Enemy Mine (20 page)

They strained against each other. Hip to hip, chest to chest, lips to lips. Hands grasping, stroking, caressing. Wanting desperately to make up for the lost years. Nikko tore her panties from her, and yanked off his shirt and jeans. Their gazes caught and held. Selena held her breath. Her entire body burned with primordial fire. Eight long years she’d dreamt of this night. Eight long years she’d imagined being in this man’s arms again. For eight long years she’d yearned for his love. In a push-up position, he moved over her, his intense gaze not wavering from hers. Selena reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. As she pulled him to her, he slid hotly inside her.

She caught her breath, but could not catch the fresh tears from leaking. Dear God and all that was holy, the sensation of Nikko filling her was a testament to the sublime. And worth every day of the eight-year wait.

Selena arched, drawing him deeper into her; her heart thumped wildly against her rib cage and her body melted as he filled her completely.

Nikko sucked in a deep breath and threw his head back. When he dropped his head, his intense blue eyes locked on her. Her liquid muscles clamped around his cock. Nikko moaned, moving against her. Caught up in sensual awe of him, Selena watched the play of expressions on his face. His jaw clenched, his nostrils flared, his eyes flashed.

“Selena,” he breathed, gathering her into his arms. Desperately she clung to him. His hips thrust, hers answered. His lips found her lips. Hers responded. Merged as one, their bodies undulated to an ancient, primordial beat. Slowly, madly, deeply.

“Nikko,” Selena rasped. “Closer.” He pulled her up into his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist. Grasping his shoulders, Selena rose up, arching her back. His fingers slid down her slick back to her bottom. Grasping her cheeks, he pulled her into him, and held her as he rotated his pelvis up into hers.

The tension in her body drew tighter. Digging her nails into his back for better leverage, Selena ground her hips down on him. Her breasts bobbed against his chest. The feel of his slick skin against her sensitive nipples drove her mad.

He nipped a hardened peak, then ran his fangs along the top swell of her breast. Shaking her long hair from her neck, Selena threw her head back, exposing the soft skin of her neck. “Take all of me, Nikko.”

He swelled past capacity inside her. His fingers dug into her skin, his thrusts deepened. Anticipation sizzled inside her as he sank his fangs into her neck. The orgasm that erupted deep inside her womb blindsided her a millisecond later.

“Ahh, Nikko—” she cried out as intense tidal waves of pleasure slammed through her. Raw, erotic sensations overloaded her nervous system. Her body trembled, barely able to process the barrage of sensual stimuli..

His big hands steadied her thrumming body. Selena’s eyes rolled back into her head, and amazingly, she did something she had never done before: she let go. Of everything. Completely. The fear, the worry, the heartache. The guilt. For this one moment in time, she was simply a woman who laid bare her heart and soul to her lover.

Nikko came crashing right behind her. His body cleaved to her, wracking her senseless with the intensity of his orgasm. He grasped her tighter to him, their sweat-slicked bodies sliding against each other. As if they had been dropped to earth by an invisible hand, Selena and Nikko hit the bed, their arms and legs entwined, their hearts racing together.

For almost an hour they lay awake as they had fallen, no words spoken. Only the quiet sounds of their breaths and the dull thud of their heartbeats disturbed the silence.

As the sun rose, Selena broke the silence. “I won’t be going back to Miami with you,” she said, stroking one of his nipples until it hardened.

He grabbed her hand, staying it. “Why not?”

She looked into his hooded eyes. “I have a date with two Hellkeepers.”

“Where are they?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t have the time to waste looking for them, so I’m going to conjure them.”

“Conjure?”

“Yes.” She grinned, sliding her hand down the hard contours of his belly to his groin. “Just like I’m going to conjure that lovely cock of yours again.”

Nikko rolled over onto her. She laughed as she stroked his velvet cock. It flared, thickening in her hand. “See? Think it. Feel it. Voilà.”

He hissed in a breath. “Selena—”

Her smile deepened as her fingers tightened around his burgeoning shaft. “You’re going to miss me when I’m gone.” His eyes flared red. She spread her thighs, catching the wide head of him in the slick opening of her pussy. She tipped her hips up and pushed, pulling him into her waiting warmth. He groaned, thrusting into her. Selena closed her eyes, releasing the air from her lungs. “Nikko,” she moaned. “You feel so good.”

He lowered his lips to hers and smiled against her. “So do you.”

Selena wrapped her arms around his neck, and for the second time that night, she let go.

“Mama?” Marisol’s little voice said from outside their door.

“Marisol?” Selena gasped.

“Oh, shit!” Nikko said, falling off the bed; jumping up, he yanked on his pants. Selena hastily pulled her clothes on and hurried to the door. She opened it to find the sleepy little girl rubbing her eyes.

“Mama, are you hurt?” the little girl asked, looking past Selena to Nikko, who stood barefoot and bare-chested in his jeans looking as if he had been caught red-handed breaking into Fort Knox.

When Nikko chuckled, Selena shot him a hard glare. “No, baby. I was, uh, I had a bad dream and Daddy came in to see if I was okay.”

Marisol looked up at her father and scrunched her little brows, then looked back at her mother. Selena stood sheepishly looking at her bare feet. “Give Daddy a kiss, and I’ll tuck you back into bed.”

“Can you sleep with me?”

Selena let out a long, shaky breath, not used to the new dynamics. Marisol had been her life for eight years. Her reason for being. Her reason for getting up each morning. She guarded her time with the girl fiercely. But it was hard to leave the secure comfort of Nikko’s arms. He made her feel safe the way she had always made Marisol feel safe. “Of course, I can.” She looked up at Nikko, asking him with her eyes to understand. The expression on his face stopped her cold, a litany of emotions from happiness to heartbreak and everything in between. If she did not know better, she’d say he looked as if he were about to cry.

He reached down, picked Marisol up, hugged her, then kissed her on the cheek. “Protect Mama from her nightmares.”

Marisol hugged him and nodded. “I will.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

S
aying good-bye to his daughter a few hours later was harder than Nikko had imagined it would be. She clung to him, then her mother, wailing the entire time he and Selena walked away. He hated leaving her, but promised her, and pinkie-swore as she insisted, that he would be back for her soon and she could come stay with him for a while. Marisol calmed some but wanted to know why they had to leave.

“Mama and I have a very important job to do, so that we can come back and be happy.”

“But I’m happy now!” Marisol insisted.

Nikko hoisted her up into his arms and hugged her again. “We’ll be even more happy.” He kissed her on the nose. “I promise.”

Selena scowled when he told Marisol she could visit him, but he shrugged it off. He would take some time off and spend it with Marisol. The thought of caring for and getting to know the precocious eight-year-old was more terrifying than staring down the barrel of an AK. Dealing with her mother was another scary thought. His heart, his head, and his willful libido were at war. He admitted he loved her. Had never stopped. But long ago he had encapsulated his heart. What was there was locked away. To open it would expose his raw innards, leave him vulnerable. She had nearly destroyed him. What she’d done and what had happened afterward was so deeply burned into him, it was as much a part of him as his heart, or his arms and legs. Even if he wanted to, he could not just surgically remove it and get over it. He did not trust Selena. But that didn’t hamper his desire for her. On that front, his human and vampire impulses were in complete accord.

On the ferry back to the mainland, Selena seemed to have gone off into her own world. Each time Nikko looked her way, she was staring at some far-off spot on the horizon. Finally, she turned to him and said, “Don’t you dare break your promise to Marisol.”

“I won’t.” Sensing her turmoil, Nikko reached over and squeezed her hand. She pulled it away and stared past him. He shook his head and squinted at the morning sun, realizing he was becoming light-sensitive. He was also becoming stronger, and his ability to control his vampire impulses was slowly coming around. Ignoring the burn, Nikko looked out over the rough, gray Atlantic. His guts churned along with the cold ocean waters.

Last night with Selena had shaken his resolve. Their emotional parting with their daughter this morning had shaken him more. He had responsibilities not only to L.O.S.T. but to his daughter. And, if he was honest with himself, to Selena as well. He looked at Selena’s proud profile. She sat rigidly beside him, the ocean spray moistening her flushed cheeks. His belly did a slow roll. She was beautiful. Passionate. And damn if she couldn’t fight better than half the men he knew. She was his for the taking, and yet, since leaving their room with Marisol earlier that morning, she’d acted as if last night had never happened.

They didn’t speak another word as the ferry chugged along the six-mile waterway separating St. Michael’s Island from the mainland. Selena was in a deep, contemplative mood. No doubt thinking of all the ways she could cut his balls off. After his rejection, he didn’t blame her. But she had to understand they led two entirely different lives than they had eight years ago. And even if they didn’t, he could not get past the eight years of emotional hell she’d put him through.

Nikko was tired of trying to sort out emotions. He was a man of action. “Selena, we need to talk about Saturday night.”

The ferry nudged the pier with a smooth bump. The passengers around them stood. Nikko glanced at Selena, who had not moved a muscle. “Set your emotions aside for the moment and give me your undivided attention.”

She nodded without looking at him, then stood. Great, moody Selena had arrived.

Nikko blew out a long breath and followed her toward the gangplank to the bustling pier. He stopped at the rail and looked suspiciously at the crowd. Beside him, Selena did the same thing. For so early in the morning, a substantial line had already formed for the return ferry to St. Michael’s. Nikko didn’t like it one bit. If he could find a way to shut down the steady stream of visitors, he would.

“Is all of this activity normal?” Nikko asked.

“It gets worse in the warmer months.”

“I don’t like being so far from Marisol.”

Selena looked at Nikko, and this time she squeezed his hand. “Welcome to my world.”

As they disembarked, Nikko abruptly stopped and sniffed the air. Sulfur. He looked down at Selena. The color had drained from her cheeks. “A Hellkeeper,” she whispered.

“Why is it here?”

As her dark eyes scoured the people coming and going around them, Nikko narrowed his eyes and, like a photographer, took a mental snapshot of each person in view. “My loving father has been poking around down here for information. He may have found what he was looking for.”

“Your father is
here
?” Nikko grabbed her arm and started back up the gangplank. “We need to get to Marisol.”

Selena shook off his hand. “Not so fast,” she said, surveying the people in line. “We have twenty minutes before the ferry begins boarding.”

“Tell me what to look for.”

“Daddy dearest isn’t here. He won’t show until the grand finale. He sent a Hellkeeper to do his dirty work for him. Find a soul to possess, get to the island, then report back to dear ol’ Dad.” She started walking along the crowd waiting to board the
Georgia Peach
. “Or maybe”—she sniffed the air—“his lackey has already found a host, and he or she is waiting in line.”

Nikko scanned the thickening line. Every person looked normal. “I thought you said daemons didn’t like water.”

“They don’t, but the more powerful ones can tolerate it in a host body.”

Anxiety hyped up Nikko, whereas Selena seemed to have become calmer. Maybe this was old hat to her, but it was not to him. “We’re not leaving here until we track that thing down and kill it.”

Selena smiled slyly and looked up at his determined face. He had no clue what he had just volunteered for. “We?”

“Yes,
we
. I’m in this all the way with you, Selena. I love that little girl back there with every cell in my body. I’ll die for her,
and
I’ll kill for her.”

Nikko grabbed her hand and pulled her along to a small café across the street, then barreled past the caffeine-starved patrons lined up three deep to the restrooms in the back.

“What are you doing?” she demanded.

“Loading you up.”

He pushed open the door to the ladies’ room. A woman stood at the sink washing her hands. She looked up at him, shrieked, then ran past them out to the café. Nikko slammed the door shut, wedging the trash can beneath the doorknob.

“Was that really necessary?” Selena asked, wondering what the Hell he was up to.

He turned fiery eyes on her and shoved up his shirtsleeve. He bit his wrist and held it out to her. “I know you think you’re all badass with that necklace, but I want you to take my blood. Selena, it’s still raging with Rev. It will give you more power. And if we get separated and you need me, I can hear you.” His eyes softened. “And if I need you, you will be able to find me.”

Stunned, she could only stare at him. Drink his blood? She barely remembered his saving her life with his blood before. That had been an act of desperation on his part to collect information. But now? Despite her aversion to drinking his blood, emotion clogged her throat. What he offered was born out of concern. Selena swallowed hard. She could do this.

Slowly she reached out and took his arm. Those annoying tears threatened again. Why, she didn’t know. What he suggested made perfect sense. With his blood, she’d be stronger to kill the Hellkeeper and destroy the immediate threat to Marisol. There was no hidden meaning behind it. Though she wished there were. She pressed her lips to his wrist. The warmth of his blood was oddly comforting. She closed her eyes and took what he offered. The minute it entered her own bloodstream, she felt the kick. She grasped his wrist tighter to her lips and drank.

When she’d had enough, she stepped back and wiped her lips with the back of her hand. She looked down at the smear of his blood on her skin. Her heart pumped wildly. They were bound by more than their daughter. She looked up at his edged face. “Thank you.”

He nodded, then took her hand, kicked the trash can out of the way, and strode with her in tow through the suddenly silent café.

As they stepped outside, they stopped. Like the hunters they were, they lifted their noses to the breeze and caught the scent.

“Let’s go hunting,” Nikko softly said.

“I have my swords, but you need at least one knife. There’s a bait shop at the end of the pier. Stay here and make sure that bastard doesn’t board the ferry. I’m going knife shopping.”

“I’ll go. You stay and cut him from the herd.”

He strode past her, the shop in sight seventy-five yards down the pier.

Selena anxiously paced the loading area to the ferry. Dozens of tourists stood in line to board. The sulfur scent intensified. Casually she strode along the chatty throng, her senses on high alert.

A young couple conversed with an animated elderly woman and her husband. A single woman smiled at the toddler grasping her hand. A large blond family chattered away in what she was pretty sure was Swedish.

Then there was the suit. Silent, staring straight ahead, trying hard to mind his own business and appear non-threatening. Even without the stench, he stuck out like a sore thumb. Selena stopped beside him and admired the blue sky. Casually she looked over at the man, who could not have been any more nondescript if he had been a brown grocery bag. Short brown hair, brown eyes, ordinary face, and medium build. Only his tailored suit set him apart, with everyone else wearing casual tourist attire. “I’m thinking of going to the island,” she said to him. “Is it worth my time?”

He didn’t so much as blink in acknowledgment. He just looked ahead. The line began to move; he moved with it. The sulfurous smell swirled around her like a noxious gas. “I asked you a question, mister.” He continued to ignore her. “Ya know, ignoring me isn’t a smart move.” She needed to get him alone, but that was going to be difficult with so many people surrounding him.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the line. The contact opened his mind to her. Selena hissed in a breath. He turned cold, predatory eyes on her. Scenes from his mind flashed before her: black-hooded priests surrounding a bloody altar, the screams of innocents. The deep drone of demonic chants pounded ruthlessly in his mind.

Dear God
. The host was a disciple of Paymon’s! Her father was a benevolent master to those who served him faithfully. This man would be among his most trusted to be sent on such a sensitive mission. His power combined with that of the Hellkeeper inside him would test her mettle as it had never before been tested. If she failed? She refused to think of what would happen to Marisol and Nikko.

She had to ensure that this man did not board. “How can you leave me and the kids for a fourteen-year-old?” Selena shrieked, kicking him in the shin.

He grunted but made no move to defend himself. If he thought ignoring her would make her give up, he was wrong.

The crowd around them stepped back, visibly shocked. The man glared at her. “We need to talk about this, Bob.
Please
, can we speak in private?”

When he shook his head, the old lady in front of him whacked him in the back with her suitcase-size purse. “You should be ashamed of yourself! A fourteen-year-old girl!”

Selena sniffed back fake tears. “And she’s pregnant.”

The old lady kicked him. The female half of the couple beside her smacked him on the shoulder with her umbrella. “Pig!”

“Please, Bob,” Selena pleaded. “
Talk
to me!”

He turned and strode past her just as Nikko jogged toward her. She inclined her head toward the man, who was moving faster now in the opposite direction. He took off, and they went after him.

He was fast, but they were faster. Nikko tossed a serrated gutting knife to Selena as their prey turned down an alley. She caught it as Nikko leapt into the air after the daemon, tackling him into a Dumpster. The daemon turned on Nikko, his eyes blazing.

“Don’t look at him!” Selena screamed as she skidded to a stop beside them. She grabbed the struggling host up by his short hair and pressed the blade to his throat.

“Come out now, Hellkeeper, or die with this soul.”

“You would not slay an innocent,” a rough female voice hissed.

Lamia
. Selena’s heart rate kicked up several notches. Not only a Hellkeeper, but a half-vampire Hellkeeper. Lamia was so powerful even the devil could not kill her. One bite from her was fatal.

“There is nothing innocent about your host! He worships Paymon!” Selena struck quickly, slitting the devil worshipper’s jugular.

He screamed, writhing, clawing, teeth bared, snapping at the air. Selena looked up to Nikko. “Hold him down until he bleeds out, then stand back. One bite from Lamia and she’ll own you.”

Selena pulled her swords from the sheath at her back and crouched next to the dying host, waiting for the serpent daemon to vaporize. And waiting. The body subsided, obviously void of life, but still nothing happened. The hackles on Selena’s neck rose. Something was terribly wrong. “Get out of here, Nikko,” Selena whispered.