Kissing Sin (12 page)

I released Rhoan’s hand and took a step toward the room. A chill ran down my spine, and something sharp flickered through my head.

I swallowed heavily, and took another step.

Red needles of fire lanced through my brain, and sweat broke out across my brow. I shuddered, clenching my fists, fighting the urge to run as far and as fast as I could from this place and the memories that stirred in agony.

Rhoan touched my shoulder, and I jumped.

“Maybe you shouldn’t push,” he said softly.

“There’s something I need to remember.”

Why I was so sure, I couldn’t say. If I was in a coma, then surely this place would mean nothing to me. Yet I’d become aware enough to escape. Maybe the answers we needed were locked behind that threatening wall of pain.

I licked dry lips and took another step.

The pain became a tidal wave, and I was falling, screaming, to the floor.

Chapter 5

M
emories reeled through a sea of agony, fractured images of a violent movie, viewed through a broken projector. The car that had hit mine from behind; the tree I couldn’t avoid. The warm flush of blood on my face and arms, then pain, and darkness, and the sensation of floating. Nothing but floating, for what seemed like forever.

Then sounds crept into the mix. A steady beeping. The click of heels against flooring. The slap of flesh against flesh, and the sense of violation.

Finally, smells. Antiseptic. Sex. Forest, pine and orange blossom.

The last three were a strange combination I’d smelled before.

Riley!

The voice was distant. Demanding. It echoed through the agony locking my mind, nipping like a terrier. But the pain swirled, and I couldn’t tell where the voice came from. Couldn’t reach it.

Riley!

It was sharper this time, more urgent. The clouds of agony stirred, dissipating. Suddenly, Quinn was in my mind, standing between me and the pain, holding out a ghostly hand. I clasped it, and it felt real, and solid, and oh so warm.

This way,
he said, and led me back to the light.

Awareness returned, and I gasped.

“It’s all right.” Rhoan’s voice was soft, soothing. His arms were wrapped around me, and he was rocking me as a father would a child. “You’re all right.”

The air that swirled around us was cool against my fevered skin, and the air I sucked fiercely into my lungs filled with the scent of eucalyptus and night. We were outside again.

I opened my eyes. Quinn’s gaze met mine, dark depths as expressionless as his face.

“The door wasn’t open,” I said.

“No,” he agreed softly.

“Door?” Rhoan said. “Which door?”

I pulled my gaze from Quinn’s and looked at my brother. “Nothing. It doesn’t matter.” But it did matter, because Quinn had just breached my shields and entered my mind after telling me not so long ago that he couldn’t.

Rhoan touched a hand to my cheek. “Did you remember anything important?”

“Just a smell. A man, someone I’ve met before.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Nothing else?”

I shook my head, and he sighed. “Enough is enough. We’re taking you home tonight.”

And I was ready to go. Ready to just sleep and forget, if only for a few hours. “Is it safe to go home?”

He grimaced. “Not really. The three of us are heading to a safe house for the time being. When Jack and Kade sort out the mess here, they’ll join us.”

“Why is Kade staying rather than you or Quinn?” I asked, surprised.

“Because Kade was here for over two months, and knows this place better than any of us.”

Which sounded perfectly logical, but I wasn’t believing it. Jack had plans for Kade, that much was obvious. “So where is this Directorate safe house? And has it got a bath big enough for a werewolf to laze in?”

He grinned. “It’s a penthouse suite in a hotel right on the shores of Brighton Beach. I think it’s safe to presume it has a decent-size bath.”

A smile tugged my lips. “Well, I guess if we’re going to be locked up, we might as well do so in style.”

“Exactly. You okay to stand?”

I nodded, and he helped me to my feet. I wobbled a little, and was glad of his support those first few seconds. “I’m fine,” I said, when I was.

He released me. “I’ll just go see Jack, then we can leave.”

I nodded and leaned back against the concrete wall. The coldness crept through my sweater, and felt so good against my overwarmed skin.

Once he’d left, I looked at Quinn. “You have some explaining to do.”

He shrugged. “There’s nothing sinister in what happened. You were in great pain, and your psychic shields were low. I simply slipped past them.”

“That time I was shot with the silver bullet, you said you could read no more than surface thoughts. This time it was more than that.”

He studied me for a second, dark eyes glinting dangerously in the night. “What did you want me to do? Stand back and watch you suffer needlessly?”

“You lied to me.” Again.

“Only a little.”

I crossed my arms. “I’ve got a feeling your version of ‘little’ and mine are two entirely different things.”

“It’s only when you’re in pain that your shields are lowered enough for me to enter uninvited. In some respects, your mind is almost as untouchable as your brother’s.”

I didn’t believe him. “So you’re saying it’s only when I’m sick or injured that you can rifle through my thoughts?”

He hesitated. “Yes.”

“Liar. When else?”

He looked away. “In times of passion. If I chose to, I could enter then.”

Anger curled through me. “And have you?”

“No.”

I only had his word on that, and right now, I wasn’t up to trusting his word. “Well, thanks for pulling me out of that mess of memories, but if you ever pry into my mind without invitation again, I’ll—” I stopped. What could I threaten a vampire with? Especially one as old as Quinn apparently was?

“Fine.” His voice was flat. Cold. “Next time, I’ll let you find your own way out.”

“Good.”

Silence fell between us. A silence that was tense and unbreathable. But I wasn’t entirely unhappy about it, because it gave me an excuse to ignore my hormones, and keep him at arm’s length that much longer.

Still, I stared up at the cloud-filled night sky, and hoped like hell my brother would hurry back. Naturally, he didn’t, and the silence itched at my skin until I felt ready to scream in frustration.

When he finally did get back, he hooked his arm through mine and began guiding me away from the building. “Let’s get going. You look beat.”

“That’s because I am.” I yawned hugely, then added, “How are we getting to this place?”

“There’s a helicopter waiting. It’ll take us to the Directorate’s jet, which is being prepped as we speak.”

“Good. I need sleep.”

“You can once we reach the plane.”

Which I most certainly did. And when we reached the hotel, I slept some more. Only I didn’t
just
sleep, I dreamed. And while this dream was new, it was similar to many I’d had since Quinn had walked away from me in Talon’s lair.

Well, I
think
they were just dreams, though they felt pretty damn real.

I was in a shower. Water sprayed against my skin, the needle-sharp jets soothing and yet exhilarating. Or was it the warmth of another body so close, the scent of sandalwood and man, that had my pulse racing?

Hands touched me, turned me, then lips came down on mine, lips that were warm and familiar and oh so wonderful. We kissed, long and hard, as the water drummed our skins, skimming our bodies, tickling and teasing.

Then he turned me, so that my back was against the hard heat of his body, his erection nudging my butt as he reached for the soap and began washing my breasts and belly. The scent of lavender touched the air, filling every breath, and it seemed so
real,
as real as the hands that were washing me so lovingly.

And oh, it felt
good.

But being caught between the heat of his body, the drum of the water, and the caress of his hands was nothing short of torturous, and I was pretty much steaming in an instant.

When I could stand it no more, I grabbed the soap from him and turned around. His beautiful body gleamed like sculptured pale-gold marble in the half-light of the bathroom, the water reverently caressing every muscle, every curve. I followed the water’s lead, soaping every marvelous inch, until he was quivering as badly as I.

He took the soap and put it back in the holder, then twined his hands in mine, raising them above my head as he pressed me back against the wet, cool tiles. The heat of him flowed around me, through me, burning my skin and contrasting sharply with the coolness seeping from the tiles.

His gaze met mine, the obsidian depths gleaming with lust and determination. “You are mine, Riley,” he said softly, as he nudged my legs wider with one knee. “And I have every intention of loving you so completely—in every single way possible—that you will have no desire to turn to anyone else but me.”

“That won’t ever happen.”

But it came out little more than a pant of air as he slid into me, filling me, liquefying me. His thick groan of pleasure was a sound I echoed. Then he began to move, and there was nothing gentle about it. His body and movements were urgent, fierce, and so very wonderful. The rich ache grew, becoming a kaleidoscope of sensations that washed through every corner of my mind. Then the shuddering took hold and I gasped, grabbing his shoulders, clambering up his body to wrap my legs around his waist and push him deeper still. Pleasure exploded between us and my orgasm ripped through my body, shuddered through my soul.

I woke, still shaking in the aftermath of that orgasm, Quinn’s name dying on my lips.

For several seconds I simply lay there, staring almost blindly up at the ceiling.

God, it had felt so
real
. My skin still tingled from the drumming of the water, and the scent of lavender seemed to hang in the air. Not to mention the fact I felt well and truly sated.

Where the hell had dreams like
that
been during the few brief dry spells in my love life?

I stretched like a contented cat, then looked at the clock on the bedside table. It was nearly noon. I’d barely slept six hours, which was surprising. It felt like I’d slept twenty.

I rose up on my elbows. I couldn’t actually remember how I’d gotten into bed last night but given the trail of clothes from the doorway, I’d obviously walked and stripped at the same time.

The room itself was huge. Directly in front was a curved wall of glass. Sunlight flooded in, lending the sand-colored walls an extra richness. The carpet was thick, and sea blue in color, as were the two well-stuffed sofas. To the left was a door that led into a tiled area, and what looked like the biggest damn shower ever made—though it
wasn’t
the shower from my dream. But this one had obviously been designed with a party in mind, and I was definitely going to try it out.

Of course, my hormones were all for trying it out with a friend, but who that friend would be was the million-dollar question. Common sense said Kade, but after the dream, my hormones were all for sampling a real bit of wet vampire loving.

Which probably meant I’d do neither. It was certainly the saner, if less fun, option right now.

I flung off the covers and padded into the oversized bathroom, enjoying the luxurious shower alone and spending a whole lot more time than necessary simply standing under the water, letting the jets massage my skin and warm my body.

When the water finally started to cool, I stepped out. Once I’d dried myself, I went to search for clothes. And discovered several dresses and skirts hanging up in the wardrobe. Rhoan had obviously gone shopping, because everything was new, even the shoes. I frowned, hoping he hadn’t blown our entire savings account. Rhoan and shopping were always a dangerous combination, and he’d overspent and landed us in trouble come rent time more than once.

Seeing the day was so warm, I picked out a flowing white cotton dress that had shoestring straps, a low back, and a hem that swirled almost indecently around my thighs. After slipping my feet into a pair of cute red and white sandals—complete with a wooden stiletto heel, which had certainly come in handy a few times in the past when I’d been caught in situations that required something more persuasive than a mere fist, but less deadly than a werewolf’s teeth—I headed out to find the kitchen, Quinn, and my brother.

I found Quinn sitting in the living room, reading the newspaper. His gaze was a caress that slid down my body, and one that had me hot and bothered in an instant. God, what was it about this vampire that could get to me so easily? Okay, he was gorgeous, he was rich, and any woman with half a brain would fuck him in an instant—but there was something else between us. Something deeper.

His gaze slid back up to my hair. “You’ve cut it.”