Embraced By Darkness (Riley Jenson Guardian 5)

I slammed the car door shut and let my gaze run over the neon-lit club. It was a typical factory design - metal roof, high concrete walls, and few windows. What glass there was decorated the front, in what would have been an office area in any normal factory. Unlike regular wolf clubs, this one had no line of people waiting to get in, but given the fact this particular club dwarfed most wolf clubs, I guess that wasn't really surprising.

Just for a moment, I felt something... odd. There was something here, something dangerous, and it reminded me of the evil I'd sensed at the murder scenes. Only it wasn't coming from the club, but rather from behind me.

I turned around, but couldn't see anything but the smoke from the nearby factories blowing along with the breeze. The sensation faded and I mentally shrugged. Maybe the near misses had made me jumpier than I'd realized.

Kellen looked at me over the roof of the car, his expression bordering on dubious. "You realty want to go in there?"

"Doesn't look much from the outside, does it?"

"No." He took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring widely. "I can smell humans. Lots of them."

"That's because there are."

"And our government thinks this is a good idea because...?"

"Because the government is mostly men, and men tend to think with their little heads more than their big-heads."

He laughed, a warm and merry sound that had a smile tugging my lips. "That is such a female thing to say."

"But it's true, isn't it?"

"Only every other minute." He held out his hand. "Shall we go check out the joint?"

"Let's." I walked around the front of the car and clasped his fingers. His touch was warm and chased away the chills skating across my skin. Whether those chills were caused by the cool night and my somewhat scanty clothing, or something else, I wasn't entirely sure.

My heels clicked on the pavement, a sound that seemed to echo across the night, jarring sharply against the heavy music and rumble of voices emanating from the club. The double glass doors opened as we approached, and the noise hit harder, briefly making my cars ache.

A thick-set shifter with cat-green eyes gave us a welcoming grin. "Here to party?"

"Yeah," Kellen said, voice almost getting lost in the thump of music. "Heard it's the place for couples to be."

"That it is." The shifter's gaze skimmed my body appreciatively, and Kellen's grip went from my hand to my waist. "Come on. You folks been here before?"

When we shook our heads, he escorted us to the payment window then ran us through the rules. Basically, they had much the same regulations that ruled wolf clubs the world over, along with the addition of the "no harm to the humans" rules Jodie had mentioned. The bouncer didn't ask us to sign a waiver, but then as a shifter himself, he would have sensed we weren't human. Still, I could see forms sitting on the cashier's desk, some of them signed, and figured that's what they were. Humans would have to sign a waiver against their right to sue, otherwise the club wouldn't be able to operate, simply because no one would insure them. Weres, the moon fever, and humans could never be a good mix in a sexually charged environment, and anyone who thought otherwise was a fool.

Once we'd paid, we entered the club.

Immediately we were hit by the noise, the lights, and the thick heavy air that burned down the throat and smashed into the senses.

There was nothing subtle about this place, no pretense about what it was and what it was catering to. It was in-your-face, no-apologies sex and indulgence, and the richness of it was almost mind-humbling. I took a deep breath, allowing the heated, lusty atmosphere to soak through my body, and felt the familiar ache begin.

The main room was large and long, and there were plenty of people packed inside. Lights scrolled across the vast expanse - flickers of yellow, red, and blue that highlighted the masses moving on the dance floor while leaving large areas in shadow.

Kellen's fingers squeezed mine, and he nodded toward an empty booth on the outskirts of the left side of the dance floor. "Want to grab that, or would you rather dance?"

Given my near miss with Shadow, and the hankering need that had been plaguing me ever since, there was only ever going to be one answer to that question. "Dance."

We made our way down the stairs, my heels slipping slightly on the highly polished white tiles. The whole place was white, in fact. Floor, ceiling, furniture. White on white. It should have felt as cold as hell, but it didn't, thanks to the lights and the sheer mass of people loving, laughing, and generally having a good time.

Kellen led me onto the dance floor. Down here, the grunts of pleasure and the slap of flesh against flesh mingled heavily with the thump of music, and the air was thick with the rich aroma of sweat and wantonness. But it was mixed with a sense of almost guilty recklessness, and I put that down to the kids-in-a-candy-shop mentality. The humans here might be enjoying themselves, but it was almost like they knew that at any minute they'd get caught and the fun would stop.

Still, the heat of their desire was as thick and as strong as any were's, and my breath caught, then quickened. The press of so much flesh - even if it was mostly clothed flesh - made my skin burn and my already erratic heart race that much harder. I wanted - needed - to be loved.

Kellen wrapped his arms around my waist, then pulled me close and began a slow dance that was totally out of sync with the music. Music that was barely audible over the frantic pounding of my pulse. Sweat formed where we touched, and the air was so thick with the heat of our desire I could hardly breathe.

"Everyone is either dressed or half dressed," he murmured, his hands sliding sensually down my back to my butt. "Do you think we should go naked and stir them up?"

"Not when I'm trying to avoid attention." I pressed closer to him, rubbing myself across his erection. "Besides, the important bits of me are naked."