Page 7

Sacha thought of nothing except Bandit fixing that glass of water.

For most people, it was likely such a small thing.

For Sacha, it was everything. No one had stepped in and volunteered a single damn thing since Baba’s care had fallen on him.

A simple glass of water said everything about Bandit. Sacha smiled just thinking his name.

Each time his roses died, Bandit replaced them.

Currently, they were dead since they hadn’t seen each other in two weeks.

That was on Sacha. His schedule had been super crazy with Baylor out of town.

Coupling that with Bandit’s schedule made everything harder.

Sacha was willing to work at it. He was still worried about Baylor’s reaction, though.

If Baylor flipped, Bandit would definitely choose Baylor.

Bandit had assured him his job wasn’t on the line.

Sacha swung back and forth on if he believed that.

Sacha raced around, gathering his things.

Baylor still had two days left of his month-long honeymoon.

Even though he had hired two more people to help Sacha, the meetings with clients always fell to him when Baylor wasn’t around.

He barely had any time left before he would need to leave if he wanted to get there on time.

The doorbell rang. A growl rose in Sacha’s throat.

He felt like his life was always like this.

There was always something that needed to be done.

He never got to stop and enjoy the things he actually liked doing.

Sacha understood that was life. Still, sometimes, he felt like his best years were slipping away.

He rushed to the front door. As he yanked it open, his irritation died. A smile exploded across his face that came from his soul.

“Hey.”

Sacha pushed aside the gorgeous roses Bandit held and captured his lips. He felt the stress fall away as their tongues played. Their kiss was a healing balm on his frayed nerves. He pulled away. “Hey.” Sacha sounded breathless and didn’t care.

Bandit’s gorgeous smile nearly made him sigh. “Sorry for not calling first, but that was totally worth the risk.”

Sacha chuckled as he stepped back, inviting Bandit inside. “I’m over the stars to see you, or whatever the saying is. Unfortunately, I also am about to leave. With Baylor still gone, I’m handling all the client meetings.”

“It’s okay. Five minutes is better than nothing. I could drive you.”

“That’s—” Sacha’s phone rang, cutting off his words. He pulled it from his pocket and checked the face. “Sorry. It’s Artem. Give me just a second.” He put the phone to his ear. “Hello?”

“You’re going to hate me.”

Sacha automatically pinched the spot between his eyes. “That’s not possible.”

Artem blew out a tired-sounding breath, proving how overwhelmed he was too. “I know Baba has an appointment, but I won’t be home in time to take her. They’ve moved up my project presentation to today.”

Sacha found the first flat surface and sat.

“What am I supposed to do? I can’t take her.

Baylor is still out of town and I’m meeting with a client.

If I lose this big of a contract, I could lose my job.

Then what? You won’t have a school to do projects for.

I also can’t cancel Baba’s appointment. She’s already been waiting six months to see this specialist, and we can’t afford Dana for more days this week. ”

“Put her in an Uber. I should be able to pick her up from the appointment.”

Sacha fought the urge to growl. “Put her.” He stopped and took a breath when his voice came out enraged. Sacha tempered his tone and tried again. “I can’t put her in an Uber. She can’t make it to the kitchen to get water without falling.”

“I’ll take her.”

Sacha’s gaze shot to Bandit. He looked completely serious. Damn. He was amazing. “I can’t ask that of you.”

“Is that Bandit?”

Sacha ignored Artem’s question. “Baba is a handful. She can barely walk any longer and… well, you’ve met her.”

Bandit chuckled. He was so goddamn sexy. “I know all of that. It’s fine. If she’ll let me, I’ll take her. Then we can spend time together after your appointment.”

Something grew inside Sacha as he stared at Bandit.

“Sorry, Sacha. I have to go. Love you.” Artem disconnected the call before Sacha had time to respond.

Sacha clutched the phone between his hands. Hope and guilt built inside him. “I just…”

Bandit set the flowers on the coffee table next to Sacha and pulled him to his feet. He kissed Sacha’s forehead. “It’s okay, gorgeous. You’re not alone. I know if I needed you, you’d have my back. It’s part of being in a relationship. We’re a team.”

Sacha’s throat swelled. “We’re in a relationship?”

Bandit looked confused. “Was that not understood?”

Sacha shot forward and stole another kiss. “I’m lucky as hell to have you. I swear I’ll make this up to you.” Sacha had no clue how. It would probably be sexual. He couldn’t wait.

Bandit kissed his cheek and then swiped another sweet kiss across his lips. “Just give me all the information I need and go to your meeting. I’ve got Baba.” His lips swept Sacha’s mouth, as if sweetly calming him. “I’ve got you.”

Sacha didn’t deserve him. He honestly didn’t know how he had landed this out-of-this-world man, but Sacha planned to do everything he could to keep him. Bandit already had him addicted.

There had been a small part of Bandit that expected to regret volunteering.

Universally, no good deed went unpunished.

His day with Baba had been nice. Bandit’s grandparents were either not in his life or had already passed.

All he had were his parents. Even when his grandmother had been alive, she never really had much to do with him.

She had been a hands-off grandparent. She believed she had done her job, raising her kids, and now she was done.

He understood, but he realized now how much he had missed.

Bandit might have been the one doing all the work, but she wouldn’t stop trying to spoil him.

They stopped for ice cream before heading home.

Baba was visibly ready for bed by the time they came through the door.

Sacha met them as they stepped inside. “Hey. How did the doctor’s appointment go?”

“I’m old.”

Sacha rolled his eyes at Baba’s response. “Did you learn anything?”

“That I’m old.”

Sacha huffed.

Baba patted Bandit’s hand. “Thank you for going with me today. It was fun. Kiss me and I’ll head to bed.”

Bandit didn’t point out it was still late afternoon. He kissed Baba’s cheek. “Thank you for spending time with me.”

She chuckled and let Sacha help her to her bedroom.

Bandit wandered toward the kitchen. He caught sight of the fresh flowers in a vase on the counter.

Sacha deserved nice things. He wished Sacha would let him do more than bring him flowers.

While he knew they hadn’t been officially dating that long, they had known each other and been in each other’s lives for years. Bandit wanted to do more.

Sacha molded against his back and kissed his nape. “Mhmm. This spot is sexy.” His lips skimmed the back of Bandit’s neck again. “Thank you so much for helping me today. You have no idea how much it means to me.”

Bandit turned and wrapped his arms around Sacha, blatantly touching his ass. “It was fun. I’ve never really had much of a grandmother experience. Thank you for letting me borrow yours.”

Sacha’s smile was everything.

Giving in to temptation, Bandit touched his lips to Sacha’s cheek and kissed a path to his ear. “Plus, I wore her out and now we get to play.”

The sound of Sacha’s soft laughter warmed his chest. “Absolutely. You definitely deserve a treat after that.”

Bandit started to ask what Sacha wanted to do for the rest of the night, blowing off trading favors as a joke.

After all, he hadn’t helped Sacha for any reason other than he cared.

He didn’t want Sacha thinking he was only there for one thing.

Before he said a word, Sacha took his hand and headed for the bedroom. Bandit wouldn’t say no.

The moment they were shut inside, Sacha headed for the bed.

He sat on the edge and pulled Bandit forward to stand between his knees.

Bandit couldn’t blink against the sight of Sacha’s lust. He genuinely looked hungry for Bandit.

Something surged through him he couldn’t name.

Then Sacha kissed his stomach. Bandit’s body fired to life.

But he still couldn’t do anything except stare down at Sacha as Sacha unzipped Bandit’s pants.

As Sacha set his erection free, Bandit couldn’t do it. He couldn’t let Sacha believe he was there for any reason other than he wanted to be. He cupped Sacha’s chin and tilted it upward, forcing Sacha to meet his stare. The open yearning in Sacha’s expression nearly buckled his knees.

“I’m sorry. I have to have you.”

Bandit pushed, sending Sacha tumbling onto his back as Bandit went to work on his clothes.

In between stripping Sacha, he tore his way out of his clothes.

Once they were both nude, Bandit fell on him like a starving man.

The way they came at each other was like they wanted to be beneath each other’s skin.

Bandit had never felt this way. They barely had a condom in place and a mess of hastily spread lube before Bandit was inside Sacha.

With their palms flattened against each other and their fingers linked, they strained toward the same goal.

Sweat coated his body. Their kiss was every bit as violent as the sex.

The way Sacha made him feel like there was no other man desired more than him was addictive.

He was scared no one else would ever be enough again.

Bandit also hoped he wouldn’t have to find out.

As he watched Sacha come unglued while poised on the edge, he prayed this was forever. This was the one he wanted.