Sean sucked in a shaky breath before resolutely taking a step back. “You know we can’t.”
Alexei sighed, trying not to feel annoyed. Work came first, as it always did. “Fine. We go have good time. Can sit on my lap.”
Sean laughed. “No. I’m not putting on a show for anyone but you.”
“Promise?”
Sean rose up on his tiptoes to steal a kiss. “I requested that mirror you wanted. It’ll be delivered and installed within the next half hour.”
Alexei swore, reaching up to grab Sean’s chin to angle his head for a better kiss that left his husband gasping for air when they finally broke apart.
“Get job done, then I do you,” Alexei promised with a filthy grin.
Sean licked his lips, pupils dilating just a little with a desire they couldn’t indulge in at the moment. “Yeah.”
Sean set aside the bottle of cologne, and Alexei guided him out of the bedroom with a hand on his lower back. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner they could go back to ignoring the world in favor of each other.
7
Fortuna-sur-mer
France
Alexei wasglad Sean had put his foot down about sitting on his lap during a card game. The moment they’d walked into the exclusive private lounge around 1300, everyone’s eyes were on them, and it made his skin crawl. He wouldn’t have wanted to put on a show for any of these fuckers.
Taking their money? That was a different story altogether.
“No murder unless it’s sanctioned,” Sean whispered into his ear.
Alexei cracked a smile and took a sip of his vodka. “No fun in that.”
“We’re not here for fun.”
Alexei settled his hand high on Sean’s thigh, giving the muscle there a squeeze. “Show you fun later.”
Sean rolled his eyes, but the smile twitching at his mouth told Alexei his husband thought he was funny.
Alexei settled against Sean on the small couch they shared, their knees pressed together. Sean had made it a point to always be touching Alexei in some way since they’d left their suite. It was a precaution in case he needed to use his phase power, but even if that wasn’t the case, Alexei didn’t mind. He ignored the room around them and focused on the story Liam was regaling them all with, and which Alexei had only been half listening to for the last few minutes.
“—and that’s why I was banned from Balmoral Castle for a year as a teenager by Gran,” Liam finished up.
“Pity the queen didn’t ban you from England,” Oliver replied with a straight face.
“I’m sure it felt like that for everyone while I was with the SAS.” Liam smiled indulgently at the other man, but his eyes were flinty. “Did you miss me while drinking at your local pub?”
Alexei pointed a finger at Liam before the other two could start flirting by way of arguing again. “Promised me card game.”
Liam downed the last bit of scotch in his glass before setting it aside. “That I did. Come along, then. Let’s find ourselves one to join.”
They really only needed to be let into one particular game. Finally getting full access to the island’s security system had pinpointed a few possible suspects, but no one had eyes on Bennett yet, which was frustrating. The buy was most likely not happening today—if it would happen at all with this group—and the UMG wanted to bring into custody who they could. Every other agency and government involved was on board with that decision.
The resort owners wanted the threat dealt with and had agreed early that morning to cede authority to the French government. While those in power back in Paris weren’t thrilled with the United Kingdom’s interference within their borders, the European Alliance Metahuman Security Group was helping to smooth things over. Everyone had the same goal, and the sooner the problem was taken care of, the happier the resort owners would be.
An unsuccessful assassination attempt was bad for business. Even Alexei knew that.
There was only so much Liam’s group could do wheneveryonewas watching their every move though. Which left them no choice but to go for a frontal attack under the guise of acting as a private citizen. It was a flimsy plan, but the only one available to them at the moment when they didn’t have their teams to back them up or enough agency support on the premises to help search the resort.
Alexei was used to plans going out the window once boots were on the ground though. While he’d rather be the one tracking down Bennett, Alexei knew that his face was too recognizable these days. Stealth missions or undercover work weren’t feasible anymore. That wouldn’t stop him from neutralizing the threat on the island. Desperate people always did stupid shit—they just had to wait for them to make the first wrong move.
