Under the Skin Read Free Page A

as his seed pumped from him in fierce, hot spurts, only the condom keeping it from filling his lover’s channel and spilling down his thighs. “ Lyubimiy ,” he groaned under his breath, slumping against Patrick’s back, a hand thrusting into the dark waves of sweaty hair to turn his face for a long, slow kiss.
    Patrick returned the kiss, drinking in the tenderness eagerly, shifting a little as he tried to turn into the embrace. As much as he did not want to lose the feeling of the other man inside him, he needed this moment of peace, needed Alexei’s arms around him however temporarily. Reality would only stay at bay for so long, but he cherished these few moments when they could drop all pretense.
    Feeling Patrick begin to move, Alexei held the condom as he slipped free, dropping it to the floor before taking his lover in his arms. Silence settled around them, broken only by their slowly steadying breathing. Words filled Alexei’s mind as Patrick’s unruly hair tickled his face, words he knew he would never allow himself to speak when he could not even call his lover by name outside his own thoughts. “Is good owner owes me favor and lets us in after hours,” he observed finally, easing the damp hair from the younger man’s face. “You’re too loud to do this with anyone around.”
    “Will he still owe you a favor next time?” Patrick asked, a mixture of anticipation and bitterness underlying the satiation in his voice. He knew not to push for more than Alexei was willing to give, yet a part of him remained empty, no matter how well his lover filled him while they were together.
    “You know better than to make plans,” Alexei answered, biting back the regret from his voice as he pulled away. Pulling his gun from between the stack of towels where he had hidden it just in case, he walked into the abandoned locker room to retrieve his clothes and dress in silence. As much as they both wished things were different, the dangers that kept them apart could not be ignored or wished away. Alexei had not survived as long as he had by believing in impossible dreams.
    Cursing under his breath, Patrick pulled his T-shirt from the pile of clothes, jerking it over his head as he began to dress. He hated the lie they were living, hated the pretense, but he could do nothing to change it without Alexei’s cooperation. Stepping into the locker room, he watched in silence as his lover finished dressing, choking back the words of reproach and pleading that wanted to escape. They would serve no purpose other than to alienate Alexei further, and that served no purpose at all.
    When they were both dressed, Alexei flicked off the lights and followed Patrick back into the darkened gymnasium. Pausing, he tipped his lover’s chin up with a scarred finger, their eyes meeting in a moment of unspoken understanding. “You know how to contact me,” he said softly, pulling on his gloves and turning toward the back door.
    Patrick knew exactly how to contact the Russian, knew that Alexei could contact him just as easily, yet he did not. Alexei had already turned his back so they could go their separate ways when the silence became too much for Patrick. “This won’t always be enough,” he said quietly, though he was sure Alexei had heard him. Pulling up the collar of his coat against the stinging sleet that had started while they were inside, he bowed his head and left the building, heading toward home.

Chapter 2

     
    A LONE in his apartment in Bucktown, Patrick poured himself a cup of coffee and grimaced at the pull of bruised muscles as he reached for the sugar on the top shelf of the cabinet. He’d been right about that bruise across his stomach. It had only been an hour and it already hurt like a bitch. Damn Alexei for being a seductive bastard anyway.
    He took a sip of his coffee, cursing under his breath when it burned his tongue. That was the way his luck was running recently. And he hadn’t even managed to get anything useful