Page 5 of My Hunger, Your Soul

“I know you have a tattoo gun, Jules mentioned it.”

That brings a smile to my face, remembering the fun I had.

“Ahh did he tell you what I did to your friends with it?” I ask as Kai’s face takes on a pale color, answering my question that he did.

“Yeah, but that’s not why I’m asking. You can do tattoos for real, right?”

“Yep. Why, you want a piece?”

“I do and I want it to be a surprise, can you do it later?”

Well now I’m intrigued.

“That should be okay, meet me at the club office tonight and I’ll do it.”

“Thanks, Ivan.” I nod in response just as the buzzer to the front door sounds. Dima had mentioned that the architect who is planning to build us all individual properties on the land would be visiting, and that my job will be to oversee the work. It’s certainly different work than what I’m used to, but I’m down. I follow Dima, Lev and Kai out into the front hall and halt at the sight of the most perfect fucking guy I’ve ever laid eyes on. He is tall and broad, dressed in an impeccable suit. His hair is thick and brown and styled to perfection. He belongs on a fucking runway as a model, or even better on his knees at my feet.

“Holy shit, is this the architect?” I say, not sure to whom I’m speaking. Sirens blare in my ears, alerting me to this hottie and his presence in how it’s affecting my body. Without being aware at first, I lick my lips as I peruse that long body of his, imagining every detail that is teasingly hidden under that suit that I want to tear off with a knife.

“Put your dick away, Ivan. I don’t want the drama,” Dima says, not deterred by his words.

“Sorry, can’t help you there. He's fucking hot. I can't wait for him to be working under me,” I say, eyes still locked on the guy in question.

“I bet he’s straight,” Lev says, and the guy moves toward us.

“That’s even hotter. I love a good challenge,” I say with a determination that anything straight can be manipulated to bend at will.

As the guy reaches the doorstep, he introduces himself.

“Hi. I’m here to see Dima Kozlov? I’m Tyler Blackford, Senior Architect from Lexington.”

“I’m Dima, and it’s nice to meet you,” Dima says, shaking Tyler’s hand. Tyler. Ty. Hmm, I love that name. I like it a lot.

“Tyler. That's a great name,” I say without thinking, but my body is on autopilot. I walk over to him, my height towering over him as I take his hand to shake it. I’m the tallest of the guys at six-foot-four, I’d say Tyler is around six foot. I grip his hand in mine, all strong and smooth palms. No signs of someone who works with their hands. His touch radiates a heat that slowly creeps up my arm, igniting a flame of pure lust and desire. Need. Feral fucking need. Damn.

“I’m Ivan. I can’t wait to be working with you,” I say as I smirk to myself. I watch his blue eyes widen in confusion as I hold onto him for what I assume must be longer than socially acceptable. I don’t do ‘socially acceptable’ in anything. A tentative smile lights up his face, more awkward than genuine.

“Come on, Tyler. Let's go to my office so we can start,” Dima says, breaking the moment. I let his hand go and watch the hot as fuck guy follow Dima, and as hoped, he looks back, catching me admiring the plump little ass hidden under that suit.

“You’ve freaked him out,” Kai says to me, like that’s a bad thing.

“Oh, I plan to do a lot worse,” I say, giving Kai a wink as I follow Tyler and Dima to the office. Dima didn’t invite me, but I’m overseeing this project, so I think I should be involved. I also want to see how uncomfortable I can make our new little friend. I want to see him squirm. Today is looking up.

4

TYLER

I can’t control the nerves in my stomach as I follow one of the Kozlov brothers to his office. I feel so sick that I’ve already forgotten which brother he is. What the hell is wrong with me? I’m a grown man who is normally so put together and confident. This whole situation is like watching a horror movie where the main character enters the house of demons while you sit there screaming at the screen not to be so dumb. Well, that's me, I’m the dumb one. Ever since I stood on the doorstep, my gut feeling was to run, but no, I’ve entered something akin to the lion's den as these guys are beyond intimidating. Their pictures didn’t do them justice in not only how stupidly good-looking they are, but the atomic and commanding presence they have is so intense you can almost touch it, creating an eerily unhinged atmosphere that fills this house. I shudder just thinking about it… I just knew as I stepped inside that Noah wasn't bullshitting me. My boss sent me here knowing this.Fuck. Deep breaths Tyler, you’re going to be fine. You’re here to work. Just ignore everything around you and focus.

We enter a sumptuous office that screams, "I have money and power," only reigniting the nerves I’ve just tried to talk myself out of. It doesn’t help that the hulk of a guy who gripped my hand so tightly I thought my fingers would break enters the office behind me. He keeps smiling at me like he is amused by me. Do I have food on my face or something?

“Take a seat, Tyler. Would you like a coffee? Water?” the Kozlov brother asks. I take a seat in the oversized leather chair that faces his gigantic oak desk and allow myself to relax into its cushions. I close my eyes briefly and focus my mind on the job as I can’t fuck this up. I open my eyes to see crystal blues staring back at me, and suddenly, I remember this is Dima, as he had introduced himself. Clearly, fear triggers short-term memory loss in me. This guy is so intense. Model gorgeous but screams danger.

“A water would be great. Thanks.”

“Ivan, can you get Tyler some water please?”

A long silence ensues which makes me look behind me to see if this Ivan guy is still here. I shouldn’t have looked. His eyes are firmly set on me, causing me to fidget in my seat. Does this guy have any social skills? Who stares at people like that?

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