Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian 1)

"That didn't stop them."

He smiled. "It's still not stopping anyone. Science and morality are not often bedfellows."

The car crested a hill, and Melbourne lay before us, a sea of bright lights that was quickly lost to the trees again. The shrill ring of my cell phone cut through the brief silence. As I took it out of my pocket to answer it, he gave me a hard glance, and said, "I hope you were intending to turn that off before we broke into the grounds of Hoyle-Brantin."

"Nah," I bit back. "I was intending to leave it on, just so we could have the thrill of being discovered when it rang."

Though the truth was, I'd actually forgotten it was on. I pressed the receive button, expecting it to be Talon demanding to know where I was and why I wasn't panting for him

Only it was Misha

And he sounded no happier than Talon would have been What in hell have you done to Talon?" he said, his fury evident even down the line

"What in hell does it matter to you?"

"He's harassing me."

That raised my eyebrows. "How can he harass you when you've gone back to your pack and neither he or I know which of the silver packs you come from?"

"I'm back because it turns out my mother was embellishing the truth. My sister had an accident but it wasn't anything major. Mother just wanted me to meet someone she considers a perfect mate."

I had a feeling he wasn't telling me the truth, though the bit about meeting a mate was typical mother behavior. I'd witnessed similar contrivances throughout my teenage years, before we'd been kicked out of our pack. At least neither Rhoan nor I had to worry about that - though part of me wished that we did

"So what do you want me to do? You're a big boy - deal with it yourself."

"I've tried reason, but he's off the rails." Misha hesitated. "He told me you two were exclusive."

I snorted. "As you said, he's off the rails."

"So if I get rough, you have no objections?"

"Not as long as you leave me enough to kick."

Misha chuckled, and the tension I'd been hearing in his voice eased. "Sorry to get hostile on you, but the last few days have been a bitch, and Talon was the last straw."

So he had rung me to complain? Somehow, I doubted it. Misha was a nice man, yet he was also a very successful businessman, and had always handled problems quickly, often ruthlessly. If he was seriously pissed off with Talon, he'd have done something about it. That he'd called me instead suggested there was an ulterior motive behind his call

Or was Jack's warning about Misha making me see things that weren't there? "Is that all you rang for?"

"Hell, no. I wanted to know if my car was still in one piece."

I smiled despite my reservations. "It's parked safely at the Crown Casino."

"Why is it parked there?"

"Long story. But it's in one piece."

"A miracle." He hesitated, then added, "Don't suppose you're intending to drive it home anytime soon?"

His voice had dropped several octaves, sliding across my senses like warmed chocolate. Jack might have implanted doubts about him, but that didn't stop me from wanting him

Though given the moon heat, I'd want the devil himself if he had a nice enough bod

"I'm on assignment at the moment, but if you can wait, I'll be there."

"I thought you said you were nothing more than a gofer?"

There was an underlying hint of steel in the warmth of his voice that made me frown. "Even gofers at the Directorate get drafted when the need arises."