Enemy Mine

by Karin Harlow

  “Close off your mind!” she screamed as she pulled her swords from their sheath on the wall. She hacked her way to Nikko. Part of the swarm turned back on her. The necklace flared around her neck. As if they were butter, Selena hacked through the daemons as the other half continued to tear at Nikko.

  He was ripping them in half and throwing them against the wall.

  “Nikko!” she called to him as she tossed him one of her swords. He caught it and turned his fury back on the avenging daemons.

  Selena and Nikko backed up to one another, and as one, they destroyed every daemon that came within sword range. As suddenly as the swarm had attacked, they vaporized and disappeared.

  Breathing heavily, Nikko turned to Selena. “What the hell were those?”

  Heart thumping wildly against her ears, Selena put her finger to her lips and listened. Silence. She scanned the ceiling and the open elevator car. Empty. She lowered her sword and motioned for Nikko to follow her into her office. She shut the door behind them. Exhaling, Selena laid her sword on her desk and turned to Nikko. Her adrenaline spiked, and her body warmed at the sight of him. His shirt had been ripped off, and his slacks, though still intact, were not fit for public appearance. His lean muscles glistened with blood; his wide chest moved up and down as he came down from the rush. His blue eyes sparkled with excitement. “Are you okay?” she asked, touching a long gouge in his forearm, then running her hands all over his body to check for damage.

  He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him. “Yeah,” he roughly said. He ran his fingertips along her eyelids. “Your sight. It’s back.”

  “As good as ever.” She smiled.

  His fingertips traced down her neck to her shoulders and lower. Her skin warmed. Everywhere.

  She looked down at the shredded emerald silk that ten minutes ago had been a chic little dress. The flimsy fabric was literally hanging together by a thread. The bloody scrapes covering her were, however, healing before her eyes. “I’m fine.” She hoisted up the sagging fabric, covering the high swell of her breasts, and pulled away from him to a safe distance. Being touched by Nikko, she reminded herself, was no longer an option.

  “What the hell just happened?”

  Selena sat against the edge of her desk, in the exact spot where Nikko had ravished her several nights before. She imagined him clearing the desktop and roughly taking her. Pushing her to places she had never gone. She barely stifled a moan and readjusted her bottom on the edge of the desk to ease the building pressure between her thighs. She looked up at him. With his arms crossed over his chest, Nikko watched her closely, his eyes so deep blue they looked black. His nostrils flared dangerously. He could smell her desire for him.

  Subtly, she swallowed and shook her head, warning him off. He didn’t appear intimidated, just narrowed his eyes and took a step toward her. “That was a test,” she said quickly, her voice low and husky.

  “What kind of test?”

  Selena shifted against the desk again, unable this time to bite back her moan as the movement launched a jolt of pleasure straight into her swollen sex.

  “A test to—to measure my strength.”

  “Did you pass?” he asked, stalking closer.

  “Yeah.” Selena’s chest rose and fell in short, shallow breaths. She licked her dry lips and shook her head. “Don’t.”

  He stopped a foot away from her. He reached a finger out and hooked it around the lone thread holding the bodice together. He plucked it. It snapped. In a slow, sensuous slide, the silk slipped down her breasts to her waist. Selena gasped as Nikko’s warm breath swept across her turgid nipples.

  She arched, biting her bottom lip and drawing blood. “Oh, Selena, that isn’t fair,” he crooned as he stepped between her trembling thighs. He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her against his bare chest. The contact was electrifying. He dropped his lips to her throat and kissed her pulsing jugular. “I want you so badly right now,” he whispered. “I can’t stand it.”

  Selena closed her eyes. He had no idea what bad really was. Her body was on fire. Only he could make the ache go away. But—“Nikko, please. Don’t.”

  “Don’t, because you don’t want this?”

  “Don’t, because it will make saying good-bye harder.” He pressed his lips behind her ear. Gooseflesh erupted along her entire body. “Why say good-bye at all?”

  “Don’t mess with me.”

  “I’m not messing with you.” He took her chin in his hand and tilted her head up. “Open your eyes.”

  She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to see the desire in his eyes. She didn’t want to want him. She didn’t want to give in to his seduction. She didn’t want to love him and let him go. Not again. She was strong in so many ways except this one. She shook her head.

  “I’m sorry for being a monumental ass the last time we saw each other.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “And all of the times before that.” He kissed her chin. “I’m sorry for trying to kill you. I thank God I failed.” Selena’s heart slammed against her chest. “Can you ever forgive me for that?”

  Selena opened her mouth to say she’d forgiven him a long time ago, but she was afraid the overwhelming emotion surging inside her would prevent her from uttering a sound. So she nodded.

  Warm lips pressed against hers. Her fingers tightened around the edge of the desk. His lips pressed hers open and his tongue slid across hers. Her eyes flew open. Dark blue eyes sparkled with a secret. He smiled against her lips, then pulled slightly away. He cupped her face between his big hands. “All of my apologies aside, I came here to tell you, I love you, Selena. I do not want a day to go by that I don’t wake up beside you. I know you’re scared, but I want to you to be brave and take the leap of faith with me.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Selena’s heart stopped for several harrowing beats. He loves me? He wants to share his life with me?

  How could he, when he did not trust or forgive her? How could she accept being loved by him, sharing her life with him, when just the thought of losing him paralyzed her?

  Hot tears stung her eyes. She shook her head and pushed him away. She was a coward. “I. Can’t.”

  He let go of her and stood back. Her heart cried out for him and she had to bite her lip to stop the sound from coming out. Her soul was only half without his.

  He regarded her steadily. “Can’t or won’t?”

  She exhaled a shaky breath. “You don’t trust me. How can we build on that?”

  The muscles in his jaw tightened. “I trust you to be honest with me. I trust your instincts. I trust your love for our daughter, and I trust your love for me. What else is there to trust?”

  “But you don’t forgive me. And because you haven’t forgiven me, a part of you despises me. I can’t stand the idea that you’ll lie awake at night and think of me that way.”

  “I don’t despise you, Selena. I despise what you did. Forgiveness works both ways. How can you expect me to forgive when you can’t forgive yourself?”

  She shook her head as more tears swelled, blurring her vision. “I was wrong not to trust you.”

  “You were afraid. Desperate. Desperate people do desperate things.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “And who knows, maybe you made the right call. Marisol is safe; you’re stronger, smarter, and so am I. Together we have the power to do what is necessary to live in peace.”

  Everything he said made sense. She did need to forgive herself. Marisol was alive and thriving. But … She looked at him through her tears. “I’m a coward, Nikko. I can’t bear the thought of losing you again.”

  “Do you think the thought of loving you doesn’t terrify me?” He shoved his hands into his torn pockets, as if to keep from touching her. “I don’t know if I’m going to always be like this, part vampire, or if we’ll be on the run from the Order for the rest of our lives. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, Selena, but whatever comes, I want you beside me when it does.”

  Selena shook her hea
d. Dear God, she wanted what he wanted, but—“You make it sound so romantic, but there is more at stake here than love.”

  His blue eyes widened at her denial. “What is more important than love? Is living alone and miserable because you were too afraid to fight for your family what you really want?”

  “I want guarantees!”

  “Selena! Nothing in life is guaranteed. It’s a crap-shoot.” He touched her cheek. “But the odds are stacked in our favor if we’re together.” He sank his fingers into her hair. “We’re each other’s second half. I can’t live with the most vital part of myself missing.” He lowered his lips to hers. “My heart cannot bear losing you again, Selena.”

  And hers could not bear losing him for one more minute. But—how did she tell Superman that Superwoman was afraid? She tried to say it, to admit to him aloud that she was afraid, terrified to be more exact, but the words caught in her throat.

  “Selena,” he breathed. “You are the bravest woman I know.”

  Tears stung her eyes. She shook her head.

  “Part of being brave is admitting you’re afraid,” he softly said against her lips.

  Her body trembled. Her heart raced, and she could scarcely draw a breath. Panic gripped her as the urge to bolt became unbearable. His deep blue eyes held hers hostage, refusing to let her run.

  His long fingers stroked her cheek. His breath warmed her. “Don’t run out on me. On us. Not now when we’ve found each other again.”

  She closed her eyes and made the leap. “Nikko,” she whispered, barely audible against his lips. “I’m so afraid.”

  “I will protect you,” he whispered back.

  He had her then. Though in her heart, he had never lost her.

  His lips captured hers in a deep, soulful kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck, drawing him closer to her heart. Love filled her. Happy, delirious, terrified tears ran down her cheeks.

  Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined she would be in Nikko’s arms like this again. Never had she imagined that she could love this man more deeply than she had all those years ago. But she did. The depth of her love was all-consuming, terrifying, and emancipating. Like the Rev, it infused her with strength, vitality, and energy. With Nikko by her side, there would be nothing they could not accomplish.

  They had so much to do before they could have that life. But first, she would savor this small chunk of time with him. “Nikko,” she breathed, tearing her lips from his. “We need to clean up. We need to talk. About the auction—”

  “Shh, there’s time for that later.” His arms tightened around her. He would not let her go. She would not let him. She slid off the edge of the desk and pulled his head down to her lips. Drawing him with her, she stepped around her desk and pressed a button on the wall. A hidden door slid open. She pulled him in and pressed another button on the interior wall. The door slid shut behind them. He picked her up, strode to the large bed, and laid her down, their lips still locked. Ripping away her tattered clothes and then his own, he gathered her tightly in his arms, pushing her thighs apart. He was hot and thick against her. She shivered in fear, anticipation, and a craving for him so potent her stomach did slow desirous rolls.

  “Open your eyes, Selena.”

  As she did, he reverently slid into her. Every nerve ending in her vaginal walls ignited in response to his hard, hot entry. She was so tight, so sensitive, so aware of him, she could feel every contour from the wide head of his cock, to the large pulsing vein that ran the length of him, to the imprint of his balls against her swollen nether lips.

  Electrified, she stared in stunned silence at his wonder-filled eyes.

  Love changed everything.

  “Tell me we don’t belong together,” he said.

  “We belong together.” There had never been any doubt, just the cold hand of fear, but even that had thawed.

  Selena arched and moaned at the pure sublimity of him. He filled her completely. Her breath hissed when he pressed the head of his penis to the sensitive spot deep inside her.

  He smiled tenderly and smoothed stray strands of hair from her face. “I never want you to stop wanting that.”

  “For as long as I can breathe.”

  His lips swept hers, taking away what little breath she had. As his hips moved excruciatingly slowly, his kiss deepened, his tongue swirling in slow, languorous strokes against hers. He drew almost completely out of her, then thrust so deeply into her, he took her last breath away. Her liquid muscles wrestled to draw him deeper, constricting, stroking, reluctant to let him go.

  Each time he withdrew, her body cried out for succor. Each time he sank so deep inside her she could feel his heartbeat against hers, she wept with pleasure.

  Nikko ran his hands up her arms, extending them over her head, entwining his fingers through hers. She was stretched taut, her body arched, straining against his. But he took his time. His thrusts deep, long, and languorous. Her need for him hard, urgent, demanding. Impatient, she fought for a faster pace. Patiently, he unwound her.

  “Nikko,” she gasped, tearing her lips from his. “Stop torturing me.” She was right there, just on the verge of a complete meltdown, but he held her back.

  His slow, deep thrusts drove her mad. Her body thrashed, her nails clenching his hands. She could scarcely breathe. Every inch of her screamed for release. She stiffened and pressed her hips to his, holding herself against him. He swirled his hips, grinding against her.

  Shock waves rocked through her. She struggled against his hands, wanting to pull his hips tighter against her, but he held her at bay. “Nikko,” she begged. “Please!”

  His lips silenced her pleas as he maintained his slow, torturous pace. He drove her mad with desire. Mad with need, mad with desperation. Her body slickened with sweat. Her womb pulsed with her unreleased orgasm. He was driving her insane.

  His tongue swirled around her swollen lips, down her neck, and along her jugular. She felt the scrape of his fangs. From her hard nipples down to her aching pussy, her body shivered with anticipation, wanting his bite. Craving it. His thrusts increased in tempo. Her breathing faltered. Her muscles liquefied. His fangs sank deep into her neck, and Selena came undone. Her body snapped like a downed electrical wire during a thunderstorm, sparking, catching everything around her on fire.

  Frantically, she twisted and thrust beneath him. Her entire body shuddered and quaked as one intense wave of sensation slammed into another. Impaled by Nikko’s fangs and with his cock buried so deeply inside her, their hearts stuttered to a haunting halt—her liquid muscles constricted around him like a fist. In tight, deep draws, they milked him. In a hard, feral rush, he came inside her. Only then did their hearts resume beating—this time, as one.

  Nikko crashed back to earth, shattering on impact. Every part of his body throbbed in the aftermath of their torrid lovemaking. Still hard inside her, he wanted more. If he could, he’d shut them away from the world forever and never release her.

  He licked the puncture wounds on her neck and slowly withdrew from her slick body. He smiled to himself, reveling in the vampire. She lay sprawled on the rumpled sheets, her eyes closed, her lips parted, her breathing hard. Blood and sweat smeared her chest and chin, and her hair was a wild mass of soft tangles around her head, spilling off the pillow to the bed. His gaze traveled down her slender neck to the necklace she always wore. The stones were quiet now. His gaze swept lower to her chest. Her lush, dewy breasts trembled as shock waves still swept through her. The chocolate-colored nipples hard, still stimulated. He resisted them, too entranced by her dark, sultry beauty. Her skin was light caramel, smooth, soft, and just as appetizing. His gaze slid down her taut belly to the horizontal scar just above her pubic bone. Emotion squeezed his heart. He would give his right arm to have been present at Marisol’s birth. He smiled to himself and leaned down to kiss the scar.

  He’d be there for the next one.

  Selena moaned. Her hips flinched, and her fingers dug into his hair. Her thighs pa
rted, filling his nostrils with the essence of floral and spice. As his cock thickened, he kissed the small patch of damp curls, inhaling her alluring sex scent deeply into his brain. He’d never forgotten her scent. It was burned into him. She was unique and wild, wantonly so.

  He slid his tongue across her hard clitoris. His thumbs parted her slick, swollen lips. Her hips rose, and her nails dug into his scalp. His cock ached. He was addicted. “Selena,” he breathed against her sweltering pussy, “do you want more?”

  “Yesss.”

  He suckled her clit, flicking it gently with his tongue. Her body surged against him.

  When he sank a finger into her, she screamed and pulled his hair.

  When he tapped her sweet spot, she shivered.

  When he bit the tender flesh on the inside of her thigh so close to her sweltering sex, she launched.

  He couldn’t help it. He was ravenous for all of her. Her blood infused him with her vitality. He would always carry this sacred part of her within him. Each time he took from her, he craved more. And each time he asked, she freely gave.

  Even in his lust-induced frenzy for her blood, he was careful not to take too much. Her pussy tightened around his finger and clenched as it spasmed, her body rolling as one wave of sensation after another crashed through her.

  Carefully, he withdrew his fangs from her vein. Her thighs tightened, holding him inside her. He felt another wave cresting. He rose to his knees and pulled her legs around his waist. Her hot, creamy lips slid down his shaft until once again they were connected. Selena shook her damp hair from her shoulders and pushed him back into the mattress so that she straddled him. Eyes wide open, she moaned loudly as he thrust up into her.

  She smiled wickedly at him. In long, sensuous undulations as if she were riding a bronco in slow motion, she rode him. She pushed his arms over his head, entwined her fingers through his, and ground so agonizingly slowly against him, he could not bear it.