“You’re so fucking soft,” he groaned against her breast, sinking a finger inside her. Then another. He nipped at her, then dragged his tongue across her shiny nipple. “Soft and tight and drenched.”

“I want you. So much. I always have,” Lily moaned, breathless, her hips arching against his hand, his long fingers driving her wild. “Now get your damn shirt off so I can look at you. I think I’ll go crazy if I don’t get to see how beautiful you are.”

“Christ. Don’t say that,” he grunted, sitting up just long enough to pull his shirt over his head and toss it behind him before bracing himself back over her on one muscular arm, while his other hand reached between her legs again.

Staring up into his rugged features, Lily thought the expression on his face was so strange. He looked outrageously pissed, but . . . fascinated, as if he liked what he was doing but . . . but didn’t want to like it.

“Are you always like this when you want a man?” he asked her, thrusting his slick fingers back inside her.

She shook her head, gasping as he reached even deeper, the base of his fingers stretching her tight flesh even wider.

His fingers instantly stilled, a small crease wedged between his brows. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she whispered. “It’s just that you’re stretching me. A lot.”

“I know.” He started rubbing her swollen, sensitive clit with the callused tip of his thumb. “Now come.”

She blinked as he came down over her, the feel of his hard, muscular chest pressing against her breasts bringing another gasp to her lips. “What?”

“You heard me.” His voice was a dark, dangerous rasp in her ear. “Come. Now. Let me feel it.”

Before she could tell him that she didn’t know how to orgasm on demand, he had his mouth back on her breasts, sucking and licking at her tight nipples until she could feel each rhythmic pull of his mouth between her legs, mirrored inside her sex and her clit. She was pulsing around his pumping fingers in a snug, wet clinch, the thrashing sound of her heartbeat roaring in her ears, growing steadily louder, until it all crashed down on her in a shocking, wrenching eruption of pleasure that had her sobbing and shouting, the muscles in her sex clamping around him so strongly he could barely move his fingers inside her. She had her nails buried in the hard muscles in his shoulders, her eyes squeezed tightly shut as she rode out the powerful waves, surging along with the crazy swells until she was finally floating in a calm, mellow lake of bliss. Her body felt steeped in heat, and she was so wet between her legs she could hear the slick sound it made when he eventually pulled his fingers free.

Seconds later, she heard him growl deep in his throat, the angry, guttural sound bringing her eyes open just in time to see him pulling one of the long fingers he’d had inside her out of his mouth. She cringed, wondering what was wrong with her, when he snarled, “You shouldn’t be allowed to taste like this. It’s fucking unreal.”

Oh! Um, then what was the problem? She shook her head with confusion. “And that pisses you off why exactly?”

“Because now,” he bit out, licking off the glistening juices that shone on his other finger, “the taste of your cunt is all I’ll be able to think about.”

She started to smile, but ended up gasping instead when he suddenly growled again . . . and shoved his face against the very place where his fingers had been. Her back arched as she felt his clever tongue hungrily licking between her drenched folds, and then pushing up inside her, unable to believe how wickedly good it felt. He was working her with a hot, delicious tongue-fuck, his hands digging into her thighs so tightly she knew she’d be bruised. But she didn’t care. She just wanted to keep feeling this forever, the reality of having Ryder’s mouth on her so much more mind-blowing than anything she’d ever imagined. It was heart-stopping. Would have ruined her for other men if he hadn’t already done that all those years ago, without ever even laying a hand on her.

“I can’t get enough of you,” he groaned, suckling her clit as he shoved those two fingers back inside her, and Lily could feel that blinding, blissful madness start to overtake her all over again. She came screaming this time, hands gripping his hair, pumping herself against his face in a shameless need for more as he replaced his fingers with his tongue, moving it in and out of her. She shouted his name, holding nothing back from him. Not even the parts she knew he didn’t want. That she doubted he even thought about, like her heart. But she wasn’t going to let that stop her.

“Get inside me,” she panted, struggling for breath as she blinked him into focus and watched him slowly lift his head from between her legs, his mouth wet with her juices. He flicked his tongue across his top lip, then the bottom one, so unbelievably sexy she felt a fresh wave of heat and need flood her body, melting her down. “Please, Scott. I can’t wait. Don’t make me wait. Just do it.”

• • •

AS LILY’S HUSKY words echoed through his head, Ryder suddenly flinched. He felt like a bucket of ice water had just been thrown in his face. Jesus. What the hell had he done?

“We have to stop,” he said in a low voice, knowing he had to get away from her. That instant. Before he took this someplace they couldn’t go.

“Stop?” She blinked, looking confused. Not to mention completely adorable, with her shirt tucked up under her chin and her face all flushed from her orgasms. “Now?”

Hell yes now. Before he lost what little control he still had left. “We can’t do this here. We’ve got to go, Lil.”

“Go?” she whispered, bracing herself on her elbows as he sat back on his heels and reached for his shirt. She watched him pull it on, then shook her head, sending the strawberry blond waves spilling over her shoulders. “I thought we were having sex. You said, ‘This is just sex.’”

His voice came out like a snarl. “We did.”

“Did what?”

“Have sex,” he muttered, careful not to look any lower than her face.

“Then did I miss something?” she asked slowly, starting to sound pissed. “Because I have a feeling I’d know if your dick was inside me. I seriously doubt that’s something that would go unnoticed, even if you weren’t huge. Which I could easily tell you are when you were grinding against me this morning!”

“You got oral sex,” he grated, using the bottom of his shirt to wipe his mouth. “And you came twice. So why the hell are you complaining?”

Her eyes went wide, just before she suddenly scrambled away from him. She used the fall of her hair to hide her face as she quickly sorted out her panties and shorts. “Oral sex!” she muttered under her breath, lifting the cups of her bra before tugging down her shirt. “I can’t believe you!”

He glared at her as they moved back to their feet, his dick so hard he knew he was going to be in hell until they finally made it back to his place, where he could grab a freezing-cold shower. Not that it would help. Now that he knew how fucking sweet she tasted, and how hot and wet her tight little pussy could get for him, he doubted anything but a long, hard, bed-breaking fuck would sort him out. Which meant he was seriously screwed, because he needed to keep his goddamn hands, as well as his dick, off her. Not in her!

Shoving his hair back from his brow, he stepped closer and got right in her face. Well, over her face, since he was so much taller than she was. “What is your problem?” he demanded. “It’s not like I left you hanging. You came so hard you were screaming and damn near yanking my hair out!” Which he’d loved every second of, and wanted again. The sooner the better.

“Yes, your tongue is incredible and you made me come,” she seethed, her green eyes glittering with fire, hands fisted at her sides. “That’s not the point. The point is that I thought you were offering more. I thought I was getting the complete act, with you over me, holding me down, fucking my brains out!”

He scowled, determined not to let her know how much her words affected him. “Where the hell did you learn to talk like that?”

She looked ready to stomp her foot with frustration. “Like what? An adult? A woman? News flash, Scott: I grew up. A long time ago. You need to get your head out of your ass and realize I’m not that gangly seventeen-year-old you met all those years ago.”

“I know you’re not seventeen.” His hooded gaze did a swift pass down her body, before locking back on hers. “And you’re sure as hell not gangly.”

“Then stop treating me like I need a time-out.”

“I’m just trying to be . . . realistic.”

This time Lily was the one who made a sound like a growl. “God, you are so frustrating!” She fought the urge to kick him in the shin, figuring she’d end up breaking a toe in her sandals, and forced herself to turn around instead. She was standing at the end of the small hallway now, and the instant she faced the room she had to reach out and brace her hand against the wall. “Oh, shit.”

“Son of a bitch!” he snarled from just behind her, obviously staring over her head and getting his first look at her room as well. The next thing she knew he had her trapped between his back and the wall, protecting her with his tall body, a gleaming black 9mm gripped in his powerful hand. She blinked, shocked that she hadn’t realized he had the gun tucked into the back of his jeans. He kept her behind him as he edged toward the side of the closet, kicking it open with his foot, making sure no one was hiding inside. He did the same with the bathroom, snapping for her to stay plastered to his back as he checked behind the curtains and under the bed. Only when he was certain the room was clear did he turn around and glare down into her eyes, the scar on his face turning white with his anger. “I swear to God, Lily. You make me lose my fucking mind.” His deep voice was low and clipped. “I can’t believe I was eating you out on the goddamn floor when there’s a psycho killer on your ass!”

“You think it was Rado’s men who trashed the room?”

He didn’t answer the question, a muscle pulsing hard in his jaw as he looked away from her, taking in the destruction. The bed and pillows had been slashed, the pieces scattered all over the floor, along with the smashed drawers from the upturned dresser and nightstands. Whoever had done this wanted to scare her. It was textbook crime movie stuff, meant to incite panic and fear.

“Get what you need and do it quickly,” he said in a flat voice. “We need to get out of here.”

“Do you think they’re still here?”

“I think they’re probably watching the place. So we need to move. Now!” He slipped the gun into the back of his jeans again and grabbed the small, cheap duffel bag that she’d bought a few days ago, shoving her scattered clothes into it. She ran into the bathroom, grabbing the makeup she’d left on the counter, giving it to him to toss into the bag with her clothes. Then he threw the strap over his shoulder, grabbed her hand, and pulled her toward the door. “We’re heading to the Jeep from the side exit and you’re staying right behind me. Understood?”

She nodded at his back, trying to get control of her fear, knowing it wasn’t going to help anything.

His voice was hard and rough as he shot her a sharp look over his shoulder. “Tell me you understand, Lily.”

She huffed at his tone. “I understand. I’m not stupid.”

“Stupid, no,” he muttered, opening the door and carefully checking the corridor in both directions. “But you are definitely stubborn as hell.”

She bit her tongue, knowing better than to argue with him as she followed him to the side exit. He kept checking to make sure they were alone, and despite the potential danger, she felt safe because she was with him. He crouched down, quietly telling her to do the same, as they made their way into the full parking lot. They stayed behind one of the rows of cars as they headed toward the Jeep, the lot thankfully empty of other people. She’d just started to breathe a little easier, thinking they were going to make it, when two thugs came out of nowhere. One second she was behind Ryder, his strong hand wrapped around her wrist, and in the next he’d shoved her to the ground, ordering her to hide under the SUV they were in front of as he dropped her bag and faced off against the two dark-haired assholes.

She didn’t hide. She was too terrified for his safety to do more than crouch by the SUV’s bumper, ready to help him if she could, but worried that she’d only be in his way. It’d been so long since she’d seen him fight—she’d always loved to spy on his sparring sessions when she’d been younger—and she briefly wondered if it would be like she remembered . . . or if civilian living would have lessened his skill and intensity. But she’d been stupid to question his abilities for even that brief second. He wasn’t as good as he’d been, he was even better, his body moving with a powerful, lethal grace as he immediately went on the offensive. He smashed his elbow into one guy’s face, blood spurting from the man’s crushed nose as he flipped the thug over his shoulder and slammed his booted foot into the jaw of the other one. Then the guy with the gushing nose fired a wayward shot from the gun he’d yanked off his ankle, making her scream, but Ryder was in full control. He didn’t even have to pull his own weapon. He simply spun, grabbed the gun, and tore it from the man’s hand while slamming his knee into his groin. As the guy doubled over, snarling something in a Slavic language, Ryder punched him in the face, knocking him out just as the other one jumped on his back. Within seconds he had the man flipped over his head and sprawled across the hot asphalt. With a well-placed kick into the bastard’s face, Ryder left him in the same shape as his partner, both of the idiots bleeding and unconscious.