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From Inside the Grey House:

Charlie shrugged and Natalia groaned inwardly. She could almost read his mind. “Vincent thinks it might be better if I left the house tonight. Thought maybe I could go with you.”

She gave him another glare. “Why would I want to take an agitated werewolf with me on an information gathering mission?”

He moved quickly to the desk, kneeling on the other side from Natalia, grasping his hands together as if pleading to her. “I’m bored. I’m restless. I’ve got nothing to do here. If I don’t get out of here, I’m going to start fighting the vampires, and that’s just asking for too much trouble.”

From Inside the Grey House:

“Lick your lips clean, vampire. Sample the consolation prize.”

He did as instructed and nearly broke. The taste of human blood left him wanting much more. He reeled in his hunger and opened his eyes, allowing his desires to show. The first round had taken a good deal of his blood. He allowed her too many slashes, wanting to test her skills. He underestimated how much the rapier cuts would cost him. A great thirst was upon him and she offered no more than a drop of the precious liquid.

“Is that all you offer?” There was a tinge of barely concealed aggressiveness to his desperate voice.

From Inside the Grey House:

She stepped forward. Surprised, he stepped back. “Then why let me place myself in harm’s way Vincent? If I’m really one of yours, you would never let me fight Edwin’s men.”

“I had nothing to fear. I know what you can do.”

“You’re using me for more than your pleasure.”

He shrugged, pure triumph shining in his eyes. “You said you’d be an asset.”

She was shaking her head. “I’m not going to let you use me anymore, lover. But I’ll still fight. I know where to go; I have contacts you haven’t found yet. I’ll do what I have to, to keep my fighting skills honed.”

From Inside the Grey House:

Vincent reached around, grasped the blade and pulled the sword slowly out of his body. As he removed the sword, he healed himself, trying hard to control the amount of blood seeping from his wound. He could still afford to lose more blood, but the more he lost, the slower he would become, giving her more opportunity to win. Joseph stood beside him again, whispering his warning from earlier.

“She may win, with her weapon.”

“Except now, I have one too.” He held the sword in his hand, feeling its weight, wondering if it would help or hinder him.

“It won’t help. She’s watching you, waiting to see when you move. You can’t show her what you’ll do.” “And how exactly am I doing that?”

From Inside the Grey House:

“Do what Markus?” Vincent sounded worried.

“Fight. It’s never been in my nature to jump into a fight. The first night you saw me fight here, I was trying to impress you. I knew I wanted to be a part of your house long before you knew about me. Tonight, I was really happy that you ordered me to stay out of the way. And it’s not that I can’t yet, it’s that I don’t want to. I’ve been talking to Anthony about what he and his group does, and it seems more like what I should be doing.” He sounded sheepish.

“You wish to gather information and be a spy?” There was no emotion in his voice.

“With your permission, sir.”

From Inside the Grey House:

“He’s not lying. He’s thoroughly broken.”

Vincent shot Mierka a dirty look.

Natalia turned to the large vampire, touched his cheek to gain his attention. “I’m going to talk to him. Get what you need. I’ll be up shortly.”

“Natalia. I don’t trust him.” Vincent caressed her cheek. He wanted to pick her up and carry her to their bed. He still had some energy.

“That makes two of us. I can take care of myself, Vincent.” She stepped even closer and leaned in for a kiss. Vincent obliged, and released her when she pulled away.

From Inside the Grey House:

Vincent stepped forward again, grasped her shoulders and kissed both her cheeks as a Frenchman would. He let her go, turned to Charlie and gave the werewolf a slight bow. “You may both leave when your affairs are in order. For now, let’s join the others. Natalia has won the first round.”

He left the room, expecting the men to follow. Rebecca stayed behind to watch the monitors. She tuned the screens to all have different camera views but kept the main one focused on the fight. As the three men walked down the hallway, a tiny Natalia and a tiny Joseph squared off again. Rebecca winced in empathetic pain as the blur that was Joseph slammed the human against the wall. When Vincent entered the ballroom, Joseph had her pinned to the wall, her sword arm behind her, his hand wrapped around her throat. Each had now won one round. Rebecca settled back in the comfortable chair to watch the next match, which she suspected would be between Vincent and Joseph.

From Inside the Grey House:

Vincent stopped circling to consider the human before him and her proposal. His usual rules wouldn’t work, really. He had no desire to drain her blood and she had no reason to drink his. Her proposal wasn’t a bad one, and he could easily win against her. Their eyes locked again, and he realized the look in her eye had changed just the smallest amount. It was a calculating look. The woman was plotting her own tactics. A smile came to his face as a low growl once again escaped his lips. He would win the first round easy, fight her a bit for the second, but he would ultimately win.

“All right. Two out of three.” He turned away.

Natalia was pressed against the wall before she could react. She tried to stop the scream ripping through her throat and could not. The bellow of pain brought a cold, blood stained smile to Vincent’s face. He looked her dead in the eye, licked his lips and gave her a nasty satisfied smile.

“One.” He reached into his pocket, grabbed a handkerchief and threw it to Natalia.

From Inside the Grey House:

Joseph stared at Vincent, not reacting to being hit repeatedly with card stock in the chest. “Tell her about the Red Tie affair, ask her if she wishes to participate, then have her practice in heels and an evening gown. Let it be her decision.”

Vincent turned and walked back around his desk to sit in his leather chair. “Fine. I’ll ask her tomorrow when she’s better. Agreed?”

Joseph kept his back to his boss, hiding the victorious smile on his face. “Agreed.”

Vincent watched as Joseph left the room without another word. He cursed under his breath when the door closed behind his friend, knowing he had been manipulated.

From Inside the Grey House:

Natalia’s dark hair, which was tied up in a French twist, sparkled in the light. The hairdo revealed her long neck in all its beauty. Her dress was black velvet with a silver vines and flowers climbing around it. The dress tied around her neck, confidently revealing her bite mark riddled shoulders and muscular arms. Her silver necklace was just under the string tie, almost hidden by the velvet. The dress was so short: it barely hid her ass. She was holding a black and silver rose, twirling it slightly in her hand. Her shoes, stiletto heels, matched the silver of the dress. He caught her eye and she smiled. She was almost to him. He started breathing, trying to stay in control of himself. As his eyes raked her body his only thought was to wonder where she had gotten the dress.

Natalia stood before her lover, still slowly twirling the rose. She reached out with it and drew the feather rose slowly down his jaw line. He closed his eyes at the softness letting his lover draw him to her with the rose. He was rewarded with a kiss as soft as the feathers of the rose. His blood boiled as she reached out to grab his belt and pulled him closer. She pulled away from the kiss, smiling an evil smile. She acknowledged Joseph without looking at him.