Chapter 30 Following The Clues
Later that day and back in his office, Alexei set out to continue what he was doing before he was interrupted by Yaakov. He tried to concentrate on the task at hand, but the images of a naked Xander seemed reluctant to leave his head. His beautiful body writhing in pleasure, the soft pleas and groans, the intense look on his face...
I kept reminiscing about it, the view of numbers and data on the computer screen didn't do the job of keeping him focused. With a grunt of frustration, he leans on the back of his chair, closing the eyes tightly. He wished that things were simpler and that he could surrender to the feelings that constantly oppressed his chest, but there were too many reasons why they had to remain secret, even though sooner or later he knew that the situation could get out of control.
Opening the eyes, he grabs a cigarette from the packet kept in the desk drawer, brings it to his lips, and with the lighter, burns the end, taking a puff and releasing the smoke through the nose. The whole issue of his sexual relationship with Xander was quite difficult and the fact that feelings had now been added to the formula, made everything much more complex. And all this without taking into account the Alpha he had isolated in the basement, which posed a huge threat to him.
He could take the easy way out and get rid of his existence, but that would put him in an irreparable situation with the Omega and he was unwilling and unable to risk it. He tried to justify himself, using as an excuse that he still needed his skills to succeed in unmasking the whole business of the embarkation, but everything was more intricate and delicate than that, and he would only be lying to himself.
His line of thought was interrupted when the phone started ringing. Without seeing who the caller was, he slides a finger over the screen and places it at his ear level.
-Magnus.
-"I need you to come over right now"- Xander's anxious voice surprises him immediately, he becomes alert while straightening up in the chair, listening carefully -."You're not going to believe what I have to show you".
-I'll be right there - cutting off the call and quickly dialing Yaakov's number, he makes his way to the Omega's work area.
-"What is it, Magnus?"- His cousin greets him by answering the call only after one tone.
-Are you at The Mansion? - Speeding up the pace.
-"Yes. Why? Did something happen?"
-I need you to go to Xander's now - his voice sounded agitated from talking while he was walking in a hurry -. It looks like he found something.
-"All right. I'll be right there, won't take long"- hanging up the call.
After a few short minutes of wandering, he and Yaakov arrive almost at the same time and without crossing words, they simply enter Xander's small, dark workroom, who covers his eyes with his forearm by a sudden source of light. Yaakov slides up the switch on the side of the door, turning on the lamp to illuminate the place. The Omega blinks several times, until he manages to focus his gaze and watches them both with a triumphant smile on his face.
-I found Arman Nikolayev.
Turning in the chair, he slides the fingers nimbly over the keyboard. Quickly a video is shown on one of the monitors of what seems to be this Arman Nikolayev, dressed completely in black, sitting at one of the tables with another man whose face could not be seen because his back was turned towards the camera.
It could be seen that both were chatting pleasantly, but it was impossible to determine what the topic of conversation was since the recording had no audio. A few minutes passed before the man sitting in front of him discreetly passed an envelope under the table, which the camera, fortunately, managed to capture.
After that, following a few more moments of exchange between the two, the man leaves the bar, letting Arman there, who ordered and drank before abandoning the bar premises.
-Damn bastard - Alexei mumbles, looking at the screen carefully -. How did you find him?
-I snuck into the city's traffic camera system and the police and installed a facial identification software, programmed with Arman's features - Xander keeps moving the digits on the keypad without taking the eyes off the monitors -. Every time someone with similar features was captured by a camera, I received a notification. It seems that his face is quite common, as I received thousands of them since yesterday, until I finally found the right one.
-You're still not convinced that we should put Reiji under his tutelage? - Yaakov whispers in his ear, tapping his side with an elbow. Alexei looks at him sideways before focusing on the Omega again.
-Do you know where he went?
-Of course, I followed him closely after he left - his voice came out almost mechanically because he was concentrating on the task at hand -. He is staying in a hotel called Omelas, on the outskirts of the city, under the name of Andrey Keldysh, room three hundred and six.
-Perfect - Alexei praises him, satisfied with the progress he's made. He watches Yaakov, giving him a silent order. His cousin nods in understanding and leaves, placing them in the company of Cooky, who was asleep at the Omega's bare feet. Xander finally takes his eyes off the monitors and turns to watch Alexei.
-Are you all right? - Alexei frowned, puzzled by the question.
-What do you mean?
-I can smell your annoyance a mile away, Magnus - raising an eyebrow, while smiling amusingly at him -. What's wrong? - The Alpha is silent for so long that Xander thought he wouldn't respond. Alexei wondered if he could ever fool him, the little guy was extremely smart and insightful, nothing seemed to escape from him.
-I spoke to your... Friend - finally confesses and realizes how Xander's countenance goes from calm to amazed.
-And? - making a gesture with a hand, indicating to him to keep talking.
-Let's just say he doesn't seem very sure he wants to stay here - trying to contain the anger at remembering the confrontation he had with Derek this morning -. And he wants to take you with him - Xander diverts his gaze to the floor and plays with his fingers restlessly on the thighs.
«How can Derek be so reckless?», he thought, before raising his eyes and connecting them again to Alexei's.
-Will you let me talk to him? - keeping his tone of voice low but firm -. I can try to convince him...
-No way - he abruptly interrupts -. You'll never be alone with him again - Xander is amazed and his mouth opens and closes, not knowing what to say. He didn't expect such an act of possession from Alexei, he thought the rules were established and the cards were laid out on the table, but apparently, he was wrong.
He realized that Alexei's intentions went beyond simple sneaky encounters. If not, there was no explanation for the sudden change in his attitude. And what was even more fucked up was that, instead of being scared, he liked it.
He liked to feel that he could get a place in the heart of the Alpha. Over the years he had built a barrier to protect himself from getting hurt, but what had happened to him at the orphanage left deep scars, both physical and emotional, that took a long time and effort to heal. But he was still susceptible, so he limited himself to brief casual encounters with men whom he never saw or contacted again. Derek was the only exception.
That Alpha was so persistent at first, that he told himself that there was nothing to lose by trying, but no emotions came out of their encounters. Until Xander, resigned and sorry for feeling that he was playing with him, he decided never to do it again. He still knew Derek had feelings for him, but he never allowed himself to fall back. He would end up hurting them both in the process, and he loved and cherished his friend too much to dare play with his affections in that way. But it was different with Alexei.
From the very beginning, when their eyes first engaged, he felt a connection with that tall, strong, and imposing man. His body vibrated with the need to be with him, despite the subsequent fear due to his threats. He tried to convince himself that it was nothing and that he should control his emotions if he didn't want to get hurt again, but when he realized, he was already thinking about the Alpha constantly and anticipating, almost to a level of anguish, his secret meetings.
He attempted to blame lust, but he well knew it had nothing to do with that. Because even though it was completely exciting and satisfying when they were together, that didn't justify longing to be with him the rest of the time, to sleep by his side, to accompany him in his days, to get to know what he liked and disliked. No, lust was not to blame. He tried to control as best he could the wave of emotion and satisfaction he felt by that admission.
-Come on, Magnus. We'll be supervised.
-I said no, Xander - crossing the arms over his chest, watching him with narrowed eyes.
-You can be there if you want - putting on his best begging expression, batting the eyelashes and bulging the lower lip a little -. Please? - Alexei cannot help but feel unarmed by such an expression. He knows perfectly well that he is being manipulated, all under a dirty Omega strategy, but he still falls under the charm, resigned. He lets out a frustrated grunt before responding.
-Fuck, all right - watch the Omega smile slightly -. But tomorrow, I want to punish you for making me angry - Xander chuckles a little, gets up from the seat, and heads towards the Alpha, who watches him a little cautiously. He wraps both hands around Alexei's neck, stands on the tip of the toes, and moves his face closer together until their lips meet.
The kiss was soft and gentle, but Alexei feels it running through his whole body like an electric shock. Dear God... What the hell was it about Xander that made him feel like a teenager in love for the first time? It was completely ridiculous and illogical, but it still made a warmth spread through his chest before he could even control it.
Slowly, Xander breaks the kiss, connects his gaze with those deep and overwhelming eyes to whisper over his mouth:
-Thank you - smiling, he steps away from that body and sits back in the chair, turns, and concentrates on the computer. It took Alexei a few moments to feel his extremities again and he gasped for a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm the excitement in his pants.
He was just seconds away from rushing towards Xander and possessing his small, completely seductive body right there on the desk, but he shouldn't be reckless, someone could suddenly walk in and discover them. He tucked his half-hard dick into the trousers and left the room without saying anything else.
He'd make the naughty kitten pay in the evening. As he was heading back to the office, he receives a text from Yaakov:
"We got him".
Short and precise as always. A smile spread across his face, at last, after so much waiting, he could see results in the whole damn thing.
They were getting closer, it was only a matter of time.