Embraced By Darkness (Riley Jenson Guardian 5)

"Hmm," he said, sliding his hands under my skirt and discovering my bare butt. "So they are."

"And now," I murmured, as I slid down his fly and released him from his jeans, "So are yours."

He smiled and kissed me, and oh, what a kiss. From that point on, there was little conversation. We danced, we played, and we teased each other, nipping and caressing until our breathing was harsh and the need that pulsed between us became all-consuming.

And when it finally became too much to stand, his mouth claimed mine again, his kiss fierce as he lifted me up and onto him. Then he was in me, filling me, and it felt so damn good I groaned.

With my legs wrapped tightly around his waist, I began to move, riding him slowly, savoring the feel of him, the power of him, until the waves of pleasure rippling across my skin became a molten force that would not be denied. A howl of pleasure tore up my throat - a sound lost to the overall noise - as the shudders of completion ripped through us both.

"That," I said, when I'd finally caught my breath, "was amazing."

"Yep." He dropped a kiss on my nose. "Seems you and I are not put off by the scent of humans."

"I don't think anything would put us off if we were horny enough." I unlocked my legs from around his waist and stood. "I need a drink, and I need to find the bathroom."

"The bar is to our right. I'll get the drinks and find a table, which means you'll have to find the bathroom by yourself."

"A tough task, but I think I'll manage." I leaned forward, dropping a quick kiss on his lips, then made my way back through the crowd. There was a good amount of space between the dance floor and the booths, so the overheated air seemed a little cooler around the edges, I fanned my dress as I walked, but it didn't do a whole lot to stop the sweating.

One thing I did notice was the fact that there didn't seem to be any vamps here. Shifters and weres of all types, as well as hundreds of humans, but no vampires. Perhaps there was too much temptation for the young ones, and too much noise for the old ones.

I certainly couldn't imagine Quinn liking a place like this. But then, he'd dislike it for reasons that had nothing to do with the noise, and a whole lot to do with my werewolf lifestyle.

And, I thought grumpily, I really should stop thinking about him. He was out of my life, and I was better for it - no matter what my somewhat treacherous heart might think.

I continued on, skimming the edges of the dance floor, looking for the bathroom and anything out of place. But there was nothing more than sex and a whole lot of enjoyment happening. Which in itself was amazing. Who'd have thought humans could be so sexually free after all the years of giving us crap?

The air near the rear of the room began to get hot again, the air conditioning obviously struggling to cope with the sheer mass of people down at this end. I went to the bathroom, then stopped under one of the vents just outside the door, sucking in the cool air and letting it caress my sweat-beaded skin. It felt like a tiny spot of heaven in this oven-like environment.

And that's when I felt it - an odd tingling buzz around the edges of my thoughts. Someone - or something - was trying to read me. I scanned the room quickly, but the touch was gone before I could really pinpoint it.

For no good reason, I remembered Shadow's comments about the brief intrusion one of his vamps had felt the night they'd serviced Callie's party. A shiver ran across my skin, and I rubbed my arms lightly.

In a crowd this size, it was a given that there'd be psychically talented people here, whether they were human or nonhuman. There was absolutely no reason to think that that brief touch was, in any way, connected to Callie or the other murders.

But I was oddly certain that it was.

I walked on, my gaze scanning the seething crowd on the dance floor, but I'd barely taken two steps forward when my other talents kicked in, and I felt it.

The thick sense of evil.

It was here.

Here because it had followed me here. I had sensed it in the parking lot earlier. Why it was following me I had no idea and, right now, I couldn't afford to worry about it. Because the overwhelming feeling I was getting from the spirit or monster or whatever the hell it was, was excitement. This place was like a newly found candy store to a hungry kid.

Only what this evil hungered for was death. Bloody, brutal, death.

My stomach began to churn. I had to stop this thing, whatever it was. Had to at least try.

I stopped, and tried to pinpoint where the main sense of this evil lay. My gaze rested on a petite blonde dancing with a rangy, brown-haired guy. Though they weren't getting all hot and heavy, they had been. Even from where I stood I could smell sex on them, could smell him all over her.

But he wasn't the source of the darkness. That was coming from above her, from the shadows that cloaked the ceiling.

My gaze rose. There was nothing to be seen in the rafters - nothing but electrical wiring, cameras, and dusty webs, at any rate. But it was there, somewhere. Hovering. Waiting.

For what?

The woman laughed - a soft, flirtatious sound that drew my attention again. She leaned forward, giving her companion a tender kiss, then turned and walked away.