Tempting Evil

And it certainly explained why I was tied up.

"Iktar," he growled. "A drink."

The spirit lizard was there almost instantly, a bottle of soda and a glass in hand. He poured the drink then offered the glass to Merle.

"Sir, Mr. Starr phoned five minutes ago and said that he will be finished by six. He wants you in the toy room at that time."

Merle glanced at his watch—which indeed was gold and gaudy. "Gives me just over an hour to play with the bitch."

It was five already? I'd been with this bastard for nearly six hours? Christ, no wonder I was achy—it wasn't from the fight, it was the pounding I was getting from Merle.

Obviously, Starr's lieutenants had nothing better to do all day than rut like dogs. Though even the worst of us dogs had a hell of a lot more class in the loving stakes than Merle did.

Iktar nodded, but as he turned, his glance fell on me. He knew I was awake. That was so evident in the gleam in his eyes, the slight smile touching his thin lips.

Merle came back to the bed as Iktar left. I closed my eyes, but my other senses were on high. Not that they needed to be. Merle was extraordinarily easy to track—all I had to do was listen to the soft sound of his steps and follow his sweaty, in-need-of-a-shower smell.

The bed dipped as he sat on it, then his fingers were on my breasts, plucking and pulling my nipples. It wasn't pleasant to simply lie there and take it, especially when my wolf soul wanted to rise up and rip the bastard's hand off. It was even harder when his fingers moved down, roughly exploring. I'm not sure what he was trying to achieve, but it certainly wasn't any form of foreplay I was familiar with.

After a while, his lust stirred anew and his body shifted over mine. As his cock slid inside, I carefully felt for his mind. His shields were as tight as ever, but as his body began to move, the wall wavered, became less solid. It still felt like I was pushing through thick glue, but either I was stronger than before, or Merle's recent efforts in the loving stakes had left him weaker, because this time I got through quicker.

Once past that barrier, I didn't bother with finesse, simply stormed in and took control. It was a rout in every sense—in a matter of seconds, his body and mind were mine. Now I just had to decide what to do with him.

I ordered him off, then made him lie on the bed as I searched his thoughts for any mention of the labs. But as before, there was little. Either he didn't know, or the knowledge was buried so deep it would take hours and hours to uncover. As I had neither, I called for Iktar.

The spirit lizard appeared instantly, a smile of amusement touching his lips as he walked across to the bed and undid my bindings. "And here he was, only last week, boasting he was strong enough to repel any psychic attack."

"Baring Starr, I'm guessing."

Iktar shrugged eloquently. "That is a given."

I sat up and rubbed my wrists. "Are there cameras in these rooms?"

"Only in the hall."

"No other security device we should be wary about?"

"No. Unless Merle regains enough control to hit the alarm on the panel near the bedside table."

"Good." I rose and headed for the bathroom I'd seen my last time here.

Iktar followed, watching as I soaped up and washed the blood and sweat and fluids from my skin. If he was at all aroused, it wasn't showing. "What is your plan? You ca

"I know." Even as I rinsed the soap away, I could feel the muted ache behind my eyes begi

"Merle, Moss, and those guards who man it. Access is thumbprint and key-coded and there's armed guards at the entrance and exits."

Joy. "Is there one man or two on each shift?"

"Generally three, but because of the kitchen and the loss they incurred there, they've pared it down to two so they could put a watch on the rebuilding crew until new recruits arrive."

Well, at least Nerida's action had achieved one good thing. Not that it pacified the dead. Their need for revenge still heated the air. I couldn't see them, though, and of that I was glad. Vampires were dead enough for me—I didn't need to cope with the truly dead as well. "You'd better pray that the bomb controls are in central security, because there is no way in hell I am willingly going back into Starr's rooms."

"We had an agreement—"

"Have you ever been to Starr's rooms? Have you any idea of the security he has in there? I wouldn't get two steps in and I'd be dead."

I stepped out of the shower and he handed me a towel. "If you can control Merle, maybe he—"

"Starr is a powerful telepath. He'd sense my leash on Merle the minute I got within range of him."

Iktar was silent. I asked, "What of the labs on the second floor? Would there be a key stored in security?"

He shrugged. "I would guess so."

"Are all calls to there monitored?"

"As far as I know, only outside calls are monitored and recorded."

I threw the towel in the laundry basket and finger combed my hair. "Is it shadowed enough outside for you to disappear?"

Amusement briefly sparked in his eyes. "There only needs to be the slightest hint of dusk and I can be gone. The spirit lizards Starr makes do not match our natural skills."

A scary thought. "So would it be possible for you to arrange for the power in this place to be temporarily shut down?"

The amusement deepened. "At what time would you like this possibility to occur?"

I blew out a breath. Merle had a six o'clock appointment, which didn't leave me a whole lot of time to play with. Especially given I had to be back in the arena by seven. "In ten minutes."

I might be able to use Merle to get me in there, but I didn't want any physical record of me actually going near the place. Which meant we had to take the cameras out.

"You realize they have maintenance on standby to cater for such problems. The main power will not be out for more than ten or fifteen minutes."

"Then maybe you need to smash up the power box a bit more, so it takes them longer to find that many replacements." I hesitated. "What about backup systems?"

"They have several emergency generators that will kick in immediately. The main one provides power to the security systems if the main source goes down. There are also smaller units in the labs and security area to provide them with lighting and electrical systems."

"And if we shut down the main backup?"

"Everything will lock down. You would not be able to get in anywhere."

"Ah. No point in doing that, then."

I rubbed my temples wearily then spun and walked back into the bedroom. Merle was still prone, his mind still caught tight. I dove deeper, taking control of his speech and movement centers, then forced him to reach for the phone and dial the security center.

"Security. Harris speaking."

Merle's thoughts told me Harris wasn't the main man, security wise, just one of the plebes who watched the cameras and monitored phone calls, and maybe that was just as well. A man who was only there because he had to be was a far easier target—and one more likely to stray.

"Harris, Merle."

"Evening, Mr. Merle. What can I do for you?"

"I'm sending a woman over to collect a copy of the day's reports."

"A woman, sir?" It said a lot about Merle and Moss that only the faintest hint of surprise showed in the guard's voice.

"Yes, Harris. You got a problem with that?"

"No, sir."

"She'll be there in ten. Make sure the guard on entrance ten know she's coming and lets her in. I don't want my toy harmed."

"Yes, sir."

Lances of fire were begi