Enemy Mine (11 page)

Ducking out from under his arms, she put a few feet of distance between them in the blink of an eye. Without his spicy, earthy scent overpowering her, she could breathe again. And think clearly. “Get out of here.”

Jayce gave her a hard look before fishing her phone out of his pocket. Wordlessly he handed it to her then opened the front door, but before he’d shut it, he paused and turned back around. “Don’t test me,
Katarina
. I don’t think you could live with the knowledge that you got someone killed.”

As the door shut behind him she pushed out a long breath and grabbed onto the stair railing to brace herself. Somehow with him gone, the pain and loneliness eating at her was almost impossible to bear.

Which was stupid. She’d left him over nine months ago. Or almost a year, she reminded herself. It sounded better when she rounded up. Why oh why couldn’t she get him out of her system? When she’d first met Jayce she’d been utterly entranced. Not because of his looks—though she loved the dark edge to him—but because of the raw, untamed power that practically rolled off him.

Since she’d grown up with an arms dealer for a father, she’d never been intimidated by anyone. Until Jayce. Of course she hadn’t let him see it. She’d called him a puppy even then, completely taunting him. He’d been so surprised. She would never forget the shocked look on his face as she’d teased him. He deserved the taunt of course after saying something rude to her. She couldn’t remember the exact phrase but he’d insinuated that he wanted to do something sexual to her and she’d laughed at him.

From that point on he’d chased her with a single minded focus. Not that she’d minded. Being on his radar had made her feel empowered and sexy in a way she hadn’t imagined possible. Before Jayce men had either been too scared to approach her because of her father’s shady dealings—and his violent reputation—or they’d wanted to get close to her
because
of her father. Not Jayce. He’d just wanted
her
. She’d made him wait six months before agreeing to go to lunch with him. At the time she’d thought she could drag out her teasing even longer but they hadn’t even made it to her parked car at that restaurant before he’d kissed her.

And oh what a kiss. He’d told her everything she’d needed to know in that one very long kiss. He was claiming her, making a statement that she was his. Or at least that’s how she’d taken it. But it hadn’t been a permanent thing. That knowledge made her stomach turn sour. She’d wanted to make a life with him, but when she’d broached the subject of their future he’d told her that the chance of a human turning into a shifter from a bite was one percent. What he’d failed to mention was the fact that if he’d taken her as his bondmate she would have changed into a shifter without any issues. He’d lied because he hadn’t wanted her as his bondmate. He’d never actually admitted it to her, but what other reason could he have had for lying? Swallowing hard, she ignored the sudden sting of tears.

Instead of heading directly upstairs to her room, she made a beeline for the kitchen. Sleep had been elusive the past month, and even though she hadn’t wanted to, she’d seen a doctor just to get a prescription. After taking two sleeping pills she prayed she would finally get at least a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. Once in her room, she didn’t bother to take off her clothes, just slipped her boots off and slid into bed.

The moment she closed her eyes Jayce’s face appeared in her vision, mocking her. It made her want to scream. Or maybe cry. She turned on her side and curled into a ball as she closed her eyes tight. She would
not
think about him. She couldn’t afford to give him any power over her when all she wanted was some control in her life. Well, control and revenge.