Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian 1)

I raised my eyebrows. "And you couldn't have taken blood from the pros?"

"I could have, but I prefer not to." His smile touched his eyes again and damned if it didn't make my knees go weak. "I only bite someone while making love, and I do have a preference for women who are not in the game."

The thought of him biting my neck while thrusting slow and deep made me all goose pimply and hot. Man, I was really going to have to take this vampire for a test run before he disappeared out of my life

"So Rhoan disappeared after you'd left?"

He nodded. "Rhoan was dressed like a hooker so he didn't stand out on the streets while hunting information. I was in the shadows watching, and reading thoughts."

Meaning they might have suspected that Rhoan had a guard, because they'd only snatched him once Quinn had left. Either that, or they'd thought Quinn was a watchful pimp. I walked to the windows and stared out. We were only ten floors up, so there wasn't all that much to see but more buildings. I let my gaze drift to the southeast. The reason for Rhoan's capture wasn't really important. Getting him out of there before they realized he wasn't just a wolf was

I swung around. "We have to go."

Quinn didn't try to stop me, which was good, because right then I probably would have tried to flatten him. I say tried, because I very much suspected he was one vampire I wasn't equal to. There was something about him, something under that calm, sexy exterior, that suggested greater depths than any of the vampires I worked with. Even Jack

And if Jack was wary of this vampire, then I sure as hell should be

All Quinn said was, "We have to prepare first."

"I can shadow. They won't see me."

"They have infrared. You said that yourself."

I stopped at the door and took a deep breath. He was right. But it did little to ease the anxiety suddenly knotting my insides

I glanced over my shoulder. "What do you suggest?"

He retrieved the chip from the desk, then rose and walked toward me, all grace and beauty in a lean and powerful package. "A little game of dress-up."

I could think of a lot of games I could play with this vampire, and dressing up was certainly up there on the list. But I very much doubted he meant the type of dressing up I was imagining - more's the pity. "Meaning?"

"Meaning, if Moneisha is looking for prostitutes, why don't we give them an easy one to snatch?"

"Wouldn't they be a little suspicious of a pro suddenly appearing on a quiet suburban street?"

He gave me the chip, then pressed a hand into my back again, guiding me toward the elevators. "Not necessarily. There's a working brothel one street down from Moneisha. Hopefully they'll think you're just walking to work."

I slanted him a sideways glance. "And how would you know there's a working brothel one street away?"

"A good investigator discovers what he can about a target area."

"Yet you said only moments before that you preferred to avoid prostitutes."

"I do." He gave me another of those grins. "I'm a billionaire. Women throw themselves at me all the time. I have no need to pay for it."

Which didn't exactly answer my question. "And do you not-pay-for-it often?"

"Quite often. I have needs, like any other man."

I was hoping he'd assuage some of those needs with me. And as soon as I got my brother out

The doors closed behind us and the lift dropped. My stomach flirted with the idea of puking, then decided to settle again. "So where are we going?"

"To buy camouflage." His gaze slid down my body. "The skirt is nice, but it doesn't quite stretch into pro territory."

Well, no, but all I had to do was take off the coat and sweater, reveal the torn shirt, and you had come-get-me material right there. "It's nearly midnight. There are not going to be any shops open."

"When you have the money, the shops are always open."