What the fuck was he doing?

Gio growled under his breath as he paced across the lobby. Giorgio Romano. His name was Giorgio Romano, and he did not read romance novels or talk to hot strangers about crappy romantic movies.

The problem was, even after two months, he still wasn't quite sure what Giorgio Romano did do. The cover he'd been given was the definition of shitty. Shitty job, shittier apartment, shittiest car in the western hemisphere. There was nothing that stood out about Romano's life or history. The whole point was that he blended into the walls. Gio was not good at blending into the walls.

Every time he thought he'd settled into his skin, he slipped. He kept forgetting to answer to Giorgio; hell, answering to Gio was still tough after a year as Geoff Tanner. His accent switched at random from Texas to Tuscany to Atlanta to the Big Apple when he was tired, which was most of the time.. Only the fact that his coworkers were practically zombies had kept him from getting caught.

Giorgio Romano was a normal guy. A boring guy. The kind of guy who didn't go crazy entering accounts all day, every day.

Staring out the door into the rain, Gio sucked in a deep breath. But how? How did people live like that and not lose their minds? Gio could feel his sanity slipping away every second he tried to fit into the role, and he only had to do it for four more months. What would it be like to do it for a lifetime?

No wonder so many of these guys ended up losing their shit.

"I can call you a cab if you need one."

Gio jerked around to stare at the alpha from before. What was his name? Marcus. "Fuck off," he snapped automatically. It came out too hard, too Tanner, and he rolled his eyes.

"For a guy who reads trashy romances, you've got quite the mouth," Marcus said, but his eyes were crinkled with amusement over the top of that ridiculous mustache. He wasn't as tall as Gio had expected, a long, lean torso topping off legs that looked shorter in proportion. It was kind of cute.

Jesus. Cute? Giorgio Romano was not going to think some guy's legs were cute, even if Gio did. Hot? Sexy? Maybe fuckable. Not cute. A guy that sat in a mind-numbing cubicle all day had to have a porn habit the size of Texas.

"And? You look like a guy who goes to the Visceral Rush movies," Gio growled. "All those explosions! Who cares if the plot is so fucking thin and full of holes my grandma could use it as a tea doily."

"Actually," Marcus said, sticking his nose in the air, "I... may have gone to see all of them," he finished, slumping.

Gio pumped his fist. "I knew it," he said, stabbing the alpha right in his starched shirt.

"My friends dragged me." Marcus swatted at Gio's hand, laughing loud enough to draw the attention of the concierge. "I swear."

"Likely story," Gio said, and it came out too New York. Giorgio was supposed to be from the midwest, but Gio had never mastered the damned accent.

Someone pushed through the doorway, shedding water everywhere, and Gio had to back up to avoid getting splashed. He grimaced and shuffled to one side as a whole line of people followed. He'd probably missed his bus.

"Oh, like you didn't line up for days to get tickets to the new Vampire's Kiss movie," Marcus said, all shiny blond hair and blinding smiles. He shook his head, moving aside as another wave of people came in. The lights flickered, and everyone froze, looking up.

"I would never!" Gio's ears burned as he glanced out the doors. The lights across the street were out, and he could see the stop light on the corner blinking red. Getting home was going to be a pain in the ass. "I bought my tickets online like any grown man sneaking into a terrible movie made for pre-teen girls."

He was so distracted that he didn't even realize what he'd said until Marcus choked on a laugh. Fuck. He was so screwed. Giorgio Romano did not go to crappy movies. The man probably collected stamps or something equally boring.

"I'm shocked," Marcus said, his eyes twinkling. Gio had never seen anyone's eyes twinkle before. The lights flickered again, and the alpha popped his knuckles against his thigh. "I should get upstairs before the power goes out. I'm on the twenty-sixth floor."

Gio glanced across the lobby at the people crowding in. "You're just sore you were losing," he said, careful to keep his accent neutral.

"Was I?" Marcus asked, shaking his head as he backed toward the elevators.

"Fuck you," Gio muttered, less acerbic than he would have prefered for the sake of his reputation.

The alpha snorted, his shoulders jumping. "But we just met," he exclaimed, loud enough to turn heads all over the lobby. "Does that make this one of those Haley Peters books, with the one-night-stands that fall instantly in love?"

Lips twitching against his will, Gio ducked his head to hide the blush he could feel burning up his cheeks. "Screw you," he snapped back. "I rate at least a Vivian De La Courte novel." Stalking toward the doors and the god-awful, blowing rain, he dug his phone out, about to call Agent Curtis and leave him another pissed off voicemail for missing their check-in. Again.

Halfway through dialing, his head snapped up. Marcus was standing by the elevator, still watching him with a grin splitting his face almost in half. He looked perfectly at home in the luxurious interior the way Gio never did, even with the poorly tied running shoes peeking out from under his tailored slacks.

"Wait a fucking minute." He stalked back across the foyer. "You're making fun of my choice of reading material, but you've read Haley Peters?"

The alpha bent over at the waist, laughing loud enough to echo off the marble and steel all around them. The elevator dinged, and he stumbled inside.

Gio chased him into the elevator, poking Marcus in the shoulder as he gasped for breath, his perfect white teeth gleaming. "You ain't got no room to throw stones, buddy," Gio growled. Clearing his throat, he focused on sounding out every word as he continued, "Your mother should be ashamed of you, picking on innocent omegas like that."

"Oh, I'm sure she would be," Marcus said, still breathing heavily. "She's very keen on omega rights and social dynamics. You'd have to make sure she didn't get me confused with my brothers, though."

Gio rolled his eyes. "I'm Italian," he said as the elevator doors slid closed. "You don't want to get into an argument about family. You'll lose."

"I'm one of twelve children." His firm lips pursed under that hideous mustache as the other man tried to hide a smile.

"Jesus. Okay, you win. You Mormon or something?" There went the New York again.

Fuck it. Giorgio could be an Italian from New York. It was easy to remember, and if he slipped with Tanner's accent again, he'd just say he moved around a lot.

Marcus was still smiling at him, that toothy grin that made him look years younger despite the unfortunate facial hair. "No, we're German. I have no idea why my parents bred like rabbits. Thankfully, the rest of my family seems more sensible." The elevator slowed to a stop, and as the door dinged open, he stepped out.

Maybe this was how people in boring dead-end jobs got through the week. Maybe Giorgio Romano wasn't as boring as he appeared on paper.

Gio chewed his lip, tracing the gap in his front teeth with his tongue. Curtis was going to have a shit fit if he did this. He wasn't sure if that was a pro or a con.

He got off the elevator. "I was going to introduce myself, but I don't know if I should be seen with some guy who reads Haley Peters. I have a reputation to maintain." Not smooth, but maybe Giorgio was all talk. Gio was good at talk.

"It was only the once," Marcus said, backing down the hallway.

Even though he'd missed last year's body-language analysis seminar, and probably this year's too, Gio wasn't oblivious to the way guys flirted. This alpha wasn't giving off any of those signals. No oily looks that meant he was being mentally undressed. No less than subtle hints. All Gio got off Marcus was genuine interest in the conversation.

So why was he so positive that the other man was interested?

Giovanni Rizzi was not the kind of guy that did one-night-stands with hot strangers he met in the hotel restaurant. He knew this like he knew the lines of the FBI motto, from decades of practice. But maybe, just maybe, Giorgio Romano was that kind of guy?

"Okay, no," he said, following after Marcus. "I am not letting you get the last word here." Marching across the plush carpet, he waved his hands around, narrowly missing one of the low-hanging light fixtures. It was in a stupid spot, anyway.

"This isn't about quantity," he said, stomping up to the alpha as they stopped in front of a door at the end of the hall. He was torn between amusement and affront that this random stranger dared to judge him, even jokingly. "You read Haley Peters. You were sitting there laughing because you think my book is trash, and the whole time you're the one who's read Haley. Fucking. Peters."

Marcus fussed with the door handle, his mustache twitching. "Okay, fine. You've got me."

The door swung open, and whatever Gio had been planning to say evaporated on his tongue. This wasn't just a hotel room.

In front of him, an honest-to-God suite stretched out forever, larger than his entire shitty apartment. There was glitz everywhere, and he could see through the living area to a bedroom with enormous floor to ceiling windows that probably had a great view. All he could see right now was lightning crawling through the clouds, and that was pretty damned spectacular.

"It's a bit much, I know," Marcus said behind him. His voice was as warm as the hand that settled at the small of Gio's back. "My company paid for it as part of my moving bonus. I guess they have a deal with the hotel."

It was the first time they'd touched, and Gio couldn't help the twitch that shook his shoulders. He didn't step away though. It had been a long time since he felt that kind of warmth sinking into his skin.

"It's... nice," he said. "You don't rate the penthouse?" Crossing his arms, he glanced over his shoulder and gave the alpha a thorough once over. Giorgio was apparently not only foul-mouthed and angry, he was also done with the talking portion of the evening's entertainment.

Marcus snorted. "They offered. I turned it down. This is already too much space just for me."

"You're some big shot, huh?" Gio asked, turning and stepping up until they were chest to chest. "Do they know you read Haley Peters? That's the kind of thing people in this town like to know about a guy."

They were close enough for Gio to feel the heat rolling off Marcus. The hand was still there, resting hot and gentle against his waist.

"It was one time," Marcus said, his eyes dropping to Gio's lips.

Gio glanced at the door, licking his lips. It wasn't exactly against the rules for undercover agents to get their rocks off, but Marcus seemed like a nice guy. The kind of guy who got attached and tried to take you home to his parents in outer suburbia. Getting attached was the cardinal sin in this business.

Giorgio Romano didn't give a good goddamn about FBI agents and their handbook. He just wanted a nice memory to take back to his soul-sucking cubicle on Monday. "Fuck it," Gio whispered, his lips brushing against Marcus's mustache. He was really starting to hate that thing.

The kiss was light and barely there, and when they pulled apart, Gio's lips burned with the need to do it again. Or maybe it was the mustache.

"Is this okay?" Marcus asked, his hands still resting gently at Gio's waist.

"Well, now that you mention it, I'm not sure I want people finding out that I kissed the kind of guy who reads Haley Peters." He reached up on tiptoe and dug his teeth into Marcus's chin.

"Oh, for fuck's sake. Would you let it go?" Marcus said, dragging him closer. "It was one time." He was smiling as he leaned in for another kiss, so their lips didn't fit together worth a damn.

Gio ended up with a mouthful of mustache. "So you say," he said, pulling back enough to give the alpha a skeptical look.

Laughing, Marcus pulled him back in. This time, the kiss was deep, despite the warm puffs of chuckles that ghosted across his lips. Marcus tasted like soda, bubbly and sweet. It actually tingled on Gio's tongue as he battled the other man for control of the kiss.

Their tongues dueled, sliding together as Gio got a handful of silky blond hair and tugged Marcus closer. The alpha let it happen, a slight tension in his muscles as he held the awkward position was his only response. Pulling back enough to suck in air, Gio nipped at Marcus's lip, delighted when the alpha growled under his breath, his hands tightening for the tiniest of seconds.

Marcus really was a nice guy, very civilized. It was a pity that Giorgio Romano was the kind of guy to see that as a challenge. Tossing his bag onto the chair by the door, his lips burned a little as they stretched wickedly.

Gio reached for the buttons on the alpha's expensive shirt, but they were fiddly and he lost patience. He ripped the shirt open, not at all sorry when Marcus dug his fingers into his hip hard enough to bruise.

"I liked that shirt," Marcus rumbled, glaring.

Smirking, Gio took advantage of the space between them to shove off the layers of sweater and shirt he was wearing. Lightning flashed outside the window, and the lights flickered, but neither of them looked away.

Marcus swallowed hard, his hands gliding up the sensitive skin of Gio's sides. "Are you sure about this?"

"Do you need an engraved invitation? Should I call your mom and ask her to give you permission?" Gio pushed the alpha toward the bedroom, goosebumps rising on his skin as Marcus pulled them together until they were flush from hip to chest. With his arms trapped between them he couldn't do much but run greedy fingers over the dense blond hair curling over the alpha's chest. "What's your name again?" he sneered teasingly. "Mark?"

"Close enough," Marcus said, lifting Gio up on his toes to grind their hips together.

Gio groaned, his head falling back. "Well, Steve, get it in gear, will you?" Worming one hand free and grabbing another handful of hair, he dove in for a kiss.

"You're gorgeous," Marcus whispered against his lips, his hands smoothing down the tight muscles of Gio's back to the curve of his ass.

Their legs tangled together as they shuffled toward the bedroom, every movement sending shocks of pleasure up Gio's spine. "Tell me you have condoms," he said, rolling his hips until Marcus stumbled. Quick as a snake, Gio slid his hand down into the space created and curled his hand around the alpha's cock through the soft linen of his pants.

"Shit," Marcus said, pressing their foreheads together. He sucked in a deep breath, the rush of air leaving Gio's lips cold. "Keep doing that." His voice was shaking, but the next kiss was just as slow and deep as the others.

A real gentleman, this guy. Gio smirked, shimmying his hips until the too big jeans that he was wearing slid to the floor. Toeing off his shoes, he left them in a pile. He reached for Marcus's fly, stroking and teasing as he undid the button.

"So, Bob," Gio said, shoving Marcus's pants down with one hand as he snaked his other hand into his plaid boxers. "How do you want me?"

"Son of a bitch," Marcus turned his head just enough to capture Gio's lips, sucking the air from his lungs as if he were trying to devour his soul.

Gio wrapped his hand around the hot, hard length of him, grinning as Marcus broke off the kiss to curse again. "Language," he teased, sliding his lips down the other man's neck. It was his turn to curse when a hot hand slid into his boxer briefs and curled around his own cock. "Shit, yeah."

Marcus tilted his head to the side, giving Gio better access, even as he picked the smaller man up with two big hands on his ass. "Bed," he said, his voice breaking as Gio squeezed and stroked him.

"Onward, James," Gio ran his thumb over the head of Marcus's cock, spreading the slick fluid that had gathered there to ease the way. He was well aware of how much gun calluses could scrape.

"My name," the alpha growled, nipping at Gio's earlobe until the omega cursed again, "is Marcus." He dug his fingers into Gio's ass until he knew he'd be feeling it for days, sitting in that godawful cubicle.

Before he could say anything else, the world lit up white. The lights flickered as thunder rolled right overhead, shaking the building until the windows rattled. Once, twice, then they went off and didn't come back on.

"Fuck." Marcus slid his hands up Gio's back, trying to set him on his feet.

Gio wasn't having it. He was committed to this, and he wasn't letting anything spoil it. It would be spectacular, or he'd die trying. Then he'd shove it in a box labeled 'Giorgio Romano' and forget all about it.

Twining his legs around Marcus's hips, he leaned up by feel until their lips mashed together. A little squirming got their cocks lined up just right, and Marcus groaned. The sound vibrated against Gio’s lips, tickling his nose where the mustache brushed up against him. "Get a move on, then, Marcus," he said, biting the words off in little puffs of air against the alpha's skin.

"Brat," Marcus muttered, then the world went into free fall.

The air huffed out of him in a surprised squeak as his back hit the mattress and the warm weight of a fit body pressed him down into it. Digging his nails into the taut muscles of Marcus's shoulders in retaliation, Gio traced wet kisses down the cords of his neck to his chest.

Feeling the way with his swollen lips, Gio found himself chasing after the gasps and shudders as he licked and sucked the sweet skin. The alpha clearly wasn't a slouch, muscles shifting under his skin, but he wasn't rough, either. The skin was deliciously smooth, covered with a thatch of wiry hair, no scars to distract from the pure feel of man.

Without his sight, everything was more intense, harder to keep track of. There were hands everywhere, sliding up his sides, cupping his ass, and stroking the sensitive skin of his thighs. He clutched at leanly muscled arms as Marcus tried to move away. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked, scraping his teeth against the skin under his lips, feeling the muscle twitch and tighten.

"Lube," Marcus growled. "Condoms."

One hot hand threaded into Gio's hair, gripping tight enough to send pleasant tingles down his back. Mildly disappointed when that hand just held him firm, not pulling the way his body was begging for, Gio let the other man go.

The lightning was close now, flashes lighting up the darkened city. Even more impressive than the thrusts of the skyscrapers outside was the thrust of Marcus's blatant erection tenting the fabric of his boxers as he stalked across the room.

Gio skimmed out of his underwear as he watched the other man dig through his suitcase, dropping something heavy on the ground with a curse. Curling one hand around his own cock, he leaned back on the pillows and smirked, stroking himself loosely. "Marcus said a bad word," he said, watching the other man's eyes darken in the flashes of lightning.

Stalking back across the room, Marcus shoved off his shorts without looking away from Gio's body. "Getting started without me?"

"You're taking too damned long." Twisting his wrist just right, Gio threw his head back and moaned.

Hard fingers snapped tight around his wrist like a handcuff. "You're too damned impatient," Marcus growled, pinning his hand to the bed.

Gio opened his mouth to snap back a smartass retort, but Marcus swallowed the words before they'd made it out of his throat. The kiss was barely controlled, lips sliding together as their tongues tangled.

Slick fingers slid up the inside of his thighs, stroking across his hole, and Gio lost track of everything but feeling. The careful pressure wasn't nearly enough, and he pressed his hips back, trying to grab more of that delicious pressure. Marcus was too damned careful, stroking the sensitive pucker over and over until Gio broke the kiss just to snap at him.

"Hurry the fu... Fuck!" His head lolled bonelessly on his neck as a finger slid in deep in one glorious slide. It had been way too long since he'd gotten laid. The feeling of being filled crackled up his spine until he was biting his lip to hold back a sound that was more plea than curse.

"You were saying?" Marcus said, his voice cracking as Gio drove himself back harder.

"Hurry the... Goddamnit." Pleasure made Gio writhe on the sheets, his back arching as Marcus played him like a master, hitting that perfect spot with the kind of skill that Gio would never have suspected. "You cheater," he gasped, the words fading into a whine as Marcus did something that made his eyes roll back in his head.

Heat stroked across Gio's chest, pressure and the occasional spark of pain making him arch into the pleasure of Marcus's lips. He threaded his fingers into the alpha's hair, holding him close.

Somewhere in the haze of pleasure, one finger became two became three, the stretch making him whine deep in his throat. It was too much and not enough, and if he didn't get more, he was going to do something drastic.

"Hurry up," he snapped, dragging Marcus up for a kiss that was all teeth.

"Pushy," Marcus groaned, sliding his fingers free and leaving Gio bereft. There was a crackle of foil, a curse as something tumbled to the bed, and then finally, the press of something blunt and hot at his hole.

Gio squirmed, trying to get even a millimeter more of that hard flesh, but the hands clamped on his hip might as well have been made of stone. "Move, damn you."

Marcus hummed. "Or what?"

"Are you serious? You... shit." Gio's whole body jerked as Marcus drove forward in one smooth slide. The burn overwhelmed his senses, the room disappearing in a rain of colored sparks. He felt like someone had plugged him into an electrical socket, his muscles twitching without orders from his brain. "Yes," he hissed.

Marcus drew back in a long, deliberate glide, and Gio dug his heels into the other man's hips, clenching down as hard as he could. The next thrust was harder, faster, everything he'd wanted. His skin prickled, salty sweat beading on his lip and smearing on his tongue as he swallowed a shout.

"More," he said, muffled by Marcus's lips as the alpha's tongue stroked the sensitive skin of his mouth. "Harder."

"You," Marcus growled into the kiss, his back rolling as he drew out and slammed home again in one quick action, "are too. Damned. Demanding." Punctuating the words with thrusts, he settled into a rhythm, and Gio lost the battle to stay silent, crying out his pleasure.

Pressure and sensation coiled tighter and tighter in his gut, dragging him toward the edge. It had been too long, and he wasn't going to last. He slid his hand over the trembling muscles of his belly and stroked himself roughly.

"Dammit, I wish I could see that," Marcus said, pressing their foreheads together. His breath washed over Gio's face, wet gasps as he shook. "I'm close."

Gio barely had the wherewithal to whimper as his whole body locked tight, his rhythm falling apart. A trembling hand wrapped tight around his fingers, flinging him higher. The world burst into a flash of white light as pleasure exploded through his body, wave after wave wracking him. The sweat-soaked sheets clung to his skin as he collapsed, his body jerking with aftershocks, bordering on too sensitive as Marcus continued to strain above him.

One thrust, two, and it was too much, too soon. Lightning glowed on corded muscles as the alpha froze, his shout swallowed by a rumble of thunder that shook the room. His face was cast into harsh shadows, twisted into an agony of pleasure. The glow of his dark eyes burned into Gio's memory as he slowly collapsed against Gio's chest, the welcome weight pushing them deeper into the bed.

"Wow," Marcus said after a moment, shifting to one side. His voice was wrecked, and his arms still trembled where they pressed against Gio's.

His brain slowly coming back online, Gio felt the glow of great sex slipping through his fingers. Giorgio Romano would know the etiquette of situations like this. Lingering wasn't in the plan.

Gio couldn't bring himself to rush to his feet though. And with the power out, he had the perfect excuse. Surely the alpha wouldn't expect him to take the stairs just to get out of the way.

The bed shook as Marcus rolled onto his side, his arm, sticky with sweat, settling across Gio's chest. "Is this okay?"

It was better than okay. Tension that Gio hadn't realized existed melted away at the feeling of another body pressed close. That alone was a reason to leave. "I should go," he said reluctantly.

"You can stay if you want. The power's out."

Turning to stare into the dark, Gio shook his head. This wasn't what Giorgio Romano would do, but it wasn't going to stop him. Tonight, he'd be Giovanni Rizzi, lonely, pathetic omega. The thought caused an ache in his chest, but it had been so long since he'd been himself that he wasn't sure what that meant.

"Yeah, okay. Just till the power comes back on."