"wait." he grabbed her wrist. "you're holding it too tight. relax." he loosened her fingers.

tingles spread from her fingers and up her arm. she drew in a sharp breath as her heart began to pound.

his eyes met hers briefly, then he let go and stepped back. "throw. throw it hard. turn igor into dust."

"okay." she reared back, then threw the knife hard. it arched in the air, then plummeted to the floor with a clatter halfway to igor. she winced. "i...missed."

carlos was silent a moment. "is that as hard as you can throw?"

"i don't really know. i stopped throwing things at people when i was two."

he retrieved another knife from the table. "try again."

she gave it all she had, but the knife clattered onto the floor a few inches from the first.

"you don't have any upper body strength," he muttered. "do you ever do push-ups?"

she gave him a flirtatious smile. "of course. there's nothing sexier than a wonder bra."

his gaze dipped briefly to her breasts and his jaw ticked. "come on." he motioned for her to follow as he strode toward the fallen knives. he picked them up and handed her one.

"try again." he stepped back.

she flung the knife. it spun nicely toward igor but hit his chest with the handle and clanged to the floor.

"not bad." he handed her the second knife. "put more power into it."

"agh!" she threw the knife with every bit of strength she could muster. it flew toward igor, and thwack! "i did it!" she turned to carlos, grinning.

the stunned look on his face made her glance back at igor. she winced.

carlos gave her a wary look. "i'm detecting a certain pattern here." he walked over to igor and yanked the knife out of his groin.

"i really was aiming at his chest."

carlos snorted, then picked the second knife off the floor. "i was going to do fencing next, but i can guess how that would end."

she frowned. "it's not a big deal. it's not like igor needs his equipment."

"you would be fencing against me." carlos walked toward her, his eyes gleaming. "and i definitely need my equipment."

her heartbeat raced as he came closer and closer. he stopped just an inch away from her.

"down on the floor," he whispered.

chapter twelve

he was playing with fire but couldn't resist. she looked so damned hot with her hair loose about her shoulders, her long bare legs, and her tight little t-shirt that moved with every breath she took. her face was flushed with exertion. and something else - desire.

it hung heavy in the narrow space between them, seeking to pull them together like a magnet. he'd made the mistake once of kissing her. it had taken all his strength to step back and resist taking more.

and now she was slowly lowering herself to her knees in front of him. his groin tightened as she reached eye level with his white karate pants. merda, why was he torturing himself? he wanted her. she wanted him. she'd practically begged him to kiss her last night. if the damned cameras hadn't been on, he might have succumbed.

from the minute he first laid eyes on caitlyn, he'd been gripped with a desperate desire, and it was only getting worse with each day. take her. on the floor. now.

he clutched his hands into fists. it was wrong. he couldn't take pleasure from her when he had no intention of staying with her. his future had been decided long ago during the summer of death.

he gritted his teeth. "give me twenty."

her eyes widened. "twenty?" she glanced warily at his pants. "you must have awfully good stamina."

hot blood rushed to his groin, causing him to swell. he stepped back. "twenty push-ups."

"oh." she made a face. "there's no way i can do twenty of those."

"then you need to do them every day until you can." he motioned with his hand. "come on. get started."

"okay." she balanced herself on her hands and toes with her arms locked straight. she bent her elbows and descended toward the floor. halfway there her arms shook and she collapsed onto the floor. "okay, that's one."

"one-half," he muttered. "try doing it on your knees."

she snorted. "i bet you say that to all the girls." with a groan, she lifted herself up.

"your body should make a flat line. you're sticking your rump in the air." he leaned over and gave her rear end a light slap.

"hey!" she glared at him over her shoulder. before she turned away, a mischievous look gleamed in her eyes. she collapsed onto the floor. "that's two."

"one and a half. and you're supposed to control your descent."

she lifted herself up again, pushing back to stick her rump out even more. she glanced at him with an expectant look.

naughty little minx. "you want to be spanked?"

her mouth twitched. "do you?"

he groaned. "you can finish on your own later."

"my life story," she muttered as she rose to a standing position.

he clenched his fists to keep from grabbing her. stop playing with fire. he needed to stick to business.

"i'd better check on the vamps." he strode toward the basement dormitory where phineas was sleeping. "i have to check on them every few hours to make sure they're okay."

"what could go wrong?" she followed him into the dark dormitory. "aren't they dead during the day?"

"yes." he flipped on the lights. "this is just a precaution."

"in case of what? can they grow more dead?"

"in case someone manages to sneak into the house undetected to do them harm." he scanned the large room. it was mostly empty now, just a few twin-sized beds. "when i first started working here, there were a few highlander guards, and they slept in coffins down here."

"you're kidding."

"no." he walked toward phineas's bed. "angus had the coffins removed. if anyone in law enforcement was to present us with a search warrant, the coffins would have been hard to explain."

"so would the dead bodies." she glanced curiously at phineas. "he looks like he's sleeping."

the young vamp had sprawled on the bed on his tummy with an arm dangling over the edge.

caitlyn giggled as she drew closer. "look at his boxer shorts. they're perfect for a love doctor."

carlos frowned at the white satin shorts with red hearts. his frown deepened when he realized caitlyn was openly studying the half-naked vamp. he grabbed the sheet at the bottom of the bed and covered phineas up.

her mouth twitched. "right. he might catch his death of cold. does he have a girlfriend?"

carlos's chest tightened painfully. "why do you want to know?"

she smiled. "i was just wondering if the love doctor had his own lady love."

"he does," carlos said quickly, then reconsidered. "well, he hopes he does. he's been pursuing a mortal woman named latoya, but i believe she told him to take a hike."

"oh, how sad." caitlyn picked a photo frame off phineas's bedside table. "is this his family?"

"yes, his aunt, and his younger brother and sister. phineas supports them all."

"he's their hero." she set the photo down. "if they're still alive, then he must be a fairly young vampire?"

"yes, just a few years." carlos shifted his weight. "why are you so interested?"

she shrugged. "i've been plunged into a whole new world that i need to learn about. it's all fascinating, really."

"you find vampires fascinating?"

"yes." her mouth curled up as she gave him a flirtatious look. "shifters, too."

his chest tightened. and then his groin. "you're not turned off by claws and teeth - "

"and fur balls?" she grinned. "as far as i'm concerned, the more exotic, the more i like it."

a low growl rumbled in his throat, and her smile faded. her eyes widened with a big turquoise take-me look.

merda. he hadn't meant to growl. he was losing control. with a mental shake, he strode toward the door. "i need to check on angus and emma."

she followed him up the back stairs to the foyer. "i think i'll take a break and grab something to drink in the kitchen."

"you should come with me."

she gave him a dubious look. "to the fourth floor?"

"it'll be good cardio for you." carlos jogged up the stairs. "come on."

she groaned, then ran up the stairs after him. on the third floor landing she stopped to catch her breath.

"come on." he continued to climb.

"what's the hurry?" she trudged up the stairs. "it's not like they're going anywhere."

"keep moving. it'll help you get in shape." he sprinted up the last few steps to the fourth floor. "this is the room angus and emma use." he opened the door and flipped on the lights.

caitlyn winced as she joined him. "i would be so angry if somebody turned on the lights while i was sleeping."

"they're not sleeping." he spotted them in bed, then crossed the room to make sure the aluminum blinds on the windows were shut tight.

"oh my gosh, look." caitlyn slowly approached the bed.

carlos glanced over and noted the vamp couple appeared to be naked. a bedsheet covered the bottom half of their bodies, and angus's broad back and arm hid emma's breasts.

caitlyn quickly dragged the comforter up to their shoulders. "i think they were making love," she whispered.

"none of our business." carlos headed back to the door.

"they were gazing into each other's eyes." caitlyn clasped her hands together and her eyes gleamed with moisture. "they died in each others' arms. it's so beautiful."

carlos paused at the door with his hand on the light switch. "death is never beautiful, menina."

she turned to look at him with her misty blue eyes. "you saw most of your kind die, didn't you?"

he glanced away so she wouldn't see his face twist with pain.

"did you lose your family?" she asked softly.

he pushed away the images of his dead parents and brother. he couldn't afford to confide in caitlyn. she was such a compassionate soul, she would try to comfort him, and that would be a disaster. he'd suffered for so long, he would be powerless to resist her.

he switched off the light. "let's get back to work."

he headed down the stairs, reminding himself not to touch her. he was too close to the breaking point.

would this day of torture never end?

would this day never end? caitlyn asked herself after an hour of lifting weights and jumping rope. the man was trying to kill her. she felt sweaty and grimy, and he still looked gorgeous, like it was all a walk in the park.

they moved on to the punching bag. the first time she jabbed the damned thing, it rebounded and smacked her in the face. after thirty minutes of learning how to execute jabs, hooks, and upper-cuts, her arms were sore and aching.

she stumbled when carlos had her perform a combination.

"don't lose your balance," he warned her. "keep your knees bent. stay light on your feet. shift your weight."

she shot him an annoyed look. he'd been barking out orders like a drill sergeant. "my arms are falling off."

he scowled at her. "fine." he strode toward an exercise mat. "we'll do some tae kwan do. i'll show you some of the basic kicks."

caitlyn hated to admit it, since he was torturing her, but she loved watching him move. he was so strong and graceful at the same time.

he moved off the mat. "now you try."

she bowed to him, repeated every kick he'd performed, then bowed again.

his eyes widened. "you've studied martial arts."

she shrugged with a smug smile. "a little. i wanted to be able to shop without getting mugged. i take my shopping very seriously."

he snorted. "let's see how well you can defend yourself." he stepped onto the mat and bowed to her.

she bowed back, then took a defensive pose. when he advanced with a slow and basic set of punches, she blocked them all. "you're babying me."

"just trying to see what you're capable of." he grinned. "this is great news. i'll be able to train you much faster than i had originally thought."

so he could leave sooner to find his perfect mate. a twinge of anger needled her. she wasn't good enough for him. she wasn't furry.

he stepped back. "let's see what you can do. attack me."

oh, she felt like attacking him now. she moved toward him with a quick succession of jabs and kicks.

he smiled as he easily blocked her. "not bad."

she jumped back, glaring at him. "don't patronize me."

"menina, i'm truly glad you've had some training. we need to work on your kicks, though. you need to aim for your opponent's chest to make him lose his balance. now came at me and kick as high as you can."

"you got it." she swung her right leg up.

he grabbed her foot one inch away from his groin. "not funny, caitlyn. i'm not the straw dummy."

"i didn't aim - "

"do you have something against a man's balls?"

"no! i'm just not very limber." she hopped around on one foot. "can you let me go? i'm about to fall."

he dropped her foot. "try it again. and aim for my chest this time."

she winced. she'd aimed for his chest the first time. she leaned back to kick as high as she could but put so much power into the swing of her leg that both feet flew up and she fell, landing with a smack on her back.