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A tall figure of a man, lithe and with the grace of an MMA fighter sauntered into the hallway. A dark grey Henley clung to whipcord muscles, a tattoo peeking out from underneath the collar. His face was all razor-sharp angles, with cheekbones like a knife’s edge, and it gave him a vibe as if he were a half-second from violence. The very short, tapered, dark brown hair did not soften the look whatsoever. The five o’clock shadow only emphasized his resting bitch face. He looked…dangerous, to sum it up in a single word.
“Accept the good in your life. Like me. I’m a fucking delight.”
“Accept the good in your life. Like me. I’m a fucking delight.”
“Of course. Best way to be insane. Enjoy it.
“Of course. Best way to be insane. Enjoy it.
Aiden Stalworth was rather loveable, he mused. Not classically handsome or pretty, he was in the category of ‘adorable’ instead, with his touchable auburn hair and big hazel eyes and crooked smile. It was better seeing him in real life, as the picture Kyou had sent didn’t really do him justice. The simple black t-shirt wasn’t particularly flattering on him, nor the worn-in jeans, and he had a bit of padding around his stomach—a hint of his unhealthy diet of nothing but carbs—but it all made him squishable.
Look, when a hot Russian thief breaks in and offers to feed you, smart people agree.
what do you make at your, ah, job?” “Mostly mistakes and inappropriate comments.”
he found himself pulling out his phone and scrolling through Russian online dictionaries, trying out various spellings until he found the word Ivan kept calling him. Milij: Dear or precious.
“I performed a social activity yesterday. Please wait the requisite three days before submitting another request,”
“Technically, I’m his boyfriend’s friend,” Carter supplied cheerfully. The cheer never reached his eyes. “Friend by association, I guess.”
He leaned up, capturing Ivan’s mouth, and it was awkward for a split second because the angle was a little off. Then Ivan tilted his head, re-adjusted, and it was perfect. Absolutely, sweetly, perfect.
“You don’t bury people in shallow graves. Those get found. Bury him deep.”
His new boyfriend laughed as Ivan yanked him in tight—a happy sound—then sighed in pleasure as Ivan set about kissing him senseless.
“Ivan, are all of your friends good looking?” “Da. Sent ugly ones back.”
Ivan rained kisses all over Aiden’s face, making him laugh, before catching his mouth in a thorough, if brief, kiss. Pulling back, he promised, “I be best man ever to you.”
“At least I’m a fun hot mess. Like a train wreck full of pizza, fireworks, and glitter.”
I don’t understand you people. You do things all throughout the week, and then you hit the weekend and you want to do even more things. What’s wrong with you?”
Ivan tended to dive into relationships like a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide.
He made such a pretty picture, half-propped up on elbows, legs stretched out and opened in invitation. Ivan didn’t even try to resist, just climbed up on top of him, their mouths meeting in a hot entanglement of tongues. Ivan caught the back of his neck, lowering Aiden fully down, keeping his own weight a little off of him to avoid crushing the smaller man.
“So, if you know this, does that mean you went outside today?” Ari asked hopefully. “It was chilly. There were people. I give it zero stars, do not recommend.”
Feeling lighter than he ever had, Aiden answered honestly, “My boyfriend.”
“As the normal one of the bunch, I need to tell you that Aiden will not appreciate having his family assassinated because they irritated you.”
A pair of teeth latched onto his throat in a scrape that jolted Aiden. “Why are you biting me?” “You smell good,” Ivan sighed, then licked where he’d bitten.
“You’re not safe. You’re something else, something I’ve always needed. I feel like I’ve been in a stagnant pond for most of my life. I lived here, I was alright, but I wasn’t thriving. I wasn’t really living. I was waiting for something to come and change the world I was in. You swept in like a storm. Everything holding me back is gone—the stagnation, the decaying roots lassoing me down, all of it—and suddenly, I can breathe fully. I can live. You’re my wind, Ivan.”
Those wonderful hands cupped Ivan’s face, his mouth taking Ivan’s sweetly. Ivan sighed into the kiss, sliding his hands around Aiden’s back to draw him in closer.
We take bad guys down quickly and without warning. We live longer.”
Sometimes, you met someone and knew from the first moment you wanted to spend your whole life without them.
Kyou did in fact look like a loaf of bread that had been frozen, unthawed, then left in a corner to mold and die.
