“Not until we talk to Eric.”

“I said I was fine.” Her lips slid like silk against his skin, an enticement, a miracle.

Kane shivered. “I know, sweetheart, but I never want to take a chance on hurting you. Not ever again. When we make love, I don’t mind hot and sweaty, or rough or gentle, but I mind hurting you. Loving you is all about making you feel nothing but pleasure. I can’t get the damn prison out of my head.”

Her teeth nipped him and sent his temperature soaring. His entire body shuddered. He bunched all the black silk in his hand and tugged at her hair. “You’re killing me, honey.”

“Then make love to me properly.”

“You’re going to give me hell until you get your way, aren’t you?”

She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. She made no effort to hide the dark, passionate hunger in her eyes. “Yes.”

He laughed softly, happier than he’d ever been. “You like your way, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

He pulled her head back farther and took possession of that soft, intriguing mouth. That mouth that could be sassy and sexy and so damn tempting that all his good intentions were in danger of going by the wayside.

“When it comes to your health, I’m absolutely unbending.”

“Really?” Her laughter was muffled against his mouth. Her hand slid down his chest. When it hit his stomach, every muscle bunched and tightened. “I think it’s only fair to allow me the chance to change your mind.”

“Don’t you dare.” He caught her lower lip between his teeth and tugged gently in warning. “You’re going to get yourself in trouble.”

Had he ever played with a woman before? Had fun even with his body screaming at him? It was a new experience. He’d never had a lazy morning in bed with a woman. Come to think about it, he’d never had a morning with a woman in bed. He didn’t do that kind of thing. He didn’t pretend love. He hadn’t known what loving a woman was until he’d seen Rose day after day.

He held her close to him, savoring the feeling of being part of her. “The first time I ever saw you, Rose, you were standing in the exercise yard laughing. I couldn’t believe the sound, so happy and carefree when, by that time, I’d already figured out that all of you were virtual prisoners. I turned around and felt like someone punched me in the gut hard. A full body blow, you know, rocking me.”

She rubbed his taut abdomen, her fingers lingering on his skin. The lightest of touches, but still, after their intimate contact, her touch shook him—or maybe it always would.

“The sun poured down on your hair and turned it this amazing color of blue black that I’d never seen before, and the shine to it was incredible. Then you sprinted, Rose, flowing across the yard, running up the side of a wall, doing a somersault in the air and landing, almost all in one motion. You walked back to the group of women laughing again, as if you’d enjoyed the flight. And when you walked, hell, woman, it was a f**king sin the way you moved—like the sexiest dancer alive. I forgot all about that high fence and what it meant. You were sunshine.”

How could he explain to her how he felt? He was a soldier, a man dedicated to his unit, to his duty. He was good at what he did. He liked the rush he got in dangerous situations and the satisfaction of a mission completed. He’d never considered that there was another side to him, a man starving, out in the cold and rain. He hadn’t even known that about himself until that moment. She seemed to live in every moment, worshipping the sun, turning her face up to the rain, even opening her mouth to catch the droplets. That had been the sexiest thing in the world to him. He had been obsessed with watching her, taking every opportunity to guard that side of the compound so he could see her.

He had known it was a dangerous game he was playing with himself. The likelihood of meeting her had been small, but he’d developed a need to see her every day, even if from a distance. He thought he’d hidden his growing need very well, but obviously Whitney had known. Rose had once asked Kane what his weakness was, and he’d replied honestly that it was her, Rose. Whitney had known all along.

Kane rolled over and linked his hands behind his head. Rose did the same. They lay staring at their toes. Her foot was nearly half the size of his, and he rubbed his along hers, wiggling his toes. She laughed, and he closed his eyes briefly, savoring the sound. He threaded his fingers with hers and brought her hand to his mouth to nibble some more on her.

“I knew you came out into the yard three times a day, the gym once, and the training buildings twice a day. I traded shifts and pulled doubles so I could be where you were. I felt like a damned stalker, but after a few times, I couldn’t help myself.”

She turned her head, her dark, almond eyes wide and a little shocked. “Before Whitney paired us?”

He bit down on her finger and then sucked the sting away. “Way before.”

“Are you certain he didn’t pair us before you ever saw me? Because I was pretty much—to the best of my ability—doing the same thing to you.”

Her voice was a little shy as she admitted it to him, stealing his heart even more. “If the body reaction was anything to go by, I’d say no to that, Rose. Once he did his thing, every time I got close to you, I couldn’t control myself, and I’m pretty damned disciplined in that department.” He looked down at his heavy erection. “I still can’t. Fortunately, I don’t want to.”

Her gaze caressed his thick shaft hungrily. “Then let me see what I can do to help out.”

“I want to be inside you. You’re only making me crave you more.”

Her face lit up, and he inwardly groaned. That had been the wrong thing to say. She sat up, her hair swinging around her face in all directions, sexy as hell. He groaned, knowing he was lost. The woman had a hold on him and was slowly but surely wrapping him around her little finger. He caught her finger and bit it, just to try to articulate without words what he thought about that particular fate.

She laughed, leaned down, and took him deep into the heat of her mouth, without preamble, shocking him with sheer erotic magic. She engulfed him completely, pushing her head down, holding him tight for a moment, her throat working as if she might be swallowing and then, just as abruptly, she slid her lips lovingly back up his shaft, her tongue fluttering as she drew the sensitive mushroom head free. He saw stars.

Rose sat up, quickly straddling his h*ps and very slowly, inch by slow inch, began to take him inside her body.

“Rose,” his faint protest came out strangled. His hands went to her hips, but he couldn’t find the strength to lift her away from him. She’d engulfed the head of his shaft with sheer fire. He opened his mouth again, but nothing came out but a long-drawn-out groan of pleasure.

“Yeah.” She smirked at him. “That’s what I thought you’d say.”

“Easy, then, sweetheart. We have to go easy.”

She smiled her mysterious smile. “I promise I’ll be easy on you.”

She threw back her head, arched her back, reaching behind her with both hands to steady herself as she continued to lower herself on him. Due to breast-feeding, her br**sts were large for her frame, emphasizing her narrow rib cage and slender hips. She looked so wild and sexy he could barely catch his breath, let alone protest.

She did a lazy spiral with her hips, as his shaft penetrated deeper. The movement was exquisite on his cock, a slow gripping like a tight fist, closing around him in slow motion, drawing his shaft deeper into her tight, hot, silken sheath. The feeling was unlike anything he’d imagined, that slow, scorching clasp that took his breath and mind all at the same time. He heard his own heartbeat and reached up to press his hand over her heart so that it beat into his palm.

She wiggled again, an aching circle as her body opened for him, accepting his invasion, taking him farther into her haven. She lifted her h*ps just a little and dropped down, seating herself to the hilt. His breath exploded from his lungs; the friction sent flames rushing out of control throughout his system. He felt as if his very skin sizzled with electricity.

Eyes narrowed to slits, he watched every movement, as she began an unhurried sensual ride. He loved the undulating motion of her body, graceful and sinuous, her muscles flowing beneath her soft skin. Her eyes were slumberous, her lips parted. He stroked her silken skin, unable to keep his hands off her. She didn’t like her milk to start flowing, thinking it messy; he loved the idea of her carrying and giving birth to his child. The evidence of it only inflamed him more.

Her br**sts jutted toward him, swaying gently, the ni**les hard and peaked. She looked so beautiful with her skin flushed and her eyes slightly glazed. His shaft swelled even more with the attention. He was deeper than ever, thrusting up through those soft petal folds, meeting resistance with each stroke, and driving to meet her downward rhythm. Her muscles tightened around him, milking, eliciting a strangled groan from him.

“You’re going to make me crazy,” he whispered, feeling on fire.

She had an almost dreamy look on her face, concentrating on each rhythmic stroke as her body rose and fell. He gathered the strength in his body, and as she began her descent he drove up. She cried out, her head tossing.

The feel of filling her, stretching her, her silken body reluctantly giving way for the steel of his shaft, bathing the broad, flared head filled with sensitive nerve endings with her scorching-hot feminine lubrication was an incomparable feeling. He knew he was coming far too close to adoration, but what the hell did it matter when he felt like this? When she looked like that?

“That’s right, sweetheart,” he encouraged. His hands fell to her hips, urging her to keep going. He didn’t want her to ever stop. He could feel every nerve ending as her silken body suckled his c**k as she rose over him again.

The mixture of such deep love shaking him and the rising lust as his body anticipated the explosion shook him. He actually felt her stomach muscles clench, and his followed suit. She shuddered with the effort to hold back as she lowered her body over his, circling, gripping, squeezing him tight so the sensation was almost excruciating, whether with pain or pleasure he couldn’t quite comprehend.

His hands gripped her h*ps harder, and he drove into her again as she came down. She cried out, as the ripples radiated through her body. He picked up the pace, thrusting deep over and over, taking them both careening over the edge. Little stars burst behind his eyes, and for a moment he swore there were fireworks exploding in his head—and maybe through his entire body as well.

He flooded her body with jet after jet of his hot seed with her orgasm pulsing around him, still gripping hard and milking the last drop from him. He reached up and drew her down over him, her br**sts pressing tight against his chest. The action sent powerful ripples through her body, and he shuddered with pleasure as the almost brutal pressure squeezed his cock.

Rose would forever hear her own heart beating wildly. The sound roared in her ears and pounded through her veins. She hadn’t had many sensual experiences, but each time he touched her felt incredibly sensual. The erotic orgasm continued to pulse through her body with shocking intensity. She lay with her head on his chest, allowing, just for a moment, true terror to hold her in its grip.

Kane could shatter her with the wrong look. The wrong touch. One word. He owned her. Shared her skin. Her heart. Even her soul. She touched her head to his heaving chest, inhaling him. This man. Her man. Her body came apart and flew. Her soul did the same. She’d never considered, all those months ago, that he would become such a part of her that she wouldn’t want to have to find a way to live without him.

It all came down to trust. She’d trusted him with her body. And with her son. And now with her heart. She had just given herself to him. All of her. Every inch. Was that what love was supposed to be? Handing the very core of your being into another’s keeping? The doing of it was terrifying. Exhilarating. So unexpected.