Phantom's Touch: Sexy Paranormal (Book 2, Phantom Series) by Julie Leto

executive, which was why she had so much on the line with this movie.
    So did Lauren. So what did she have to lose by asking?
    ***
    She’d left the door to the trailer open. Despite the increasing fatigue that made it hard for Aiden to remain entirely aware of his surroundings, he could not pass up the opportunity to explore. He’d been trapped in one place so long, he longed to move, survey the landscape and assess his situation from a broader angle. His instinct, born of many duels and battles, could not be waylaid. Rogan’s cursed magic would simply have to wait its turn to torment his soul.
    A surge of power shot through him. He gave a cursory glance at the sword, then concentrated and pushed his diaphanous form into this new and fascinating world.
    Sadly, the world he anticipated did not exist outside of Lauren’s domicile. The trailer, as she’d called it, stood within a building the size of the cathedrals of Paris or the palaces of London. The ceiling stretched six or seven stories high, and the walls, a dull charcoal gray, were obscured by stage sets the like of which he’d never seen.
    To his left he spied the interior of a mountain cavern, replete with dark stone walls and a river of glistening black ooze piping through the middle. To his right a wide expanse of sheer material fluttered in an unnatural wind across walls that shimmered with angelic luster. The furnishings within were all gold-leafed and worthy of a sultan’s harem.
    Everywhere he looked, men and women milled about, tools in their hands as they strung thick cords from one end of the space to the other or tested lighting that turned day into night and then back again. Some of the workers were high in the air, adjusting strange mechanisms from a web of metal frames that crisscrossed the ceiling. All of them shouted and joked with one another as they worked, or else barked orders, reminding Aiden of his regiment shortly before battle. A sizzle of excitement rang through their voices. They enjoyed their work. They anticipated the opening of their production, of which, he realized, Lauren must be the featured performer.
    The star-shaped plaque on her door with her name in the middle clearly gave her away.
    Two men strode past him, both wearing pants of a rough blue fabric that looked at once sloppy and incredibly comfortable. “Did you hear about Joe?”
    “Yeah, freaky, huh? Hasn’t hit the news yet. Marchand must be keeping it hushed. Anyone know what caused the explosion?”
    The first man shrugged his bulky shoulders. “Gas leak, probably. What else? This isn’t exactly a war zone.”
    “Maybe he pissed off some bruiser whose wife he was screwing.”
    They laughed heartily and disappeared around a corner. The language of this time was different in so many ways from his own, but the actions and suppositions of the people clearly were not. Gossip and interest in lurid details still existed. Men still battled against other men for the affection of women. Centuries had passed, but the basics of love and war remained the same.
    Luckily, Aiden had hung with the sword in Ross Marchand’s office long enough to understand the vernacular of the conversations going on around him—about investments and the massive scope of the entertainment undertakings of one Ross Marchand.
    While he was under the control of Rogan’s magic, his awareness had been limited. But now that Lauren had explained what a film was, Aiden realized that he had observed Marchand screening scenes from his films on a box that sat on his desk. While entrapped by the magic, Aiden hadn’t cared enough to be shocked or surprised by the advancements in technology, but now he couldn’t help but wonder how he could ever find a place of significance in a society that had so expanded without him.
    A few feet away a man sat on a tall stool pressing buttons on a device like one he’d seen Ross use to retrieve information. Aiden concentrated on joining the worker, and soon was