Surrounded by Temptation (2 page)

The door swung open and Rob had to keep his jaw from hitting the floor. Mini-Krista was a vision. Beautiful. As she walked in, he took stock of her, drinking in every detail. Her lovely hair, big eyes, tiny nose. But as he cataloged everything from her hair to her baggy clothes, he realized the little nickname he’d given her in passing actually fit. Krista wasn’t fat. Not at all, but her sister was thin. Almost too thin. Did she not ever eat? She didn’t look sickly, but Rob had to tamp down this almost sudden, overwhelming concern for her that consumed him out of nowhere. What the fuck? She was a married woman. He looked away, needing to take his eyes off her to set his thoughts straight. It was probably Jack’s behavior earlier that made him have that reaction. As he glanced around the room, his eyes lit on his father before landing on Jack. Rob had to stifle a growl. Jack had the look of a predator tracking its next meal and readying himself to strike at the first moment of weakness.

“This is Thomas Woods, Toby’s father,” Krista said as his dad stepped up to her. He took her hand and shook it once before dropping it.

“It’s a pleasure, Mrs. Yates.”

“Oh no, you don’t. It’s Ariel, and don’t you forget it, Thomas.”

God, her voice. So angelic. But if she were an angel, she had to be a fallen angel sent here to tempt him. Because he couldn’t have her and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that her being here was going to be the greatest test of his will.

His dad smiled at her. “I think I’m going to like having you here.”

That made one of them.

Krista turned to her side. “This is Toby’s brother, Josh, and his mate, Mikaela.”

“Nice to meet you two.” What was it about her voice? Did she drink from ambrosia?

“And these two over here are Jack and Rob, Toby’s other brothers.”

Jack stepped forward at the first mention of his name and shook her hand. Bastard.

He lingered.

“Jack,”
their father reproached silently. Rob was thankful Thomas had utilized their ability to speak telepathically to call his brother out. Jack let go of her hand and stepped back.

Rob moved forward, gently taking her hand. Not as soft as he’d imagined, but not as calloused as his. She looked up at him with those big, round eyes and he just melted. He got the sense that she thought she was a tough woman, but that it was also a ruse. Her tongue slipped out, wetting her lips, just before her mouth quirked into the tiniest of smiles. Not knowing how to respond to that, Rob nodded at her briefly before dropping her hand and taking a step back.

“So, Mrs., er…Ariel, what are your plans and when do you want to get started?”

“Well, I want to start right now.” She shrugged as if she did this sort of thing all the time and doing her voodoo magic was no big deal. She looked at Jack before looking at Rob again. He held her gaze, trying not to think beyond anything but what she could do for him.
Oh, the things she could do for me. I could take her to bed and not let her leave for…stop it!
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I’m not married anymore. How does that make you feel?”

The air left his lungs and the ringing in his ears might’ve been mental shouting from his family, but Rob couldn’t focus. Couldn’t function. She wasn’t taken. She was an available woman.

“What the hell are you talking about, Ariel Michelle? What about Will?”

Will? Her husband? She was married. Why did she just say she wasn’t anymore? Rob’s body was shaking. The need to shift and claim was scratching at the surface. Was this part of the work she needed to do? Krista would know if her own sister had gotten a divorce. This possibility bought him time, but only the barest amount.

“We grew out of love a long time ago and got tired of the pretense. Our divorce was final three months ago.”

Fuck, now she was looking directly at Rob and Jack, and Rob didn’t know if he was more pissed at what she was saying or the fact that she was even looking at Jack. His brother would be keeping his mangy paws off her!

“I’m not involved with anyone either. I’m a totally and completely available woman. How does that make you feel?”

Her eyebrow quirked up and Rob had to restrain himself as his feet started to move toward her. The mantra,
“Mine,”
kept chanting in his head, but at the moment he wasn’t entirely sure if it was his internal monologue or Jack staking his claim.

“Shit, Ariel, are you lying?” Krista squeaked as she grabbed her sister’s arm.

“My divorce papers are in my briefcase. You can call Will if you want. He’s vacationing in Italy with his new girlfriend, though.”

Jack growled, and Rob turned his head, hissing at his brother.
“Mine!”
This time, Rob made sure all his family knew he was claiming her. Fuck his brother.
“You’ll have to go through me, Jack.”

“Fine by me, little kitten. I’ll fucking eat you for diner before I claim my new mate.”

“Fuck, get her out of here!” Josh yelled right as Rob and Jack shifted into snarling mountain lions.

Rob growled and lunged for Jack. Jack bit into Rob’s neck as they rolled over, snapping, hissing, and scratching at each other.

“Boys!” Thomas yelled, but it barely registered. As soon as Rob would get the upper hand, Jack would best him, tipping the odds back in his brother’s favor. Jack might be older, but they were pretty equally matched. The only way one would actually win would be if the other were dead because neither would tuck tail and run.

Jack was knocked off Rob, but before Rob could attack again, Josh was on him, pinning him down. Rob hissed at Josh in his lion form and turned to look for Jack. This wasn’t Josh’s fight. What he’d found was that Toby had also shifted and had Jack cornered.

“She’s gone,”
Jack announced as he stared down at Rob.
“The girls got her out.”

Rob roared.

“I know, man, but fight it. This isn’t you.”

“I’m a damn animal. Of course it’s me. It’s all of us!”

“But you don’t want to hurt her. And I can’t let you. I won’t let you.”

Rob hissed because he knew deep down that Josh was right. Rob looked at Jack. He was still pacing as if he were caged.

“He’s wound up, too. That’s Toby’s mate’s sister. Krista is freaking out and Toby will not allow anything to upset his mate. I’m warning you, get control now…otherwise, Toby will rip you a new one. He’s already ready to kill Jack with all the mental screaming and demanding he’s been doing.”

Rob had been so caught up in his own desire, his own need to claim her that he hadn’t paid much attention to Jack. With how possessive Jack was by nature and how he’d acted just by seeing her outside before even meeting her, Rob really shouldn’t be surprised by Jack’s response.

He shifted and Josh followed.

“Fine. She’s not around. I’m in control. But you have to know how much I want her.”

“That’s your animal talking. You don’t even know her.” Josh moved and offered his hand to help Rob up.

“Like you knew Mikaela?” Rob challenged once he was standing.

“Mikaela’s different. I knew that the moment I first smelled her.”

Rob also knew there was something different about Ariel, but he didn’t have to explain that to his brother. There was only one thing Josh needed to understand. “She’s mine.”

Josh sighed, putting his hands on his bare hips. “You can’t decide that for her. She has to leave.”

“No way!” Rob stepped up, ready to battle again. His testosterone, adrenaline, and feline all demanded it. They were not taking her away from him.

Josh’s hands flew up in a surrendering gesture. “Think about it, Rob. She’s not safe here. We can talk to her—as in me and Toby and the girls—and see if there’s a way for her to do her research or whatever she needs to do from another location. We can try to work around this and still get her help.” Rob shook his head, but before he could voice his rejection, Josh continued. “Think about why she’s really here. If she can come up with a way to set you free, then you can have your pick of any available woman. Without taking her by force.”

Rob stared. He knew his brother was being logical.

He didn’t care.

Once he’d set his eyes on Ariel, he knew she was the one for him. He’d never,
never
, had that kind of reaction toward a woman before. He hadn’t known she was available when he’d first seen her either. For him, that left no doubt.

“You’re right.” Rob still needed Ariel around to do her work. If their father decided it was too dangerous, he might axe the whole idea and Rob would never have the chance to see her again. At least if he went along with the plan, he could figure something out. He glanced at Jack. He’d shifted back, but Toby was in his face, whispering heatedly, stabbing his finger into Jack’s chest.

Jack’s eyes met his over Toby’s shoulder. The challenge in them almost sent him back into an animalistic rage.

Ariel belonged to Rob. Period. And he’d make sure Jack understood that. And Ariel too.

In time.

Chapter Two

“Have you lost your freaking mind?”

Ariel watched as her sister paced manically in the bedroom, waiting for her to calm down and be rational. Ariel had to see what she was working with. Hearing a story about mountain lion shifters was totally different that witnessing the phenomena first hand.

“No, but I’m glad to see you haven’t lost yours. I’d had every intention of making you an appointment with a doctor after I’d come out here. I seriously thought you were nuts.” Well, there was a part of her that had been salivating at the possibility Krista was telling her the truth.

Her sister whirled. “So you thought tempting their beast was the best plan of attack?” she asked incredulously.

“Quickest.”

“You’re unbelievable! And what about Will? Did you ever plan on telling me that little bit of info? Who handled your divorce? Oh my God, Ariel, he could’ve taken you to the cleaners.”

“Dial back the legal crap, Krista. I might not be an attorney, but I can damn well read a decree and decide if it’s fair. We split everything and have no children. Easy cheesy.”

“But you two were so in love.”

“I don’t believe in love anymore. It was foolish to ever believe in it in the first place. It’s a chemical process involving things like oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin, vasopressin, norepinephrine, testosterone, estrogen, I can go on and on.” Ariel waved her hand dismissively.

Mikaela cleared her throat. “Even though I agree with Krista on the divorce issue, I think we need to stay on track here. You’ve put yourself in a seriously dangerous situation and we need to get you out of here.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Ariel said, sitting on the big bed in the middle of the room.

“The hell you’re not, Ariel Michelle. You cannot stay here if you’re not taken.”

“And just how did you manage to be at this estate in the first place? I don’t remember
you
being in any relationship recently.”

“Umm—”

“I needed her help with my caseload while the Woods purchased the adjoining land. We told the men she was in a relationship when she came out here.”

“And they believed you? Just like that?” she asked as she grabbed her iPad from her big purse. “Fascinating,” she mumbled, typing some notes. This brought the honor system to a whole new level.

“Yes, well, we could’ve told them the same thing about you had we known you weren’t married anymore. But that option is moot now. If we go back and tell them it was a test, part of your research, they’ll demand proof. Divorce records are public and we
do
have Internet here. I’m pretty sure both of the guys are researching you now as we speak.”

“I don’t want the pretense. I need them to know the truth. I need to understand everything if I am going to be able to help. I can’t formulate a medication to address an issue if I don’t honestly comprehend what that issue really is.” Why didn’t they understand? It wasn’t like she was testing something on lab rats to verify any side effects to chemicals. They wanted her to essentially treat these men for a condition that was undocumented. Hell, she wasn’t a doctor.

Mikaela sat next to her on the bed. “So what do you propose?”

“She’s leaving!” Had Krista just stomped her foot like she used to do when she was a toddler?

“Let’s be rational here, Krista. We need to at least know what’s going on in that little head of hers before we can make any decisions here.” She turned to Ariel. “But if Thomas wants you gone, we’re going to have our work cut out for us. That’s why I need you to explain to me what your game plan is. If I think it’s worth a shot, I can try to reason with him.”

Her sister was still fuming, so Ariel figured she needed the Mikaela chick on her side. But there was part of the plan that made even her nervous. She’d have to put on her big girl panties and follow through with it. If she wanted to make a name for herself in her career, she had to.

“I’ve been working on an aggression compound. Actually, the university has been working on a product for years, so I’m just tweaking the formula to ensure it’s safe enough for human consumption. I just need to mix the chemicals based on their height and weight and start administering it to them. But I think in order for me to make sure it works under all circumstances, I need one of them to volunteer to be my test subject.”

“Why do you need a test subject if you’re going to medicate them both?” Krista asked, her arms crossed.

“Because if this is going to be a long term treatment, I need to know when and how it is best administered. Once a day? Three times a day? Once a week? Large dose once a month with smaller doses throughout? There are too many questions and I need to test the limit of the drugs to ensure their effectiveness.

“Test the limit the drug?” Mikaela asked. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

Here goes nothing…

“Just the way it sounds.” When Krista gasped, Ariel knew comprehension was dawning. “I’m going to tease the hell out of whoever volunteers.”

* * * *