“I had a nice time tonight,” Gemma said as they sat in his parked car. He’d left it on, so the air-conditioning was keeping them cool, and Gotye was playing softly on his stereo.

“Me, too.” Aiden rested his head against his seat as he looked over at Gemma, and he smiled. There was something absolutely dazzling about his smile, and his brown eyes sparkled.

“I don’t really want it to end yet,” she admitted.

He reached over and used his finger to caress the back of her hand. “Maybe it doesn’t have to.”

“Yeah?” Gemma asked hopefully and bit her lip. “What did you have in mind?”

Aiden leaned toward her, his eyes searching hers as a confident smile played on his lips. The moment his mouth touched hers in a tempestuous kiss, his tongue tasting of cool mint from an Altoid, a strange satisfaction settled over her.

This was the physical contact she’d been craving. He fed into desires she didn’t even want to admit having. His mouth was a bit too forceful, and his hands were too strong on her arms and waist, but that only added to the excitement.

Her skin fluttered, the pleasurable way it did before it transformed, but Gemma pushed it down. She silenced the monster inside her, the one that Aiden’s kisses had woken up. A flush went through her, and she let out a soft moan.

That spurred Aiden on, and he reached down, hitting a button on the side of the seat so it would go back farther.

“That’s better,” he said in a husky whisper once the seat was lying flat like a bed, and Gemma laughed a little.

He’d climbed on top of her then, his body feeling heavy and powerful over her. Part of her was aware that there was something dangerous about this, that he had put her in a position where it was hard for her to move or fight back, but the hunger-lust was blocking out those concerns.

Gemma didn’t want to think or worry about or fear anything. She just let the moment consume her.

Aiden was getting a little rougher with her than she was used to, and while it wasn’t the kind of thing Gemma herself enjoyed, it drove the siren in her wild. He bit her neck when he kissed it, and it sent her skin afire. His hand knotted in her hair, pulling it slightly, and she had to use all her might to keep control of herself.

Then he slid his hand down the front of her shirt, and that was when Gemma knew she had to get a handle on things.

“Aiden, let’s slow things down a bit,” she whispered in his ear as he cupped her breast.

Instead of listening to her, he squeezed her chest harder—painfully, actually.

“Aiden.” Gemma pushed him back, and he finally let go.

“Sorry.” He smiled at her, his sandy hair falling across her forehead. “I was just having some fun, but I know where the line is now.”

“Okay. Just don’t cross it again,” she warned him, and with a cocky smirk, he promised her that he wouldn’t.

When he started kissing her again, it was more gentle. Which was good, because it gave her a chance to get back in control.

But within a few moments he was back to where he had been before: kissing her deeply, his hand knotted in her hair. His other hand knew better than to go after her chest, so it gripped her side.

Gemma wrapped her arms around him. Her eyes were closed, and she concentrated on the way her body was feeling—not just the pleasure but the intensity of the fluttering of her skin, the monster inside trying to break free. Pushing it back, holding herself in check, that was the real joy Gemma got out of this.

But then Aiden’s hand slid in between her thighs, and her eyes flashed open.

“Aiden,” she said, but he didn’t listen. He only slid his hand up farther, threatening to touch parts of her that she’d never let a guy touch before. “Aiden.”

“Stop being a prude, Gemma,” Aiden said, his voice a low growl in her ear as he kissed her neck. “Let’s just have some fun.”

“I’m not having fun,” she said and tried to push him off. But he was strong, and he held fast.

“Just relax and go with it,” Aiden said, and she tried kneeing him in his crotch, but he deftly avoided it. He was completely in the passenger seat on top of her, pinning her there.

Her mouth began to tremble, and her fingers itched as they lengthened. As bad as this was, as much as she didn’t want anything to happen with Aiden, she didn’t want to kill him, either.

That was when Gemma realized too late that this was nothing like how things had been with Kirby. She wasn’t in control of Aiden. She wasn’t in control of the monster. She wasn’t even in control of herself.

“Aiden, get off me!” Gemma screamed now and pushed against him with all her might.

He slammed against the roof of the car, and he stayed that way for a few seconds. Gemma was taking deep breaths, trying desperately to keep herself from transforming, and she let go of him, wrapping her hands together as her fingers slowly began to return to their normal form.

“You bitch,” Aiden snarled, his eyes wide in a mixture of confusion and rage.

“Aiden, no,” she managed to cry out before he wrapped his hand around her throat, but by then Gemma knew that she’d have to hurt him if she wanted to escape this.

Then the passenger door flew open, and before Gemma had a chance to understand what was going on, someone had reached in and grabbed Aiden, yanking him off her.

She sat up, gasping for breath, and she saw that Alex had thrown Aiden onto the ground. He stood over him, holding Aiden by the collar of his shirt, and he punched him twice, hard enough that she heard his fist smashing into Aiden’s face.

“Don’t you ever touch Gemma again,” Alex growled, his arm still cocked. Aiden tried to say something, but he just ended up sputtering out blood from his lip. “Do you hear me? Never touch her again.”

“I hear you,” Aiden mumbled.

“Good,” Alex said, and then he punched Aiden once more.

“Alex!” Gemma scrambled out of the car. “Don’t kill him.”

Alex let go of his shirt, and Aiden fell back on the ground. Alex stood up straight and slammed the car door shut. Aiden got to his feet as quickly as he could, and as he got in the car, he swore at Alex and Gemma under his breath.

They both watched as Aiden sped out of the driveway, his tires squealing. Despite the heat, Gemma wrapped her arms around herself. Alex shook out his hand, which must have ached from how hard he’d hit Aiden.

“Thank you,” Gemma said quietly after a few seconds.

“What the hell is going on, Gemma?” Alex asked, and she was surprised by the anger in his voice. “What were you doing with that guy? He was a dick!”