Tempting Evil (Riley Jenson Guardian 3)

The vampire had joined the chase and fully intended to give Kellen a run for his money. Modern wolf or not, my blood raced at the thought.

"You do realize part of me is tempted to test whether you'd carry through with the threat?"

He shrugged. "I don't intend to play by the rules anymore. I'm playing to win."

"Love is not a game."

He raised an eyebrow. "Life itself is a game. Love is the greatest prize. One I've held myself apart from for entirely too long."

Nice words, but I wasn't exactly believing them. "So why the change, Quinn? What makes me so acceptable now when I was so unacceptable four months ago? I can never change what I am."

"Unless you find your soul mate. Unless you promise yourself to the moon and him." He touched a finger to my chin, holding it still as he leaned forward and gently kissed my lips. "I intend to prove I am that man."

"You're not a wolf."

"Neither are you. Not entirely."

"But I want what all wolves want. A wolf mate. A home. Children."

"We both know some dreams are never meant to be."

"But there are still options left for me, Quinn." I freed my chin from his grip and looked away from him. "And I will not give up on my dreams until I draw my very last breath."

"Then I will have to remain by your side until those dreams turn to dust or you accept what is meant to be."

I glanced at him. "You can stay for as long as you like, but I will never play us solo. Never."

He looked away, but not before I'd seen the flicker of cold determination in his eyes. The vampire might be saying all the right things, but in the end, the result he wanted was me and him, his way, not mine.

And only time would tell which of us was the stronger.

I followed his gaze and saw Jack approaching. Bad timing in some respects, good timing in others.

As Quinn rose to his feet, I said, "You never answered my question earlier."

"What question?" But the sparkle in his dark eyes suggested he knew entirely too well what question.

"You had the chance to take your revenge on Starr but didn't grab it. Why not, when you've declared from the beginning that nothing and no one would get in the way of your revenge?"

He paused, as if searching for an answer, then said, "Because Henri would have called me all sorts of a fool for choosing revenge over matters of the heart. In the end, Starr died anyway, so what did it matter who actually pulled the trigger?"

"That decision could earn you brownie points, you know."

He grinned. "I'm counting on it." He touched a finger lightly to my shoulder, then walked away.

jack took his place beside me. "So, how is my favorite recruit feeling?"

"I'm not making killing a full-time habit. You can't make me." I paused for impact, even though I doubted there would be any, then added, "Can I go home now?"

"Not yet." He grinned. "And killing will come in time."

I sniffed. "How goes the cleanup?"

He shrugged. "Here, fine, though we've had to bring in local cops to help handle all the arrests and documentation."

"And the lab?"

He looked at me. For the first time ever, I saw anger, true, unforgiving anger, in Jack's green eyes. "That bastard didn't deserve the easy death you gave him, Riley. What he has done - " He blew out a breath. "I've seen some truly horrific things in my time, but this lab takes the cake."