Page 19 of The Head Game

Which, if August was being honest, was absolutely part of the appeal tonight.

With another wink in his direction, Nico sauntered past August.

He muttered “five-seventy-three” out of the side of his mouth as he shoved the napkin at August, then left the bar with a bottle of clear liquor clutched in his fist.

Real spy shit indeed.

August suspected Nico had never done anything subtly in his life.

Irritated, August spent the next fifteen minutes sipping his Scotch. When it was empty except for a melting ice cube, he slid a tip for the bartender under the glass, then left the lounge.

August’s stomach fluttered uncomfortably as he rode the elevator to the fifth floor rather than leaving the hotel like he should.

Why in God’s name was he doing this again?

He could blow up his entire career. And for what? Sex with Nico Arents?

What kind of half-cocked insanity was that?

But the mental image of Daniel in bed with his new husband rose to the forefront of August’s mind and he gritted his teeth.

He needed this. Tonight, he needed to forget.

He needed something to strip away the memories of what he’d lost. Something as far from the soft, tender sex he’d had with Daniel as possible.

August might hate himself in the morning for doing this, but not as much as if he texted Daniel telling him he missed him.

Hard to believe, but sex with Nico Arents was the lesser of two evils.

The elevator dinged quietly before the doors whooshed open with a hiss.

August checked the room number on the napkin for the dozenth time, then tucked it in his pocket and turned right.

August lived in hotels, spending almost as much time in them as he did his own home.

This was a generic four-star chain, clean, serviceable, utterly bland.

The hallway yawned in front of him, stretching on and on endlessly as he followed the signs, his footfalls silent.

The identical doors, one after the other, the same insipid art, the carpet pattern simultaneously generic yet tacky.

August hadn’t seen a single person by the time he knocked on 573 and half of him hoped no one would answer.

The other half …

Well, when the door opened to reveal Nico wearing suit trousers and an unbuttoned shirt revealing a slice of golden skin August wanted to touch, that other half made him step forward into the room.

“Eager much?” Nico asked with an amused quirk of his lips as he closed the door behind him.

“I didn’t want to hang out in the hallway and risk someone seeing us,” August lied.

Nico snorted. “No one who knows us is staying in this hotel. Besides, hardly anyone recognizes referees.”

The scathing tone made August bristle. “God, I don’t know why the hell I came here,” he muttered.

Nico grinned.

The smile lit up Nico’s face, taking his look from arrogant to playful. It sent a little shockwave through August he felt down to his toes.

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