But she kept the pace slow. Steady. The perfect mix of passion and comfort. She was the perfect mix of everything he’d ever wanted in a woman and had lost hope that he’d ever find.

She broke the kiss and sighed against his lips. “You make my head spin, Ronin.” She used her teeth to scrape the razor stubble on his jaw. “Even when I’m the seducer, I am utterly, completely, and totally seduced by you.”

“Baby.”

Amery kissed his chin. The curve of his lips. His cheeks. The corners of his eyes. His temples. Then she pushed back and balanced on her knees. Keeping her eyes on his, she lifted and lowered onto his cock.

“You’re beautiful.” The curves and planes of her body were a golden delight, bathed in the firelight.

She grabbed his hands, placing one on each of her thighs. “Touch me with these hands and make me feel beautiful.”

Ronin stroked her legs, her arms, her shoulders, her belly.

When she arched back, wrapping her hands around his shins, his thumb delved into the heart of her.

“Yes, do that.” She rode him harder, and he knew her orgasm was close.

The moment her body stiffened, he pinched her nipple and her clit simultaneously.

She gasped. Her head fell back and her nails dug into the outside of his calves.

Ronin couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her abandonment to the moment and so openly sharing her joy were breathtaking.

As soon as she floated back down and began to move again, a challenge in her eye, he jackknifed up and took her mouth in a brutal kiss.

Skin on skin, mouth on mouth, heat and passion ratcheted up his need. Hips pumping, one hand bunched in her hair, one gripping her ass, he came fast and he came hard.

Her cunt clamped around his shaft with a hot pulse, her tongue stabbed into his mouth in the same rhythm she f**ked him. And she didn’t relent, driving harder and harder against him until she came again.

Ronin panted against her neck. Her hands stroked and soothed him as he tried to find any coherent thought beyond, Goddamn, that was f**king good.

They stayed locked together, hearts thundering, light and shadows dancing across their bodies.

“I was right,” she murmured against the top of his head. “The fireplace does add ambience.”

He wrapped his hand around her throat, holding her chin so she couldn’t squirm away. “What you bring to me is more than I ever thought I’d have.” He kissed her once. “Thank you.”

She eased back and pushed to her feet. She folded the blankets and picked up her clothes. Then she clicked off the fireplace and held out her hand. “Let me take you to bed.”

In his bedroom, Amery tucked her body into his, her cheek against his heart, her belly pressed into his hip, her left leg over the top of his.

He could actually feel her eyelashes sweep over his pectoral every time she blinked, so he knew she wasn’t asleep. So why wasn’t she pushing him to talk?

Because she didn’t want to ruin this time together. Nothing would get solved tonight anyway.

• • •

DESPITE his stress-filled day, Ronin slept like a log.

He woke to an empty bed. After he donned a clean pair of gi pants and a T-shirt, he tracked her down.

He didn’t find her mainlining coffee in the kitchen or gazing out the windows in the dining area. But he spied her purse on the couch and realized she hadn’t gone far.

Just as he headed to the elevator, the door opened and she stepped out fully dressed for work. Before she uttered a word, his mouth was on hers. He loved that surprised eep she made. He cupped her face in his palms and kissed her thoroughly.

“Happy morning to you too,” she panted against his neck.

“I don’t like waking up alone. Been three very long days that I’ve suffered through that.”

“Sorry. I peeked out the window and saw all the swirling black and gray clouds, so I went to the roof for a closer look.” She pecked his mouth. “The brooding sky reminds me of you.”

Ronin stroked her cheek. “Brooding man didn’t scare you away this time.”

“No. This time I was prepared. This time I came to you.”

He murmured, “And so you did.” She had no idea how happy that made him.

“We need to talk, but not without coffee.”

He let her do her thing in his kitchen. She’d added homey touches, including a grain silo–shaped cookie jar and new oven mitts. He’d tamped down his impatience to have her in his home and in his bed as soon as possible. If it was easier for her to get here piece by piece, then he’d let it happen her way. “I was surprised to see you last night.”

“I figured you weren’t expecting company when I watched you swimming laps as if you were racing Michael Phelps.”

“How long did you watch?”

“Long enough to know to leave you alone.”

“So you just sensed my cosmic distress?”

She shook her head. “Shiori came by. It freaked me out because I worried something bad had happened to you. Then, after talking to her, I realized something bad had happened to you, just not what I’d expected.”

“Not what I’d expected either.”

Amery poured two mugs and slid one across the counter. “What was it like seeing Naomi?”

The hot coffee scalded his tongue. “No different from the last time I saw her. She talked shit, made threats. Trying to rile me and to get people to notice her.” He watched the steam rising from her cup. “What did Shiori tell you?”