Chapter Seven
The first person I saw as I came out of the Blue Moon was Kade himself. He leaned against one of the building's canopy supports, arms crossed and gleaming a rich burgundy in the dying light of the afternoon.
His smile lit his face, warming his eyes, but just as quickly, everything faded. He straightened abruptly.
"Riley - "
I stopped in front of him, and thrust my hands on my hips. "Why the hell didn't you tell me you were military?"
Something skittered through his eyes. Surprise, perhaps. "Because I wasn't sure you were who you said you were. "
"And when you knew?"
"You haven't the clearance. You're just a secretary. "
"My God," Rhoan said, walking up behind Kade, "you're really looking for a punched nose, making a statement like that. "
Kade took a sideways step, probably to ensure we were both in his line of sight. I'm not entirely sure why - I mean, surely I didn't look that angry? I didn't feel that angry, anyway.
"Look, Jack didn't tell you, so I couldn't. "
"Regardless of the fact I got your ass out of that place?"
"We got each other out of there, sweetheart. And I couldn't risk identifying myself. Too much was at stake. "
"Like what?" Rhoan asked.
Kade's gaze skated around the busy street. "We can't do this here. "
"Then at least tell me your name. Your real name. "
"Kade is my real name. "
"But not Williams?"
"No. " He eyed me. "A fact you obviously know. "
"Obviously. "
"How?"
"As you said, not here. " I looked at my brother. "Where's Jack and the van?"
"Still in the car park down the street. " He glanced at his watch. "Jack hasn't been out of sunshine restrictions long. I figured we might as well go to him. "
"Then let's go. "
Rhoan fell in step beside me, his hands shoved in his pockets and whistling tunelessly. Kade stayed one step behind us. Perhaps he felt it was safer not to antagonize the wolf any more than necessary.
Which was always a wise move, even if I wasn't actually angry with him.
"So," Rhoan said, after a few seconds. "Who's the other wolf I can smell on your skin?"
I gave him my most innocent look. "I have no idea what you mean. "
Amusement touched his lips. "Like I was the only one partying on the Directorate's time. Ante up with the goss, dear sister. "
I grinned. "Well, I had to make it look like I wasn't there to meet Misha, didn't I?"
"Uh-huh. "
"And I have met him before. "
"And this is a good excuse because. . . ?"
"Because he's an alpha wolf on the prowl, and right now, it's my scent he has in his nose. "
Rhoan's gaze all but burned a hole in the side of my face. "Well, aren't you having all the damn luck?"
If I was having all the damn luck, I wouldn't have ended up in the breeding center or being attacked by flying blue things.
"You going to see him again?" Rhoan continued.
"Of course. "
He grunted. "Good. Always said it was going to take an alpha to catch that heart of yours. He could be the one. "
"Could be. " After all, who knew what fate had planned? Certainly not me. Not after all the shit she kept heaping my way.
The car park Jack had chosen had once been an old office building that had been converted to try and cope with the ever-growing number of cars coming into the city. The building was thin and narrow, and smelled of exhaust fumes, petrol, and wet mustiness. I wrinkled my nose. "Where is he parked?"
"Tenth floor. And the lifts are out. "
"Great. "
"Why don't you park your pretty butt right here, and I'll go fetch them?" Kade suggested.
I shared a glanced with my brother. Rhoan had his cell phone and could have easily called Jack down, but hey, who was I to stop a man eager to please? "Go for your life. "
He ran off. The two of us enjoyed the sight, then Rhoan said, "Making any man run ten flights is just plain mean. "
"He's fit enough," I said mildly. "Besides, that's what he gets for being dishonest. "
He crossed his arms and leaned back against a railing. "So, did you learn anything useful?"
"Yes. " Somewhere in the dark and distant bowels of the parking lot, a door squeaked. My gaze searched the shadows, seeing nothing out of place. So why was unease suddenly prickling across my skin? I frowned and glanced at Rhoan. "Can you smell anything?"
He raised his nose slightly, sniffing the odious air. "Besides car fumes and mold, you mean?"
I nodded and rubbed my arms. It suddenly seemed cooler in the car park - or was that simply my imagination? The feeling that something was out there in the dark, watching us?
"Not really. " He hesitated. "Well, there is something - but I can't place it. "
"I think perhaps we'd better start walking up toward the van. " I scanned the shadows again. "I don't like the feel of this place all of a sudden. "
He nodded, and touched my elbow, lightly guiding me toward the up ramp.
That's when I heard it.
The slight scrape of claws against concrete.
I froze. So did my brother.
"It came from the right," he said softly. "From near the other ramp. "
I flicked to infrared, and the shadows leapt into focus. And there, deep under the cover of the ramp, was a familiar hunched shape.
My mouth went dry. "Orsini. "
"Ugly-looking suckers, aren't they?" Rhoan commented. "How fast are they?"
"Very. "
"So if we run, it's likely to catch us?"
"Yep. "
"One option out, then. "
I looked at him. "Have you got a gun?"
He shook his head. "Couldn't carry it into the club, and didn't bother grabbing one afterward. "
"That's slack. What if someone tried to snatch me?"
"They wouldn't have gotten far. Trust me on that. " His expression became somewhat grim. "So, I guess we're left with dhampire strength versus orsini. "
"If it comes to hand-to-paw combat, I'm betting on the orsini. "
He gave me an offended sort of look. "My little sister has such confidence in me. "
"I've fought these things before, that's all. "
The creature in the shadows raised its ugly head and howled. The high, almost keening sound grated against my nerves and set my teeth on edge. I didn't want to face these things again. I really didn't.
"If we stay still, maybe it won't attack before the van gets here. "
"I doubt it," Rhoan said. "Besides, it'll probably only give chase to the van, and we really can't afford to have that thing out on the street. "
The sharp keening gained an echo. There was a second creature behind us. Great. Just fucking great.
"In case you've forgotten, there's weapons in the van. Weapons are good. Weapons kill ugly sons-of-bitches like these from a distance. "
"A moot point if they're going to attack us the minute we move. And the van's not here yet. " He squeezed my elbow then let go. "You beat them when you were alone and unarmed. You can do it again. Ready?"
"I'll never be ready to fight, Rhoan. "
"I can't do it alone. Not when they've split up. "
"I know. " I took a deep breath and released it. "I'll go right. " And hope like hell the cavalry got here soon.
"Luck. "
"Luck and I aren't on speaking terms," I muttered.
Rhoan's grin faded as he shifted into shadow. As his footsteps retreated toward the first orsini, I kicked off my shoes, tossing them into the air with my toes so I could catch them, then sprinted barefoot across the car park.
The second orsini stood behind a car in the far corner. It roared as I moved, and the harsh sound echoed across the silence. I hoped they heard it
above. Hoped they hurried.
The creature leapt out of the shadows and ran at me, its claws scrabbling harshly against the concrete, sending sparks shooting into the shadowed confines of the car park.
As it neared, I pivoted, slashing out with my foot, kicking it as hard as I could in the head. The shock of the blow reverberated up my leg, but didn't seem to do a whole lot of damage to the beastie. It simply shook its head as it slid past. I dropped my shoes and grabbed a fistful of shaggy hair, heaving with all my might in an effort to throw it sideways into the nearby concrete pillar. It barely even budged, but slashed out with a hind claw, raking my legs and drawing blood.
I yelped and let go of its hair, grabbing the paw instead. I pulled backward as hard as I could, dropping to the concrete and lifting a leg to brace the creature's heavy body with my foot as it went up and over my head.
It landed on its back and crashed butt-first into one of the concrete pylons. The impact seemed to reverberate through the concrete, and dust rained down from the ceiling above.
I sneezed as I rolled upright. The creature twisted around and leapt toward me, its claws slashing at the air. I ducked and smacked at its head with the heel of my shoe. The stiletto scraped its brow and skidded backward, drawing blood from eye to neck, the scent sharp in the fume-filled air.
It roared and lashed out. Its claws caught my thigh again, tearing flesh even as the blow sent me staggering. The creature hit the concrete, then twisted and leapt again, its nastily sharp teeth all yellow and dangerous looking as they snapped and bit at the air, trying to get me. Trying to eat me.
I shivered, and faked another blow to its head, then spun and thumped the stiletto into its chest. The heel cut through hair and skin, embedding deep. No blue fires flickered out across its skin. Whatever this thing was, there was no vampire in the mix. No adversity to wood. Other than the fact it now had a shoe stuck in its flesh anyway.
And that obviously did hurt, because the creature howled in fury and launched itself at me yet again. I dropped and spun, then, as the creature's leap took it high above me, kicked it as hard as I could in the goolies. It had worked once before, and it worked again. The creature gave an odd sort of wheeze, then dropped to the concrete and didn't move.
I twisted around and shifted shape, which had the added benefit of stopping my wounds from bleeding as I bolted for the ramp on the other side of the car park. No shadows were moving down there, but I could see the red of body heat, one bending over the other. It was the orsini that was down, and relief ran through me.
I shifted back to human shape and slowed as I neared them. "You okay?"
Rhoan shook free of the shadows and nodded. "They're amazingly powerful animals, aren't they?"
"If you can actually define them as animals. " I stared at the creature for a moment, then added, "You know, Misha promised to keep me safe from attacks like this. "
Rhoan looked up at me, eyebrow raised. "When was that?"
"In the club, today. "
"He probably wouldn't have had time to do anything about this particular attack. If he even knew about it. "
"True. " I supposed the real test would come in a day or so, once he'd had a chance to contact his boss and make his threats. Though if the man behind it all was so all-powerful, what could Misha possibly threaten him with that would make him listen? And why wouldn't he have used it to free himself?
The sound of an engine, accompanied by the squeal of tires, cut through the silence. I looked up. The van came screaming around the corner, with Quinn just in front of it, on foot and fully armed. His gaze met mine, the dark depths sending a shock of warm concern through me.
"You're hurt. "
"Just scratches. " I pointed to the creature near his feet. "That one isn't dead. "
He aimed the laser and shot it. "And the one you're near?"
"Dead," Rhoan said, and pushed to his feet. "Let's get the hell out of here before any more of these things turn up. "
The van skidded to a halt. We walked over and jumped in. Quinn slid the door shut and the van took off. Silence fell until we were out of the car park and into the rush hour traffic.
"You know," I said, to no one in particular, "I'm getting a little pissed off about all these attacks. "
"They obviously think you're a threat to their operation," Kade commented.
"How, when I was unconscious most of the time in that place? Even when I did wake up, it was to escape with you. What could I have possibly seen that you didn't?"
"It might be simpler than that," Quinn stated. "Remember, your DNA is as good to them dead as alive. And you're a whole lot more controllable dead. "
I grinned. "Ain't that the truth. "
"Question is, how did they find her?" Kade said. "Either we've got a tail, or they're tracking us somehow. "
"We checked for body bugs," Rhoan said. "We didn't find anything. "
"But these people are stealing technology that isn't released on the street yet," Kade commented. "It could be they have something we don't know about. "
"Well, there's a bit of information no one told the plebs," Rhoan commented dryly.
"All in good time," Jack said. "And that time is not in this van. We can still be picked up by listening devices, if they feel so inclined. "
I shared an annoyed glance with Rhoan, then looked at Kade. "Misha had watchers. It's more than likely they reported my being with him back to their base. There was certainly enough time to arrange an attack while we were holed up in the private room. "
"They couldn't have known we'd go to the car park. "
"No, but it was a logical guess. Street parking is shit around the club, so the car park is the next best option. "
"It just doesn't feel right," Quinn commented. "Those creatures weren't something that could be called up at a moment's notice. They knew you were going to be there beforehand. "
I met his dark gaze. "It wasn't Misha. "
"Are you sure of that?"
"Yes. "
"Why?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Why is it important to you?"
"Because I'd hate for you to be killed before I made a decision one way or another. "
"At the rate you seem to make your decisions, vampire, I'll be old and gray and undesirable. "
He smiled, and it touched his eyes, warming the obsidian depths. Warming my soul. "Old and gray, maybe, but never undesirable. "
Amusement twitched the corners of my mouth. "So you're telling me you don't mind a bit of granny?"
"Only a particular type of granny. "
"You know. " Rhoan said conversationally, "this talk is straying into territory I really don't want to think about. "
"Particularly when most grannies don't look like Riley," Kade muttered, then shuddered "Old meat. Nothing worse. "
I slapped his arm. "You'll be old meat one day, horseboy, so watch it. "
His grin was sudden and cheeky, and sexy in a whole different way than Quinn's. "Yeah, but I'll be virile old horsemeat. There is a difference. "
"I bet I could find a dozen grannies who would argue that point. "
"And I'd be betting that those grannies ain't ever had a horse-shifter as a lover. "
"He's such a humble person, isn't he?" Rhoan said dryly.
Kade's grin grew. "Why be humble when you've got nothing to be humble about?"
Rhoan's gaze shifted to me, and he raised an eyebrow in query. I grinned. "He has got a point. "
"Damn. " He contemplated Kade for a second, then added, "So, where do I find me a bit of gay horsemeat?"
Kade shrugged. "Don't ask me. I don't go looking for that sort of thing. "
"Pity. "
"I'll take that as a compliment. "
"Please do. "
There wasn't much that could really be added to that, so silence fell. I stared out the window, watching the office buildings and restaurants give way to residential streets, the
n country, and finally began to wonder where we were headed.
It was another half hour before we stopped, and by then, night had fallen. I climbed out of the van, sniffing the air as I looked around. The scent of eucalyptus vied with the aroma of rain on the breeze, but underneath it, the smell of death and earth.
My gaze found the dirt road that led up to vast iron doors. We were back at Genoveve.
"Why here?" I asked, as Jack came around the van.
"Because there's only one way in and out of this place, and it's heavily guarded with Directorate personnel I know for sure I can trust. "
"And Headquarters isn't?"
"Gautier is due back tonight. "
Gautier was only one man, and as much as I hated him, I doubt he'd be able to defeat the four of us. He was good, but not that good.
Jack headed toward the entrance, and, like good little sheep, we followed. Once the men at the door confirmed our identities, the laser gates lowered, the iron doors opened, and the four of us were allowed in.
We headed for the main office area. Rhoan, Quinn, and Kade plonked their butts down on the comfy leather sofas, but I continued on to the windows, keeping my back to them as I crossed my arms and stared out over the arena. Talon had once used the small stadium to test the skills of his creations, and even now, months after the event, the golden sand still bore the bloody stains where his clones and many of our guardians had fought for, and lost, their lives.
My gaze rose to the windows opposite. That's where I'd woken to discover him using me. And while I was a wolf, and hadn't been particularly worried about the sex angle of it, I was also a woman, and hadn't liked being treated that way. Not for any reason.
"So," Jack said, sitting down behind the huge, paper-strewn desk. "What happened?"
"He gave me a starting point. A name. "
Jack waited several seconds, and when I didn't continue, said, "And?"
"And the name is one you already know. "
"Riley, stop playing games. "
"Only if you start filling the rest of us in on what the hell is going on. " I turned around to face him. "He gave me Kade's name. Only Kade isn't just a builder, he's military, and obviously involved in some sort of military investigation. "
"Misha told you all that?"
"Some of it. " I hesitated, but he was going to discover I'd snitched his com-unit sooner or later, so it was better to be up front about it. "You left your com-unit in the penthouse, and I made use of it. "
His gaze narrowed. "You don't know my codes. "
I wasn't about to admit that I knew at least two of them - not when he had that look in his eyes. "Didn't need them. I'm a liaison and your assistant. I have clearance to get into most departments. " I hesitated, glancing at Kade. "Even military. "
Humor touched his eyes and warmed the cold line of his lips. "You should never have been able to get into our system. "
"I didn't. Not fully, anyways. "
"And my file has alert status. "
Something I'd guessed once I'd figured out he might be military. "Which is why I didn't look for your personnel file. "
He raised an eyebrow. "Then how did you find out who I was?"
"Went to recruitment. They keep duplicates of all applications. " And in the end, I'd only been able to get in there because I used one of Jack's security codes. When he discovered that, there'd be hell to pay. "You were pretty damn rangy when you joined, weren't you?"
Kade snorted softly. "You're good. "
"Very," Jack intoned heavily. "Which is why I want her as a guardian. "
I gave him my standard deadpan look.
"So what, exactly, are you in the military?" Rhoan asked, his fingers drumming the arm of his chair.
Kade grimaced. "I'm military intelligence, and part of an investigation that started with the theft of a crate of laser weapons from the Landsend Military Base. "
Landsend was one of the military's top research centers. "The same lasers those creatures attacked us with?"
His gaze met mine. "The same. "
"I'd have thought a crate would have been a little hard to conceal or steal," Rhoan said dryly.
"This happened over several months. And they're certainly not the only thing to go missing from Landsend. "
"Security that slack, huh?"
Kade gave him a cutting look. "No. Under normal circumstances, you can't get an ant out of there undetected. "
"Well, someone succeeded. You checked all personnel?"
"Not me personally. By that stage, I was undercover. "
"As a builder. With your so-called brother. "
Kade's rich gaze met mine, and the cold fury I'd glimpsed over the last few days was there for all to see. "He was my partner. And they killed him. "
"They who?" Quinn asked.
"The same people who got the guns out of Landsend. " Kade's look became grim. "Or maybe that should be the same things. "
"Define 'things,'" Rhoan said.
"We caught them on some special cameras the division installed. Staff thought they were infrared, and we didn't disillusion them. In reality, they were designed to record only when motion combined with certain lower-than-normal body temperatures were sensed. "
I raised my eyebrows. "Reverse heat sensors?"
He nodded. "There are some creatures - chameleons, for example - who are not only cold-blooded, but invisible to normal and infrared cameras. "
"But it wasn't a chameleon taking the lasers, was it?" Quinn asked.
"No. It was something we'd never seen before. It was spiderlike, and yet fluid in form, able to pour itself through the tiniest of cracks. It ingested the weapons and got them out that way. "
I propped a hip against the wall. My feet were beginning to ache, but the only available seat was between Quinn and Kade, and being squeezed between two delicious men might be a little too hard for my hormones to handle. Especially when I was trying to concentrate on what was going on.
"If they ingested them, how could the weapons be retrieved?" I asked.
"The creatures could somehow reconstruct them as they regurgitated. " He shrugged.
Weird. "So what did they want the weapons for?"
"I think the weapons were little more than a side benefit. Landsend is high security. If you can get in and out of there undetected, you could go anywhere. "
"And how does this connect with you ending up a sperm donor in that breeding center?" Rhoan asked quietly.
"My department rigged the doors and air ducts in and around the stores with special containers designed to trap the creature as it moved through in liquid form. We did tests that told us two things - that nature wasn't responsible for its birth, and that it came from somewhere near the Blue Mountains area. "
I raised my eyebrows. "How can you tell something like that?"
Amusement touched his lips. "There were traces of soil picked up on the creature. "
"So you and your partner set up shop near Bullaburra and began investigations. " Meaning he'd known all along where we were once we'd escaped that breeding center. Most annoying.
"How did you get caught?" Rhoan asked.
Kade's gaze went to Rhoan. "I don't know. But we were barely there a week when it all went ass up. Those things attacked and killed Denny, and drugged me. " He shrugged. "I was in that breeding center a good two months by the time Riley came along. "
I shifted my weight again, trying to ease the ache in my feet. "Which begs several questions - why kill your partner and keep you alive? And why did no one question your disappearance?"
"I'll think you'll find the answers to both those questions are intertwined," Jack commented. "Kade's partner had no recorded psi-gifts. Kade, on the other hand, is psi-immune and, at the same time, able to use his own formidable talents. "
"Which they could only have known about if they'd had access to his file. And that would be impossible without alarms - "
I stopped, remembering what Misha had said. I looked from Jack to Kade and back again. "That's what Misha meant. There's a mole in your department. "
Kade nodded. "And it comes down to two men - my immediate boss, Ross James, or the man in charge of the whole section, one General Martin Hunt. They were the only two who knew Denny and I were out in the field, and why. "
"But surely the alarms would have been raised regardless?" How could two men disappear without an alert being raised? Especially in a military division?
"If it's Ross James, he could easily be submitting false reports," Rhoan commented. He looked at Jack. "We're having both men investigated?"
"Yes. At the moment, both men appear cleaner than an angel's halo. " Jack's expression was as grim as I'd ever seen it. "And, of course, Ross James knows Kade is free and with us, because I confirmed Kade's identity with him when we were in Leura. "
"So what are we going to do?"
"Ross James is the easier target. He's human, and though he apparently has strong psi-shields, they aren't rated high enough to keep me out. "
"Which is why he'll never become a general," Kade murmured.
"He knows Kade is alive, so we're using that, and have arranged a meeting. "
"To what end?" Rhoan asked. "We both know he'll be wearing the latest in psi-deadeners. Even if he is innocent, I very much doubt whether he'd be stupid enough to come alone. "
"Which is why you'll be there to run interference. "
Which meant I got left with Quinn yet again. Given the time he was taking to make his decision, I wasn't exactly happy about that. I mean, putting me with him was like flashing chocolate my way then telling me I couldn't have it. It was just plain mean.
"Meanwhile," Jack continued, "Quinn and Riley will be investigating Martin Hunt. "
"And how are we supposed to be doing that?"
"Easy. " Jack's gaze went to Quinn. "I believe you have an invitation to the Wishes For Children Foundation's charity dinner tomorrow evening?"
"Yes. "
"Good. Hunt will be there, as his wife is on the foundation board. You and Riley can mingle with the nation's finest highfliers, and get a line on Hunt in the process. "
"There's a major problem in that thinking. " Sarcasm edged my voice. "If Hunt is a baddie, he knows what I look like. "
"Which is why Rhoan will be bringing in Liander. "
"It's too big a risk. " Though Quinn's voice was soft, steely determination was evident in his tones. "I'll go, but Riley should stay here. "
"We need Riley's nose. Hunt might have been one of the men who visited her in that breeding cell. If he is, we've found a major player. "
It wouldn't be that easy. Deep down, I knew there was someone else - someone I knew. Someone who was pulling all the strings from the shadows.
"They've snatched her twice now, and have tried to kill her several times since. Her DNA is as useful to them dead as it is alive. Sending her to this function could be as good as signing her death warrant. "
"They won't know she's even there. "
"They knew she was at that Brighton hotel. They knew she was in the car park. You cannot possibly say for sure they won't know she's at the function. "
"I do agree that Riley shouldn't be doing this," Rhoan added. "She's not trained for undercover work. "
"This won't be dangerous," Jack said impatiently. "And Quinn will be there to protect her. "
"None of us have been doing a very good job of protecting her so far. " Rhoan met my gaze. "It's your call. "
Which meant he'd back me, no matter what I decided. Even if it meant going up against Jack's orders. I smiled, loving my brother more than ever.
"It's Liander doing the disguising, and I trust him. " I looked at Jack. "I need an end to this madness. I want to get back to a normal life. "
He didn't say the obvious - that for me, the chance of a normal life had well and truly slipped by. But he was thinking it. I could see it in his eyes.
"Good," was all he said. "Kade, Quinn, and Riley, get some rest. Rhoan, you go back to town and get Liander. Take a couple of men with you. "
I waited until the three men had left, then met Jack's gaze. "There's one thing you seem to have forgotten. My nightly appointments with Misha start tomorrow. "
"I haven't forgotten it. The function is early evening. A car will pick you and Quinn up at ten, and deliver you back to the airport. Quinn's using his own plane, and the jet will have you back in time for your meet with Misha. "
"If all goes according to plan. " And so far, nothing had.
"Things are starting to fall our way, Riley. It'll be all right. "
I rubbed my arms, and hoped like hell he was right, because it wasn't only my life on the line tomorrow, but Quinn's as well. Jack seemed to have forgotten that Quinn had already been the target of several assassination attempts. Or maybe he simply didn't care.
"Here's an image of the general and his wife. " He swung the com-unit around so I could see the pics. The general was tall, solidly set, with salt-and-pepper hair and a craggy face. His wife was tallish, thickish, with a nondescript sort of face and dull brown hair. The sort of couple you wouldn't even look twice at.
"Go get some rest," he added. "You look beat. "
I was. But as I stood outside the door, sniffing the air to sense which direction Kade and Quinn had gone, it wasn't sleep I had on my mind. But luckily for me and my need for sleep, my hormones weren't running the ship just yet. I found an empty cell, stripped down, and went to sleep.
But it could hardly be called rest.
Not when my dreams were invaded by a faceless man who took his fill of me and left nothing in return.
A man I'd once known intimately.
A man whose name hovered close enough to taste, but not remember.
woke to the awareness I was no longer alone. The air was rich with muskiness, and stirred frustrated hormones to life. I opened my eyes.
Kade sat in the chair opposite the bed, and smiled when he saw me watching him. "Thought I'd wander in and offer you an apology. "
"Not to mention enjoy the view. " I thrust the blankets away and stood up.
His gaze slid down me, appreciative and warm. "Well, there is a whole lot to enjoy. "
"As long as you look and don't touch. There's work to be done, and very little time. "
"There's always time for sex, sweetheart. "
My hormones hastily formed a cheer squad at the prospect of some horse-shifter loving, but I managed to ignore them. "Is Liander here?"
"Yep. "
"Then there's no time. "
He rose and walked toward me. I pressed a hand against his chest, stopping him before he got too close. "I said no, Kade. "
He took my hand, and raised it to his lips. His breath was warm on my fingertips, his kiss soft, sweet. "What if I promise to be quick?"
"We've done quick. I'd like to do long for a change. " And even as I said it, I smiled. Because when it came to flesh, Kade did long better than any man alive.
He tugged me forward lightly and wrapped his arms around my waist. He felt so good, so warm and hard, that desire swirled through me. That was the beginning of the end when it came to resistance, and I knew it.
"We have half an hour and a single bed," he said, as if sensing the sudden lessening of resolve.
"Don't you think a single bed is a wee bit small for the two of us?"
"If you think that, you haven't been loved right in a single bed. "
The smile touching his lips was cheeky, and my own twitched in response. Because I wanted to. Lord how I wanted to.
And truth be told, had it been Kellen standing in front of me, it would have been an instant yes, and Liander be damned. It was that thought, more than anything, that had the last of my reluctance slipping. Kellen might have been a wolf, but Kade could never be deemed a lesser lover. "If Jack bites my ass over being late, you are off the
loving list, my horny friend. "
He laughed. "Trust me, Jack won't get anywhere near your delicious ass. I promise to protect it from all comers. "
I had sudden visions of him swatting away everyone - including new suitors - and snorted softly. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all. "Half an hour. No more, no less. "
"Done deal. " He dropped a kiss on my lips, then tugged me over to the bed.
I have to say, the man certainly knew how to make the most of a single bed.
And he emphasized his point in the most dramatic way, and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that I hadn't been loved right in a single bed before now.
It was a good forty minutes later before he was escorting me down the hall to the bathroom where Liander had set up shop. Once there, he dropped another kiss on my lips, one designed to tease and arouse.
He succeeded in doing both.
"We'll pick up this little discussion later," he said, and walked away whistling happily.
I blew out a breath, then opened the door and walked inside. Rhoan and Liander were making out against one of the stall walls.
"You want me to come back later?" I asked dryly.
Rhoan came up for air, and gave me a wide grin. "Your timing could have been better, but this will keep. "
"You sure?"
"No, but Jack will kill us if we delay more than necessary. " He squeezed Liander's rump then stepped away.
Liander's gaze met mine, amusement silvering the gray depths. "Besides, making you up is almost as much fun as making out. "
"You obviously lead a sad sex life. "
"Well, your brother could use a pointer or two, but hey, he's not untrainable. "
Rhoan crossed his arms and leaned a shoulder against the wall. "Careful what you say, or I might just take this unworthy body elsewhere. "
Liander snorted. "You do anyway. "
"Now, boys," I interrupted, feeling an argument headed our way. "Work first, lovers' tiff afterward. "
"No," Rhoan corrected, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Work first, then sex, then lovers' tiff. Get your priorities right, please. "
"Sorry," I said dryly. "So, have we decided what sort of look we're going for this time?" The last time we'd done this, I'd become an albino prostitute. Not the sort of look one needed for an upmarket function.
Liander tossed me a small bottle of lavender fluid. "Go shower with that first. It'll erase your base scent for the next twelve hours. "
Relief ran through me as I headed for the showers. At least if the wolf that had used me in the breeding center was there, my scent wouldn't give me away. Once I'd washed, I sat in the chair Liander had swiped from one of the offices, and let him loose.
"Quinn has been photographed with a parade of smoldering, brown-haired beauties in the past," Liander explained, as he began to recolor skin and hair, "so that's the look we're going for here. "
"And will this goop wash out easily?" I asked, watching with a faint sense of horror as my red-gold hair became a chocolaty, hazelnut color.
"Yes. Trust me. "
I did trust him, but that didn't stop the dismay. I mean, I loved my hair. Loved its color. Watching it become brown was more than a little disturbing.
But it was amazing the difference hair color, blue contacts, and a bit of fancy makeup made. It wasn't me in that mirror. It was someone else. Someone suitably smoldering enough to hang off a billionaire playboy's arm.
"Wow," Rhoan said, which was basically what I was thinking.
"We haven't finished yet. " Liander's expression was pleased as he held up a scrap of vibrant red material. "Now the dress. "
I gave him a deadpan look. "That is not a dress. That's a tube of fabric. "
"This tube is the very latest in evening wear, and costs a sheer fortune. "
"That doesn't make me like it any more. "
"You'll look stunning in it. "
"I'll look like a damn beacon. People will have to wear sunglasses to look at me. "
Liander grinned. "We want people to look at you. We want people to admire that glorious body of yours, and not look any deeper. "
I raised an eyebrow, a faint grin twitching my lips. "Glorious body? I thought you ate on the other side of the fence? What's with the sudden appreciation of the female form?"
"I may eat on the other side, as you say, but that doesn't mean I can't admire a luscious female form like yours. " He lightly slapped my arm. "Stop fussing and stand up. "
I did. He showed me two white cups. "Breast supports. They'll lift as well as support, and give your beautiful bounty even more prominence. "
"Like I need that," I said dryly, as he lifted my boobs and slipped the supports into place.
"The more they ogle your assets, the less they ogle your face," Rhoan said with a grin. "For once, this is a good thing. "
"Says the male of the species who never has to put up with men talking to their breasts rather than their face. "
"There are advantages to being a male. "
Like not being stripped down and rebuilt by your brother's lover. Liander handed me the so-called dress.
"What, no undies?"
"We do not need ugly panty lines with this dress. "
I raised an eyebrow. "Not even ugly G-string lines?"
It was his turn to give me "the look. " I grinned and wiggled into the dress. It fit like a glove, covering me breast to thigh, and left an almost indecent amount of flesh on show. "I am going to be the laughingstock of this function. "
"You're going to have them drooling. " Liander stepped back, his expression that of an artist studying his masterpiece. "Tug the hem down a shade more. "
"Do you want my boobs all the way out?"
He grinned faintly. "No, though you have to admit, it'd definitely stop anyone recognizing your face. "
The dress stayed right where it was. Half an inch more, and my nipples would be waving hello to the world. "Shoes?"
He handed me a pair of strappy, four-inch stilettos. "My favorite type," I said, running my finger down the wooden spike of the heel. "Red and ready to use. "
Liander grinned. "They're becoming quite a fashion statement - though I doubt if anyone has quite cottoned on to your special use yet. "
"Thank God. I'd hate to have to find another innocuous weapon. "
Once I got them on, I turned and studied myself in the mirror. If smoldering sexiness was the look we'd been going for, then we'd achieved the right effect.
"What about my voice?"
"Modulators will fix that. Open wide. "
I did, and he inserted the extremely thin plastic chips on either side of my mouth. The surface of the modulators were supposedly covered with an analgesic that deadened the skin as they went in. In theory, anyway. In practice, it felt like he was ripping out teeth rather than shoving in plastic. At least once they were attached, I couldn't actually feel them. And no one else would, either, unless I decided to deep throat someone.
"Those things always hurt going in," I said, when I could, amazed by the sound of my new voice.
"Stop being a baby," Liander commented, "and say the alphabet, so I know they're working properly. "
The alphabet had never sounded so sexy, let me tell you. "What about a coat? Or are you intending to freeze me to death in the name of perfection?"
"Believe me, with the heat that'll be following you, you won't need a coat. " He held up a hand, forestalling my protests. "I do, however, have one for you. "
He handed it to me. Thankfully is was black, not eye-blinding red. I slipped it on and did up the buttons. No sense in giving Quinn a heart attack, especially when he hadn't yet decided whether he could continue a relationship on my terms.
"One final item," Rhoan added, offering me a small bag. "Clothes to change into after you leave the function. "
"I certainly don't want Misha thinking I got dressed up specially for him," I mutte
red, accepting the bag gratefully.
Liander looked at his watch. "Time to go. " He leaned forward and kissed my cheek. "If this doesn't blow your reluctant vampire's mind apart, I don't know what will. "
I looked at Rhoan. "Have you been discussing my love life again?"
"Well, it is more exciting than mine at the moment. I mean, vampires, a horse-shifter, alpha wolves - "
"An alpha wolf?" Liander interrupted, and punched me lightly in the arm. "You go, girl!"
I grinned. "Believe me, I intend to. "
Someone knocked on the door. "Riley?" Jack said. "You ready? We need to get moving. "
"Coming. " I kissed my brother. "You be careful out there. "
"Right back at you. And remember, don't ever trust Misha. He's playing his own game, and, as yet, we have no idea what the rules are. "
"I'll remember. " I threw the bag over my shoulder, and headed for the door.
It was time to go hunting.