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This is just ridiculous , I thought dimly, do they only employ hot guys in this place?

“Hey Ethan!” someone shouted. I turned to see another guy in the more usual overalls, though they were unbuttoned to the waist to reveal an equally well-muscled chest, standing there with a smirk.

He had obviously caught me looking. He nodded his head, indicating something behind me, and when I swung back, I was face to face with the owner of that body.

Buddy let out a growl, then a bark. “Shut up, Bud,” I said, and when I looked up, Ethan had come even closer.

I could smell the sharp scent of fresh sweat, oil and cedarwood, and I could feel that heat of his body, he was so close.

I put up a hand with a frown, putting it square in the middle of that perfectly formed chest, and shoved him back when he seemed inclined to just keep coming.

He was tall (weren’t they all?) with brown hair that had probably been cut all layered and spiky, but he’d let it grow to that in-between length.

He had a little stubble across his chin and a smear of grease down one side of his cheek, pointing to his shit-eating grin.

True to Finn’s words, his eyes dropped to the neckline of my shirt, and his stare was so intent, I could almost imagine his eyes boring straight through the fabric to my body beneath it.

“And who do we have here?” he asked with a smile. “That’s a nice dog.”

“Thanks,” I said, not bothering to conceal the irritation in my voice.

He was good looking, but I was never keen on blokes who acted like a dick about it.

Ethan just kept on staring. “Does this…” I gestured to the bare chest and the penetrating gaze, “usually work on women, or is this something new you’re trying out on me? ”

“Don’t mind him.” I turned to see a tall woman with long red hair, also in overalls, come out from between a couple of cars.

She wiped her hands on a rag, then held one out to shake.

“He’s got a banging bod, and he still thinks that’s all it takes.

I’m Stevie, you’ve met Ethan and this is Derek. You must be Finn’s new offsider.”

“Yeah, I’m Julie and this is Buddy. Finn said he was going to…”

“Get the keys to one of the carts,” he said, appearing at the doorway, shaking a set of them. “Well, you have your clothes on, and none of the guys look like they’ve been slapped. I’d say this was a good day so far.”

“Give them time,” Stevie said. “There’s a couple of other guys who work here, Nick and Sonny. I’ll introduce you next time you come through. You have any issues, you let me know.”

It was then that I realised I was still holding her hand.

She smiled nice and slow at this, watching me let it go.

Then she just went back to what she was doing, tossing a smile at me over her shoulder.

What had just happened? This place had a seriously weird vibe about it.

It was kind of like one of those bad sexual harassment training videos, where the characters are all stereotypes of sleazy work mates, yet because the actors were totally hot, you ended it feeling strangely conflicted about the message.

“You ready?” Finn asked, and I nodded and followed him outside. I got in the passenger seat, Buddy jumping into the back. “The fenced area here is strictly for authorised personnel.” He pointed to the high reinforced fences at the rear of the compound. “Ever shoot a gun?”

“Yeah, like years ago, when I was a kid. Will I need to here?”

“No, not really, but it can be handy.” He pulled up to a massive steel door in the side of the 20 ft fence.

“You have to swipe in to get inside the sanctuary itself, so we know who’s in and who’s out.

For now, as your job’s with me, you won’t have a card.

Unless you’re with someone who knows what they’re doing, you’re not going in. ”

“That’s a bit of a relief,” I said. “So, what will I be doing? Kelly was kinda vague, and the not knowing is making me a bit anxious.”

“Don’t be.” He turned and gave me what I’m sure he thought was a reassuring smile.

All I saw was those eyes and those cute little crinkles…

Get your head in the game! I snapped at myself.

“Mostly it’s boring stuff, like paperwork and running around, getting things signed.

You’ll be fine. Sanctuary is a self-sustaining community, more or less.

It has its own farms, shops, clubs, but most of the focus is on the mines, which are behind the fence.

This is the animal shed. We keep all the supplies for our dogs there.

The building next to it is the vet surgery, and Doc Hobbes is our in-house vet.

If there’s anything she doesn’t know about biology, it's not worth knowing. You can take Buddy in there if he has any issues, and she’ll see him if she has the time.

You’ll need to do stock rotation and check supply levels inside.

Anyway, let’s jump out and see if anyone’s around. ”

He parked the cart over near the big door of the animals shed, and we walked in. “Hello? Anyone home?”

“Hey!” I heard a female voice, which was followed quickly by its owner. “Hey, I’m Nerida! You must be the new girl.” Nerida was gorgeous, all shining, dark brown hair, big brown eyes and long tanned legs only partially covered by a short pair of khakis.

“Julie.”

“And who’s this gorgeous little man?” she said, dropping down in front of Buddy. He could be a bit standoffish with strangers, but he seemed to relish the tummy rub she was giving him.

“That’s Buddy.”

“Well, Julie, Buddy, come in and meet Lou and Aidan.”

Nerida beckoned me with a huge smile, slinging an arm around my shoulders when I drew close and steering me into a small office.

“Guys, this is Julie. She’s going to be helping Finn out.

” The guys I assumed were the man and the woman sitting on the couches.

They didn’t move or react as Nerida swept in, just took me in with two pairs of the oddest coloured eyes.

They looked almost like a washed out amber, or a yellowy green.

I was guessing they were brother and sister, as they had the same lean bodies and ash blonde hair.

“So, you’ll come and slop up with us sometimes, you know that, right?

Don’t mind getting your hands dirty?” Nerida asked.

“Don’t know what slopping up is, but sure, I’m used to pitching in.”

“Oh, it’s making up the food bowls for the guard dogs. Finn has been promising me a hand for ages now, and he said you could come in for a couple of hours in the morning.”

I turned to look at Finn for confirmation. “Do you really need her or are you just looking for someone to gossip with?” he said.

“Well, you could hardly blame me for the latter. Women are hard to come by here.” Finn was unmoved by this, crossing his arms across his chest. I looked away quickly, not wanting my ovaries to spontaneously combust.

“Do you really need her?”

“Lou and Aidan often need to go inside the fence…”

“Do you really need her? There’s plenty of things I’ll need her for.”

Nerida’s eyes narrowed, and she cocked her hip. “I just bet you will. Seriously, Finn, are you telling me you can’t spare her from whatever you’re planning for an hour or two in the morning? I’m getting snowed under here. Either that, or give me more staff from the outside…”

He shrugged at this. “If it’s not Julie, I’ll check with the guys. One of them can do it.”

“Yeah, but will they? I’m…”

“I said I’ll get on it. Julie needs to be settled and into a bungalow before the evening meal. We’ll talk later.”

For a moment, Nerida’s full lips thinned down to a hard line, but she didn’t seem capable of staying that way for long. Her bright brown eyes swivelled to me, and her smile quickly reinstated itself.

“Well, I for one am glad to see more of a female presence around here. The guys… they think they can have it all their way, if you know what I mean. Look, meet me outside the mess hall at 6. You’re going to want someone in your corner when you go in there for the first time, trust me.”

My eyes widened. What the hell? I was desperate for money but…

“Stop scaring my employee away,” Finn said. “C’mon, I’ll introduce you to the doc.” Nerida gave me a cheery wave, Lou and Aidan just watching without reacting. I fought back the urge to shiver and followed Finn.

I wasn’t sure why they were saying this was a male-dominated environment, when we walked into the small surgery and an older woman with soft brown hair looked up and smiled.

She had a bunch of glass slides out, with a vial of blood she was applying with a pipette.

“Ah, this must be Julie. I’m Bree Hobbes,” she said with a smile.

“Wow, news really travels fast around here,” I said, and held out a hand. She shook it warmly and then looked down at Buddy.

“No, no, they just do a background check before they employ anyone. They often get me in to take a look. So, a Melville girl, huh? Any relation to the Donohues?”

“On my mother’s side, three generations back. Really? I only rang about the job this morning.”

She shrugged, “We have access to some pretty high-end databases. So, who is this handsome gentleman?”

I made introductions, and Buddy again seemed happy to take the fussing.

He was usually better with women, but still, this was unusual for him.

And a background check? Was that even legal?

I’d definitely not signed anything to say that was OK.

The vet talked about how healthy Buddy was, which was a relief considering the slim pickings of the last few weeks, and her thoughts on what to feed him to keep him in good condition.

Dr Bree straightened up and then seemed intent on looking me over.