Tempting Evil

"He and my father are business rivals and old enemies."

"Mainly because your fucking father keeps trying to kill me off."

"My father would never—"

"Your father would and has."

If I wasn't so tired I might have laughed. The two of them sounded like a couple of squabbling teenagers. What made it even more laughable was the fact that one of them was actually well over twelve hundred years old and should have known better.

"Gentlemen," I interrupted, raising my voice a little to be heard over their arguing. "Can we take this inside?"

The old cow who owned the building would have a pink fit if she found a vampire and a werewolf arguing in the middle of her hall. And as much as I hated her and didn't mind giving her the odd bit of aggravation, something like this might tip her over the edge and us out of the apartment. And not only did I love the warehouse-style apartment and the big wide windows that gave such a feeling of freedom, but the low rent.

I opened the door and ushered them both inside. Kellen walked over to the green sofa but didn't bother sitting down, while Qui

So much for my much longed for evening filled with good food, good wine, and lots of sex.

I closed the door, threw my gym bag on the other sofa, and walked into the kitchen to get a beer. I had a feeling I was going to need it.

"So," I said, as I came back out. "To what do I owe the honor of this little visit, Qui

The look he gave me could only be described as dark.

No surprise there, because that certainly seemed to be a favored expression when he was talking to me.

"We had a deal."

"Deal?" Kellen's gaze snapped to mine. "What sort of deal?"

"That he gets to see me solo when he's down in Melbourne." Trouble was, I'd only seen him once since we'd agreed to that deal. Most of our contact had come through dreams and, as good as they were, even I had to admit that wasn't enough.

"So you re still fucking him?" The a

"Apparently not." I took a swig of beer, felt the ice of it swirl all the way down. It felt good, but it certainly wasn't what I'd been looking forward to all day. "But who else I fuck is none of your business, anyway."

His gaze narrowed. Hardened. "You and I—"

"Are exploring options. Nothing more." I pointed a finger at Qui

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because alphas do not easily share something that they consider theirs."

I snorted softly. "Then it seems like you two have something in common, despite the race differences."

"We have a date tonight," Kellen said, his voice like steel. "And we are already extremely late."

Like I didn't know that. "If you want to go on ahead, I'll meet you there."

He sent a dark glance Qui

"Seems to me like he doesn't trust you," Qui

Yeah, it did. What pissed me off, though, was not so much Kellen's distrust, but the fact that it was Qui

"I explained that—"

I held up a hand. I'd heard that particular song before, and didn't believe it now any more than I had before. "That's not the point here, anyway. After two months of no-shows, you can't just walk back into my life and expect me to drop everything."

"There are reasons—"

"There always are," I cut in dryly. "But that doesn't excuse bad ma

"I tried to call. Your line was always busy."

"Being taken off the hook will do that to a phone. You could have left a message."

"Could have, but I didn't." He hesitated, and just for an instant, his frustration swirled around me, thick and sharp. But what made my breath catch and my soul tremble was the depth of loneliness that lay underneath that eddy of emotion. I recognized that loneliness. I had shared too many nights with it of late.

"I just thought it would be nice to drop in and see you," he continued softly.

Part of me wanted to melt into his arms. The harder part knew I couldn't afford to. Not until I truly knew why he was here.

"Meaning, of course, I have no life and just sit around waiting for you?"

"That's not what I meant—"

"It's hard for me to ever know what you mean when you never bother taking the time to explain."

"And when do you give me the time?" he retorted, his anger a hot wash of emotion that seared at my skin.

I rubbed at the ache begi

"You at least owe me the courtesy of listening," Qui

"She doesn't owe you anything," Kellen cut in. "You are not wolf. You have no rights—"

Something inside me snapped. "You know what? Neither of you have any rights where I'm concerned. I'm not a prized bone that can be fought over and won." Even if my hormones were dancing with delight at the idea of having two gorgeous men fighting to win my affections. "Right now, I'm not in the mood to deal with this. Why don't you both just get the hell out?"

Kellen's expression became as dark as Qui

"I don't give a fuck about the tickets, or the premier or whatever else you have pla

Qui

"No, it doesn't. Because I'm seeing you both, end of story. If either of you can't accept that, then walk away. I don't care." Which was a lie, but one I wasn't willing to admit. "Get out. Both of you."

Qui

"So you're serious?"

"Totally."

His expression was one of disbelief. I couldn't say I blamed him, and part of me was hoping he'd put up a right, that he'd stay, and just hold me, comfort me.

But all he said was, "I'll call you."

"Do that."

He hesitated, his gaze sweeping me briefly, then he followed Qui

And yet both of them claimed to care for me.

I would have laughed at the irony if it wasn't so damn sad.

I scrubbed a hand across my eyes, then pushed away from the wall and headed into the bathroom. I lit a candle as the big old tub filled up, added some lemony-lime bath salts to the steaming water, then stripped and eased into the bath. Where I just relaxed, and tried to ignore the screaming frustration of my hormones.

I don't how long it was before I realized I was no longer alone, but enough time had slipped by for the water to become tepid.

I opened my eyes. Kellen stood in the doorway, one shoulder resting against the frame, his expression a mix of fierce desire and even fiercer determination.

And he was holding the biggest bunch of red roses I'd even seen.

Something inside me melted. Rejoiced.

"You really have to learn to lock your door when you have a bath," he said softly.

"But if I did, nice men bearing beautiful roses wouldn't wander in."