Enemy Within (Unseen Enemy Book 1) by Marysol James

in.” He turned back to Dallas. “See you later, man.”
    “Sure thing.”
    Dallas watched Dean go in to the house and shut the door behind him. Puzzled, he sat back down and stared out at the street, thinking about Dean’s anger at Dallas’ careless words, and he knew good and well that whatever his friend said, that little brunette wasn’t some casual fling. Maybe Dean didn’t know it yet, but it was damn clear to Dallas that Emma was something special.
    Goddammit, Dean. Careful, man.
    Inside the house, Dean was pulling Emma close to his bare chest, running his hands over her naked ass. She moaned and reached up for a kiss. His hands moved around to the front of her body and his hand touched lightly between her legs.
    “So,” he said. “Coffee now? Or coffee later?”
    His large finger slid between her folds, stroking her heat. She closed her eyes.
    “Don’t you have to go to work today?” Her voice was tight.
    “Nope.” He pushed in to her slick channel. “Day off.”
    Her eyes opened. “Really?”
    “Yeah. Sometimes it’s good to be the boss.”
    Carefully, he pushed her down on to the sofa and spread her legs. Slowly, making sure she knew what he was going to do to her, he mouthed a gentle kiss on her taut bud. She arched and opened herself to his mouth, already dripping wet and aching to come.
    “Later,” Emma said. “Definitely, coffee later.”
    Dean growled and lowered his head to her.

Chapter Six
     
    Emma closed her eyes as another wave of nausea shook her. She pulled her knees in tight to her chest and tried to remember to breathe.
    “Em?” Kat was in her bedroom doorway. “You need anything?”
    Emma held out her hand and Kat came in right away. She sat down next to Emma’s bed, clutching her hand.
    “It’s OK, Em. I’m right here.”
    Emma nodded. “Talk to me.”
    “Alright.” Kat stroked Emma’s sweaty hair back from her forehead. “So, I was at the hair salon yesterday, and Terrance came in an hour late. When Benny started shouting at him, Terrance went berserk . Like, we always knew the guy was wound up tight, right, but he lost it.”
    “What did he do?” Emma asked.
    “Started throwing around everything he could get his hands on… products and equipment, hair clips and shampoo bottles. Like, everything . He grabbed the hairdryer right out of my hand and threw it the length of the salon. The thing was, I was using it to dry a customer’s hair at the time, and it was roaring hot. He had to go to the hospital for second-degree burns on his hands.”
    Emma laughed, then grimaced.
    Kat saw the look on her face and reached for the bucket next to the bed; she got it in front of Emma’s mouth just in time. Emma vomited violently, then again. Kat sponged her burning face with cool water and gave her some ice chips to suck on. When Emma started to sob, Kat held her close and rocked her back and forth. There was nothing else to be done for Emma, so Kat did what she could.
    Later, when Emma was finally sleeping, Kat called Liv.
    “How is she?” Liv said.
    “Way worse this time.” Kat glanced at the bedroom door. “Really sick, Liv. She’s been throwing up all day.”
    Liv swore. “The round last time wasn’t anywhere near this bad.”
    “Yeah, well, this chemo cycle is much more aggressive. We knew that.”
    “Yeah.” Liv took a deep breath. “This damn photo shoot is almost done, and thank Christ for that. I’ll be back tomorrow morning, OK? I’ll take over for the rest of weekend and you can go home and get some rest.”
    “No problem.” Kat rubbed her eyes. “Get here when you can.”
    **
    Dean looked around The Cave, barely noticing the women gyrating on the dance floor or leaning up against the bar. He almost sighed aloud from sheer boredom.
    “Hey, Dean? You alright, man?” Chris handed him a beer.
    He looked at Chris. “Yeah. Fine. Thanks.”
    “You’re not in to it, are you?” Chris asked the question so quietly, Dean barely heard him over the