Embraced By Darkness

"You and your damn feelings cause us more work than anyone else." She sniffed. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks." I hit the brake as the light ahead changed to red. "What about bank accounts—any unusual activity in any of those?"

"I didn't go that deep."

"Could you?"

"Possibly."

"Can you send the info as soon as you get it?"

"I'll try."

"You're such a sweetheart."

"Swivel on it, wolf girl."

"Oh, I intend to."

She made a growling noise and hung up. I gri

I parked in a side street not far down from Eddie's, and walked back. Despite the late hour, Lygon Street was alive with people, music, and the delicious, multi-layered scents of cooking and food. I breathed deep, allowing the scents to roll through me, savoring every tasty moment even as my stomach grumbled to hurry up.

"Hey, gorgeous," a familiar voice said.

I turned around and saw Kellen approaching. He was dressed in jeans and a somewhat crinkled black shirt that fitted his lean body to perfection and showed off his arms and shoulders.

My hormones did a happy dance. I stepped forward and kissed him long and hard. It was a good kiss, a hungry kiss, a kiss filled with all the desire that had been pent up inside me.

When we finally parted, he said, "Are you sure you want to get a burger first?"

His green eyes were shining with amusement and caring, and something inside sighed with happiness. I slipped my arm through his and tugged him toward Eddie's. Thankfully, it was only half-full, and there were plenty of tables. "I haven't eaten in hours. I need the sustenance."

"A wolf can survive days without food, you know."

"Not this wolf. Besides, I need coffee."

"Ah well, that's different. I've seen your coffee-deprived state, and it isn't pleasant."

I lightly punched his arm. "You're supposed to be charming until you get your wicked way with me."

He guided me across to a table in the back corner, and held the chair out for me. "But I'm going to get my wicked way with you regardless of whether I'm charming, so why not be honest?"

"I might change my mind."

"After the heat in that kiss?" He gave me a sexy grin and shook his head. "I doubt it."

"Have you always been so arrogantly confident?"

"When it comes to my woman? Yes."

My woman, just hearing those words made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Still, I couldn't help saying, "I'm not your woman yet."

"But you will be."

"There's that arrogance again."

"It's confidence, my dear, not arrogance." He reached across the table and took my hand. His ringers were warm against mine, his skin slightly roughed. "We are good together."

"I've never denied that."

A waiter approached the table at that point, and we ordered. Kellen stuck with coffee, but I ordered a burger, fries, and the biggest mug of coffee they had.

Once the waiter had gone, I said, "I want this, Kellen. I just need a little more time to finish these cases."

"And next week it'll be another case, then another."

"I made a promise, and I intend to keep it." I squeezed his fingers lightly. "In the scheme of things, a week isn't all that long."

And I wasn't entirely sure who I was trying to convince with that statement—myself or him.

He studied me for a moment, then said, "So, how is the kidnap case going?"

I shrugged. "Pretty damn slowly. I think the club is ru

He untwined his fingers from mine, and leaned back. "So her disappearance has to do with the blackmailing scheme, not the disappearances of the women?"

"I really can't say for sure, yet." I just wished I could get hold of that letter. There had to be more in it than Patrin was saying, because he sure as hell wouldn't have left the safety of pack lands otherwise.

"So where does that leave the investigation?"

"Right now? At goddamn nowhere."

The waiter arrived with our coffees and my food. I took all the lettuce off the burger, then grabbed it two-handed and bit into it. Meat juices flooded my mouth and I couldn't help the rumble of pleasure that rolled up my throat.

Kellen shook his head, a smile touching his lips. "I can see the chance of any sort of sensible talk has gone out the window."

"Too right," I said, around the mouthful of burger. "This is good."

"They usually are." He picked up his coffee and sipped it while I continued to chow down, alternating between die burger and fries, and splashing them both down with coffee.

"Feeling better?" he asked when I finally finished, his voice dry and his eyes twinkling merrily.

"Totally." I wiped my mouth with the napkin then tossed it back onto the table. "However, now there are deeper hungers that need to be fed. You feel like heading to the Blue Moon?"

"It's closer than home or my car."

It wasn't closer than my car, but getting lusty in a government vehicle would probably attract more attention than either of us would want.

I stood up and dug out my credit card. "My turn," I said. "You paid for the last coffee."

"I do have a little more money than you."

"Like I care. And fair is fair."

He leant forward and kissed my forehead. "I do love the fact that my money isn't a factor to you."

"Hey, don't get me wrong, it's nice that you have money." I hesitated, then gave him a cheeky grin. "It means you can get me bigger and better presents come Christmas and birthdays."

"Ah, so there is a mercenary soul deep down inside."

"There's lots of things deep down inside." I paid the waiter, adding a generous tip, then slipped my arm through Kellen's again. "And maybe one day I'll allow you to plum those depths and uncover all my little secrets."

"Oh, a moment to anticipate, to be sure."

We stepped out onto the street. It was nearly two-thirty, and the crowds had thi

I breathed deep, then gave a contented smile. "I love this place."

He raised an eyebrow, amusement still playing on his lips. "Lygon Street?"

I nodded as we walked toward the club. "I love the scents and the sounds. It always feels so alive, so vibrant, no matter what time of day or night."

"I guess." He looked around, as if taking it all in for the first time. "The only place we have in Sydney that compares to this is the Oxford Street area."

"That's mainly for gays, isn't it?"

"Used to be, before the wolf clubs moved in. Now it's a mix—and a huge tourist attraction, believe it or not."

"Oh, I'd—" I stopped mid-sentence as the ghostly tingle of awareness ran across my skin.

A vampire was near.

A vampire whose stench I'd smelled before, just before he'd taken a potshot at me.

The sensation of danger hit so hard that it left me gasping for air. Something fast and deadly was tearing through the night toward us.

Another goddamn bullet.

I threw myself sideways, knocking Kellen out of the way in the process.

"What the hell—?" Instinctively, his arms went around me, cushioning my body with his own as we hit the pavement, hard.

Something burned past us, then a woman screamed. It was a high-pitched, wailing sound of horror and utter disbelief.

Gut churning, I broke free of Kellen's grip and twisted around. The bullet intended for me had found the head of the man behind me. And by found, I meant smashed into, and basically obliterated. Blood and bone and bits of god knows what else covered the woman who'd been walking beside him. She didn't even seem to notice, just stood there screaming and staring at the shattered remains of the man at her feet.