Page 49 of Love Spell

An old colleague had approached Timo at a London conference last July and started addressing him in Russian.Timo had nearly punched the man, but settled on grabbing a lapel.

“We’re in England,” Timo had growled into his face.“Address me in English or leave me the fuck alone.”

Timo had been pleased when the man chose the latter option.

Now this.It was a proverbial question, wasn’t it?What wouldn’t we do for love?Tonight, Timo was pushing the matter to extremes and still hadn’t found out.

He leaned across Noah when he returned to rest Noah’s mug on the coaster on the end table.So it made sense to sit right next to him, Timo naturally falling into place almost touching.

He feigned both his smile and his interest in the film, only to find that Noah, although buzzed, wasn’t devoid of attention.

Noah edged away and found nowhere to go.“You promised hands off.”

“Unless you say otherwise.That’s right.”Beaming at him, Timo displayed his own hands-off hands above his lap, just happening to frame his crotch to direct Noah’s attention as he looked at them.

“I didn’t say otherwise.”

“I’m not touching you.But how can I translate for you if I’m all the way at the other side of the couch and have to shout to be heard?”

Noah glanced past him to the far arm of the couch a few feet away.He looked at Timo, their noses inches apart, while Timo beamed with adoration.

Noah’s gaze skated across Timo’s face, eyes to lips and back, his own face flushed.He looked away.

“I … don’t think …”

“Noah —”

“Bathroom.”Noah scrambled up.

Timo sat back, chin tipped to the ceiling, jaw clenched.He swore fluently under his breath to help relieve his feelings.Not that he could.What would relieve his feelings was finding out that Noah had only gone in there for lube.

Timo had been doing perfectly.He’d asked some of the 36 questions that allegedly made people fall in love.He’d gazed deeply into Noah’s eyes.He’d been light-hearted, indulgent in treats and silly dubbed movies, not overbearing.He’d mostly moved away, not closer, allowing Noah to follow him.

He’d taken an interest; he was listening to bloody Russian for Noah’s sake.Timo failing?This couldn’t be possible.No, keep it together.This had been the first day.Reciprocal love and the other guy taking the first steps for physical contact might take, oh … two or three days?Did it?That was a lot of days.Even more when he looked at it as hours.

The few times Timo had found himself involved in an emotionally romantic relationship had started the same way he’d kicked off purely physical relationships.This whole “talk first, sex later — maybe” bullshit was about to lead him straight into an early grave because he was going to suffer a breakdown from the stress long before Noah figured out the part he was playing in this drama.

Run away for the dog to chase you; run away, run away, run away.

Fuck it.

Timo banged his head on the back of the couch.He couldn’t do this.If Noah slept here one more night while keeping apart from Timo, Timo was the one who needed a hotel room.He could run a marathon and tackle Snowdonia on a bike and slay a bear with a knife if he had to.He could turn a pound into a million on oil trading with his eyes closed and read the market like a wolf reads an injured deer.He couldnotget through another night two rooms away from Noah.

One hand over his eyes, happy visions of intercepting Noah in the hallway flooded his mind.Noah had called him a liar, right?Might as well justify the claim.He could pin Noah to the wall, kiss him, melt him, slide fingers down his trousers.Noah would cave — had to.In half a minute he would be begging Timo for more.

Timo bunched his free hand into a fist so as not to open his own fly.He had played nice, given Noah a fair chance.It wasn’t Timo’s fault if Noah couldn’t see what a good thing he had here.What next?If this was going to take dozens of hours, he really should get himself a hotel room.What about both of them in a hotel?What if being on Timo’s home turf was what made Noah so uncomfortable?

Then again, Noah had always been uncomfortable around Timo.Just Timo’s personal power, he supposed.He couldn’t help it if he was a force of nature.

How could he put the weekend to best use?He likely had social engagements, but never mind.He’d tell Spencer to cancel all of them because he and Noah would be busy — “Timo?”

Timo jerked his head around to look over the back of the couch.

Noah was on the far side of the kitchen, empty-handed.“Is your phone in your room?Something’s buzzing.”

Something was buzzing all right.

Timo sat forwards, elbows on knees, hunched into a ball for a moment.“Yeah, thanks.I’ll … check it.”

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