“Ken?” Mari’s fingers moved in his hair, massaging his scalp and sending a shudder of awareness down his spine.

“Why is it that whenever a man is doing his best to be noble, his body goes into overdrive and he can’t think with his brains?”

“Has it occurred to you that I might not want you to be noble? I almost died. I have to go back to an existence I don’t even want to think about. This might be my one chance—my only chance—to be with a man I choose.”

“Here? In this lock-down laboratory that is a constant reminder of everything you’ve never had? In this narrow, hard bed? I want you someplace where I can spend hours—days—exploring every inch of your body. Somewhere beautiful with the fire roaring in the fireplace and waterfalls out the window.”

Her breath hitched again, the smallest of reactions, but he caught it. She didn’t believe she would ever have those things, and in that moment, he resolved to make certain she did—that she would have everything he could give her.

Mari shifted again, her br**sts brushing his shadowed jaw. Ken’s body nearly went rigid, every muscle tight and hot, contracting into hard knots. His breath fanned the temptation of her ni**les. He needed her more than he needed the air in his lungs, but once he touched her, once he claimed her, there would be no walking away.

“Mari . . . ,” he tried again, his face, of its own accord, moving that scant inch so that his tongue could dip lower and take one delicious lick along her nipple.

Mari jumped beneath him, her h*ps moving restlessly, her br**sts rising sharply with her indrawn breath, arching into him, into the dark, hot cavern of his mouth. His hand cupped her breast, kneading, as he suckled, using his teeth to sharpen her desire, his tongue to tease and draw out her pleasure.

She made a single sound, a gasp of shock, her h*ps bucking, her hot mound sliding over his thigh in an effort to get some relief. At once, he dipped his fingers lower, to find a furnace of heat. His teeth closed on her nipple with a small bite of pain, as his fingers found her slick entrance, testing her response to his need for a little rougher play. A fresh wave of her heady scent rose and his fingers were damp with her welcome.

Mari’s moan was so soft he barely heard it—but he felt it vibrate through his entire body. His c**k jerked, rubbing against the material of his jeans, swelling to a breaking point. He had to have some relief before he shattered. He switched to her other breast, suckling strongly as his hand slid to his jeans, working them open, sliding them over his h*ps so his enormous erection could spring free. He couldn’t stop himself—his hand sliding over the thick, hard pole, feeling the ridges, squeezing tightly in an effort to create sensation. Hell, he didn’t even know if his equipment really worked anymore.

Teeth teasing the nipple, keeping her pleasure sharp and edgy, he dragged his jeans from his hips. He shifted back, lifting his head from her soft, perfect br**sts, to look at her. Mari lay on the cot, her eyes glazed with desire, lips parted, with her breath rising and falling rapidly. Her br**sts thrust up from the open shirt, her legs bare and sprawled apart, her body open to him. She was the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. Her gaze dropped to his fist curled around his thick erection. There was a drop glistening like a pearl on the large, swollen head. Her gaze locked with his, Mari leaned forward and licked it off.

His entire body locked up, a firestorm raging hot and wild, a fever building so fast, so intense, he shuddered, his heart thudding loudly in his ears. Sweat broke out, beading on his brow. She was killing him. Killing him.

He caught her face in his hands and forced her dark eyes to meet his smoldering gaze. “Mari, honey, you have to be sure.” His voice was hoarse. “I’m not going to be able to stop in another minute. I don’t have a damn thing to use as protection and this is bullshit, taking you here. I’m not going to be gentle and loving like you deserve. And I don’t want to hurt you. I’m so damned afraid of hurting you, but I swear I’ll give you more pleasure than you’ve ever had in your life. If you can’t do this with me, go all the way, take everything I need to give you, you’ve got to tell me to stop now and I swear to you, I’ll find the strength to leave you alone.”

“Ken, please,” she whispered, her dark eyes pleading. “I want you so much I can’t think straight. This is our moment. We have to take it or it may never come again. Give me this, give me a memory, something real, to last me forever.”

He took her lips. He tried for gentle, but the moment he slid his tongue into the velvet darkness of her mouth, he was lost in a haze of madness. Lust rose, so sharp and terrible it consumed him, ate him alive. He took her mouth, giving in to the demons riding him so hard.

Hard hands held her still. Mari was shocked at his enormous strength, at her own sudden arousal at his aggression, so hot and fast and hard, shaking her body before she was ready, almost pushing her into an orgasm before he’d really touched her. His ragged breath was harsh as he bit at her lip, his teeth and tongue doing wild things to her mouth until she couldn’t see, let alone think.

His lips moved down her neck, tiny stinging kisses that left fire dancing over her nerve endings. His thumb and finger caught her nipple, rolling and tugging until her head thrashed back and forth over the pillow and she sobbed out his name. She hadn’t known she could feel this way, hadn’t known that a small burst of pain could bring heat flaring and his tongue could feel like velvet over smarting hypersensitive skin.

He kissed his way down to her br**sts, stopping there to feast, wanting her in a frenzy of desire, needing her compliance, afraid that if she fought him, he’d go wild. His hand moved lower, savoring the shape and texture of her, cupping her hot, damp mound, feeling satisfaction as her h*ps bucked and another soft sob escaped. He slid a finger into the deep recesses, searching for honey and spice and a way to make her his for eternity.

“Spread your legs for me, Mari.” His voice was harsh, hands rough on her thighs, forcing her obedience before she could give it to him, positioning her so he could kiss his way down her belly button, pausing to nibble the underside of her br**sts, trace each rib, and lavish attention on her abdomen with hot licks as if she were an ice cream cone.

“Ken.” Desperate, she fisted her hands in his hair, trying to drag him over her, to blanket her.

He caught her wrists and jerked them down. “Behave,” he ordered. “We do this my way. I warned you, it has to be my way.” Because watching her lose control, watching the lust build into mindless need, fed his violent instincts and increased his pleasure. The more she came apart for him, the better it was for him.

“I can’t take it. You’re too slow.”

“Stay still,” he repeated, his voice roughening. His tongue followed his finger in a long, slow sweep searching for the nectar he was craving.

She nearly came off the cot, her sobs real, her h*ps thrashing wildly. He smacked the side of her bottom in warning and watched the answering flare of arousal in her eyes. Ken clamped one arm down tight across her hips, pinning her down. His need raged white-hot now, coursing through his body with the force of a tidal wave, a storm of fire so out of control it was crowning. He didn’t just need her body; he wanted her soul. He wanted her so tied to him she would do anything he asked, anything he demanded of her.

Mari raised her head to look at him, the dark sensuality on his face, the intensity of his desire that shuddered through his body. His eyes were pure silver, twin slashes of light that focused solely on her. His hands were hard and terribly strong. His scars traveled down his belly right over his enormous cock. The knife cuts had been made with surgical precision, each slice designed to cause the maximum amount of pain without killing him. His balls were cut, as were his belly and h*ps and down across his thighs, until the scars disappeared into the legs of his jeans.

She would have thought no one could recover from such an ordeal, but he was hard and thick and long enough to be intimidating—and she wanted to touch and taste and soothe, make it all better for him. Mostly she wanted to drive him past all sanity, the way he was driving her. She licked her lips to moisten them, parting them as she stared at the long, daunting length of him. She was coming apart, her body coiling tighter and tighter until she was afraid she would be screaming, throwing herself at him, begging for release.

He whispered something guttural and faintly obscene, his voice so rough she found it sexy. His silver eyes branded his name into her flesh and bone as he clamped down on her thighs and lowered his head, his mouth on her most intimate lips, his tongue thrusting deep into her. Everything around her seemed to explode. She shattered, utterly and completely shattered, breaking into a million pieces, her mind fragmenting until there was no conscious thought, only wave after wave of sensation, tidal waves swamping her, carrying her far out to sea, where she had no anchor and no way back.

She fought to get away, using her strength, terrified of losing herself for all time, afraid if he didn’t stop she might die from the crashing pleasure. Her vision narrowed, and she saw dark streaks covered in blue-hot stars as her br**sts tightened and her womb spasmed and every muscle in her body clenched and coiled, winding tighter and tighter. He held her still, as no one else could have, his enhanced strength impossible to fight while he drove his tongue relentlessly into her feminine channel, spearing deep, over and over. She couldn’t stand it. He had to stop. He had to.

The tongue went from stabbing to fluttering; teeth found her most sensitive spot and began a slow, torturous assault. His finger added to the insanity, pushing deep and pulling out to spread hot liquid over her most intimate parts. His mouth went to her sensitive bud, tongue flicking back and forth ruthlessly, throwing her into a wild, never-ending orgasm. The more sensitive she grew, the more he persisted, holding her down while he sucked at her, before once more taking her bud between his teeth and stroking with his tongue. She lost her ability to breathe, thrashing back and forth wildly in an effort to get away from his mouth.

Her breath came out in ragged sobs. “I can’t take any more. No more.” The sensations were building continually. She’d lost count of how many times she’d come apart, each orgasm stronger than the last, until she felt it through her stomach and up into her br**sts, until every part of her was stimulated beyond her imagination.

“Yes, more. You’ll come for me, Mari, over and over.” His voice was guttural as he sucked ravenously at her, throwing her into another cl**ax.

It was too much; she had never had anyone give her so much, demand so much, take so much. She dug her fingers into his shoulders, desperate to hold on when the world was gone. Their combined scents were potent and heady, so sexy she couldn’t think. His hands were everywhere, making her body his, taking possession of each separate part of her.

When she stiffened in protest—afraid—his mouth devoured her, eating her like the candy he’d called her earlier, devouring everything until she was certain there was nothing left of Mari. He lifted his head to look at her, his face pure carnal sensuality.

“You belong to me,” he whispered roughly. Body and soul. Whatever he wanted or needed, she was going to be the one to supply it. The dark violence in him could be harnessed and used for much more pleasurable purposes, the demons caged by one woman—Mari. She made his c**k ache and his balls burn and his control slip away, until all he could think about was having her. He was a man who could ride a woman all night and never feel completely sated, yet just looking at her sprawled out beneath him at the mercy of his body, hearing her pleas and sobs for him to take her, he knew everything was different with her. His life would always be different.

She clutched him tightly, her body writhing beneath his tongue and teeth, her breath coming in sobs as she pleaded with him to possess her. Her breathless cries added to the intensity of his pleasure. The nails biting deep into his skin, the scratches on his back he knew she didn’t realize she was putting there, all added to the building fire.