‘‘I’m aware of that, yes,’’ he answered amiably.
‘‘Then why are you just standing here chitchatting with me while he races to get here?’’ I asked. ‘‘Shouldn’t you at least be making an attempt to try to capture me? Not that I want you to, but it’s making me curious.’’
‘‘Well, it’s like this,’’ he said, scratching the whiskery stubble on his chin. ‘‘When I first saw you here, I thought my luck had turned and I’d be able to bring you in myself. Although I will say I had a moment’s qualm about how I was going to get you to go peacefully. You’re not a pushover.’’
‘‘Thank you,’’ I said politely. ‘‘I’m also not the sort of woman who has to wait for a man to help her, although I’m not one to turn down the offer of help if it’s made.’’
‘‘I completely understand. Just as I understood that when you mentioned the wyvern was present in spirit form, my chances of convincing you to come along peaceably were pretty much nil. As were any ideas of forcing you.’’
‘‘Smart man.’’
‘‘I try,’’ he said with a wry twist to his lips. ‘‘The answer to your question is simply that I am hoping your scaly boyfriend will make it worth my while to not make trouble.’’
‘‘He’s not scaly, and if I’d known you could have been bought with something other than my body,’’ I said, musing on the sense of humor fate seemed to have when it concerned my life, ‘‘I would have bribed you in a more traditional manner.’’
‘‘But your way promised so much more fun,’’ he said with yet another of his wickedly sinful grins. ‘‘Are you sure—’’
‘‘Quite sure. Gabriel is . . .’’ I stopped for a moment, not sure how to put my tangled feelings into words. ‘‘He’s warm. And strong. And concerned about people. He’s very grounded, if you know what I mean—very much of this earth. I’m not elemental like Cyrene, but I am created from her, and to me, Gabriel feels right. He’s also very urbane and elegant, not in the least . . . oh, I don’t know, primitive. There’s a sort of raw, dangerous feeling about the other wyvern I’ve met, but Gabriel is much more sophisticated than that. I could see him on the cover of
GQ
, if they’d ever let a dragon on it.’’
Savian’s smile got a bit broader.
‘‘He’s also arrogant about some things, is overly confident in his abilities to control the world, and has a single-mindedness that I suspect is going to cause a lot of friction between us,’’ I added, sure that Gabriel had appeared in the doorway behind me.
‘‘Only if you let it,’’ the man himself answered, moving up to stand next to me. He was a little out of breath, as if he’d run the whole way. ‘‘You left out the part about my possessiveness,’’ he added with a warning flash of his eyes at Savian.
‘‘You’re a dragon—that goes without saying,’’ Savian said with a shrug and a quick glance at his watch. ‘‘Shall we proceed? Time is passing.’’
‘‘How much?’’ Gabriel asked.
‘‘Right to the point. I like that. You know what the standard payment is for a thief taker?’’
We shook our heads.
He named a figure that would keep Cyrene in bath salts for an entire decade.
‘‘I’ll triple it,’’ Gabriel said immediately, without so much as blinking an eye at the fact that he was talking about an amount in six figures.
‘‘That’s a lot of money,’’ I said in a low voice. ‘‘More than is necessary, I think.’’
‘‘On the contrary, that’s exactly the sum it would take to get me to tear up the order for your arrest,’’ Savian said.
‘‘Done,’’ Gabriel said, and shook the hand Savian offered. ‘‘Send your information to the Weyr Bank and I’ll have the money transferred to you.’’
Savian inclined his head in acknowledgment. ‘‘I feel obliged to warn you that other thief takers won’t be so accommodating.’’
‘‘Other thief takers? There’s more than just you and Porter after me?’’ I asked.
‘‘Oh, yes,’’ he said with some amusement. ‘‘You are the first person to escape Suffrage House in . . . come to think of it, I think you’re the first person to escape, period. The committee is not pleased with that fact. When you add Dr. Kostich’s benefaction in with the large sum of money the committee is offering for your recapture, you will no doubt understand why every thief taker available is even now descending on Europe in order to find you.’’
I groaned and plopped down on the edge of the windowsill. ‘‘Great. Just what I need—even more people after me.’’
Gabriel looked grave for a moment, but suddenly his dimples appeared. ‘‘It’s somewhat ironic, then, that Mayling will be in the last place anyone expects to find her—Suffrage House itself.’’
‘‘I have to get there first,’’ I said darkly.
He paid no attention to my black mood. ‘‘Come, little bird. As the thief taker noted, time is passing, and we must find your twin soon.’’
‘‘I seldom offer my help without recompense— busman’s holiday and all that—but as I find myself at a bit of a short end with regards to my current case, and as I am the best tracker in all the L’au-delà, I might be willing to help you locate your twin.’’
Gabriel’s eyes narrowed. ‘‘What would you want for helping us?’’
‘‘Oh . . .’’ Savian looked thoughtful for a moment before smiling at us both. ‘‘Let’s just say that all I’ll ask is a favor to be granted at a later time.’’
‘‘What sort of favor?’’ I asked suspiciously.
‘‘I have no idea until the time comes,’’ he answered.
Gabriel and I exchanged glances. He made a little shrugging movement that I took to mean he wasn’t overly concerned about the thought of owing a favor to Savian. I was less certain as to the wisdom of putting ourselves in his debt, but there didn’t seem to be much I could do about the situation.
‘‘Very well,’’ I agreed. ‘‘We’d be happy for the help. Cy’s trail is starting to get very faint.’’
Gabriel nodded toward the body. ‘‘I don’t suppose you are responsible for that?’’ he asked Savian.
‘‘No, although I would have liked to have been. He wasn’t much of a credit to the watch.’’
‘‘What are we going to do about him?’’ I asked, nodding toward Porter’s body.
‘‘He is of no matter to you now,’’ Gabriel said, dismissing both the body and the issue it presented.
‘‘Not directly so, but if he was asked to employ me, then we’ve still got to deal with whomever he was serving.’’
Gabriel made a face. ‘‘We will deal with that situation after we retrieve the phylactery.’’
‘‘We can’t just leave him here,’’ I pointed out. ‘‘I may not have liked him, but that doesn’t mean we can just stumble over his body and not say something to someone about it.’’
Savian sighed and pulled out a cell phone. ‘‘Can you still see your twin’s trail?’’
I slid into the beyond and moved over to the window. Outside it was a frail-looking fire escape. I came back to reality with a little nod. ‘‘Just barely.’’
‘‘You and the wyvern start following it. I’ll call the watch and let them know about Porter, and be with you as soon as I can.’’
‘‘How will you know where to find us if the trail is gone by then?’’ I asked.
He grinned at me. ‘‘Her trail will be gone . . . but not yours. I haven’t followed you around for nothing, Mei Ling.’’
Gabriel made a low growling noise that secretly delighted me. I didn’t want him thinking I was a weakling who needed constant protection, however, so I ignored it and lifted the window sash, gingerly climbing out onto the rickety fire escape.
Gabriel was right behind me as I made my way down to the ground.
‘‘I can’t follow you now, Mayling,’’ he said when I had tracked Cyrene’s footsteps to the street and popped back into our reality to tell him what I found. ‘‘You must walk alone. But you will call me when you find her destination.’’
That was a command, not a question. I nodded, wanting badly to kiss the very breath out of him, but was cognizant of the fact that we were standing on the sidewalk of a busy, if rundown, street. ‘‘Do you know what I’m thinking right now?’’ I asked.
His silver gaze focused on me for a few seconds. ‘‘Yes. And the feeling is mutual, although I favor honey over whipped cream. It’s stickier, and requires more licking to remove it.’’
‘‘A dragon with a sweet tooth—I’ll have to remember that,’’ I said, glancing around before finding a suitably empty, darkened doorway in which I could slip into the shadow world.
‘‘You are the sweetest morsel I have ever wanted,’’ he murmured and, ignoring propriety, pulled me into a kiss, pushing me hard against the wooden door behind me, his body aggressive and unyielding. I got the feeling he was deliberately trying to overwhelm me with his presence . . . and he was doing a damned fine job of that.
‘‘You think I am not dangerous and primitive?’’ he growled into my mouth, his hands sliding down my hips. I moaned into his mouth, rubbing myself against him, the want that never left me building to the point where all I could think of was joining myself with him.
He growled again, jerking me away from the door before he kicked it open. I had a glimpse of two startled faces of the employees of an adult video store before Gabriel shoved me through a side doorway, slamming the door behind us.
We were in a dark storeroom of some sort, nearly full of boxes and broken furniture, but that was all that registered in my consciousness before Gabriel had me pinned to the door, his fingers hard on my hips as he ground me against himself.
I didn’t hesitate, didn’t stop to point out that now was not the time and place. I did a little shimmy as I kicked off my jeans and underwear, lunging at him even as he grabbed me again, his body a burning brand against my front, the door a cold presence on my back.
‘‘You underestimate the true nature of a dragon, little bird,’’ Gabriel said, his lips burning a trail along my jaw. Sharp pinpricks touched my flesh as he grabbed my legs from behind, parting them wide around his hips. I moaned again, and hurriedly undid the buckle of his belt, desperate to get to his zipper. He was hot and hard and burned in my hands even as I knew he would burn within my body. ‘‘You think me so sophisticated that I am above base needs? I may look human, Mayling, but never forget I am a dragon first. And you, my delicious morsel, are my mate.’’
He slammed into me, making the door reverberate as I welcomed the intrusion. His mouth was everywhere, kissing, biting, and burning me. My heartbeat drowned out all but the sound of his rasping breath as his hips flexed again and again, his penis a molten brand that should have scorched parts too delicate to stand up to such abuse, but the contrary was true. I was already teetering on the brink of an orgasm, my body tightening around him as he pumped hard and fast and deep. This was a mating, pure and simple, an act of need so basic, our bodies moved in a violent rhythm that was as old as time. It was hard and fast and there was no softness, no tenderness . . . and yet it was a joining that was just as profound as any of the others. My spirit soared as Gabriel bit my shoulder, the skin of his neck as soft as silk. Gabriel roared his pleasure, his teeth as sharp on my shoulder as the burn of fire that seared my skin. That’s all it took to push me over the edge as well, and as I gave in to the climax, I knew with a soul-shaking certainty that I would not be able to exist without him.
Pounding on the other side of the door slowly returned awareness to me. I pulled my face from the crook of Gabriel’s neck, smugly pleased that he was breathing just as heavily as I was.
‘‘That was . . .’’ Words failed me. He slowly slid me down his body until I was standing on my own again. ‘‘That was . . .’’
‘‘That was something to remember me by while you’re shadow walking,’’ he said, his eyes as molten as mercury as he bent to retrieve my clothes.
Chapter Twenty-two
By the time I finally stood in front of a small office tucked away in a dark street of used bookstores near the British Museum, two hours had passed, I’d been spotted by—and successfully escaped from—three thief takers, and nimbly avoided a demon that suddenly appeared out of nowhere and tried to grab me.
‘‘The demon left after I slipped into the shadow world. Thank the gods demons can’t go there. I’m hiding in the alley behind the portal shop right now. I think I’ve given everyone else the slip. How fast can you get here?’’ I asked Gabriel.
‘‘With the afternoon traffic? Probably half an hour,’’ he answered, the sourness in his voice evident even through the cell phone. ‘‘Stay in the Dreaming, Mayling. You are safest there.’’
‘‘The thief takers can follow me if they know how,’’ I reminded him.
A muted sound of conversation followed before Gabriel’s voice spoke into my ear again. ‘‘Savian is with me. He does not know how to access it, so it is quite likely the others will not as well. It is an uncommon thing for a mortal to be able to enter the beyond.’’
‘‘Uncommon, but not unknown. I’ll go back there as soon as I hang up. What happened with Porter’s body? Did Savian tell the watch about us being there?’’
‘‘Unfortunately, he had to, yes.’’
I made a face at the blank cement wall of the building against which I was crouched. ‘‘I suppose it couldn’t be helped. Do you trust him, Gabriel? Savian, I mean?’’
The silence that followed was hard to interpret. ‘‘As a matter of fact, I think I do.’’
‘‘All right. We’re counting a lot on him not setting us up for a big fall. I just wish I knew why Cyrene went to a portal shop. What if she wasn’t taking a portal to Paris? What if someone else grabbed her and forced her to who knows where?’’
‘‘You have no reason to believe that anyone else is with her, although I agree with your assessment that she was not responsible for the death of the thief taker. Someone else must have done it, but it doesn’t follow that he or she coerced your twin into leaving.’’
I glanced down at my hand. ‘‘Well . . . there’s actually something I need to tell you about that. When I followed Cy’s tracks to the portal place, I slipped inside to have a look around. Her tracks led right up to the portal room, so I know she took one. But there was something else there . . .’’