Full Moon Rising (20 page)

"And if you don't?"

"I don't know. I'll worry about it when the time comes."

His hands slid down to my hips, shifting me, then holding me still as he slid his cock deep inside. And while the lingering moon heat had me half-ready to take him, his continuing avoidance of
any
form of foreplay was beginning to annoy.

And I said as much.

He merely grinned. "When the moon rises high, sex is what matters, not foreplay."

"It may not matter to you, but it does to me." I pried his hands off my hips and pushed away from him, kicking water in his face as I floated back to the center of the spa.

Surprise flitted through his golden eyes. He hadn't expected me to be so strong. "You weren't so concerned about the foreplay this morning, little wolf."

"That was this morning. This is now."

"There's no satisfying you females, is there? No matter what we do, we're wrong." Though it was said with a smile, the spark of anger lit his eyes. He didn't like being denied, even for something as simple as sex.

"What is foreplay going to cost you? Ten? Fifteen minutes? Not much, in the scheme of things."

"Do I satisfy you, little wolf?"

"Mostly."

"Then what is the problem?"

I shook my head. I'd beaten my head against this particular wall before and knew from past experiences that nothing would ever change. Talon was what he was--I either put up with it or left.

Still . . .

"The problem is you just presume. You never even bother to ask."

He studied me for a moment, expression one of thoughtful consideration. I had a bad feeling that our relationship was about to change in some unfathomable way.

"Then I have a question for you, little wolf."

Though that bad feeling was growing, I grinned faintly. "The answer is no, you can't have sex with me just yet. I'm enjoying floating in the bubbles right now."

"That wasn't the question."

Like I didn't know that? "Then what is?"

"Will you have my child?"

Surprise hit like a club but I somehow managed to say,
"What?"

"I want you to carry my child."

"But . . ." My voice faded. Was he absolutely crazy? Maybe the heat of the spa had fried a brain cell or two. Surely he had to realize I wasn't about to take the risk of having kids with a man I didn't love. "We're not soul mates."

"So? I don't want to swear eternity to the moon, little wolf. I just want a son."

"So wait for your soul mate."

"I don't want a soul mate. I want to take my pleasure when and where I choose. But I also want a son to carry my name and take over my empire when I die."

Empire? Lord, his businesses weren't
that
big . . . were they? I shook my head, unable to believe he was actually serious. "So why me?"

"Because you are unlike any female I have met, and a son of ours would be strong."

"This is madness, Talon. I don't want a child with you--or anyone else--at this moment. And just in case I've never mentioned it, there's a history of conception problems in my family. That's why the red packs are so few."

Which wasn't a lie. The red packs were small in number for
precisely
that reason. Which is why none of my earlier doctors had picked up the real reason behind my fertility problem. They'd all been working on the premise that I'd inherited the barrenness that ran riot in our pack, and hadn't tested any further.

"We have read your medical files--"

"We?" I interrupted, annoyance in my tone. "What do you mean by 'we'? And how the hell did you get my medical files?"

"There is nothing that can't be bought if you have the money. And I am, of course, talking about the specialists I have consulted. It is their belief that all you need is a series of injections to help ovulation."

If he and his experts believed that, then they'd obviously gotten hold of my earlier medical records and not the more recent ones from my Directorate-approved, and therefore carefully screened, doctor. No one could get into
those
files without an alarm being raised back at the Directorate. It wasn't common procedure, and while the precaution had made me feel a little easier about using a Directorate doctor, I'd always wondered why Jack had implemented the procedure for me. Of course, his reason was now pretty clear. He'd known all along what I was and was keeping my secrets even as he kept an eye on what was going on within my system.

Those protected files were the only ones that mentioned my being a half-breed as the major factor in my fertility problems. And from what I'd been told, there
wasn't
a drug currently on the market that would help me ovulate.

Even so, Talon's smug smile had my fist clenching, but I somehow resisted the temptation to smack him one. "Talon, if I have a kid with you, I'm locking myself to you for the next ten years or more. Few wolves are willing to take on the pup of another."

"No other wolf would be allowed to. What is mine is mine."

"I'm not spending the next ten years in an exclusive arrangement with you. I enjoy what we have, but I don't want it permanently."

"So I'll raise the kid myself."

I shook my head. "If you think I'm going to go through all the trouble of trying to conceive just to hand my baby over to someone else at the end of it, you're crazy."

"I'm not crazy, but I
am
serious. I want you to have my child."

How could he believe I'd actually agree to something like this? Surely, in all the time we'd spent together, he must have learned something about me. Yet as I stared at him now, I realized the answer was no. Talon didn't see me as a person--just a willing sexual partner he now wanted babies with. "The answer is no."

"At least take some time to consider it."

"No." I climbed out of the spa.

He watched me, golden eyes filled with cold determination. "I always get what I want, little wolf. In the end, you will do this."

"No, I won't."

He gave a lazy smile that had wariness skittering through me. I didn't like that smile. Didn't trust the gloating underneath it.

"You may not have a choice."

I grabbed a towel off the chair and began toweling myself down. "What do you mean?"

His lazy, confident smile made the wariness grow. He was up to something, something more than what he was admitting.

"I mean, I've put out word that you and I have reached an exclusive agreement for the next couple of months. You can turn to no one but me during the moon heat now, and I will not provide what you want until you agree to my terms."

Anger rose, and it was all I could do not to launch myself at him and punch that smug, cold smile from his lips. "Misha will be back soon. And he'll be told the truth."

He raised an eyebrow. "Misha will not fight me over you."

The certainty in his voice sent chills down my spine, if only because it sounded like he knew Misha far better than I did. Which was stupid. As far as I knew, they'd met less than half a dozen times. Hardly time enough to form any depth of friendship.

I chucked the towel on the chair. "What we have is good, but I
can
live without it. If you don't give this crap up, I'll walk away for good."

"I have put a lot of thought into this, little wolf. A lot of time. I don't intend to give it up until I get what I want."

"The answer is, and will remain, no." I swung around and walked through the door to get my clothes.

His chuckles followed, brushing ice across my skin. "We'll see, little wolf. We'll see."

I didn't bother answering, just put on my super short skirt and top, and got the hell out of there. But I had a feeling Talon's surprises weren't over yet.

M
y phone rang as I was walking out of the hotel. I dug around in my bag until I found it and was relieved to see it was Liander.

I flicked the receive button, and said, "Is he okay?"

"I'm fine, sis."

Relief swept through me and tears welled. I blinked them away fiercely, and said, "Really?"

"Well, I'm not going to be doing much dancing for the next couple of days, but other than that, yes."

"So they were milking you? Nothing more?"

"As far as I know. They had me chained with silver, which was why I couldn't escape."

"Have you been checked over by Liander's doctor friend?"

"Yeah. I'm fine, as I said, just as sore as hell and walking like a man who's been in the saddle too long."

I grinned. "Nothing new in that, brother."

He snorted softly. "I wouldn't mind if it was self-inflicted."

"So now all we have to do is find out why Moneisha are in the market for sperm."

"To do that, we may have to break in there again, and that's not going to be easy." A bell dinged, and I looked up to see the sleek silver tram approaching the stop outside the hotel. I hurried across the road. "Have you talked to Jack yet?"

"Yes. He told me to stay here--he's coming to us."

"Did he tell you someone tried to kill him?"

"Yes." He hesitated. "He also told me Kelly has gone missing."

Something inside froze. "But . . . but she wasn't supposed to be looking for you. She was supposed to be on another mission entirely."

"She was. Jack's sent out searchers. They'll find her."

Rhoan's tone was meant to be reassuring, but all I could think of was the other guardians who'd disappeared of late. I didn't want that happening to Kelly. Didn't want it happening to anyone I knew, or even to anyone one I hated.

With one exception. "Gautier threatened her last night. Has Jack questioned him about it?"

"Yes. Gautier's many things, sis, but he isn't a fool. I doubt he'd attack another guardian."

"Gautier would kill anyone who got in his way." Especially if he thought he could get away with it.

"Kel's a survivor. She'll be okay."

She might be a survivor, but if Gautier had gone after her, then she was dead meat. Though I guess she
did
have more of a chance against him than whoever was behind the mutilations of the other guardians.

"If he's hurt her--" I just couldn't say killed her. I didn't even want to think about it. "I'm going to kill him." Blow his brains out, then stake his rotten heart.

"If he
has
hurt her, you won't have to. Jack will."

Maybe. Maybe not. Gautier was our best, after all. I blew out a breath and changed the subject. "Jack knows about us."

"He's known for a long time. You can trust him, sis."

I'd thought I could trust Talon, too, but after the discussion we just had, I wasn't so sure.

"Where are you now?" he added. "Or rather, how long will it take you to get back here?"

"I've been with Talon at the Kingfisher." I glanced at my watch. "It'll take me about half an hour to get there, because I have to go to the Casino parking garage and collect Misha's car--"

"Misha lent you one of his cars?" The surprise in Rhoan's voice came through loud and clear.

"I'm not that bad a driver--"

"This from the woman who has wiped out how many cars in the last ten years?"

"Eight," I mumbled. "But only two of those accidents were my fault."

"The jury is still out on the other six, though."

"I just got your ass out of jail, brother, so you could play nice for a little while."

He chuckled softly. "If you insist."

"I do." I hesitated, then added, "Jack's going to try to drag me into this investigation. I don't want to be involved any more than I am, Rhoan. I don't want to be a guardian."

"I know." The amusement fled from his voice. "And I'll do what I can to keep you free, but when it comes to this particular case, I don't think there's any escape."

Which is not what I wanted to hear.

He paused, then added, "You might want to ring Talon and Misha, and just warn them that work is creating problems that may spill into your private life. Tell them to be careful."

"Misha's gone back to his pack, and I have no intention of speaking to Talon for the next couple of days. He's being a bastard."

"Always has been. You just couldn't see past the sex."

"True. But then, the sex was damn good." Or it had been, until recently. What had changed, I wasn't sure. Certainly Talon hadn't.

"Just be careful, Riley."

Like I needed to be told that. "See you soon, bro."

I hung up and caught the tram down to the Casino. If I didn't get Misha's car out of the garage soon, the fees would cost me more than the old Mercedes was actually worth. I took the elevator down to sublevel three and headed out across the concrete expanse. Water dripped in the distance, and up ahead, lights blinked, sending shadows scurrying through the concrete paddock.

Sound whispered around me--the soft scuff of a heel, followed by the faint caress of mint in the air. I stopped abruptly, muscles tense as I looked around. There was no one else there . . . and yet there was. My gaze swept across the shadows filling the distant corners. A vampire lurked there--but he wasn't what I sensed. It was something else . . . something stranger.