As much as Alexei appreciated the downtime they’d earned while in the MDF Reserves, he missed being in the field and making a difference. He wasn’t ready to fully retire, but he knew the path he’d walked with his brother and their team had taken a new direction ever since their identities had become known by the general public. There was no going back to the way things were.
Honestly, he wouldn’t want to.
“I had wanted a honeymoon where nothing went wrong, we had a lot of sex, and ate a lot of food. I was looking forward to you swimming in the pool or in the man-made beach.”
Alexei smirked. “Brought swimsuit. Can swim for you tomorrow.”
“Not while a sniper is on the loose.”
Alexei rolled his eyes. “Fine. Swim for you later.”
He made sure to activate the soundproofing on the control panel before leading Sean toward the bed. He had plans to wreck his husband, and not even Bennett was going to derail Alexei from his personal mission.
* * *
“>”Kyle said over his comms.
Alexei scowled as he tugged at the gold chain necklace through the open collar of his dress shirt. The gray fabric sat snugly over the slim, bulletproof vest he wore underneath it. “>”
“>”
“>”
Kyle made an annoyed sound that produced a little static over the comms. Alexei never thought he’d miss the embedded ones, but he did. Physical comms weren’t the same.
“>”
“>”
For all that they were betrayed by a CIA agent in the past, Sean was the one who had been targeted and nearly killed by the agency he’d once served. Alexei would always hate the CIA for that.
“>”
Kyle sounded personally offended by that, which made Alexei smile fondly, even though his little brother couldn’t see it. They’d always had each other’s backs, no matter what.
“>”
“>”
“>”
Kyle cut the line. A couple of seconds later, Sean stepped out of the bathroom, straightening his tie without even looking. “Was that Kyle?”
Alexei nodded. “Told him stay put.”
“Good. That’s a media mess we don’t need.”
Alexei’s gaze drifted down his husband’s body, taking note of the lack of weapons but liking the way the suit he wore clung to every line of his body. In Alexei’s opinion, Sean was far too dressed up for lunch, but he wasn’t going to complain.
Alexei did raise an eyebrow at the small bottle in Sean’s hand. “Is my cologne.”
“I know. Hold still.”
Alexei did as he was told, watching as Sean placed his finger over the top of the bottle and inverted it. The rich scent of Alexei’s favorite cologne drifted between them as Sean carefully dabbed it over the pulse points on Alexei’s neck before slipping his fingers beneath the shirt cuffs to rub the cologne over Alexei’s wrists.
Alexei grabbed Sean’s hand and guided it to his husband’s own neck, pressing the last lingering bit of cologne into his skin there. When Sean pulled his hand away, Alexei leaned down to kiss the hinge of his jaw, inhaling deeply. The smell of his cologne on Sean’s skin made his cock throb a little in his dress pants.
“Could stay here,” Alexei murmured into Sean’s ear before gently biting at the earlobe within reach.
