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Perhaps tonight I’ll find out what it’s like to be devoured.

Although, she had to admit, she was pretty intent on doing some devouring of her own.

She swallowed thickly.

Is this really going to happen?

Tahnee was aware that she could have cut the sexual tension in the air with a knife – but after twenty-five years of denial, everything about this situation had taken on an air of dreamlike unreality.

Probably because, for a couple of years after she and Robb had first met – and then almost immediately parted ways – this was pretty much all she had dreamed about, waking up bathed in sweat and with an almost unbearable warmth pooled between her thighs, her stomach clenched and aching, gasping for breath as arousal wound its way through her. Even if the images of what she’d been dreaming about hadn’t still been imprinted very vividly in her mind after she woke up, it wouldn’t exactly have been a mystery.

The one kiss they’d shared – the stupid New Year’s Eve kiss on the boat – had never been enough. Tahnee had always known it never would be. But she’d also never dared to let her conscious mind imagine that she might ever have anything more, even if her dreams had other ideas.

Heat flushed her skin. Robb was looking at her in a way she wasn’t even sure he was conscious of – his eyes filled with a dark, dangerous warmth, like he was only seconds away from pouncing on her and…

… And?

Obviously, Tahnee knew what would come next. And she supposed she should have known how the two of them ending up alone in the privacy of the safehouse would go, once all the adrenaline of the chase had ratcheted down a few notches.

This is kind of dangerous.

Once they sealed their bond, there was no going back.

And Tahnee knew both of them were so fiercely independent, so set in their ways – and so used to doing things their way – that this could all blow up in their faces.

But right now, with Robb looking at her like she was the only thing he’d ever wanted in his life, as well as the desperate spike of need that was coursing through her veins as she returned his stare, she didn’t know if she could bring herself to care.

In the past she might have acted what seemed like recklessly, passionately, following her feelings – but she’d still been the one that was in control. What Robb might have called unforgivable irresponsibility had always been more like calculated risks in her book.

So this feeling of wildly careening toward something that felt completely inevitable wasn’t something she was used to feeling. And she didn’t know if she had the strength – or the willpower – to fight it.

Not anymore.

“I – um, excuse me,” Tahnee managed to mutter through a mouth that suddenly felt like it’d been packed full of cotton wool.

With clumsy hands, she gathered up her cutlery, plate and bowl from the table.

Air. I need air. And space. And I can’t think straight with Robb looking at me that way.

If she didn’t get a moment to herself to cool down and breathe, she was pretty sure she was just going to crawl across the table and do something to him that most of the IKEA furniture in the safehouse would definitely not be able to withstand, and then all this stylish Swedish minimalism would basically become a bunch of collapsed kindling for the non-existent fireplace.

Her hands shook as she went to the kitchen, dumping her dirty dishes into the sink and washing her hands before clutching the edge of the kitchen counter and trying to take as many deep breaths as she could.

It didn’t do much good – she’d taken a few meditation classes in her time, but none of them had told her what to do when a long-suppressed mate bond seemed to be taking over both her mind and her body. Wildfire heat crackled through her.

You know what to do, her brolga muttered to her, fluffing its feathers before fading into the background of her mind. You can’t deny your instincts.

Staring down into the sink, Tahnee had a horrible feeling it was right.

But is it really so horrible?

One thing she’d learned growing up was that if you were swimming and a strong current or a rip caught you, the best thing to do was simply to let it carry you away – fighting it would only lead to exhaustion and drowning. To save yourself, you had to let it have its way until it was done, and only then could you figure out what to do next.

That’s what this feels like, she thought dizzily. Like being carried out into the unknown, and I can’t resist or fight it…

Swallowing, Tahnee realized that while she’d been staring at her dishes and doing deep breathing exercises, Robb must have silently gotten up from the table and come to the kitchen door.

She had her back to him, so she couldn’t see him – but she knew he was there. It felt almost as if she could sense the heat of him against her back.