Page 48 of Control's Undoing

Xavier rose slowly, leaning in until they were nearly nose to nose, not caring that she was deadly.“I will find the next clue.It’s in the words.”

“You better hope it is.”

“Or what,mon cheri?”he mocked.

A hand covered Xavier’s face, distracting him.Colum, hands covering both their faces, pushed them apart.The odd, silent action broke the rising tension, nearly startling a laugh out of Xavier.

“No more flirting,” Colum said.

Annie sighed.“You’re really bad at telling what’s flirting and what’s fighting.”

“Ah feck, this time it was fighting?”

“Yes,” Xavier said, then licked Colum’s palm where it still covered his face.Colum jumped, jerking his hand away, and Xavier smirked.

“We need to know where to go next,” Colum said.“I’ll re-familiarize myself with Wilde’s travels.”

“I’ll check in with the Trinity Masters in case there’s new information on that end,” Annie said, stepping back.

Xavier sat back down.“I’ll read and find the next clue.”

They separated, the lingering tension dissipating, and Xavier settled in.Hours passed as he lost himself in the wit and angst of Wilde’s writing.

When he reached the end, his stomach sank.Going back to the beginning, he read it again.

And again.

At several points, he stopped to eat, only to go back to the manuscript.

It was dark when Colum sat down across from him.“Xavier, what’ve you found?Where are we going next?”

Grimly, Xavier looked up.“I don’t know.”

Annie rubbed her eyes wearily,glancing away from the computer.She’d been staring at the screen too long.Xavier had re-read the next part of the manuscript God only knew how many times, and now Colum was going through it, hoping perhaps he could uncover some clue about where the next part might be.The most they’d managed to do was confirm that they were in possession of the first and second parts, since the new section picked up where the one from the painting left off.

But that was it.

Most annoying was the fact that they didn’t know how many sections they were looking for.There could be three or fifty-three.Who the hell knew?It made things tricky in terms of figuring out what their next step should be.

While Colum and Xavier studied the second part of the manuscript, she worked her way through the research Colum had compiled on Oscar Wilde, in case she found something he hadn’t before, and she was doing a deeper dive on her own, looking at all the auction sales of Oscar’s other works.

“We need a break,” Xavier declared, his voice grim.

Annie nodded.“Yes, please.”Breakfast and lunch had both been ordered from room service, and they’d continued to work as they ate.Dinner probably should have been ordered a couple of hours ago, but Annie hadn’t brought it up because she couldn’t stomach any more hotel food.She was hoping to convince them to actually leave the room.She wouldn’t mind taking a long walk to stretch her stiff muscles.Sitting on the hard couch while working on her laptop had done a number on her back.

Rising, she stretched, her hands on her hips as she leaned her shoulders back, trying to work out the kinks.She grinned when she realized Xavier was watching her, his gaze drifting to the breasts she’d been thrusting forward.

“Perv,” she teased.

Xavier laughed.“No, I’m a man who appreciates art.”

“You could at least pretend to be a gentleman.”

Xavier snorted.“You don’t need, or want, a gentle man.”He split the words up, and his look was knowing.This thing between them thickened the air, but it wasn’t complete.Not when it was just them.

They both looked over at where Colum sat hunched at the small circular table near the window, reading the manuscript for what had to be the third time.

“Colum,” Xavier said, cupping the Irishman’s cheek, forcing him to look away from the pages.“Look at me.Take a break.”

---