“It’s a little late,” she said slowly.

“Time to talk, Tinker,” I replied, knowing I probably sounded like a fucking caveman and not giving one single shit. I pushed through the door, catching her arm and jerking her to the side so I could lock us in. Peaches. There it was. Now I just needed to figure out if her cunt tasted that way, too.

Only one way to find out.

My cock surged at the thought. Slowly, deliberately counting my steps to maintain control, I walked across the room toward a dark wooden table along the wall. Hold it together. Don’t scare her. Fuck her and make her scream.

Jesus, couldn’t decide what I wanted.

All of it.

“What’s going on?” she asked, and I heard fear in her voice. Christ, that just made me want her more. I liked the idea of hunting her, chasing her down like a doe, then banging her hard while she screamed for mercy. Those nipples were like rocks . . . She wanted me just as bad as I wanted her. Was she wet already? I could practically smell it on her.

The throbbing in my dick matched the pounding in my head.

Keep it together, moron.

Reaching back, I pulled my gun out of the back of my jeans, setting it down carefully. Then I unbuckled my belt, whipping it through the loops to free the scabbard holding my knife.

“Cooper, I think—” she started to say, but I cut her off. Couldn’t take one more damned minute of her calling me by that fucking name.

“Gage.”

I set the hunting knife beside the gun, carefully coiling my belt up next to them. Pic might’ve been right, I realized. My control was slipping. She needed a slow, careful explanation. I needed my cock buried deep in her cunt. One of these would be happening soon, and it probably wasn’t the smart one.

“Gage?” she asked hesitantly.

“My name is Gage,” I confirmed, turning and stalking toward her. Goddamn, her cheeks were all flushed. I saw fear and excitement in her eyes, and those beautiful tits of her swayed up with every breath, taunting me. The view was outstanding. At some point I should probably figure out where she kept her bras, then take my knife to each and every one of them. Those tits were works of art and they deserved better than to be covered.

“Your name is Gage?” she asked, clearly confused as hell.

Fair enough, what with all the lies I’d told her.

“Yeah, the name was fake,” I told her bluntly. I took another step forward, backing her against the front door. “All of it was fake. Lot of shit’s gone down in the last two days. Things have changed, so it’s time for us to talk.”

I let my body push into hers, flattening her boobs against my chest. Christ, that felt good. Felt even better as my cock dug into her stomach. Felt right, the same way it felt when I’d put my colors back on. Right in a way that resonated to my bones, and any doubts I might’ve had about the situation were gone in an instant. I should lock her up, make her my prisoner until she acknowledged once and for all who she belonged to. Maybe even tattoo my name across that ass of hers.

That way any fucker stupid enough to try and get into her pants would know the name of his murderer.

My hand tightened on her throat for an instant—Jesus, the power I had over her in that moment. So sweet it hurt. Then I slid my hand up into her hair, digging deep until the band holding it popped. Tinker’s eyes were wild, and I deliberately ground my hips into her, ass clenching as I imagined thrusting deep and hard.

“There’s a lot of ground to cover, so I’m gonna give you the short version for now,” I said, catching and holding her gaze prisoner, sure as I held her body. “I haven’t been free since I got here. Now I am, which means I’m taking what’s mine.”

Tinker swallowed. My cock hurt. Blood pounded through me, and I decided what she really needed was something bigger to swallow. Christ.

“What do you mean, you’re taking . . . ?” she asked, her voice thready and strained.

“I’m taking you,” I said, nudging her legs apart with one knee. Now I felt her heat, and my hips swiveled again, starting a slow rhythm, mimicking what I’d be doing to her soon. Leaning down, I rubbed my nose slowly along her cheekbone. “You’re mine now.”

Tinker stiffened, and I tightened my hand in her hair. She needed to know who was boss. That I was in charge.

That I’d take care of her.

She swallowed again and I groaned, hips surging against her. This was better and worse than I’d imagined, because I was supposed to explain but I couldn’t think. Maybe I should just fuck her and explain later. Maybe I’d be able to think by then. Kicking her legs wider, I angled my pelvis into hers, pinning her hard against the door, starting a slow grind that simultaneously hurt and felt better than anything I’d ever experienced before in my life.

Tinker gasped, and I knew I’d won. She might be pissed as hell later, but right now the woman wanted me as much as I wanted her. That was a damned good thing, because by the time she knew the whole truth, she’d probably come after me with her daddy’s shotgun.

I closed my eyes for an instant, trying to slow down. Remember what I’d come here to tell her. Shitty to be me, because my brain had ceased to function. Now it was all about my cock pushing against her pussy and the feel of her heat through the layers of clothing between us.

“A lot’s gone down, but right now the critical information is that you belong to me,” I told her, my voice rough. “You’re my property. You don’t understand what that means, and that’s okay. I’ll teach you. But when you look back at this moment, I want you to remember there was a before I claimed you and an after. Now it’s after. You got me?”

She didn’t—I read the confusion in her face, and if I’d been a decent man I’d have let her go. Then she swallowed again, and all I could think about was shoving my dick down her throat. My pulse pounded as my slow grind grew more ragged. I had no fucking idea how I’d managed to keep my hands off her this long, but those days were done.

I’d lost my self-control and I wouldn’t be getting it back.

“What about your girlfriend?” Tinker asked suddenly, eyes narrowing. There was a spark of jealousy there, and savage triumph roared through me. She didn’t like me fucking Talia. This was good. Sure, we’d probably have a few fights over it, but the best part of fighting is the makeup sex.

“First, Talia has never been my girlfriend—that bitch is nothing,” I told her. Tinker frowned skeptically. I reached down, catching one of her legs and lifting it to wrap around my waist. Now my cock hit her pussy at a new angle, and if we’d been naked I’d have already been inside her. “My club sent me here to study the Nighthawks, and she was the easiest way to get inside. Fucking her was like fucking a praying mantis. She’s gone, or she will be soon. Either way, I’m done with her.”