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Ian s cheeks was adorable. Lucas couldn t help grinning. I was up
at five-thirty. Did you really want to get up that early?
Why were you up so early?
I m always up that early. As he stepped past Ian, he resisted
the urge to grab the back of his neck and kiss him senseless. His
hands were too full anyway, he justified. I ll finish these and then
run around the corner to get us some breakfast. Take your time in
there.
Ian hesitated in the doorway, his gaze palpable on Lucas s
back. Lucas started to turn around and ask if he was okay, but by
the time he d done so, the door was clicking shut.
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He dressed in a rush, uncaring of how rumpled his T-shirt was
before hitting the street. New York was waking up, cars thickening
traffic to hint at the clots that would plague motorists the rest of the
day, white collar workers in their sensible shoes marching briskly
along the sidewalk on their way to their offices. Though he spent a
lot of his down time here, he d never really liked it. It simply
offered the amenities he craved when he was so long gone from
civilization. If San Francisco had been located on the east coast, he
would have much rather set up home base there. Less pollution,
slower paced, more tolerance.
Considering he was jogging to get to the deli, though, perhaps
he fit in here better than he thought.
He had a bag of fresh bagels, two tubs of cream cheese, and a
tray of steaming coffees in hand when he returned to the room. He
had to hold the bag between his teeth in order to work the keycard,
but as soon as Ian saw him with his hands full, he hopped up from
where he d been sitting at the desk and rushed over to help ease the
load.
I ve been thinking about our plans, Ian said after they d
divvied out the food. He cradled his hot cup between his palms, his
fingers looking extra long where they lapped over each other.
Lucas tried not to stare, but it wasn t easy. He kept remembering
that hand around his cock, how tightly it had gripped, how Ian s
strength had surprised him. He d had a lot of fantasies about what
sex with Ian would be like, but the actual events, even if all they d
done was suck each other off, surpassed everything he d ever
wanted.
Lucas rested his ankle on his knee, trying to discreetly hide his
rising erection. Now was not the time for this, no matter how much
he might wish otherwise. What did you come up with?
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Droplets of water still clung to the ends of his hair,
occasionally losing the battle with gravity and spilling down the
side of Ian s sculptured cheek. Well, you have to finish finding
the order in the tablet shards, right?
Right.
And I have to find some way of interpreting them.
That s the hope.
The resources I need aren t your typical public texts, so I can t
very well just pop on down to the corner bookstore and pick
something up.
Right. But you said you didn t want to put anybody you knew
here in New York in danger, either.
Ian nodded. My best odds, frankly, are with my books back at
the museum.
Lucas waited for him to elaborate, but nothing came. I thought
we agreed Sultis would be watching your work. There is no way
for us to get to those books safely.
What if the authorities were notified?
What are you talking about?
Ian set aside his coffee without taking a sip and leaned closer.
A bright gleam had appeared in his eye at some point, a fervor
Lucas was starting to recognize. Sooner or later, the events at the
dig are going to be discovered, no matter how much Sultis tries to
hide it. We were supposed to contact the museum once a fortnight
with our findings, so they could be ready for whatever we brought
back with us. As far as we know, they re not even aware yet that
there was any foul play. I could contact London authorities now,
report the incidents, and we can use their protection to keep us safe
from Sultis until we ve translated the tablets.
Lucas had considered any kind of contact with the museum as
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suicide. He still did. Sultis had any number of British contacts, and
there was no saying they would even be able to land safely on
British soil without Sultis finding out. He hadn t said so to Ian
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