Lover Uncloaked (Stealth Guardians #1) - By Unknown Page 0,62

first, then turned and waved at Aiden to follow.

With Leila in his arms, he jumped down, landing squarely on his two feet, allowing his knees to take the impact. Instantly, he released her from his arms. They rushed after Hamish who was already rounding the makeshift structure on the neighboring roof.

As they reached the same spot, Aiden rocked to a halt. Hamish was gone.

Shit! If this was a trap—

“Aiden, here!” Hamish’s voice came from next to him.

He whirled his head toward the sound and saw Hamish peek out from a window in the rickety shed. Lifting up Leila, Aiden quickly heaved her through the opening and followed.

Inside, it was dark, but his superior vision adjusted and allowed him to see the staircase leading down. Hamish was already taking it.

He felt Leila reaching for him. “I can’t see anything.”

“I’ll be your eyes.”

In the darkness, he guided her downstairs, making sure she didn’t trip. When they reached the bottom, music drifted to them, together with loud cheering sounds.

Hamish pushed a door in front of them open. Dim light illuminated the corridor they found themselves in. The cheesy seventies tune, ‘Stayin’ Alive’ from the Bee Gees, became more distinct as they advanced.

Aiden was startled when a door to his left opened, and a barely-clothed young man, wearing a costume of some sort, stepped through it. He caught a glimpse of the room behind him and raised an eyebrow. It appeared that it was a changing room of a theater, even though he wasn’t aware that this part of town had any theaters.

Still cloaked, he flattened himself against the wall and motioned for Leila to do the same, so the man wouldn’t bump into them. From the corner of his eye, he caught how Leila let her gaze run over the man’s semi-nude body. An odd twinge of something he couldn’t quite identify coursed through him: he didn’t like the way she looked at this, admittedly very perfect male form. Hell, he didn’t want her to even look at a fully dressed man, let alone a half-naked one.

For a moment, the fact that they were still trying to escape their enemies faded into the background. Aiden pulled Leila’s hand toward his chest and dragged her against him. Her hip connected with his thigh. When she lifted her head to give him a surprised look, he noticed her breath catch. Before she could lower her lids to hide the expression in them, he tipped her chin up and forced her to acknowledge him.

Her lips parted, and her breath ghosted over his face. Without thinking, he lowered his head.

“No time to waste.”

Hamish’s harsh command jolted him, making him release her instantly. A faint rose blush stole over her cheeks.

“Where to?” Aiden asked, clearing his throat. He’d nearly kissed her, right there in front of Hamish. If that wasn’t screwed up, then what was?

Hamish motioned his head to a door that said Stage. He opened it and slipped in. Aiden did likewise, pulling Leila with him.

A curtain obstructed the view, but lights flashed behind it, and music blared from large speakers all around them.

“I’m stayin’ alive,” the audience joined in the chorus.

“We have to get to the other side of the stage,” Hamish whispered into his ear. “There’s a portal over there.”

Aiden wasn’t sure he’d understood correctly over the noise of the music, because for sure there would be no portal in this joint. Only compounds had portals. He shrugged it off and followed as Hamish moved the curtain aside and slipped onto the stage.

As he walked past the curtain and took two steps onto the stage, Aiden felt Leila stop in her tracks. A quick glance at her confirmed that her mouth had dropped open as she stared at the performance.

There, on a stage bathed in glittering lights, five barely dressed hunks danced a seductive striptease. They looked like Chippendales, albeit a little less classy, strutting their junk like a bunch of dogs at a dog show. Their string-clad asses reflected the lights that bounced off the tacky eighties disco ball that hung from the ceiling. Nothing but tassels covered their precious jewels, shifting as the dancers moved with the music.

The audience, a few women and a lot more guys, cheered every time a tassel revealed the flesh beneath. Now, a male spectator leaned over the stage, where one performer dropped down lower, allowing the audience member to stick a twenty-dollar bill into his string. But the spectator’s hand quickly drifted off course, copping a feel.