Page 101 of Close Quarter
"Do you even know how to use a computer?"
Silas drew himself up to his full height.
"Likely better than you do." A healthier color washed over him as Rhys felt the unmistakable pull of element.
Ah, so he had been holding back, the arrogant idiot. "Well, youarestuck in a different era."
The elevator dinged. Rhys entered, Silas close behind. The pull of element increased. Silas punched the main deck.
"What, pray tell, is that supposed to mean?"
"Pray tell?" Rhys mimicked Silas's accent.
"You're about as modern as ice skates with keys."
Silas opened his mouth, then snapped it shut.
A moment later, he burst into laughter.
"What?"
The elevator slowed to a stop; then the doors opened.
"You," Silas said. "It's roller skates that had keys." He sauntered out of the elevator.
Rhys had to hurry to follow Silas's spectacular ass before the elevator doors snapped shut. "Ice skates, roller skates."
Silas stopped by the grand staircase, near a cluster of chairs that faced the front desk. "I know what you're trying to do." He leaned near Rhys's ear. "And I thank you for the thought. But I want you to keep as much energy as possible for later."
Heat rushed to Rhys's face. "You're not well."
Silas shrugged in his infuriating manner. "I'm not so horrible that I can't function. And if Anaxandros is about, it's better he think me worse than I am."
Oh.Rhys dropped his voice and gripped Silas's shirt. "You could havetoldme, you know."
"You think better when you're worried or angry."
Warmth washed over him, followed hotly by fury. "You little--"
Silas stopped his words with a kiss that tingled every nerve in his body, from the tips of his ears down to his little toes. Desire coiled in his belly.
When Silas broke away, he whispered in Rhys's ear. "No glamour, my love."
This time it was heat that chased through his body. He probably had a blush so bright it would light a dark room. What conversation there had been in the area had gone silent.
"Wait here," Silas said, loud enough to be overheard. "I'll be back in a bit."
"Right." Rhys croaked out the word and sank down into a chair as Silas walked away. A quick glance around confirmed his fears. Everyone looked at him. Or at Silas. Or between the two of them. One woman tucked away her cell phone.
Rhys cleared his throat and leaned back.
Well, that'd probably put a stop to his womanizing rumors. At least for a while.
And really, he couldn't do any better than Silas. Rhys brushed the back of his hand over his mouth and tried not to laugh.
A few moments later, Silas returned, but this time no one noticed. Rhys picked up a newspaper from the table to his right and flipped through it while trying not to watch Silas slip behind the front desk counter.
Now he wore a glamour. One so good, no one saw him as he sat at an unused terminal. A minute or so after that, he scooped up a piece of paper from a printer, slipped past the man behind the desk, and lifted a key card.
