Kissing Sin

Everyone except Kade, who just wanted to have a good time, and Quinn who wanted me to be his, and only his. Only he didn't want the wolf, just the woman, and he couldn't have one without the other.

'I know how much you want a child, but you can't do it.'

'I know.' I pulled back. 'I'm protected against pregnancy. Only Quinn knows that.'

'I can imagine how he took it.' Rhoan grimaced.

'Yeah, he did mention something along the lines of whoring myself for the sake of the Directorate.'

'He may be a very old vampire, but he was still once human. And they just can't get their minds around sex being something that should be shared and celebrated. Which is why—'

'Don't,' I interrupted, 'lecture me on the subject any more, bro. I've offered him a deal and I intend to stick to it.'

'I still don't think it's a good idea, but I'll shut up on the matter.' He kissed my forehead. 'Let's get out of here, before those blue suckers decide to pay a second visit.'

I glanced toward the lasered window. 'You don't really think they'd attack again so soon, do you?'

'Probably not, but these people have a tendency to do the unexpected.'

Like causing a car crash and snatching me for breeding purposes just when we'd all begun to think I was safe. Dammit, why were they after me? What was so goddamn important about my genes that they were so determined to have me? And why not Rhoan, who carried the same genes?

'Sol can keep this?' I raised the small laser he'd given me earlier.

'Yeah. Jack will have a coronary, as they're guardian-only weapons, but right now, I don't give a shit.' He grabbed the bag from my shoulder. 'It's got a stun setting, if you'd prefer to shoot first and ask questions later.'

'Already noted, bro.'

He smiled. 'Keep behind me, and wrap the shadows around you.'

I did, and we made it down the stairs without mishap. Quinn was little more than a deeper shade of night, but I would have known he was there even if I wasn't using infrared. His rich scent warmed the night air.

'There's several cameras currently trained on us,' he commented, opening the front passenger door for me. 'I'm not sure if they're infrared, but I'll be dumping this vehicle as soon as possible.'

'Good.' Rhoan glanced at me. 'Be careful.'

He meant with Quinn. I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. 'You too.'

He waited until I'd climbed in, then handed me the bag. 'If there's any trouble, call.'

'I'll keep her safe,' Quinn said.

'You'd better.' Rhoan stepped back, and Quinn slammed the door shut. Five seconds later, my brother had gone back inside and we were under way.

'Where are we headed?' I asked, after a few minutes.

'After we dump the car? I'm open to suggestions. Neither my place nor yours would be safe right now, and hotel registers can be checked too easily.'

And even signing in under a false name wouldn't be safe, as there wouldn't be many people checking in at this hour of the night.

I rubbed my forehead wearily. There was an ache behind my eyes, my head was beginning to pound, and I desperately needed some sleep. But more than that, I needed some sort of sanity back into my life.

My gaze went to the softly lit ship that was crossing the bay, heading toward the open ocean. Right now, I felt like that ship—gliding through the darkness, heading for ever more treacherous waters.

But that ship at least knew its final destination. I had no idea.

'Riley?'

Sighing, I said, 'Let's find somewhere I can use the com-unit safely. I need to check a few things.'

His gaze swept me, a heat I felt rather than saw. 'Like what?'

It was so tempting to snap out something along the lines of 'that's none of your damn business,' but that'd be churlish and he didn't deserve any more of that. 'Like, who the hell Kade really is.'

'So you fucked—' He stopped abruptly.

'Yes,' I stated, wavering between annoyance that he'd started to repeat the same old line, and amusement that he'd actually stopped it mid-sentence. A small improvement was better than nothing, I supposed. 'I fucked him without doing a background check. And don't you dare try and tell me you check the background of every woman you bed.'

'No.' He paused. 'I apologize.'

'Oh, I bet that hurt.'

He gave me his vampire look and simply said, 'What has made you suspicious of him?'

'The fact that he's still here, helping us.'

'Ah, so it's not suspicion as such, but curiosity.' He glanced at me. 'You know what curiosity did to the cat.'

'Yep. And it so won't stop me.'

'Nothing seems to stop you.'

Given I wasn't entirely sure how to take that statement, I simply said, 'Where are we going to dump the car?'

'Here?'

I looked around the darkened, grimy streets, and could instantly think of a dozen better places to go. Which I guess made it the ideal spot. 'Fine.'

He swung into a side street and stopped in the shadows of an old gum tree. I grabbed my bag and climbed out. The wind had become even colder, whipping around my bare legs with some force, sending goose bumps fleeing across my flesh. The scent of the ocean mingled now with the overripe aromas of rubbish, age, urine, and stale human. The surrounding houses were as dark and dingy as the street itself, yet the sound of lovemaking that was coming from the one closest indicated that some of these hovels were at least occupied by more than the drunks I could smell.

I glanced across the roof of the car. 'Do you know this area?'

'Not at all.' He faded into darkness, and I switched to infrared. The heat of him moved around the back of the car. 'This way.' His breath whispered warmly past my ear as he took the bag from me.

I glanced at the house, saw the flame of the couple loving each other, and fleetingly wished I had nothing more to worry about than achieving satisfaction.

Pulling my gaze away, I followed Quinn. We moved quickly through the maze of streets, always heading away from the city rather than toward it, as might be expected.

By the time he'd stopped, we'd made our way into a small shopping strip. I eyed the bedding shop with longing, but naturally, it wasn't that one he stopped at, but rather, the dingy-looking corner store.

'No alarms,' he said, before I could ask. 'And there's an unoccupied floor above it.'

I didn't even have the energy to work up a glare. 'I thought you were going to stop reading my mind?'

'No, I said you should guard your thoughts if you don't want me reading them.' He forced open the door, and waved a hand. 'After you.'

The old shop hadn't been used for some time, if the dust layered on the counters and the aged taste of the air was anything to go by. I moved past chair stacked on tables, brushed past several dangling cobwebs, and headed up the stairs. The upper floor wasn't large, but it did have a bed. And even though it smelled older than Methuselah, it was better than sleeping on rot-worn floorboards.

'You take the bed,' Quinn said from the top of the stairs. 'I'll keep watch from down below.'

'Keeping out of temptation's way?' I said, with some amusement.

His expression was grim as it met mine. 'As you noted before, I have a decision to make. I think it only fair I keep my distance until I do make that decision.'

I grabbed my bag from him, then leaned forward and kissed his cheek. 'Thank you for being honest, and thank you for at least thinking about it.'

Warmth touched his dark eyes. 'Even a very old vampire can learn to be honest occasionally.'

'So there's hope for you yet?'

The amusement died. 'I don't know, Riley.' He raised a hand, touching my cheek briefly but oh so tenderly. 'I just don't know.'