Enemy Mine (7 page)

meant something to his kind. To him.

Piercing the skin on his wrist with his

fangs, he opened a vein and held out his

arm for Melina.

“Drink,” he ordered.

Her eyes fluttered open. She looked at

him, then their surroundings. “I’ll be fine

by tomorrow morning.”

“I don’t care.
Drink
.” Some deep, dark

part of him needed her to take this from

him. It was like an ache inside him, a

burning need to take care of her. Seeing

what she’d selflessly done tonight, he

wanted to at least do this. “Please.”

At his last word, her green eyes

widened. For a long moment insecurity

flared in their depths, but she tentatively

grasped his arm with her delicate fingers

and held his wrist to her mouth. Her lips

were warm against his skin, her tongue a

velvet caress that made the blood surge

hotter through his veins. The feel of her

tugging on him, drinking from him, sent

erotic waves coursing through his entire

body. He rarely let anyone drink from him,

and never a shifter, but now he’d allowed

her to twice in the past few hours.

After more than a few long pulls, she

tilted her head back, slight embarrassment

in her eyes as she looked at him. “I can’t

believe I did that.
Why did I do that?
” she asked, but it was obvious she wasn’t

looking for an answer from him.

“I’m glad you did. How do you feel?”

He sealed the punctures in his wrist with a

quick swipe of his tongue before reaching

out to cup her cheek.

No longer were those green eyes tired

or dull, but bright and wide. She didn’t

pull away from him, but leaned into his

embrace. His entire body tightened, his

muscles pulling taut as he imagined

sinking himself inside her again.

“Amazing. . . . What are we doing?” she

asked quietly.

He knew she wasn’t referring to what

they were doing at that moment. “I don’t

know, but I haven’t been able to get you

out of my mind since that night.”

“Me neither. You’re the first vampire

I’ve ever . . .” She trailed off, her cheeks

tinging pink.

A low growl built in his throat. “First

or only?”

“Only.”

Her answer soothed a primal part of

him so he decided to be honest with her.

“You’re the only shifter I’ve been with.

And I haven’t been with anyone else since

you.”

Melina pulled back from his light

embrace of her cheek and snorted. “You

don’t need to lie.”

“I’m not lying.” The words came from a

dark part of him.

She must have heard the truth of his

words because she nodded once as if to

confirm she believed him, but didn’t say

anything else. Just grasped the handle and

stepped from the vehicle. The sweet

honeysuckle scent rolling off her left no

doubt in his mind what she wanted at that

moment.

He wanted it too. No matter how stupid

this was or what the consequences of a

relationship with her could bring. He

wanted her so bad his entire being called

out for her. Like a magnetic pull, he’d felt

it that night in the bar. Almost like he’d

been drugged on her scent. It had just been

a physical draw then, but now . . . he

wanted more than just another night with

her.

* * *

up the elevator and into Kiernan’s condo,

but minutes after arriving she found

herself sitting on one of the counters in the

kitchen. Unfortunately she was still

clothed as she watched him rummage

through a nearly empty pantry. Eventually

he came out with a box of energy bars.

“I’ll stock up tomorrow but this is the

only decent thing in here.”

She smiled as he unwrapped then

handed her the bar. “I’m fine, really.” And

she was, thanks to his blood. It still

stunned her she’d taken his wrist so easily

but it had been impossible to turn him

down and just as sweet as the first time

she’d taken from him. Everything about

him lit her body on fire.

“Eat, please.” He nestled his way

between her legs, forcing her to spread

them wider.

She could feel her cheeks flame at the

way his voice dropped seductively low.

“I can’t eat with you staring at me.”

“Fine.” Leaning down, he nuzzled her

skin, lightly raking his teeth over the

column of her neck.

Grinning she took one bite of the bar

before tossing it onto the counter. Eating

was the last thing on her mind now. She

knew this was probably a stupid move,

especially when she had a whole mess of

things to worry about—like who had

wanted to kidnap her earlier—but in

Kiernan’s arms it was hard to think about

being responsible. Hell, it was hard to

think about anything at all.

She wrapped her legs around him and

grasped his thick hair with one hand. He

was strong enough that if he didn’t want to

move, he wouldn’t have. But he let her

pull his head back so she could kiss him.

His lips covered hers, his tongue

invaded her mouth, and she felt each

stroke and lick straight to her core. The

heat between her legs grew with each

stroke as she imagined him teasing her

there in the same way he was teasing her

mouth.

When his hands slid under her T-shirt

she didn’t regret her decision to stay the

night with him. Large, strong hands slowly

crept their way up her stomach then ribs

until possessively covering both her

breasts.

He tore his mouth away from hers only

to tug her T-shirt over her head. Instead of

resuming his kisses, he stared at her with

such a hungry look it sent tingles to all her

nerve endings. “I’ve fantasized about your

breasts for an entire fucking year.” The

statement was almost accusing.

She followed his gaze to her light

brown nipples, which were rock hard in

anticipation. He didn’t disappoint. When

his head dipped toward her breast, she

arched her back, ready for the pleasure he

could give her.

The moment his tongue flicked over her

nipple, her inner walls clenched with an

unfulfilled need.

Her entire world rocked on its axis as

an explosion ripped through the air. Glass

shattered and metal bent in a torrent of

noise. Panic punched through her, a

vicious blow hitting all her nerve endings.

Kiernan yanked her off the counter and

shoved her down behind the cabinets as a

flash of lights and another bang popped

around them.

The sound pierced her eardrums and

she blinked trying to understand what was

going on. Terror forked through her. They

were under attack.

Then she scented them.

Her brothers.

Oh shit.

“Kiernan!” she shouted, trying to be

heard above the next bang, but he kept her

pinned down under him, protecting her

with his body.

That’s when she saw the growing

flames around them, spreading outward in

a giant circle, covering the tiled floor and

part of the counter. It was the same fire

that had burned those two men and that

van.

“Melina!” She heard Carlos’s voice

over the din of noise. He was the youngest

of her three brothers, though at one

hundred and fifty he was a lot older than

her and very powerful.

“I’m fine! Don’t hurt Kiernan!” she

managed to get out under the weight of

Kiernan’s hulking body. Damn he was

strong.

Kiernan moved off her so quickly she

could barely catch her breath. She

watched as he jumped up and over the

counter that led into the attached, open

living room.

The fire that had been licking the tile

went with him. She watched the bright

orange flames dance over everything, but

not actually burn anything. Though the heat

was powerful and very warm, there was a

perfect circle surrounding her by a few

feet. Protecting her.

The sounds of shouts and growls tore

through the air. Panic jumped inside her, a

raw, living thing. Following Kiernan’s

lead, she jumped to her feet but jerked to a

halt at the sight in front of her. Kiernan

stood on the coffee table in his living

room, flames bright and angry all around

him, keeping her brothers at bay. Her three

brothers surrounded him, all toting

weapons including a freaking crossbow.

“Stop it! All of you, stop this instant!”

she screamed.

Instantly the fire dimmed though it

didn’t completely extinguish. Her brothers

turned to face her. She could feel the heat

creeping up her neck as she kept her arms

crossed over her chest. They all stared at

her, wide-eyed, except Kiernan. His gaze

was on Miguel, almost daring her brother

to make a move.

“Do not move,” she snapped before

ducking back down behind the cabinets to

grab her discarded T-shirt. Once she’d

tugged it on, she popped back up and

hurried around the counter that separated

them.

As she walked farther into the living

room she realized her brothers had thrown

flash grenades into the room after busting

out the windows. How they’d even gotten

inside considering how high up the floor

was she didn’t even want to know. Though

the black rope and hooks dangling around

their waists gave her a pretty good clue.

“What the hell are you all doing?” She

stared in horror at the three of them. “Do

you want to start a war with the

vampires?”

“I got called to an accident scene and I

scented your blood, but you weren’t there.

Then Mom told us you were out with a

vampire
.” Miguel shot an accusing look at Kiernan. “What the hell is going on?”

Before Melina could answer, Kiernan

moved to stand next to her using his

supernatural speed. When her brothers

growled and all took menacing steps

forward, his flames grew into a thick wall

separating her and Kiernan from them.

She grasped his forearm. “You’re not

helping,” she said quietly. While she knew

he was just trying to protect her, she also

knew her brothers thought they were here

to help her.

He remained silent, his gaze on Miguel.

The intensity of Kiernan’s look shocked

her to her core, but she ignored it for the

moment and turned back to face her

brothers as the fire dipped to tiny flames.

“I was in an accident—well, it wasn’t

an accident. I’d planned to tell you later

tonight.” After she’d had sex with

Kiernan.
Yeah, better leave that part out.

“Someone plowed into the taxi I was in

and they tried to kidnap me. Shifters, but I

didn’t recognize them. How’s the cab

driver?”

Miguel shook his head, his expression

grim as he stared Kiernan down. “It’s

touch and go.”

A heavy weight settled on Melina’s

chest. Normally after healing people she

was so drained she couldn’t get out of bed

for days, but thanks to Kiernan she felt

better than ever and wanted to visit the

hospital. Maybe she could help the driver.

“So what are you doing
here
?” Now

Roberto spoke, his voice dripping with

disdain.

Melina didn’t plan to go into detail

about how she’d left the restaurant without

Kiernan. “Kiernan saved my life when

shifters
tried to kidnap me.”

All of her brothers looked shocked at

that but before they could speak, Kiernan

cut in. “How did you even find this

place?” His voice was a razor sharp edge.

Roberto flicked a glance at Kiernan

before looking back at her. “Dad put a

GPS tracker in your phone.”

“Again?”
She’d disabled the built-in

GPS system that was so common in new

cell phones, but her father kept putting

actual trackers in her cell. And she kept

removing them. She’d also checked this

morning and there had been nothing there.

Her eyes narrowed but her brother held

up a hand. “This one’s different than the

others—small, practically untraceable.

We would have tracked you down sooner

but you’ve been moving around. And this

place wasn’t easy to get into.”

After leaving the homeless shelter

Kiernan had pretty much taken a tour

around the city in case they were being

followed. She hadn’t thought she had to

worry about being tracked by her phone or

she would have tossed it. While she was

grateful her family loved and cared about

her, she hated feeling like she never had

any freedom or privacy.

Even though she wanted to stay with

Kiernan and finish what they’d started

more than she wanted her next breath, she

knew it would only exacerbate the