, he finds them. And when he does…” The shudder finished the thought.
Sergei chewed the inside of his cheek.
Dom smoothed Sergei’s hair. “You do know it’s dangerous being with me like this, right?”
Dom, you have no idea…
Sergei just nodded. “Yeah. I do.”
“But you keep coming back.”
“Yeah.” Sergei leaned in and brushed his lips across Dom’s. “I do.”
For a heartbeat, he thought Dom might question him, ask him why he kept coming back for more when the danger was so clear and present. Instead, Dom wrapped his arms around him and drew him down into a long kiss and a warm, gentle embrace.
Sergei sent up a silent prayer of thanks that Dom hadn’t asked. Because this—the way they were holding each other and kissing, bringing every one of Sergei’s erogenous nerve endings back to life—was the only answer he had. He needed this for reasons that didn’t rationally outweigh the risks. As careful and calculated as he was, as much as he avoided unnecessary risks, Sergei couldn’t make himself turn away from Dom now.
So he didn’t.
He sank into Dom’s embrace, pressed his hardening cock against Dom’s hip, and lost himself in the last man on earth he should’ve touched.
Chapter 16
Dom and Sergei went their separate ways shortly before sunrise. On autopilot, Dom drove home, undressed again, and collapsed in his own bed, but sleep didn’t come.