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Surrounded By Temptation(4)

By:Mandy Harbin


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.”

* * * *

Rob sat in his room, locked in like a damn wild animal, and logged onto his Skype account. This was re-fucking-diculous. His father had called a meeting to discuss Ariel, and he wasn’t allowed anywhere near her.

But neither was Jack. Rob took solace in that. Very little solace.

When he’d laid eyes on Ariel today, his insides burned. He’d felt a connection to her that he’d never felt before. It wasn’t rational. But neither was turning into a feline. Nothing was rational in his life, so why did he expect seeing his mate for the first time would be anything short of powerful? He knew both Josh and Toby had felt something different, something miraculously overpowering with their mates early on. Maybe this was just how it was for them. Once a mate was identified, that was it. It was her or no one else.

God, he was being insane. He hardly knew this woman. If he didn’t chill out, he’d scare her away. At least Jack was naturally brooding. This newly developed situation probably had him clawing at the walls to get out and get to her, which would only make Rob look that much better.