Julia relaxed and let Sawyer lead.

His tongue was hot and hungry for her, his teeth nipping at the soft flesh of her lower lip, forcing her to match his ferocity. She grasped his head, dragging his mouth against her to taste him properly. Scorching desire ignited in her belly as he groaned into her mouth.

His hands found the straps of her tank as he covered her shoulders with kisses. Julia tilted her head to one side, allowing his presence to obliterate everything from her mind but the feel of his body and the warm, teasing heaviness of his breath. Hot aching need burned through her. She wanted his bare skin under her hands, the heat of him pressing into and around her.

He backed her up, his hard body crowding hers until her shoulder blades hit the polished wooden ladder. Her breathing ratcheted higher, wild and out of control as she came to a standstill, the wood digging cold and unforgiving into her skin while Sawyer’s body was scalding hot along her stomach and breasts.

God, she loved the way he took charge, dominating her every time.

Before the invasion, she had run her weapons-research lab of twenty staff with meticulous control. Precision was imperative; there was no room for error in her work. Her position as a senior scientist had intimidated most men, including the ones who made it into her bed and even then, she’d never been one for submitting.

With Sawyer, it had always been different. Although she had initiated the relationship and called the shots as to when they got naked, each time she was with him, she found it a bit easier to relinquish control. She’d never been with a man who so matched her will, and it was glorious. He’d awakened a submissive edge to her personality she’d never known existed. It was the only time in her life she was able just to be.

Right now was no exception. He was relentless. Blistering kisses grazed down the soft skin of her neck, each one eroding her resistance further. Her heartbeat filled her ears, as his touch inflamed the heated ache between her thighs.

Without warning, he dropped to his knees, his forehead pressed to the softness of her belly. One arm held her locked in position, and he looked up at her, his eyes dark with predatory desire. He tugged up her tank, his mouth finding the soft, sensitive skin, his stubble scratching her in a delicious haze. Her hands reached for him, raking through the scruffy mohican across the top of his skull.

Cool air hit her skin as one hand swept her top higher, the other restraining her waist. Even if she wanted to move now, she was captive. He pressed kisses to her side, gently sucking on the flesh, then moved to the center, his tongue teasing along the waist of her jeans. Her breath caught in her throat as he gripped her hips.

“Like silk,” he muttered.

Air hissed through her teeth in a sharp intake of breath. “Don’t stop.”

He slipped one hand lower, his thumb rubbing in slow circles. Her pelvis arched to meet him, wanting more of his skilled touch. Soft moans filled the air, and she realized the sounds were her own as he tortured her with slow, firm pressure on her most sensitive spot. Liquid heat flooded between her legs, and her hands fumbled for the ladder rungs as her legs trembled under his relentless assault.

Sawyer glanced up, his hazel eyes intense and stormy, shooting molten desire through her whole body. He growled low in his throat and in one sharp tug, yanked her jeans off her hips and down to her ankles.

He paused. “No underwear?”

“I didn’t come here to talk,” she panted. His replying smile caused a small burst of bright happiness in her chest.

She stepped out her jeans, her legs shaking. With delicious slowness he slowly ran his warm hands around her ankles, up her calves across the back of her knees, and up the inside of her thighs to where she was burning with need. His fingers pressed at the apex of her legs, and her breath hitched as his mouth seared her skin with pleasure. Right now, she knew she would do anything for him, as long as he never stopped touching her like this.

One hand on each of her thighs, he spread her legs apart gently. His thumb pressed against the slick seam of her sex, delving inside her, while his mouth found her clit, his tongue hot and velvet.

God.

Her hips arched against him as he pressed his wet tongue into her folds, the edge of his teeth catching her clit as he licked and tasted. Exquisite fire ignited throughout her body, accelerating her heartbeat and the need to fuck him off the scale.

Her hands tightened around the bars of the ladder as her knees softened. Firm hands spread her legs further, one dropping from her thigh as he curved two thick fingers inside her, almost driving her over the edge.

All her thoughts scattered as her focus narrowed on the feel of his strong fingers moving deep inside her. He withdrew his fingers slowly, slicking her arousal on the inside of her thigh as his thumb brushed her clit. She moaned, bereft, and he plunged his fingers back in, licking and biting the inside of her thighs as his expert fingers continued to destroy her self-control.

“You taste so sweet.” He nipped her belly. She murmured something incomprehensible, no longer able to form a coherent sentence as her mind was lost to his skilled caress.

His hand tight around the small of her back, he took her clit in his mouth, his tongue working her hard in broad strokes against her sensitive nub. Resistance was no longer possible, and everything inside her contracted to one brilliant point. She bucked beneath him, her muscles clamping around his fingers as her orgasm tore through her and she screamed his name.

Her hands slipped on the bars above her as powerful waves of pleasure exploded through her body, but Sawyer caught her even as his name was on her lips. Moving upwards, he dragged her exhausted body into the encompassing safety of his arms.