Make Me Whole (12 page)

Her expression lightened, and she beamed at him. “Perfect. I’ll leave you two to discuss the terms.” Her eyes slid down to the takeout bags. “Mmm, Pauli’s, good choice.” She unlocked the door and waved him on through. “Do you know where his office is?”

“Yep, I was here yesterday morning.”

“Oh yes, I forgot, sorry. Once the day is over, my brain shuts off. Since you already know your way, I’ll be off.” She headed down the street toward the streetcar stop with a backward wave.

Nick was struck by the quiet stillness of the museum after the heavy door shut and the lock engaged. It was even quieter than his office at the bank headquarters. Sometimes Nick had to turn his radio on to fill the silence when he worked late. Galen didn’t seem to have the same need, though he’d think that a place like this would almost have to hold ghosts.

He climbed the spiral staircase up into Galen’s office and found him moving a small table to sit in front of one of the large arched windows. There was something romantic about it with the view and the setting in the old fire station tower. The sun was lowering in a series of brilliant reds and purples, and the light streamed through the window, bringing out the warmth in the brick walls and the honeyed wood of the table. Maybe it would be better if they ate at the desk.

“How’s it going?”

Galen jumped and spun to stare at him with wide eyes until he seemed to register Nick’s presence. Then he straightened with a smile and scooped up a stack of papers. He wore another dress pants and vest combo, this one a charcoal with a deep red shirt. Nick preferred the suits to the clothes Galen used to go barhopping in. It was still sexy yet not so blatant. “I was expecting you to call when you got here. For a moment there, I thought you were Dexios.”

“I met Suzane coming out, and she let me in.” Nick came into his office and set the bags down on the table. “Do I look that much like him?”

Galen cocked his head to the side and studied him. “Not so much. It’s more in the stance, I think. There are similarities, and in the shadows he reminded me of you.”

Somehow the statement reassured Nick, though he couldn’t say why. He opened the bags and began pulling out containers of soup and salad, leaving the pasta alone to stay warm. “I wouldn’t have recognized her if she hadn’t said something. She looks the complete opposite today.”

“She likes to play around with styles, that’s for sure. It’s helpful, though. I can gauge her mood depending on her hair and dress.” There was more to it, Nick was sure, but he didn’t press Galen for details when he didn’t offer. If there had been one thing he learned about Galen it was that if he didn’t want to discuss something, he didn’t. There was no sense in them starting off the evening butting heads.

“Do you have any idea what you could’ve done to have caused Dexios to appear when he did? Has anybody else here had any similar experiences?” Nick asked instead as he arranged the table with the napkins and plasticware.

“I haven’t asked anybody else if they heard the statues talking like I did the first day. And no one’s mentioned anything strange other than the fact that they appear to be unfinished.” Galen dropped the papers on his desk, opened a small fridge nearby, and pulled out two bottles of water before he kicked it shut again. “I did skim through the security recordings since the statues appeared in the storeroom and didn’t see anything else strange. So I have no idea what could’ve motivated Dexios to appear when he did.”

“I have pasta fagioli soup and Italian sausage with white bean, which do you prefer?” Nick held up the cartons of soup as Galen set the drinks on the table.

“Doesn’t matter, I like them both. You pick because I’m laying claim to the chicken cannelloni I spied in the bag. It smells like heaven.”

Nick grinned and handed him one of the soups. “That’s okay, I got two.” They sat down and spread out the feast, the scent of garlic and rosemary rising in the steam as they took the lids off the soups. Nick dunked a slice of bread in his pasta fagioli as he considered the problem. “So did you try again? To replicate what you did before?”

“Yeah, last night before I decided to check the security footage. I begged Dexios to come out and talk to me. I didn’t even hear a whisper in return.” Galen nudged Nick’s ankle, and the brief touch made Nick want more. Why not agree to a date, a dinner somewhere quiet where they could talk about nothing and everything? “Maybe it’s too soon to bring it up, but I’m dying to know if you’ve decided what you’re going to do about the Dexios Collection.”

“I’m not taking them anywhere. They belong with your exhibit.” The smile that crossed Galen’s face brought a pang to his heart. It was a genuine smile, not one of practiced seduction. He liked this smile more. “Maybe the both of us will be able to find the trigger tonight.”

“Or it’s just as possible that Dexios got what he was after and now wants nothing else to do with me.” Galen crumpled a napkin in his hand and let his spoon drop back into the container of soup. “You saw it. It was like I was possessed with the part of me that recognized Dexios and disappeared into the statue. Maybe that’s why he didn’t appear again. Whatever was inside of me is now back with him.”

“No, that would imply it’s over, and somehow I doubt that. We’re just getting started. After all, there are three other statues to complete.” Galen stared down at his soup, stirring it, his expression troubled, and Nick touched the back of his hand. Maybe other things had changed; maybe he could get Galen to open up some and let him know what was bothering him. “What is it?”

“I’m not sure what made Dexios come to me, but what if kissing him is what completed the first statue? If what you’re saying is true, maybe whatever was inside of me isn’t entirely gone, and it’s not going to stop with the kissing.” Galen pushed aside his soup and leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table, his expression serious. “Can I tell you something without you taking it the wrong way?”

Nick’s gut clenched. He thought he might have an idea where Galen was going with this, and he already didn’t like it. Dammit, he didn’t have the right to not like it. Galen was a free man. He could do whatever the hell he wanted. Even if it meant carrying on with Dexios. “Don’t worry; I’ll keep my baser instincts under control.”

Galen searched Nick’s face for a minute before nodding as if he’d made a decision. “The night Dexios appeared I had an urge—no, it was stronger than that, almost a compulsion—to kiss the statue. I even got close to slipping under his arms. Last night I had the same compulsion to interact with the second statue, and I resisted. Maybe that’s why he didn’t appear.”

“And you think if he does you’re going to have to suck his cock if we want the next statue to be completed?” That came out harsher than Nick meant. He could tell by the way that Galen flushed and looked away that it bothered him. It unsettled Nick even more because it wouldn’t have bothered Galen in the past.

“It’s just a theory. I can’t think of anything else I did that was different.”

Nick had to admit, Galen’s theory made sense, though he couldn’t see how it was as simple as that. If completing the statues just involved sex, he was pretty sure Dexios would’ve been able to seduce somebody into it a long time ago. Besides, the family journals indicated that a relationship was needed and that the statues only served as a kind of barometer for that relationship. He’d have to read and refresh his memory, but Nick was pretty sure that the relationship had to be between one of Dexios’s and Lykon’s descendants. And he couldn’t see how that had anything to do with Galen. Until yesterday morning, Nick hadn’t spoken to him in months.

“I’m sorry, that came out wrong, and I did promise to keep it together.” Nick pushed the rest of his food aside, his appetite gone. “What do you think about going forward with your idea? Are you going to try it?”

Galen shrugged and finally met his gaze. “I’m not sure at this point.”

G
ALEN
watched the conflicting emotions on Nick’s face and understood the struggle. He had the same obsession to see those statues completed. Galen had envisioned them whole even before he’d known it was possible. Now that they had a direction they could go in, a theory they could try, Galen couldn’t help but feel ambivalent.

He wouldn’t have a problem experimenting if it only involved himself. Dexios was gorgeous, and he could kiss like the devil. If having a fling with a spirit from the past would make those statues whole, he’d do it. At least it wouldn’t be another meaningless encounter forgotten almost as soon as it happened.

Only it wasn’t just Galen involved. Now Nick was too. As he looked at Nick, Galen realized his feelings for the other man ran much deeper than he’d allowed himself to recognize before. He didn’t want to hurt Nick again, even if it meant that the rest of the statues would remain unfinished.

An ancient voice inside of him screamed at the thought, probably that same someone who had emerged the first night to return Dexios’s kiss. Lykon. Galen rubbed his chest. It was weird to think that somebody could have been inside of him all this time. Had Lykon been aware during Galen’s entire life, or had he woken up when Galen kissed Dexios?

“We have to do something,” Nick insisted and began packing away the remainder of their unfinished soup. “If it’s my feelings you’re worried about, don’t be. I’ve seen you with other men before. Hell, I’ve participated. So I’m good. If all it takes is the willing sacrifice of your ass, I say go for it. You looked like you were enjoying that kiss enough.”

Galen winced. That stung, deserved or not.

Galen studied Nick’s face. He couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or defensive. An even scarier notion was not knowing if the compulsion to see those statues whole had grabbed a hold of Nick harder than they had Galen. Or maybe he was wrong, and Nick just didn’t give a damn anymore. His heart sank, and he stood up to help, trying to hide how much that last thought bothered him.

“It wouldn’t hurt to at least try to draw Dexios out,” Galen said. “He might have all the answers we need. I suggest we try talking to him first before we make any other decisions. Agreed?”

“Sounds like a good idea.” Nick slipped the last carton in the bag, opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, and paused. The lines of defensive wariness around Nick’s mouth had Galen wanting to make him smile and see the flash of dimples instead.

“What’s up?” Galen prodded and took a step closer to him. As much as Nick accused him of holding back, of hiding, he wondered if Nick reacted that way because of what he saw in himself. There were wounds in him, old ones that he hadn’t noticed before because he’d been too wrapped up in his own hurts. “Talk to me.”

“I want to see this through to the end because I need to have those statues completed. I’ve made this Collection the focus of my entire life. It’s why I wanted to study art history. It’s why I let my brother take over the family business even though my dad had pushed me to do it. Ever since Dad told me about my uncle and the legend, it’s fired my imagination.”

Galen frowned and tried to read between Nick’s words. There was more to this that he wasn’t saying. He had the impression the statues were vitally important to Nick for reasons he kept to himself. He waited until he realized Nick wasn’t going to add anything more.

“I know a little bit of how you’re feeling if not the extent. I didn’t even know that the statues existed until they showed up in my storeroom.”

Galen turned away, assailed by a riot of conflicting emotion. The last person who had been able to get to him like this on such an instinctive level was Bryan. He didn’t know if he was ready for this. He’d thought he was when he’d called Nick. It had been two years. What if he wasn’t ready for the give and take, the compromise, and the work it took to be in a relationship again?

“So what you’re trying to say is you want me to fuck him.” Galen looked over his shoulder at Nick. “Any means necessary, right?”

Nick winced and ran a hand through his hair, leaving it in a mess of tufts. It gave Galen the urge to touch it as well, to calm them down. “Yesterday, I would’ve said yes.”

Galen’s heart skipped a beat, and he turned around again to face him. Did he still care? Any urge to run and put distance between himself and this aching vulnerability disappeared under the need to know. “What about tonight?”

Nick looked at him, a helpless expression in his gaze. “Tonight, I say you do what you need to do. Yesterday, I would’ve pushed for it. I would’ve made cruel comments about your past. I would’ve said things I didn’t mean, that I would’ve hated myself for, and I still would’ve sacrificed you if it solved the puzzle.” Nick shrugged with a rueful twist to his lips. “Then you showed up last night and opened yourself up to me in a way I had always wished for. And you dropped the crazy notion of a date on me—”

“Dates,” Galen cut in and took Nick’s hand in his. “I’m telling you right now, if you agree, I’m not going to be content with one date.”

“Okay, dates.” He took a step closer, and Galen’s heart jumped again. He’d taken the time to change into more casual clothes before coming over tonight. Galen liked the way the worn denim clung to his thighs and how the black T-shirt stretched across his shoulders. The casual look suited him; Galen found it more exciting than the suits Nick tried to wear. “I need to know one more thing before I go against common sense and agree to that.”

“Common sense is boring. Let a little more of Nick the traveler and wreck diver out, and tell the good angel on your shoulder to go screw himself.”

Nick chuckled and untangled their fingers to cup Galen’s jaw. “Screw the risks; is that your new philosophy? I bet you’ve taken that fire pole down a few times, haven’t you?”

“More than a few, much to some people’s horror.” Galen couldn’t concentrate on risks though, not when Nick’s mouth was so close and anticipation made him long for even more contact than just his hand. He closed the distance between them, pressed his body against Nick’s, and slid his arms around him. “So, what was it you needed to know?”