Enemy Mine

by Karin Harlow

  Selena cried out again. “Hurry, Johnny!”

  That she said his name snapped something inside him, and everything he’d just been thinking about Selena suddenly didn’t matter. His daughter was alive! Her mother was alive! He was alive. It was enough. For now.

  “It’s just a dream, Lena. You’re safe,” he shushed, smoothing the damp hair from her cheek. Like those of a fearful child, her fingers dug into his skin, holding on for dear life. Nikko drew in a shaky breath. More of his hardened heart crumbled when her eyes blinked open, the haze of sleep giving way to a horrified awareness.

  “He got her, Johnny, he got Marisol,” she sobbed. “I couldn’t save her.” Her heartbreaking sobs tore at him.

  No wonder she’d been so agitated. Whatever he could fault her for, her love for their daughter was indisputable. “Marisol is asleep in the next room with Sister Agnes. She’s safe.”

  The body in his arms stilled. Long moments passed.

  Then …

  He felt a slight tremor. It was followed by a much stronger one. Then the body in his arms was wracked with crying. Selena’s hands fisted his shirt as she buried her face in the crook of his neck. Her warm tears soaked his chest, her body pressed tightly against his. He felt each of her sobs as if they were his own. And in so many ways they were. He had suffered eight years ago what she suffered now.

  He’d had no one to console him, to tell him he would be okay, that it was all a terrible nightmare. His life had fallen apart that day. He had not wanted to go on. Had it not been for Godfather’s extracting him before he reached the prison and forcing him back into reality, he would have been another prison death statistic.

  He’d cursed God for the second chance.

  Nikko tightened his arms around Selena, drawing her closer to him. He didn’t know what to say, how to ease her heartache. How could he, when he was as damaged? He did what he would do if it were Marisol coming to him with a broken heart. He held her, comforted her, and told her it would be okay.

  He kissed the top of her head as he gently rocked her, soothing her with words that soothed himself.

  “Johnny,” she hoarsely said, pulling away just enough to look up at him. He steeled himself. The torment in her dark eyes was almost more than he could bear. “I’m so sorry.” She pressed her lips to the base of his throat, the contact eliciting a much different but just as profound response from him. She kissed him again. “So sorry.” When she looked up at him again, her swollen eyes widened.

  He could imagine what he looked like. The man in him had responded, but so had the vampire. His blood coursed hotly through him. His arms tightened around her, his legs tensed beneath her bottom. Her proximity was making his head spin.

  He lowered his lips to hers, brushing against the soft skin. The taste of her salty tears moved him in a most unexpected way. Admiration for her strength, courage, and determination to protect their child as well as him under the most terrifying of circumstances suddenly struck him. She was a fighter, a mama bear protecting her young and her mate, sacrificing her happiness to preserve their lives. All of the pieces fell neatly into place, then. Life’s tragedies happened for a reason. Sometimes the reasons were not clear until the painful wounds were nothing but scars. Reminders but no longer painful.

  Digging his fingers into her hair, he cupped her head in his palms and brought her lips to his. “Lena, don’t cry for me.”

  “I can’t help it. I would do anything to take back the pain and suffering I’ve caused you.”

  “If you did that, then we wouldn’t be here.” He kissed her. A long, slow, soulful kiss. He savored it. He savored the softness of her lips. The way her tongue swirled languorously around his. Her scent, her touch, her tears, and her surrender. He savored it the way a condemned man savored his last meal.

  Her fists loosened as the tension in her body lessened. Nikko squeezed his eyes shut as an intense wave of passion swept through him. God help him, but he still wanted her. Had never stopped wanting her. Despite all the pain, that had never changed.

  And if he took her, what about after? They were two different people now, their only commonality their daughter. Loosening his hold, Nikko tore his lips from hers.

  What had happened at the club had been an act of revenge. Her seduction of him on her yacht had been a dream. He gently pushed her away and sat up on the edge of the bed.

  “Johnny,” she breathed. “Don’t.”

  Raking his fingers through his hair, he looked at her. What he saw tore him up. She was as ravaged as he. “Selena, nothing is the same. Johnny is dead. I’m Nikko Cruz now.” He inhaled deeply, then slowly exhaled. “There is no room in my life for you.”

  Her body flinched as if he had gut-punched her. Her eyes glittered with fresh tears. She nodded, and the action sent them rushing in a steady stream down her cheeks. He reached out a fingertip to catch one. It pooled warm and wet on his skin.

  “What about Marisol?” she asked.

  “When this is all over, I’ll find a way to make it work.” She captured his hand and pressed it to her cheek. “We are different people today, Nikko, but we’re also the same.” She kissed his damp fingertips. “I’ve been to Hell and back for you. I’ll do it again if I have to, but I’m not going to let you walk out on me.”

  He stared at her.

  “Give me, give us, a second chance.” She sat up on her knees and cupped his face in her hands. “After everything we have been through, we owe it to ourselves and to our daughter to try.”

  He continued to stare at her. He wanted her body with a vengeance, but her heart terrified him. She would never settle for just a piece of him; she would want it all. He could not give her all. Even if he could find a way to trust her again, he was a L.O.S.T. operative. He could not walk away from who he was, what he did. Not even—for her.

  “I can’t.”

  She rose up and pressed her lips to his. Her arms slipped around his neck, her breasts pressing intimately against his chest. “Can’t or won’t?” She opened her lips against his, and her tongue slipped along his bottom lip, then swirled upward and around his fangs.

  “Both,” he roughly said.

  She smiled sadly and nodded. Her arms tightened around his neck. She kissed him. “Then make love to me one last time.”

  His body tightened. His fingers itched to touch her. Her lips trailed from his mouth to his chin, then to his throat. When she dragged her teeth along his jugular, he hissed. Her hands slid down his shoulders to his biceps, then to his rigid forearms. She wrapped his arms around her waist. She surged against him, digging her fingers into his hair and her teeth into his flesh.

  Nikko snapped. The need for her was too powerful to resist. Hell, he didn’t want to resist. He dug his fingers into her back and turned her over, pressing her into the mattress. “No promises, Selena.”

  “No promises,” she echoed.

  Selena closed her eyes and gave herself up completely. Every barrier crashed to the ground, exposing her vulnerable core to the man above her.

  His big hands swept up from her hips to her breasts, cupping them painfully as if he still resisted what they both wanted. She felt his turmoil, his frustration, and his overpowering need for her body. It matched hers for his.

  The hot sting of tears surprised her. It shouldn’t have. She had cried more in Nikko’s arms tonight than she had in her previous lifetime. Emotionally, she was raw. She was so tired of running, of the lies, of being afraid. Seeing Johnny and Marisol together today had been so right.

  He pulled the sweater over her head, turned her on her side facing away from him, and yanked off her jeans. His big, warm hands rested on her ankles, his fingers lightly caressing her skin. Selena didn’t move, afraid if she did, he would change his mind. She bit her bottom lip when his fingers traced along the curve of her calf. “You’re still so soft,” he whispered against her skin. Gooseflesh erupted across her chest, stiffening her nipples. His lips followed his fingers’ trail. He kissed the back of
her knee, then traced along her thigh to the curve of her hip. He nibbled the thong strap of her panties before his hand slid along the dip of her waist. She closed her eyes and savored his touch. He was a considerate lover, never taking what he was not willing to give,

  He dug one hand into her thick hair, pulling her head back against him, exposing her neck and chest. With his free hand, he swept his fingers across the tips of her bra. Selena hissed in a sharp breath. She was wound tight, her body desperately needing to uncoil and be taken.

  “I’ve never touched another woman the way I touch you,” he said against the swell of her breast. He unhooked the front clasp of her bra.

  Selena could barely breathe. “I’ve never touched another man the way I touch you.”

  She felt the hitch in his breath. Her declaration had taken him by surprise, given the way she dressed and conducted herself in Lost Souls.

  His warm lips nudged a tight nipple. Selena closed her eyes and exhaled. His tongue slid across it, the sublimity of the oh-so-simple, yet oh-so-erotic caress pushing her again to the verge of tears. There was no one else on this earth for her. No one could make her feel the way Nikko made her feel. He’d always loved her fully until she begged him to stop.

  “Jesus, Selena,” he breathed against her. “You make me forget everything.” He pressed her back into the mattress; his hands cupped her breasts, and his mouth voraciously suckled a nipple.

  Selena gasped, arching into him. The deep pull of his lips lit a fire in her womb. He pressed his body tightly against hers, his hips undulating in rhythm to his lips. She slid her fingers into his thick hair, digging her nails into his scalp, arching deeper into him.

  “Nikko,” she moaned. “Don’t ever stop.”

  Tearing his lips from her, his hot gaze caught hers and held it. He was a magnificent sight. His blue eyes blazed with furious passion. His nostrils flared; his swollen lips parted, the barest hint of his fangs beneath. He grasped her chin and brought her lips to his. Then she was lost.

  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 mor
ning. 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

  Saying 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.