Page 36 of My Hunger, Your Soul

Making sure I have all my belongings with me, I stick my head out of the door to check nobody is around and sneak out as quietly as I can. When I get to the top of the stairs, I peek over the banister to check nobody is in the entrance hall. The voices I can hear seem to be coming from the kitchen, and if I’m quick, I can slip out of the front door unnoticed. That plan goes down the shitter, because as soon as my foot hits the last step, Simon—who I’ve seen a few times since starting here—appears in front of me with a punchable grin on his face, knowing this is the walk of shame. I sag my shoulders in defeat and wait for whatever jibe he has. He stands for a moment with his hands in his pocket before taking a step close. He really is a sexy guy. Black hair, brown eyes. He has this sensual Mediterranean look to him. I wonder if he’s gay too.

“Naughty architect. Let me guess whose bed you stayed in last night,” he teases, waggling his eyebrows. I’ve never seen him smile or really talk. Why are all the guys here unnerving? It's like the house of multiple personalities…not including Seb or Kai.

“You know where and I’d appreciate you not telling anyone else. I've got a job to do and I don't want Dima and Lev thinking I’m unprofessional.”

“Ha! They would’ve been expecting this. Don’t worry about anyone here. Nobody judges. Trust me.”

The word trust in this house feels like it's mocking me.

“Where is Ivan?”

“Did he leave you all alone? I’d dump his ass for that.”

“Maybe I will, but I need to know where he is first.”

“He’s in the gym. Go down the hallway past Dima’s office, it's the last door on the left. Be warned though, D and Lev don't like people fucking in there.”

“Oh my god, do any of you have boundaries?” I say, sighing with exhaustion at this exchange.

“No. See ya later, architect.”

“My name is Tyler.”

“I know,” he says before turning around and heading out the door. Fucking lunatics, all of them should be locked away.

I make my way to the gym and open the door to a huge, open plan space, with about every piece of equipment imaginable. Walking inside, I can hear the sound of my own heart beating as the dimly lit space hums with the sound of clanking metal, but my focus in the room is him—his muscular frame highlighted by the soft glow of a single overhead light. His full torso on bare display, the V of his groin defined into sharp lines down to the black basketball shorts that cling to those large muscular thighs. Sweat glistens on his tanned, tattooed skin as he grips the heavy weights with effortless strength. His hair a disarray of mess, falling out of its bun, sticking to his sweaty neck. I’m fascinated with each lift, his biceps rippling under the strain, veins snaking along his forearms, a powerful rhythmic motion that draws the eye in. He doesn’t rush his movements, savoring each controlled rep as if he were testing the limits of his own body. His gaze is distant, focused, dangerously intense. His lips slightly parted, his chest rising and falling with every controlled breath. He truly is a masterpiece to look at. It seems stupid now that I would ever not see him as the man he showed himself to be last night, a savage beast. An unapologetic monster.

When he finishes his last rep, he sets the weights down with a thud, his eyes looking up and meeting mine just for a moment, dark and unyielding as though he claimed me as effortlessly as he had lifted those weights. Maybe he has.

“I must say you do wonders for my ego, Ty.”

“You really do love yourself, don’t you?”

“Love? No. I don’t do that. But I’m confident in myself. No shame in that.”

“You don’t do love?”

“No. How can I feel something when I don’t know what it is?” he shrugs as he grabs a hand towel, and wipes his face.

“You’re an interesting guy, Ivan.”

The air thickens as the silence stretches and I try to remember why I came down here. If I don’t talk soon, I know Ivan will pounce on me, as he is already inching closer like a lion in the wild.

“I forgot to tell you something yesterday. The guy who took my picture here the other day approached me at my apartment. He must have followed me. He said he was a cop… I didn’t know whether to believe him as he had no ID.”

There's a seismic shift in the atmosphere. Ivan’s whole demeanor alters to a cold vicious presence. His nostrils flare as he stomps over to me and grabs my shoulders, holding me in place.

“Tim followed you? What did he want?”

“Yeah, that was it. Tim. He warned me about the brothers and said he wanted to put them away. I told him to leave as I didn’t think it was normal for a cop to be stalking me. Do I need to worry?”

“Timmy doesn’t have it in him to hurt you. He’s a pussy with a big mouth. If you see him again, you call me immediately, got it?”

“Yeah.”

I look down at the ground, mulling over what Ivan said last night along with what Tim said the other night. Ivan grabs my chin and forces me to look at him.

“Am I gonna have to lock you up, sweetheart? Hmm?” he says as he uses his other hand to rub his thumb over my lower lip. The right thing to do is to tell the police what’s happening here, so why am I battling with myself? His hold on me tightens the longer I remain silent.

---