Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian 1)

I raised my eyebrows. "Really?"

He nodded. "It's a bit of a stretch, but at this stage, I think we can afford to grab at anything."

He tossed the folder on the chair with the other one. We finished searching our prospective drawers but didn't find anything else. I picked out a couple of the disks, then Quinn relocked the cabinets, grabbed the folders, and walked across to the phone

"All calls from the offices are recorded," I said, as he picked up the phone

"I'm not intending to use it." He held out a finger. On it was a pinhead-sized dot. "The latest in bug technology."

"The Directorate's a government department. It's regularly swept."

His smile made my hormones do their jig again. "My labs are developing this one, and so far, it's gone undetected in a number of government buildings."

I raised my eyebrows. "And why would you be bugging government offices?"

"Not all offices. Just those trying to place sanctions on my businesses."

"And, handily, you just happened to be carrying one of these little bugs around in your pocket?"

"No. The labs developing them are in Melbourne. I went there yesterday and picked one up." He smiled at me. "Of course, I've now warned your boss what I'm up to, so I daresay I'll have to develop new spying methods."

He placed the dot on the base unit, then walked around the table and held out a hand. "Shall we go?"

I glanced at the wall clock as I wove my fingers in his. "Jack didn't want us to meet back at the farmhouse until five. That gives us three hours to fill in before we have to leave for Seymour." I met his gaze and tried to restrain my grin. "What do you think we should do to fill in the time?"

"Feel like a coffee?"

"No."

He unlocked the door and wrapped a hand around the handle. "How about a midnight snack?"

"It's well after midnight and the only thing I'm interested in sampling right now" - I swept my gaze down the front of him - "is something I've already tasted."

"Do you always talk this dirty to mates?"

I laughed. "My dear vampire, I haven't even begun to get dirty yet."

Amusement and desire vied for prominence in his eyes. "That almost sounds like a threat."

"Take it any way you want. As long as you take me, I don't care."

"Oh, you can be sure that I intend to take you." His sexy grin teased my hormones as he opened the door. "Just not here. Out you go."

I went, and ran nose first into someone who was little more than shadow. I yelped, and jumped back, my pulse going a mile a minute. But even before the shadows found form, I knew it was Gautier. His smell wrapped around me, a noxious scent that made me want to scratch at my skin. Quinn's hands came down on my shoulders, his fingers pressing deep, as if warning me not to speak. Like I needed a warning

"Director Brown," Gautier said, oily tones soft and somewhat respectful. "I thought you'd gone home sick."

"I had. Now I'm back. What do you want?"

"Nothing. Just doing my nightly check."

He was lying. I knew for a fact Radford was supposed to be doing the rounds that week, not Gautier. So why was he there, nosing around the executive floor? Did he suspect something was wrong, or was he up to business of his own? Business that meant ill for the Directorate?

"Then why were you standing at my door?" Quinn said, voice a perfect imitation of Brown's sharp bark

"Thought I heard voices. And, as I said, I didn't know you were here, sir."

He was still lying. And was that a bead of sweat on his forehead? What on earth had Gautier been about to do?