Enemy Mine (15 page)

a lot of tourists in the winter months and

judging the amount of cars in the parking

lot, the place was packed tonight.

He rolled his shoulders as he stepped

off his bike. Being around too many

people—humans or supernatural beings—

always put him on edge. All those scents

were overwhelming. He much rather

preferred to be outdoors, far from

civilization.

As he stepped inside, Kat’s scent grew

stronger. Even among the stench of

perfumes, booze, and other body odors,

her sweet rose aroma tickled his nose and

wrapped around him. Embracing him like

a gentle caress.

“Would you like to be seated in our

dining area or would you prefer to find a

seat at the bar?” A bubbly blond female

wearing black pants and a black T-shirt

held a menu in her hand as she looked at

him.

“Bar’s fine,” he said as he brushed past

her.

A burst of annoyance rolled off the

human, but right now all he cared about

was tracking down Kat. After a quick lap

around the place, he followed her trail out

a side exit door.

Once outside in the crisp night air, the

strong scent of roses entwined around him.

She was close. Frowning, he looked

around the gravelly area of the back of the

restaurant. A Dumpster was to his left,

which gave him cover as he scanned the

small area. There were a few cars on the

makeshift gravel parking lot. Employee

vehicles, he guessed.

And that’s when he spotted Kat.

She leaned against the passenger side of

an extended cab truck with her back to

him. Tall, lean, drop dead gorgeous. Her

long, dark hair was pulled up into a

ponytail that hung halfway down her back.

She wore form fitting jeans and a skintight

long-sleeved black T-shirt. If she’d still

been human she’d have needed a coat, but

thanks to her transformation from human to

shifter she had a higher body temperature.

Sticking to the shadows, he moved

behind the Dumpster and slid along the

wall of the restaurant until he was at the

edge of the building and twenty yards

away from where Kat stood talking to

some human male.

A growl rose inside him but he tamped

it back down and listened to their

conversation. As the human talked about

heading back to his place to “party,” Jayce

nearly lost control of his beast. His inner

wolf clawed at him with razor sharp

aggression, tearing and stripping away his

insides, begging for freedom.

When the human opened the passenger

door for Kat and she actually got inside,

Jayce’s claws extended and dug into his

palms. The tearing of his flesh

accompanied with the slight discomfort,

jerked him back to reality. Ducking back

behind the Dumpster, he somehow

managed to keep himself under control as

the vehicle pulled out of the parking lot.

Just barely.

As they pulled around the left side of

the restaurant, Jayce raced back around

the right side and headed straight for his

bike in the front.

Whatever Kat thought she was doing

with that guy tonight, she’d better think

again.

* * *

with the buzz cut next to her. He shot her a

quick look and winked as he steered his

truck out of the parking lot of Kelly’s Bar

and Grill. She wasn’t sure what she was

doing with him and was tempted to tell

him to stop, but something held her back.

He was one of the bartenders at Kelly’s

and had been getting off work right as

she’d walked in. From the moment she’d

sat down he’d started flirting with her and

buying her drinks. Too bad the alcohol

couldn’t numb the pain inside her.

Nothing could do that. For the past

month it had festered inside her, growing

like an out of control vine. It twisted and

expanded with no regard for anything in

its wake, least of all her heart or

emotions. If she dwelled on the ways

she’d been tortured a month ago she

tensed up and her inner wolf wanted out.

Aiden, her friend and the wolf who’d

changed her into a shifter, had explained it

was a protective thing. Her inner wolf

didn’t want her to suffer so it tried to take

over whether she wanted it to or not.

Some kind of coping mechanism.

Taking a deep breath, she forced those

thoughts from her mind. Tonight she was

taking control of her life again. Maybe

sleeping with a stranger wasn’t the

smartest way to go about it, but she

needed to be in charge of
something
. It’s not as if the guy next to her could hurt her.

He was human, and sure, he had a sexy

edge to him, but she was still a hundred

times stronger. He couldn’t hurt her

physically or sexually.

That was something she kept reminding

herself.
She
was the one in control tonight.

“Surprised I haven’t seen you in

Kelly’s before,” the guy, Scott . . .

something, said.

She’d been there before a few times

when she’d been human. But usually she’d

hung out at the bars at the ski lodge where

she used to work up until a month ago.

Shrugging, she smiled and shifted in her

seat, crossing her legs in his direction.

She didn’t want to make bullshit small

talk. That wasn’t what tonight was about.

The man’s dark gaze drifted down to

her covered legs, then back up to her

chest. Even though she was clothed, the

way he looked at her made her feel

practically naked. That should have been a

good thing, she told herself. She needed to

be exposed in front of another person and

hadn’t been since that awful night. Maybe

this would help with her nightmares.

Anything to help her get rid of the nausea

inducing memories she couldn’t seem to

outrun.

So why did she feel so guilty being out

with someone else? She and Jayce had

broken up nearly a year ago. He’d made it

perfectly clear she wasn’t good enough for

him. Oh, sure he’d loved her in the

bedroom, but that was all he’d been

willing to give her. He hadn’t been

willing to make her his bondmate when

she’d been human and she sure as hell

wasn’t going to give him a second chance

now that she was like him. Not that he’d

actually asked for one. He’d just been

calling a lot since her attack.

Acting all concerned.

Well he could take his concern and

shove it. She didn’t need him or his help.

She’d take care of her own problems the

way she always had. By herself.

Unfortunately she couldn’t seem to keep

her head on straight. For a brief moment

back in the parking lot she thought she’d

scented Jayce, but knew it had to be a

figment of her imagination.

“So how far from your place are we?”

Self-loathing bubbled up inside her as she

asked the question.

Scott’s dark eyes glanced her way and

he grinned before averting his gaze back

to the road in front of him. “Not far, baby.

Not far.”

Baby?
She hated that term. Before she

could dwell on it she sniffed the air.

Something sensual rolled off him and it

took her a moment to realize it was lust.

She was still getting used to tapping into

her extrasensory abilities and deciphering

one smell from another. This was like a

sweet wine, clean and refreshing.

It reminded her that even though she

might not care about this guy or plan to see

him again, he wasn’t a bad person. It was

the reason she’d chosen him tonight.

Before she’d been turned into a shifter

she’d been a human but also a seer. Just

like her mom. Back then she’d only been

able to see the true faces of supernatural

beings. She’d been able to see the wolves

or jaguars or whatever kind of animal

lurked beneath the surface of shifters. And

with vamps, she’d been able to see their

teeth and hunger for blood. After being

turned into a shifter she could also see the

truth of humans’ nature. It was a weird

addition to her psychic abilities. With the

ability to see the truth about people, she

could see Scott’s ‘real’ face and he was

just a horny guy looking to get laid. No

darker intentions or freaky sexual

proclivities.

As they pulled in to the driveway of a

cottage style house in a normal-looking

middle class neighborhood, she took

another deep breath. She could do this.

Couldn’t she?

When he put the truck in park, she

fought the growing dread inside her. It

moved with molasses like speed,

weighing her down and making it hard to

breathe. With a numb hand she opened the

door and slid out of the vehicle. The

second her boots hit the pavement of the

driveway she knew she couldn’t go

through with this. Not if she wanted to

look at herself in the mirror in the

morning. One night stands weren’t her

style, and while she desperately needed

control in her life, the thought of this guy’s

hands on her body made her nauseous. Not

because he was bad looking or gave her

bad vibes, but because she didn’t want

this from a stranger. Not truly. As she

started to walk around the truck to Scott’s

side, she turned at the sound of a

motorcycle pulling into the driveway

behind them.

Fury popped inside her at the sight of

Jayce. Well, fury and something else she

refused to define. It might be relief but she

wasn’t going to go there. Not tonight. Not

when anger was so much easier.

Stalking toward Jayce, she tried to keep

her eyes from trailing down to those

incredibly muscular legs as he slid off the

bike. Didn’t matter that he was wearing

jeans, she’d seen every inch of his naked

body and the image was seared into her

brain. He moved with such fluidity it had

always amazed her.

Even now, when she wanted to pummel

him for having the audacity to follow her,

she still had to admire the strength and

power he radiated. He’d never be called

handsome or even good looking, but there

was something dangerous about Jayce that

was incredibly sexy. Without even trying,

he exuded a raw sexuality that made

women stand up and take notice. With his

shaved head and a scar that crisscrossed

over his left eye, he had . . . a presence

that refused to be ignored. The scar only

added to that edginess. And he was

directing all of that at her with a
very

heated stare.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she

practically shouted.

Before he could answer, Scott was next

to her, in front of her actually, partially

blocking her from Jayce. “Can I help you,

buddy?”

Kat smiled haughtily at Jayce. At least

Scott wasn’t a total wimp.

But then Jayce trained his gaze on the

other man. Jayce was scary when he

wanted to be, and as she watched his

normally gunmetal gray eyes turn to black,

she actually had to force herself to stand

her ground. He growled low in his throat.

“You can go inside your fucking house and

leave us alone.”

Scott cleared his throat nervously, then

looked at her. “You, uh, know this guy?”

She could smell the pungent fear on

him. Bitter and acidic, it stung her nostrils.

So much for not being a wimp. Ignoring

Scott, she turned back to Jayce and placed

her hands on her hips. “Did you
follow
me here?”

“What do you think?” he practically

purred as he took a step closer.

Now she scented something dark and

rich, like chocolate.
Lust.
As a human

she’d never had a clue that lust or desire

actually had a smell, but this . . . was

addictive. She inhaled and for a moment

she felt lightheaded. But when she saw the

knowing look in Jayce’s eyes, she

snapped. “I think it’s pathetic that you’re

following me around like a little puppy

dog.” She knew he still wanted her and the

knowledge gave her power. Even if she

was playing with fire by taunting him, it

gave her perverse pleasure to see the

anger flare in that newly darkened gaze.

“Puppy dog?” His voice was low, a

soft, menacing growl that made the hair on

her arms stand straight up.

Next to her Scott actually took a step

back, using her body to block his own. Oh

yeah, total wimp. “Should I, uh, call the

cops?” His voice was a little higher

pitched than it had been earlier.

“No. Just go inside and forget you met

me.” She didn’t look at him and he didn’t

question her directive. She just heard him

shuffle away then fumble for his keys.