Full Moon Rising

I made a strangled sound and he chuckled. “Didn’t think so.”

With one swift, hard stroke, he was inside, and it was such a sweet, glorious relief I almost wept. Then he began to move, thrusting deep and strong, and there was no calm, no control, in any of his actions now. It was madness and passion and heat and intensity, and though I could barely even breathe let alone think, I knew this is what I had been seeking, what had been missing in my life. Because it was more than just sex, more than just a co

Then his teeth entered my neck, and everything exploded into ecstasy. Together, we fell screaming over that edge, plunging into a sea of bliss more powerful than anything I’d ever experienced

When I remembered how to breathe again, I took his face between my palms and kissed him long and slow. “That was amazing.”

He rolled to one side and gathered me in his arms. “And I made you scream.”

His warm, sexy tones held a hint of contented male arrogance and I smiled. “Only because I needed you inside.”

He chuckled softly and brushed a sweaty strand of hair from my forehead. “Sounds to me like I have to prove it was no fluke.”

And I thought Talon had stamina. I smiled and dropped a kiss on his chin. “Sounds like.”

Over the course of the day, he did indeed prove it was no fluke

But late in the afternoon, as we lay hot and sweaty and entangled in each other’s arms, I knew I was in deep, deep trouble. Because the intensity that burned between us suggested this vampire could be more than just a sex partner

It didn’t matter that I barely knew him. Didn’t matter that he didn’t want me in any way other than physically. I had no more control over my emotions than I did the moon urges

I wanted him. Wanted to explore the full boundaries of what we had

Only that was the last damn thing he wanted

But as I’d warned him not so long ago, I was a wolf ready to fight for what she believed in

And I was more than willing to fight for the possibilities that lay unexplored between me and this vampire

Well, well,” Rhoan said, his gaze jumping from me to Qui

I gri

His gaze centered on the bite scar on my neck. Qui

“Hope you didn’t exhaust her too much. We have a lot pla

What he was really saying was that he hoped Qui

Qui

“I didn’t hear any complaints at the time,” I said dryly

His smile grew, making my hormones do their mad dance. “Nor are you ever likely to. You can exhaust me anytime you like.” His gaze switched to Rhoan. “Where’s Liander? I need to return his modulators.”

“Inside cooking di

Qui

“A cinch, once the power was knocked out. The guards were out in force, but there weren’t any vampires amongst them, and both Jack and I were careful to neutralize our scent beforehand.”

“Did you find anything?”

He snorted softly. “Sperm and eggs, and lots of them.”

“Did you find and destroy your lot?”

“I believe so. We found some interesting files, but other than that, nothing. As we suspected, Moneisha is little more than a collecting point. It’s not where these duplicates are coming from.”

“So they weren’t set up for research of any kind?”

“Yeah. But basic stuff.”

I frowned. “I thought it was Moneisha who had isolated the cluster of genes that make a vampire a vampire?”

He gave me a perplexed look. “Where did you hear that?”

“It was apparently reported in the newspapers.”

“Not in any I’ve read.”

Now I was confused. “Maybe we don’t read the right papers.”

“Who told you that they had?”

“Misha. He said there’d been protests outside Moneisha because of their genetic research.”

“There have been protests all right, but mainly because they’ve been buying up residences in the area with the intention of expanding.”

“Maybe Misha mixed up a couple of stories.” Yet even as I said it, I doubted it was the case. Misha had the best memory I’d ever come across

“Maybe.” Rhoan didn’t sound any more convinced than I was

I chewed on my lip for a moment, then asked, “Have you found out any information about Konane?”

“Who?”

“Konane. They apparently own Moneisha.”

“Where did you hear this? Because I know Director Hunter is still working her way through the paper trail.”

“Misha told me.”

He frowned. “I wonder how he knew?”

“I can ask, when I next see him.”

“Tell Jack and see what he says.” He paused. “So how come Gautier suspected you?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. He was standing at the office door as we were coming out. Maybe he heard something.”

“Those offices are soundproof.”

“Then either he has a nose as sensitive as a wolf or something Qui

Rhoan frowned. “You know, the few times I’ve worked with him, I’ve noticed he has extraordinarily keen senses for a vamp. If he is one of the lab-built creatures, then maybe he has got the nose of a wolf.”

I leaned back against the sun-warmed wall of the old shed. “Has Jack checked all the military installations? Couldn’t this be a government program?”

“The military is certainly working on implanting vampire genes into other nonhuman races, but from what Jack says, the longest any of them has lived is a couple of years.”

I remembered the smell in the parking garage. Remembered the feeling I was facing dead—or at least dying—things. “Whoever is behind this, I don’t think they’re having much luck in the longevity stakes, either.”

“They’re living long enough to do some pretty nasty stuff.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”

He hesitated. “You know we’ve had ten guardians gone missing?” When I nodded, he continued, “From what we can glean from the remains of those we’ve found, it appears they might have been forced to fight for their lives in some kind of arena.”

I closed my eyes and prayed that Kelly hadn’t joined their number. Hadn’t become just another means of testing some madman’s grotesque creations

She didn’t deserve that sort of end. None of the guardians had

But once again I shoved the thought away, not wanting to face the hurt of it until the moment hope was totally gone and I knew for sure she was dead. “Obviously, the bodies were dumped in areas out of the sunlight; otherwise, there wouldn’t be any remains to study. Which in itself suggests someone wanted the Directorate to find the remains.”

He nodded. “Jack says there was an enormous amount of growth accelerant in the body of the vamp they discovered in Qui