…“This is an interlude, Sloane. We have no idea how long this will last before I’m running for my life again. And I have a confession.”

“Oh?”

“I don’t have as much control as you think I do.”

This time, when he pulled her mouth down to his, the kiss wasn’t soft and gentle. He pressed her lips open with his, then dipped his tongue into her mouth. Sloane met him in kind. Her body started to hum. Tom shifted her so she lay completely on top of him, and she could feel his erection at the apex of her thighs. He wrapped one long leg around the back of her calf and raised his other knee. His arms snaked around her back and pulled her tighter against him, and he deepened the kiss even more. Sloane was lost, awash in sensation—heat, and power, and desire.

As Sloane’s desire grew, so did her awareness of Tom’s power, which had been honed anyway, with the training and proximity. The power in turn increased her desire, until she was near insane with need. And he hadn’t even touched her anywhere interesting.

Tom tore his mouth from hers and groaned. “God, Sloane. I need you.”

There was no time—or ability—to think about it. To remember her reasons why it was a bad idea. To convince Tom he didn’t really want her. All she could do was pant, “Yes.”

Almost before she said the word, Tom was on his feet, one arm still wrapped around her, his mouth back on hers and his other hand somehow managing to undo both their jeans and shove hers down. She kicked and pushed with her feet until they were off. Then she was against the door, and Tom was inside her.

They sighed in unison. Tom rested his head beside hers, his face on her shoulder. She felt a shudder go through him.

Sloane stroked his hair. “Don’t hold back,” she whispered. “I can handle it.”

He tightened his arm around her waist, shifted his hips, and for an instant, she wasn’t sure she could. She’d never had sex with someone of his power. A minute ago, she’d wanted to make him lose control, but now was almost afraid of what would happen if he did.