Page 41 of Deadly Offer

At those words, Reuben’s orgasm ripped through him like live wire, vision whiting out as strings of cum painted the shower wall only to be quickly washed away. Nikon held him upright through the long tremors, his lips pressed to the fluttering pulse beneath Reuben’s ear.

“I love you,” Nikon murmured when Reuben’s legs finally buckled. Releasing his wrists, Nikon turned him gently, keeping him upright against his chest as the last throes of Reuben’s orgasm left his body.

Long moments passed—their foreheads pressed together under the spray—before Reuben could stand on his own two feet again.

As Reuben’s rapid breathing slowed, he traced the worry lines beside Nikon’s eyes. Those were lines no one else saw. “Say it again.”

Nikon’s smile was a rare, unguarded thing. “I love you.” He kissed the words into Reuben’s mouth, soft and lingering. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Chapter 15

“Quit hovering by the door like a security guard.” Alexei didn’t look up from the documents spread across his desk, his fountain pen gliding across the page. “Either come in or leave us to work.”

Nikon stepped into his younger brother’s office, where towering panes of glass offered an unobstructed view of the financial district already humming with mid-morning activity. He refused to acknowledge being caught watching, though he had been doing exactly that.

For fifteen minutes, Nikon had observed Reuben and Alexei hunched over financial projections, heads bent close together like conspirators. The ease between them stirred a warmth in his chest, and pride mingled with the strange new sensation of loosening his grip.

“I’m not hovering. I’m assessing.”

Reuben glanced up, one eyebrow arched, though a hint of amusement glinted in his eyes. “And what exactly are you assessing?”

The slight challenge in his voice was new. It was a confidence that had been solidifying since their heart-to-heart three weeks ago, the night after they’d dealt with Andrey. Nikon found himself responding to it before he could think better of it.

“Whether my brother has converted you to his tedious financial obsessions or if you’re simply humoring him.”

Alexei snorted. “My tedious obsessions keep us all in custom suits and out of prison.”

“Neither, actually.” Reuben straightened, rolling his shoulders back. His eyes brightened, though his voice remained restrained. It was a reaction Nikon had noticed emerged whenever Reuben was holding back excitement.

“I’m showing Alexei how to reshape his passive holding company into something with real potential.”

“Translation?” Nikon moved closer, drawn by the intensity in Reuben’s expression.

Alexei leaned back in his chair. “I set this up a few years ago as a simple holding company for our cleaned assets. But Reuben sees potential for something much more sophisticated.”

“A legitimate venture capital fund.” Reuben reached for one of the documents, handing it to Nikon. “One that both cleans money and generates substantial returns.”

Nikon scanned the projections, recognizing immediately that this wasn’t merely another shell company or money laundering scheme. The multi-tiered investment structure, the strategic tax positioning, the diversified portfolio allocation—this was ambitious, forward-thinking even. It was the kind of venture that could eventually develop a life independent from their underground enterprises. A safer harbor for Reuben.

“Offshore money flowing through island accounts,” he muttered, finger tracing a flow chart. “Leveraged against European real estate holdings.”

“You developed this?” Nikon looked up, finding Reuben’s eyes on him, waiting for the reaction.

“The basic idea’s there. Getting it all up and running will take a few weeks, though.”

Alexei tapped his pen against the desk. “Plus all the boring stuff—paperwork, lawyers, banking friends...” He broke off as his phone vibrated. The casual expression on his face froze for a microsecond as he glanced at the screen.

Nikon caught the change in Alexei’s posture, recognizing the minute shift in his brother’s shoulders, the fractional narrowing of his eyes as he frowned at his phone.

Alexei stood, his expression betraying nothing more as he straightened his tie. “Excuse me. I need to take this.”

As Alexei stepped away, phone pressed to his ear, Nikon moved closer to Reuben. He hummed thoughtfully, a low contemplative sound in the back of his throat. “He finally got the call.”

“Which call?” Reuben’s voice dropped to match Nikon’s low tone, but his eyes tracked Alexei across the room.

“It’s happening. Dmitrii took the bait.”

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