Tempting Evil

"Or what?"

He gave me another nasty grin again, and I seriously had to resist the urge to smack it from his thin lips. "We'll dock your pay or punish you in other ways."

"What other ways?"

"You'll see an example tonight, over di

I nodded. After another look at my breasts, he spun around and left. I followed the sound of Berna's voice, passing several rooms that were already full, and stopped in the last doorway.

The bear-shifter stood in the middle of the room, her large paws on her larger hips, and her short dark hair fairly bristling with anger.

Nerida, the fox lady, stood in front of her, defiance written all over her red features. She was game, I had to give her that. Berna was twice her height and four times her girth.

"I got here first," she said. "The window is mine."

"I need fresh air or I snore. Believe me, if you cherish sleep, you would not want me snoring."

All this angst and noise over a damn window? "Really ladies, this is easily settled."

Berna gave me a dark glance as I walked in. "We don't want thieves in this room."

"The thief doesn't steal from friends, and there are no other beds left anyway, so tough." I walked across to the bed in question and stripped off my coat. "To settle the argument, I'll take it."

Nerida glanced up at Berna, then the two of them stepped forward as one. Something about that itched at my senses. There was just a little too much precision in the way they did that—like it was a move they'd practiced more than once. Maybe Nerida was also a wrestler.

And maybe something else was going on.

Dia had mentioned that someone in this group wasn't who they pretended to be. Maybe there was more than just one pretender.

And why would they fake a fight? To make it seem they weren't friendly to watching eyes, perhaps? Now, why would they want something like that?

"I'm at least three times your girth, wolf, and probably twice as strong. I could thump you into the floor without even thinking."

"You could try," I said mildly. "I doubt you'd succeed."

She bristled. "That a challenge?"

I shrugged, and kicked off my shoes. Feigning disinterest when every sense I had was tuned on the both of them, waiting for a move. Any move. "Take it any damn way you please."

I half-turned, and that's when the fox sprung. I dropped, moving under her leap, then grabbed her and whirled her quickly around before letting go. I had no time to see if she'd hit the bed I'd been aiming for, because the air screamed with the warning of an approaching blow. I surged upright and caught Berna's fist in a two-handed grip. Held it and stopped it, even if the force of her blow sent Shockwaves up my arms and rattled my teeth.

"Looks don't always indicate strength," I said softly, as surprise flitted through her brown eyes. "Do not try and attack me like that again." I looked at Nerida, who'd landed beside the bed rather than on it and was currently rubbing her hip. "Either of you."

I pushed Berna backward and released her, then got back to the business of stripping off. "Do you know what's happened to our bags?"

"Coming once we've sort sleeping positions out."

I glanced at her. "Which we have."

She sniffed. Whether that meant acceptance, or whether it meant I was going to have to turf her out of the bed when I got back was anyone's guess.

"Why are you stripping?" she asked.

"I'm going to explore."

"Trust a wolf to do the naked thing," Nerida said, contempt heavy in her voice.

"Better naked than having no choice."

"They're paying me to fight and fuck. They are not paying me enough to flaunt myself to all and sundry."

I couldn't see the difference and said as much.

She snorted. "That's because you're a wolf, and everyone knows wolves have no morals."

I raised my eyebrows. "So what's so moral about fighting and fucking for money?"

"Perhaps not a lot, but there are lines some of us won't cross. Werewolves don't seem to have any lines."

"And you've had how many years experience with werewolves?"

She looked away and mumbled, "None."

I snorted. "One good thing about wolves is that they prefer to judge a person by their actions." I stripped off my knickers and dumped them with the rest of my clothes. "I'm off to explore."

Neither woman commented or offered to come along, for which I was extremely grateful. Not only did I plan to scout the house and grounds, but I also wanted to find me a stallion. And maybe even catch a little riding action.

The main house seemed a whole lot bigger in life than it had on the plans and, as Dia had warned, there were cameras everywhere. If the halls weren't darkened at night, then moving through them without being seen was going to be next to impossible.

After touring the rooms that were accessible, I glanced at my watch and was relieved to see I still had nearly two hours before I had to be back. I found a door that led outside and followed the white pebbled driveway around to the paddocks that housed the barns and the horses. There were several women out riding—some of them naked, some not—and men in dark uniforms hanging over the fence, wolf-whistling and throwing lewd suggestions at the women. Like that was attractive or something. I guess some men simply never grew up.

A crinkled, weather-worn man who had to be at least eighty came out of the barn as I approached. "You here to ride?"

I nodded and looked past him, searching the shadows for Kade. I couldn't see him immediately, but the barn was huge and he could be anywhere.

"You know the rules?"

Again I nodded. "We're allowed to ride anywhere, aren't we?"

"As long as you do your half hour in the front paddock for the boys, you can go where you like on the estate. Within the boundaries already outlined, of course."

Which meant we weren't likely to raise suspicions when we nicked off into the forest. Excellent. "And are we at least allowed a saddle blanket? Horse hair and nether regions are never a pleasant combination." And I knew that from experience.

He gave a short, sharp laugh. "You got that right, girlie." He reached behind the door, then handed me a blanket, girth, and halter. "Any one of them bad boys is yours."

I raised my eyebrows. "They're all stallions?"

"Mostly. The boss does sometimes bring in a mare in heat, just to watch the boys fight."

"Nasty."

He shrugged. "It's nature at its finest."

Or madness at its finest. "Thanks."

He nodded. "Just remember—you get hurt, we aren't responsible."

"Has anyone ever got hurt?" I asked, curious.

"Yes."

"So what happened to them?"

He shrugged. "Isn't my problem."

I very much suspected they weren't Starr's problem, either. Not after he'd tended to them in a less than conventional way. Like burying them. Dead people don't talk—unless, of course, they were vamps, and Starr was the type to stake first, ask questions later.

I flung the girth and blanket over my shoulder and walked into the shadowed barn. A careful study of the upper spaces of the barn didn't reveal any cameras or microphones. Maybe they figured nothing of interest would happen in the barn and hadn't bothered—and for that I was extremely grateful. It at least meant I could sneak in here after hours and not worry about anyone spotting me.

The air was rich with the scents of horse, hay, and shit, and as I moved down the aisle, heads swung my way, dark eyes gleaming intently in the muted light. They were all tall and strong looking, most of them chestnut or bay. And all of them reacted to my presence, either snorting in fear or backing away. Horses and wolves were never a good combination. Kade, a magnificent mahogany bay, was down the far end.