Her admission made him hard—as—stone, his erection swelling over the waist of his pants, a bead of moisture rolling from the tip.

She added, “But you also made my mind despise you.”

He could work with that. “I’ll do anything you demand. And, if you let me, I’ll make your body come and your mind forgive me. I just need a chance.”

She tossed the dagger to the floor. “Yes to the former, never to the latter. What I want from you? For you to remember making me come doesn’t mean anything or change anything. This is hate sex, nothing more. One last time. A final goodbye. Closure.”

Even as she spoke, he ripped off his shirt, tore the zipper of his pants and kicked the material from his legs. “Not goodbye,” he said. “You make your choice, and I make mine. I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth.”

“Oh, this is definitely goodbye.” Her motions jerky, she stripped, as well. “All stalkers will be shot on sight.”

Part of him missed the innocent human who’d vomited at the sight of blood, who’d beseeched him not to commit acts of violence. But he reveled in her bravery.

“You aren’t the only one whose body hungers, Rina.” His aches worsened as he drank her in. The rosy flush that darkened her skin. The plump breasts with the dusky tips. The flat plane of her stomach, the sensual dip of her navel. The heart-shaped flare of her hips, and the tiny patch of dark curls. Those long, endless legs.

No woman was more perfect.

“If you’re done with the inspection,” she said primly.

“For now.” He stalked forward, slow and purposeful. Determined. He was starved for her, wouldn’t spook her.

She backed up, doing her best to maintain a bit of distance. Not because she was scared of him, he saw no fear in her eyes, but calculation. The woman enjoyed taunting him. She planned to make him work for her.

He would love every second.

Anticipation drove him; he slanted to the right, sending her toward the full-length mirror in the corner. As soon as her back met the cool glass, she gasped, delighting him. He pounced, taking her by the shoulders and spinning her to face her reflection. Their reflection.

Destruction was already under her thrall.

With her back pressed against the heat of Baden’s chest, he positioned her the way he wanted her: her hands gripping the edge of the mirror, her legs braced apart. What a sight they were. A contrast of colors. His hair a deep red, hers a glossed onyx. His skin bronzed, hers burnished brown, poreless, flawless...made for his tongue, his hands. Every part of him. He belonged to her.

They were a contrast of textures. Where he was rough, she was smooth. Where he bulged with muscle, she teemed with softness.

He breathed her in as he cupped her breasts and brushed his thumbs over her rigid nipples. “I missed these.”

“No talking.” The breathless rasp of her voice fogged the mirror. “Only doing.”

“I can multitask.” He drew her earlobe through his teeth. “And Rina? You may be able to survive the world without me, but I can’t survive the world without you. We can’t. You keep us calm. You are our home.” And maybe that was why he hadn’t been able to flash. Home is where the heart is. He could no longer make any adjustments in his mind about what was and wasn’t his home. It was her, plain and simple. Always and forever.

She sucked in a breath, her eyes wide. “That’s...you just admitted to having a weakness.”

“I just spoke true.”

Slowly, she softened against him. She even rested her head on his shoulder, giving him better access to her elegant neck. He took full advantage, kissing and licking the succulent column with abandon, savoring her taste.

“You are the sweetest candy.” After giving her nipples a loving pinch, he traced his fingers down...down her stomach, stopping to dabble at her navel. All the while he ground his erection between the globes of her ass. “Last time, I took you without kissing you and vowed never to make such a mistake again. Please... I want your mouth.”

She shook her head. “No kissing. This is hate sex, remember?”

Harsh words, but her breathlessness buoyed him.

“Hate kiss me, then.” He would take her however he could get her. “Your taste is sure to be my ruin.”

Tremors rocked her against him. “There’s no such thing as a hate kiss.”

“Prove it.” And while she did, he would make her come so hard she screamed the house down.

She began to pant. A sheen of sweat glistened on her skin. She tilted her head up...and he waited, unable to breathe...desperate...

“I’ll kiss you, but only because you need to accept the truth. Give me your mouth.”

He smashed his mouth into hers before she could change her mind. His tongue moved on hers, and she moaned, meeting the ferocity of his feasting with a ferocity all her own. They ate at each other.

“C-convinced?” she asked.

“Not even close. Keep trying.”

She snagged his lips for another brutal kiss. His hand trailed down...down...and he speared his finger deep inside her. She was hot—searing—and she was wet—soaking.

“I think your body loves me,” he rasped.

Love. The word echoed in his mind, and longing unlike any he’d ever known welled inside him. He craved her love?

She ground into his finger. “More.”

“Your demand, my pleasure.” He pierced her with a second digit, and she cried out. He watched her reflection, fascinated by her reactions to him. Her features were soft with wanting, her hips arching to follow the thrust of his hand. Had any woman ever been so uninhibited? Satisfied because he was the man with her, and not someone else?

She reached around him, grabbing his ass and holding on tight, her nails cutting into his flesh. She can’t get enough of me. She’s mine for the taking. His control—already on edge—frayed. Madness ruled him.

He dove in for another kiss, pressing the heel of a palm against the source of her desire while cupping and kneading her breast with the other. More cries escaped her, and as one minute bled into another, the sounds came faster and faster.

She wiggled against him. “Baden. Please.”

Rapture flowed through his veins. Sweat slicked over him, over her, creating an easy glide. She released his ass to lift her arms and tangle her fingers in his hair.

Yes, yes. Her breaths turned shallow as she tugged the strands, angling his head the way she wanted it, silently demanding he possess her mouth harder, faster, deeper.