Kissing Sin (Riley Jenson Guardian 2)

"What made you realize I wasn't?"

"The blood on your leg and side. And that punch you landed on my nose."

"That was a swat, not a punch."

"Then you must pack quite a punch." He raised a hand and brushed his fingers across my cheek.

"Perhaps." I stepped away, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do. "Let's get out of here."

"What about the mess?"

"The Directorate will send a cleanup crew. Our hosts will be none the wiser."

He followed me as far as the bedroom, then ducked inside, reappearing two minutes later with a wire coat hanger.

I raised an eyebrow. "Are there still cars out there without either central-locking or thumb-print locking?"

"Plenty of them, believe me."

I unlocked the door and walked out onto the small patio. Highlighted sharply against the stormy clouds, a solitary brown shape soared.

I motioned Kade to be still, watching the eagle until it wheeled out of sight. "Now."

We ran across the yard, leapt the small fence, and raced into the trees. The shadows soon enveloped us, and we slowed to a walk. Hurried movement would be more noticeable from above - and though Kade's red-brown skin and black clothing would make him difficult to spot, my red hair would stand out like a beacon if we got careless and hit sunlight.

There was no sound of pursuit, though it couldn't be that far behind. Who knew how long those creatures had been out there, listening and waiting?

It took just over an hour to make our way around the outskirts of the small town. Eventually, we stopped between several gums trees. I wiped the sweat from my eyes with a slightly trembling hand. Two hours' sleep just wasn't enough.

There was small parking lot on the other side of the road, with five cars sitting in the bays. There weren't any people to be seen. Hopefully, they'd all followed the path to the lookout point and wouldn't be back for a while.

I looked up at Kade. "You sure you want to take a car?"

"I can't see any other way of getting out of here quickly." He flicked sweat away from his forehead with a finger, then added, "Your hair is going to glow out in that sun. I'd offer to give you my shirt, but my skin is likely to draw as much attention as your hair."

I gave him a wry look. "That is such a poor excuse."

He grinned, not bothering to deny it. I pulled off my T-shirt. "You tie it back. I might not catch it all."

His gaze skated down my body and his grin grew. "Gotta love werewolves and their lack of inhibitions."

"That lack of inhibitions has landed me in court often enough already. Let's get this over with before a cop turns up and arrests me."

"Sweetheart, not even the holiest of men would be hurrying at this particular moment."

I rolled my eyes, and he chuckled softly. After covering my hair, he slid his hands around my waist, and pulled me back against his warm, hard body. As his big hands slid up to cover my breasts, he brushed a kiss across my shoulder. "When we are safe, I intend to love you senseless."

I tilted my head back against his shoulder, and his lips met mine. Our kiss was slow and tender and so very, very thorough. Neither of us were breathing very steadily by the time we'd finished.

"A vow I shall hold you to," I found the breath to say. I pulled away and twined his fingers through mine "Now, shall we go car shopping?"

He tugged me out of the shadows. The breeze that played amongst the trees was warmer out in the open, and the road surface hot against my toes. We made our way casually across, walking along the strip of grass between the road and the car park until we came to an old blue ford.

"And natural!), he picks the oldest, most battered of all five."

"This is what they call a classic - over fifty years old and worth a sheer fortune."

I frowned dubiously. "If it's that old, and this ratty, will it run?"