Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian 1)

"Lighting level dim," Quinn said behind me

His voice had an edge and I looked at him. He smiled grimly. With all his makeup, it wasn't a pretty sight

"That dress you're almost wearing is dead see-through in bright lights."

I struck a pose and batted my eyelashes innocently. "And you don't like the view?"

"Oh, I love the view, but unfortunately, I need to concentrate on what we're here to do."

I grinned and motioned to the seemingly blank wall in front of me. "So do you want to open the cabinets so we can start?"

"Cabinets open," he said, tone still gruff

There was a soft click, and the wall slid aside. I walked to the cabinets at the far end, my smile growing as I heard the soft groan behind. Obviously, the dress was see-through in dim lights too

"I don't know what Jack hopes to find," I said, pulling out the first drawer. "Surely Brown is not stupid enough to keep anything incriminating in his office."

"It would certainly be a lot safer than keeping it at home," Quinn commented from the other end. "This place normally has more security than Fort Knox."

I raised an eyebrow. "And you know this because... ?"

A smile tugged his lips - lips that were still full and lush and oh so kissable. "Because I've had a somewhat less-than-respectable past."

So Jack had said. "You robbed Fort Knox?"

"Their security wasn't as sophisticated back then. Certainly not strong enough to keep a determined vampire out."

No wonder he was megarich. I shook my head and he chuckled. "It wasn't the first bank to suffer unexplained losses."

"You made a habit of it?"

"I had several brief flurries into crime. Respectability gets boring after a few centuries."

I raised an eyebrow. "So how far into the current respectability phase are you?"

"Far enough for it to start feeling old." He pointed to the cabinet I had open. "If you don't start looking, we're never going to get out of here."

And I wanted to get out of there, because I wanted to make love to him. Whether or not he was still wrapped in an ugly outer layer

I began flicking through the paperwork. In this age of electronic marvels, it was amazing just how much paper was still used. Of course, paper was no longer just paper, more a special form of recycled plastic, but it felt the same and was used in the same copious amounts that it ever was

It was a half hour before we found something

"Financial costings," Quinn said. "For an unspecified project." He flicked through the papers with a frown. "The project wasn't approved by the Directorate."

I opened another drawer. "Nothing unusual in that. From what Jack says, a good half of the projects presented to the board are turned down."

His gaze met mine. "This was for genome research. The proposal was presented fifteen years ago."

I frowned. "Why would he be keeping something like that?"

"Why indeed?" He tossed the folder on the nearby chair and continued searching

The drawer I'd opened was filled with boxes and boxes of fingertip-sized silvery disks. I plucked one free and grinned. "What's the betting Brown likes to record his exploits for posterity?"

"Is there anywhere here we could check them?"

"Yeah, but we can't go through all of them. It'll take years."