No, Kye said, it means you're stuck with me until we discover just what this woman is up to.
Darn.
Its so nice to feel wanted.
Oh, he was wanted all right. It was just lucky the moon heat was over and I had some measure of control over myself. Not that control did much good given he could probably smell my interest. It was hard for a wolf to hide that sort of thing.
Though he seemed to be doing a damned good job of it.
I should be arresting your ass, I muttered. You've been warned off this case several times already.
You could try if you want to, but it'll cause a bit of a ruckus, and our target just might realize she's being followed.
Which is why I'm not arresting your ass. That and the fact I was just too bone tired to muster the strength I'd probably need to haul his cute rear end into the Directorate.
He smiled again and didn't say anything. We walked another block and crossed over Bourke Street. Laughter and voices joined the bass-heavy beat, and the scent of alcohol and humanity rode the wet night air.
"I liked your performance in the club tonight," he said after a while. I guess he figured us actually having some conversation did look a little better than utter silence should our target happen to look over her shoulder. "Even for a werewolf, you moved extraordinarily well."
I raised an eyebrow. "You were there?"
I was.
"Disguised, obviously."
"Obviously. You didn't spot me."
"Hard to spot someone if they've erased their scent and donned a completely different look."
"True." He glanced at me. "It took me a moment to recognize you. Your look and smell was different enough that I glanced past you several times before I realized who you were. I like your regular look better, by the way."
"Then I'd better keep this one," I said dryly. "You planning to be there tomorrow night?"
"Of course." Telepathically, he added, Now that I know she has an accomplice, it is my duty to track her down and hill them both.
And if he did, I would arrest him. No matter how horrified my crazy hormones might be. "If I spot you tomorrow night, I'll treat you a lap dance."
"I wouldn't."
I raised an eyebrow again. "Why not? We both know you'd enjoy it."
"That is the problem." I am not here to enjoy myself.
Of course he wasn't. He was here to track down and kill. Just like me. A shiver rolled across my skin and I rubbed my arms. If he noted the movement, he didn't do the gentlemanly thing, like offer me his coat. Quinn would have.
As we neared Flinders Lane, Hanna suddenly swung in our direction, looking left and right before running across. She didn't even look our way as she ran past us, moving up the street with a quick glance at her watch.
"Must have an appointment," Kye murmured, his arms brushing mine as the pavement suddenly narrowed.
Up ahead, a figure waited. A slender woman who was all of sixteen or seventeen.
Fuck.
I stopped, and just as I did, Hanna looked around. Kye reacted before I could, his speed almost that of a vampire as he crushed me against the wall and began kissing me.
And oh, what a kiss.
It was urgent and hungry and filled with everything he hadn't been showing, and I reacted as fiercely as I would have had the full moon been nearing completion.