Deadly Desire (Riley Jenson Guardian 7)

A soft scraping filled the brief silence. I frowned down at the ground I still couldn't see, wondering what the witch was doing.

Shit, Kye said. The blackness is fading and lifting.

He was right, because the ground was suddenly visible-and distant enough that old fears had me stepping back from the edge. The curtain was lifting from the concrete up, and if we didn't do something very quickly, it would leave us altogether exposed.

It wasn't the witch that worried me. It was those hounds.

I stepped forward, wrapped my arms around Kye, and pulled him close. He tensed instantly, and the warm amusement that had been flowing between us fled faster than water down a drain.

Now is not a good time for this sort of thing.

Amusement bubbled through me. So, it was okay for the bounty hunter to pull me close, but heaven forbid that I do the same. Don't worry, wolf, I'm not trying to jump your bones. If I was, you'd know about it.

So what the hell are you trying to do?

He was still as stiff as a board, and yet despite his obvious displeasure with my sudden action, there were parts of him that were totally enjoying the experience.

Which was a relief, because at least it meant I hadn't entirely lost my touch in the weeks I'd been with Quinn.

I'm half vampire, remember? I can cloak us in darkness.

Patrin never mentioned that aspect.

Patrin knows squat about what Rhoan and I are really capable of.

Oh, I think he's got an inkling after what you did to him.

He relaxed a little, his arms going around my waist and his body pressing harder against mine. As the fading blackness began to expose the walkway we were standing on, I extended the shadows and wrapped them around Kye. It took more effort than I thought it would, and a tiny ache began in the back of my left eye.

But that was nothing against the desire that rushed through me. Desire that wasn't only fueled by the delicious heat of him or the hardness of his erection pressed so invitingly against my groin, but by the danger we were in.

I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the needs of my body, trying to concentrate on what was going on below us. There was little in the way of sound, even with the black wall all but gone. Yet the witch was still there. I could sense her presence.

I shifted a little, and felt the movement ripple across the shadows that were hiding us. Pain stabbed through my brain, briefly cutting through the haze of desire throbbing across my body.

I shuddered, wishing I could rub my temples to ease the ache behind my eyes, but not daring to move again. On the concrete below, the two hellhounds were consuming the remains of the zombie. The witch herself was nowhere in sight, but a pentagram I hadn't noticed before had been destroyed, its outline smudged and the candles tipped over.

Then the crow squawked. I looked up and saw it sitting on the gantry again. The hellhounds had all but consumed the zombie, and all that remained was the splash of blood where his bits had fallen.

The bird squawked again and launched off the platform, flying so close it was all I could do not to duck. Then she and the dogs were gone, and silence fell.

I blew out a breath then stepped back, and gratefully released the shadows. The pressure behind my eyes eased almost instantly, but the distance I'd put between Kye and myself didn't do a whole lot to ease the pounding of my heart or the heat of need racing through my veins.

Even with the black wall gone, it was still darker than hell in this section of the old factory. But Kye's amber eyes were very visible, glowing with a heat that was all desire, all need. All power.

And I wanted that power. Wanted to feel all that heat and hardness wrapped around me again. Wanted to feel it in me.

But that wasn't an option. I was a guardian, and I had to at least try and act like it-even if it went against my more hedonistic nature.

"What can you tell me about that woman?" I said, perhaps a little more sharply than I should have. I didn't want to want this man, but it seemed my wolf soul was having none of that.

"She's a witch and a shifter."

His low, husky tones sent desire skittering down my spine. I loved being a werewolf, but it could sometimes be a real pain in the ass. I mean, I had a good man waiting for me. I didn't need this attraction, and I certainly didn't need another man in my life.

Or in my bed, for that matter. Been there, done that, and I'd ended up seriously burned.

"So has she got a name? An address?"