Embraced By Darkness (Riley Jenson Guardian 5)

Immediately we were hit by the noise, the lights, and the thick heavy air that burned down the throat and smashed into the senses.

There was nothing subtle about this place, no pretense about what it was and what it was catering to. It was in-your-face, no-apologies sex and indulgence, and the richness of it was almost mind-humbling. I took a deep breath, allowing the heated, lusty atmosphere to soak through my body, and felt the familiar ache begin.

The main room was large and long, and there were plenty of people packed inside. Lights scrolled across the vast expanse - flickers of yellow, red, and blue that highlighted the masses moving on the dance floor while leaving large areas in shadow.

Kellen's fingers squeezed mine, and he nodded toward an empty booth on the outskirts of the left side of the dance floor. "Want to grab that, or would you rather dance?"

Given my near miss with Shadow, and the hankering need that had been plaguing me ever since, there was only ever going to be one answer to that question. "Dance."

We made our way down the stairs, my heels slipping slightly on the highly polished white tiles. The whole place was white, in fact. Floor, ceiling, furniture. White on white. It should have felt as cold as hell, but it didn't, thanks to the lights and the sheer mass of people loving, laughing, and generally having a good time.

Kellen led me onto the dance floor. Down here, the grunts of pleasure and the slap of flesh against flesh mingled heavily with the thump of music, and the air was thick with the rich aroma of sweat and wantonness. But it was mixed with a sense of almost guilty recklessness, and I put that down to the kids-in-a-candy-shop mentality. The humans here might be enjoying themselves, but it was almost like they knew that at any minute they'd get caught and the fun would stop.

Still, the heat of their desire was as thick and as strong as any were's, and my breath caught, then quickened. The press of so much flesh - even if it was mostly clothed flesh - made my skin burn and my already erratic heart race that much harder. I wanted - needed - to be loved.

Kellen wrapped his arms around my waist, then pulled me close and began a slow dance that was totally out of sync with the music. Music that was barely audible over the frantic pounding of my pulse. Sweat formed where we touched, and the air was so thick with the heat of our desire I could hardly breathe.

"Everyone is either dressed or half dressed," he murmured, his hands sliding sensually down my back to my butt. "Do you think we should go naked and stir them up?"

"Not when I'm trying to avoid attention." I pressed closer to him, rubbing myself across his erection. "Besides, the important bits of me are naked."

"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.