Caught in the Middle

“Well it’s true, and you know it. Besides, while you’re all gung ho, did you even think to ask Collette for all the details, especially the one about how she could wind up pregnant after we’re all done?”

She glared at Gabriel, pissed that he’d brought something up that really wasn’t an issue. Sometimes, he could really be a self righteous pain in the ass.

“Whoa! You’re hot Collette, and I’m sure any offspring of ours would be drop dead gorgeous, but I don’t do vamp kittens or were pups,” Roarke protested, as he held up his hands like an invisible shield. She rolled her eyes at his antics. No doubt Roarke thought having offspring was akin to death. It probably was given his active lifestyle.

Shooting to her feet, she moved to intercede before Gabriel could ruin her entire plan.

“Relax Roarke. You know lycans and vamps can only reproduce when the pairing involves true heart mates.” She slid her gaze over both men. “And I think it’s safe to say, none of us in here are heart mates, but,” she added when both men opened their mouths, ready to unleash a barrage of questions and protests. “If it eases your mind, I can come up with a spell to deal with that. Just give me until the end of the day, and I’m sure I can conjure up something.”

Roarke visibly relaxed, but Gabriel was a different story. One didn’t become a master of an entire city, because he was rash or impulsive. No, Gabriel was extremely thorough and meticulous. Those qualities were what made him such a good detective. She appreciated them when they worked together, but at the moment she cursed him and his damn steady judgment, especially when he still looked at her with that sceptical expression of his.

“I still don’t know-”

“Why don’t we give Collette a chance to come up with a spell before we just shut her down? She’s one of her kind’s most powerful witches. I’m sure she can come up with some-”

“Why are you so eager to jump into bed with her? You weren’t even here to hear her whole convoluted and half-baked story, and yet you’re ready to go.” Gabe said with a dark glower.

She glared at him. He was exaggerating. Her plan hadn’t been that half-baked.

Roarke shrugged his large shoulders, his lips curling into a lopsided grin. “I didn’t need to be here, I already know what’s going on. How old are you, Collette? Seventy? Eighty?” He didn’t wait for her to answer as he bulldozed ahead. “She’s obviously about to go through her tenth cycle, and it’s mating season-”

“I should have known you would know,” Gabe grumbled as he shook his head.

Roarke’s grin grew wider. “Who doesn’t? Besides, I’ve helped out a couple of lycan hotties a time or two before. You wouldn’t be so uptight about this stuff if you relaxed a little and got laid. You spend-”

“Thanks, Roarke. Was there something you needed?”

“Not really. I just heard my name when I was passing by, so I decided to drop on in.”

She chuckled when he winked at her. She had no doubt he’d been eavesdropping and decided to pop in to help her make her case.

“I need to get to work,” she said as she moved towards the door. “But will you at least consider my proposition?”

“Honey, you know I’m all in-”

“I’ll consider it,” Gabe finished, shooting Roarke a pointed glare.

“Well, that’s all I ask,” she said softly, her eyes fixed solely on Gabe before she turned on her heels and slipped out.

“What the hell is wrong with you, man?” Gabe said, shoving a hand through his midnight black mane that brushed against his shoulders.

“I should ask you the same thing. Miss Hot Fineness wants to make you her sex slave for eight hours, at least, and you’re all prepared to say no. Have you ever slept with a lycan chick during mating season? Man, I can tell you the sex is hot. I don’t know what’s wrong with you, or why you’re being so uptight about this?”

He shot his best friend a hard look as he leaned back in his chair, letting out a long ragged breath in the process.

Roarke was only a century younger than him, but in this case, that century made all the difference. His friend was a top notch detective, and was the best at what he did, but when he ended his shift, he was free to go on the hunt for pussy or blood or both.

The same wasn’t true for him. When his shift was over, he had to return to his home and hear the complaints of the five vampire clan elders, who were constantly involved in power struggles-and that was on a slow day. Most nights, he was outside, hovering beneath the silver moon, tuning into the pulse of the night, listening for sounds in the darkness for any indication that something was amiss in his city.

No, Roarke didn’t understand why his life wasn’t just an endless orgy, because he didn’t have the weight of an entire city on his shoulders. It wasn’t just the vampire clans either. Humans, lycans, witches, and dark fey all came to his door to voice their concerns if a rogue vampire was on the loose, or if one of his kind messed up and harmed another species.

His life had not been carefree for almost fifty years, since he’d assumed control of SinCity from a rogue vamp.

At the time, he’d been fresh and eager to control his own city, to wield such power over several clans. As the youngest of five siblings, he’d been the last to inherit such an honoured responsibility, but now he understood why two of his brothers had turned their cities over to other elder vampires after finding their mates. It was an all consuming job, which left little time for anything else, and in his case, that also included meaningless sex and frivolous dating.

“I don’t think I’m being uptight about any of this. I’m just considering what could happen if we don’t think about this before we enter into an eight-hour fuck fest, as you seem to be so eager to do. Besides, I would think with your carefree life, the thought of getting any woman pregnant would scare the shit out of you.”

A lazy grin spread across Roarke’s face as he lowered his large frame into the same chair Collette had just deserted. “You forget, I’ve done this before, and there are no kittens and puppies walking around here. Actually, the last lycan I slept with was in her mating season, and it was no big deal. I shared her with another vamp, and it was all good.”

His brows lifted. He was sure it was all good. “And how did you keep her from getting pregnant then?” He wasn’t even sure he wanted to know, because then he’d have no excuse to turn down Collette. He was counting on her not being able to come up with a spell, because if she did, they were both going to be in some deep trouble.

“I don’t know.” Roarke shrugged. “I think she used some kind of temporary infertility spell on both of us. Whatever it was, it obviously worked. But it really doesn’t matter because Collette’s right. As long as we’re not heart mates then there’s no real chance of us getting her knocked up. Still, if it bothers you, I can ask my friend. It’s been a few decades, but I’m sure, if I call her up, she could remember.”

He frowned. “I’m sure Collette will figure it out if this spell is so common.” “Which is lucky for you, eh?”

Gabe narrowed his blue gaze at his friend, who didn’t seem the least bit troubled by his icy stare. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“You forget how well I know you.”

Gabe shifted uncomfortably in his seat, not really sure if he wanted to hear where this was headed.

“But one doesn’t have to know you well to know that you’re interested in Collette. Actually, I’d say you’re attracted to your partner, very attracted.”

Gabe shifted again, suddenly feeling uneasy. Roarke was his best friend, and he could share almost anything with him, but he wasn’t ready to share his feelings for Collette. Mainly, because he hadn’t figured them all out himself. But also because, while it may be obvious that he was attracted to Collette, it was just as obvious that Collette was attracted to Roarke. That thought made the knot in his gut clench tight, but he did his best to ignore it. If Collette wanted Roarke, then he would just have to accept it and move on. It was just that he couldn’t completely understand what a woman such as Collette saw in Roarke. It wasn’t just because he was jealous, although he would be lying if he didn’t admit that he wasn’t immune to the pangs of the ugly green monster. But it was more than that. Considering how well he knew them both, he would have never thought Collette and Roarke well-suited. But maybe Collette wasn’t interested in anything of substance and depth. Actually, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

Roarke was a handsome man, who loved to play the field, but maybe that’s exactly what she wanted. He’d just been so sure, deep down, Collette wanted something more meaningful, but apparently he’d misjudged her.

Even if he hadn’t read her wrong, it was still awfully hard not to miss the easy camaraderie that flowed between the two of them, and how comfortable they were around each other. Just moments ago, he’d been a witness to the intimate exchange that passed between them when Roarke winked at her, and she smiled back. They thought no one noticed, but it was impossible not to.

As wizened and mature he thought himself to be, he was finding it pretty damned difficult to accept that he was attracted to a woman, who obviously wanted his best friend. Yet, no matter how hard a pill it was to swallow, he was determined not to let it interfere with his relationship with either of them-especially Roarke.

Nothing had ever come between him and Roarke, certainly not a woman, and he didn’t want Collette to be the first. If he could just manage to keep his feelings to himself, then they wouldn’t become an issue.

Collette and Roarke could do what they so obviously wanted to do, without worrying about hurting his feelings. He would go on doing what he’d always done-return home to an empty bed that was always cold and run his city with a steady hand, no matter how lonely a life it was, and in spite of how futile his efforts seemed.

Roarke cleared his throat loudly, in a blatant gesture to force Gabe to address his loaded comment. But he wasn’t sure if he could. How did he deny Roarke’s words without outright lying?

“Collette is clearly an attractive woman, but she’s my partner, which means our relationship must always remain strictly professional.”

“Bullshit.”

He was so stunned by that simple statement that it took him a second to collect his thoughts. “Why is that bullshit? It’s the truth.”

He didn’t flinch under the weight of Roarke’s stare. He couldn’t. As the master of the city, he’d been conditioned to hold his ground, but it was damn near impossible when confronting a man who was as close to him as Roarke was, and who knew him as well as any of his brothers did.

“You only put your shields up with me when you’re lying or when you don’t want me to discover the truth. And they’re always up every time I bring up Collette.” He stood as he spoke. “You’re attracted to her, I know it. If it makes you feel better, she’s attracted to you, too.”

“Have you been tapping into her thoughts? You know that’s rude.”

Roarke grinned as he lifted his shoulders in a slight shrug. “Maybe once or twice, but relax. I didn’t get much more than she thinks you’re sexy.”

He snorted. “Yeah, and I’m sure your name followed soon after.”

“Actually, no, it didn’t.”

“How is your ego dealing with that?” he joked, in an effort to break some of the tension that had suddenly descended upon the room. For months, he’d tried to avoid this conversation with Roarke, and he was determined not to have it now either.

“Make light of this all you want, but the only man who seems to enter Collette’s thoughts is you.”

Gabe opened his mouth to object, but never got the chance.

“Collette’s a beautiful woman, and like you said, it’s quite natural to find her attractive, but Collette and I aren’t attracted to one another.”

“Why are you telling me this?” His eyes narrowed to slits. He searched Roarke’s normally open face that was now as blank as an empty canvas, which made him uneasy with