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My thighs clenched. God, the things he said. No one had ever affected me the way he did. Even though most of the time I wanted to punch him and fuck with equal measure. “What if what happened yesterday was just a one off?” I said, making a final halfhearted grasp at resistance.

He laughed low and rough, and dirty as hell, not even bothering to reply with actual words. Because I was full of shit, and we both knew it. Let’s be honest, at this point, if he wanted me, I was his for the taking.

And now that I knew what was going to happen when I finished concentrating was near impossible. As I worked on the last rune, my slow, even breaths had turned into ragged pants.

My belly quivered, and my nipples tightened, and if I’d purposely let them brush his back more than once while I finished, I blamed him for making me feel so out of control. Maybe I wanted to push him, to feel as out of control as he made me.

Warrick’s head was down, his body held rigid. Those thick biceps were rock solid, and his hands no longer rested on the table in front of him but were curled in tight fists, pressing down on his thighs.

With a shaky breath, I turned off the tattoo gun and put it down.

Silence engulfed the room.

Grabbing a damp cloth, I wiped away the excess ink and blood and dropped it on the table. Warrick grabbed my wrist before I could take my hand back, turned in his seat, and slowly pulled me around his body. I ended up standing between his spread thighs.

His nostrils flared, and he reached for the front of my jeans.

“Not here.” I backed up a step, and he rose to his feet, chest heaving as he advanced on me. My belly flipped, and I turned, rushing out the door and up the stairs. The thump of his boots echoed on the hardwood floor as he came after me.

I’d never been happier that my room was all the way up in the tower and away from everyone else than in that moment. I shoved the door open and rushed in. Warrick strode in right behind me.

His gaze raked over me, and he kicked the door shut. For some reason, I backed up at the look on his face. It was fierce, wild, all animal. He watched me do it and stalked me until my back hit the wall.

I’d wanted him to lose control, and it looked like I was getting my wish.

He grunted and reached out, tugging on the hair tie he’d put in my hair a short time ago, and pulled it free, then slowly undid the braid. I was breathing hard and fast, an out-of-control feeling inside me building higher with every moment that passed.

Resting his hand at the base of my neck, he cupped it with his long, thick fingers. Not a threat, it was pure possessiveness. His thumb pressed lightly against the pulse thumping madly below my skin, then he leaned in and dragged his nose along my throat and made a sound that had me wanting to tear my clothes off.

Instead, I stood there frozen, heart pounding, so far beyond turned on, I couldn’t think, my damn mouth wouldn’t work. All I could do was wait for what he would do next—

He dropped to his knees, and gripping the front of my jeans, tore them open. I gasped, and he yanked them down my legs, tugging them right off, my boots and socks with them. Then with another grunt, he tapped my ankle, and I instantly stepped out, following his silent orders, and spreading my legs.

His hand came up between my thighs, and he cupped me over my underwear as he dragged in a breath through his nose.

I whimpered, and he looked up at me. “Yeah, fucking drenched, dove.” He tore my underwear off my body, reducing them to tatters, but he paused, his golden gaze moving over me, and he licked his lips as if he were about to feast on his favorite meal.

I couldn’t take it another moment. “Warrick…”

He buried his face against my swollen, slick flesh and lashed his tongue over my clit before sucking it between his lips. I cried out, and he grabbed one of my thighs and threw it over his shoulder. My hand went to the back of his head, and I tugged him closer. He sucked more firmly, and I was so on edge, so needy for him by then, I came instantly.

Warrick growled and lapped me up as I made incoherent sounds, desperately holding him to me.

I’d barely caught my breath when he was back at my sensitive clit, licking it with broad strokes, making me quiver and moan, Christ, building me right back to the same desperate state I’d been in when we’d walked in here.

He didn’t stop until he took me over the edge again. I groaned helplessly, my hips rocking restlessly as I came a second time.

Before I could catch my breath, he stood, lifted me, and tugged my legs around his waist, then pressed me against the wall and claimed my mouth. The kiss was wild, untamed, and it completely overwhelmed me. I was utterly, willingly, at his mercy.

How was it possible that I wanted more? I wanted more of him.

One of his hands slipped between us, and he rubbed two broad fingers over my opening. I sucked on his tongue, arching against the wall. He shoved them inside me with a hiss, fucking me with them, fast and deep, hitting me right where I needed him. It was like I hadn’t already come twice, I was back to pure all-consuming need.

“You think you can take more, dove?”

“I need you,” I said, so beside myself with desperation for this male, I couldn’t think straight.

“You’re not ready for me,” he said and then slowly eased a third finger inside me.