moaned into his mouth, rubbing myself against him, the want that never left me building to the point where all I could think of was joining myself with him.
He growled again, jerking me away from the door before he kicked it open. I had a glimpse of two startled faces of the employees of an adult video store before Gabriel shoved me through a side doorway, slamming the door behind us.
We were in a dark storeroom of some sort, nearly full of boxes and broken furniture, but that was all that registered in my consciousness before Gabriel had me pinned to the door, his fingers hard on my hips as he ground me against himself.
I didn’t hesitate, didn’t stop to point out that now was not the time and place. I did a little shimmy as I kicked off my jeans and underwear, lunging at him even as he grabbed me again, his body a burning brand against my front, the door a cold presence on my back.
‘‘You underestimate the true nature of a dragon, little bird,’’ Gabriel said, his lips burning a trail along my jaw. Sharp pinpricks touched my flesh as he grabbed my legs from behind, parting them wide around his hips. I moaned again, and hurriedly undid the buckle of his belt, desperate to get to his zipper. He was hot and hard and burned in my hands even as I knew he would burn within my body. ‘‘You think me so sophisticated that I am above base needs? I may look human, Mayling, but never forget I am a dragon first. And you, my delicious morsel, are my mate.’’
He slammed into me, making the door reverberate as I welcomed the intrusion. His mouth was everywhere, kissing, biting, and burning me. My heartbeat drowned out all but the sound of his rasping breath as his hips flexed again and again, his penis a molten brand that should have scorched parts too delicate to stand up to such abuse, but the contrary was true. I was already teetering on the brink of an orgasm, my body tightening around him as he pumped hard and fast and deep. This was a mating, pure and simple, an act of need so basic, our bodies moved in a violent rhythm that was as old as time. It was hard and fast and there was no softness, no tenderness… and yet it was a joining that was just as profound as any of the others. My spirit soared as Gabriel bit my shoulder, the skin of his neck as soft as silk. Gabriel roared his pleasure, his teeth as sharp on my shoulder as the burn of fire that seared my skin. That’s all it took to push me over the edge as well, and as I gave in to the climax, I knew with a soul-shaking certainty that I would not be able to exist without him.
Pounding on the other side of the door slowly returned awareness to me. I pulled my face from the crook of Gabriel’s neck, smugly pleased that he was breathing just as heavily as I was.
‘‘That was…’’ Words failed me. He slowly slid me down his body until I was standing on my own again. ‘‘That was…’’
‘‘That was something to remember me by while you’re shadow walking,’’ he said, his eyes as molten as mercury as he bent to retrieve my clothes.
Chapter Twenty-two
By the time I finally stood in front of a small office tucked away in a dark street of used bookstores near the British Museum, two hours had passed, I’d been spotted by-and successfully escaped from-three thief takers, and nimbly avoided a demon that suddenly appeared out of nowhere and tried to grab me.
‘‘The demon left after I slipped into the shadow world. Thank the gods demons can’t go there. I’m hiding in the alley behind the portal shop right now. I think I’ve given everyone else the slip. How fast can you get here?’’ I asked Gabriel.
‘‘With the afternoon traffic? Probably half an hour,’’ he answered, the sourness in his voice evident even through the cell phone. ‘‘Stay in the Dreaming, Mayling. You are safest there.’’
‘‘The thief takers can follow me if they know how,’’ I reminded him.
A muted sound of conversation followed before Gabriel’s voice spoke into my ear again. ‘‘Savian is with me. He does not know how to access it, so it is quite likely the others will not as well. It is an uncommon thing for a mortal to be able to enter the beyond.’’
‘‘Uncommon, but not unknown. I’ll go back there as soon as I hang up. What happened with Porter’s body? Did Savian tell the watch about us being there?’’
‘‘Unfortunately, he had to, yes.’’
I made a face at the blank cement wall of the building against which I was crouched. ‘‘I suppose it couldn’t be helped. Do you trust him, Gabriel? Savian, I mean?’’
The silence that followed was hard to interpret. ‘‘As a matter of fact, I think I do.’’
‘‘All right. We’re counting a lot on him not setting us up for a big fall. I just wish I knew why Cyrene went to a portal shop. What if she wasn’t taking a portal to Paris? What if someone else grabbed her and forced her to who knows where?’’
‘‘You have no reason to believe that anyone else is with her, although I agree with your assessment that she was not responsible for the death of the thief taker. Someone else must have done it, but it doesn’t follow that he or she coerced your twin into leaving.’’
I glanced down at my hand. ‘‘Well… there’s actually something I need to tell you about that. When I followed Cy’s tracks to the portal place, I slipped inside to have a look around. Her tracks led right up to the portal room, so I know she took one. But there was something else there…’’
Gabriel waited for me to continue.
‘‘Her trail was dusted with dragon scales, Gabriel.’’
I heard a brief intake of his breath. ‘‘You are certain?’’
‘‘Yes. I thought dragons didn’t like to use portals.’’
‘‘We don’t. We will if it is absolutely necessary, as it is now, but if at all possible, we prefer to use alternate means of travel. Go into the Dreaming, little bird. I will be there as soon as I can.’’
The portal shop Cyrene had visited was one of two located in England. Portals offered individuals with large amounts of money at hand the ability to travel across the fabric of reality in the blink of an eye. Portals were quirky things, however, and even the best of the portal masters had only a tenuous ability to predict exactly where the summoned portal would open.
I remained hidden in the shadow world until Gabriel arrived, Savian in tow. We wasted no time in querying the portalist, a weaver by the name of Jarilith, about Cyrene, but true to his kind, he refused to shed any light on where she’d gone.
‘‘Can you at least tell us if she was being forced to go somewhere?’’ I asked Jarilith, exasperated with his refusal to answer our questions.
‘‘It is illegal to portal anyone while they are under duress,’’ he said with a pointed look. ‘‘I could lose my license if I were to do so.’’
‘‘You’re going to lose a lot more than that if you don’t tell me where my twin went,’’ I said in a low, mean voice.
‘‘Mayling, please. I must insist that you allow me to be the bad cop,’’ Gabriel said as I slid the dagger at my ankle out of its sheath.
‘‘I have never subscribed to the sexist belief that women have to be good cop,’’ I said, twirling the dagger around one finger.
Jarilith’s eyes were riveted to it. He didn’t look unduly worried about me being armed, but his condescending expression had slipped just a little.
‘‘Nonetheless, you are far more suited to the good cop role,’’ Gabriel insisted.
‘‘I’m going to have to go against popular opinion and side with Mei Ling on this,’’ Savian said, watching us with a delighted twinkle in his eye. ‘‘She looks like she knows how to use that blade. What is that, a stiletto?’’
‘‘Sicilian castrating knife,’’ I said with a smile at the portal man.
‘‘She wins,’’ Savian told Gabriel.
‘‘Er…’’ Jarilith said, his expression starting to slide into worry.
‘‘I am a wyvern! I can do far more to this man than merely remove his genitalia,’’ Gabriel answered in an outraged tone, a little tendril of smoke emerging from between his lips as he spoke.
‘‘Eh…’’ Jarilith said, taking a step backward.
