Tempting Evil (Riley Jenson Guardian 3)

"I didn't. He just sort of pops in unannounced whenever he feels like it." I twisted the key in the lock and opened the door. "How do you two actually know each other?"

"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 Quinn contented himself with leaning up against the wall near the TV. Both men had their arms crossed. Both still bristled with tension and anger.

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, Quinn?"

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 annoyance deepened in Kellen's expression. "And here I was thinking you'd gained a little taste since Sydney."

"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 Quinn. "If he were another werewolf, would you have any issue?"

"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 Quinn's way and shook his head. "I can wait."

"Seems to me like he doesn't trust you," Quinn commented.

Yeah, it did. What pissed me off, though, was not so much Kellen's distrust, but the fact that it was Quinn pointing it out. "This from the man who thinks all wolves are whores?"