Enemy Mine (2 page)

attitude.

She was very thankful her coat covered

up her reaction. “I’ll wear my hair any

damn way I please.” Instead of coming out

harsh, her words were breathy even to her

own ears.

He reached out and fingered a loose

tendril that had escaped the long braid

plaited down her back. Her eyelids grew

heavy for a moment as she remembered

what it had been like when he’d run his

fingers through her hair, gripped her head

in that dominating way as he’d claimed

her mouth. She fought to breathe as they

stood there, practically frozen.

Instead of responding, he just stared at

her for a long moment, then turned and

headed to his vehicle. A motorcycle of all

things. Even though she wanted to watch

him climb onto it—to straddle it with

those muscular legs she’d had so many

fantasies about since their one night

together—she forced herself to slide into

the front seat of her car and not look back.

Only then did she allow herself to

breathe. Her heart raced and her palms

slipped against the steering wheel as she

drove out of the parking lot.

What the hell had she gotten herself

into? In the past, a few men had tried to

use her to get in the good graces of her

pack or they’d wanted to use her against

them. It had become second nature for her

to weed out liars. While her gut told her

Kiernan simply wanted her for herself, she

couldn’t help but question her decision to

go on a date with a man who owned a big

chunk of Miami—and was therefore

competition to her pack’s real estate

dealings. Someone who by all accounts

her family couldn’t stand, a man who was

a freaking vampire.

* * *

doing as he steered down the driveway

toward Amelia and Nevada Rodriguez’s

home. Apparently he had a death wish.

Anything to spend time with Melina

Rodriguez. He couldn’t keep the woman

off his mind. No matter how hard he tried.

At his father’s request he’d moved to

Miami six months ago and been forced to

face the unforgettable woman who’d left

his bed in the middle of the night almost a

year ago. He hadn’t known who she was

at the time. His family had a file on her

pack but the picture of her hadn’t been

updated since she was fourteen, almost

eleven years before.

That night had been so damn

unexpected. He’d driven down from his

home a few hours north of the city for

business. Afterward he’d gone out for

drinks with a friend. Then he’d seen her

dancing and had been mesmerized. He’d

known she was a shifter, but it hadn’t

mattered. Need had punched through him

like a body blow.

Never in his life had he been attracted

to one of her kind before sweet, curvy

Melina. He’d been unable to stop himself

from approaching her, talking to her,

dancing with her. . . . They’d barely spent

an hour together at that club before

heading back to the hotel. She’d gotten

under his skin. She was sinfully curvy

with long dark hair and green eyes he’d

stared into as she’d moved over him,

riding him with such intensity he could

still envision every second of that night.

Then she’d disappeared on him.

But he’d tracked her down even before

his father’s request that he come to Miami.

When he’d found out exactly
who
she was, it had been like a sucker punch to the face,

only a thousand times worse.

The Rodriguez pack was strong, large

in numbers, and not known for their

mercy. Fortunately neither was he or his

coven. Even after months of not seeing

her, he hadn’t been prepared for the

almost violent impact of talking to her

again, inhaling her scent, touching her soft

skin.

But he was a vamp, and she was a

shifter—the only shifter he’d ever bedded.

Before her, he’d never had anything to do

with her kind. He’d never
wanted
to.

If someone had told him half a year ago

that he’d soon be pining after a sexy,

sensual shifter from the Rodriguez pack,

he’d have laughed in their face before

kicking their teeth in.

After parking his car—he’d hated

leaving his bike at home, but hadn’t

wanted to piss off Melina before their

date even started—he strode toward the

front door of the palatial two-story home.

The Rodriguez pack had done very well

for themselves, as was evident by the

string of homes they owned in the

exclusive Star Island neighborhood of

Miami Beach.

The ornate door opened before he even

had a chance to ring the bell. Wearing a

skintight green dress that accentuated

every single one of her sleek curves,

Melina stood staring at him with an

incredulous expression—as if she was

certain he’d lost his mind.

He glanced at his watch then back at

her. “I’m not late.” He was right on time.

“I know, I just can’t believe you had the

balls to show up here,” she murmured, her

cheeks turning a delicious shade of pink as

she grabbed a long coat from the rack by

the door.

He glanced past her, surprised her

father or one of her brothers hadn’t

threatened to cut off his balls—or his

head. “I thought you said your family

would be here.”

She swallowed hard and her cheeks

tinged even darker. “Um, I lied. Most of

my pack is a couple doors down for a

meeting. My mom knows I’m going out

with you—well, not
you
, but she knows I

have a date. And my brothers would

probably string you up for even
looking
at me.”

“They could try,” he said softly, slightly

amused she didn’t realize the extent of his

power.

She rolled her eyes, as if the thought of

him taking on her brothers was ludicrous.

He snorted. Let her think what she wanted.

After a particular age vampires developed

certain gifts and at two hundred years old

he’d honed his ability to control fire to

perfection. He’d never use it to kill

anyone in her family—though before

meeting her he wouldn’t have hesitated—

but if someone came at him he’d sure as

hell defend himself.

The drive to the restaurant was torture.

Kiernan had to fight to keep his eyes on

the road. When she crossed her legs—

toned, tanned legs she’d once wrapped

around his waist and shoulders—her dress

rode up dangerously high, revealing

bronzed skin he wanted to cover with his

hands and mouth. He cleared his throat as

he tried to rid his mind of his fucking

fantasies. Too bad it didn’t work.

“So what brought you to Miami? I

thought you lived in New York.” Her

voice broke into his thoughts with a husky

quality that made every one of his senses

stand up and take notice.

“Business.” Partially true. His family

had sent him down here to check on some

of the properties they owned, but he’d

been planning to make a trip since he’d

discovered Melina’s true identity.

“That’s not vague or anything. What

kind of business?” She shifted slightly

against the seat, and he forced his gaze to

stay on the road in front of him.

“Did you wear that dress to drive me

insane?” he growled.

“What?” She looked down at herself,

then at him. The way her cheeks flushed

again made his cock jump against the

zipper of his pants.

Despite her smart-ass mouth—which he

found refreshing—there was an innocent

quality to her that surprised the hell out of

him. “That dress makes me want to do bad

things to you.”

There was a long pause in which her

sweet honeysuckle scent grew, twisting

around him. Finally she spoke, her voice

low. “What kinds of things?” That sexy

voice held a breathless curiosity.

Despite the night they’d shared together,

they hadn’t done any of the more erotic

things he’d eventually planned. If he

answered truthfully she was likely to jump

out of the car at the next stop. Or hell,

while he was still driving. Instead of

traveling down that path, he reeled in his

thoughts and libido—sort of—and

switched directions. “Do you like

dancing?”

She seemed thrown by the abrupt

change of topic, but that sweet scent

slightly dimmed. Which was good and

bad. The more he could smell her arousal,

the more his brain short-circuited. “I love

it.”

“Good.” Considering she’d been

dancing the night they’d met, he had a

pretty good idea what kind of place she’d

prefer. He’d picked a low-key restaurant

right on the water with authentic Cuban

food and dancing. He didn’t think she’d

appreciate anything pretentious. And he

hated that shit.

“That’s it? Good? You’re not going to

continue your earlier conversation?”

Was she trying to kill him? “Not right

now.”

She sighed and the scent that came off

her was a mixture of relief and

disappointment. “So how old are you,

anyway?”

“Two hundred.”

“Oh.” A quick glance showed her

eyebrows raised.

“Is that good or bad?” he asked wryly.

“Neither. I’ve just never met a vamp

that old. Well, I had never actually met a

vampire, not really, not until that

night. . . .”

Now that was a surprise, though he

knew the night she was talking about. The

night he’d met her in a bar, gone back to

her hotel room, and had sex so many times

he’d been completely drained. Which was

the only reason he hadn’t heard her sneak

out in the early morning hours. “How is

that possible?”

Her shoulders lifted casually. “There

aren’t many vamps living in Miami, and

I’ve never had reason to interact with the

ones who do. I grew up very . . .

sheltered.”

Something about the way she said that

made him look at her. “Why does that

sound more like smothered?”

A small smile tugged at her lips. “I’m

the baby of the pack and my brothers are

way older than me.”

He couldn’t bite back the bark of

laughter. He didn’t have any sisters but he

had female cousins and understood

perfectly. “I don’t blame them. So you

were smothered growing up, huh?”

She shrugged. “I’m twenty-five and all

my brothers are over a hundred. What do

you think?”

Kiernan nodded but didn’t respond. The

last thing he wanted was to talk or think

about her brothers. He knew the only

reason she’d agreed to go out with him

tonight was because she’d thought she’d

scare him off. Since it hadn’t worked, he

had a feeling tonight might be his only

chance with her, and he wasn’t going to

fuck it up.

“They’ve always tried to monitor

everything about my life; where I went to

college, who I dated—”

He didn’t realize he’d let out a low

growl until Melina stopped talking.

She gave him a sharp look. “Did you

just seriously growl at me? I thought only

shifters did that.”

Kiernan shrugged, not willing to

apologize. The thought of her with other

males made all his territorial instincts

come clawing to the surface. He didn’t

care that he had no claim on her. Well, not

yet. That was about to change very soon.

Chapter 2

Melina glanced in the bathroom mirror as

she dried her hands. She loved the

restaurant Kiernan had picked but she’d

needed a little breather. The man made her

lose her train of thought. Well, that wasn’t

true. Her thoughts were solely focused on

seeing him naked again and having lots of

sex, but when she was away from him she

could actually think about other things.

Like what the heck had she been thinking

by coming out with him.

Mentally preparing herself, she paused

when the same woman who’d been subtly

watching her from the bar area of the

restaurant entered the room. She knew

what the redhead was, but she wasn’t

afraid. Even though Melina was young and

not as strong as she would one day

become—if she lived that long—she

could defend herself if necessary. But

something told her this vampire wasn’t

going to attack her in a relatively public

place. There might not be anyone else

inside the bathroom now but there was

always the chance of someone walking in.

“He’s just using you, you know.” The

redhead spoke as the machine drying

Melina’s hands cut off.

Turning to face her, Melina lifted an

eyebrow. “Is that right?”

The woman’s perfect, bow-shaped lips

curved into a cruel smile. “Your father—

yes, I know who you are—just bought him