Safe Harbor 2: Hiding in Plain Sight by Cassandra Carr Page A

me. And my mother…”
    His voice cracked on the last word, and Joe reached out, offering silent support. Vlad cleared his throat.
    “My mother taught me to be a good host. She made all the big dinners for our family parties and stuff.”
    “Do you miss them?”
    The other man shrugged, but it was obviously not something he took casually. “Yeah, but I’ve only been back to Russia four times since I came over here to play. And my parents won’t come here. They pushed for me to come to North America to play, but they won’t leave Russia.”
    “Did they ever say why?”
    “They do not feel comfortable. They don’t speak English at all, and since I’m the youngest, they are already in their sixties. My father says they are too old to travel. I send them and the rest of my family some money to make their lives easier, but I do not think they’ll ever see me play professionally.”
    “So they’ve never seen you play in the NHL?” Joe was incredulous. It wasn’t like his family was going to sit around the campfire and sing “Kumbaya,” but if Joe were a professional athlete, they’d sure as hell figure out a way to get to a game. One game was not much to ask at all in his opinion.
    “What about the Olympics? Did they go to Switzerland?”
    “No.”
    Joe shifted until he could take Vlad in his arms. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be prying.”
    “It’s okay.”
    “No, it’s not. And I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.”
    Vlad shrugged again. “It is what it is. And considering what Russia is doing with guys like us, I doubt I will ever visit again.”
    “Yeah, those laws are pretty shitty. I’ve been watching the news.”
    “I am going to take my shower now. You really don’t have to make breakfast, though.”
    “Will you stop? I want to. It’ll give me an excuse to carb-load you for our later activities.” Joe frowned. “I do have to work from four to eight, though.”
    “I want to watch the team play tonight. I will stay here, but I do want to see the game.”
    “Do you, um, want some company, or would you rather be alone?” Vlad gave him a soft smile, and Joe couldn’t resist leaning in to kiss his beautiful mouth.
    “I would love to have you here at my place, but I feel like you are spending all your time with me.”
    “And that’s a bad thing why?”
    Pulling away, Vlad mumbled, “You’ll get sick of me.”
    Joe snorted. “Babe, I could fuck you and be fucked by you for a thousand years and never get sick of it. Besides, we’re getting to know each other, and at least some of our time should be out of the bedroom.”
    “If we have to.”
    Vlad heaved a sigh, but he was smiling again, and Joe was glad he hadn’t totally brought the guy down. He was trying to understand Vlad—where he came from, his thoughts on life now—and not knowing anything about his family definitely made puzzling him out more difficult. Of course, he hadn’t exactly rambled on and on about his own family, but it seemed like Vlad’s was important to him, whereas Joe’s feelings ran more toward the “we’re in the same family but don’t need to live out of each other’s pockets” mentality.
    He watched Vlad walk, or rather, limp, to the bathroom, his eyes glued on his completely perfect, tight little bubble butt. Sometimes he wished he wasn’t so honorable, because he’d love to sink his cock into the man’s waiting warmth, but Vlad was new to all this and needed more than the couple of fingers he’d given him last night before he’d be ready to take Joe’s dick. And no matter how much Joe wanted it, he wouldn’t rush the other man, even when Vlad himself tried to sabotage the plan.
    Locating his jeans in the hallway, Joe pulled them on sans underwear. Why bother, since they were coming off after breakfast anyway? He wandered downstairs to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Wow, the guy wasn’t kidding. The fridge was full; Joe could eat for a week with the contents it contained. He closed