“Let her go,” a deep voice demanded. “Smiley!”

Smiley broke the kiss and turned away to shoot a fierce look at Brass. “You’re not hitting her.” Smiley faced her again. It was too dark in the alleyway to really see his eyes. “Let me take care of you. I can keep away the pain with pleasure.”

“It’s a bad idea.” Brass lowered his voice. “Don’t forget that she might be the one who dosed your drink.”

Smiley held her gaze. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t stand to see her suffer, knowing the pain she’ll face.”

He freed his hand from her hair and gripped her hips, rubbing against her. The feel of his stiff c**k trapped inside his jeans brushing against her excruciatingly swollen cl*t was heavenly. Raw pleasure had her closing her eyes again and moaning louder. Part of her was horrified that there were people around them, strangers, but it did take away the pain. She clutched at Smiley as if he were a lifeline. He’d become one. She spread her legs and wrapped them around his hips, locking herself to him.

“Secure the perimeter,” Smiley demanded. “Give us privacy.”

“Fuck,” the angry-sounding Brass muttered. “You heard him. Lock this area down and give them space. Eyes elsewhere.” He paused. “At least get her inside the building, Smiley.”

She barely heard the words as Smiley continued to rock his hips, thrusting against her in a slow rhythm that made thinking impossible. Her cl*t was so sensitive she couldn’t focus on anything else but that firm rhythm of his sex against hers. It was the most powerful awareness of a man she’d ever experienced.

His hands left her h*ps and slid to her ass, cupping both cheeks and grinding their bodies together more effectively. Vanni buried her face against his neck and opened her mouth, desperate to taste any part of him since he’d stopped kissing her. She licked him just under his ear then latched on to his earlobe, lightly sucking it.

He shuddered against her and made a sexy sound. His mouth found her throat and he brushed kisses there. “Vanni.”

Her name on his lips made her burn up inside. It might be just another hot flash but she didn’t care. She couldn’t get close enough to Smiley with their clothes on. She needed to feel his skin and she ached to have him inside her. An image flashed in her mind—what it would feel like if they were na**d and he f**ked her—sending her into orgasm.

Vanni released his ear and pressed her lips against his throat, crying out. Her entire body shook from the force of it. Ecstasy tore her away from any sense of reality while she rode out the mother of all cl**axes.

Smiley stilled his hips, his breathing harsh. “I’m here. I’ve still got you.”

She slowly became aware of their surroundings again. The night air chilled her skin. Her skirt was hiked up and bunched between her thighs and his jeans. His c**k was hard and pressed firmly against her pu**y through the layers of clothing. She hadn’t come in her underwear since she was a teenager messing around with her first boyfriend, too afraid to have sex for fear of it hurting when she lost her virginity.

“Oh god,” she whispered.

His big hands gentled the firm hold he had on her ass and he inched away a little, unpinning her from between him and the SUV. She opened her eyes and glanced around. Four men stood about thirty feet away in the dark alley, in front of the vehicle. Their backs were turned and they seemed to be guarding the entrance from the street. A car passed but didn’t slow.

She turned her head. The door to the hotel had been closed and a black-clad guard blocked it. She looked toward the back of the vehicle and saw more guards posted down the alley. They were faced away too, but seemed to be there to make sure no one stumbled across her and Smiley.

“Vanni?”

Embarrassment was a horrible thing but she had to meet his gaze. The look of concern on his handsome face only made it worse. “Put me down.”

She lowered her legs along the outside of his when he did as she requested. Her knees shook, threatening to buckle under her weight when she stood. Smiley released her and she retreated, letting him go. The tremors grew worse and she leaned against the side of the SUV to stay upright on her own.

“Are you still in pain?”

She couldn’t speak but shook her head. She’d just dry-humped him in an alley behind a bar. Her parents would be appalled at her wanton behavior and so would anyone who knew her. Smiley wasn’t to blame. She’d practically begged him to help her and he had.

“It’s not over.”

“What?” She must not have heard him correctly.

“It can last for hours.”

“No. That—”

“It’s a short reprieve that some of us feel after finding release but within minutes the symptoms return.”

“No.” She didn’t want to believe that.

He took a few steps back. “Brass?”

The New Species turned around and rushed closer from his position at the front of the SUV. Smiley met him halfway.

“Make sure they bag our drinks. I didn’t drink all of mine. Maybe we can find fingerprints on the glass that will prove her innocent. One of the hotel guests might have put the drug in some of the empty glasses and just waited for them to be used.”

“It’s already done.” Brass kept his voice low. “We’re taking everything to Homeland to test. We need to get out of here. The reporters want to know what happened to cause us to lock down the bar and they are interviewing the humans who were inside at the time. Justice is refusing to answer their questions until we’re under way but they might obtain security feeds. They don’t record sound but they do have video. It’s only a matter of time before they realize she’s missing.”