EnemyMine (9 page)

“It’s you,” he whispered and rose from his seat, hands
gripping the arms of the chair so tightly his knuckles turned white. This was
the danger of coming to Trey, of watching him from the shadows. Each time she
risked exposure, and tonight she’d taken the game too far.

Shit.

He had to have caught the scent of her fear. The smell was
all over the place, swamping the air. She had been so swept up in the moment
she had only worried about her physical form, not that Trey would be able to
track her with his nose. Movement was impossible. He might figure out exactly
where she was. The only thing she could do was phase to a location he couldn’t
follow, putting distance between them.

Please, let me think clearly. I only have one chance at
this. If he gets his hands on me…

She shuddered at the thought, terrified of provoking his
fury. He needed an outlet for his rage, craved it. In his current state there
was no telling what he’d do. If he didn’t hurt her and took things in the
direction she’d been fantasizing about, she’d experience the ultimate lesson of
why shifters and vampires didn’t mate firsthand.

It might very well kill her.

Taking a deep breath, she prepared to flee, picturing the
home of her coven. Her eyes flew open when Trey growled and appeared to look
her straight in the eye as he said, “Don’t try to run. I can fucking
smell
you,” and lunged for her.

She was here—his phantom. A figment of his imagination he’d
thought had vanished, abandoning him in his darkest hour and forcing him to
endure everything alone when he left New York. So many nights he longed for her
touch, for the soothing sensation of her fingertips brushing over his temples
before winding down to his throat. When those caresses never came he accepted
he’d finally lost his mind, having jumped into the deep end without a life
vest. His thoughts were always chaotic now. Perhaps he didn’t have the
stability left to form a coherent figment of his mind—a make-believe woman who
cared for him, calmed him and gave him something more than anger to live for—any
longer. He’d actually started to believe he’d made it all up.

Until now.

Her scent was one he’d never forget—wildflowers, incense and
a dash of something that jarred a memory. Something from his past would reveal
his phantom’s identity, if only he could remember it. Throughout the months,
all he’d experienced were fleeting touches and not the key element a shifter
needed to bring things together. That was no longer the case. Now he had her
scent, could call upon it whenever and wherever he wanted. Which meant that if
she was near, he would find her. There would be no escape.

The moment in time when he’d first scented the enigma tried
to claw its way free, to break through the barrier that prevented him from
remembering. Unfortunately he couldn’t dwell on that. He could see the imprint
of his phantom in the grass, the plush indention of her ass and hands clearly
visible. The alcohol he’d guzzled in such a short period of time made him
slower than he’d have liked but he was fast enough to snare his prey. Despite
his inability to see the female, his hands made contact with the fragile bones
of a rib cage. As he manipulated his hold he trapped her arms at her sides.

Another first assailed him—the sound of her voice—when she
ordered, “Let me go.”

And it hit, an instinctive tidal wave, like the first ray of
sun across the morning sky bringing the world to life. In that instant
something inside him changed. His wolf woke and rose to the surface of his
skin, brushing fur against flesh from the inside, but there was no fury to go
along with its appearance. Sexual hungers he’d never known—had never thought
existed—consumed him. He wanted the woman in his arms beneath him, trapped by
his body as he claimed her from behind, fucking her madly as he buried his
teeth in her shoulder. He wanted to taste her blood as he came, to leave behind
his absolute claim for the pack to see, smell and recognize.

He’d found her, after all this time, when he had nothing to
offer.

My mate.

The bundle in his arms thrashed and fought, using a strength
he wouldn’t have thought possible. He cursed under his breath and attempted to
wrestle the female to the ground. To his stunned amazement, he saw a flicker,
as if the form of the woman trapped in his arms was starting to lose whatever
it was that allowed her to shield herself from him. Then she was there, gazing
up at him with the most exquisite ice-blue eyes the color of the most
sought-after aquamarine. Long dark lashes framed the stunning orbs,
intensifying the shade.

Oh fuck.

Flashes from a night months before hit like an electronic
transmission, allowing him to recall everything with vivid clarity.

Club Liminality.

The memory he’d tried so hard to remember returned, complete
with the memory of the breathtaking beauty beneath him standing across the
room—a vision in black leather, knee-high boots and a
fuck-with-me-and-you’ll-regret-it look on her face. He remembered her flowing,
light blonde hair. The way the lush strands had wrapped around her shoulders
and fallen in a thick sheet down her back. He’d had no choice but to approach
her, drawn to her in a manner he hadn’t fully grasped. As he’d neared it had
been as if a portion of him that had been long dormant had come to life,
sparking a fire in his blood.

But then she had done the unexpected and vanished before his
eyes. There one moment and gone the next. Only one creature could do such a
thing, a race that fed off the lives of others. Now that she was in his arms,
what he hadn’t wanted to believe slapped him firmly across the face. His mind
rebelled, a horrifying bray of fury and heartache even as his wolf growled in
contentment.

It couldn’t be. Fate couldn’t possibly be that cruel.

“A goddamn vampire?” he snarled, caught off guard by the
realization, repulsed that his cock was stiff as a baseball bat.

Unexpectedly the color on her cheeks vanished, leaving her
pale—too pale. It was as though something vital had been torn from her grasp,
her shield ripped away, leaving her raw, open and exposed. Her eyes widened,
full and kissable cherry-red lips parting. There was surprise, then acceptance,
followed by visible hurt on her angelic face when his words registered.

“That’s right,
shifter
,” she hissed, meeting his gaze
with one of equal detestation. “A goddamn vampire.”

“It can’t be.” He buried his fingers into the arms of her
leather jacket, using enough strength that she inhaled sharply in pain. Aware
that he was causing her harm, he lessened his grip but didn’t let go. “It’s not
possible.”

“Don’t be stupid.” Her arched brows came together as she
glowered at him. “I suggest you get off me.” She stared into his eyes, looking
at him with a seething hostility that seared his soul. “Don’t make me do
something we’ll both regret.”

He lowered his eyes so that his attention rested on her nose
and mouth. It was a trick. It had to be. “Don’t try your mind games on me. They
won’t work.”

Her corresponding laugh was bitter. “You think I need a mind
game to fuck you over? Oh shifter,” she purred. “You have
no
idea.”

In a blink her expression changed, becoming seductive,
eyelids lowering to reveal less of her irises. She bucked beneath him, the
softness of her belly rubbing against his cock. He wanted to be strong, to deny
her. Instead he groaned, worried he might come in his pants like an eager male
with his first woman. She might be strong and thin but she was also soft in all
the right places.

She rolled her pelvis, increasing the contact with his dick,
and opened her mouth. Tiny fangs—far smaller than his in wolf form—were
visible. The visual should have sickened him but instead his balls went taut
and his leathers became slippery when a trickle of pre-cum escaped the head of
his cock.

“See what I mean?” She stopped moving, the enticing allure
of her raspy voice gone, replaced with a haughty tone he didn’t care for. “Now,
I suggest you get off me. Let’s part ways and forget tonight ever happened.”

“Forget?” He hated repeating the words, cursing the female
in his arms for even considering them. “You think I can forget this?”

“Why not? I certainly will.” He couldn’t read her, was
unable to determine if she meant what she said or if she was bluffing. “Don’t
worry,” she continued, this time with an edge of panic, her words shaky. “After
tonight, you’ll never see me again. You have my word.”

The thought of her leaving tore an open wound in his chest.
He’d survived without her and nearly managed to forget her existence during his
time away from New York. During that time he’d lost a part of himself he’d
never hoped to get back. The grip he had on his humanity was quickly slipping
from his fingers like fine grains of sand.

No more.

“Is that so?” he murmured and looked at her mouth, knowing
he was eternally damned. She might be a blood drinker—a fucking leech—but damn
if he gave a shit. “You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep, darlin’. You’re
going to come back to me again and again, and we both know it.”

Her beautiful eyes changed color, going from ice-blue to an
almost bluish-white when he lowered his head and kissed her hard. A few seconds
passed and she relaxed, opening her lips, granting him entry. He wasn’t sure
what he expected—perhaps the metallic burst of blood on his tongue since she
drank from others to survive, or maybe some strange flavor that came from her
being vampire—but it certainly wasn’t the sweetness he experienced when he slid
his tongue past her lips, exploring the warm cavern of her mouth.

The tentative touch of her tongue against his nearly did him
in. He released her arms, running his fingers down her torso, skimming his
fingers over her ample breasts. More softness, the round mounds a perfect fit
for his hands. He created circles with his tongue, a teasing game she struggled
to follow while he squeezed and manipulated the nipples that hardened under his
thumbs. It wasn’t until he felt a diminutive sting that he realized she’d slid
her arms under his jacket and was digging her tiny claws into his shoulders.

He ripped his lips from hers, determined to know one thing
before they started. “Your name. Tell me your name.”

“Sadie,” she responded without pause, her breathing shallow,
her face flushed once more.

Sadie
. It suited the sultry minx. Unique, lovely—
her.

Lifting his head, he glanced at Diskant’s house. It took a
few seconds to focus, his vision shoddy thanks to his friend Mr. Daniels.

Ain’t that some shit? Fuckedy, fuck, fuck.

He couldn’t take this female inside to a guest bedroom. The
pack already thought he was mad, talking about his instability behind his back
when they thought he wasn’t listening. Bringing a vampire into their midst
would be like hammering a nail into his coffin. He’d wouldn’t just be shunned,
he’d be cast from the pack entirely. They’d send him off with a sincere fuck
you and never come back.

Take her somewhere else, dumbass. Somewhere you won’t be
seen.

“I might not be able to claim her in front of the pack,” he
mumbled to himself, unaware he was talking aloud, “but I sure as hell can fuck
her in the privacy of my own goddamn home.”

He went to his knees, starting to wrap his arms around her
back and legs, when a blow sent him back several yards. He landed on his ass,
disoriented and confused, staring up at the sky. A form appeared, casting a
shadow over him. Long blonde strands whipped around Sadie’s face—her very
pissed-off face.

“I knew you wouldn’t be any better,” she said, sounding
hollow, her words carrying on the windy winter air. “Goddess help you, Trey
Veznor. I’d hoped…I thought…” She shook her head, her plush lower lip
trembling. “In the end, you will stand alone. When it’s time to face your
demons, I hope you’re strong enough to survive.”

He reached out for her, attempting to grab hold of her
jacket, but it was too late. The only thing that greeted him was a handful of
nothing. Staring at the space she once inhabited, he wondered if she was just a
dream, something he’d created to make it out of bed each morning. Maybe he was
sliding into insanity. Perhaps he’d finally lost his mind. He ran his tongue
along his lips, finding one final taste of the woman as he did. Then he knew
she wasn’t a figment of his imagination.

Sadie.

The wolf inside of him threatened to break free, clawing at
his insides, heartbroken by what he’d just done. It snarled at him, furious at
his behavior. If it were possible, he was certain his bestial half would have
ripped his human form a new asshole. She was gone, just like before. There one
second, gone the next. All because he was drunk, reckless and wanted to
maintain his pride.

Pride
, he thought angrily.
What pride?

Any dignity he’d had was long gone. He was a lone wolf now.
On the outside. An anomaly among his kind. But he didn’t have to be.
Something—be it fate, luck or serendipity—had brought his female to him, and
he’d treated her no better than a common one-night stand.

“
After tonight, you’ll never see me again,”
she had
said. “
You have my word.”

Her warning created an enduring firebrand in his mind,
reminding him of what it felt like to truly fear something, to know that some
things weren’t in his power to control. As he rose to his feet and headed
toward the house, he knew it was time to get his shit straight. The last couple
of months he’d basked in loss and had allowed it to consume him.

Those days were over.

“Sadie, darlin’, I warned you,” he whispered, striding
toward his future with a newfound purpose and a bounce in his step. “Don’t make
promises you can’t keep.”