Evan wasn't able to get back to Vladimir that night, but he did seek him out the next morning. He found him in the gym, right in the middle of his work out. Quietly he sat down on one of the weight benches and watched as Vladimir worked on strengthening his neck. Clad in nothing but silken shorts he was a sight to behold. As strong and agile as a cat. His reflexes were short of amazing and Evan watched as he threw a weight bag over his head in a perfect imitation of belly to back suplex. It flew halfway across the ring, and Evan fought the urge to clap.

The book that he had borrowed from Vladimir sat on the floor next to his feet and he was startled when DJ stepped up from behind him and picked it up. He took his eyes away from Vladimir for a moment, smiling in welcome at the blue eyed superstar. DJ smiled back and sat down cross legged at Evan's feet.

"I don't see how he does that." DJ said as he watched Vladimir toss the bag again. "He looks like some Neanderthal. Must toss bag. Bag bad."

"Just because you can't do that doesn't mean that you have to make fun of him." Evan said with a frown as he turned to stare down at DJ.

"Come on Ev. Look at the man. He's the missing link."

"No that'd be Mike Knox."

"You're right. I completely forgot about him." DJ giggled.

A large shadow fell on them and Evan looked up, smiling when he seen it was Vladimir. He reached down and plucked the book out of DJ's lap and held it out to him. Vladimir took it gently, nodding his head at Evan before turning to glare at DJ. The tension got thicker than quicksand in a matter of minutes. Both men stared the other down while Evan looked on with a slightly amused smirk. Vladimir took a step towards DJ and Evan made the decision to stop it before it got to sticky.

"Vlad. I have some questions about the book." He said as he got up and placed a hand on Vladimir's arm. "Can we go back to your room and discuss them?"

Vladimir nodded and glared once more at DJ before allowing Evan to lead him off. When they were out of the gym Evan grabbed Vladimir's hand and interlocked their fingers. He looked down but didn't say anything as they continued to walk.

"So about the book?" He asked once they were closeted in his room.

"What about it?" Evan asked as he eyed Vladimir from head to toe.

"You said you had questions."

"That was a ploy to get you away from DJ before you killed him. But I am curious…what did Tiffany want?"

A smile worked it's way onto Vladimir's face and Evan's breathing ground to a halt. The large man picked him up and settled down on his bed with Evan in his lap before saying anything.

"She wants to give me push for title."

"Really?" Evan's voice broke as he grabbed Vladimir around the neck and squeezed. "That's wonderful."

"But I have to 'destroy' the locker room to get it." He said softly.

"Meaning you and I have to meet in the ring."

"Yes."

"Easy Peasy. It'll be nothing more than a squash match anyways. The longest matches that you're going to have are going to be against Mark Henry, Finlay, maybe Swagger, and Christian."

"But I don't want to hurt you." He said earnestly as he pressed his forehead to Evan's.

"Vlad. I'm tougher than I look." Evan used the closeness to his advantage and pressed a light kiss to Vladimir's lips, sighing when Vladimir slipped his tongue inside and teased his own.

Evan splayed his hands against Vladimir's chest, feeling the muscles ripple and jumped under his soft touches. Vladimir's hands were gently as they skimmed Evan's shirt off and when their skin connected it was like touching a live wire. Small electric shocks skittered along Evan's nerve endings and he pressed close, trying to get as much as he could. Breathing became heavy and hands roamed, finding out areas that caused sighs and sent shivers through the body.

At some point they had fallen backwards and Evan was lying stretched out on top of Vladimir, whimpering as his educated lips found a particularly sensitive spot. His jeans were stretched to the breaking point and he could feel proof of Vladimir's arousal, but their exploration was confined to chests and arms, as lips and tongues met feverishly. Before it could go much further Vladimir pulled away, breathing heavily as his eyes wandered over Evan's face.

"What's wrong?" Evan asked his voice raspy as he tried to regain some composure.

"Nothing Little One."

"Then why'd you stop?"

"I have a meeting with Tiffany soon."

"Oh. We can't have you miss that now can we?" Evan grinned as he pushed himself into a sitting position, swallowing a groan as Vladimir's hardened length pressed against him. "Let's get you dressed."

He climbed off and headed over to Vladimir's bag, rooting around it as if it where his own. Vladimir rose up to his elbows and watched with a grin as Evan started to put together an outfit. A couple of times a shirt or a pair of jeans would go flying over his head and with a 'tsk' but finally he had something. In one hand he held a pair of stonewashed jeans and in the other a black shirt with swords crossed. Evan held the outfit out to Vladimir and smiled when he pressed a kiss to Evan's lips before disappearing into the bathroom. While he waited, Evan stretched out on Vladimir's bed, inhaling deeply his scent from the pillow.

Not more than ten minutes later Vladimir emerged from the bathroom, finding Evan asleep on his bed. He shook his head with a slight grin and watched him for a moment before heading out the door.

When Evan awoke some time later he found himself alone in Vladimir's room. His stomach growled loudly and chuckled as he scooted off the bed and started to look for his shirt. After getting it on and checking to make sure that he didn't look too rumpled he headed down to the dinning area to get something to eat. Judging from the light crowd he had missed most of the guys, but it didn't bother him. He smiled at the waitress and gave her his order, his mind too full of Vladimir to notice that DJ was staring at him from across the room; a look of saddened longing on his face.

"If you want him, go get him." His companion said.

"It's not that easy. He has a Russian attack dog at his disposal."

"So show him that you're better than a Russian attack dog."

"How? Every time I get close to him, Kozlov is right there."

"He's not there now. Go over and strike up some conversation."

DJ looked over again and nodded his head. If he wanted Evan he was going to have to step up and show him what he was missing by chasing after the large Russian. After all who wants someone that has the emotions and facial expressions of a rock. Taking a deep breath he headed over and dropped down across from Evan, praying that he had what it took to win him over.