Full Moon Rising

The lift stopped at sublevel three and the doors opened. I peered out. Darkness crisscrossed by red lines greeted me. I switched to infrared and sca

Hurry, Qui

“Like I’m not,” I muttered, and heard the distant ring of amusement, felt it wash through my mind as sweetly as a kiss

It seemed to take forever to weave through the web of lasers. Hurrying wasn’t a priority when the slightest wrong move could result in body parts being sliced off

Eventually, I reached his cell, and the sheer relief of seeing him again had me shaking. I retrieved the keys from the pocket of the coat, found one that looked right, and slid it into the lock. The lasers withdrew, and Qui

He didn’t move, just studied me in a detached sort of way. Though I wanted nothing more than to lose myself in the safety and warmth of his arms, it was a risk I couldn’t take. The fever was knife-edged

“And if we meet Talon?”

He was reading my thoughts better than I was his. But then, he’d had more practice. I shrugged. “I’ll deal with it.”

He nodded, accepting my answer though we both knew there was only one way to deal with the heat that burned through my bloodstream

“Let’s go.”

He led the way back through the maze of lights. A soft humming filled the silence. The elevator was on the move again

“You hide left, I’ll hide right. If it stops here, we’ll attack,” Qui

Mouth dry, I wrapped the shadows around my body and pressed back against the wall. The movements of the elevator vibrated into my spine, and I closed my eyes, hoping against hope it didn’t stop

It did

Eight people walked out and began moving toward the laser cells. They smelled of death, and a sliver of relief ran through me. A single werewolf in the mix could have spelled trouble

The elevator door closed and cut off any immediate retreat

Go, Qui

I might be vampire-fast but my heels still rapped against the floor and gave the game away. There was a shout and the last vampire in line spun, his fist flying in a blur. I ducked, then punched, my blow smashing into his ribs with enough force to elicit a groan

Out of the corner of my eye I saw the flash of movement. I swung, kicked the first vampire in the head, then twisted away from the hands grabbing at me. Only to fall into the grasp of another. His arm snaked around my neck and I cursed, mule-kicking. I hit nothing but air and he laughed, his breath foul as it brushed past my cheek. I twisted and grabbed his balls, squeezing hard. He made a strangled sound, his grip around my neck loosening. I tore free and thrust him into the path of another. They went down in a tangle of arms and legs

Another vampire lunged for me. I backpedaled fast, barely avoiding his fist. I ducked a second blow, then pivoted and kicked him in the gut. The blow bounced off the vampire’s flesh and jarred my whole leg. The bastard obviously had bricks in place of stomach muscles

I danced away from another blow, then lashed out at the vampire’s jaw. Though his head snapped back, he snarled—or smiled. It was hard to tell when all I saw was the flash of teeth. I hit him again, but he caught the blow in his fist and twisted hard. Pain burned white-hot up my arm, and a scream tore up my throat—a scream that became more intense as his teeth slashed into my arm. The sound of his greedy sucking churned my gut

Shuddering, I twisted, sweeping the creature off its feet again. Pain twisted up my arm as his teeth were ripped from my flesh, and he roared in frustration. I lashed out, the blow catching the side of his face and sending him staggering

He didn’t get far. There was a blur of red heat, then Qui

He wrapped his fingers around the vampire’s neck and pulled him close. “Where is the man who is being used to produce the clones?”

The vampire cursed him, but the words abruptly cut off. Silence fell. No conversation, no movement from either vampire. But I knew what was happening. Qui

I thrust up the coat’s sleeve and checked the wound. It was as bad as it felt but before I could shift shape, there was a crack of bone and Qui

“Let me,” he said softly

He raised my wrist to his mouth and flicked his tongue across the wound. The sweet bliss of the caress made me jump, a whimper escaping my lips. His dark gaze burned into mine, his breath fiery against my skin. He licked at the wound as a cat might, washing away the blood, cleaning and healing the wound. It was erotic and sensual and undeniably exquisite

My breath caught somewhere in my throat and the fever battered the walls of control. “Qui

It was a soft and breathy plea, but one he ignored. Sensations tumbled through me. I quivered under the gentle eroticism of his touch, clenching my thighs as the pressure built and built, until I felt so tightly strung everything would surely snap. Then it did, and I was unraveling, groaning, with the intensity of the orgasm flowing through me

It had only taken a few minutes, and as I opened my eyes and met his dark gaze, I knew it had been deliberate. He’d lifted the lid off the pressure cooker inside me, giving me more of a chance to control it a little longer

“Thank you.”

“Blood as sweet as yours should never be wasted.” He kissed my fingers, his lips warm against my skin, then released my hand and stepped away. “We have to get going.”

At that moment, I would have I followed him anywhere, but I settled for the elevator. “Did you get anything from the vampire before you killed him?”

“The location of Henri and the nearest exit.”

“So we get Henri first, then retreat?”

“No. I get Henri and you get the hell out of here.”

“Qui

The doors opened. He pressed a hand into my back, guiding me inside. “It’s for the best. There’s an exit not far from the elevator. The alarm doesn’t appear to have gone out yet, but it soon will. That’s when it’ll get dangerous.”

“You can’t fight all these creatures alone.”

He took the pass from me, swiping it through the slot before hitting the first-floor button. “I can fight a whole lot better knowing you are safe. Please, do what is sensible.”

I took a deep, shuddering breath. Part of me wanted to stay and fight by his side, but the rest knew he was right. I wasn’t trained for this sort of work. I could fight, but I didn’t want to kill, and that could get dangerous for not only me but Qui

“Okay.”

A smile tugged his lush lips. “You are the most surprising woman I have ever met.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Because I do what is sensible?”

“Because you do so without arguing first.”

“I do not have a death wish, and this is not a situation I’m enjoying.” Besides, though there were no windows and clocks to be seen in this place, I knew night was falling. The full moon was close to rising, and the force of it had my whole body tingling. Soon I would be wolf, and while teeth were a good weapon against one, against many they would be useless

I lightly touched his cheek. “Please be careful.”

He caught my hand and kissed my palm. “I’m a very old vampire, and I didn’t get this way by being careless. And one crazy young werewolf with Hitler delusions will not take me out.”

Maybe. But that crazy young werewolf had an army of dysfunctional clones at his back, and they very well might

The elevator stopped, and the doors opened. Qui

“Clear.” He tugged me out. “Go left and take the first corridor on the right. The exit is at the very end.”