“Don’t think.” His voice is desperate. “Be here. Take what you need, Charlie.”

“What if I don’t need anything?”

“You’re lying,” Mark replies. “You need more than you’ll admit. You need this. You need me to make you feel good, don’t you?” His hand moves to where I lay open to him. He doesn’t waste time, he inserts a finger and my head falls back. “That’s it, baby,” he coaxes. “You need a man who will put up with your shit. Someone who can handle your need to control, and know you want to be out of control for once.” Mark inserts another finger. My back arches, rubbing my breasts against his chest. He removes his fingers suddenly and my eyes fly open. “Now, do you need this?”

“Yes.”

“That’s it,” he says before my lips meet his again. “Now, take what you want.”

I break away and move down his body. Our eyes remain on each other as I slide slowly to pull his boxers and free his cock. He puts his arms behind his head as I look at his length. I press my lips against his stomach, kissing all the way down.

“I hope you’re ready for payback.” I smile before I take his length in one pull.

“Holy fuck!” His hand flies to the back of my head.

I bob up and down, twirling my tongue around the tip. I moan, adding vibration, and enjoy each noise he makes in return. Mark’s muscles tense as I continue to blow him. Each time his breath hitches, I suck harder and deeper.

“Charlie,” he groans. “You gotta stop, baby. I’m gonna lose it.”

I suck one more time before I come up.

Mark doesn’t give me a second to recover. He practically throws me on my back, puts a condom on, and is back on top of me. “Tell me your name.” He puts the tip of his dick in and waits.

I look at him and wish he could understand, but there’s no way. I won’t give that part of me to him. “No.”

“No?”

“It’s the only thing that’s mine.”

“I need to know.” He presses just a little bit deeper.

I wiggle beneath him. I need more. “Don’t stop,” I beg.

“Tell me.”

“I need more.”

Another inch deeper.

“Mark!” I practically scream while I try to push him using my heels against his ass. I fight with myself. It’s just a name, but it feels like a complete surrender.

“I can’t fuck you if I don’t know your name.” He pulls out a little.

I whimper at the retreat. Then I get pissed. Fuck him. How dare he use this moment to extract information? “Wrong way, you son of a bitch!”

“Ahh!” He smiles. “There you are. Not so calm and badass when you want my dick?”

He thinks he’s so smart. Well, he’s not the only one trained. I slap him across the cheek. I watch the shock flash on his face and know I only have a second before he’ll recover. So, I push him on his back and impale myself. “Looks like I got what I wanted anyway.”

Of course, this is just the beginning. There’s no way I’m not going to pay for that. Sure enough, he uses the fact he’s double my size and rolls me back. He pushes so deep inside me that I can barely breathe. “You want this?” he growls.

“Yes!”

Mark sets an unrelenting rhythm as he takes everything. We fuck like animals, clawing, grabbing, and pounding into each other. I climb higher and higher as the sweat drips down my face. The smell of sex is all around us. I scrape my nails across his back, hold on, and teeter on the verge of another climax. “I’m gonna come,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Give it to me.” Mark pounds harder. “Squeeze my dick. Take it, Charlie.”

My head rolls back as he continues to slam into me. “Mark!” I moan as I get closer.

“Fuck, baby. I’m close. Look at me. Look at me when I own you.”

We lock eyes as he slips his hand between where we’re joined and presses against my clit. That’s all I need. I fall over the edge, screaming his name and clawing at his back.

Mark thrusts a few more times and follows me to the finish line.

After a few minutes of lying there to catch our breaths, we get up to clean up. I head into the bathroom and look myself over. My hair looks like I’m Medusa, my makeup is smeared, and I’m flushed. I lean back against the door, letting it sink in. I had mind-blowing sex with Mark. The man who drives me insane and makes me wonder what the hell is wrong with me.

This is bad. This is very, very bad.

I’m a stupid woman. I know better than this. But there was something in his eyes. A part of him I’ve never seen before that beckoned me. I wanted to take it away. And now, I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do.

I exit the bathroom to find him sitting on the edge of the bed. “Thought you might spend the rest of the flight in there.”

“Funny.” I walk over, throw my clothes, and sit next to him. “I thought about it.”

“What changed your mind?”

I shrug. “I figured you’d eventually break the door down.”

Mark laughs and grips my thigh. “Look,” he says, but I lift my hand.

“Let me go first.” He stops talking for the first time—ever. “I need to be clear. That was just what it was.”

“And what do you think that was?”

“Sex. That’s it.”

That’s all it can be. I need to focus. I’m going to betray him when I get home. There will be no more partnership. I’m doing this on my own. Working together was a mistake. There’s no way I can remain objective. I have to distance myself from this mess, and Mark needs to get a handle on what is going on with him.

He stands and pushes his blonde hair back. “You really know how to kill a mood.”

“I’m just being honest.”

“I didn’t ask you for anything,” he counters. “But you’re lying to yourself if you think I didn’t see through the bullshit you spit out. It wasn’t just sex. You felt everything that happened between us. You fucking enjoyed every second I was inside you.”

“Yeah, I did! The sex part only!” I yell.

He laughs and mumbles under his breath, “You’re so stubborn.”

He’s right. “And you’re being targeted!” I can’t talk about us when there’s all this between us. “I’m being targeted! I mean, shit! Do you really think this is the best time for us to start something? Because I sure as hell don’t.”

“I can handle myself,” he states with no room for discussion.

Frustratingly stubborn male. I’ve never doubted he can handle it, but I don’t think he really grasps the full picture. “And what about the people around you? Are you handling them?” I stand and move around the room.

“I fully intend to.” Mark stands and begins to walk toward me, but I put my hands up to stop him.

The questions assault me as I allow my mind to work. He has to wonder the same things. It’s time to lay it all out on the table. “There are a lot of things that don’t add up. How did the villagers know about the Humvee that was carrying Aaron? How did they know you and Jackson were in the country? How did anyone know about your mission with the ambassador? What the hell did Jackson do to get anyone associated with his company on their radar?” I fire off my thoughts without pause.