[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
do nothing else. He d done it in New York, and he would have
done it on the plane if Lucas had allowed him.
214
ARIES: RIDDLE ME WICKED
He wasn t going to give Ian the chance now.
This Masud thinks he s calling the shots, but look at it. He
needs us. He wouldn t have gone to the lengths he had if he didn t.
He put men in with Sultis, because he didn t trust the asshole. Hell,
look at what he did with Riley. If you think about it, he s probably
the one responsible for the bomb threat, since he was so hot for
Sultis to end up in jail. His hand slid up to grip the back of Ian s
neck, trying to transfer as much confidence through his grip as he
could. He is not about to do anything that s going to jeopardize
our lives. Not until he has the Blood of Sheol in his hot little hand.
That is plenty of time for us to figure out how to get out of this.
He waited until Ian met his gaze before grinning. And if he takes
us to Cairo, well, hell, you think I don t know people there, too?
Ian stared at him for a moment, eyes uncharacteristically dark,
then snorted and shook his head. Have I told you lately how
incorrigible you are?
Eh, you love it. Go on. Admit it.
He d meant it as a joke. Something to lighten the mood and
distract Ian further. But Ian took longer to respond than he would
have anticipated, seconds upon seconds rather than the
instantaneous smile he d been hoping for.
What he got was a slow lean forward, an even slower slide of
Ian s gaze to Lucas s mouth, and then the tentative brush of a kiss
across his unsuspecting lips. Lucas parted for him to take more, but
whatever the caress s purpose, it wasn t that. Ian retreated as
unexpectedly as he d advanced, a soft smile now brightening his
demeanor.
How does your incorrigible self propose answering Masud s
demands for results in the morning? he asked.
Lucas was more interested in hearing what had sparked the
215
ARIES: RIDDLE ME WICKED
kiss, but time wasn t on their side right now. He made a mental
note to bring it up at the first opportunity, and restarted his
massage down Ian s spine.
I don t think he wants to hurt us, he said. He could have
done that at any point and chose not to. His goons didn t even
rough us up.
Unless you count drugging and kidnapping us.
There are worse ways for that to happen. Trust me.
Ian cocked a brow. Sometimes, I think you ve lived a dozen
lives already. You ve seen so much. Done so much. I wonder if
there s ever any way to catch up.
It s not a race.
Another delay in answering. Lucas scanned Ian s face, wishing
he could figure out what was going on in the man s head, but his
handsome features were inscrutable.
No, I suppose not, came the eventual reply. And you likely
have a point about the relative danger. They didn t hurt me, getting
me from the car to the cage, and they were fairly careful with you.
See? There you go. The muscles were looser now, no reason
to continue the massage. Lucas dropped his hand and nodded
toward the books. Can I help you in any way? Maybe with both of
our brains working on it, we ll actually meet our deadline.
Ian rose to cross and kneel next to the research materials. If
you could lay out the Polaroids, that would save me time having to
do it myself. His hand hovered over the topmost book, like there
was something blocking his way. I can t believe I have to touch
these without any gloves.
That old, huh?
And valuable. A single fingertip touched the edge of the
cover, then withdrew. And not wholly mine.
216
ARIES: RIDDLE ME WICKED
Picking up the plastic sleeves, Lucas scooted to the end of the
bed to give himself room to sort them. There might have been
more space on the floor, but with the space heaters being at that
level, it was too hot to be comfortable. They re not expecting you
to do the translation in the margins, are they? When Ian s head
shot up, the look of pure horror on his face, Lucas laughed. See?
It could be worse.
Ian finally found the courage to pluck the top book from the
stack. He cradled it in his long hand, the spine nestled lovingly in
his palm, and slowly opened it, keeping the pages at angles so the
book didn t rest flat. Lucas paused in his sorting to stare,
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pldoc.pisz.plpdf.pisz.plcs-sysunia.htw.pl
|
