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“I’ll be right here,” he reiterated. “Just hold onto me, and I’ll take us through. You can even close your eyes if it helps.” He cupped my head and pressed my face into his chest.
I closed my eyes and focused on what was directly in front of me: him. I inhaled his spicy masculine scent and tried to ignore the soft hum that was emanating from the portal. Well, not quite a hum, more like if silence had a sound. I listened instead to Mateo’s heartbeat, the steady thud-thud, thud-thud, thud-thud strong and comforting as he guided me toward pitch-black nothingness.
I clutched at his skin-tight shirt, just to have something to hold on to. His muscles twitched under my fingers, and I focused on that instead of the slight tingling that washed over my body. It wouldn’t be nothingness if he was here, right? As long as he existed, so did I. And he was definitely here, completely solid and very real.
Strong fingers clasped my chin firmly and tilted my head up. “You can open your eyes now, Eva.”
His beautiful golden eyes met mine. I blinked several times, mesmerized. Were we through already? Why had I been so afraid, again?
I exhaled loudly, not realizing I’d been holding my breath. “I’m still alive. And so are you!” I patted his chest, just to be sure.
Mateo grinned down at me, his eyes focused not on my eyes but my lips. “Very much so.”
When he pulled me closer, my heart raced at the feel of his strong body against mine. The joy of realizing I was still whole combined with the closeness had me leaning into him on tiptoe as my lips sought to close the gap between us.
He groaned when our lips finally met. His hands gripped my waist tightly, pulling me closer as his tongue teased mine. My whole world narrowed to just us in that moment. Nothing else mattered. I could feel every inch of him pressing against me, hard and ready. Our tongues danced together in a sensual rhythm that sent sparks through my veins.
His strong fingers tangled in my hair as he took control of the kiss. His touch was electric, sending shockwaves throughout my entire body. I moaned into his mouth as desire tickled in my belly, radiating lower and making me hyper-aware of every inch of him. His scent enveloped me, a mix of musk and spice, but also something else—something uniquely him that I found myself craving more of.
Then his body tensed. With a groan, he broke the kiss. His eyes darted to the side for a brief moment before meeting mine again. I looked around, feeling more than a little confused. The portal had set me up, and the kiss had knocked me out.
We were inside a library. Not a public library, but a private one in a home. It was like stepping back in time. Old wooden shelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling, filled with leather-bound volumes. The air was musty with the smell of old books. A chandelier hung from the high ceiling, casting a warm glow over the room. Along one wall was a large fireplace with two oversized armchairs in front of it.
I was still in a daze when the door creaked open, and a young, pretty woman with rosy cheeks and a wild mop of auburn hair stepped in. She was curvy, the type of figure you’d call Rubenesque. She looked familiar, but it took me a second to place her. Then it clicked. She’d been a bride in a gorgeous glittering gown, dancing in the arms of her very powerful groom. I was staring at none other than the dragon’s wife!
The woman grinned at Mateo. “Oh, it’s you. I was wondering who would be portaling in unannounced. Desmon’s out right now, but he should be back tonight.” Then her eyes landed on me. “I see you brought a guest.”
Guest sounded so much better than prisoner, or suspect.
Mateo cleared his throat. “This is Eva. She’s helping me with the missing artifact case.”
She shook my hand. “Nice to meet you, Eva. I’m Carly.” Then she frowned and put her hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay? You look a little—”
“This was her first time traveling through a portal,” Mateo jumped in.
“Oh, of course!” she said. “Yes, first-time portal travel can be a little unnerving.”
Deciding that blaming a portal instead of a kiss for my disorientation was probably for the best, I ran with it. “It is indeed.”
“I find having something to drink and sitting down for a bit after helps,” Carly said. “Would you like a coffee or tea? Soda? We also have watermelon or lime-flavored sparkling water, if that’s more your thing.”
“Did you say watermelon?” I loved watermelon-flavored anything, especially if it was the fake candy scent kind.
“I sure did.” Carly beamed.
“I’d love some, thank you.”
“Great! I’ll bring you some, and let Desmon know you’re here when he gets back.”
“Can you get Elana to contact Seth as well?” Mateo asked. “I’m actually here for him. I’d call myself, but I figure he’ll come faster if Elana does the asking. Knowing him, he’ll take forever on purpose if he knows it’s me looking for him.”
“Sure thing.” She bounced out the door.
Mateo turned to me when we were alone again. “Elana is Seth’s mom,” he said, as if that explained everything.
“Who’s Seth?”
“The wizard who made the portal spell you just stepped through, and who’s going to help us track down your brother.”
