I took him in my mouth. Drew him deep, sucking and tasting and teasing him, until his movements became desperate and the salty taste of him began seeping into my mouth. I sucked again, harder this time, and he came, fiercely and violently, his whole body jerking with the force of it
When he was done, I licked the tip of him and looked up. “So how did the old-fashioned man enjoy that?”
“You’re a witch.” He shook his head, as if still unable to believe what I’d just done. “And as I said, any delay could prove costly. Even glorious ones.”
I grinned. “Going out with a tent pole is dangerous. The guards would be wondering what you were actually doing in here.”
“True.” He gently pushed me upright, then handed me the dress. “Shall we continue investigating?”
I was half-inclined to continue what we’d started, but he was right about one thing—we were there to work, not play
We continued searching the drawers. I was on my final one when I found a folder marked “White Phantom Project.” It wasn’t anything I’d ever heard of—though I was hardly in a position to hear or see anything top secret —but something about the name stirred my curiosity. Inside, there were old floor plans, building sketches, and the like, as well as the names of several people who no longer worked for the Directorate. I handed the folder across to Quinn. “Look at this.”
He took it and had a quick glance. “It doesn’t give us much.” He glanced at the name on the spine, and his frown deepened. “You know, Genoveve is a form of Guinevere, which is both French and Welsh. I believe Guinevere means either white wave or white phantom.”
“So?”
“So, white phantoms are a form of vampire.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Really?”
He nodded. “It’s a bit of a stretch, but at this stage, I think we can afford to grab at anything.”
He tossed the folder on the chair with the other one. We finished searching our prospective drawers but didn’t find anything else. I picked out a couple of the disks, then Quinn relocked the cabinets, grabbed the folders, and walked across to the phone
“All calls from the offices are recorded,” I said, as he picked up the phone
“I’m not intending to use it.” He held out a finger. On it was a pinhead-sized dot. “The latest in bug technology.”
“The Directorate’s a government department. It’s regularly swept.”
His smile made my hormones do their jig again. “My labs are developing this one, and so far, it’s gone undetected in a number of government buildings.”
I raised my eyebrows. “And why would you be bugging government offices?”
“Not all offices. Just those trying to place sanctions on my businesses.”
“And, handily, you just happened to be carrying one of these little bugs around in your pocket?”
“No. The labs developing them are in Melbourne. I went there yesterday and picked one up.” He smiled at me. “Of course, I’ve now warned your boss what I’m up to, so I daresay I’ll have to develop new spying methods.”
He placed the dot on the base unit, then walked around the table and held out a hand. “Shall we go?”
I glanced at the wall clock as I wove my fingers in his. “Jack didn’t want us to meet back at the farmhouse until five. That gives us three hours to fill in before we have to leave for Seymour.” I met his gaze and tried to restrain my grin. “What do you think we should do to fill in the time?”
“Feel like a coffee?”
“No.”
He unlocked the door and wrapped a hand around the handle. “How about a midnight snack?”
“It’s well after midnight and the only thing I’m interested in sampling right now”—I swept my gaze down the front of him—“is something I’ve already tasted.”
“Do you always talk this dirty to mates?”
I laughed. “My dear vampire, I haven’t even begun to get dirty yet.”
Amusement and desire vied for prominence in his eyes. “That almost sounds like a threat.”
“Take it any way you want. As long as you take me, I don’t care.”
“Oh, you can be sure that I intend to take you.” His sexy grin teased my hormones as he opened the door. “Just not here. Out you go.”
I went, and ran nose first into someone who was little more than shadow. I yelped, and jumped back, my pulse going a mile a minute. But even before the shadows found form, I knew it was Gautier. His smell wrapped around me, a noxious scent that made me want to scratch at my skin. Quinn’s hands came down on my shoulders, his fingers pressing deep, as if warning me not to speak. Like I
“Director Brown,” Gautier said, oily tones soft and somewhat respectful. “I thought you’d gone home sick.”
“I had. Now I’m back. What do you want?”
“Nothing. Just doing my nightly check.”
He was lying. I knew for a fact Radford was supposed to be doing the rounds that week, not Gautier. So why was he there, nosing around the executive floor? Did he suspect something was wrong, or was he up to business of his own? Business that meant ill for the Directorate?
“Then why were you standing at my door?” Quinn said, voice a perfect imitation of Brown’s sharp bark
“Thought I heard voices. And, as I said, I didn’t know you were here, sir.”
He was still lying. And was that a bead of sweat on his forehead? What on earth had Gautier been about to do?
“Well, now you know the source of the voices, I suggest you continue your rounds.”
Gautier hesitated, took a glance at the cameras, then wrapped the shadows around himself and disappeared. I switched to infrared, watching him retreat until he disappeared into the stairwell
“Let’s go,” Quinn said, locking the door before grabbing my arm and propelling me down the hall
I waited until we were in the lift, then pulled my arm free of his grip. “Gautier suspects us.”
He raised an eyebrow. “How do you know that? You can’t read his thoughts any more than he can read yours.”
“No. But I could read his expression—”
“A vampire like Gautier doesn’t have expressions.”
“It was there—just a brief flicker. Something you said made him suspect us.”
“Then we’re getting out of here as fast as we can. We can’t risk him getting help and maybe cornering us.”
No, we couldn’t, because I’d seen Gautier in action. And while I had no doubt that Quinn could handle the likes of Gautier, it would be a different story if Gautier called in help. And there were at least twenty vampires sitting in the vaults of the place, just itching for a good fight
We exited the building and made our way down the street. Though I heard no sound, the hairs on the back of my neck rose
“We’re being followed,” I said softly
“I know. But the closest one is not a vampire—the heartbeat is too regular.” His fingers tightened on mine. “Let’s head for the car and see what happens.”
We didn’t alter our pace, just kept walking. The tall buildings around us blocked out most of the wind’s fury, but though it was after midnight, the night was far from quiet. The moon was riding high and wolves were celebrating all over the city. Even the traffic was heavier than normal
Yet through all the noise came a whisper of movement. It was more a sigh of air than anything else, and it was coming at us fast. I caught the sharp tang of musk and man, and anger surged through me. It wasn’t Gautier
I pulled free from Quinn and swung round, catching Talon’s reaching hand before he could pull the wig from my head
Surprise ran through his eyes. I squeezed his fingers a little harder, and the surprise became pain. “And what do you think you’re doing?”
