Kissing Sin

face.

I swallowed. He was beautiful, truly beautiful, in a way that was anything but effeminate.

His gaze touched mine, eyes obsidian stone, and his expression shuttered Yet something passed between us, an awareness that made my heart stutter and caused goose bumps to tremble warmly across my skin It was an awareness that had been present from the very first time we'd met, and it was stronger now than it had ever been.

Kade suddenly stopped, his gaze swinging from me to Quinn and back again Understanding dawned in his velvet eyes, followed swiftly by bedevilment He took a step back, and twined his fingers through mine.

His obvious intention was to provoke a reaction, and he certainly got it But it wasn't anything dramatic, just an almost imperceptible tightening of expression.

In some ways, Quinn's reaction amused as much as it annoyed The slight shift in expression told me exactly what he was thinking, and it was annoying to realize he was continuing to judge me by human standards Which was crazy, because no one here was human in any way, shape, or form But I couldn't help seeing the funny side of a vampire with over twelve hundred years of living under his belt getting ticked off by such an obviously fake challenge.

But it was an interesting reaction, no matter what emotion it evoked. It suggested that no matter how many statements he made about never getting involved with another werewolf, he wasn't entirely ready to walk away. I mean, if someone like Kade, someone who was just a bit of friendly fun, could draw a response from Mr. Emotionless-face himself, then no matter what Quinn said, part of him still wanted to be in my life.

And I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about that little revelation—if it was indeed true. I mean, I'd tried.

Maybe it was time for him to put in a little effort. Do a little chasing.

'It's nice to see you again, Quinn.'

Surprise flickered through his dark eyes. Maybe he'd figured politeness would be beyond my capacity given all the brush-offs he'd accorded me over recent months.

'And it's nice to see you whole and in one piece.' His voice was rich with the lilt of Ireland, and far sexier in life than it had been in my dreams. Just listening to it again made me want to sigh in pleasure. 'We'd all feared the worst.'

The comment warmed places deep inside. Which just proved that no matter what I'd said to Kade earlier about finally walking away from Quinn, there was a part of me that hungered for the relationship to continue. Still, he didn't deserve to get me easily. Not this time.

I raised an eyebrow. 'Why were you worried about me?'

It was a somewhat snarky thing to say, but hey, he deserved at least that given all the rejections. And if that was all the attitude he caught, then he could count himself lucky.

'Guys, can we take this mushy little meet and greet inside?' Rhoan said, voice dry. 'Just in case there's spies in the air?'

Quinn glanced at Rhoan, then turned around and disappeared inside. I disentangled my fingers from Kade's and looked at my brother. 'Gee, thanks for the advance warning.'

Rhoan grimaced. 'I did try. But even if I had warned you, would it have made the shock of seeing him again any easier?'

No, and he knew it.

'Play the game,' Kade said softly. 'Trust me. It'll work.'

I looked at him, amusement twitching my lips. 'And that suggestion isn't more than a little self-serving now, is it?'

He held up his hands, merriment dancing in his dark eyes. 'Hey, I am a randy old stallion who has been locked up for four months, remember.'

'And has the randy old stallion forgotten we've got bad guys to round up?'

'No. But there's no rule saying you can't combine business with pleasure.'

'People,' Rhoan said. 'We really need to move this inside.'

I leaned sideways, and dropped a kiss on my brother's cheek. 'If you'd stop gripping my arm so tight, I'd be able to move.'

He squeezed a final time then released me. We walked inside. The cabin was small and, with all of us in here, crowded. Jack was sitting at the table down at the far end, the bright glow of the com-screen in front of him casting a bluish light across his weatherworn features and bald head. As bosses went, he was so damn easygoing it was often hard to remember that not only was he the Vice President in charge of the whole guardian division—one of the four main departments in the Directorate—but he was also one of the most powerful vampires I knew.

The other just happened to be Quinn. He'd parked his butt in a nearby armchair, cross-legged and elegant. The only other seats were the two sofas near the TV. Kade and I took one, Rhoan the other.

Jack glanced up, and gave me a toothy grin. 'Good to see you alive and well, darlin'.'

I smiled. 'It's good to be alive and well. Jack, Quinn, this is Kade.'

'I know who Kade is,' Jack said. 'I have his files.'

Kade raised his eyebrows. 'Really?'

Amusement touched Jack's green eyes. 'There's no place the Directorate can't go if we so desire.'

'Well, that's a little tidbit kept well away from the general population, isn't it?'

'And with good reason. Why were you in that place?'

'He's one of the shifters they were milking,' I said, and added, just a touch impatiently, 'I don't suppose you want to share Kade's background with the rest of us?'

'Right now? No. There's more important matters to discuss.' Jack's gaze narrowed a little. 'What do you mean by 'one of?'

Kade shrugged. 'There were nine of us in there. I'm not sure what happened to the others after our break out.'

'And they were collecting specimens from you all?'

'Yes.'

Jack grunted and glanced at me. 'And were they collecting samples from you?'

I shrugged. 'It's all very hazy at the moment. All I can really remember is waking up in a small lane beside a dead man.'

'The lack of memory coming from the drugs or the accident?'

I shrugged again.

'Probably the accident,' Rhoan commented, looking at me critically. 'The scar on her head looks as if the wound might have been bad enough to cause memory loss.'

'What scar?'

My confusion was evident in my voice. I hadn't noticed a scar when I'd showered in the old house, but then, I'd been in a hurry to get to the kitchen and find some coffee. And I certainly wasn't prone to spending hours in front of a mirror. A quick glance was all that was usually needed unless I was going somewhere special and had to apply makeup.

Kade ran a finger from my temple to the back of my head and said, 'That scar, sweetheart.'

I frowned. 'Is it nasty?' God, the last thing I needed was another scar to worry about. I had enough as it was, thanks to childhood mishaps.

'Your hair covers it, no probs.'

'So this place is in a nearby town?' Jack said, in a voice that suggested little tolerance for slight deviances from the topic at hand.

I grinned, more than a little used to his impatience. 'This place is a town. And a testing ground. They have mock buildings as well as concrete ones.'

'Can you lead us back there?' he asked.

'I can,' Kade said, before I could. 'Riley was unconscious for some of the journey.'

Which was so totally fudging the truth. Jack glanced at me, eyebrow raised imperceptibly. He knew the lie, but for whatever reason, wasn't going to argue it. Maybe he figured he needed a horse-shifter in his new task force. He glanced at the com-screen, said, 'Area map,' then looked at Kade. 'You want to give us a rough location? We'll