The London Deception by Addison Fox

with something darker. More serious.
    “If I’m understanding the glyphs correctly, this provides incontrovertible proof that Nefertari was his beloved wife.”
    “But history has always been clear on that. He had several wives, as was custom, but Nefertari was his great love.”
    How did she explain what was a sense more than anything else? “Yes, but it looks like marriage markings. Likely the same markings we’ll see on the wedding cache. It’ll be a key piece in the authentication.”
    “We already know that. The one thing everyone’s been clear on from the beginning is that the tomb is original and, up until now, undiscovered.” Finn’s eyes narrowed. “What aren’t you telling me?”
    “So you know how I was sort of making fun of how Hollywood has glamorized Egypt?”
    “Sure. Ancient pharaohs and mummy resurrections and the like.”
    “Well, if I’m reading everything correctly, among other things there’s a curse on the wedding cache.”
    * * *
    “You can’t seriously expect me to believe you believe that.”
    Finn watched those slim shoulders stiffen before she let out a delicate shrug. “It’s not about what we believe. It’s about those who are trying to get their hands on it.”
    Whatever he’d expected, Rowan’s harebrained revelation had turned every expectation he’d had for the evening on its ear. “Why don’t you start at the beginning? We’re not here for fun this evening, are we?”
    “No.”
    “Rowan—”
    She held up a hand. “Look. Can we get out of here first? We’ve been on every camera in this place for the last twenty minutes.”
    “You think someone’s watching us?”
    “We can’t discount it.”
    “If you were worried about being watched, we could have played this a hell of a lot differently.” His words came out on a growl, and the fierce stabs of anger at the idea she might be in danger surprised him in its ferocity.
    “How so?”
    Whether it was that simmering frustration or his sheer inability to stop thinking about getting his hands on her, Finn didn’t know.
    And he no longer cared.
    With quick movements, he had his hands at her waist, pulling her close as he pressed her back against the base of the Ramesses statue. Those incredible blue eyes widened for the briefest moment before he saw acknowledgment—and welcome—in their depths.
    And then her arms were around his neck and his mouth was hot on hers and there wasn’t any room for rational thought.
    Need flooded his system in harsh, pounding waves at finally having her in his arms once more. He’d thought about her for years—those odd moments that would grab him by the throat and shake him with the intense sense memories of their fated evening together—but the reality was far better.
    Phenomenally better.
    Finn sunk into the kiss and allowed all those pent-up years to take over. Her small, slim body wrapped around his, welcoming him and driving him crazy. Her soft, lush lips pressed to his, open and demanding as she matched his movements. Her champagne-tinged tongue parried his thrust for thrust.
    And when a small sigh escaped the back of her throat, floating up around them in the dark and quiet of the museum, Finn knew his sanity was on a crash course with oblivion.
    Those same lips that were driving him crazy curved against his in a smile as she pulled back. “Was that what you had in mind?”
    He bent his head and pressed his forehead to hers. “For days now.” Years, really.
    “We should probably get out of here.” Her gaze drifted in the direction of the nearest mounted security camera, one of hundreds. “I think we’ve given a proper amount of distraction.”
    “I’m not quite done yet.”
    He pressed his lips to hers for one more kiss. One more taste of that incredible mouth. One more moment with her arms wrapped around his waist and her indigo-blue gaze open, honest and wanting.
    “Finn—”
    She broke off the kiss once more, and even as he knew it was for the best, he wanted