“Liander should get a medal for the work he’s done on you.”
He took off his coat and put it around my shoulders, then slid his hand down my arm and twined his fingers through mine. Heat trembled through me, and the fires of need leapt into focus. It was barely nine in the evening, and the moon had only just begun to rise. Yet the fever was a slow burn in my blood, a force ready and able to explode. I took a deep breath and tried to ignore it. Yet I couldn’t ignore the caress of his body’s heat as we strolled toward the Directorate building a block away. Couldn’t ignore the tension emanating from him, a tension that spoke of a need as great as my own
“He hasn’t done such a bad job on you, either.” The soft lilt in Quinn’s voice had disappeared, thanks to the modulators inserted into his cheeks. What came out was Brown’s harsh tones. “Though I think I prefer the blue toning to the white. It makes you look too ghostly.”
Which was the effect Liander had been going for. Apparently, ghostly was going to be the next big fashion trend. Personally, I agreed with Quinn. White contacts, white hair, and powder white skin were just too spooky
But at least I’d been able to keep my sexy boots, though he’d swapped the peekaboo shirt and microskirt for a thigh-length dress that was little more than gossamer, and very similar in design to the outfits Brown’s tarts wore in the security vids we’d viewed. Brown liked his women naked and ready to go, it seemed
Which is probably why Quinn had wrapped his coat around my shoulders—I was wearing zip underneath the gossamer, and in the gleam of street lighting all was revealed. I didn’t particularly care, but Quinn had made a couple of comments about indecency and respectability that had made me smile
It was going to be so much fun dragging his complacent sexual views out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary
We climbed the steps and walked to the Directorate’s main doors. Quinn pressed the code keys, then swiped the card. As the doors swished open, the red beam of the scanners ran down us. Neither of us was carrying weapons, so we didn’t set off any alarms. And there was no problem with the handprint scanner, either. Liander had covered that—with a little help from Jack and the prints he’d taken from the files
“Assistant Director Brown,” the guard at the desk said, his eyes all but popping out of his head when he saw me. “We weren’t expecting you in this evening.”
“Got a little business to attend to,” Quinn replied, his grin lecherous as he patted my behind awkwardly
He had Brown’s movements down pat, and I bit the inside of my cheek, trying not to laugh
“I’ll have to code an elevator for you,” the guard said. “We locked them down for the night.”
Quinn nodded, and the guard scooted ahead of us. He unlocked an elevator, but didn’t step back, forcing me to press past him to get into the elevator. As I did, he slid his hand across my rear, taking a quick feel
Quinn moved so swiftly it was only when I heard the crack of bones that I realized something had happened
“No touching the merchandise on
“Sorry, Director,” he stammered
“Do it again, and I’ll have you fired.”
He let go of the guard’s hand and stepped into the elevator with me. I waited until the door closed, and said, “That was a bit much. The tapes show that’s a somewhat regular occurrence when Brown brings his women in.”
“I don’t care. That man has no right to touch you.”
“We’re here in disguise. We have to follow the pattern set.”
He glanced at me, eyes unreadable thanks to the blue lenses he had in. “That may be your game plan, but it’s not mine. Not when it comes to something like that.”
“Brown’s not a gentleman, and he certainly doesn’t mind sharing. Remember that.”
“I’m not Brown. You remember that.”
The doors opened before I could reply. Quinn pressed his hand into my back, guiding me down the shadow- filled hall. Warmth pooled around his fingertips, lapping across the rest of my skin in waves. The fever flickered in response, surging through my veins. It was ignorable—but for how long?
Cameras tracked our progress up the hall. When we got to Brown’s office, he pressed in the code, swiped the card, then motioned me inside
The lights came on as he reset the lock. I stopped in the middle of the room and looked around. Though I knew the basic layout of the office, the sheer size of it still surprised me. It wasn’t as huge as the office Talon had in his house, but it was still pretty amazing. Nor was the furniture the standard-issue cheap stuff we got downstairs. This was mahogany and leather right down the line
I tossed the jacket on the nearest chair and moved down to the far end of the room
“Lighting level dim,” Quinn said behind me
His voice had an edge and I looked at him. He smiled grimly. With all his makeup, it wasn’t a pretty sight
“That dress you’re almost wearing is dead see-through in bright lights.”
I struck a pose and batted my eyelashes innocently. “And you don’t like the view?”
“Oh, I love the view, but unfortunately, I need to concentrate on what we’re here to do.”
I grinned and motioned to the seemingly blank wall in front of me. “So do you want to open the cabinets so we can start?”
“Cabinets open,” he said, tone still gruff
There was a soft click, and the wall slid aside. I walked to the cabinets at the far end, my smile growing as I heard the soft groan behind. Obviously, the dress was see-through in dim lights too
“I don’t know what Jack hopes to find,” I said, pulling out the first drawer. “Surely Brown is not stupid enough to keep anything incriminating in his office.”
“It would certainly be a lot safer than keeping it at home,” Quinn commented from the other end. “This place normally has more security than Fort Knox.”
I raised an eyebrow. “And you know this because… ?”
A smile tugged his lips—lips that were still full and lush and oh so kissable. “Because I’ve had a somewhat less-than-respectable past.”
So Jack had said. “You robbed Fort Knox?”
“Their security wasn’t as sophisticated back then. Certainly not strong enough to keep a determined vampire out.”
No wonder he was megarich. I shook my head and he chuckled. “It wasn’t the first bank to suffer unexplained losses.”
“You made a habit of it?”
“I had several brief flurries into crime. Respectability gets boring after a few centuries.”
I raised an eyebrow. “So how far into the current respectability phase are you?”
“Far enough for it to start feeling old.” He pointed to the cabinet I had open. “If you don’t start looking, we’re never going to get out of here.”
And I wanted to get out of there, because I wanted to make love to him. Whether or not he was still wrapped in an ugly outer layer
I began flicking through the paperwork. In this age of electronic marvels, it was amazing just how much paper was still used. Of course, paper was no longer just paper, more a special form of recycled plastic, but it felt the same and was used in the same copious amounts that it ever was
It was a half hour before we found something
“Financial costings,” Quinn said. “For an unspecified project.” He flicked through the papers with a frown. “The project wasn’t approved by the Directorate.”
I opened another drawer. “Nothing unusual in that. From what Jack says, a good half of the projects presented to the board are turned down.”
His gaze met mine. “This was for genome research. The proposal was presented fifteen years ago.”
I frowned. “Why would he be keeping something like that?”
“Why indeed?” He tossed the folder on the nearby chair and continued searching
The drawer I’d opened was filled with boxes and boxes of fingertip-sized silvery disks. I plucked one free and
