Page 23 of Rivals

Nick scoffed. “Please. You wouldn’t know how to run anything that didn’t involve chasing tail.”

A few groans. A couple of muffled laughs. Nick relished it.

Viktor narrowed his eyes. “At least I catch what I’m after. You? You’re just good at running away.”

That earned a few chuckles around the table. Nick just leaned forward, tapping his fingers against the polished wood. “Funny, coming from a guy who trips over his own ego every time he walks into a room.”

Viktor leaned in, their faces inches apart. “Ego? This isn’t about ego. It’s about skill. Something you clearly lack.”

Nick tilted his head, unfazed. “Is that what you call it?”

Their boss sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose like he had a migraine—one named Nick and Viktor. “Alright, gentlemen. Can we focus?”

For the last year, Nick had been on what some might call a sabbatical—or, more accurately, a very long and very expensive vacation. Turns out, selling his time and dignity to a forest full of horny werewolves had paid surprisingly well.

Not that all of them had gotten their claws on him. Just one.

One infuriating, cocky, insufferable werewolf who also happened to be his boyfriend.

Nick smirked to himself as he strolled out of the meeting room, still feeling the ghost of Viktor’s glare on him. Worth every damn penny.

The second the conference door shut behind him, Nick rolled his shoulders and made a beeline for the copy room. He needed a breather after their little performance. He and Viktor had perfected the art of mutually assured destruction at work—trading barbs like a couple of territorial idiots, all for the sake of keeping their coworkers none the wiser.

Not that it wasn’t fun.

He slipped inside the supply room, exhaling as he leaned back against the counter. A minute later, the door creaked open behind him.

Nick didn’t even need to turn. The scent of pine and stupidly overpriced cologne filled the room, and the soft click of the lock had him biting back a grin. "Calling my market analysis 'pedestrian and uninspired' was a bit much, don't you think?" he drawled.

Viktor stepped in like he hadn't just spent an hour antagonizing him in public. "Your face when I said it was worth every syllable."

"Careful, Fido. One day I'm going to snap and actually tell everyone why you're such an insufferable ass to me in meetings."

Viktor huffed a laugh, stepping closer until they were nearly chest to chest. "You wouldn't dare. Half the office thinks you're sleeping with the CEO to keep your job despite my 'devastating critiques.'"

Nick tilted his head. "The other half thinks we're having hate sex in the supply room."

Viktor hummed, pretending to consider. "Hate's a strong word. Aggressive fondness, maybe."

Nick rolled his eyes, but his smile softened. “And yet, here you are. Practically salivating.”

Nick barely had time to smirk before Viktor’s mouth crashed into his, all heat and reckless need. The space between them vanished, rivalry peeling away like the cheap disguise it was.

The kiss sent a bolt of fire through Nick’s veins, stealing his breath, setting every nerve alight. His back hit the copy machine, but he barely noticed. Viktor was everywhere—hands gripping his waist, body pressing flush against his, all muscle and heat and bad decisions.

Nick knew he should remind Viktor that this was a terrible idea, that they were at work, that their coworkers were right outside.

But why start making good choices now?

Instead, he grabbed two fistfuls of Viktor’s shirt and dragged him closer, deepening the kiss, swallowing the low groan it pulled from the werewolf’s throat.

Viktor tasted like coffee and arrogance. His stubble scraped against Nick’s jaw, a teasing reminder of every late-nightrendezvous, every stolen moment, every time they’d barely made it out of a room looking remotely professional.

A year of this. A year of insults in boardrooms and hands in each other’s hair the second the doors closed. A year of pretending to be rivals in public while sneaking around like a couple of horny teenagers.

Nick was having the time of his life.

Viktor’s fingers dug into his hips, pulling him forward like he was trying to fuse them together. Nick gasped against his lips, heat flaring low in his stomach, and—goddamn it—the thrill of being so close to getting caught only made it better.

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