Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian 1)

And come hell or high water, it was going to be the night I rocked his staid little world You could have hired a less conspicuous car," I said, accepting Quinn's offer of help as I climbed out of the Porsche

He shrugged and slammed the door closed. The doors locked automatically, and the car beeped softly as the alarm was set. "It's fast, comfortable, and besides, I'm half-thinking about getting one. This is a good way of testing it."

The stiff breeze caught the thin gray strands of hair that had been combed over his newly bald cranium, standing them on end like flags. Match that with a goatee beard, puffy cheeks, and a small beer belly, and you had the picture of a man well past his prime. It was hard to believe that under all the makeup there was one incredibly handsome individual. I grinned

"Liander should get a medal for the work he's done on you."

He took off his coat and put it around my shoulders, then slid his hand down my arm and twined his fingers through mine. Heat trembled through me, and the fires of need leapt into focus. It was barely nine in the evening, and the moon had only just begun to rise. Yet the fever was a slow burn in my blood, a force ready and able to explode. I took a deep breath and tried to ignore it. Yet I couldn't ignore the caress of his body's heat as we strolled toward the Directorate building a block away. Couldn't ignore the tension emanating from him, a tension that spoke of a need as great as my own

"He hasn't done such a bad job on you, either." The soft lilt in Quinn's voice had disappeared, thanks to the modulators inserted into his cheeks. What came out was Brown's harsh tones. "Though I think I prefer the blue toning to the white. It makes you look too ghostly."

Which was the effect Liander had been going for. Apparently, ghostly was going to be the next big fashion trend. Personally, I agreed with Quinn. White contacts, white hair, and powder white skin were just too spooky

But at least I'd been able to keep my sexy boots, though he'd swapped the peekaboo shirt and microskirt for a thigh-length dress that was little more than gossamer, and very similar in design to the outfits Brown's tarts wore in the security vids we'd viewed. Brown liked his women naked and ready to go, it seemed

Which is probably why Quinn had wrapped his coat around my shoulders - I was wearing zip underneath the gossamer, and in the gleam of street lighting all was revealed. I didn't particularly care, but Quinn had made a couple of comments about indecency and respectability that had made me smile

It was going to be so much fun dragging his complacent sexual views out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary

We climbed the steps and walked to the Directorate's main doors. Quinn pressed the code keys, then swiped the card. As the doors swished open, the red beam of the scanners ran down us. Neither of us was carrying weapons, so we didn't set off any alarms. And there was no problem with the handprint scanner, either. Liander had covered that - with a little help from Jack and the prints he'd taken from the files

"Assistant Director Brown," the guard at the desk said, his eyes all but popping out of his head when he saw me. "We weren't expecting you in this evening."

"Got a little business to attend to," Quinn replied, his grin lecherous as he patted my behind awkwardly

He had Brown's movements down pat, and I bit the inside of my cheek, trying not to laugh

"I'll have to code an elevator for you," the guard said. "We locked them down for the night."

Quinn nodded, and the guard scooted ahead of us. He unlocked an elevator, but didn't step back, forcing me to press past him to get into the elevator. As I did, he slid his hand across my rear, taking a quick feel

Quinn moved so swiftly it was only when I heard the crack of bones that I realized something had happened

"No touching the merchandise on my money." His voice was flat and cold, and the guard paled

"Sorry, Director," he stammered

"Do it again, and I'll have you fired."

He let go of the guard's hand and stepped into the elevator with me. I waited until the door closed, and said, "That was a bit much. The tapes show that's a somewhat regular occurrence when Brown brings his women in."

"I don't care. That man has no right to touch you."

"We're here in disguise. We have to follow the pattern set."

He glanced at me, eyes unreadable thanks to the blue lenses he had in. "That may be your game plan, but it's not mine. Not when it comes to something like that."

"Brown's not a gentleman, and he certainly doesn't mind sharing. Remember that."

"I'm not Brown. You remember that."

The doors opened before I could reply. Quinn pressed his hand into my back, guiding me down the shadow-filled hall. Warmth pooled around his fingertips, lapping across the rest of my skin in waves. The fever flickered in response, surging through my veins. It was ignorable - but for how long?

Cameras tracked our progress up the hall. When we got to Brown's office, he pressed in the code, swiped the card, then motioned me inside

The lights came on as he reset the lock. I stopped in the middle of the room and looked around. Though I knew the basic layout of the office, the sheer size of it still surprised me. It wasn't as huge as the office Talon had in his house, but it was still pretty amazing. Nor was the furniture the standard-issue cheap stuff we got downstairs. This was mahogany and leather right down the line

I tossed the jacket on the nearest chair and moved down to the far end of the room