He shook his head at me as he removed his tie. “You said you wouldn’t do this. You said you wouldn’t let her come between us, but you are. You’re doing it.”

He was right. I was. And I hated myself for it, even as I couldn’t help it.

“You know that I don’t want her, Sam.”

I snickered. “If I thought you wanted her, I’d be juggling your eyeballs right now. This is not about that.”

He began to unbutton his shirt, but he didn’t move his eyes from mine. “I’m not going to say it’s unreasonable for you to be jealous and upset. If our positions were reversed, and I had to be around someone who had touched you and been inside you, it would be the hardest f**king thing I’ve ever dealt with. But I would never have let those feelings, or that person, f**k up what we have.”

Ignoring the element of guilt I was feeling, I threw the question at him that simply wouldn’t stop bugging me. “Why won’t you go to your mum’s funeral, Jared?”

He sighed and paused in his actions for a short moment. “Sam—”

Seeing what he was about to do, I pointed a finger at him. “No, don’t you do that again. Don’t you shut down again.”

He shrugged his shoulders, suddenly defensive. “I just don’t want to talk about her. Doesn’t everyone have things they don’t want to talk about?”

“Good point, yet irrelevant. I want to hear about her, I want to understand.”

“Why? What the f**k does it matter? I don’t want to go, and that’s that.”

“So Magda can know, but I can’t?”

He double-blinked, removing his shirt. “What does she have to do with it?”

“You let her in.”

“I didn’t let her in, and I never would have. She doesn’t know any details − only what emotions her gift allowed her to pick up.” Obviously seeing the doubt in my eyes, he held up his hands. “Baby, I swear, she’s the last person I’d let in.”

Mollified, I went to say something, but it was difficult to keep on topic when looking at his well-defined, solidly built chest. The sod was well aware of that, of course. And then he lowered his zipper. The sound seemed to echo in the room. I didn’t need to look to know that he was commando. “Don’t think you can use sex to distract me.”

“Would I do that?” he asked, all innocence.

“Yes, you would, and you are. Because you’re an inconsiderate, selfish, cocky little bastard.”

He pursed his lips as he considered that. “True…but I’m still going to f**k you, and you’re still going to love it.” And then he leaped at me.

CHAPTER FIVE

(Sam)

I moved quickly, but it wasn’t quick enough to dodge his Pagori speed. Jared crushed me against a wall, mashing his mouth with mine. His kisses were possessive, raw, and punishing, and that familiar feeling of fire shot through me. Pulling back, he abruptly sank his teeth down hard into the crook of my neck, drinking deep. His moans vibrated against my skin, making me release moans of my own. I found myself clawing at the skin of his back, attempting to pull him tighter to me, even though we were as close as two people could be.

Need was in every movement as he yanked on my dress to free my br**sts, cupping and squeezing them almost painfully. It wasn’t just ‘need’ that was driving us. Anger and fear was feeding that need, making it become sheer desperation. I could sense that he was still being careful not to really hurt me; always bearing in mind how much stronger he was. It galled me that he could never completely let go with me, which added to the other feelings, making me almost frantic in my need to have him inside me.

Lifting my leg, he curled it over his hip and began rocking his hips against mine. I bucked as he used his thumb to send a sizzling jolt of electricity to each nipple, groaning at that perfect balance of pleasure and pain. Reaching under my dress, he slid my thong aside and did the same thing to my clit. He knew exactly how to make me mindless, and he always set about doing it.

Before Jared, I’d always thought foreplay was kind of overrated. In fact, it had often simply felt like going through the motions. But Jared never did the bare minimum to have me ready to take him, never made it seem like it was all simply a means to an end. I could always sense just how much pleasure he got from what he did to me, from the range of expressions that flashed across my face as my climax neared. Finally, I came, crying out and shaking.

His almost crazed eyes seized mine. “You are so f**king amazing to me.” He speared two fingers inside me, swirling them around. “Nice and wet for me, just how I like it.”

Then his fingers were gone, and he abruptly spun me to face the wall. Instinctively, I braced myself against it for balance. He shoved my dress up to my waist and, without any preamble, slammed into me. I cried out and arched my back as he buried every inch of himself inside me in one smooth stroke. He stretched and filled me in a way that no one ever had before.

When he didn’t move, I squirmed. “Jared.”

His mouth was at my ear. “Feel how perfectly your body fits to mine. You were made to take me, Sam.”

I squirmed again, trying to entice him to move. But still, he didn’t. “Jared,” I growled. “Don’t tease!”

“Tell me you’re mine, and I’ll give you what you want.” When I didn’t, he teasingly flexed his c**k inside me.

Well we could both play that game. I squeezed my muscles tight around him, smiling at his warning growl. “Make me come, and I’ll tell you I’m yours.” Instead, the cheeky sod spanked my arse. “Oh you—”

He tsked, spanking me again. “You know I won’t let this go.”

“I could just whip you senseless instead.”

“Yes, baby, yes you could. But then you wouldn’t get to come, would you?” His hands slowly, almost stealthily, skimmed over me. One then cupped my breast as the other wandered down to my clit, gently but expertly toying with it. “You know I love your spirit, and you know I love that you never back down, but you can’t refuse me – the guy you’ll soon be Bound to – the right to be possessive of you. You just can’t. If I did that to you, what would you do?”

I answered without hesitation. “Carve out your liver, dice it up, and feed it to you.” All right, so he had a fair point.

“Hear this, baby: I’ll call you that whenever, and as often, as I want. Because you’re mine and I’m yours. Isn’t that right?” When I didn’t answer, he gave me a particularly hard thrust. “You’re mine and I’m yours. Isn’t that right?”