Alexei gave Sean his best innocent look. “Wouldnever.”
Sean snorted. “Youcheated.”
“Should name prize. Can call itkotik,” Alexei said with a straight face. “Is almost kittenlikeyou.”
Sean shot him a withering look. “You’re notfunny.”
“Most funny,kotyonok.”
Sean opened his mouth to argue and Alexei shut him up the best way he knew how—with a long, slow, deep kiss that left Alexei feeling settled and grounded. Sean hummed against his mouth, sighing softly when they finallyparted.
“Missed you,” Seanadmitted.
“Me, too.” Alexei grabbed Sean’s carry-on and draped his arm over Sean’s shoulders. “Am glad you’re back. How wasvisit?”
“Hard,butgood.”
Alexei nodded, knowing how difficult it could be when a family learned the truth. After everything that had happened, Sean had needed some time to set things straight with his family. With Alpha Team lying low unless something critical came down the pipeline, Sean had taken some leave and gone back to New Seattle for a much-needed visit. Alexei had missed waking up to him during the past week, but he was happy Sean had managed to find some peace with hisfamily.
“I brought something back for you as well,” Sean said as they headed fortheexit.
“Oh? Win indartgame?”
“Actually, I brought something back for you to give to yoursisters.”
Alexei gave him a betrayed look. “This what I get for give youprize?”
Sean ignored him. “My brothers signed some Atomic Grace T-shirts for them. They left the shirts with our parents to give to me since they had to continue their tour. They, ah, remembered you talking about it onthejet.”
“Sisters love you more than me now,” Alexeigrumbled.
“I doubt it. I haven’t even metthemyet.”
“Youwill.”
Sean nodded, some of the uncertainty in his eyes fading away. Alexei knew family was a touchy subject for Sean, considering the strained relations he’d had with his own for so many years. Alexei decided to tell Sean later, maybe tomorrow, that he’d already told his mother he was seeing the agent—and that she wanted to meet Sean as soon aspossible.
“You have anything you need to do today?” Sean asked once they were finally in the car and Alexei had started theengine.
Alexei very blatantly raked his gaze up and down Sean’s body. “Justyou.”
Sean blinked at Alexei before he burst out laughing. “That wasterrible.”
“Stilltrue.”
“Then get us home,Lyosha.”
Alexei broke some speed limits getting back to Sean’s apartment and wasn’t at all sorry about it. Spending the week at his own place had been lonely now that Kyle was holed up in Jamie’s penthouse condo. With fallout from the fight in Montana still making noise in the media and through the hallowed halls of Washington, D.C., Jamie had left his father on the campaign trail in favor of focusing on what the MDF needed. It meant Kyle no longer slept in the spare bedroom, and Alexei rapidly came to realize in the wake of Sean’s absence why his brother sulked so much when Jamiewasgone.
But all that left Alexei’s mind the second Sean let them into his small, one-bedroom apartment. Alexei dropped the suitcase by the door, gave Sean just enough time to set the locks, before he pulled Sean against him and licked a hot stripe up his throat. Sean went boneless in a way that went straight to Alexei’s cock. Fitting his mouth against the curve of Sean’s neck, Alexei sucked hard at the sensitive skinthere.
“Oh,” Sean moaned as he dropped the prize Alexei had won for him on the floor. He reached up and took off Alexei’s baseball cap, dropping it to the flooraswell.
Alexei pressed his teeth against soft skin for just a few seconds before he pulled back. “Make new mark since otherhealed.”
“Not where peoplecansee.”
Alexei shrugged; he liked people knowing what was his. “Maybe.”
