Page 122 of Heated Rivalry 1
And then Ilya placed a palm on the side of Shane’s face and justlookedat him, and for a wild second Shane thoughtIlyawas going to be the one to say those forbidden words.
But he didn’t. Instead, he pulled out of him and fell on the mattress beside him. Shane rolled to his side, and Ilya did the same, facing him. Shane smiled because the last time he’d had this view of him, Ilya had been in Moscow, and Shane had been in Montreal.
“We could stay in this bed for two weeks,” Shane suggested.
Ilya shook his head. “No. I want to fuck you in every room of this house.”
Shane squirmed and blushed. “I have a hot tub, you know.”
Ilya made a face. “Hot tubs are terrible for sex. Have you tried it?”
“No.”
“Is horrible. Too hot. Uncomfortable.”
“Well, I also have a pool.”
Ilya leaned in and nuzzled under Shane’s chin. Shane tipped his head back so Ilya could trail kisses over his flushed skin.
“And a pooltable,” Ilya murmured.
Oh god.
“The felt is very delicate,” Shane squeaked.
Ilya snorted. “Do you ever relax?”
Shane pulled away so he could glare at him. “You’re really going to make fun of me now? While you’re a guest in my home? In mybed?”
Shane was assaulted by a lazy, crooked smile.
“No,” Ilya said. “I like you, Hollander.”
It wasn’t an earth-shattering confession, but the words still moved Shane enormously.
“I like you too, Rozanov.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
The following evening, Ilya leaned against the rail of the deck and watched Shane flip burgers on the barbecue. Shane seemed very excited about the burgers. He had followed a recipe online.
Ilya took a sip of his beer. “Why the fuck are you making eight burgers?” he asked.
“That’s how many the recipe was for!”
“You can’t do math? Cut it in half?”
“Leave me alone.”
Instead, Ilya stood directly behind Shane and draped an arm across his chest. He kissed him behind the ear. “No,” he murmured.
Shane tipped his head back, and Ilya could see the color that had flooded to his cheeks.
It was exhilarating, to be outdoors like this and to be able to touch each other the way they wanted to.
Christ. He hadn’t even been here for two days yet and already he had no idea how he was going to be able to go back to the real world.
“I would bring some of the burgers over to my parents’ cottage, but that would ruin the whole I-can’t-be-disturbed-I’m-meditating lie I told them.”
