Galen stiffened and spun around to face the man in the wide arched doorway. Adrenaline raced through him and his breath quickened. At first all he could see were shadows, and then the man stepped into the moonlight. He wore no undershirt beneath his breastplate and the studded leather fringe that hung from his waist did nothing to hide his muscular thighs. A teasing smile played on his lips and his eyes held mysteries in the shadows and light. Galen couldn’t tell what color they were or what the man intended. “Would you kiss these lips now that I stand before you?”
Galen’s breath caught on a wave of recognition. “Nick?” Wait, no. Not quite, but similar. This man’s hair came to his shoulders in thick waves, unlike Nick’s short, rumpled style groomed to look careless. Old scars ridged his arms and legs. And though Nick worked out, this man had hard muscles all over as if he drove himself all the time. In fact, now that he looked at him closer, Galen was uncomfortably reminded of his sexy statue. They even had scars in the same places.
The back of his neck prickled with uneasy awareness. If he turned around, would he still see it standing in its place behind him? He wavered between looking over his shoulder and keeping his eyes on the strange man before him. It was a ridiculous thought—statues didn’t wake up and move around. He really needed to get away from this place and take a break if he was having thoughts like that.
“Nick? That is an interesting pet name, not one you have used before. What does it mean?”
Galen stumbled back, almost falling as the man moved closer. His hands caught a hold of metal and he clung to the reassurance that he hadn’t lost his entire grip on reality. This man wasn’t the statue come to life. “Who the hell are you?”
The coaxing smile died and his eyes widened. “You don’t remember? A part of you always does. Could it have been so long this time?” He tapped Galen’s chest just over his heart. The physical contact was another small comfort. The strange man wasn’t a figment of his imagination, though Galen supposed an intruder wasn’t a better option. “How can you not remember me, remember us?”
Galen looked over his shoulder at the control panel on the wall. He needed a better nighttime security system, maybe even a guard. “I don’t know how you got in here or what possessed you to dress like that, but I suggest you leave before my security comes.” The man did not react the way Galen expected him to with that desperate gamble. Instead, a puzzled look crossed his face as strong hands settled on Galen’s hips.
“I do not understand the words you say. You look different, yet I know it is you born again to bring me to life.” Those hands on his hips tugged, and Galen gasped as groin met groin with a hot tingle of awareness. Oh yes, hard all over. Damn, it had been so long since he had another man against him. And the resemblance to Nick made it even more disorienting. “Kiss me, Lykon. Make me whole again.”
Lykon? Galen’s brain whirled, and he latched onto the only thing that made sense to his muddling thoughts. “You’re the one who spoke earlier today.” Galen hadn’t been losing his mind when he thought he heard the words earlier, even if he was losing his mind for real now.
“I will always find a way to reach out to you.”
A hot man who just happened to look an awful lot like a cross between Galen’s statue and an old lover, dressed up in ancient gear…. Oh, what the hell, Suzane said to live a little. Galen refused to believe he was having a mental breakdown. So that meant this had to be a dream brought on by equal parts of obsession over the statues and Nick. The situation was too weird otherwise.
Galen ran wondering hands over the man’s shoulders instead of pulling away. It felt kind of nice to have him so close. In a strange way it felt familiar too. And the familiarity had nothing to do with his memories of Nick.
“And how am I supposed to bring you to life? I have to say that, for a pickup line, it’s not one I’ve heard before,” Galen murmured. The man smelled as if he’d just come off a battlefield with only enough time to dump some water over himself for a cursory wash. And for some reason the lingering scent of blood, sweat, and leather did not turn Galen off; instead it stirred a primal and ancient instinct in his gut. It made him dizzy, and the stirring inside him turned toward a tugging for release.
“Well, for you and me it starts with a kiss.” The man slid his arms around him, and he pulled Galen closer. His pulse jumped at the sensation of leather, metal, and warm muscles pressed up against him. He found himself gripping the strange man’s biceps, and his thoughts spun in a tighter circle. A kiss. There was no harm in one little kiss between strangers. He’d done that too many times to count. Yet this was different. It was so much more than a kiss, and Galen couldn’t pinpoint why.
“Kind of like Sleeping Beauty,” Galen murmured.
The man was shorter than Galen by a couple of inches, and he lifted his head to graze his lips along Galen’s jaw. “So smooth…. I think I like you clean shaven. Tell me more of this Sleeping Beauty.”
“Oh, you know, evil fairy godmother who curses a princess to sleep until a handsome prince wakes her with true love’s kiss. My sister and I loved the Disney version when we were kids.” Lips smiled against his jaw, and Galen shivered when the man turned his head so the rough rasp of whiskers scraped his skin.
“I think the tale may have some similarities to our own. We should share them another time. Right now it feels too good to have you in my arms again. It’s been centuries since I last kissed you.”
Before Galen could ask for the story now, the man’s lips settled over his own, and his thoughts scattered. The museum fell away and the sense of rightness, of coming home, came over him when the man’s mouth moved over his. His firm lips nudged Galen’s apart, and his breath caught as his tongue swept in. Galen pressed himself closer with a groan. A strong hand gripped his ass, fingers flexing and kneading, and the hot rush of desire snapped Galen’s immobility.
His arms came around the man’s shoulders, and Galen held him tight as they kissed. His taste brought an ache to Galen’s throat, a yearning for a man who seemed so familiar and yet so unattainable.
Lips were bruised and stung from the intensity of their kiss, and desperation filled him. More. Galen needed more. He needed skin on skin. He needed to feel alive again, to glory in surviving another battle, another day.
What the…. Galen jerked back, and his breath came in quick pants. He stared agape at the man standing before him, a man who had subtly altered in Galen’s perception. “What’s happening to me?” A presence inside of him had come to the surface; another man’s thoughts crept into his head. And before Galen’s stunned mind could force out the invasion, Dexios gathered him close again, and the intruder took control.
“Dexios,” Lykon whispered. His hands fisted in Dexios’s hair, and his throat tightened so much that no more words could force their way out.
“There you are, Lykon.” Dexios tightened his arms, and a flicker of a smile touched his lips. “Kiss me again. I’ve missed you.”
Lykon groaned and tugged his head back over. Desperation exploded as their mouths met again. The need to apologize, to beg for forgiveness, disappeared under the wave of need and heat. They’d almost lost each other, but they were together for the moment and it wasn’t too late. His hand slid down to the ties holding Dexios’s armor, and something wrenched deep inside him.
Galen came rushing back into himself as the other presence faded. He jerked away, bringing a hand to his temple to ward off the dizziness. His knees buckled, and he had the faint impression of strong arms catching him before darkness fell.
“GALEN, for the love of God, wake up.”
Galen groaned as someone shook him. He turned to roll over, moving to pull the covers over his head and let out a squawk when he fell to the floor instead. He sat up, looking around at his office in confusion. Suzane crouched down next to him, her brow furrowing. “Are you okay? You landed hard.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face and glanced at the couch with a frown. He didn’t remember falling asleep there. “Yeah, sure. W
hat time is it? Did you bring any coffee?” As he stood up, Suzane’s nostrils flared and her mouth tightened. Uh-oh. “What’s going on?”
She punched him on the arm. “You fell asleep without turning on the alarm. What has gotten into you lately? We could’ve been robbed. You could’ve been killed. And you have the nerve to ask me for coffee.”
Galen caught her hand before she whacked him again. When Suzane got all worked up she sometimes forgot to hold back. The spiky red hair today was enough warning of her mood. “Of course I set the alarm. I always do as soon as you leave.” Then the events of the night before flooded back and his cheeks heated. He had turned it off again before he got thoroughly kissed by a crazy man who broke in dressed up in ancient gear, and passed out in the process.
He was such an idiot. Not just an idiot either. His abstinent streak must have done him more harm than good if he swooned from one kiss. This couldn’t be more embarrassing.
“You might as well go ahead and tell me,” Suzane said in disgust. “I can see it all over your face. You forgot, didn’t you?”
“No, I set it, but I wanted to do one last check before I left.” Galen looked away and tugged on his ear. “I passed out in the new exhibit room.” He refused to mention the strange man. Dexios. If Suzane knew that he’d let an intruder kiss him after everything else, she’d drive him to the nearest hospital herself.
The tightness faded from her eyes and lips, replaced with concern. Her hand went to his forehead. “How are you feeling now? How’d you get back here?”
Galen glanced at the couch again and ran a hand through his tangled hair. “I have no idea. I must’ve roused and stumbled back. I don’t remember. And before you bring it up, no, I’m not going to the doctor. I feel fine. It’s never happened before, and it’s not likely to happen again.”
In truth, he felt a little strange. Not sick, just… off… as though a door inside of him had been unlocked. He couldn’t explain why the thought occurred to him, only that it seemed right.
Last night had just been a weirdass dream, and it might be time to see a psychiatrist if he couldn’t tell reality from a dream. Intruders didn’t kiss the people who caught them breaking and entering. If the victims were lucky, they just got knocked out while the intruders stole everything they could.
“I just need to eat breakfast and drink some coffee. It had gotten late, and I was getting ready to grab dinner. That’s probably why I passed out.”
Suzane shook her head and dropped her hand. “Well, you go do that, and I’ll check the place to make sure nothing’s been touched, though I doubt it. Not even you could sleep through being robbed.”
Galen shouldn’t be content for her to look in his place, but his head remained in a fog, so he nodded and gave her a distracted wave instead of going with her. Another flash of concern crossed Suzane’s face. He ignored it and turned toward his bag on the floor next to the couch. Minutes later he sat at his desk with a hot cup of coffee and his laptop booted up. He had to find out more about those statues. Not knowing was driving him crazy, and the mysteries kept piling up.
His phone rang, and Galen’s heart gave a strange little twist when he saw the name on the screen. Nick. Wow. Galen’s one and only what-if had called back, and here he’d been thinking of cutting his losses and moving on. What little they’d had before had been good. He now suspected they’d just touched the surface of how good it could be.
“Hey, Nick.” Galen shifted on his chair and leaned forward to set his elbows on the desk. “Thanks for calling me back.”
“Finally. I didn’t think you were ever going to answer. I’ve been calling since last night.” Any awkwardness at hearing from him again after all this time faded at the excitement in Nick’s voice. “Are you serious about the statues? How the hell did you find them?”
Galen frowned and his stomach tightened. There was no “hi, how you doing” from him. Despite Nick’s excitement, the greeting seemed impersonal and not at all what he expected. Not at all like the Nick he’d known.
“Why don’t we meet for breakfast, and I’ll tell you what I know? If you’re interested we can come back to the museum and you can take a look at the statues. Do you think you’d be able to give me some insights into them?”
“Actually, I’m on my way to the museum now. I’ll stop and pick us up something.” Before Galen could reply, Nick hung up.
Galen stared at the phone. Nick was fired up, and to his disappointment it wasn’t over seeing him. He got up to see if he had any spare clothes in the closet off the small office bathroom in the base of the tower. He didn’t want to know how he looked after he’d slept on the couch all night. It was stupid to worry about his appearance when Nick was coming by on business, but Galen found himself changing and washing up as best as he could. When he got back to his office, Suzane was waiting for him with her notebook in hand.
Her eyebrow rose as she took in his dress pants and matching vest. “You don’t have a meeting on your schedule for this morning.”
“It just came up.” Galen buttoned the cuffs of his shirt and resisted the urge to take one last look in the mirror. “How’s my museum? Everything secure?”
“Yep, you lucked out. I thought for a moment there was something weird with the statue of the two men kissing. It turned out to be my imagination.”
Galen froze as he reached for his hairbrush in the desk drawer. “Wait a minute, what did you say? Two men kissing? Not just one?”
“Of course two, it wouldn’t make much sense with one even if the others are unfinished.” Suzane gave him a look that accused him of being simpleminded. “Are you sure you’re not sick?”
Galen leapt for the fireman’s pole and zipped down. His palms had broken out into a sweat and it made for a faster trip than he normally had. He landed hard, the shock jolting through his entire body.
“Galen! Are you trying to break your damn neck? Hold up, wait for me.”
He bolted through the workshop and raced toward the new exhibit. It was early enough in the morning that nobody noticed his mad dash or heard Suzane yelling as she chased him. As Galen rounded the corner, he stopped and caught a hold of the wall. His heart lurched then sped up again, and the reaction had nothing to do with his sprint. The first statue stood there complete, the two men caught up in a passionate embrace.
“What the fuck is going on?” Galen walked out of the room, gesturing wildly. He was losing his goddamned mind. That was the only explanation. Or maybe he was still in the middle of a very vivid, very real dream. He counted to ten and turned back to steal another peek at the statue.
It stood there, solid and utterly changed. It was everything he had imagined it would be and so much more. A part of him wanted to freak out, but he pushed it back for the moment so he could fully appreciate the changes.
“Oh wow.” Galen’s breath came out in a rush, and he took a step closer as Suzane caught up to him. Whatever she said didn’t register as he approached and ran reverent hands over Dexios and Lykon. They were gorgeous and looked as if they’d been cast at the same time as one piece instead of two that fit together. Lykon was pressed up against Dexios, hands buried in his hair, the passion between them almost palpable. “How?”
“How what?” Suzane asked in a disgruntled tone. “What has gotten into you? I swear you’ve been all moony over these statues from the moment they showed up. See, they’re fine, just like how we left them.”
Galen shot her a startled look, and the uneasiness returned twice as bad. She had to have seen the changes. He couldn’t be the only one who remembered the statue being half-completed. He called over Ella when she walked into the room carrying her paint equipment. “Do you see anything different about this one?”
Ella tilted her head and pursed her lips while she studied it and shook her head. “I see two dudes doing the tongue tango, Mr. Kanellis.”
“Yes, that’s how it is now, but that’s not how it looked yesterday.” Galen flung his hands out gesturing toward the first
statue, then around to encompass the other three, which had remained unchanged. Only the first had become whole. “Yesterday it was one man.”
Ella’s eyes widened and she exchanged a silent glance with Suzane who patted him on his arm. “No, it’s been the two ever since you found them,” Suzane said in a gentle voice.
Galen fisted a hand in his hair and groaned when another thought struck him. How would he explain this to Nick? He was on his way over here at this moment, expecting to see four unfinished statues. Galen would never be able to convince him it wasn’t a hoax.
“We’re so screwed.”
“You’re worrying me.” Suzane caught his arm. “What’s going on?”
He’d like to know that himself. He pulled Suzane out into the hallway so Ella couldn’t overhear and sat down on the bench. He could still see the statue through the archway, and the sight mocked him. “I think I’m still dreaming. I must be dreaming. Pinch me.”
Suzane pinched his arm hard enough to leave a bruise. “Ow!” Galen jerked away and glared at her. “Not so hard.”
She shrugged, looking unapologetic. “Gentle wouldn’t have gotten the point across. You’re not asleep and neither am I. And apparently you see something different with this first statue than the rest of us.”
“So I’m crazy.”
“I wouldn’t say that. You’ve been… preoccupied lately, in your own world, and I’ll admit it bothers me, only because I don’t want you to lose sight of the rest of the world.” She took his hand and laced their fingers together. “There has to be an explanation for everything. We might not see it now, but we’ll find it.”
Galen stared at his hands. She seemed to be taking this awfully calmly. Maybe she was just humoring him. “Do you believe in ghosts?”
“Of course.”
Galen stared at her, a little thrown off by her immediate agreement. “No, I mean real ghosts, like haunting-an-object ghosts.”
Suzane rolled her eyes and shot him a look of fond exasperation. “I didn’t think you meant Casper. There has to be something else going on, because none of us are crazy, and there’s been something strange about them since the first day. For God’s sake, Galen, they appeared in the storeroom out of nowhere. We both know that someone couldn’t have gotten in all those crates without one of us knowing about it. And we’ve found no documentation on them at all.”
Make Me Whole Page 4
