Enemy Mine

Enemy Mine

Katie Reus

NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY

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Copyright © Katie Reus, 2013

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E-book ISBN: 978-1-101-59996-9

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Epilogue

About the Author

Praise

Also by
KATIE REUS

Excerpt from
MATING

INSTINCT

Chapter 1

Melina Rodriguez locked the door to the

administrative office behind the welcome

desk at her veterinary clinic. She’d

already secured the kennel area in the

back since one of the techs would be

staying overnight. Surprisingly they only

had a few dogs and two cats being

boarded tonight.

As she grabbed her purse off the front

desk, the bell to the front door jingled.

Even though it was the end of the day and

she had no more scheduled appointments,

she knew who it was. Knew before she’d

fully turned around because she could

scent
him
.

The tall, annoyingly sexy vampire who

just wouldn’t leave her alone had a

distinctively earthy smell, but not like her

kind. Kiernan Doyle smelled like the

ocean, fresh and wild, and he made her

crave things she had no business wanting.

It didn’t seem to matter to him that they

were natural born enemies; he was damn

persistent. She had a plan to cut his

advances short tonight.

She might have made a mistake by

sleeping with him almost a year ago, but it

was something she’d decided to finally

rectify now that he wouldn’t take no for an

answer. “We’re closed,” she snapped

without turning around.

He made a tsking sound. “If that’s how

you talk to your patients it’s a wonder

you’re still in business.”

“You are not a patient.” She turned to

face him, then wished she hadn’t. Willing

her heart rate and breathing to stay normal,

she gave him what she hoped was a bored

look. It was a little hard considering she’d

seen every inch of that hard body naked.

Seen it, kissed it, licked it . . . Damn him

for being so sexy.

“I could be. If I hurt myself would you

patch me up,
doctor
?” His voice dropped

a few octaves.

The way he said “doctor” made her

lower abdomen clench with a need that

scared her. She gritted her teeth and tried

to ignore what his presence did to her.

Much taller than her, around six foot four,

with dark hair that had flashes of auburn

visible in the sunlight, and incredibly

muscular without being bulky, the vamp

turned her on like no one ever had. “Why

are you here?” Not that she expected

anything from him, but she was surprised

he didn’t have a gift with him today. Every

other time that he’d come to see her he’d

brought something for the staff. Last week

it had been a gift basket full of muffins,

chocolates, cookies, and a bunch of other

foodstuff. The week before that he’d

brought Starbucks gift cards for everyone,

even her part-time administrative

assistant. So of course he’d completely

charmed everyone she worked with. The

man was a menace to her sanity.

Kiernan placed a hand over his heart,

and those dark eyes that reminded her of

melted chocolate chips glinted wickedly.

“All these rejections have me thinking you

don’t care.”

She sighed and placed a hand on her

hip. She’d had three surgeries today and

had lost a dog that had been hit by a car.

Too much swelling to the brain. It had

broken her heart to lose an animal, and the

pain she’d sensed from the owners had

been almost unbearable. Not to mention

she’d drained a lot of energy using her

natural healing powers. All she wanted

was to go home, soak in a hot bath, and get

some sleep. “I
don’t
care and I wish

you’d leave me alone.”
Why don’t even I

believe it?
One night of hot sex should have been easy enough to forget, but she

couldn’t get the images of their

intertwined, naked bodies or his

intoxicating scent out of her head.

Instead of teasing her further, concern

filled his face. She’d been short with him

each time he came in to see her, but it

seemed like he sensed she was hurting.

“You have a bad day?” he asked quietly.

She nodded, part of her wanting to tell

him what had happened. She resisted the

urge to open up to him. “What do you

want?”

For a moment it looked as if he might

push her, but he just stepped back, giving

her space. “One dinner. That’s all I’m

asking for.”

The first time they’d met he sure hadn’t

wanted dinner. He’d just wanted her flat

on her back, up against the wall of her

hotel room, in the shower. . . . She

mentally shook herself. Thinking about

that did nothing but distract her. “Fine.”

His dark eyebrows rose for a fraction

of an instant, then he smiled, all male

arrogance. For a moment she thought she’d

made a mistake.

Returning his smile, she took a step

forward. “You can pick me up tonight. At

my parents’ house. My brothers, parents,

and probably a few other pack members

will be there.”
Let’s see what he thinks of

that.

“What time?”

She blinked at his question. This wasn’t

how it was supposed to go. He was

supposed to back off. No one wanted to

tangle with the Rodriguez pack, the only

wolf shifters in Miami and the toughest

along the entire East Coast. Especially not

Kiernan, member of the Doyle vampire

coven, her family’s mortal freaking

enemies. “Wait,
what
?”

His dark eyes held a knowing look.

“What time should I be there?”

“I . . .” No, no, no. He wasn’t going to

take control from her like this.

“Cat got your tongue?” he practically

purred.

That snapped her out of her stupor.

“Two hours from now. If you’re late,

don’t bother showing up. Now if you don’t

mind, I need to lock up.” Without waiting

for his response, she brushed past him,

vividly aware of his scent and his gaze on

her as she moved toward the front door.

She shrugged out of her white coat and

hooked it through her purse. Even though

her jeans and sweater were perfectly

respectable, for some reason she felt

practically naked in front of him and knew

he was staring at her butt. Part of her

wanted to be offended, but deep down she

enjoyed his awareness and desire for her.

“Like what you see?” she asked,

keeping her voice low as she grabbed her

leather jacket from the rack by the front

door.

All she received was a low growl from

Kiernan—one that sounded a lot more

animalistic than human. Shivers spiraled

through her and she didn’t even bother

trying to hide it. Not giving into her

temptation to turn around, she fished her

keys out of her coat pocket and walked

outside. He was right on her heels as she

locked the front door.

“Aren’t you going to set the alarm

system?” He frowned down at her as they

headed across the parking lot toward her

car.

She shrugged. “One of my techs is

staying the night. They’ll set it. Besides,

it’s pretty common knowledge I’m the

owner. No one’s going to risk my family

coming after them.” She didn’t explain

further because she didn’t need to.

While she might not be one of the

physically toughest of her pack, her father

was the Alpha and her three brothers were

all in law enforcement. No one in their

right mind was going to mess with her

veterinary clinic. Whether right or wrong,

there was a hierarchy in every city or

town with shifters or vampires living

there. Witches, fae, and demons pretty

much kept to themselves, but not shifters

and vamps. There was also a hell of a lot

less crime in vamp- or shifter-run cities.

Humans didn’t screw around with the

supernaturals because the punishment was

swift and often brutal.

“Wear your hair down tonight.” His

voice was low, seductive, and twined

around her with a subtleness that had her

nipples tightening despite his high-handed