Enemy Mine (5 page)

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 situation. Placing a gentle hand on Kiernan’s forearm, she lightly squeezed. “I need to go with my brothers.”

His jaw clenched impossibly tight as he stared down at her. So many emotions swirled in those dark eyes, but she couldn’t get a handle on any of them.

Before he could speak, Miguel growled, “Get the fuck away from my sister.”

Kiernan’s head snapped up. “Or what?”

“Or I’ll do to you what I did to your brother.”

Kiernan hissed in a sharp breath of air and his muscles flexed underneath her fingers. He didn’t move toward her brothers but she could feel the energy pulsing off him in scary waves as the flames flickering along the tiled floor jumped about a foot.

Ignoring her brothers, she focused on Kiernan. There was a raw energy, an almost pained expression on his face she wanted nothing more than to wipe away. “What’s he talking about?” she whispered even though everyone in the room could hear her.

“Miguel killed my older brother about a hundred years ago.” His voice was so monotone, so devoid of emotion she knew he was holding all of it in.

All the air sucked out of the room with that one statement. Her fingers clenched on his arm, his words punching into her chest with an almost tangible force. “What?”

Instead of answering her, he turned back toward her brothers. “I’ll let you take your sister, but if you ever come into my place uninvited again, you won’t be walking out.”

Melina clutched his arm, desperate for answers, to understand what had happened between their two families. But he stepped away from her, severing their connection.

The action pierced her like a silver dagger through the heart. Though she wanted to stay, to force him to talk to her, she knew it wasn’t the time or the place. She had to diffuse the situation with her brothers before it reignited.

Shaking off the arm, Carlos—the only one of her brothers who had been completely silent except to shout her name when they’d stormed the condo—tried to wrap around her shoulders, she stalked down the hallway that led to the front door. “You’re paying for all these damages,” she said under her breath as she yanked the door open. At least going downstairs didn’t require a biometric scanner.

She couldn’t believe the assault her brothers had just launched on Kiernan’s place, but what really stunned her was his admission about Miguel killing his brother. The almost stricken look on his face taunted her.

A hollow, bereft feeling settled in her chest as she stepped inside the elevator. As soon as she talked to her brothers and worse, her father, she and Kiernan were hashing things out. She might have run from what he made her feel once, but that was then. Now things were different. He’d pursued her for months and he didn’t get to make her want and feel and start considering the possibility of letting him into her life then turn away from her because of her family and their stupid vendetta. She refused to let that happen.

Chapter 5

Melina sat in her father’s study reeking of smoke—thanks to those stupid flash bang grenades—and, of course,
vampire
as she waited for her Alpha to interrogate her.

She’d ignored her brothers on the way home, even Carlos, which she felt a little bad about. They’d always been closest, but right now she was livid at her overbearing pack. Worse, she knew they were going to use the attempted kidnapping to keep her under lockdown. She was all for safety and precautions, but she didn’t want her veterinary practice to suffer and she didn’t want to live like a prisoner. If she hadn’t used so much energy using her healing powers before she would have been better prepared to defend herself. She might not be the strongest in the pack, but her brothers had taught her to defend herself.

The heavy oak door opened then closed behind her. Melina didn’t turn from her seat in the high-back chair in front of her father’s desk, but waited for him to take a seat across from her.

Surprising her, her father, all six feet three inches of him, sat in the matching brown high-back chair next to hers and shifted her seat to face his.

His green eyes, so much like her own, were unreadable. Finally he scrubbed a hand over his face. “God thinks it’s funny to have given me a daughter like you.”

For a moment, pain pierced her soul until he looked up, a smile on his normally hard face. Before she could speak, he continued. “Are you trying to kill me by going out with Kiernan Doyle? Or worse, start a war?” There was a dark, serious note in her father’s voice she usually only heard when he was dealing with the rest of the pack.

“We have more important problems than me dating a vampire, Dad. Someone—wolf shifters—tried to kidnap me earlier tonight. I was really drained after a few surgeries today and wouldn’t have been able to fight off my attackers. If it hadn’t been for a
vampire
, I wouldn’t be here.” She left out the part about drinking his blood. Definitely not something he needed to know.

Her father’s eyes narrowed. “Did you ever contemplate that maybe Kiernan was involved and only used the situation to get in your good graces?”

She had thought of that for a split second before completely dismissing it. “He set two of the shifters on fire and blew up their van. Besides, I don’t think he’d ever work with shifters for
anything
.” If he wanted to do something, he was the kind of man who’d do it himself, not depend on others. “And what purpose would he have for fake-saving me?” He couldn’t have known she’d be leaving the restaurant early, and he’d been stopping by her veterinary clinic every Friday for the past few months. On many of those occasions she’d been alone. He could easily have hurt her if he’d wanted to. She’d seen the way he lit up those shifters. The sexy vamp was powerful.

Her father’s face hardened. “To get you into bed, to use you against our pack. The options are limitless. And if he thinks I’ll allow him to touch you—”

“Dad!” Right now she was talking to her father, not her Alpha. “I so don’t want to talk about that,
ever
. Whatever’s going on with Kiernan and me is our business.”

He thrust out a finger at her, driving his point home. “It’s not your business if it involves the pack.”

“Our pack attacked him, in his home. He did nothing to us or me in retaliation, though he had every right.”

“We didn’t know that and you weren’t answering your phone. Instead you were too busy healing thugs down at the homeless shelter.” His head tilted to the side a fraction, almost daring her to deny it.

She jerked back, surprised by his words.

His jaw clenched once. “Yes, I know about what you do down there.”

“H-how?” She’d been so careful to keep it a secret from him.

His green eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “I’m Alpha for a reason.”

She bit her bottom lip and frowned. “So if you knew I was moving around of my own free will, you had to know I wasn’t in any danger from Kiernan.”

“We knew no such thing.” But his words didn’t ring true.

Her father wasn’t a fool, not at almost three hundred years old. He’d wanted to make a statement to Kiernan by invading his condo, but he hadn’t been there himself. If he’d truly thought her in danger, he’d have led that raid, not sent her brothers. And if he’d been there it would have sent a clear message to Kiernan. By staying back, it had been obvious he hadn’t been declaring war.

Sighing, she decided to leave the topic alone for the moment. They would never see eye-to-eye on the subject of one very tall, very sexy vampire and she didn’t want to argue with her father. Not when they had more pressing matters at hand. But first . . . “Why did Miguel kill Kiernan’s brother? I’ve never heard that story.
Why
have I never heard that story?” She’d planned to ask Kiernan about it first, but her curiosity was killing her.

Her father was silent for a long moment, his face contemplative. Finally he spoke. “The war between our two factions was over a long time ago, but they were the ones who started it. It could have been completely avoided if they’d kept Corey—that was Kiernan’s brother—accountable for his actions. I’ll let your vampire friend tell you what his brother did. If he tries to tell you it was our fault or brush aside his brother’s actions, you’ll know what kind of man he is. And you know me, Melina. I wouldn’t lie to you.”

No, he wouldn’t. Knowing that was all she’d get out of her father, she switched topics. “Does anyone know I was in that car accident?”

Her father nodded. “Other than your brothers, Solon also knows but he won’t say anything. He and Miguel both scented your blood but didn’t want to alert their superiors until they spoke to me first.”

She understood why. Solon might not be part of their pack—as one of the last remaining dragon shifters he wasn’t part of
any
pack—but he still deferred to her father in many things even if it superseded police regulations. If they thought she’d been hurt or taken they wouldn’t have wasted time dealing with red tape when her pack would be doling out the punishment to her kidnappers. “What about the van and dead shifters?”

“The cops are running the DNA on them but they scented at least two additional shifters not part of our pack. Wolf shifters.” A soft, deadly growl emanated from him, filling the room and sending a chill down her spine.

Her father rarely raised his voice and she knew that the quieter he got, the angrier and deadlier he was. In the past shifters had gone up against him thinking to make a reputation by killing an Alpha, but they always failed. While he might seem like a laid back Alpha, her father moved like lightning and struck with the viciousness of a sledgehammer. He hadn’t claimed southeast Florida easily, but he’d held onto it for a long damn time. When he was in wolf form . . . she shuddered. It was definitely best to stay out of his way then. “Did they recognize them?”

“No.”

“Is this about business or one of Miguel or even Carlos’s cases?” Since Carlos was in the vice and narcotics division, it stood to reason this could be about him too. Though coming after her was just plain stupid, and druggies and pimps were all about survival. She found it hard to believe this was related to Carlos.

“Don’t know yet but we’re going to find out. I’ve got feelers out all over the city. If anyone knows anything, we’ll know it soon enough. Until then you’ll have an escort to and from your clinic. No arguments.”

Melina wasn’t about to argue. She didn’t have a death wish. “Okay.”

Her father’s eyes slightly narrowed. “Why do I feel like you gave in too easily?”

Grinning, she stood and kissed him on the forehead. “I’m not stupid. Someone wanted to take me, probably to hurt you or the pack. I want pack protection.” She just didn’t want to be a prisoner, something her father had obviously realized since he was letting her work. If he hadn’t, it was something she’d have fought tooth and nail.

“I don’t want you to see the vampire again.” A soft warning.

Her claws nearly unsheathed, her inner wolf hating the order, instantly rebelling at the thought of staying away from Kiernan. She was surprised by the intensity of her reaction. “The vampire has a name, and I’m a grown woman. I can and will make my own decisions about my love life.”

Her father rose. “Melina—”

The office door swung open and her mother strode in, all five feet two inches of her. “Nevada.” There was a warning note in that single word. When her mother said her father’s name like that, he usually listened. Melina bit back a smile and hurried out of the room, only stopping to kiss her mom on the cheek. Her father might be Alpha but he didn’t like getting on her mother’s bad side. And Amelia Rodriguez had a serious temper. No one liked to provoke her, especially her mate. Even though her mom hated the idea of her dating a vampire she’d never tell Melina she couldn’t. Probably because she knew Melina would fight it even more.

Right now she just wanted the chance to get to know Kiernan, to find out if the crazy attraction between them had the possibility to be more. Something deep inside her ached with a hot, burning need every time she was near him and she simply couldn’t ignore it. Part of her wondered if it was what shifters considered the mating call. Then she dismissed that idea. He couldn’t be her mate; he was a vampire.

Even so, her family’s vendetta with Kiernan’s coven was ancient history as far as she was concerned. It was time to put the past where it belonged.

* * *

Kiernan glared at the smoldering mess in his living room, but that wasn’t what bothered him. It was the fact that he’d let Melina go last night. The most primitive part of him had wanted to throw her over his shoulder and make a run for it.

His logical side had known how stupid that would have been. Her brothers sure as hell hadn’t planned to hurt her. They just wanted to protect her. Something he understood completely.

He still hadn’t heard from her though and it was making him edgy. He hadn’t wanted her to find out this way that her brother had killed his. He’d planned to tell her eventually, he just hadn’t wanted to do it too soon. Especially since she’d thought he was using her or some shit. Yeah, he’d love to use her body, please her, pleasure her, but not
use
her as a means for revenge.

A chilly wind whistled through the broken glass door that led to the balcony. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, creating a glittering rainbow across the glass-strewn tile.

He should have cleaned up last night but he’d been too annoyed to stick around. And too hungry. Normally he could go weeks without eating but he also didn’t let other people feed from him. Miami had feeding places with live, willing donors open 24/7. His coven had well-paid donors living on the premises, humans who usually lived among them for a few years before moving on with enough money to last them a lifetime.

He’d have preferred to feed from Melina, but that was something he’d have to work her up to. His feedings had always been impersonal, a need for survival. But now . . . he wanted to taste everything Melina had to offer.

At the sound of the front door opening, he tensed until he scented his brother Ronan. Striding out of the room, he headed down the long hallway to find his oldest brother shutting the door behind him. With dark hair, dark eyes, and a similar build, it was obvious they were brothers. Though Ronan usually wore custom made suits and shoes expensive enough to fund a small country’s food supply for a month.

“You look like shit,” Ronan said as he pulled him into a tight hug. Not all vampire covens were close, but the Doyle coven was—especially Kiernan’s brothers. As the youngest, they thought he needed checking up on even though he was two hundred years old.

“Thanks. What are you doing here?”

A shrug as he stepped back, then peered down the hallway. “What do I smell?”

Before Kiernan could answer his brother was gone, using his supernatural speed to cover the distance to the living room.

“What the fuck happened in here?” Ronan’s voice dropped a few octaves, taking on an almost inhuman growl. His fangs had extended and he had murder in his eyes.

Kiernan rubbed a hand over his face, regretting that he hadn’t cleaned some of it up the night before. “It’s not important.”

His dark eyes narrowed. “Not important? Have you told Father about this?”

“No, and you’re not going to either.”

“What the—”

“Drop it,” he snarled. If Ronan called their father he’d launch a war with the Rodriguez pack and that was the last thing Kiernan wanted.

His brother shoved his hands in his pants pockets and rocked back on his heels as he assessed the room again. “I smell a group of shifters, mostly male, but one female. A very sweet scent.”

Kiernan was silent, not wanting to give away more than he had to. Not yet. When his phone buzzed in his pocket he nearly jumped, hoping it was Melina, then cursed himself for the reaction. He wasn’t some randy teenager with his first crush, even if that’s what he felt like. He didn’t recognize the number, but it was a Miami area code so he answered immediately.

“Yeah?”

“Is this Kiernan Doyle?” An unfamiliar male voice asked.

Disappointment was a sharp blade through his chest. It wasn’t Melina on the other end and he didn’t bother to hide his annoyance. “Who’s this?”

“Uberto Mazzoni, second in command to Abel Mazzoni.”

Kiernan paused, wondering why a wolf shifter from the Georgia region would be calling him. He glanced at Ronan, who he knew could hear the conversation, and lifted his eyebrows. Ronan shrugged, obviously not knowing anything about it. Instead of responding, Kiernan was silent, waiting.

The other man cleared his throat. “It’s come to our attention that you are acquaintances with Melina Rodriguez.” There was a questioning note in his voice, as if he wasn’t quite sure.

“What about her?” Wondering if the call had anything to do with the night before, Kiernan kept inflection out of his voice.

“My pack would be willing to pay you if you deliver her to us.”

Something dark jumped inside Kiernan, but he shoved it back down. “I don’t need money and I’m still amusing myself with her.” Harsh, untrue words he hated saying, but if he wanted the guy to keep talking, he couldn’t show emotion.