Four years ago, Dimitri Petrov had his leg blown off by a landmine while in military service. Suffering from PTSD, he doesn’t do crowds, and he doesn’t do people. If he had his way, he’d never leave his house at all. Dimitri’s sister, Irina, runs a dating agency, and despite that it would be better for business if they had a pretty woman working the front desk, Irina insists Dimitri’s the man for the job.<br><br>In a whirlwind of pink shirts, flapping hands, and outrageous flirting enters Elian Hubert. Elian needs a date. Invited to speak on love through time in fiction at a Valentine dinner, there is no way he’s showing up alone. When Dimitri tells him The Single Pursuit is unable to help on such short notice, Elian suggests Dimitri be his date.<br><br>Dimitri doesn’t do dates, and he doesn’t do dinners, but Elian’s made him happier in the last few minutes than anyone’s been able to do in years. He might not do Valentine's, and he might not do gatherings, but maybe he can do Elian ... a favor and accompany him to his presentation? If things go too badly, he can always hide behind a curtain and pretend he’s somewhere else.

Be Still, My Heart

“Are you trying to get in my pants?” Elian wiggled his eyebrows when Dimitri poured a glass and gave it to him. To distract from the question, he poured himself a glass too. Should he try to get into Elian’s pants? Did he want to get into Elian’s pants?


Heat washed over him, and he was surprised when his cock hardened. Erections had been few and far between, these last few years.


“I was joking, Dimitri. No need to look so shocked.”


Dimitri chuckled, shook his head as the chuckle grew into a laugh. “It’s not what you said, honey. I was having an inner monologue.”


Elian’s eyes were wide as he watched him. “We’re not on a date, Dimitri. You don’t have to pretend.”


Dimitri frowned. Pretend?“I’m not pretending.”


“You called me honey, you don’t have to, no one is listening.”


Chapter 15