Keri Arthur - Deadly Desire

"Much better," he said, voice low and throaty, sending a ripple of delight through me. He pressed a button on his desk, opening the door to his right. "He's in his office."

"Thanks, Golden."

"Definitely my pleasure," he said, then laughed as I worked the hips just a little bit more. "If you ever get tired of the old man, you know where to come and play next."

My grin grew, but I didn't answer as I walked through the coffee room and into the hallway beyond. Ben looked up as I entered his office, then leaned back in his chair and gave me an insolent grin. "Well, well, look what the dog dragged in."

I sat on the corner of his desk and tried to ignore all the beautiful black skin his tank top exposed. "I bought wine."

"What type?"

"Wolf Blass." It was his favorite, not mine. I was more a Brown Brothers gal.

"I guess I'd better forgive you, then." He rose, giving me a fuller view of his long, strong body. My nostrils flared as I sucked in the delicious scent of him, and my ever-dizzy hormones sizzled.

"I had to rescue a street kid from a zombie," I said, concentrating on opening the bottle rather than on the delicious-looking man walking back from the liquor cabinet. That way lay trouble, and I had enough of that on my plate already-no matter what my hormones might think.

Ben raised a dark eyebrow as he held out the glasses. "Street kids and zombies? The Directorate has branched out."

I snorted softly. "You have no idea." I poured the wine, then put the bottle on the table and accepted one of the glasses. "Here's to a quick capture of zombie masters and vampire killers."

"Now what the hell kind of toast is that?" he said, his grin flashing brightly. "Here's to pretty redheads. May they find their way to my bed sooner rather than later."

I laughed and touched my glass to his. "Your bed is the last place I need to be right now."

"Hey, I'm versatile. I can do desks, walls, floors, whatever."

"Heard that about you." I took a sip of the tart wine, then said, "Tell me about Man Hard."

His sigh was dramatic, but the effect was spoiled by the twinkle in his bright eyes. "There's no such place as Man Hard. There is, however, a Mein hardt's. Different pronunciation, emphasis on the front half of the word."

"If they wanted it pronounced properly, they should have gone for an easier name."

"True." He walked around the desk and sat back down. "It's only been around for about six months, but it's doing reasonable business, from what I hear."

"So who runs it?"

"Are you sure I can't seduce you?"

"Positive. But I will treat you to a very nice dinner later in the week to make up for my no-show tonight."

"Excellent." The twinkle in his bright eyes became one of anticipation. Meaning the seduction attempts would continue full force during that dinner. And while I didn't have any immediate intention of giving into the desire that swirled between us, part of me wondered how wise it was to keep throwing temptation in my path like this. He took a sip of wine, then added, "A guy named Brad Herrott manages the place on a day-to-day basis."

"But he's not the owner?"

"No. Two women apparently own the place, but I can't tell you a whole lot about them."

"Why not? Surely there has to be some scuttlebutt about them. Everyone gossips in the sex industry, don't they?"

He laughed. "Not as much as people think. It's an industry that does need to keep its secrets."

"So you've never seen the owners?"

"No."

"What about the club itself?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What about it?"

"Is it just a strip club, or do they also do sex?"

"They don't go as far as sex," he said, a smile twitching his lush lips. "The question is, do you?"

"I do sex. I just won't do it with you."

"Yet," he added, smile growing.

I raised my glass in acknowledgment, then said, "If you do hear anything unusual about the club, you'll give me a call?"

"Information like that has its price, you know."

I downed the remainder of my wine, then gave him a cheeky grin. "Anything but sex."

His expression reminded me very much of a cat that had just found the cream. "Oh, there's a whole lot we can do that doesn't involve actual sex, you know."

"Oh, I do know." And part of me wanted to dive right in there and test some of those things out. I stood up instead. "But it won't make any difference to my resolve."

"We'll see about that."

We would. And right now, I wasn't placing any bets on who just might win this little battle. "I'll contact you later in the week about our dinner date."

"I'll be looking forward to it."

His expression just about smoked my insides. I turned around and got the hell out of there while I still had my pants on.

Once back in the car, I picked up the phone and rang Quinn. With the moon almost full and lust burning through my body, it wouldn't have been wise to go anywhere else but straight into the arms of my vampire. It was simply too much of a risk to attempt any further investigations tonight. I'd already experienced blood lust once in my life, and even though I couldn't entirely remember everything that had happened, the scars on Quinn's arms were reminder enough that it wasn't a place I wanted to go again.

"Hey, sexy," he said, his mellow tones sending heat flashing through my body. "How do you feel about a midnight picnic? "

"As long as there's sex and coffee involved, you can count me in."

"Then meet me at the zoo in twenty minutes."

"The zoo is closed."

"There's no such thing as closed when you have lots of money. Oh, and be naked."

I laughed, the sound thick with anticipation. "Only if you are, vampire."

"That's hardly practical when I have to pay our entrance fee."

"So why make me be naked?"

"Because I intend to cover your nakedness with chocolate before we go in, and then I intend to lick every single inch of it off you again."

The thought had me fanning myself. "Chocolate is a food. Food and vamps don't mix."

"This is a special chocolate designed for vampires."

Meaning I probably wouldn't want to know the actual ingredients. "I'll be there in eighteen minutes."

"Don't be late."

I wasn't.

And the picnic was everything my wolf soul could have wanted, and then some.

"Well," Kade said, leaning back in his chair and giving me a knowing grin as I walked into the room the following morning. "Here's a wolf who looks very satisfied with life."

"Completely satisfied." I held up a cup and raised an eyebrow in question.

"What, we're drinking machine muck rather than the divine liquid from Beans?"

"Beans was packed to the rafters with Directorate personal wanting the decent stuff. We'll have to time our coffee runs better." I poured two mugs then headed over to his desk.

"I won't be a happy little horse if I have to go back to drinking muck."

"There's nothing little about you, my friend. I know this for a fact."

He grinned. "So you do."

I handed him a mug. He took a sip, then grimaced. "Definitely going to have to get the timing right."

"What's been happening here?"

He snorted. "The cross-checking of the emo list continues. We can't find backgrounds on four of them."

I frowned. "What do you mean, you can't find their backgrounds?"

"Just that. No birth certificates, no death certificates, no rebirth notices. They don't exist, according to the paperwork."

"Well, paperwork has been known to be wrong." I walked over to my desk and sat down. "Where's Iktar?"

"Got the day off. Some family gathering." Kade shrugged. "How's the murder investigations going?"

"That's the question I was about to ask," Jack said as he walked into the room. He was holding one of Beans's thick-ribbed cups in one hand, and the rich scent of mocha coffee permeated the room, making my coffee smell even fouler.