Page 31 of Control's Undoing

Once she and Colum moved apart, Xavier was there, leaning one shoulder casually on the wall by her door.“Where’s my good-night kiss?”

Annie twisted, lifting one brow in silent challenge, as she leaned forward to give Xavier the same peck she’d offered Colum, curious to see what he’d offer in return.

Xavier, the clever bastard, read her game plan before she’d finished writing it, because he was waiting for her.His hands gripped her cheeks a split second before she could kiss him.

“Mon cheri,” he murmured against her lips, throwing back the French term of endearment she’d offered him the day before.

Xavier understood the power of less is more.His lips danced across hers, the touch so featherlight she nearly opened her eyes to make sure he was really kissing her.Sight wasn’t necessary when he followed that soft touch with the slightest stroke of his tongue, the tip of it stroking her upper lip, not as a way of seeking entry but simply to take a taste.He followed that taste with an unexpected bite, his teeth playfully sinking into her lower lip, gripping onto it, the pressure measured, just short of causing her pain.

Annie tugged away, only an inch, her breath mingling with the heat of Xavier’s.She could smell the sweet scent of the wine he’d drunk on the plane.

“Is that all you’ve got?”she taunted.

Xavier’s smile was almost wolflike.“For now.After all, we stuck a pin in it.”

She huffed out a laugh, unsure if she was amused or frustrated.Probably both.

With some reluctance, she pulled away, glancing between Colum and Xavier.They were looking at each other, sharing a heated glance, and she hoped perhaps they’d share their own good-night kiss.Voyeurism wasn’t something she’d indulged in much, but the idea of watching Colum and Xavier together was suddenly ranking very high on her must-see list.

Annie was disappointed when Colum broke the connection, taking a step away.

Nodding at them both, he stepped across the hall and let himself into his room without another word.

“He knows what he wants but is scared to admit it,” Xavier stated.

“He is,” Annie agreed, not surprised that Xavier was that insightful.

They shared their own long, hungry look and then Xavier turned, walking to his own room.He waited by the door until she unlocked her own and stepped inside.

ChapterSix

Colum: How do you know when someone is flirting?

Franco: Well, you can be a bit of an ass so if they’re still talking to you after ten minutes, it’s flirting.

Colum: I’m not an ass.I just don’t like people.

Franco: Sit with that for a minute.

The Museum of Old Broadway was a small institution, tucked between a dentist and a law office on a quiet street in Brooklyn.Xavier’s opinion on museums wavered, from supportive due to the preservation and access they offered, to disgust with the way many museums had acquired their most famous pieces, and the museum culture of loaning art both to and from wealthy people.

This was not that kind of museum.

The rowhouse that housed the museum still felt like a residence.Very little had been done to convert it.The rooms were small and well-appointed but felt crowded even with the relatively few items on display.

The Yorick skull was in a place of honor on a pedestal in what had once been a first-floor bedroom.The skull was almost comically large up close, nearly the size of a football, and the black paint in the sunken sockets was flaking off.

Xavier bent, studying it from all angles.There were no telltale lines of an opening anywhere on it, but he’d been right—a rolled-up sheaf of papers would easily fit inside.The question was how to get them out.

He straightened, studying the podium on which the skull rested and considering dramatic action.

“Here she comes,” Colum said from the doorway, pulling Xavier’s attention away.

Xavier joined Colum in the hallway, deliberately bumping into the other man just to listen to his sharp little inhale.He’d been half joking last night in the hallway when he’d suggested they fuck but now regretted saying anything.

Not that he thought it was a bad idea.It was an excellent idea.

The problem was, now fucking these two—preferably together, but he’d do them separately if needed—was all he could think about.

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