Andrei rested his elbow on the shoulder beside him, leaning forward, watching intently.

"If Raikov's cold leather glove on his junk doesn't make the fight-or-flight response kick in, I don't know what will," he murmured, snorting.

It had worked for Andrei.

"You're beginning to see, aren't you, why I was so keen to exempt you from our ritual," Andrei said confidentially, to Kassian, who was watching with a grim interest. "It would do more harm than good, comrade."

Andrei nodded, glancing away.

He turned his face slightly, catching Matvei's eye.

"Hey," he hissed, "chuvak, I was just kidding, not busting your chops...you know I don't care."

Ilya would have cared. He was all about being on the spot