Full Moon Rising

I couldn’t help the surprise in my voice, and his smile grew. “Only one of the ones that I don’t mind getting bashed up. I’ve seen you drive, remember.”

“I know. Hence my surprise.”

“There is an ulterior motive, of course.”

His voice had dropped several octaves and slid through my system as smoothly as warmed chocolate. Talon might be excitement and raw power, but Misha was certainly passion. “And what might that be?”

“You have to return the car and the keys, and therefore might spend tonight with me rather than Talon.”

I leaned across the table and kissed him. “A car would be far handier than public transport, so I just might be forced to accept that proposition.” The hunger glittering in his eyes echoed through me, stirring the moon heat to life. “But why not get a down payment right now?”

“Why not indeed,” he agreed, and pressed his hand against the back of my neck, holding me still as his mouth claimed mine

As places to make love went, a kitchen bench wasn’t that bad an alternative

I checked the map for the umpteenth time, wanting to be sure I was headed in the right direction. On foot, I could find my way anywhere. Shove me behind the wheel of a car and I could get lost in a traffic circle

Up ahead, the lights changed from green to red. The cell phone chose that moment to ring and I slipped the earpiece in as I stopped the car

“Riley here.”

“How are you feeling, little wolf?”

Talon’s husky tones lost none of their impact electronically, and a warm shiver slipped down my spine. He didn’t even have to touch me to turn me on

“I’ve been with Misha, and I’m feeling fine.”

Talon paused. Maybe he didn’t like the thought that I could still need another after the pounding he’d given me

“He can’t do to you what I do to you.”

His words held an edge that made me frown. Was Talon getting jealous? Surely not. “No. And sometimes that’s a good thing.”

The lights changed. I put on the turn signal and moved over to the side of the road. Given my driving record, talking to Talon while trying to steer the car probably wasn’t a good idea

His laugh skittered across my skin and made me hunger, yet there was also that rawness in it that stirred uneasiness through me. Sex with Talon was great, but if he was begi

“Can I see you again soon?” he said

“I’m with Misha tonight.”

“Then come now.”

There was no hiding the a

“I don’t. Well, I do when I want you and he has you, but it’s not a jealousy thing, if that’s what you mean.” He paused. “How about I add a sweetener? I have that information you wanted.”

“You ran a search on Evensong?”

“And the owner. Found a couple of interesting tidbits. You can come over to my place and collect them.”

My heart accelerated. He’d never asked me to his place before—never told me much about himself at all, in fact, and curiosity stirred

“When and where?”

He chuckled. “What are you doing right now?”

“Driving out to the Moneisha labs.”

“You haven’t got a car.”

“Misha lent me one of his.”

“No way. He’s seen you drive and he adores his cars.”

I gri

Talon snorted. “I hope it’s some bright color, so the other drivers can see you coming.”

“It’s red.”

“Red is the color of danger.”

“I’m not that bad.”

“Oh yes, you are. I hope you’re not driving while you’re talking to me.”

“I can multitask.”

“Yeah, right. What street are you on now?”

I peered up at the nearby street sign. “On Burwood, near Oaklands Avenue. Why?”

“Because I’m going to send out an all-points warning to my people to get the hell out of the area.”

“Bastard.”

He chuckled. “Why are you going to Moneisha?”

“I’m probably chasing a wild goose, but that’s where Rhoan might have been heading.”

“Why would he be going there?”

“He’s a guardian, so who knows? I’m just going to walk around the perimeter and see if I can feel anything.”

“So how far off are you?”

“About ten minutes. Why?”

“Just trying to work out how long it’ll be until you get here. I’m feeling hungry, little wolf.”

My pulse slipped into third gear and the ache I’d thought Misha had sated became fierce again. Lord, what was I going to be like a day or so before the full moon? “So give me your address and I’ll get there as fast as I can.”

Not surprisingly, he lived in Toorak, a classy suburb filled with the superrich. I jotted the address down in my diary and hung up with the promise to be there within an hour and a half

I continued on, and despite the aspersions on my driving skills, reached Moneisha without incident. After parking, I grabbed my coat and strolled toward the red-topped white buildings I could see through the guardhouse gateway. There were two sets of fences—a solid white concrete one that had to be at least eight feet high, and, farther in, a wire one. Even from across the road, I could feel the buzz of electricity ru

The gray-suited guard shifted in his box, watching as I approached. I dropped my shields, and reached out to touch his mind telepathically. It felt like I was hitting a brick wall. Either he was wearing some sort of electronic mind-shield or was immune to telepathic touch. I gave him a cheerful smile and walked by, following the long, white wall. I wasn’t sure what I hoped to find here, but I had to look

I was about three-quarters of the way around when awareness shot through me. Joy leapt, and it was all I could do to stop myself from dancing. I’d found him. And while I had no idea why he was here, I had every intention of finding out. I stopped and heard the buzz of the security cam as it swung around to watch me

Forcing myself to move, I crossed the road, then got out my phone, pretending to answer it as I leaned against the front fence of a house and studied the rooftops beyond the wall. There were two buildings, and they didn’t appear co

For the first time in my life, I wished I could communicate telepathically with my brother. But that was the one ability he didn’t inherit from our mixed heritage. We both got the infrared vision and the ability to differentiate between nonhuman races and track them down, but he was totally mind-blind. Which was probably a good thing considering he worked with some of Melbourne’s most dangerous vampires

The camera was on me again. I couldn’t stay there. But I had every intention of coming back later that night, when the darkness played into my hand and allowed me to use the vampire ability to fade into shadow

I walked back to my car, but the vid phone beeped before I could get moving. “Riley speaking.”

“Riley, it’s Jack.”

I gri

“Really?” Amusement played around his mouth. “And where would that be?”

“Moneisha.”

His amusement fled. “Why on earth would he be there?”