Full Moon Rising (12 page)

"So how far off are you?"

"About ten minutes. Why?"

"Just trying to work out how long it'll be until you get here. I'm feeling hungry, little wolf."

My pulse slipped into third gear and the ache I'd thought Misha had sated became fierce again. Lord, what was I going to be like a day or so before the full moon? "So give me your address and I'll get there as fast as I can."

Not surprisingly, he lived in Toorak, a classy suburb filled with the superrich. I jotted the address down in my diary and hung up with the promise to be there within an hour and a half.

I continued on, and despite the aspersions on my driving skills, reached Moneisha without incident. After parking, I grabbed my coat and strolled toward the red-topped white buildings I could see through the guardhouse gateway. There were two sets of fences--a solid white concrete one that had to be at least eight feet high, and, farther in, a wire one. Even from across the road, I could feel the buzz of electricity running through the wire. I had no doubt there would be other security systems right through the lawns that surrounded the building.

The gray-suited guard shifted in his box, watching as I approached. I dropped my shields, and reached out to touch his mind telepathically. It felt like I was hitting a brick wall. Either he was wearing some sort of electronic mind-shield or was immune to telepathic touch. I gave him a cheerful smile and walked by, following the long, white wall. I wasn't sure what I hoped to find here, but I had to look.

I was about three-quarters of the way around when awareness shot through me. Joy leapt, and it was all I could do to stop myself from dancing. I'd found him. And while I had no idea why he was here, I had every intention of finding out. I stopped and heard the buzz of the security cam as it swung around to watch me.

Forcing myself to move, I crossed the road, then got out my phone, pretending to answer it as I leaned against the front fence of a house and studied the rooftops beyond the wall. There were two buildings, and they didn't appear connected to the main one. They were also within six feet of the two fences. An easy enough jump if you could get past the security systems.

For the first time in my life, I wished I could communicate telepathically with my brother. But that was the one ability he didn't inherit from our mixed heritage. We both got the infrared vision and the ability to differentiate between nonhuman races and track them down, but he was totally mind-blind. Which was probably a good thing considering he worked with some of Melbourne's most dangerous vampires.

The camera was on me again. I couldn't stay there. But I had every intention of coming back later that night, when the darkness played into my hand and allowed me to use the vampire ability to fade into shadow.

I walked back to my car, but the vid phone beeped before I could get moving. "Riley speaking."

"Riley, it's Jack."

I grinned. "Hey, boss, there's no need to send Kelly out tonight. I've found our missing man."

"Really?" Amusement played around his mouth. "And where would that be?"

"Moneisha."

His amusement fled. "Why on earth would he be there?"

"Considering you won't tell me what mission he was on, that's not a question I can answer."

He laughed. "Would you like Kelly's help extracting him?"

"Does her help come with terms?"

"Most definitely."

"Then no."

"You won't get in there without some form of Directorate help. Moneisha has more than just infrared and electric fences guarding it."

"Why? What does it do?"

"Officially, it's a drug research center."

"And unofficially?"

"I have no idea."

"Is that why Rhoan was investigating it?"

"He wasn't supposed to be anywhere near it."

Because he was supposed to be investigating Quinn. The question was, why? My gaze went back to the white walls. If there was more than just infrared, how was I going to get past it? I didn't do this for a living. I could take care of myself, but I didn't have the training or the skills to get past major security. Which meant I had two choices--either I let Jack extract him or I strike some sort of deal.

The first option was obviously the sanest, but a niggle deep inside suggested that at this moment, it wasn't the right choice. Though I had no idea why it wasn't, I'd spent most of my life listening to my instincts. And though in the past that had often got me into trouble, I wasn't about to abandon the habit.

Still, I hedged. "Why would you even let me attempt to extract him?"

His smile never touched his eyes, and it was a strong reminder that no matter how much I liked this vampire, he was first and foremost a Directorate man. And in that moment, I knew the answer to my question, before he even said a word.

"I want you as a guardian, Riley. You have the potential to be as good as, if not better than, your pack mate."

"That doesn't exactly answer the question." But it did, all too clearly.

"It's a test, a taster, if you will. I've known lots of wolves over my lifetime, and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that you all have one serious flaw. Though for Directorate purposes, it's something of a plus."

"And that is?"

"You're all adrenaline junkies."

I snorted. "You aren't even in the right ballpark with that one." Yet even as I said it, Talon's image came to mind. Wasn't half the thrill of being with him the sensation of walking a knife's edge? That at any moment, his wildness could snap and become truly dangerous? "So this is the test you have when I won't take the test?"

"Exactly."

"You can't force me to be a guardian."

"I won't have to. It's inevitable, Riley. You and Rhoan are two peas in a pod--and you were both born for this type of work."

A chill ran through me at his choice of words. It wasn't chance. Nothing was ever said by chance when it came to Jack. He knew Rhoan and I were twins. "I'm not a killer."

"All wolves are killers. It's just that in today's society, the urge is well controlled."

"That's like saying all vamps are killers."

"All vamps are. Some just manage to channel it into other areas."

Like becoming guardians and killing with the approval of the state. I shivered. "So basically, you're saying that you intend reeling me in bit by bit."

"Yes."

"And the offer of help tonight--what strings come attached to it?"

"That you promise to take the test sometime in the future."

"Sometime? You're not setting a limit of when?"

He grinned. "There'll be no need to. You'll come to me eventually."

"You don't know me very well if you think that."

"I know you better than you know yourself," he said, his cold gaze burning with a certainty that chilled my soul.

He knows what we are.
I licked my lips and hoped like hell the intuition was wrong. "Okay, you have a deal."

"Good. Drop by the office and I'll give you full details about Moneisha."

"I have some things to do first--could be a few hours."

"I'll be here."

"Surprise, surprise," I muttered.

He chuckled, and hung up. I slipped the Mercedes into gear and cruised back to the city, making it to Talon's as dusk began shifting toward true night.

His house--though calling it a house was a misnomer when it was so damn big I could see several levels clearly above the fifteen-foot fences--sat on a leafy acre right in the heart of Toorak. I drove up to the wrought-iron security gates and said my name into the speaker. The gates slid silently open.

The driveway snaked through stately elms, past manicured lawns, and finally presented the Old-English-style mansion in all its glory. It was a truly beautiful house, but it was a little hard to believe that only one man lived there. Obviously, Talon had more money than he knew what to do with.

I parked in front and climbed out, feeling more than a little out of place in my old work skirt and sweater. The door swung silently open as I climbed the steps, and the red beam of a weapon scanner swept down me as I stepped through the door.

A security cam buzzed as it swung around, and I raised an eyebrow. "Why all the gadgets?" I said, sure there'd be microphones here somewhere.

"A millionaire can never be too careful these days." Talon's husky tones seemed to come out of thin air. "Take the stairs, first door on the left."

I did as ordered. The door slid open as I approached, and the room I entered was an office big enough to play football in. The walls were a cool, dusky blue, and the furniture chrome. Talon was sitting at a desk down the far end. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and I very much suspected he wasn't wearing any pants, either. A bottle of champagne and two glasses sat to his right.

"Stop," he ordered softly.

His aura hit me, snatching my breath, making my legs feel boneless. He was heat and longing and need, and I'd never felt anything so potent in my life. It had me ready for him in an instant, but the unease I'd felt in the car earlier increased. What he was projecting couldn't possibly be natural.

"Strip," he continued in that same, flat tone.

I kicked off my heels, then, with his gaze a fever that flamed my skin, did a little, teasing dance as I took off my sweater, skirt, and undies. By the time I'd finished, it wasn't just his aura making me ache, but my own desire.

He took a deep, shuddery breath, then reached for the champagne and poured two glasses. "Walk to the desk."

I strolled toward him, provocatively exaggerating the sway of my hips. The closer I got, the stronger his hunger burned, until it hit my senses like a blow and made my head spin.

He slid a glass across the chrome. "Down it."

"You don't have to get me drunk to have your wicked way with me."

"This is the best champagne you will ever taste, and it will fuel the evening I have planned for us."

There was nothing seductive in his words--they were said as a statement of fact, a choice in which I had none. And while in some ways it aroused me all the more, that deep-down sense of unease grew.

"I'm due at work by nine."

"Then you are mine until eight-thirty."

I couldn't help a smile. Given the heat he was projecting, the next hour and a half was going to be one wild ride. I picked up the champagne, raised the glass in toast, and downed it as he drank his. It might be the best champagne ever made, but it went down as badly as the cheap stuff and made my head buzz even more.

He offered me another and I shook my head, knowing I'd probably throw up if I had a second glass.

He pressed a small button on his desk. A slot opened close to me, and a folder appeared. "Your information on Evensong and its owner. But you can look at it later. Right now, I want you. Come here, little wolf."

At that moment, I felt like a lamb confronted by a very large and hungry wolf, and for the first time in my life, I wasn't sure I actually liked the sensation. Or that I wanted to be there, with him.

Or was it simply a matter of the champagne affecting my head more than I thought?

Swallowing to ease the burning in my throat, I walked unsteadily around the desk. His golden body gleamed under the caress of the lights, and hunger slipped through me, mingling uneasily with reluctance. There was no emotion in his face, nothing in his eyes beyond lust, and his erection seemed positively huge. Huge and blurry. I blinked but it didn't seem to ease the sudden fuzziness. He grabbed my hand and pushed me back against the desk. As my rump hit the cold metal, he nudged open my legs and thrust into me, deeper and harder than he ever had before. I groaned, trapped between pleasure and pain as he began to pound into me. The heat of him, smell of him, swirled around me, through me, and sweat broke out across my brow. The champagne sat uneasily in my stomach and I knew if he didn't ease up, I'd throw up.

"Talon, stop."

He grabbed my hips, his fingers digging into my flesh as he held me still and kept grinding into me. Even the wolf in me was beginning to dislike the sensation. I grabbed his hands, intending to push him back, but my grip felt weak and there was a strange buzzing in my head, making it hard to concentrate. Worse still, the light and the office seemed to be fading in and out of existence.

He came, and that was the last thing I remember clearly.

Chapter 5