“You don’t need to go,” Ilya answers flatly, his accent much thicker. “Because you don’t want to go, and no man should make you do something you don’t want to.”
“He’s my partner. I… I misunderstood our… situation.”
Adam had told me in no uncertain terms toget close to Ilya Zima.
Now I’m scared to death that I did misunderstand, that I did something wrong — and I have never, ever fucked up as badly as I have this time.
Not with Adam, at least.
Adam turns his full attention to Ilya. “What do you want?” Adam asks Ilya, less hostile but still on edge. “If you just want a twink to fuck, I see a few out there. You don’t need Micah.”
Ilya’s arm is solid and warm against me. “I don’t want ‘a twink to fuck.’ I was having nice time with Micah, and I want to keep having nice time with Micah.”
I try to keep breathing, but it’s so, so fucking hard. “He didn’t mean it that way,” I say, trying for reassuring but finding my voice cracking. “Ilya and I were just talking?—”
“Get a lot of talking done with your tongue down his throat?” Adam snaps at me.
Ilya suddenly stands up and crowds Adam. “Don’t talk to him like that.”
“Ilya!” I say, scrambling to my feet. Alarmed, I try to get between them, but neither of the men back down. It doesn’t make sense. None of this makes sense. I’m supposed to use whatever means necessary to get close to Ilya. It wasn’t my fault Ilya came on to me! Adam always talks about how important it is to think on the fly. He’d told me to use whatever opening Ilya gave me.
But I should have realized he didn’t meanthisopening. “It’s fine. It’s fine!”
“You think you’re tough?” Adam growls, balling his hands into fists. “I take down guys like you regularly.”
Ilya lets out a dark laugh. “I doubt that. You’re anantcompared to?—”
“Ilya! What a surprise!” somebody suddenly calls out.
Both Ilya and Adam tense and take a few steps back from each other. A blond man in an elegant suit approaches. He’s smaller than both Ilya and Adam, but something about him gets my hackles up.
“Silvano,” Ilya grunts. “Mind your own business.”
Silvano doesn’t react to Ilya’s hostility. “I thought it was you at the bar, but I wasn’t sure.” He turns to face Adam. “Sorry to interrupt. Silvano Cresci.” He hands a business card to Adam. “Can I buy you a drink, sir?”
Adam’s eyes snap to Silvano. Adam assesses him like he smells something foul.
I look between them, trying to figure out what the hell is going on with this new dynamic. Adam looks openly contemptuous now, not even bothering to hide it, and Ilya… He looked sexy before, all salt and pepper hair and beard with a gentle expression on his face. But now? He looksmurderous.
It’s all because of me.
I’d been so sure this chance was what I’d been waiting for.
Why am I regretting all of it?
“We’re leaving,” I say hurriedly, taking advantage of Ilya’s distraction to grab Adam’s hand. I tug on it, but I feel like a child trying to convince his parents to go get ice cream.
“Go get your cello,” Adam says, his eyes flicking between Silvano and Ilya.
He has his cop face on.
Fuck.
He’s going to give himself away.
“Adam—” I start.
“I said, go get your cello, Micah,” he snaps at me.
