She nodded mutely and reached back to open the door but realized her body blocked it when it tapped her ass as she pulled. Joy stepped to the side, opened it enough to fit through, and turned her back on him while she frantically searched for the key she’d tossed.

Silver glinted on the basement floor under the dim overhead lights. It took control not to run to retrieve it but instead calmly take each step. Another snarl tore from Moon when she bent and picked up the key from the floor. She turned to discover he’d opened the cell door wide and blocked it with his impressive body.

“Come to me,” he demanded harshly.

His c**k twitched, appeared incredibly hard, and she put one foot in front of the other until she stood before him. They almost touched. Moon snatched the key out of her hand, keeping eye contact while he freed both his wrists. The shackles and chains fell to the floor with a loud clank. Then he bent and unlocked both ankle shackles.

Joy didn’t expect him to grab her but he did. One arm hooked around her waist and she was lifted as he swept her up against his body. Long strides took them to the bed. He dropped her there and stunned her again when he turned his back. She watched as he crossed the cell, slammed the door closed, and then grabbed one of the shackles that was attached to a front corner of the cell.

“What are you doing?”

He didn’t spare her a glance as he wrapped the chain around the bars multiple times and locked it, securing the door. He took the other front corner chain and wrapped it at least five times over that one and locked it as well. The chains would have to be cut in several places to breach the small room. He faced her then.

“Why did you do that?”

“No one is coming in here to stop me. At least, it will take them some time to get to me.”

“No one will interfere.”

“I’m not taking any chances, sweetness.”

This was the man she knew, the one she’d come to love. He approached her with the grace of a predator and she wasn’t fool enough not to see the reminder that he wasn’t completely human.

“Spread open for me,” he demanded gruffly. “Now. I won’t wait any longer. I can’t. I’m about to snap.”

Part of her was tempted to see what would happen if he did. She’d fantasized countless times about him making love to her without restraint. He’d be wild, his Species instincts barely controlled, completely unlike anyone else she’d ever known intimately. It was part of his sexual appeal. Another part of her remembered that while he seemed one-hundred-percent lucid, he could relapse again. She wasn’t going to push her luck. They were together in the here and now.

Joy spread her legs and bent her knees up, settling her heels on the edges of the mattress. Moon stalked closer, paused at the end of the bed, and his attention locked on her sex. She swallowed hard, heart racing, and once again she was at a loss as to what to do with her hands.

Nerves were also playing hell with her. She hadn’t had sex in almost three years. At first she’d been recovering from the betrayal by a boyfriend. Then she’d met 466. Her job kept her at the desert location and once she’d left, the few dates she’d had only amplified how much other men lacked. No one could compare to the man of her dreams. Male of my dreams, she corrected, remembering he hated to be called “man”.

He stood there watching her as she did him. His eyes appeared black instead of dark brown. His features seemed to grow harsh and she worried he might not like what he saw, despite his c**k still jutting out, large and hard in her view.

“Moon?” The uncertainty in her voice was apparent.

One ragged breath and he eased a knee onto the end of the bed, his hands bracing his weight as he came down, and his shoulders maneuvered between her knees to push them farther apart. He didn’t give any other warning before he dropped his elbows and gripped her inner thighs. His silky hair ticked her skin before the feel of his hot breath fanned the seam of her sex.

The growl was sexy and deep, a tiny bit scary due to how inhuman it sounded, but then she had other things to concentrate on. He pinned her h*ps down tight and his thumbs spread her wider open to his mouth as his tongue made one long lick across her clit.

Joy finally knew what to do with her hands as they grabbed for something to claw as pleasure shot through her body. She dug her fingernails into the bedding, tightly fisting it. Moon’s mouth nuzzled in and that talented, strong tongue of his lapped at her with a determination that left her panting and unable to form coherent thoughts.

The taste of Joy nearly snapped his control. His dick hurt and raw pain pulsed through his entire system from the need to be inside her, but he fought to resist. He wanted her to come first. It would help him enter her if she was really wet and prepared. Her h*ps bucked against his hold. She twisted her body in a frantic, desperate way that assured him she was close enough to coming that she couldn’t hold still.

She was so responsive that it almost made him lose his hold on his human side and allow his animal instincts to take the helm. He pinned her down tighter and rubbed his tongue rapidly against the swelling bud until she cried out his name. The feel of her soft thighs enticed him to explore every inch of her but he would have to do that later. The need to be inside her overruled everything else. Her body seized, jerking, and he kept going until the scent of her release was the final push that snapped his determination.

He tore his mouth away from heaven and rose, crawling higher over Joy. Her eyes were closed, head thrown back, mouth open. Her face was flushed and rosy—the most beautiful, sensual thing he’d ever seen. Finally, she was his.