Full Moon Rising

I did so

“Now, raise your left hand and touch your fingertips to my temple, then close your eyes.”

He echoed my movements, his fingertips so warm against my head

“Now, imagine yourself standing on a vast dark plain. In the middle of this plain there is a wall you ca

It was harder than I thought it would be. I’d always taken my psi shields for granted—they were a gift of my heritage, something I’d had since birth, and they’d strengthened greatly over the years. Rhoan had taught me how to lower them once he’d become a guardian, but that was about it for training. No one had ever told me I could create “doors.” Maybe it was something not everyone could do

Sweat trickled down my face and I resisted the urge to swipe it away. The dark plain was forming, and so too was a wall. It was red, endless, and seemed to shimmer slightly

“Now,” Qui

“The wall is endless.”

“Then either you have not envisaged an end, or you have psi talents you have not yet tapped. Imagine the door as far left as you can see without moving.”

Again I did as he bid, but the effort left me trembling

“Now, push that door open and see me there.”

I took a deep breath and envisaged that door slowly opening. It felt like I was trying to move a damn mountain. I pushed and pushed, and finally, with a snap, it opened, and I fell flat on my psychic face. I looked up, imagining Qui

And suddenly he was laughing, not out loud but deep inside. It was a caress of warmth that stirred the fibers of my soul, intimate in a way that went beyond touch, beyond sex

No one has ever fallen through a door before.

His mind voice was as rich and as sexy as his regular voice, though why I found that surprising I don’t really know

Well, I’ve never liked doing the obvious. I picked my psychic self off the floor, and added, So this door will remain open now unless one of us closes it?

Yes, but I think it best to close it now, simply because you are a wolf and your aura is reaching a peak. The minute we’re inside Genoveve, open it.

Meaning he wasn’t as immune to my aura as he was pretending? I couldn’t be sad about that. So how do I close it?

Simply imagine the door closing, and it will be done.

There was no “simply” about it. Closing that psychic door proved every bit as hard as opening it. But maybe that was because part of me simply didn’t want to lose the intimacy of it

It slammed shut the last few inches, as if given a push from the other side. A gasp escaped my lips, and I opened my eyes. His gaze met mine, warm and sexy

I dropped my hand from his temple. “It must be amazing to have sex like that.”

He raised an eyebrow, his fingers sliding from my temple to my cheek. “You’ve never made love to another psychic?”

“Well, obviously I have, because you’re psychic and I discovered this evening that Misha is as well. But never once has anyone suggested dropping shields and entwining our minds as intimately as our bodies.”

“It’s an amazing experience.”

His fingers were warm against my cheek, drowning me in sunshine and desire. My heart was hammering so loud I was sure they’d be able to hear it in the living room. I cleared my throat and somehow managed to stutter, “I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“Maybe one day—”

He didn’t finish the sentence simply because his lips met mine. On the kissing scale, it blew the top off anything I’d experienced so far—even with him. It was a wild and erotic possession that was both passionate and intimate. And it totally and irreparably smashed the lie that he didn’t want anything more than sex. No one could kiss like that and say it was just about sex

Yet he wouldn’t admit it, not in words, and I had no doubt that at the end of this mission he would still walk away

Which was damned a

I pulled back. We were both breathing heavily, and his desire was as evident as mine. “Too much more of that and you might just find yourself being ridden right here on the balcony.”

“And you think I would have minded?”

“Well, no. I just didn’t think you were an exhibitionist.”

“With you, I could be.”

I gri

Amusement lingered on his lips, but there was a sadness in his eyes that stirred my heart

“It won’t happen, Riley.”

Like hell it wouldn’t. My wolf soul had his scent in her nose, and she wasn’t about to let him go easily. He picked up the coffee cup and offered it to me. “Have I stirred things up too much?”

“The fever is controllable enough.” Which was surprising. Even though I’d been with Misha for five hours, the moon heat should still be raging through my system. The full moon was less than a day away, and given the intensity of need earlier in the week, I should have been at fever pitch by now

Maybe it was the situation. Maybe fear of playing bait a second time was overwhelming the power of the moon. Whatever the cause, I had no doubt that later on in the day my need would burn. I was a werewolf, and there was no escaping such a basic part of what I was

“We should get moving.” He glanced at the sky. “Dawn will be soon.”

My stomach curled. I threw the rest of my coffee over the balcony, then walked back inside. “What’s the plan then?”

Rhoan groaned. “Riley—”

“There’s no other way, and we both know it.”

“I’m going with her,” Qui

Jack didn’t look all that surprised. “I don’t think you should. As I said before, I can protect Riley but not you.”

“If things go down the tube, your protection won’t matter to her or to me.”

“True.” Jack glanced at me. “I won’t bother telling you it’ll be rough in there, simply because you know what Talon is capable of better than any of us. I will tell you that no matter what, you do what you have to do to survive. Even if that means killing.”

I stared at him for a moment, throat dry, then nodded

“We’ll insert microchips under both your armpits so we can track either of you,” he continued, “and set you up with weapons. Then I think it’s time for you to return home, Riley.”

And wait for the net to fall, obviously. “They’ll do weapons search, surely.”

Jack’s sudden grin was devious. “But they’ll be looking for weapons that look like weapons.”

I raised an eyebrow but didn’t bother asking him to explain. I’d see them soon enough anyway

Jack thrust up from the seat and repeated what had to be one of his favorite expressions: “Let’s get this show on the road, people.”

Walking through the front door of my apartment had never proven so nerve-racking. While I’d sensed no intruders, that didn’t mean there couldn’t be. After all, I couldn’t sense humans, and the things that had attacked Qui

Qui

I gri

“It would be easier to play bait from inside rather than the hall,” he said, voice dry. “But remember, there are consequences.”

I nodded. “Once invited, never refused.”

“Meaning I can come and go as I please, whenever I please.”

“Meaning you could come in for a little midnight fun when you’re down in Melbourne?”

He gave me a smoky sort of look that could have meant anything. “Maybe.”

Couldn’t be sad about that, either. “Qui