Dangerous Games (Riley Jenson Guardian #4)(47)

“I could never be counted as one of the unwary.” Which wasn’t exactly the truth. Otherwise, why would I be standing here, drinking in the scent of sandalwood and man and desire, until all I wanted to do was wrap my arms around him and hold on tight? Why wasn’t I running as far and as fast as I could from this man and all the problems he represented?
Because he was my chocolate. It might be perverse, it might be insane, but he was the one temptation I could never, ever resist.And yet time and again he’d proven he just wasn’t good for my health—my emotional health.
I might want him physically, but it just wasn’t enough anymore. Even with the moon in full bloom, even with desire battering at my senses, part of me was just tired of it all.
Tired of the fighting. Tired of his constant belittling of the werewolf ways. Tired of simply trying. If he wasn’t at least willing to meet me some of the way—and his actions seemed to constantly prove he wasn’t—what was the point of us even being together?
I’d once said sex was a very good place to start any relationship, and I still believed that was totally true. But sex wasn’t the end-all of any relationship, even for a werewolf. There had to be more.
Had to be trust.
And the truth was, I just didn’t trust Quinn anymore. And that, more than anything he might have said or done over the last few months, was a relationship killer.
I stepped away from him.
He frowned. “Riley—”
“No,” I said softly. “I have a job to do, and I need you to leave.”
“I have no intention—”
“You have every intention,” I said, and a little of the anger that was bubbling deep inside came spewing up. “Do you remember a lady called Eryn Jones?”
“She was my supposed fiancée, so yeah. But what has she got to do with us?”
“You remember what you did to her?”
“I gave her what she deserved, but I still don’t see—”
“She used a drug on you,” I said shortly. Angrily. “That changed the way you thought and acted. She made you fall in love with her.” I crossed my arms and glared at him. “How different is that from what you’re doing to me?”
“It’s different.” But it was softly said. He knew the point I was making. He just didn’t want to acknowledge it.
“How is it different?” I all but shouted. “How in the goddamn hell can you stand there and say it’s different?”
“She didn’t care for me, just my money.”
“And you caring for me makes it all right for you to try and change my very nature through mind control?”
“I was just—”
I held up a hand. “I’m tired of your excuses, Quinn. Tired of giving, tired of forgiving. Just get out.”
“There’s too much between us to just walk away from it. I won’t—”
“You keep saying that, and yet you keep trying to change my very nature. Enough is enough. Please, just leave, Quinn.”
“No—”
“She did ask nicely,” Rhoan said, his voice holding an edge as he crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. “Leave, or I will make you.” 
Quinn’s expression darkened. “This is between me and her—”
“You take her on, you take me on,” Rhoan said. “Right now, she doesn’t want you in this apartment, or her life. Go, as asked, or I will make you.”
Quinn’s gaze went from Rhoan to me and back again, and the sudden sense of danger had the hairs along the back of my neck rising. Even though he hadn’t moved a muscle, the man standing in front of me was suddenly every inch an old and deadly vampire. Then he shook his head, and the sensation fell away.
“I never took you for a coward, Riley. I guess I was wrong.”
“I guess you were.” I took a sip of coffee, then added, “But then, you’re the one trying to change a werewolf’s nature, not me.”
He gave me a look that was an odd mix of anger, determination, and regret, then spun on his heel and left. When the front door slammed shut, I sighed in relief.
“Thanks, bro.”
He nodded. “You sure you want to do what you just did?”
“He was trying to change who I am, Rhoan. I can forgive many of the things he’s done, but I can’t forgive that.”
“For ever and ever, or just for a while?”
“I don’t know. I’ll tell you when I figure that out.”
“Fair enough.” He walked up beside me and flicked on the kettle. “I’m your backup for tonight.”
“No offense, bro, but I hope you’re not my only backup tonight.”
“Jack will be there. And the place will be surrounded.” He hesitated, and added with a wry grin, “And our enigmatic vampire will undoubtedly be there, if only so he can close the gate.”
“The more the merrier.” I reached up to the shelf, grabbed the regular coffee, and handed it to him. Rhoan’s tastes weren’t as fussy as mine when it came to coffee—even if I’d drink just about anything when push came to shove.
He accepted the jar with a nod of thanks, and tossed some granules into a mug. “You worried about tonight?”
“Yes.” I rubbed an arm, and tried to ignore the goose bumps that fled up my skin at the thought of stepping into the den of a dark god and his dragons. “If they felt Caelfind’s entrapment, then things could get very nasty in there tonight.”
“But they have no reason to suspect your involvement with that.”
“No. But Caelfind was a very old being with powers we can only guess at. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility that she contacted Kingsley somehow when she was caught.”
“If they knew Caelfind had been caught and restrained, then they’d be on the move. So far, Kingsley hasn’t stepped from the house.”
“As far as we know. He might have access to underground passages or something.”
“In the middle of Toorak?” Rhoan grinned. “I doubt it.”
“Toorak has sewers, just like every other suburb. There’s no saying he hasn’t got cellar access or something.”
“No, but it’s unlikely.”
Maybe. But we worked in a world where the unlikely was more than possible. “I’d like to go in there with a couple of hidden weapons. Just in case.”
“A set of your special shoes would be sensible.” His gaze went to my hair. “And I think we can attach a couple of the threaded knives to some hair clips or something. But we’ll have to go to the Directorate to get them.”
We had to go back there, anyway. Jack wanted me to try and place some listening devices and micro-cameras around the place. “They’ll have to be short knives if we’re attaching them to hair clips, and short knives won’t reach the heart.”“No, but all you really need them to do is to pin his spirit to his flesh. We can use conventional weapons after that, and let Quinn do his priest banishing or containing stuff.”
I nodded and glanced at the clock. It was nearing six-thirty now, and given I was supposed to meet Jin at seven, I was going to be pushing things. Still, I liked the thought of making the bastard sweat a little.
And I certainly wasn’t in a hurry to get there, anyway.
I finished my coffee, then pushed away from the bench. “I’ll go for a shower, then we can head off.”
“Then I’ll go pick out an outfit that’ll guarantee they won’t notice any hidden weapons.”
“Great. I’m going to end up basically naked.”
He grinned. “When you’ve got something to hide, show as much flesh as possible. Now go grab that shower, or we’re going to be horribly late.”
I went.
And we were horribly late.
It was nearing seven-thirty by the time I climbed out of the cab. Jin paced the sidewalk in front of Kingsley’s mansion, his expression anxious. I had to wonder why—after all, it wasn’t like he had to bring a partner or face dire consequences.
Was it?
I remembered the tone of Kingsley’s voice when he made the request, and suddenly wasn’t so sure.
The traffic noise from the main road began to fade, and the click of my heels against the pavement became more noticeable, carrying sharply across the night. Jin spun, and an almost relieved smile touched his lips. But as my gaze met his dark eyes, I noted the anger there. He might be putting on a pleasant and urbane front, but the creature within was furious.
A shiver ran through my soul. I didn’t want to face that anger. Didn’t want to feel the consequences of it.
Knew I’d probably have to do both.
He walked toward me, his gait unhurried and yet sexy, that of a man who knew he was good-looking and who knew how to work it. I let my gaze slip downward, unable to help admiring the outer package even if the being within frightened the crap out of me.
He stopped when there were still several feet between us, his gaze traveling idly down my body, making my skin burn and my blood boil. He was close enough that the heat of him, the musky male scent of him, rolled over me, briefly erasing the other scents that filled the night. I breathed deep, letting the musk of him fill my lungs, letting it fuel the moon-spun desire to greater heights. I had a bad feeling I’d need to be at fever pitch to get through this night without giving in to the need to run for the hills.
“I was beginning to think you’d stood me up.” His voice was husky, deep, and in his dark gaze, lust now competed with the anger.