Page 9 of Deadly Offer

“Do I?” Reuben didn’t pull away, but he let his gaze challenge Nikon’s. “You’d rather keep me locked away in your poker rooms than let me stand beside you.”

“You know that’s not true.” Nikon’s thumb traced circles on Reuben’s pulse point, the gentle motion at odds with the intensity in his eyes. “The work you did with Grigorii and Alexei these past months—it made you too visible. And it’s put you on Miroslav’s radar.”

Understanding clicked into place. “You’re not really giving me more responsibility. You’re trying to control how Miroslav approaches me.”

“You’re too smart for your own good.” Nikon’s grip tightened fractionally. “Yes, I’m trying to control the situation. Because Miroslav will come for you either way. At least this way, we’re prepared.”

Reuben leaned back in his chair, forcing Nikon to either release his wrist or lean forward. After a moment’s tension, Nikon’s fingers uncurled. “I’ve proven myself capable. The port deal with Grigorii—”

“Nearly got you killed.” The words cut like shattered glass. Nikon pushed away from the table, standing to pace near the windows. “Every time you step further into this world, you become more of a target to my enemies.”

“I’m already a target.” Reuben stood as well, keeping the table between them. “Loving you made me a target the moment we started this.”

Nikon spun to face him. “This isn’t just about us.”

“Isn’t it?” Reuben braced his hands on the table, leaning forward. “You keep me close enough to warm your bed, but not close enough to stand beside you. What am I supposed to think?”

“You think I don’t trust you?” Nikon’s voice dropped dangerously low. “You think this is about control?”

“Isn’t everything with you about control?”

Silence stretched between them like a wire pulled taut, months of unspoken frustration threatening to snap it. Nikon moved then, stalking around the table. Reuben held his ground, his anger warring with the growing arousal that thrummed through him as Nikon closed the distance between them.

“You want to know why I keep you away from operations?” Nikon’s breath ghosted across Reuben’s cheek. “Why I fight my brothers every time they want to use your skills?”

Reuben tilted his chin up. “Enlighten me.”

“Because every time you’re in danger, every time someone looks at you like you’re something they can take—” Nikon’s hands gripped the edge of the table on either side of Reuben, caging him in. “It makes me want to burn this city to the ground.”

The raw honesty in those words stripped away Reuben’s anger, leaving something more complex in its wake. Reuben’s frustration faltered, replaced by something more complex.

“I’m not made of glass,” Reuben whispered, close enough to share Nikon’s breath. “I don’t need protection. I need trust.”

“Trust?” Nikon’s harsh laugh held no humor. “I trust you more than anyone. That’s the problem.”

“How is that a problem?”

“Because—” Nikon’s hands slid from the table to Reuben’s hips, fingers digging in as though anchoring himself. “Trust makes me vulnerable. I can’t afford that weakness with Miroslav circling.”

Reuben pressed his palms against Nikon’s chest, the rapid pulse beneath the crisp white shirt betraying what his rigid expression would not. “Youstillthink loving me makes you weak?”

“I think loving you makes me lose my mind.” Nikon’s forehead pressed against Reuben’s. “The things I would do to keep you safe—”

“I don’t need keeping.” Reuben fisted his hands in Nikon’s shirt. “I need you to let me stand beside you, not behind you.”

The air between them shifted. Nikon’s grip softened, became something more possessive than restraining. “You have no idea what you do to me.”

“Then show me.” Reuben tilted his head, letting his lips brush against Nikon’s jaw. “Stop trying to protect me and let me protect myself.”

Nikon growled low in his throat, one hand sliding up Reuben’s neck to tangle in his hair. “You’remineto protect.”

“I’m yours,” Reuben agreed, teeth grazing Nikon’s throat. “But not your possession.”

That single word,‘possession’, filled the electric space between their bodies, and then Nikon surged forward, claiming Reuben’s mouth with bruising force. The kiss was all teeth and desperation, their argument now continuing in a language of touch and need. Reuben matched Nikon’s intensity, using his grip on Nikon’s shirt to pull him closer.

When they broke apart, both breathing hard, Nikon’s blue eyes had darkened to obsidian. “You’re everything,” he whispered, lifting Reuben onto the edge of the dining table. His voice grew rough. “And I won’t let anyone take you from me.”

Dinner lay forgotten, glasses toppled, and plates clattered to the carpet as Nikon pressed Reuben back onto the hardwood surface. The table creaked beneath them when Nikon followed after, sliding up onto the table over Reuben with a quiet intensity that sent a thrum of excitement through Reuben’s groin.

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