Page 60 of City of Love

Still, his heart pounded with excitement as he imagined their life together in his world. “You’re amazing, you know that? And I know, too, that you’ll have lots of details in your world to work out first, and we’ll take as much time as we need to figure this all out, to make sure it’s what we want, what you want. As long as we don’t extend your stays beyond four hours, we can take our time until you’re ready.” He noticed her shoulders relax as she took a deep breath. “But yes, I agree. If you’re willing, we’ve got to try.”

With that, he leaned all the way in, finally taking that kiss. His lips pushed against hers, no time for patience, and she opened for him, her tongue reaching to taste his with equal urgency, his cock and his heart both responding to the strong, beautiful woman in his arms.

A knock at the door was a cold splash of water. “Gideon, I don’t mean to interrupt, but the Council meeting is soon.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Lexi gifted him with a patient smile, her blue eyes gentle and happy, her cheeks flushed and ready. Gideon held back a groan of frustration.

“You’d better get going, Hero.”

“Indeed.”

“Indee—” she started to imitate.

“Don’t,” he said, putting up his index finger to stop her, and she giggled.

Gideon’s gait was lighter as he and Roberto made their way back. Even knowing the scary facts, this woman was willing to risk it all to be with him. That knowledge would go a long way in helping get through the coming weeks as his world figured out what this Prometheus Group was all about, and what the hell they could do to stop them.

CHAPTER 26

Nearly midnight, Lexi yawned while exiting the baggage claim area, pulling her suitcase behind her as she stepped to the arrivals pick-up curb. She scanned the long line of cars for Margot’s shiny black Audi convertible while taking in the familiar sights of the Philly airport. She was glad to be home again. Still, she had to force aside the memory of how the noise of the jets had affected Gideon just a couple weeks prior.

A few days after her notorious Fourth of July experience, she’d hired a pet sitter for Dexter and booked a flight to spend a week with her parents in Phoenix. Her frayed nerves had been ready for a heaping helping of her mother’s homemade cobbler served up with a giant dollop of love and attention, and her parent’s desert home was as calm a place as any to do some major life planning.

While there, she’d taken the first step of telling her folks she’d met a man, a musician who toured the world performing. She knew they weren’t savvy enough with the internet to Google him, though she’d considered creating a fake web page showing the tour dates of one Gideon Ashe, concert pianist. Assuming she chose to make the transition to his world, eventually she and Gideon would tell her parents the truth and introduce them to her new world. But it was not yet time for that.

Two quick honks and a flash of platinum hair announced Margot’s arrival, and Lexi threw her bag in the tiny trunk before slipping into the leather bucket seat beside her bestie. Though it had only been a week, it felt wonderful to be back. It was much easier to believe that Gideon and his world actually existed when she was here in Philadelphia.

While she’d been in Arizona, she’d almost come to think the whole thing had been an elaborate delusion, especially since she’d been unable to connect telepathically with him from that spot on the globe. Before she’d left, Gideon had warned her that might be the case, so she hadn’t freaked out at her inability to reach him, but as soon as her plane had landed at home, they’d had a lovely, flirty, mental reunion.

Margot leaned across the console to hug her. “Welcome home, baby doll.” She pulled out of the airport and onto the highway for the drive back to Old City.

With the top down, the breeze whipped Lexi’s hair in her face, and she dug through her purse for a scrunchie to pull it up into a tight bun. The rushing sound of the wind and road didn’t stop Margot from blasting her with questions, however.

“You didn’t tell your mom and dad about what happened on the Fourth, did you?”

“Of course not,” Lexi said as they drove over a bridge crossing the Schuylkill River, the bright neon lights of Philly’s big sports complex looming up on the other side. “They knew I was out of sorts, though. How could they not? They’re my parents. I blamed it all on having been fired. I told them I needed a little down time to make some big life decisions.”

Margot shot her a glance, studying her face before she turned back to watch the road. “And were you?”

“Was I what?”

“Making big life decisions. You’re not honestly considering moving to the other universe, are you?”

“Of course, I am. If it wasn’t for the damn transition process and the—”

“The six hours of sheer agony. Your possible death.”

“Margot.”

“It’s crazy. You’re being crazy, Lex. You barely know him.” She checked over her shoulder before swerving into the exit lane.

Lexi gripped the door handle, her tension rising, and not just because Margot took the exit ramp onto Columbus Boulevard at a far faster speed than she should have. Lexi hated being called crazy, and her best friend damn well knew it.

“I know him a lot better than you can imagine. Telepathy, capiche? We’re connected. You wouldn’t understand.” Though truthful, she hadn’t meant for her words to be so harsh and condescending, but the decision was difficult enough without Margot playing devil’s advocate and purposely pushing her buttons. “Anyway, I haven’t decided anything yet. If I could just get a vision, I’d—”

“Still no vision? That’s got to be a bad sign.”

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