“Recon,” Trevor replied in a low voice. “Need to knowthearea.”
They’d reviewed blueprints and maps of Olympus at the beginning of their mission prep. The casino was a warren of hallways, restaurants, retail corridors, rooms, and gambling dens. The number of employees was nothing in comparison to the sheer number of tourists that checked in and outeveryday.
Katie had voted to hack the smart-building’s AI for overwatch, but as good as she was, it was deemed too risky by the director. So they’d made do with memorizing exits and access points over the entire building, committing the layout to memory. But a map was nothing compared to getting actual eyes on the location in question. Sean was itching to do his own recon, but that would need to be done later when he could justify wandering thecasino.
Right now, they needed to head back to the suite to go over their plan for tonight before getting ready. Sean would’ve hurried them along, but he was too busy watching Alexei pull on his shirt to really think about anything else at themoment.
“Is there any food left?” Sean asked once Alexei had covered up, much to the dismay of several men and women looking their way. Sean really couldn’tblamethem.
“Enough for both of you,” Alexei said. He slung an arm over Sean’s shoulder, pulling him close as they began to walk. “But no dessert. Annabelle ate all cakeandpie.”
“She’s gonna make herself sick one day,” Trevormuttered.
“Doubt that. Could pull G-forces on full stomach andbefine.”
“The internal dampeners on the aircraft helpwiththat.”
“Can betonit?”
“On Annabelle puking her guts out after flying? Hell no. That’s alosingbet.”
Alexei just laughed; Sean could feel the rumble of the sound vibrate against his own ribs. Swallowing a little, he forced himself not to pull away and smiled at their banter. Alexei kept his arm right where it was until they finally made it back to the private penthouse elevator. Only when the doors closed did he put some distancebetweenthem.
No one said anything on the ride up. The girls weren’t back from their recon, and the first thing Sean did once they were inside was head for the bedroom to change clothes. Alexei followed after him, closing the door behindthemboth.
“Am sorry,” was the first thingAlexeisaid.
Sean tossed his tablet on the bed before looking over at where Alexei stood. “Forwhat?”
Alexei gestured at his face, frowning a little as he stared unblinkingly at Sean. “For kiss. Not askpermission.”
“It was for thecover.”
“Still.Shouldask.”
The sense memory of Alexei’s mouth on his made Sean hesitate. He’d done a lot for his country, given his all in more ways than one for a mission. Sleeping with someone while undercover wasn’t his favorite way to complete a mission, but he’d done it a few times when needed. That didn’t mean he liked it. Being in bed like that was a lie, and for all that he could fake passion, he didn’t want to do that here withAlexei.
He didn’t want Alexei to have to do itwithhim.
“It got the message across to Chloe. I don’t think you’ll need to do it again for her sake.” Sean paused, eyeing where Alexei stood. He tried not to think about what Alexei looked like in the pool, hard muscles glistening beneath sunlight; tried not to think about being underneath him. “I’m not mad you did it, if that’s why you’re worried. Itwasnice.”
A complicated expression crossed Alexei’s face. “Justnice?”
“It was a kiss for someone else’s benefit. I don’t know what you want me tosayhere?”
Alexei grumbled something in Russian under his breath that Sean didn’t understand before shaking his head. “If that your idea of kiss, neededucation.”
“I think you mean educating. And Idon’t.”
“Whatever. Will shower.Youeat.”
Alexei looked angry and Sean didn’t know why. Sean reached out without thinking about it, snagging the hem of Alexei’s T-shirt as he walked past, heading for the bathroom. Alexei rocked to a stop, staring at him with sharpgrayeyes.
“I’m not mad,” Sean said, needing to make sure Alexei understood that. For some reason, the idea of Alexei being angry over the kiss at the pool left Sean feeling sick to hisstomach.
Sean didn’t move, even when Alexei reached out to brush his fingers over Sean’s cheek, the touch a warm graze over healed broken bones before skimming past his temple. A shiver ran down his spine from the touch. It took effort to let go of the cloth tangled in hisfingers.
“Ladno,” Alexei said in a deep voice before retreating to thebathroom.
