Enemy Mine (4 page)

She immediately pressed the talk button. “Hello?”

“Melina, thank God! I need your help. One of the teenagers who bounces in and out of the shelter has been shot.”

Hating that Kiernan could hear every detail of their conversation thanks to his extrasensory abilities, she turned to the side, trying to give herself the illusion of privacy. “Why haven’t you called the police?”

“He’s here with two of his friends. They both have guns and are refusing to let me call the cops. They’re not going to hurt me but they said if I tried to call the cops they’ll leave. He doesn’t have much time and I thought . . .” Her voice broke. “He’s hanging out with the wrong crowd—local gang members—but he’s such a good kid. I thought maybe you could help him with your gift.” She whispered the last part.

Irene was one of the few people who knew what Melina could do. She volunteered with the other woman, and Melina had needed to use her healing powers more than once in Irene’s presence. Not even Melina’s pack knew the human was aware of what she could do, and she planned to keep it that way.

Shooting Kiernan a glance over her shoulder, she bit the inside of her lip. “Give me fifteen minutes.”

“Thank you so much. Use the kitchen entrance at the back, that’s where we are.”

After hanging up, Kiernan gave her a dark look. “You’re not going anywhere. Not with shifters out to kidnap you.”

“I have to. I’m sure you heard my conversation.” He nodded. “Then you know I have to go. Do you have any clothes I can wear?”

Growling under his breath and sounding more like a shifter than a vampire, he turned, motioning with his hand for her to follow. Hurrying after him she followed him to what she assumed was another guest room. It wasn’t covered in his distinctive, wild scent.

He jerked open a door to reveal an oversized walk-in closet. “I don’t know what’s in here but it belongs to some of my cousins. Just grab what you need.” Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned against the door frame as if he planned to watch her.

“Uh, I need to get changed.”

“I guess you better hurry then.” His voice was full of sin and sex.

She could waste time arguing with him, but decided to just drop her robe. There wasn’t time, something he knew and was capitalizing on. She couldn’t really fault him because if she had a chance to see him naked again . . . No time to go there.

Kiernan sucked in a breath behind her as the thick robe hit the floor. She smiled to herself. Served him right for refusing to leave. Feeling incredibly exposed, but also powerful that she could evoke reactions from a vampire as sensual as Kiernan, she grabbed a plain long-sleeved black T-shirt and tugged it over her head. She was very aware that she wasn’t wearing any underclothes but she didn’t see any lying around. She didn’t relish the thought of wearing a stranger’s underwear anyway.

After shimmying into a pair of dark jeans, she turned to find Kiernan had gone impossibly still. She felt her cheeks heat up at the blatant lust in his eyes. He looked like he wanted to take her right on the closet floor. “You insisted on staying,” she said quietly.

“I did.”

She swallowed hard but forced her eyes away from him and onto the closet floor. The space was packed with a ridiculous amount of name brand clothing, purses, and thankfully shoes. She scooped up a pair of flat boots and slid them on. It felt weird without socks but oh well. They needed to be gone ten minutes ago. “Thank you for taking me.”

He gave a curt nod as he exited the closet with her. Wearing all dark clothing and with his height, he looked so damn intimidating she was glad he’d be with her facing the gang members. Not that she worried about some human kids being able to hurt her, but some of those kids got jacked up on fae or demon blood. It not only gave them super strength, it made some of them go out of their heads.

“So what’s this gift your friend was talking about?”

She shrugged as he opened the front door into that gorgeous marble entryway. “I’m a doctor. I might work on animals, but I’ve helped her before with some of the kids from the local
barrios
. They’re too afraid to call the cops and they know Irene won’t narc them out to anyone. If she trusts me, they’ll trust me too.”

He shook his head. “I can’t believe your father is okay with that.”

Shooting him a quick glance, she gave him a tight smile. “He doesn’t know.”

Jaw tight, he just shook his head. The elevator dinged as they reached the ground floor and she resisted rolling her eyes at him. She did not need another male in her life telling her what to do or judging her actions. He stopped in front of a car.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“All these vehicles are property of my coven.” He swept his hand out at the array of vehicles in the underground garage.

“Nice.” She slid into the passenger side of an older model Mustang. At least they’d be riding in style, though if she was honest, she really liked his motorcycle. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and a look at her phone made her wince. It was her mother and way past the time she was supposed to check in.

She might be an adult, but since she was going on a date with a vampire that night, she’d made sure her mother knew. That conversation had been one big argument. Of course she’d left out Kiernan’s name. Her pack and his coven had a certain level of animosity toward one another, due to some feud from almost a century ago. It was way before her time and she really didn’t care what it was about. She might not be completely sure about Kiernan’s motives, but she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. Not physically, at least. Instead of answering, she rejected the call then typed in a quick text telling her mother she was fine but staying out the entire night. She also entered their code word so her mom knew it was her and not someone pretending to use her phone.

The curt response she received told her to call immediately. Melina slid her phone into her pocket instead. After she helped the kid at the shelter, she’d call. Until then she didn’t want to deal with any other distractions. Especially not when she had a giant, very sexy one sitting right next to her.

Chapter 4

Kiernan parked behind Helping Hands, the shelter Melina directed him to. The expansive two story building took up an entire city block. This was the last place he wanted to be. Out in the open, exposed. He hated bringing her here, but he knew when to pick his battles. The moment they stepped out of the vehicle, he knew they weren’t alone. Two distinctive heartbeats were very close by. He heard others in the vicinity but these two were very close.

Two teens, one black and one white, stepped out from behind a Dumpster. Each had a gun held loosely in his hand, and from the bulge under one of the teens’ T-shirts, Kiernan knew he was packing more. Immediately he stepped in front of Melina, blocking her body with his. As a shifter she should be able to heal almost as fast as him, but something about her had been different after that car accident. She’d been too weak, almost disoriented. He bared his fangs at the two youths before they even had time to raise their weapons.

With wide eyes they stared at them. One cleared his throat. “You’re Melina, right? You’re here to help Raul?”

Melina peeked around Kiernan. “Yes. Hand those weapons to my friend here and you can come inside while I help Raul.”

For a moment it looked as if they might argue, but after another look in Kiernan’s direction, they did as she said. There were certain laws in any jungle, even a concrete one, and Kiernan could kill these two in seconds whether they had weapons or not. And they knew it.

Kiernan cleared his throat when they only handed him the two visible guns. “All of them.”

The white boy cursed but handed over his other gun as the door flew open. A tall, attractive blond woman Kiernan assumed was Irene rushed out. She gave the boys a quick glance before zeroing in on Melina and Kiernan. She stopped short as she looked at him. “Melina, who is this?”

“He’s okay.” Brushing past him, Melina let her friend guide her inside into an industrial-sized kitchen that smelled of cleaning supplies and the faint aroma of lasagna.

Kiernan stayed close, conscious of the two boys following them, but not worried about the young humans.

“What happened?” Melina asked as she stopped in front of a young teen maybe eighteen years old stretched out flat on his back on a large metal table likely used to prepare food. Blood spilled profusely from a wound in his shoulder, dripping onto the shiny surface and trailing to the floor below.

Kiernan’s fangs faintly ached at the coppery scent. He’d learned to control his bloodlust over a century ago but some things were biological.

“Shadow shot him,” the black kid said.

“Shadow?” Irene asked as Melina pulled away the cloth that had been pressed against the wound.

“Yeah. His real name’s Clyde. That’s just his street name,” the same kid spoke again, obviously the spokesperson of the two.

“Why’d he shoot him?” Kiernan asked this time.

The same kid eyed him for a long moment then shrugged. “Raul went after him because Shadow was messing with Raul’s little sister. She’s fifteen, man.” Another shrug.

Kiernan looked back at Melina as he spoke to the kid again. “When you say messing with her . . .”

A snort. “What the hell you think I mean? He tried to rape her.”

Now his fangs ached to unleash for a completely different reason. “What’s Clyde’s last name?”

“Bricker,” the kid said after a short pause.

Kiernan filed that information away as he watched Melina work. It was obvious this wasn’t the first time she’d helped her friend considering the display of medical supplies already laid out. She cleaned and disinfected the wound with an impressive quickness.

“You’re lucky this went all the way through,” she murmured to her patient. To give him credit, he hadn’t uttered more than a few cursory groans.

As she finished cleansing him, Irene turned to the other two boys. “You two need to wait outside now.”

They left without argument. When Irene turned to him, as if she planned to tell him to leave too, Kiernan shook his head. All his territorial instincts roared to the surface at the thought of leaving Melina, even for only a moment. “I go where she goes.”

Melina shot him an exasperated look over her shoulder. “You need to wait outside . . . please.” She tacked on the please as if it pained her.

Kiernan just raised an eyebrow and tapped his wrist, as if he had a watch on. “Time’s wasting. You can argue with me or . . .” He shrugged, knowing it would drive her crazy, but he wasn’t leaving her side.

She opened her mouth once as if to argue then growled at him. For the first time since they’d met he could tell she was truly annoyed with him. “Damn it, Kiernan—”

“I am
not
leaving.” There must have been something in his voice that convinced her he was serious because after a few seconds ticked by she sighed and turned back to the young boy who’d finally passed out.

Kiernan blinked as a soft blue glow seemed to completely encompass the teenager. It spread out from his hands where Melina grasped him, moving to his arms, across his torso, spreading everywhere. It seemed to come from inside him, pushing out warmth like a dim nightlight.

Melina’s eyes were closed, her expression serene, her body preternaturally still. If he couldn’t hear her heartbeat and see the soft rise and fall of her chest he’d be worried about her.

Kiernan was silent as he stared at the two of them, finally understanding why Melina had been so drained earlier. She was a healer, a being so rare they were revered among all supernatural species. It wasn’t in his coven’s file on her family—though that hadn’t been updated in over a decade—so he surmised this was a guarded secret. Healers were treated with respect across all species. It was an unwritten rule. They were never targeted or harmed even if factions were battling each other.

After ten long minutes she drew her hands back, looking pale and drawn and ready to collapse. “He should be fine now. It wasn’t a bad wound to begin with.”

The wound was now almost completely healed. A red puckered mark about an inch in diameter remained on his shoulder. She carefully placed a couple steri-strips across the raw skin, but he doubted they were even necessary.

Kiernan left the weapons on one of the counters, deciding to let Irene do what she wanted with them. The second Melina finished he sidled up next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. He liked touching her, being able to support her even in a small way. To his surprise she didn’t fight him. Instead she turned into him and slid her arm around his waist using him for support.

“Thank you so much, Melina,” Irene said. “I’ll clean up everything and make sure the boys don’t mention your presence here to anyone.”

Kiernan bit back an angry retort. This was the last place Melina should be, especially without her pack’s protection or knowledge. If there was one thing he respected about shifters, it was that they took care of their own.

But if she did this kind of thing without her pack’s approval, he knew he was the last person she’d listen to. He was just glad he’d been able to go with her. She was in no condition to drive right now and if she’d been alone . . . He shoved that thought away and they left.

Gently, he helped her into the passenger seat, ready to get as far away from the shelter as possible. He wanted her under lockdown.

“How would you have gotten home if I hadn’t been here to drive you?” he snapped, the words coming out harsher than he’d intended. He wanted to tell her how amazing she was, how much he respected what she was doing, but it scared him knowing she could have been out on her own in such a weakened state.

Sighing, she turned in her seat to face him, her eyes heavy-lidded. “Irene would have taken me or one of my female cousins would have picked me up.” Another tired sigh. “They’re the only ones willing to go behind my father’s back.” A soft, sweet chuckle.

“So you’re a healer.” Not a question. Keeping one hand on the wheel, he reached out with his other and stroked his knuckles down her cheek.

“And you’re very sexy,” she murmured.

Surprised, he shot her a quick glance before averting his gaze back to the road. She was definitely tired and out of it to blurt out something like that. Even though it was underhanded he decided to get some answers while she was in this state. Something told him she’d be more open when she was so languid. “So you didn’t realize who I was at that club we met in?”

Her sleepy eyes blinked slowly as she shook her head. “Nope. Not until you took your shirt off. Saw your family crest tattooed on your chest. Realized exactly who you were then. Morgan and Oriana Doyle’s son. My parent’s freaking enemies,” she muttered, the words barely audible.

There was nothing but pure truth in her voice. He noticed the way she said her parents, not her pack and not herself. A strange feeling of relief slid through him. “You don’t view my family as your enemy?”

She shifted in her seat, laying her head back against the headrest and closing her eyes. “Why would I? You’ve never done anything to me.”

Melina kept surprising him. It was obvious she didn’t know the full extent of the violent history between their families. Which made sense. She was only twenty-five. Most of his young cousins weren’t aware of the violence that had passed between his coven and their pack because it had all been buried and settled well over a century ago. They didn’t even live in the same vicinity. Well, until now. His father had decided to start scooping up real estate in Miami after the recent plunges in the market. While it was smart from a business standpoint, it was also playing with fire considering the Rodriguez pack made their home here.

Still, it bothered him. “You didn’t think about walking away when you saw my crest?”

She let out a soft laugh that went straight to his aching cock. “You were practically inside me when I saw it and I definitely wasn’t backing out then. No more questions,” she said on a tired sigh.

He was done with talking too. As he steered into parking garage he made a decision he knew was going to change his life. Though he’d already done it once in an emergency, doing it a second time meant something to his kind. To him. Piercing the skin on his wrist with his fangs, he opened a vein and held out his arm for Melina.

“Drink,” he ordered.

Her eyes fluttered open. She looked at him, then their surroundings. “I’ll be fine by tomorrow morning.”

“I don’t care.
Drink
.” Some deep, dark part of him needed her to take this from him. It was like an ache inside him, a burning need to take care of her. Seeing what she’d selflessly done tonight, he wanted to at least do this. “Please.”

At his last word, her green eyes widened. For a long moment insecurity flared in their depths, but she tentatively grasped his arm with her delicate fingers and held his wrist to her mouth. Her lips were warm against his skin, her tongue a velvet caress that made the blood surge hotter through his veins. The feel of her tugging on him, drinking from him, sent erotic waves coursing through his entire body. He rarely let anyone drink from him, and never a shifter, but now he’d allowed her to twice in the past few hours.

After more than a few long pulls, she tilted her head back, slight embarrassment in her eyes as she looked at him. “I can’t believe I did that.
Why did I do that?
” she asked, but it was obvious she wasn’t looking for an answer from him.

“I’m glad you did. How do you feel?” He sealed the punctures in his wrist with a quick swipe of his tongue before reaching out to cup her cheek.

No longer were those green eyes tired or dull, but bright and wide. She didn’t pull away from him, but leaned into his embrace. His entire body tightened, his muscles pulling taut as he imagined sinking himself inside her again.

“Amazing. . . . What are we doing?” she asked quietly.

He knew she wasn’t referring to what they were doing at that moment. “I don’t know, but I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind since that night.”

“Me neither. You’re the first vampire I’ve ever . . .” She trailed off, her cheeks tinging pink.

A low growl built in his throat. “First or only?”

“Only.”

Her answer soothed a primal part of him so he decided to be honest with her. “You’re the only shifter I’ve been with. And I haven’t been with anyone else since you.”

Melina pulled back from his light embrace of her cheek and snorted. “You don’t need to lie.”

“I’m not lying.” The words came from a dark part of him.

She must have heard the truth of his words because she nodded once as if to confirm she believed him, but didn’t say anything else. Just grasped the handle and stepped from the vehicle. The sweet honeysuckle scent rolling off her left no doubt in his mind what she wanted at that moment.

He wanted it too. No matter how stupid this was or what the consequences of a relationship with her could bring. He wanted her so bad his entire being called out for her. Like a magnetic pull, he’d felt it that night in the bar. Almost like he’d been drugged on her scent. It had just been a physical draw then, but now . . . he wanted more than just another night with her.

* * *

Melina was barely aware of them going up the elevator and into Kiernan’s condo, but minutes after arriving she found herself sitting on one of the counters in the kitchen. Unfortunately she was still clothed as she watched him rummage through a nearly empty pantry. Eventually he came out with a box of energy bars.

“I’ll stock up tomorrow but this is the only decent thing in here.”

She smiled as he unwrapped then handed her the bar. “I’m fine, really.” And she was, thanks to his blood. It still stunned her she’d taken his wrist so easily but it had been impossible to turn him down and just as sweet as the first time she’d taken from him. Everything about him lit her body on fire.

“Eat, please.” He nestled his way between her legs, forcing her to spread them wider.

She could feel her cheeks flame at the way his voice dropped seductively low. “I can’t eat with you staring at me.”

“Fine.” Leaning down, he nuzzled her skin, lightly raking his teeth over the column of her neck.

Grinning she took one bite of the bar before tossing it onto the counter. Eating was the last thing on her mind now. She knew this was probably a stupid move, especially when she had a whole mess of things to worry about—like who had wanted to kidnap her earlier—but in Kiernan’s arms it was hard to think about being responsible. Hell, it was hard to think about anything at all.