CHAPTER ONE
“Areyou sure you want to do this?” Gio called out from the bathroom. He finished drying off and wrapped the towel around his waist. Stepping into their bedroom, his heart skipped a beat, and he leaned against the doorframe, admiring his gorgeous man.
“My answer hasn’t changed from the last six times you asked that question,” Sacha said, glaring at his tuxedo bow tie in the mirror as he tried to straighten it. Well, maybe less glaring and more trying to set it on fire with his mind. “I think mine’s broken.” He turned, and Gio couldn’t help but smile softly. Sacha had no idea how sweet he was.
“Let me.” Gio walked up to Sacha, laughing when his boyfriend’s expression turned suspicious.
“What’s that smile for?”
“How do you always manage to steal my breath away?” Gio undid Sacha’s bow tie and retied it. “There.”
“You’re just trying to get in my pants,” Sacha teased, slipping his arms around Gio’s waist. “Speaking of pants…I noticed you’re not wearing any.”
Gio hummed and wrapped his arms around Sacha’s neck. “I wasn’t wearing any when I invited you into the shower with me.” He sighed dramatically. “Alas, my offer was turned down.”
“Because showering with you always leads to sexy times, and there’s not enough time for me to make a mess out of you.”
Gio groaned. “You’re evil.”
Sacha shrugged. “It’s a gift.”
“I see.” Gio turned and walked away, pulling off his towel and tossing it aside.
“Oh! You shit. Now who’s evil?”
Gio laughed and stepped into the spacious walk-in closet to get dressed. Part of him was excited to have Sacha with him, walking him down the red carpet, but he never wanted Sacha to feel uncomfortable.
Tonight’s charity gala was one of the year’s biggest, a red-carpet event with everyone from CEOs to Hollywood stars flying in. The entire event was televised, with several major names performing throughout the night. It wasn’t so much the event itself that Sacha didn’t like—after all, he often worked large-scale events for the Kings—it was the attention focused onhimwhen he was there as Gio’s boyfriend, rather than as security, that Sacha wasn’t too happy about.
When Sacha saw the invitation and realized the Kings weren’t providing security for the event, he decided to accompany Gio as his plus one. Sacha had suggested bringing extra protection, but it wasn’t necessary. Gio would be the least famous person there, so the area would likely be filled with security.
Chip was spending the night with Ace, Colton, and Cocoa, while Cookie was on duty, adorned in a dashing bow tie along with his red service dog vest. As always, the limousine arrived promptly, and they headed to the gala as soon as they were dressed. Despite attending as Gio’s date, Sacha was on highalert, especially when, just over two hours later, they were stuck in a long line of vehicles waiting to pull up to the red carpet.
“Thank you for being here with me,” Gio said, lacing his fingers with Sacha’s. He leaned in and kissed his cheek.
“I’ll always be here for you,” Sacha replied softly. Mischief sparkled in his bright, blue-gray eyes. “Besides, these gigs always serve top-notch appetizers.”
Gio laughed. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too.”
Sacha turned his head to look out the limo’s tinted window, and a flash went off.
“The fuck?” he growled. “Quick, take that guy’s picture!”
“Why?” Gio asked, removing his phone from his pocket.
“So that when I can see again, I can track him down and kick his ass!”
Oh boy.Gio returned his phone to his pocket. “That’s a lot of ass-kicking you’ll be doing then because there’s going to be a mob of photographers around all night. What did King say when you told him you were attending tonight?”
Sacha grumbled. “No smashing anyone’s equipment. No punching or threatening bodily harm.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Stupid rules. What if some dude comes at you? I’m left with no choice but to smash his equipment.”
“By equipment, I assume you mean camera?”
Sacha glanced at him. “Um, sure, let’s go with that.”
“And as a former Special Ops Green Beret, that’s youronlychoice?”
