Part 49 (2/2)

It occurred to me vaguely that with the variety of things he shared that they had in that world-motorcycles, automobiles, these...elevators-much of it doing things ”automatically,” that there might be a reason Noc ran around the Winter Palace frequently to ”keep fit.”

If one didn't even have to climb stairs in this world, such inactivity could make one quite unhealthy.

This thought, vague as it was, flew from my head as a bing was heard and I looked in that direction.

A set of the golden doors was sliding open in a way that made me stare in shock, but I had no time to recover. Noc's hand left my face, grabbed mine, and he pulled me to them, through them, and we were as he said, in a little box.

And that box was really quite little. I'd been in privies that were larger.

Not to mention, Noc told me it was going to move.

Upward.

Taking us with it!

I felt a frisson of panic gather at the small of my back and my eyes shot to Noc's.

”Noc, I'm uncertain-”

My attention s.h.i.+fted instantly to the doors as they slid closed.

My heart bolted up to my throat and my body locked.

Then my back hit the wall of the box, Noc's body pressing it there, and both his hands were at my jaw tipping it up.

Before I could draw in a breath, his mouth crashed down on mine, his tongue slid inside and the panic disappeared.

There was no box.

There was no world.

There was only Noc, his touch, his taste...him.

He kissed me even as I felt my belly fall (and it wasn't only because of his kiss).

He kept kissing me even as I heard the soft whoosh noise of the doors opening.

He stopped kissing me to grab my hand and pull me down a carpeted hallway that was wide and elegant and exceptionally brightly lit.

I was breathing with difficulty, trying to focus on walking without falling, something that was not easy considering my focus wanted to be on the tingling occurring at my lips, along my skin, and between my legs.

He stopped us at a door, pulled the tiny envelope the man gave him out of his front pocket and opened it. He then took a flat, rectangular doodad from it, touched it to a s.p.a.ce above the door handle and I blinked in surprise as I heard a whirring noise at the same time a section at the top of the area Noc touched with the doodad lit green.

”My word,” I whispered, staring at the green light.

How could Noc say this world had no magic?

It seemed to be everywhere!

Noc opened the door, pulled me inside and stopped us both.

He touched something on the wall and the s.p.a.ce we were in illuminated.

Just.

Like.

That!

And there was more magic!

”My word,” I breathed.

He took a placard that was hanging from the back door handle and suspended it from the front, pushed the door closed, flicked a metal doohickey at the jamb that looked like a rather clever door latch that could not be opened from the outside (an excellent safety feature in this, what appeared to be, large public inn), and then he caught my hand again.

Before I could take in where I was and all that had happened, I was standing at the foot of a large bed, my back to it, Noc standing in front of me.

I looked up at him.

”Noc-”

”Shut up, baby.”

I blinked up at him.

He twisted at the waist, and with a flick of his fingers, he flung the doodad across to a bureau behind him. It landed on the top but even before it did, he'd twisted back to me.

”Noc-”

He lifted his hands to my jaw again and I quieted.

”Missed you,” he said softly.

I stared into his eyes.

He did.

It was written right there, right there for me to see.

With a wide variety of other things.

All of which I loved.

”And I you,” I replied.

”Done missin' you, and really f.u.c.kin' glad I am,” he stated.

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