The Darkest Kiss (Riley Jenson Guardian 6)

Her gaze flicked to Rhoan and myself, seemingly dismissing Quinn for the moment. "Why are you here uninvited, wolf? Have you caught the bastard who murdered Ivan yet?"

"No, but we will. Because you're going to tell us everything you know about him."

She smiled and leaned back in her chaise lounge. "You know the cost of information."

I didn't get a chance to answer. Rhoan simply stepped forward, wrapped a hand around her pale neck, then yanked her off the lounge and into the air.

The toga-clad vamps behind the chair blurred into action, some leaping across the leather lounge at Rhoan, others whipping out weapons.

I didn't move. I didn't have to.

Rhoan casually battered away the two that attacked him, then swung the dangling Vinny in their direction. "Shoot, and she dies. Move, and she dies."

"You can't - " Vinny's voice was hoarse and, while vampires didn't actually need to breathe, her face was going an interesting shade of red.

"Oh, I can," Rhoan said, voice all calm iciness. The voice of the killer, not my brother. "We guardians have the power to kill pests on sight. The question that has to be answered now is whether you're a pest or not."

"I can't - " She stopped, gasping for air like a fish out of water.

I glanced at Quinn, and opened the link between us. Is she faking it?

His amusement rolled down the psychic lines. Hell, yeah. She could win an Academy Award with this performance.>"How can you say that when you lost Kellen for the very same reason?"

"Kellen left because he didn't want to sit at home wondering if each night was going to be the night I didn't come home. Liander's accepted that possibility and is willing to live with it."

"But I'm not. If I commit to him, if we do the moon ceremony, and then something happens to me, he dies. And I don't want that. I couldn't live with that."

"Death isn't always the end result of the moon bond." Although I had no proof of that. Ben might have survived the death of his soul mate, but they hadn't sworn their love to the moon. Maybe that was the difference.

"I don't care." He spun around and clomped down the stairs. "I refuse to risk full commitment."

"But he's not asking you to risk it, Rhoan. He's just asking to move in with us and become part of our family. Why is that asking too much?"

"It's a risk - "

"Life itself is a goddamn risk! As Liander being caught by a serial killer proves."

He muttered something under his breath. I caught the words "bitch" and "ridiculous," and smiled. "This bitch is going to kick your ass to kingdom come if you don't start acting sensibly where Liander is concerned."

He snorted softly and strode across the living room, snatching an old photograph up and thrusting it in my direction. "This is it."

I took the photo from him and then looked around. "Where's the phone? My cell's in the car."

He pointed to the left, then crossed his arms, his nostrils flaring. "Why is Quinn here?"

"Because I was getting emotional hits from you, and it was shaking me up so badly I couldn't drive." I picked up the receiver and dialed Jack's number.

"I suppose I should be grateful he couldn't pass the threshold, or my ass would be history."

"Too right it would be," Quinn commented calmly from the doorway. "You're too old to be acting like a petulant child."

"Christ, first my sister tells me off, then her lover." He paused. "How come you two are together again? When did that happen?"

"We are not together, as such," Quinn said. "Not yet, anyway."

Rhoan raised an eyebrow as he glanced at me. "Funny, because you have his scent all over you, which kinda indicates you have been together."

"Having sex doesn't mean we're together. It just means we were horny," I answered, then said, as Jack picked up the phone, "Boss, we've got problems."