Embraced By Darkness (Riley Jenson Guardian 5)

"Good idea. I still have those wigs Liander gave me."

He nodded. "Then go get some rest. You look beat."

"If I tried telling you to go rest, you'd have a tantrum."

He gave me a grin. "Too right. I'm a boy. Boys can look after themselves. You're a girl. You need to be loved and protected."

I tossed my empty cup at him. "And you said you hadn't been listening in on my conversation with Kellen."

He laughed and caught my cup one-handed. "So I lied. Now go get some rest."

I did.

Rhoan pulled into one of the many vacant spaces in the parking lot and stopped the car. He leaned forward, crossing his arms over the steering wheel as he stared at the building that housed Mirror Image.

His look was one of amusement. "God-awful-looking place in daylight."

I pulled at the black wig irritably, then said, "Doesn't seem to stop anyone from coming, though."

Indeed, the lot was half full, which wasn't bad considering it was barely eight in the morning. Even the Blue Moon would be ecstatic to have this sort of crowd at this hour, and that place was doing the best of all the wolf clubs.

"They've got an awful lot of security lining the building."

"Cameras and infrareds are pretty much the norm nowadays, aren't they?"

"They've also got motion sensors."

"So?"

"So, why have motion sensors and infrareds on a building that supposedly houses twenty-four hour action for human and nonhumans?"

"Given they're apparently getting into a little blackmail action with some of their 'special' guests, it's not entirely surprising they're security conscious. They wouldn't want the police wandering in and uncovering their covert operations now, would they?"

"No, I guess not." He glanced at me. "You ready?"

I nodded and opened the car door. Even though it was still early in the day, the sun held the promise of heat. Melbourne weather had apparently decided that we needed some of the warmer stuff after the series of chilly days, and the forecasters were predicting a hot one. Hence the jeans and the bright yellow tank top. I needed to get some sun on my arms.

We walked across to the front doors. The bouncer, a big man with shoulders the size of a tank, cheerfully waved us through to the payment area, then opened the main doors.

Music blasted out. Rhoan looked at me. "Techno. I hate techno."

So did I, but I shoved a hand into his back and lightly pushed. "Stop whining and get inside."

Bright light hit us the minute we entered, momentarily blinding me and forcing me to a halt. It rolled on quickly enough, leaving dots of red and yellow dancing before my eyes, dots that seemed to get lost in the myriad of colors so evident on the packed dance floor. The scent of sex and lust swum around us, its sweet aroma stirring my hormones to life yet again.

I touched my brother's shoulder and pointed to an empty booth halfway along the wall to our left. He nodded, and we made our way down the stairs, my heels once again slipping on the polished white tiles. It was a wonder they didn't do something about that, because they were leaving themselves wide open for law-suits in the sue-happy environment of modern Melbourne.

"Fuck," Rhoan said, once we were seated, "This place is huge. It's got a good feel, though. Even with the all the humans."

I raised an eyebrow. "So you've changed your mind about the 'no humans in wolf clubs,' rule?"

"Not in the least."

I grinned and nodded toward the double doors at the end of the bar. "The private rooms are in there, but the doors are security-key coded."

"Good thing about security-keyed doors is the fact that a loss of electricity fucks them up." His gaze scanned the room. "What's down near the back?"

"Bathrooms and fire exits."