Just a Bit Wicked (Straight Guys Book 7)

by Alessandra Hazard

  Yes, by now he knew Vlad had feelings for him, knew Vlad adored him to bits. He didn’t need to hear Vlad say the words to know that; he wasn’t that insecure.

  And yet...it would have been nice to hear the words, to know for certain.

  Suppressing a sigh, Sebastian slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Vlad. They didn’t have to be at the wedding venue until ten o’clock. Vlad could use some extra shuteye after staying up half of the night because of some security problems at work. In the meantime, Sebastian could make breakfast for them.

  Breakfast was ready by the time Vlad padded to the kitchen, yawning every few seconds, a disgruntled look on his face.

  He really was such a grumpy bear. His grumpy bear.

  “Just in time for breakfast, sleepyhead,” Sebastian said, watching him with a fond smile. Vlad was decidedly not a morning person.

  Vlad’s eyes were still half-closed as he made grabby hands for Sebastian. “You weren’t in bed,” he grumbled, wrapping his arms around Sebastian and dropping his face into the crook of Sebastian’s neck. He inhaled deeply. “You should have stayed in bed.”

  “If I did, we would have skipped breakfast and then we both would be grumpy at the wedding,” Sebastian said, pushing Vlad into the chair and placing a plate with breakfast in front of him. “Eat.”

  He took the seat opposite Vlad and attacked his own plate. He was starving. Although Vlad had slipped into bed in the middle of the night, they still had a round of sex. He was always hungry after sex.

  “Do we have to go to DuVal’s wedding?” Vlad said suddenly.

  Sebastian lifted his gaze from his plate. He studied Vlad’s face, trying to determine if Vlad was just being his grumpy self or if Vlad truly wasn’t comfortable attending such a public event with him.

  The latter possibility made Sebastian’s stomach churn. He knew Vlad still wasn’t comfortable with people knowing about their relationship. While they weren’t exactly hiding their relationship, Vlad was a little stiff with him in public, displaying only a fraction of the affection he showered him with when they were alone. The affection Vlad had displayed during their first date at the football match had turned out to be an exception rather than the rule. Sebastian tried not to take it personally, knowing that Vlad’s hang-ups had nothing to do with him. But it still hurt, just a little.

  Sebastian cleared his throat and looked down at the mug in his hand. “I kind of have to go, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to go with me,” he said as nonchalantly as he could.

  “Hey,” Vlad said, knocking their knees together under the table.

  Sebastian looked up.

  Vlad was gazing at him seriously. “I want to.”

  Feeling warmth in his chest, his stomach, everywhere, Sebastian hooked their ankles. “Yeah?”

  Vlad nodded. “Wouldn’t want Antonio to think you’re available.”

  Sebastian rolled his eyes with a long-suffering sigh, but he was grinning as he got to his feet. “Finish up, we need to pick an outfit for you! And we need to feed the cats before leaving.” He frowned, looking around. “Actually, we need to find them first. I haven’t seen Slyth all morning. He must have slithered out.” He chuckled at his pun, pleased with himself.

  Vlad just groaned.

  * * *

  The wedding was huge, with lots of celebrities and press in attendance. Vlad, who had felt overdressed in his Armani tux at home, now understood why Sebastian insisted that they dress to the nines: they fit right in.

  As guests who weren’t very close to the marrying couple, he and Sebastian weren’t seated at the front. Vlad was more than fine with that, because he never liked turning his back to so many people, but Sebastian kept craning his neck to try to get a better look. Luke waved at them from the front row where he was sitting with Roman. Vlad nodded back. He found the kid far more tolerable as of late. To his slight surprise, Luke and Roman were still going strong, together already for a year.

  “Don’t tell Roman, but Luke’s hoping Roman will propose soon, too,” Sebastian murmured into his ear.

  If Vlad had been drinking, he would have choked. “He’d better do it himself,” he said with a chuckle. “I can’t really see Roman proposing.” But then again, if a year ago someone had told him Roman would be in a long-term, serious relationship with Whitford’s brat, he would have thought that person was crazy. Maybe he didn’t know shit.

  Sebastian shook his head, and Vlad got a whiff of his scent: cologne, aftershave, and something unique to Sebastian. He had to suppress the urge to put his nose against Sebastian’s skin and breathe him in. They were in public.

  “No, Luke wants to be proposed to,” Sebastian said with an amused but fond smile. He and Luke had grown a lot closer, too. “You know he’s a hopeless romantic. Roman had better propose with some grand romantic gesture. Good thing he’s filthy rich and can afford grand romantic gestures.”

  Vlad snorted. “If he can’t think of something original, he could always buy Luke a tropical island,” he said dryly, and Sebastian laughed.

  Someone hushed them, and they turned their attention back to the wedding.

  As the grooms said their vows, Vlad glanced at Sebastian again.

  Sebastian’s eyes were suspiciously shiny.

  “Shut up,” he said, flushing when he noticed Vlad’s stare. “It’s kind of beautiful, isn’t it? Very romantic.”

  Vlad thought back to Tristan DuVal’s wedding vow that involved such words “I hated you at first sight, I still hate you for making me so soppy, and I promise to hate you till death do us part.” It didn’t sound very beautiful or romantic to him.

  Vlad looked back at the grooms as they exchanged rings, their eyes only on each other.

  He stared.

  Unnatural, disgusting freaks, all of them. They should be hunted down and killed like rabid dogs.

  The memory of his uncle’s words seemed grotesque and ridiculous as Vlad watched the happy couple share a kiss. There was nothing unnatural or disgusting about it. They were happy, they were in love, they were standing in front of their friends and loved ones, committing to a lifetime together.

  His uncle had been wrong. Rationally, Vlad had known that for a long time now, but it was the first time he knew it, felt it with every fiber of his being. Love was love. There was absolutely nothing wrong with loving someone of his own sex.

  “Hey,” Sebastian said, touching him on the arm discreetly. “All right? You look odd.”

  Vlad shifted his gaze from the happy couple to the man who all these months had put up with his shit without complaints, ever so understanding.

  Sebastian’s dark eyes were fixed on him questioningly, his red lips pursed. In his black tux, he looked particularly stunning that day.

  His throat suddenly tight with emotion, Vlad wondered what he had done to deserve this man.

  “I love you,” he said haltingly. Those three little words had been on the tip of his tongue so many times lately, but Vlad’s hang-ups had always prevented him from saying them. “I love you,” he said firmer when Sebastian’s eyes widened. “I’m in love with you.”

  Sebastian blinked a few times, his mouth opening and closing. “Are you sure?”

  The hopefulness, the vulnerability in his voice nearly broke Vlad’s heart. He’d had no idea how much Sebastian had needed him to say the words.

  Instead of responding, Vlad leaned in and kissed Sebastian right there, in front of three hundred people and countless cameras. Camera flashes went off like crazy, but he found that he didn’t give a damn as along as Sebastian was grinning happily against his mouth.

  “I love you,” Vlad said again, because he could, because he fucking loved this person, adored everything about him.

  “I love you, too,” Sebastian said thickly, looking at him with eyes that were a little moist.

  He was beautiful. And he was his.

  Vlad chuckled.

  “What?” Sebastian said, taking his hand and threading their fingers t
ogether.

  People were staring. Vlad didn’t give a fuck.

  “In hindsight, I’m glad you slept with my girlfriend,” Vlad said, squeezing his fingers. “We should send Nina a thank you card.”

  Sebastian grinned, looking at their entwined fingers, his eyes bright and happy. “Yeah,” he said softly. “Maybe we should.”

  The End

  Coming Soon...

  That Alien Feeling

  Banished by his parents to the third planet in Sol system, Harht’ngh’chaali of the Second Grand Clan is completely fascinated by its inhabitants. Assuming the human name “Harry,” he tries to pass for a human to survive, but being human is so much harder than Harry expected. Humans are so confusing.

  Adam Crawford isn’t looking for love. Financially secure and good-looking, he’s in a good place in his life. He doesn’t mean to fall in love with the quirky guy working at the coffee shop near his office. Harry is ridiculous—and ridiculously endearing. He wears ugly shirts and flowers in his hair, and he has a kind word for everyone. Adam falls hard and fast.

  Little does he know that Harry isn’t what he seems and anything between them is impossible.

  Star-crossed love between a human man and an alien prince from a world half a galaxy away.

  Excerpt

  Chapter 1

  Harry loved humans. Everything about them was so fascinating. Even their names were refreshingly short and interesting, not at all like names back home.

  Take Harry’s name, for example. Well, the point was, it wasn’t his real name. His real name was very hard to pronounce for humans. The muscular properties of humans’ tongues were limiting for certain types of phonetic articulation, including Harry’s native language.

  Harry liked his chosen human name better than his real one, anyway. “Harry” was similar enough to his given name and sounded so nice and unusual. He couldn’t help but smile every time someone addressed him as Harry. Humans tended to give him strange looks when he beamed at them happily, but Harry didn’t mind. He had read on the Internet that it was okay to be weird and quirky as long as one wasn’t too weird. Hopefully he wasn’t.

  “Uh, dude, are you going to smile at me all day or are you going to finally give me my money?”

  Torn from his musings, Harry smiled serenely at the big pink man who was frowning at him. (Harry didn’t understand why humans called pink people “white” and brown people “black.” Were humans color-blind? Why did skin color matter so much, anyway? Weren’t people just people? Humans were so confusing.)

  “Sure thing, dude,” Harry said, imitating the man’s speech patterns. His research said that humans responded positively to mimicking their behavior. Harry was very good at it. He rather liked the man’s accent.

  The man’s frown deepened. He looked at Harry oddly. “Are you mocking me?” He cracked his knuckles for some reason.

  “No?” Harry said, confused, and gave him his change.

  The man glowered at him, grabbed his coffee and his change, and left, the bell tinkling softly as he exited the coffee shop.

  Harry worked at this little place called Star Coffee. He absolutely loved it. The apt name aside, it was quiet and charming, and it was also the only place willing to hire him. Harry had discovered that to survive on this planet he needed money, and the easiest way to make money was to find a job. Unfortunately, he had also discovered that for a young human male without any education, job options were very limited. Harry was still a little angry at his parents for giving him only false identification documents with the name he’d chosen and a small amount of human money before dropping him in a city called London two Terran months ago.

  “It will teach you a lesson,” they had told him. “We’ve spoiled you too much. Maybe the experience will finally make you grow up.”

  Harry had been secretly pleased at the time. If his parents thought it was a punishment, they didn’t know him at all. He’d always dreamed of getting off his planet and seeing the universe. Humans, or Terrans, as they called them back home, had always fascinated him. Their society hadn’t yet reached the technological and cultural level required for Contact, but it wasn’t long now, perhaps five centuries at most unless humans destroyed themselves before that. For now, Earth was used only for short, educational trips—or when one’s parents wanted to punish their child for doing naughty things like reading other people’s mind without permission. (Harry had told his parents he didn’t mean it, but, sadly, no one believed him.)

  Anyway, having a real, human job was fascinating. Harry didn’t mind working at Star Coffee. His boss had kindly agreed to give him his salary in cash and Harry didn’t even mind that he seemed to earn less than the other employees. He took pride in the small stack of human money he received every month. There was no physical money on Calluvia anymore, hadn’t been for a few thousand years.

  Working at the coffee shop suited him very much. It was a job that wasn’t suspicious for a young human male of eighteen years. That was his age according to his fake documents. Harry wasn’t actually eighteen; he was twenty-three in Calluvian years, but since a Calluvian year was shorter than a Terran year, he probably was around eighteen or nineteen in Terran years. Harry wasn’t sure; math had never been his strongest point.

  “Hey.”

  Torn from his daydreaming once again, Harry looked at the next customer.

  It was a young male in a dark suit. His skin wasn’t as pink as the previous man’s. It was more golden than pink. He had very dark, very nice eyes. Harry liked dark eyes. They were so rare on Calluvia, unlike Harry’s own violet eyes.

  “Hello,” Harry said, flashing the human a friendly smile. He had learned that humans gave bigger tips when he did that. Harry felt a little bad for exploiting it, but a guy’s gotta eat, as humans said.

  The human smiled back, handing him a five pound note. “A cappuccino, please.”

  When Harry returned with his coffee, the guy said, “Thank you, Harry.”

  “Oh!” Harry said, beaming at him. “How do you know my name?”

  The human gave him an odd look. “It’s on your nametag.”

  “Oh,” Harry said, flushing. How embarrassing.

  The guy’s smile widened, something like amusement flickering in his eyes. Harry wanted to know the guy’s thoughts so badly he had to dig his fingers into his palms to distract himself. Bad, bad Harry, he scolded himself. His parents wouldn’t be amused if they found out that he was exploiting his telepathy again. (Harry never had bad intentions. He just had a curious mind. Literally.)

  “Keep the change, love,” the man said.

  Harry decided that he liked this human. He liked all humans, really, but this one was very nice. Maybe he would make a good friend.

  Harry brightened at the thought. He had wanted to make friends since his arrival, but in the first few weeks he hadn’t been confident enough in his ability to pass for a human and hadn’t dared. Perhaps it was time to try. Harry was positive he made a very convincing human. Sure, people thought he was odd, but no one ever suspected the truth.

  “What is your name?” Harry said enthusiastically.

  The human’s dark eyebrows lifted a little. “Adam,” he said.

  “Oh!” Harry said, pleased that he knew something about the name and there wouldn’t be awkward silences in the conversation. “That’s what the first human was called!”

  Adam stared at him.

  Harry deflated a little. Had he gotten it wrong?

  “Yes,” Adam said after a beat. “Sort of.”

  Relieved, Harry smiled brighter. “Have you found your Eve yet?”

  Adam blinked and cocked his head to the side, eyeing Harry. “Not exactly,” he said at last. “I don’t swing that way I’m afraid.”

  Harry frowned, confused once again. His translating chip must have been malfunctioning. Adam didn’t look afraid, and Harry didn’t understand what a swing had to do with Adam’s relationship status. “Swing that way?” he said, hoping his confusion
didn’t seem too odd.

  “Are you a foreigner?” Adam said, chuckling softly.

  Harry nodded, pleased that there was a plausible explanation for his ignorance.

  “Odd,” Adam said. “You don’t have an accent.”

  “I’m very good at accents,” Harry said honestly. His translating chip could only get him so far. It didn’t help him much with accents and slang. “So what did you mean?”

  “I meant that I don’t like women that way. I’m afraid there’s no Eve for me.”

  “Oh,” Harry breathed. When Adam started frowning, he grinned. “This is so cool! I’ve never met a homosexual person in my life!”

  “I doubt it. You probably have, just didn’t realize. We look just like heterosexuals. So inconsiderate of us.”

  Adam had said it seriously, but Harry wasn’t fooled.

  He pouted. “Yeah, make fun of a foreigner struggling with your culture and language.”

  Adam laughed, lightly tapping Harry on the nose. “Sorry, couldn’t resist—you’re adorable, kid.”

  Harry scrunched his nose up. “I’m not a kid. I’m tw—eighteen.”

  “Well, I’m twenty-six,” Adam said, glancing at his watch. “And I have to go.”

  Harry frowned. “Already?”

  He couldn’t quite hide his disappointment, and Adam smiled at him. “Are you disappointed?”

  “Yes,” Harry said.

  Adam chuckled. “You are adorable. But to answer your question, yes. My lunch break is almost over.”

  “What’s your job?”

  “I’m a financial analyst at the bank on the other side of the street,” Adam said with a smile that made Harry suspect he was humoring him.