Embraced By Darkness (Riley Jenson Guardian 5)

"Security is saying you opened the door not ten minutes ago. Why was that?"

Security was obviously tight here. The point was, why? Or was that a stupid question, given the cameras in this room? The owner obviously had a whole lot more going on than just a nightclub where humans could get their inhibited rocks off.

"Don't know. Thought I heard a sound."

"No one came past you into the front room at any time?"

"No, sir. Everyone who came into the hall just headed to the Executive Room."

"Thanks, Mike." Silence fell as the guard retreated. Once the door had closed behind him again, the deep-voiced man said, "You'd better check the stairs and the basement. If we have got an intruder, then that's were they've come from. Call me if you find anything. And get that magi back in here tomorrow to check these barriers."

"Will do."

Footsteps retreated. The holder of the light remained, sweeping the corners before moving into the other room. I rose and squeezed out from behind the desk to catch a glimpse of the man, thankful that the barrier was one-way.

He was built big, and his pale skin seemed to glow with an almost luminous light against the shadows. He wasn't anyone I recognized, and he certainly wasn't the man Adrienne had drawn.

He walked toward the main door, flung it open, then stepped through. Giving me my one and only chance to leave this room. I ran forward. Again the tingling swept my skin, and part of me wondered if there were DNA sensors involved that could warn if someone other than approved personnel went through it. It would certainly explain the quick appearance of the two men.

The door was closing. I ducked through fast, trying to avoid the guard but not entirely succeeding. One breast brushed his arm. I cursed inwardly but dived toward the deeper shadows, away from the door and the guard.

"What the..." the guard said, before my mind rushed into his and stopped the words.

"What?" The other man asked immediately, as he turned around.

It was then that his scent actually registered. Spicy, warm, and human. But also very familiar.

Because it was the scent that belonged to Jared Donovan, Monitor Island's boat driver and serial flirt. Only it couldn't be. This man looked nothing like Jared - practically their only similar feature was their eyes.

I had to be mistaken. Humans didn't have similar scents - they might all share a strange preference for covering their base scent with all sorts of man-made fragrances, but anyone with a keen nose could always smell past that. My nose was as keen as anyone's, and it had never been wrong.

Until now.

"Mike?"

The sharp question made me jump. I tightened my mental grip on the guard and made him shrug. "Sorry. A goddamn bug bit my neck."

The big man snorted softly then spun on his heel and walked into the Executive Room. I followed fast before the doors could close, then scooted down the steps and along the dance floor, keeping the shadows close and stripping as I ran.

I had no idea what was going on, and no idea if he'd come in here to play or to hunt my scent, but I wasn't about to make it easy for him, I tossed my clothes onto the seat of my booth, then, still wrapped in shadow, slipped onto the dance floor, releasing the shadows only when the bodies began to press close.

I pushed deeper into the crowd, until the smell of lust was so was powerful it was almost liquid and space was at such a premium that it felt like a hundred different people were touching, pressing, and caressing my flesh. That was what I wanted, what I needed. My scent, mixed with many others, creating a confused riot of aromas that no mere human - keen nose or not - would be able to sort out.

It just might be enough to allay suspicion.

So I danced and teased, enjoying the heat of so many bodies pressed against mine, touching them and teasing them even as I enjoyed their caresses, their kisses. And while desire burned, while I ached to give in to the need that burned through my body, I didn't. I had that promise to Kellen to keep, and I would do so, even if it hurt.

It was a good ten minutes before I spotted him again, moving up the stairs and back out the doors. Relief swam through me. But though the temptation to leave was high, I knew it would be dangerous to do so just yet. I had to let the alarm die down. Had to give that man time to forget my scent.

So I continued to dance. And after a while, I spotted the white wolf I'd flirted with at the club's entrance walk into the room. God, had only half an hour passed? It seemed a whole lot longer than that.

Thing was, dancing with him probably wasn't a great idea. The less attention I brought to myself the better. So when he approached with eager lust in his eyes, I touched his mind lightly, sending him into the arms of a more than willing blonde. With him occupied, I got the hell off the dance floor, re-dressed, then left.

No one stopped me. No one even noticed my departure. Even the guard at the front door was too busy chatting up the woman in the payment booth to do anything more than give me a fake smile.

The brightness of the day made me blink. I let my eyes adjust for a moment, then walked over to my car. A scent lingered near the door, the sharp smell of a male, and I frowned, looking around. No one and nothing was near. Shrugging, I got into the car and headed back to the Directorate.

Only I didn't get that far, because Jack called with the news of another murder.