Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Well, he was the one who chose to live in one of the most expensive cities in all the world. What did he expect? Money didn’t stretch quite so far in Paris. But then, this was one of the first places that actually felt like home to him. After leaving Russia behind them for good, he and his mother had settled in Paris for three wonderful years before she’d died from cancer.
Living with his uncles in Colorado had been amazing as well, but ever since he’d turned twenty, staying in Colorado had begun to feel like a crutch. He’d wanted to break out on his own, prove he could stand on his own two feet. Prove he could be an assassin as great as his uncle. Maybe even better one day.
He’d made a damn good start already. Closed out a couple of dozen contracts in less than two years and had enough of a reputation at this point that he wasn’t limited to just the shit jobs. He was making good money, had an amazing apartment, and was seeing more of the world.
Then why was he feeling restless and uneasy?
Maybe two years was too long to stay away from his uncles. Going back now for a visit wouldn’t be a bad thing. A little vacation. It wasn’t quitting or admitting defeat.
But he wasn’t worried about his uncles thinking of him as a quitter. He was worried about himself. What if he got there and decided he didn’t want to leave again? Didn’t want to return to this life he was trying to build. Where would that leave him?
A failure.
Making both his asshole grandfather and great-uncle right about him.
They weren’t right. He could do this. He could live this life and be great in this business. He could be the world’s greatest assassin.
All he needed was another contract. Marilyn was already digging around for him. It was only a matter of time. Something new would turn up.
In the meantime, he could keep hitting the bar scene for a distraction. Stumbling across Soren last night had been an amazing stroke of luck, and a better fuck than he’d expected. He could even tolerate the part where Soren had cuddled him while they’d lain in bed talking about silly shit. It had been surprisingly relaxing.
Kind of a shame that he didn’t do repeats. Soren would’ve gotten some vacation sex, and he would have had blow-off-some-steam sex while waiting for his next contract. Win-win for everyone.
But repeats were almost always a mistake. A lesson that both Gabriel and Justin had pressed into his brain at about the same time they’d begun lecturing about condoms and PrEP. Unless he was looking to date, repeats only made an assassin’s life far more complicated than it needed to be. He didn’t want or need a boyfriend right now. He was just getting started in his career. He had plans.
Someone moved close to his table, and Alexei’s head jerked up in time to see Soren grab the back of the other chair and pull it out. The metal legs scraped loudly across the concrete, but no one else at the café noticed or even cared as he dropped into the seat and smirked at Alexei.
“You left,” Soren announced.
Alexei was still trying to gather his thoughts. How had Soren even found him? It was strange that he’d stumbled across the man in the first place as he’d strolled into a bar right as Alexei was climbing out of a taxi, but now he was left to wonder if the man was following him somehow. Was he another assassin? Had Alexei poached a job out from under him?
Forcing himself to relax in his chair, his right hand slid to rest on his thigh, near a knife that was strapped to his waist. “That was the point, wasn’t it? It’s not exactly a one-night stand if I stick around the next morning.”
Soren made a face, his nose wrinkling. He looked good yet again. Dressed in navy slacks and another button-down shirt that was open at the throat. There was a bit of dark chest hair showing that might be sprinkled with gray. He’d not gotten to thoroughly explore Soren last night. When he’d followed him into the bar, he’d been shocked at running into him. Part of his brain was afraid he’d disappear again if he didn’t act fast enough.
Fast enough being a blowjob and bone-melting sex.
“True,” Soren seemed to hedge. “But we were having some good laughs. I thought I could return last night’s fun with my own good-morning-slash-good-bye blowjob. Seemed fair to me.”
Alexei scratched his jaw with his left hand, trying to hide his smile. “That is a good point. But how did you find me in the first place?”
Grinning, Soren held up a carefully wrapped container with the stamp of a local cheese shop on it. His favorite one, in fact. The same one he’d mentioned to Soren last night that also happened to be one block away from his favorite local café, where he currently sat.