"What are you-"

He planted her on top of the desk, her bottom on the solid surface while her legs dangled down. His gaze raked over her thighs before he tugged the jeans from her with one easy swoop, shoes and all.

"Oh," she said, turned on by his strength and impatience. "Is it hot in here?" The ten-second kissing reprieve didn't squelch the heat coursing through her blood. Nor did the way he contemplated every teensy tiny bit of her exposed flesh as if he were trying to figure out where to conquer first.

"Very," he mused back, dropping his mouth to the inside of her thigh.

That's a good place to start.

An involuntary shudder swept through her as his lips caressed her thigh with so much care the clamp on her heart weakened. She didn't have to like him, didn't have to think him the best thing since red velvet cupcakes, to have s.e.x with him.

But she did-she did both those things.

She grabbed his shoulders and pushed him away, hopped off the desk, and proceeded to unb.u.t.ton his jeans. "We need to even the playing field."

He kicked off his shoes so that by the time she had him undone, sliding the jeans down took all of three seconds. She skimmed her hands up his legs, his muscles taut beneath her palms. His skin was hot and delicious and she'd be perfectly okay with the night lasting forever. She reached his boxer briefs and gulped.

His erection molded against the black cotton, huge, thick and...

She wrapped her hand around the base and slowly stroked upward.

...hard enough to hammer nails.

Tess bit her lip. She glanced up at the s.e.xiest man alive and then grabbed the waistband of his briefs with her teeth, ready to slide them down and take his entire length into her mouth until pleasure unraveled inside him.

He growled and pulled her up. "Jesus f.u.c.king Christ." He slammed a kiss to her lips, then lifted her shirt over her head. Tess grabbed the bottom of his tee and pulled it off. His eyes darted to her tattoo and swept over her midriff. She returned the look by eyeing his ink and taking in all his smooth, delicious muscles. The man should be on the cover of GQ. Without any clothes.

Something raw and real-a must-have-you-now urgency-overcame her. She raked her nails over his shoulders, pressed her b.r.e.a.s.t.s against his chest and wrapped one leg around his thigh. His erection hit her center just right. Sensations spiraled through her like a meteor. She moved against him and felt her wetness increase. One big, strong hand molded to her a.s.s. The other cupped the back of her head.

And then they were kissing again. She got all her air from him, from some invisible yet powerful force deep inside him that he shared with every sweep of his tongue. His fingers unclasped her bra and she shimmied her upper body until the straps fell down her arms. A moment later, the lingerie hit the floor.

He groaned and gently forced her against the desk. His mouth moved to the delicate part of her neck where soft, gentle caresses tickled and burned at the same time. Involuntarily, she dropped her head to the side to give him easier access. She'd lost all control over herself. Would die if he stopped. His heart beat against her own and for the first time in her life, her heart wasn't ticking like a time bomb. Instead, it hummed.

She let her leg fall until it reached his calf. Every slope, every b.u.mp of his body molded to hers. The liquid heat between her legs grew slicker, intense waves of pleasure rolled over her. She teetered on the edge of climax and they'd barely progressed past kissing.

Whether it was the muggy weather from outside seeping in, or the heat between them, perspiration trickled between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. His body grew wet too. She took the initiative and slipped up and down him, dragging her tongue down his neck and chest to drink in his flavor. Heaviness filled her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, her nipples pebbled, ached. He stopped her momentum by capturing her bottom lip with his teeth. Then he kissed her again, only this time he took much more than her kisses in return. Something potent, something that fused them together, that made her beginning entwine with his end, pa.s.sed between them. He'd marked her his.

And she didn't want to fight it.

With his mouth still pressed to hers his hands moved to the tiny shred of material at her hips. His greedy touch tore any remaining strength from her, and she melted into him. He inhaled, as if gathering focus, and rather than slide the panties off as she expected, he ripped them with one needy pull.

The action made her hotter than h.e.l.l. Made her desperate to have him inside her. When he ended the kiss and dropped his forehead against the side of her head in animalistic affection, she let go of her hold on him and reached for the ribbing of his boxer briefs.

She slipped her hand underneath and ran her thumb over the head of his p.e.n.i.s. He slid a hand down and ran his thumb over her c.l.i.t. "Oh," she breathed, because his touch was amazing and felt sooo good.

Tess stroked up and down his shaft. He grunted something unintelligible, and inched one, then two fingers inside her.

"Oh G.o.d, Hugh," she cooed. "Please come in me. Now."

"I want to feel you," he said, nuzzling her neck. "Do we need protection?"

s.h.i.t. "I'm clean, but I'm not on birth control." G.o.d how she wanted to feel him, not a condom. Unfortunately, that seemed out of the question.

"I'm clean too." He lifted his head and looked deep into her eyes. "And I'm going to take you right here before I lose my f.u.c.king mind." He pushed down his boxers.

And stood completely naked before her.

All gorgeous muscle and sinew and she almost stopped breathing.

He looked his fill too. "d.a.m.n, you're magnificent."

"You're pretty spectacular yourself."

"Wrap your legs around me."

"What about a condom?"

"You're not ovulating. I can smell everything about you, and we're good to go." He lifted her up and she obliged his request.

"Okay, then." The breathless, raspy words were barely audible to her ears.

A split second later he leaned her against the desk and thrust inside her with one smooth upward glide.

"Oh, oh... Hugh." She wrapped her arms around his neck.

His heated gaze bore into her. "Aw, h.e.l.l. You're so wet for me. So f.u.c.king tight. I want to hear you come. I want to watch you let go."

She was on board with that.

Especially when he buried himself so deep that hot, sweet pleasure overwhelmed every inch of her body.

He moved inside her with slow, sensual strokes. She met each one, undulating against him. He rocked her to his rhythm and she lost herself to every spot their bodies touched. Then slowly, he rotated his hips and oh sweet heaven, she writhed and circled her hips to match the burning caresses.

"You are so d.a.m.n beautiful," he whispered, bending his head to kiss the side of her neck.

"Mmmm," was all she managed to get out, because his mouth moved along her jaw with devastating rightness before he lifted his head away.

Rather than kiss her again, he watched her. Watched her head loll back. Watched her open her mouth to breath. Watched her eyes close and open. The way he looked at her...she thought he might steal the one thing she didn't ever want to give away again.

Her heart.

It's the s.e.x. The unbelievable s.e.x. That's all it is.

He took the moment further by moving an arm to her lower back and arching her pelvis toward him. The direct stimulation to her c.l.i.t heightened the bursts of hot pulses engulfing her.

Now if he'd only go...

Faster. As if reading her mind, he sped up. The friction intensified, his movements lost some of the control he'd started out with. He thrust harder, his eyes closed, his lips parted. Audible breaths escaped his mouth.

She dug her nails into his shoulder blades and moved with him in perfect sync. Her flesh tingled. The feel of his c.o.c.k filling her so perfectly, so completely, intensified the emotions swirling inside her.

And then something inexplicable happened. Something she swore not to feel blossomed inside her heart-attachment.

She watched him now, enthralled with the sweat that glistened on his forehead, the tense line of his jaw, the undeniable s.e.xiness of his mouth. G.o.d, he was beautiful. And she was on the cusp of having a smoldering o.r.g.a.s.m, sound effects and all.

Moans of pleasure fell from her lips. Breathy moans-moans to let him know what he was doing brought her to the brink of climax. Her pants grew louder, came from deeper inside her.

He opened his eyes just as hers were about to flutter shut.

"Look at me," he commanded.

Like she could refuse his commands. She looked, and his fathomless blue eyes swirled with gold, then jade, then amethyst. She tumbled into them, molten heat rushing through her before a blinding, pulsing release took hold and wave after wave of pleasure rocked her body. She called out his name and came so hard stars winked behind her eyelids. He continued to pump into her, drawing out her o.r.g.a.s.m until holy s.h.i.t... Intensity built, her muscles clamped around his c.o.c.k again and she came a second time.

Her ecstasy sent him into his own wildly explosive release. His magnificent body shuddered, and she felt his hot seed spill into her. It was the single greatest thing she'd ever experienced. He groaned in blissful agony before slumping against her.

"That was, uh... I've never..." she said, her body still thrumming with delicious quivers. She'd never had multiple o.r.g.a.s.ms before. Never felt more connected or in sync with another person. Her heart pounded with extreme contentment.

"Yeah," he said, voice gravelly.

For several minutes, they didn't move. She kissed his neck, tasted the saltiness of his skin. Slowly, he pulled out of her, took her in his arms, and carried her to the couch.

"You're the s.e.xiest, most desirable woman I've ever met, Tess." He moved a stray hair from her face, slid a finger down her cleavage. "I love the way your parts fit together. How soft you are."

Those words, that single touch down her chest, made her want him all over again.

She looked at him with big round eyes that made him wonder if any man had ever told her how special she was. How utterly unique and s.e.xy and f.u.c.k-it-all worth dying for. Because the bone-deep possessiveness coursing through Hugh's veins meant whether he liked it or not, Tess was his. And he protected what was his.

The kiss he'd given her, the one claiming her, wasn't anything he'd planned. But she'd responded with such incredible wild abandon that he'd been helpless to stop it. The intensity had proven more powerful than he'd antic.i.p.ated.

During the past week, he'd cracked her tough exterior, learned her quirks and looked forward to getting up in the morning just to see what new thing he'd discover about her. He'd tried to fight the feelings of admiration and attachment spreading inside him like a burning blaze and filling the s.p.a.ces he'd sworn to keep vacant. But he couldn't.

It didn't matter that there was no happy ending in their future. What mattered to him was her future. Now that Trey was back, he would gladly give up his life for hers. Until then, he planned to enjoy her body to the fullest.

"Want to do this again?" she said, with a smile worthy of a Miss Congeniality award. As if she needed to convince him.

"Definitely." He circled her nipple with his finger.

She pulled his hand away, laced her fingers with his. "Is it still raining?"

He looked toward the window. All she would see was black nothingness, the tinted window offering a muted peek in daylight, let alone night. "Still raining."

"Darn."

"Shame," he added, turning his head to take in her beauty.

"You know you stare a lot?" she said, not at all displaying any modesty.

"I can't help it. I can't take my eyes off you." He brought their locked hands down to her tattoo, extending his finger to touch it. "Tell me about this."

She looked down and he sensed the artwork had special meaning because she lingered there for a long moment, as if remembering.

Instead of answering, she reached her other hand to touch his chest. "Tell me what yours means first."

f.u.c.k. The last thing he'd wanted to talk about was his brother, but he'd walked right into that. Idiot.

Keeping things from her was futile. Thinking this camaraderie between them would wane was useless. He felt her under his skin, smelled her in his sleep, tasted her when his mouth was dry. He didn't want to need her. But the way she stared at his chest, the way her kiss ignited a pa.s.sion in him he hadn't known he possessed, wiped away his confusion. She planned to kill him. He'd love her until they found Dobson. Until she needed to follow through with her a.s.signment. Because her life was more important than his.

Love her?

"So are you going to tell me or not?" Her satiated voice shook him from his thoughts.

"It's the Zodiac sign for Cancer. In honor of Max." Would she settle for the short answer?

Her hand tickled his flesh, her fingers delicately gliding over his heart. "You put it in a special place. Your brother must have meant a lot to you. You said he died from depression after losing his mate. How is that possible?"

Her voice dripped with concern, compa.s.sion. He'd never told a soul the depth of Max's despair. The pack believed poison had taken his life, not heartache. Hugh thought it better to honor him that way.

"He actually died from a broken heart."

She continued to comfort him with small, gentle traces from her fingers. The feel of her fingertips over his heart, over the one thing he had left of Max, prompted him to continue when she remained silent.

"Did you know the death of a loved one can kill you?"

"No," she whispered.

"It's called Broken Heart Syndrome. It produces a toxic overload of stress hormones that result in stress cardiomyopathy. My brother experienced the same symptoms as a heart attack. Shortness of breath, chest pain, fluid in his lungs. These all severely weakened his heart. He ignored the shifter half of his being and let the pain of losing Heather destroy his human half. He didn't want to fight it. Wasn't resilient enough. His grief stressed his heart to the point of melancholy and depression, and he chose to give up. He couldn't bear to live without her."

"I'm so sorry."

"Me too."

She dropped a kiss over the tattoo. "Thanks for sharing that with me. I know you're hurt that he left you." She turned her head and laid her ear on his chest. "Your heart tells me so."

He did not want to talk about his heart. Or how speaking of Max had conjured up ideas that Tess was his mate. The intimacy between them at this moment choked him. Once again, he'd shared something with her he'd never shared with another soul.

Silence filled the s.p.a.ce around them until she said, "What sign are you?"

It amazed him how she seemed to know just how far to push him on certain subjects. He was grateful he didn't have to elaborate on the heartache his brother's pa.s.sing had caused. By having the tattoo over his heart, he'd hoped to protect himself from further pain there. The mere sight of Tess ruined that plan.

"Taurus. How about you?"

"I'll give you three guesses." She lifted her head so it rested on the couch.

His body and mind relaxed at her game playing, but her nakedness distracted him enough that he couldn't think of a d.a.m.n Zodiac sign besides his and his brother's. "How about we make it multiple choice?"

"Fine. Aries, Scorpio, Aquarius or Pisces. Take your pick."

He traced a finger along her arm. Her tanned skin was silky smooth, flawless. Toned. There wasn't an unseemly mark on her. There wasn't a tan line on her either. Her golden skin offered beauty unmatched. It pushed his s.e.xual drive into fourth gear.