Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian 1)

He shrugged. "It's nothing my body can't heal."

"That doesn't answer the question."

"No." He held out his left hand, and I placed my fingers in his. He pulled me up and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead, his lips lingering, breath warm against my skin. Then he stepped back. "I shall have scars from wrist to elbow."

If he was going to end up with scars, I'd done everything but break bone. I briefly closed my eyes. "I'm sorry."

"You were only obeying the needs of your body. The fault lies with another."

Though it was evenly said, something in his expression made me realize our time together was coming to an end. He might still want me, but he was ready to move on

I took a deep breath, but it did little to ease the sudden rush of anger. The wolf might be sated, but, by Christ, I still wanted to smash Talon's face in. Not only for what he'd done to me, but for his utter destruction of whatever chance there'd been for me and Quinn to continue on a little longer

"Is he dead?"

Cold fury flashed in his eyes. "No."

"Good, because I owe him a punch or three."

"When we find him again, I'll make sure you get your chance."

Disbelief ran through me, and my gaze searched his. "You let him escape?"

"Not intentionally. Some of his men arrived while I was tending to you. By the time I realized what was happening and went to Liander's aid, Talon had fled."

"Fuck."

"That has already led to more than a few problems."

Again anger surged. "Don't be blaming me. The bloodlust was not something I could have controlled."

"Wasn't it? If you'd taken my offer of relief in the parking lot rather than playing games, none of this would have happened."

"Maybe the bloodlust wouldn't have happened so quickly, but he still would have snatched and chained me. From there, it was only a matter of time."

"We would have found you before that time was up."

Maybe. And maybe not. Talon would have smelled the thickness of my need and known how close to the edge I was. Maybe the only reason he'd come to this house was because he knew he didn't have much time to restrain me

Which pointed me to another point. "Why didn't you make sure he couldn't escape? Touch his mind and force him to do what you want?"

"He had a shield on."

"So? You could have removed it."

"Could have, only I had more pressing problems."

Meaning me. "I was chained. You could have done whatever you wanted."

"Not when I could feel your agony."

My anger partially evaporated at his soft words. He cupped my cheek, his thumb brushing my lips. My gaze rose to the heat of his, and my pulse accelerated. The moon might be lost to the brightness of the day, but simply being close to Quinn had me wanting him

It was just a damn shame he lived in Sydney. That after this case was solved and forgotten, he'd walk away without a second's thought, because I was a wolf and we were okay to fuck but not get involved with

Not that I actually wanted involvement - but I definitely wanted to explore the breadth of the attraction between us

"Do you think Talon was behind those things that attacked us?" I asked