Dangerous Games (Riley Jenson Guardian 4)

He met my gaze, the scent of his lust spiking sharply. "In which you undoubtedly flaunt yourself."

"And why not? The neighbors don't complain."

"No surprise there." He looked away. "I'll see you at work sometime."

"You will, shifter. I'll make sure of it."

He looked at me again, but didn't reply. I climbed out of the car and walked up to the steps, aware of his gaze following my naked butt and this time working it for all I was worth.

He roared off as I opened the door. I grinned to myself, anticipating the challenge he presented, and ran up the stairs to my apartment. The door was locked, but a hard punch in just the right spot soon fixed that. Neither Rhoan nor I could see the point of good quality locks when the door itself was thinner than cardboard and the old lady who owned the building refused to ante up for better ones.

Of course, locks didn't keep out vampires, either - a point made obvious when I spotted my handbag, cell phone, keys, and clothes sitting neatly on the coffee table. I had no doubt my car would be parked up the street somewhere. How nice of Quinn to return them all.

I had a quick shower to freshen up, then pulled on my gym gear and filled a bag with a couple of dresses, some toiletries and some makeup. I had no idea where Jin intended to go after my treatments, so it was better to cater to all eventualities.

I grabbed my purse and cell phone, then called a cab. Ten minutes, they said. Knowing from past experience that it was more likely to be twenty than ten, I headed for the kitchen to make a coffee. The doorbell rang before I could take two steps. I opened the door to find Cole standing on the other side, his hands in his pockets and looking more than a little put out.

"Don't tell me," I said, raising my eyebrows, "that you've decided to taste a little werewolf action after all?"

"Hell will freeze over first," he muttered. He thrust a hand through his thick silvery hair. "Jack just called. There's been another body discovered and he wants us both there." leased my arm and jumped out of the way of my kick. I turned around. He was dressed in black from head to foot, a shadow that looked out of place in the brightness of the morning. Just seeing him again had my hormones stirring - though with a whole lot less vigor than normal. Weird. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." His warm voice was edged with displeasure.

I snorted softly. "I'm dressed in last night's party clothes, and I'm coming out of a house not my own. You do the math."

"Oh, I get the equation, I'm just wondering whether it's for your own pleasure or for the Directorate."

"If you're not going to answer my questions, why the hell should I answer yours?" Especially when my answer would only result in having grief flung my way. Quinn might have decided he had to be in the race to win the race, but that didn't mean he was at all happy about me taking other partners. Especially when those other partners were complete strangers.

I spun on my heel and walked away before he could answer. I didn't need this crap now. I just wanted to get home.

"Riley, wait." He touched my arm again, but his grip was gentler this time, less demanding.

I paused and looked at him. "What?"

He tugged me around to face him, then looked intently into my eyes. "Are you all right?"

I tried to shake free of his grip but it tightened imperceptibly. "Of course I'm all right. Let me go."

He didn't. "You look drained."

Something resembling fear slithered through me. "What?"

"I said you looked - "

"I know what you said, but what the hell did you mean?"

"It means someone has been feeding off you."

That feeling of fear intensified. "As in vampire type feeding?"

He nodded, and with his free hand, touch my chin and gently guided my head from one side to the other. "No bite marks evident there. What about elsewhere?"

Everywhere, babe. I pulled free from his grip and stepped back. "The man I was with was not a vampire."

He frowned. "You sure of that?"

"He was human."