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I stepped closer. "Code."

His hand came up, cupped my jaw. His thumb traced my cheekbone, callused and warm. I leaned into the touch.

"We should get back." But he didn't move.

"Probably,” I agreed.

"This is a bad idea."

"Is it?"

His other hand found my waist, pulled me against him. We were both hot, sweaty, breathing hard. Nothing about this should have been sexy. Everything about it was.

"Yes." He leaned down, forehead resting against mine. "You're under my protection. I'm supposed to be professional."

"You kissed me last night."

"That was different."

"How?"

"I don't know." His grip tightened on my waist. "But this feels like crossing a line we can't uncross."

"Maybe I want to cross it."

He pulled back enough to really look at me. His eyes searched mine, looking for doubt, hesitation, any reason that would give him permission to retreat.

I didn't give him one.

"Katherine." My name was a warning and a plea.

I rose on my toes and touched my lips to his.

He froze for half a second. Then his control shattered.

His mouth opened against mine, hot and demanding. His hands slid from my waist to my back, pulling me closer until no space existed between us. I fisted my hands in his t-shirt, holding on as the world tilted.

This wasn't like last night's tentative exploration. This was need and want and days of tension finally breaking free. His beard scraped my skin. His heart pounded against my chest, or maybe that was mine.

I felt his fingers open and close, kneading my skin under my t-shirt. I wanted him to go higher, to touch me under my tank top. I wiggled, trying to make my want known, without breaking our kiss, but instead his hand started to creep lower.

His tongue tangled with mine. His other hand reached up and cupped my cheek, his thumb tenderly tracing along my jaw. His gentleness juxtaposed against the need of his hand that was now gripping my ass, sending me into a tailspin of need.

I stretched my arms around his neck and pulled him even closer, demanding an even deeper kiss, not knowing if I could survive it. Then I heard a sound. Something I didn’t recognize. A whimper.

Code pulled away.

“Baby?”

We were both gasping for air. Code’s pupils had blown wide, his breathing ragged.

“So good. Why’d you stop?”

“Because in another thirty I’d be past the point of no return. I haven’t felt like this since I was a teenager,” he admitted. "We need to stop." He didn't let go of me.

I looked around and realized we were smack dab in the middle of the trail. I couldn’t stop the laughter. “You pack quite the punch, Drakos.”

“It was all you, Katherine.”