Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian 1)

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

"Lighting level dim," Quinn said behind me

His voice had an edge and I looked at him. He smiled grimly. With all his makeup, it wasn't a pretty sight

"That dress you're almost wearing is dead see-through in bright lights."

I struck a pose and batted my eyelashes innocently. "And you don't like the view?"

"Oh, I love the view, but unfortunately, I need to concentrate on what we're here to do."

I grinned and motioned to the seemingly blank wall in front of me. "So do you want to open the cabinets so we can start?"

"Cabinets open," he said, tone still gruff

There was a soft click, and the wall slid aside. I walked to the cabinets at the far end, my smile growing as I heard the soft groan behind. Obviously, the dress was see-through in dim lights too

"I don't know what Jack hopes to find," I said, pulling out the first drawer. "Surely Brown is not stupid enough to keep anything incriminating in his office."

"It would certainly be a lot safer than keeping it at home," Quinn commented from the other end. "This place normally has more security than Fort Knox."

I raised an eyebrow. "And you know this because... ?"

A smile tugged his lips - lips that were still full and lush and oh so kissable. "Because I've had a somewhat less-than-respectable past."

So Jack had said. "You robbed Fort Knox?"

"Their security wasn't as sophisticated back then. Certainly not strong enough to keep a determined vampire out."

No wonder he was megarich. I shook my head and he chuckled. "It wasn't the first bank to suffer unexplained losses."

"You made a habit of it?"

"I had several brief flurries into crime. Respectability gets boring after a few centuries."

I raised an eyebrow. "So how far into the current respectability phase are you?"

"Far enough for it to start feeling old." He pointed to the cabinet I had open. "If you don't start looking, we're never going to get out of here."

And I wanted to get out of there, because I wanted to make love to him. Whether or not he was still wrapped in an ugly outer layer

I began flicking through the paperwork. In this age of electronic marvels, it was amazing just how much paper was still used. Of course, paper was no longer just paper, more a special form of recycled plastic, but it felt the same and was used in the same copious amounts that it ever was

It was a half hour before we found something

"Financial costings," Quinn said. "For an unspecified project." He flicked through the papers with a frown. "The project wasn't approved by the Directorate."

I opened another drawer. "Nothing unusual in that. From what Jack says, a good half of the projects presented to the board are turned down."

His gaze met mine. "This was for genome research. The proposal was presented fifteen years ago."

I frowned. "Why would he be keeping something like that?"