Page 21 of City of Love

Oh yeah, she had power. And no clue.

I wish he’d say something. His eyes, they’re killing me. Green and grey, a perfect storm. I want…

God damn, this intimacy. Like a bloody shot of desire straight through his veins.

His lust. Her lust.

His skin suddenly felt tight, his body far too finite to contain two sets of emotions. He was overflowing. Rock hard.

He stepped closer, his hands sliding down from her shoulders to her elbows as he did so, pulling her to meet him halfway. They stood a breath apart now, his face several inches above, but dangerously close to hers. “Who are you, Miss Cross?”

She had to tip her head higher to hold his gaze. “Call me Lexi.” Her throat worked on a swallow as her eyes searched his face. “Please.”

Her chest rose and fell. Her eyes burned with questions and desire. He felt it all. “Please call you Lexi?” He lowered his head, and whispered near her lips. “Or just… please?”

She blinked those sapphire eyes as he pulled back an inch and gave her space. Then she went up on her toes, rounded her lips in response, touched her mouth to his… and faded out of existence.

Gideon was still staring at the empty space in front of him, one hand touching his lips as if trying to hold the brief sensation of her there, when Vik and Alana burst into the room, both out of breath and white as sheets.

Vikkras spoke first. “Brother, we’ve got a big fucking problem.”

CHAPTER 9

“Tell me again, from the top.” Gideon rubbed his temples, reminding himself to breathe as he processed the story Vik and Alana had just told him. “Try to remember everything you noticed, even if it seems an unimportant detail.”

He poured himself a shot of scotch from his private office stash, hoping it would help uncoil his now rigid back muscles. He tipped his neck and cracked it.

“We were standing on Front Street, not far from the river, about to step into a shop. Lexi was in front of us and had already gone in.” Vik cupped his own drink, still visibly shaken, as he and Alana sat across the big oak table opposite him. “Then, just as I told you, everything around us shimmered and changed, exactly like when we play the portal music, though we heard nothing of the sort. And suddenly we were standing there, completely gobsmacked, on a different Front Street in a different Philadelphia.” He took a swig and set the glass down, shaking his head.

“It was frightening and really dangerous.” Alana was still pale and nervous. “There were cars whizzing past inches from where we stood. Had the change happened just a moment or two prior…” She waved her hand, as if wanting to dismiss the thought.

“You were definitely in World Two?” Gideon asked, referring to the name his people used when discussing the other universe.

“I don’t know, man, I assume so.” Vik shrugged. “I mean, it had to be, right? As soon as we got our bearings, we hoofed it up to Taco Shots, which was right where it was supposed to be.”

Gideon nodded. It had to be World Two. “And you were able to walk right into the back there? Did it seem like you were expected?”

“Well, no,” Vik continued. “That big bouncer they have in the kitchen, Jimmy, was already gone for the night, and some other man was guarding the back door. He didn’t want to let us through at first. It was pretty late, and he didn’t know us. But Alana used some of her gentle words and he let us in.”

One of Alana’s talents was what she merely called the gift of gab, but it was more than that. Like others in their world with that skill, she’d mastered the art of persuasion using certain tones and modulations in her voice.

“What about Matthew?” Gideon asked. “You said he seemed quite shocked and was immediately helpful in sending you back here.”

“Yeah, he was. He arrived back at his club with the rest of the visitors just as we entered, and he seemed confused to see us.” Vik looked to his wife for confirmation. “Didn’t you think so?”

She nodded. “Yes, I’d agree. I sensed genuine surprise and concern from him.” She paused, fingers tapping at her chin. “Although, there was still a feeling of… something else underlying that. Suspicion on his part maybe? Perhaps even some anger?” She shook her head. “Whatever it is, he’s burying it deep. I’m sorry, Gideon, I don’t know any more than that. But he definitely wasn’t expecting us to show up, that much I’m sure of.”

Gideon pressed his thumbs to his throbbing temples and rubbed. “And you’re positive you didn’t see anything unusual tonight? Didn’t come into contact with someone unfamiliar?”

He clenched his fists, frustration mounting by the minute. There had to have been something.

“There were a lot of people out and about tonight, G. It’s Friday night, it’s warm and beautiful. But the only ones I paid any real attention to were Alana and Lexi,” Vik said.

Lexi. Even in the midst of this new stressor, her face rose up in his mind. Her face, her ass, the curve of her waist, the way the little pearl buttons of her sweater lay against her breasts…

Wait. What the hell? “Alana, are you wearing Lexi’s sweater?”

Alana glanced down at herself. “Uh… yes, actually, I am. I forgot that I borrowed—”

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