As he’d said, the only thing Rowan knew about warping was through television shows and books, so he was nervous as he reached out to touch the shorter man’s arm. Lake had sandy brown hair in a high fade and sharp facial features. But it was Ivor Rowan looked at right before he was sucked into space.
Colors whirled around him, and he slammed his eyes shut, only opening them when he felt something solid underneath his feat. He opened his eyes, then promptly shut them again as dizziness swamped him. He’d gotten a glimpse of the hallway outside his apartment though.
“That’s fucking wild,” he gasped out as he tried to look around again. His legs felt like gelatin, wobbly and unsteady. He took a lurching step toward his door and slammed his hand on the wall to keep from falling. His gut turned over, bile rising up in his throat, and he swallowed it back, desperate not to throw up in front of these supernatural men.
“Don’t worry, that fucked up feeling doesn’t last,” Ivor said from close beside him.
Rowan had the urge to lean on him, but he didn’t because that would be crazy. The need to soak up some of his strength was still there, though. He took a cautious step, finding his legs back in working order. Mostly. He did stop to lean on the door before he fumbled for his keys.
The absolute devastation inside the apartment shocked him even though he’d known it was coming. He’d only caught a glimpse before but seeing everything he owned ripped to shreds still sickened him. Everything, absolutely everything, had been destroyed. Couch in pieces, pages from books all over the floor. Even the vertical blinds that had covered the sliding glass doors had been yanked down.
“We need to move fast,” Ivor reminded him gently.
Debris crunched beneath Rowan’s feet as he hurried into the bedroom. It took a while for him to find his bag because everything had been pulled from his closet and dresser. He quickly gathered up jeans, shirts, socks, and underwear before running back out of the room to get some toiletries from his bathroom. But real devastation hit when he went back in his bedroom and frantically searched for his Kindle. He finally found it only to let out a small whine when he found it crushed, the screen shattered.
Ivor came to the doorway. “We really do need to hurry. The draugr has the ability to mist into any place it wants that isn’t warded, so it could show at any time.”
Rowan still stared at the crushed reading device. He forced himself to drop it. At least he still had his phone. He started searching for the other charging cord, since he’d left the car one in the vehicle, and thankfully found it still intact. “Okay, I’m ready. Sort of. Not really ready for that woozy feeling again.” He looked at Ivor. “Are you sure that thing can’t get to me at your office?”
“I’m sure. We have powerful magical wards around it. Nothing with nefarious intentions can get past them.” He held out his hand and Rowan, somewhat mesmerized by the man’s powerful, gorgeous presence, just moved forward to take it. Mostly because he really wanted to touch him again but also because he felt almost compelled to. He wondered what Ivor was, because he certainly wasn’t human—Rowan just had no idea what because helookedhuman. Just kind of otherworldly sexy. Out of this world sexy.
But strangely, Rowan also felt a hint of comfort in touching him. It boggled his mind.
“Since we just warped, this one will be harder. Also because we’re going much farther. I’m going to put one arm around you to help. Will that be okay?”
Rowan nodded. They went back into the living room, and Rowan locked the door. Then Ivor wrapped a strong arm around his waist, putting his other hand on Lake. Rowan held his bag in one hand and also touched Lake.
As soon as Emory touched Lake, they were swept into that swirling mass of color again.
This time, it lasted much longer. It was like being sucked into a vacuum of space and completely disorienting. Rowan slammed his eyes shut, the strange weightlessness making him nauseous again. And when there was ground beneath his feet again, he would have fallen if it hadn’t been for Ivor’s arm still around his waist. He looked at him to find his eyes closed and his dark skin faintly pale. Apparently, it wasn’t only humans who found this kind of travel difficult.
His stomach lurched, and this time, he knew he couldn’t stop it. He quickly looked around and spotted a trash can and stumbled to it just in time to lose everything in his stomach.
Well, that is humiliating.
He sank to his knees and just worked to bring his body back under control. When the world finally stopped spinning, he slowly got to his feet and leaned against a wall. They were in a wide lobby with doors down two walls and an elevator at the end. There was a desk near the front door, but nobody was behind it. Probably because it was the middle of the night.
The elevator opened, and a man a little like Ivor stepped out. His skin was lighter, but he had similar long black hair and the same tall, leanly muscled build. He came up to Rowan and held out his hand, and all Rowan could think about was how rank his breath must be after puking.
“I’m Xavier. Welcome to Protective Solutions. I’m sorry you’re going through this but happy you reached out for help and agreed to come here.”
Rowan shook his hand but aimed his breath away from the man. “Thank you for helping me.”
“I’ve set up a bed for you in one of the offices upstairs. The draugr cannot reach you here—it can’t get through the magic.”
“Yes, the wards you guys told me about. You have no idea how wonderful that is.”
“I can imagine. You must be very clever to have eluded it the way you did.”
“It was more like dumb luck. Nothing like running through a motel parking lot buck naked while fleeing from a zombie.”
Xavier’s laugh was warm and low. “There is a shower here you’ll be able to use, and I made sure the bed is a good one, so I’m sure you’ll be able to get some much-needed rest. I imagine you haven’t gotten much sleep the last few days.”
“None really. I was too scared.” Between that and the horrible way the warp travel made him feel, that exhaustion was hitting Rowan hard. Plus, he felt instantly safe here.
He turned to look for Ivor because for some reason, that man made him feel safest. “Will you be staying here?” he asked, too tired to even hide how much he wanted that answer to be yes.
“Yes. There are many comfortable couches here, so I’ll be staying, too.” Ivor came to him and laid a hand on his arm. “A bunch of us will be sticking around to protect you. You can sleep here.”
