Kissing Sin (9 page)

“There’s a splattered black shape at the bottom of the canyon,” Rhoan said, peering over the edge at an angle that had my nerves twitching.

“It jumped rather than be caught,” I said, amazed. “Why would it do that?”

“‘It’ being the operative term,” Rhoan said grimly. “And it either jumped because it didn’t see the cliff in time, or because it thought death was better than capture.”

“It’d have to be the first option, wouldn’t it?”

He shrugged. “Who knows. One thing is certain, though. I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

“No. But I very much doubt it was something nature made.” I shivered and rubbed my arms.

He looked at me. “You okay?”

I nodded. “I sensed it just before it attacked, and was able to keep out of its way.”

He glanced down at the body one more time, then stepped back and turned me around. “Let’s get you back inside before you freeze to death.”

We walked back to the cabin. Quinn was squatting down and examining the ground outside the window, but looked up as we arrived.

His gaze skimmed my nakedness, and the sweet taste of lust briefly stirred the air. But all he said, in a voice as cool as the air, was, “These footprints don’t belong to any creature I’ve ever seen before.”

Rhoan squatted beside him and ran a finger over the prints. “Claws,” he said, looking up at me. “Just like its fingers.”

I nodded. “As I said, I don’t think it was nature-made.”

“I think you’re right.” He paused, his gaze skirting the silent trees. “Why don’t you go get some sleep? I’ll keep watch for any more of these beasties.”

He hadn’t seen or sensed the first one, and I doubted he’d see or sense any follow-ups. Which begged the question: Why? I might not have sensed the creature until it was almost too late, but I
had
felt the sense of wrongness. So why hadn’t my twin?

I didn’t know. And part of me didn’t
want
to know, because I had a vague suspicion it might just stem back to the drugs Talon and Co. had been feeding me.

But at least the creeping sense of wrongness no longer haunted the day. Maybe we’d be free from attack for a while. “I think I’ll grab a shower first. I doubt I’ll be able to sleep right now.”

He nodded. I made my way back inside the cabin. Thankfully, someone had removed the severed arm, and made some attempt to clean up the blood. I wasted some time checking every little corner, then finally relaxed and headed for the bathroom.

But despite my protests, I did sleep, and sleep well.

Quinn was standing near the broken window when I woke, his hands clasped casually behind his back and body relaxed, but I could taste his tension. It stung the air, as sharp as the sudden spike in my pulse rate.

“There are fresh clothes at the end of the bed.” His voice was soft, neutral. “Rhoan thought you might appreciate something warmer. There’s no shoes, however. All our feet are bigger than yours.”

“I don’t need shoes.” I crossed my arms and stared at his back, willing him to turn around and face me. “Why are you here?”

“Here in this room, or here in general?”

“Both.”

“Ah.” He paused a moment. “I’m here in this room as a second defense, in case another of those creatures got past Rhoan.”

“I can protect myself.”

“Not when you’re fast asleep.” He glanced briefly over his shoulder, his dark gaze skating down my blanket-covered body before looking away. “You didn’t even twitch when I came in.”

Possibly because I knew his scent, and felt safe in his presence, no matter how annoying he could be at times. “So why are you here on this rescue mission?”

His shrug was little more than a slight hitch of one shoulder, and yet somehow so elegant. Muscles played enticingly under the burgundy sweater, and I had to resist the temptation to reacquaint my fingers with all that lean power.

“Because someone has tried to kill me a number of times, and I’m getting a little annoyed about it.”

“That doesn’t exactly explain why you’re here.”

“My would-be assassins were not of natural origins. I brought the bodies down to Melbourne for the Directorate to examine.”

“After your own labs checked them out, of course.”

“Of course.”

“So, you brought the bodies down. How does that connect with you being here?”

“You went missing about the same time I arrived in Melbourne. I stayed to help with the search.”

“Thank you.”

He shrugged. “We are friends who have been lovers. It was the least I could do.”

“Last time I checked, the definition of a friend didn’t include ignoring said friend and telling them to go away.”

“You know why I did that.”

“Yeah, because you couldn’t cope with me being a werewolf.” I flung off the covers and sat up. “Would you at least have the decency to turn around and look at me when you’re talking?”

“If you would have the decency to dress.”

“Why? As you said, we’ve been lovers. You know my body intimately.”

“We are not lovers now, and I do not appreciate you flaunting yourself.”

I snorted softly and reached for the clothes sitting on the end of the bed. “That is
so
old-fashioned.”

“I
am
old-fashioned.”

Yeah, and it was one of the problems that would have lain between us if we’d been in any sort of relationship. I shook my head and got dressed. The jeans were several inches too long, but otherwise a snug fit, particularly around the butt. No surprise there, because my butt was bigger than my brother’s—an injustice of nature, I think. His dark green sweater was tight, the soft wool stretched to the limits around my breasts, providing little peekaboo holes of skin. If the oncoming night hadn’t promised to be so cold, I would have gone without it.

“Okay, it’s safe to turn around now.”

My voice was tart, but it didn’t seem to have any effect. His expression was cool, almost remote. But his gaze drifted down, a slow caress that was all-consuming. Heat prickled across my skin, and my nipples hardened, stretching the poor wool even further. The deep-down ache ignited, burning through me like a tidal wave.

I crossed my arms and tried to ignore desire. There was too much to sort out with this vampire to go madly jumping his bones, no matter how enticing a thought that was. Not the least being what he wanted now, when he’d stated so clearly in the recent past that he wanted nothing else to do with me. “So, was bringing the dead bodies down to the Directorate the only reason you came to Melbourne?”

“You know it’s not.”

“What I know,” I said, voice tart, “is that you told me to rack off and leave you alone.”

“I did
not
say that.”

I shrugged. “Words to that effect, then. What do you want, Quinn?”

“I think we need to talk.”

“I spent a whole lot of time after Genoveve trying to talk to you. I’m done with talking.”

“Then there are things I need to say. Things you need to hear.”

“Unless it’s an ‘I’m sorry for my horrible behavior, please forgive me,’ I’m not sure you
could
say anything I actually want to hear.”

The door opened at that moment and Rhoan walked in. “Quinn, Jack wants to see you for a moment.”

Quinn looked at me, his dark gaze promising the conversation was far from over. Then he turned and walked out.

I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. Damn the man. Just as I was starting to get over the fact that he’d walked away from all the delicious possibilities that lay unexplored between us, he walks back into my life and raises the hope that maybe, just maybe, he’d changed his mind. I had to wonder just what I’d done to piss fate off so severely, because she sure seemed intent on throwing curveballs my way lately.

I rubbed a hand across still tired eyes, then grabbed the weapons I’d scattered earlier, strapping them on quickly before walking over to the window. Dusk was settling in, thick and stormy looking.

“Riley?” Concern edged Rhoan’s voice.

“What?”

“You okay?”

“Just dandy, bro.”

He walked across the room and wrapped his arms under my breasts, pulling me back against him. “Quinn?”

Like
that
was hard to guess. I rested the back of my head against his shoulder. “I still want him, Rhoan. Even though he hates what I am, even though I know a relationship between us could never be anything permanent, I want him. I thought I was over him, but I’m not.”

“Because he ended it, not you.”

Probably. I mean, being the finisher was always the easier option. “Thing is, I think that’s why he’s back. I think he may have changed his mind.”

He was silent for a moment, then said, “Want a brotherly bit of advice?”

I smiled slightly. “I’m going to get it whether I want it or not.”

“Ain’t that a fact.” Amusement touched his warm tones. “Horse boy has got one hell of a hard-on for you. Enjoy that; enjoy him. Don’t chase Quinn any more than you already have.”

“Kade suggested much the same thing.”

“He’s a stallion. They’re randy old bastards who will use any excuse to get into a woman’s pants.”

Amusement ran through me. In many respects, horse-shifters were no different from men the world over. No matter what the race, they all wanted to get their end in. Even standoffish vampires. “If I just sit back and enjoy myself, Quinn will not come running.”

“And that could be a good thing.”

“Why? What’s wrong with a little bit of fooling around?”

“Because it may start off as a little fooling around, but it probably won’t end there. And what happens later? What about kids? You want them, and while you may or may not be able to physically carry them, there are other options you can explore. The one clear certainty is that he can never impregnate you.
Never
. What lies between you may be strong, but in the end, is it right?”

“What do you mean by ‘right’?”

Yet even as I asked the question, I knew. Wolves were born with the need to reproduce, and only the desire to find the right mate stopped the world from being overrun. Something governments obviously didn’t understand, because they forced the fertility controls on us all.

I wanted children. I’d dreamed of having a family of my own most of my life. Whatever else there might be between Quinn and me, there could never be life.

“Getting into any sort of relationship with Quinn is dangerous because we both know it won’t stop at just a bit of fun, and
that
might just destroy the two of you.”

He was right. I might want to explore what was going on with Quinn, but perhaps it was better for everyone if I just let sleeping vampires lie.

I squinted up at my brother. “Two months ago you were advising me not to give up on him. Now you’re telling me to be careful, that I haven’t the right of anything long-term. Why?”

“When I gave you that advice, neither of us was aware that our vampire genes were finally asserting themselves. It’s too late for me to have children, but it may not be for you.” He reached out, carefully brushing the hair from my cheek. “You always were slower to develop than me.”

I smiled, as he’d intended, but it didn’t ease the chill running rampant across my skin, or the churning in my stomach. And the cause wasn’t only the fact that I may be becoming irreparably infertile. It was wondering what other changes my vampire genes might be making.

“Talon was trying to get me pregnant for a year. That suggests it might already be too late.”

Rhoan snorted. “Talon is sterile.”

“What?”
I spun around to face him.

He nodded. “Came out during the tests.” He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “Think of Quinn as a piece of chocolate. Rich and fulfilling, and in your case, totally addictive. And like chocolate, you’re better off resisting it completely, because it’s just not good for you.”

I gave him a weak smile. “Quinn won’t give me spots like chocolate does.”

“Maybe not all over your face.” He smiled and slid his fingers down to mine, then tugged me toward the door. “But remember, he does tend to leave nasty little spots all over your neck.”

I snorted softly. I guess that
was
true. Only trouble was, a lot of fun was had getting those particular neck spots.

Jack didn’t bother looking up as we entered the other cabin through the interconnecting door. “I ran a check on that arm you severed. There’s no match in the database for a creature of that type.”

“Not surprising.”

“No.” He slammed the lid of the com-unit closed. “Especially given we’re dealing with genetic engineering. Did you see any of this place at all? Are you able to back up the map Kade gave us?”

“Having a casual stroll around the place wasn’t exactly a priority when I woke naked in the alley.” I paused. “I really only saw a couple of streets and the stable. Kade was in there longer.”

He’d also said that he’d never left the stable. It’d be hard to give Jack a map if that were actually true, so it was a safe bet that it wasn’t. But why lie to me about it?