"Dangerous Games" - читать интересную книгу автора (Arthur Keri)Chapter ThirteenRhoan plopped down on the roadside curb beside me and offered me one of the two coffee cups he held. "It's only regular." "I couldn't give a damn." I wrapped my hands around the cup, letting the hot liquid chase the chill from them. "How's the cleanup going?" He shrugged. "Same as usual. How's your hand?" I glanced down. My little finger stuck out at an angle, all swollen and angry looking. Shifting shape had stemmed the bleeding, but it would never, ever replace what was taken. I'd have a permanent, stumpy reminder of my time with a dark god. "It's sore." "Jack wants you to be checked out in a hospital." "Jack's already been told what he can do with that suggestion." I glanced at him. "So he's sent you to try and con me?" Rhoan sipped at his coffee, then nodded. "He thought it worth the try." "Hospitals suck." "That they do." "And they stink." "Yes, they do." "And I "Eventually." I grinned. " "I can but try." His gaze met mine, gray depths filled with so much concern my determination wavered. "You lost a lot of blood, sis." I grimaced. "Nothing a good steak won't fix." "Not according to Quinn, and he I took a sip of coffee as my gaze found its way to the house across the road. According to Rhoan, Quinn had arrived in the downstairs chamber about five seconds after I'd fainted. He'd ordered my brother to carry me out and had slammed the metal door shut behind him. Finally finishing what his family had failed to finish so long ago. I understood his actions, understood his need to complete what had been left undone for so long, and yet, at the same time, part of me was angered by it. If he'd cared for me as much as he said, shouldn't his first instincts have been to take care of me himself? Take me upstairs, look after me? To hold me, kiss me, reassure me that the dark one was trapped, that he could never escape, that nothing of him lingered within me? The chamber and the dark god weren't going anywhere, after all. The silver knives had done their job, and his spirit was trapped, as Quinn's sister had been trapped. But no. It was always business before pleasure with Quinn. Always mind before emotion. I sighed and rubbed my good hand across my eyes. What was the good of dwelling on it? Quinn wasn't going to change, any more than I could. And I was never going to find what I wanted with him. Because what I wanted was my soul mate, and kids, and a quiet life. Some of that dream might have disintegrated, but not all of it. And I had every intention of hanging on to the little that There was still hope for me. And right now, I had a wolf ready and willing to explore those options with me. He deserved a chance. I took another sip of coffee. "Is Kingsley going to be mummified and sealed away like Caelfind?" Rhoan nodded. "Deep in the vaults of the Directorate. Quinn will magically seal the coffins and vault doors. They won't ever get free." "Good." I looked beyond him, studying the sky. The softest of pinks was beginning to infuse the night, heralding the beginning of yet another day. "A new day, a new start," I said softly, then met his gaze again. For no good reason, tears formed. "I wish I could begin again." He put down his coffee, wrapped an arm around my shoulder, and drew me close. For several minutes, he didn't say anything, just held me against his chest and hugged me tightly. My rock, my island. The one bit of sanity left in the insanity that my life had become. "There's nothing done that can't be undone," he said eventually, his breath stirring the hairs across the top of my head. "Nothing so wrong in your life that can't be changed." I snorted softly against his chest. "There's lots of things that can't be changed and we both know it." "But it isn't lots of things causing you grief. Only one." His hand slid down my arm, rubbing gently. "I think what you need is a break. A nice long holiday to regain strength will do you wonders, I think." I half laughed, half sniffed, as I pulled away from his grip. "Has Kellen been in your ear?" He smiled. "No. You're the one that mentioned he wanted to take you away on a holiday. Why not extend it? Why not explore the depth of your relationship with him? You've got nothing to lose, and everything to gain." "I don't think Jack—" He held up a hand, forestalling my argument. "Jack's agreed to give you time off." " Rhoan smiled. "It's wonderful what the threat of losing his best two guardians can do. You have six weeks." "Six "Yes. Use the time wisely, young pup." I smacked his arm. "I'll use it to harass and annoy you if you're not careful." "Which is what you normally do, and the aim of this time off is new directions." New directions. A new start and the time to explore dreams. Just the possibility had a smile breaking out. Six weeks of doing nothing except what Six weeks of finding out if Kellen and I really could be soul mates. Excitement bubbled through me. I wanted that. Wanted it badly. But new beginnings also meant endings, and there was one thing I needed to do before any fresh start could truly begin. Quinn chose that moment to come out of the house. His gaze swept the darkness and came to rest on mine. Even from this distance, I could feel the turmoil in him. It pretty much matched the turmoil within me. I held out the coffee cup to Rhoan. "Hold this for me. I won't be long." He didn't say anything, just accepted the cup. I rose and walked toward Quinn. The soft breeze swirled around us, tugging at his dark hair, catching his scent and spinning it around me. Heat prickled across my skin, and my hormones did their usual giddy dance. I couldn't ever imagine not wanting him. But I was not the sum of my hormones, and I was tired of our game. I needed this new start Rhoan had offered, I truly did. We stopped in the middle of the street. His gaze met mine, his eyes obsidian stone and expression shuttered. The emotions I'd sensed earlier were gone, carefully concealed behind the wall of his careful non-expression. It only served to reinforce the Tightness of my decision. "It ends here, tonight." "It'll never end between us, and you know it." "What I know," I said softly, "is that you've used me, and continued to use me, these last ten months. You swear to care, and yet I am never first in your thoughts, never the one you rush to when things go wrong. Your own aims and needs are always first and foremost. You proved this by using the link we'd formed to leash and control the very desires that make me what I am." "What did you miss out on?" he said, a touch of anger in his voice. "A few nights with strangers? Big deal." I stared at him, unable to believe he couldn't see the wrongness in what he'd done. "What you did is really no different to what Talon, Misha, or even Starr have all done to me. You tried to force me down a path that was not my choosing. Damm it, you hated it when it was done to you, Quinn. You stripped your so-called fianc#233;e of her identity and her life in retaliation. And yet here you are, using a psychic connection rather than a drug to force me down a path of your desiring." He didn't say anything. Hard to refute something that was nothing more than the truth, I suppose—though I am surprised he didn't try. He usually did. "Jack's given me six weeks off work," I continued. "And I want double that to sort out my life. During that time, I don't want any contact from you. I don't want to see you, I don't want to hear from you, I don't want you in my thoughts or in my dreams. I want a total and absolute break." "For only three months?" His voice was still flat, and yet I had an odd feeling he was controlling himself very tightly. Which was half the damn problem. How could I trust what I never, ever saw? How could I trust emotions he kept telling me about but never really showed in action or deed? "After three months, I'll see where my head is at. There's no guarantee whatsoever that I'll ever be with you again, Quinn." He didn't say anything for several heartbeats, just stared at me, his obsidian eyes darker than the night and a hell of a lot more dangerous. Then he grabbed my arms and crushed me against him, his mouth finding mine almost savagely. I could have fought. I really could. But I didn't want to. If this was a good-bye, then I sure as hell intended to enjoy it. And if it wasn't? I'd enjoy it anyway, and smack him later. Because this kiss was like nothing I'd ever felt before. It was a wild, erotic, and very unapologetic affirmation of what he wanted. What he felt. He might never, ever have said the words or hinted at emotions, but it was there, right there now, in his kiss, in the press of his body, in the thick, desperate heat that swirled around us. But it was too little, too late. I needed time. I needed to think. I broke off our kiss, pulled out of his grasp. "No," I said, holding out a hand and backing away from him. "Enough. You owe me time, Quinn. If nothing else, you owe me that." "Don't ask for things you don't really want," he said, voice little more than a harsh rasp. "Because you might just get them." With that, he wrapped the shadows around his body, spun around, and walked away. I let out a slow, shuddery breath. "Well, that went a whole lot better than I laughed softly and spun around. And suddenly, gloriously, felt "How about we go to the pub and I buy you a steak and a beer?" I shoved my hands in the pockets of my borrowed coat and offered him my arm. He handed me my coffee, then hooked his arm through mine and began walking down the street. "And after?" "I call Kellen and start making plans." "Good." It Because for the first time in ages, I was actually looking forward to the future. And that, after everything that had happened over the last ten months, was an excellent place to be. About the Author Keri Arthur received a "Perfect 10" from Smart, sexy and suspenseful, the Riley Jenson novels are rapidly gaining fans world-wide. And now, following the rapid-fire publication of the first four books in four months comes Riley's fifth epic adventure—less than three months later! by Keri Arthur Coming from Dell in July 2007 Here's a special preview: EMBRACED BY DARKNESS On sale July 2007 The only trouble with getting away from it all was actually getting away from it all. Six weeks of lazing around on secluded and luxurious Monitor Island, with nothing to do except cat, drink, and lust after the occasional hot-bod sounded like heaven itself. And it was. For the first three weeks. But now, with the fifth week done and dusted, the wolf within was beginning to hunger for the company of my own kind. Werewolves are not, by nature, solitary souls, and we tend live in packs just as much as our animal counterparts. My pack might now only consist of my twin brother Rhoan, his lover Liander, and my lover Kellen, but I was missing them all something fierce. Especially Kellen. He'd been here for the first three weeks, and the result had been a deepening and strengthening of our somewhat fragile relationship. Even so, I hadn't really expected to miss him Because there was a connection with Quinn that I'd never found with any other man. Not even Kellen. But Quinn was out of my life for the moment—maybe even permanently—and I couldn't really regret that. I'd never condoned force in What I needed to do was forget him. Just get on with my life, and stop remembering he was ever a part of it. Even if the very thought made my soul ache and my heart weep. But the last two weeks alone had basically left me with nothing to do at night except think about the people in my life and the events over the last ten months or so. And all I rubbed a hand across tired eyes, then leaned my forearms on the balustrade of the small patio lining the front of my pretty little villa unit. The breeze coming off the sea was cool, teasing my short hair and sending goose bumps fleeing across my bare flesh. I briefly thought about going inside to grab a shirt, but in the end, I couldn't be bothered moving. I let my gaze roam across the waves, watching the foam hiss across the white sand. It was a peaceful sound, as peaceful as the night itself, which made me wonder what the hell had woken me in the first place. Certainly there was no noise coming from any of the other half-dozen villas that lined this section of half-moon beach. Not even the newlyweds were stirring, and they'd been at it nonstop since their arrival five days ago. And I thought I smiled and plucked a leaf from the nearby eucalyptus branch that was draped over the railing, then flicked the leaf skyward from the stem, watching it twirl all the way to the ground. What I wanted was to go home. To get on with my life and my job. But I had just under a week of my vacation to go, and while I might be going slowly insane with boredom, I just couldn't pack up and leave. Rhoan and Liander had given me this holiday as a gift to help me rest and recuperate after a particularly shitty year, and I couldn't—wouldn't—hurt their feelings by returning before my time was up. "Riley." My name whispered across the gentle wind, a demand rather than a mere attempt to get my attention. I straightened quickly, my gaze searching the moonlit night for some sign of the caller. Some hint of where the voice had come from. A difficult task when it seemed to come from everywhere and yet nowhere. "Riley." Again the voice rode the night, stronger than before and male in its resonance. It wasn't a voice that belonged to any of men who inhabited the other villas in this small cove. Nor did it belong to any of the staff members who looked after the villas or who worked in the main resort complex one beach over. But there were three other accommodation areas scattered across the island, and I hadn't really had much to do with the guests or employees there. Even if it It was odd, and the mere thought that something odd might be going on had the thrum of excitement racing through my veins. Which was a rather sad statement of just how bored I was. Or perhaps how addicted I'd become to the adrenalin rush of being a guardian. Hell, I'd give away the killing bit any day, but not the thrill of the chase. The hunt was all to a wolf, and no matter how long I might have denied it, I was a hunter every bit as much as my brother. I studied the night for a moment longer. The gentle wind whispered through the trees, void of any voice but its own. I could sense nothing and no one near, and yet something I spun on my heel and walked back into my room. I didn't mind walking around sans clothes, but most of the guests currently on the island were human, and humans tended to get a little antsy about the whole naked thing. I pulled on a low-cut T-shirt and a baggy pair of shorts, then headed back out onto the patio. "Riley, come." The voice swirled around me, rich and arrogant. A man who used, and probably abused, power. And my wolf soul reacted to the sense of command in that voice. But not in the way I expected her to. Not fiercely, not with anger, but meekly. As if she wanted to do nothing more than tuck her tail between her legs and cower before the power behind the voice. And there could be only one reason for that. The voice belonged to a pack member. Not just any pack member, but the alpha. The wolf who ruled the pack as a whole. Only the voice didn't belong to What the hell was going on? Frowning, I walked down the steps then strode through the trees and out onto the moon lit sand. The wind was sharper out from under the cover of the eucalyptus, and filled with the scent of the sea. And nothing else. No musky male scent. No hint of wolf. Nothing to suggest there was another soul awake and aware out here on the beach. A shiver ran down my spine. Maybe I was imagining it. Maybe this nothing more than a dream, and any minute now I'd wake up and laugh at my own stupidity. After all, our pack had threatened to kill us both if we ever contacted—let alone went near—any pack members. And not even our mother had dared to contradict that particular order. "Riley, come." Again the order ran across the night, stronger than before. I closed my eyes, concentrating on the sound, trying to define just where the voice was coming from. After a moment, I turned around and padded up the beach. The beach villas gave way to thicker strands of eucalyptus and acacia trees, the strong scents of both filling the night and my nose. It didn't matter. I wasn't relying on my olfactory senses to track this particular trail, but rather, my 'other' senses. The senses that were new and somewhat unreliable. The part of me that could see souls rise. Of course, seeing—and hearing—the souls of dead people wasn't a gift I particularly wanted. Hell, I had enough trouble dealing with the But as was often the case in my life of late, it seemed I had little choice in the matter. The experimental fertility drug I'd been forcibly given by an ex-mate had not only kicked-started latent psychic skills, but had given them a little twist, just for the fun of it. Clairvoyance had been one of those latent skills—until recently, anyway. Seeing dead people walk through the shadows was the not-so-tempting twist. Though until tonight, they'd never actually contacted me long range. I'd only ever seen them close to their body. Well, mostly, I thought, shivering as I remembered the lingering, insubstantial wisps in Starr's bloody arena. I padded along the white sand until I reached the peninsula rocks. The wind here was sharper, the sea rougher, slapping across the smooth, round rocks and sending white foam flicking skyward. The tide was up, so I'd be getting wet if the voice wanted me to clamber around to the next beach. I stopped and scanned the horizon. Awareness tingled across my skin, as sharp as needle stings. Whoever the voice belonged to, he was close. "Riley, turn around." For the first time, memories stirred. I'd known that voice in the past. I turned and studied the trees. A man stood amongst them. Though at first glance he appeared solid, a more careful study revealed an almost gossamer look to his hands and feet. As if by the time he got to his extremities he didn't have the strength to maintain reality. He was a tall man, rangy in build, with strong arms and blunt features. Not attractive, not ugly, but somewhere in-between. But even if he'd been the ugliest spud on the planet, it wouldn't have mattered, because the sense of authority and power that shone from his green eyes and oozed from his tanned skin were all that would ever matter to any wolf. And But I wasn't just wolf, and the other half of my soul bared its teeth and got ready for a fight. I locked my knees, and skimmed my gaze up to his hair. Thick and red. Definitely red pack. Definitely As I dropped my gaze to his, recognition stirred again. I knew those eyes, knew the cold superiority behind them. But I'd be damned if I could dredge up a name. "Why are you calling me?" Though the question was soft, my voice seemed to echo across the silent night. A tremor ran down my spine, and I wasn't sure whether it was due to the chill wind hitting my bare legs and arms or the sudden sense of trepidation creeping through my soul. Amusement sparked briefly in the translucent green depths. "You do not remember me?" "Should I have any reason to remember you?" This time, the amusement reached his thin lips. "I would think you'd remember the wolf who threw you off a mountain side." Shock rolled through me. Oh my God… My grandfather's second in command, and the wolf who would have killed us if he could. The wolf who almost Hate followed the shock, swirling through me thick and sharp. I clenched my fists, and found myself fighting the sudden urge to run forward and punch the cold amusement from his thin lips. He wasn't real, he wasn't here, and I'd only look like a fool. So I simply said, voice low and venomous, "What right have "My right is pack given." "The Jenson pack ceded its rights over me and Rhoan when they kicked us out." "Pack rights are never surrendered, no matter what the situation or current politics. Once a pack member, always a pack member." " "A statement that still stands." "So why the I turned on my heel and began to walk back down the beach, away from him. Part of me might have been curious as to why he was suddenly contacting me, but curiosity didn't have a hope against old anger and hurt. None of which I wanted to relive "You will listen to what I have to say, Riley." "Fuck off," I said without looking at him. Even as my wolf cowered deep within at my audacity. "You His voice was sharp and powerful, seeming to echo through the trees and ring in my ears. I stopped. I couldn't help it. My very DNA was patterned with the need to obey my alpha. It would take a great deal of will and strength to dare disobey, and right now, it seemed I had neither. Even so, I didn't turn around. Didn't look at him. "Why the hell should I listen?" "Because I demand it." I snorted softly. "I was never one to listen to demands. You of all people should know that." "So very true. And it Surprise rippled through me. I swung around. He was still in the trees, still in the shadows. Maybe the wind meant coming out onto the beach wasn't practical for a man who was little more than spirit. "Why would my grandfather fear that? Neither Rhoan nor I were never allowed the illusion we were anything more than an inconvenience to our mother and the pack. And inconveniences don't rule." Especially if they were female. Or gay. "You have a long pattern of doing the unexpected, Riley." "Yeah, and I have the scars to prove the foolishness of that." He grinned. It was a harsh, cruel thing to see. "You never did learn your place." Oh, I learned it all right. I just didn't always cower clown like I was supposed to. I thrust my hands on my hips and said impatiently, "As much as I just adore reliving old times with you, it's fucking cold out here. Tell me what you want or just piss off and leave me alone." He studied me for a minute, green eyes abnormally bright in the darkness, his form waving slightly as the wind swirled through the trees. "The pack needs your help." "You want "There is nothing amusing about the situation, believe me." "So why me? There has to be hundreds of others of people you could ask." Which Amusement flared briefly in his eyes. "We have need of your guardian skills." Again surprise rippled through me. "And how would you know I was a guardian? Why would you even bother keeping track of two outcast and useless pups?" "We didn't. It came to my attention during investigations." "Investigations into what?" He shifted his weight and his form wavered, briefly becoming as insubstantial as a ghost. Which he wasn't, so how in the hell was he projecting himself? "My granddaughter, Adrianne, disappeared a week ago." He had a granddaughter? Good lord, that made me feel old. Though in wolf terms, I was still very much a youngster. "Which of your sons was careless enough to lose a daughter?" It was a cruel thing to say, but I just couldn't help it. Blake and his sons had been the banes of my existence while growing up—and the reason behind many of the scars Rhoan and I now had. Of course, if I'd just shut my mouth and bowed down like I was supposed to, things might have been different. Though I very much doubt it. His gaze narrowed to thin slits of dangerous green. "Adrianne is Patrin's oldest." The image of a red wolf with black points came to mind, and my lip curled in response. Patrin was the youngest of Blake's get, and only a few years older than me. To say he delighted in following the family tradition of hassling the half-breeds would be the understatement of the century. "How old is the daughter?" "Nineteen." Nineteen? Meaning he'd been fifteen when he'd sired his first? Randy bastard. But I bet daddy had been "If she's missing, contact the police. The Directorate doesn't do missing." "You do if there appears to be a pattern in the disappearances. Thirteen people have disappeared the same way as Adrianne, Riley." I crossed my arms and tried to ignore the pulse of interest. I didn't want to get involved with Blake or our pack, because it could only ever end badly—for me, not for them. "Then contact the Directorate. Given them the information. There's nothing I could do without the official go-ahead anyway." Which was a only a teeny-tiny lie. If I was so inclined, I could investigate just about anything. Guardians were the super-cops, the hunter-killers, of the non-human world, and we had free rein to investigate where we willed. Though if I "All I'm asking you to do is an initial investigation. If you feel there's nothing the Directorate can do, then I'll try other sources." He sounded all together too reasonable all of a sudden, and my hackles rose. Blake and reason just didn't sit well with my memories of the man. "You were ordering me a few moments ago." "Perhaps I'm seeing the error of my ways." "And perhaps tomorrow they'll put a woman on Mars." I shifted from one foot to the other. I wasn't trusting this new and improved Blake to last more than a second, but it didn't hurt to play along anyway. "Why do you think her disappearance is a Directorate matter?" "There's a pattern. For a start, they all stayed at Monitor island for more than a week." "And?" "And they all disappeared within a week of returning… " |
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