Raze stared at the fragile beauty beneath him, partially understanding her need to get things going and complete the act. It would certainly change things between them, and then they could relax and do it again. But he couldn’t allow her to miss out on what he suspected would be something intense.

Even though he certainly lacked his usual strength, no way was he missing out on her, since she was offering.

She looked up at him, pretty eyes thoughtful and more than a little challenging.

Oh, she was definitely still in her own head. He’d have to do something about that.

She smiled, a dare in the curve of her sweet lips. “I like to talk, Raze. You know that.”

“True,” he murmured. “Tell you what. How about you profile me, and we’ll see how long you can keep up the chatter?”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

“Oh baby. Don’t throw down a challenge like that.” His cock surged against her sex, forcing him to keep still and not shove inside what had to be heaven.

“You’re a fighter,” she started, caressing down the ridges of his arms and over his biceps. “How did you get the burn scars?”

“Ran into a burning barn to save my sister. Long time ago.” Just having Vinnie’s sweet hands on him was enough to give him strength.

“So, you’re a hero. You became a soldier.”

“I’m a soldier.” He moved in, licking across her neck and down.

She shifted against him. “Um, you chose that life to serve, and it ended up being more painful and a lot darker than you’d planned.”

He kissed the hollow of her neck, wandering down. “Mmm.”

“Yet you’re good at it. Sometimes you’re proud of your skills, and sometimes you’re afraid that you’re too good at fighting and killing,” she breathed, arching into him.

The woman was damn good at profiling. “What else?” he asked just before capturing a nipple with his mouth.

She gasped and dug her hands into his hair. “You missed having a father, which is part of the reason you followed his legacy into the service.”

Raze flicked the hard nub with his tongue and then leaned back to study the red tip. Beautiful. “Yes.” He moved to her other breast, only partially listening to her. This was wrong, but he was committed, so he wasn’t going to miss out on a second with her sweet body. She was so open and giving, something shifted inside him.

“You became the man of the family and took that seriously.” This time it took her a few seconds to start talking again. “You lost your mother more recently, and when that happened, you became even more of a parent to your sister than you were while she was growing up.”

“Yes.” He licked across her abdomen and then down, shoving her thighs wide with his shoulders. “Pretty.” Gently, he placed a soft kiss on her clit.

She arched off the bed and pulled his hair.

He grabbed her hands and pressed them to the bed on either side of her hips. After a brief resistance, she relaxed. “Go on.”

“Um.”

There he had her. “Tell me more.” He made sure his breath warmed her.

“Ah, you, um, you’re driven. Something has a hold of you, and you’re fighting it, but it’s winning.” She gasped the last few words.

Too close to the truth. He flicked her clit with his tongue and slipped a finger inside her.

She nearly came off the bed. “Raze.”

Enough talk. He went at her with no mercy, nearly getting drunk on her taste. She moved against him restlessly, murmuring incoherently, finally out of her head. Power surged through him, and he gave her as much pleasure as he could, taking what he needed. Her cries filled him, and her movements spurred him on.

For the moment, in this time and place, she was his.

Her thighs quivered against his shoulders. Ah. She was close. He slowed down and took his time, lost in the moment. Her body trembled.

She smacked the top of his head.

Whoa. He glanced up, one finger inside her, a frown making his forehead ache. “Did you just hit me?” The woman was in an incredibly vulnerable spot, and if she wanted to play, he’d flick her somewhere she’d never forget. He gently slid his hand free. “Vinnie?”

“I want to be with you. Or I want you to be with me. Not alone.” She gasped the words.

He lifted his head. His heart thumped hard. God, she was stunning. Her light hair was splayed out on the pillow. Pink tinged her cheeks, and desire darkened her eyes. Her lips were rosy from his kiss, and her nipples were pointed and red.

She was everything beautiful in the world, and she was offering herself to him.

Moving up her, he kissed both breasts, her collarbone, her chin, and then finally her mouth. He must’ve dropped the condom wrapper. Glancing around, he found the foil next to her elbow. Ripping it open, he used his teeth to remove the rubber, edged to his side, and rolled it on.

Then he moved over her, keeping his weight on his elbows. He’d told her he wouldn’t let her go, but he needed her with him. If this was a mistake, they both needed to make it. “Are you sure, baby? It’s okay if you aren’t. We can just play.” In fact, he’d be fine returning to where he’d just been.

Her face softened.

Ah, hell. She had him now, and she knew it. Damn it.

“I’m sure,” she whispered, her small hands resting on his shoulders. She bent her knees, creating more room for him.

He closed his eyes. This was such a huge mistake, but it was too late. He slowly pushed inside her, pausing several times to let her body adjust. Wet, slick, dangerous heat surrounded him, tighter than any glove. God. She was heaven. Finally, perspiring from holding himself back, he pushed all the way inside.

Her moan mixed with his groan.

He opened his eyes and dropped his forehead to hers. “Are you all right?”

“Yes.” She traced his torso, down his rib cage, to his hips. “You’re huge.”

He barked out a laugh. Cute. Smart, sweet, and cute. “I’m not a good guy, sweetheart.” Where the warning came from, he’d never know.

She lifted her head and licked across his lips.

Fire rushed down his torso to land in his balls.

“You’re better than you believe, Raze Shadow. Trust me.” She wiggled her ass just enough to shoot sparks up his spine.

He moved then, pulling out to the tip and then shoving back inside.

Her head dropped to the pillow. “I figured we’d be like this. More than just, well, this.”

Yeah. He got that. But he didn’t want to understand her, and not just because she was a little crazy. The more he knew her, the better he understood her, the more he wanted her beneath him longer than just this one night. She was wounded and she was vulnerable. Everything in him craved to make her right. To protect her from the world out there, and shit, that didn’t make a lick of sense.

Her nails dug into his flesh. “Now who’s thinking too hard?”

He nodded. “Good point.” He pulled out and thrust back where he wanted to be forever.

“More.”

That he could give her. Reaching beneath her, he grabbed her ass and lifted her into him. She moaned and tightened around him. He pulled out and sank into her, pounding hard, keeping control until he felt her tense beneath him. Her body trembled and her thighs slapped against his hips.

Her eyes shut as she went over, her soft cry of ecstasy burning into his heart. The waves pummeled around his dick, sending him over the edge. He gave one last, hard, complete thrust, burying himself as deep as he could. The orgasm rushed down his spine and exploded inside him, shattering every thought he’d ever had.

Finally, he regained some sense of control and opened his eyes. Emotion washed through him, and he batted back any feelings he didn’t want. Even so, he couldn’t help but grin. “So that’s how to get you to stop talking.”

She snorted a laugh, delight crossing her face. “I guess so. Think you can do it again?”

Perfect. Damn, if the petite woman wasn’t too perfect. He studied her contented face. What the hell was he going to do now?

She snuggled against him, apparently not giving a shit that he was still inside her. “Raze,” she murmured sleepily, her eyelids closing. “I’m glad I found you.”

The sweet words held truth and no coyness. With them, she pretty much reached in his chest and manacled his heart.

When he’d first seen her, she’d worn a ripped and dirty pencil skirt with a white blouse, and she’d been shackled to a wall. Bruises had matted her face, and her hair had been a wild mess. She’d been smacked around and injected with drugs that had altered her very reality. Yet pure defiance and raw intelligence had glowed in her stunning eyes. Spirit and heart . . . that was Vinnie. That day she’d impressed him.

Now, all sweet and trusting beneath him, she claimed him.

He slapped his hand against the wall to shove them both down the bed a little.

The woman didn’t even stir, trusting him completely.

Now what the hell was he going to do?

Jax tried to keep his gaze stoic as Tace threw down a card on the cracked table in Jax’s apartment. He drew in a breath. The smell of cheap booze competed with the scent of lavender in the spartan room. Where the hell Lynne had found dried lavender to put in a bowl, he’d never know. His place now had girlie items like bowls of purple stuff, and he’d never admit how much he liked having her touches all around him. At least not to Tace. Lynne already read him like a worn journal.

A woman’s cry came through the walls.

“Jesus.” Tace reached for a glass of rotgut whiskey and shifted in his seat. “We should’ve played gin downstairs in the offices.”

“I didn’t know Raze and Vinnie were going to go at it like fuckin’ rabbits.” Jax picked up a ten and discarded a three of clubs, trying to tune them out. “I wouldn’t have figured her for a screamer.”

“Me either.” Tace took the three and studied his hand. “I’m surprised Shadow is strong enough to make it happen after just awakening from the fever. Scorpius is a bitch.”

“He’ll drop again.” Jax poured more of the booze. They were almost out of their secret stash; it was time to go raiding again. “Don’t you remember?”

“Not really,” Tace said, discarding a two.

Jax reached for the pile. “I do. It was a shitty series of feeling better, dropping from exhaustion, and then feeling better before dropping again. Totally sucked.” He discarded a seven. “How are you feeling, anyway?”

“Cold. Not crazy and not mean, but cold.” Tace took the seven. “Gin.” He kicked back in his chair.

“Shit.” Jax tossed his cards down. “You just got better. Give it time, and your brain will return to normal.” Maybe. Who knew? “Just let me know if you feel homicidal.”

Tace shrugged. “I don’t really feel any way, so maybe that’s good.”

The door opened, and Lynne slid inside. Dark circles marred the hollows beneath her eyes, and her pale skin seemed nearly luminous in the soft lantern light.

Jax frowned. He’d told her to get some rest early this afternoon, and of course, she’d ignored him. Several of the most dangerous men still alive followed his orders without question, yet the pretty scientist had no problem defying him. He kinda liked that about her, but he couldn’t allow her to become ill. If he had to shackle her to the bed to get her to sleep, he would. The idea hardened his groin.

“What are you grinning at?” Lynne asked.

He kept her gaze and didn’t answer.

She shuffled her feet. “Something about that look worries me.”

Smart girl.

“You look exhausted,” Tace said, shoving to his feet.

Lynne nodded. “A raiding party found a Scorpius research lab on the north side that had been making dental molds and retainers before being turned into a lab.”

Tace shook his head. “The government used every lab available when things got bad. We have to give them that much.”

“They didn’t do enough.” Jax motioned to Lynne. “Come have a drink.”

Her eyes lit up, and she walked past Tace to accept a tumbler.

A man’s groan echoed through the flimsy walls.

Her face turned pink. “Raze and Vinnie?”

Another sigh, and something loud banged against the wall. Jax nodded, amused at her pretty blush. After the things he’d done to her in bed, ones she’d enjoyed, it was a sweet surprise to see her embarrassment. “I think Raze and Vinnie are getting acquainted.”

Lynne tipped back the drink. “Good. That’s good. Connections are what keep us together as a society.”

Her cultured and educated tone shot straight south through Jax’s body to land hard in his balls. They drew up tight, and his zipper cut into his dick. “Why don’t you come closer and connect with me?” he rumbled.

Tace turned and headed for the door. “That’s my cue. Night, folks.”

Jax grabbed Lynne and tumbled her down onto his lap. “Tace? Check on Sami, would you? She’s been out of sight too often lately.” His young lieutenant had attended every mandatory meeting, but when she wasn’t on patrol, she’d been somewhere else. He hadn’t had a chance to question her after dealing with Lighton earlier.

“She’s hiding out. In fact, she’s hiding a whole lot.” Tace partially turned. “At first I didn’t care, but now I’m thinking she’s a mystery I need to solve.”

“Good. Solve her.” Jax waited until Tace nodded and had disappeared into the hallway.

Lynne pushed both hands through his hair. “Now aren’t you glad you didn’t kill Raze?”

“No, but I’m glad I have time to figure out his angle,” Jax said, his gaze dropping to her inviting mouth. “I thought I told you to get some rest.”

“Did you?” She stretched against him with a soft purr. “I must not have heard you.”

He scoffed. “Funny.”

Another grunt, this one deep, announced the couple in the other room was close to the finish line.

Lynne chuckled and buried her face in Jax’s neck. “This is good.”

Jax rubbed her back. “Maybe.”

“You can trust Raze.”

“Love all but trust a few,” Jax murmured.

She snuggled closer. “Shakespeare?”

“Yeah.” It had been a while since he’d quoted Shakespeare to her. In fact, it had been a while since he’d pulled out a quotation for a moment, something he used to do a lot.

Lynne tugged down his shirt and kissed his Vanguard tattoo. “I want one of these.”

“You got it.” The idea of marking her in such a way tightened his entire body. But first, they had to be on the same page about Vanguard in general. “If I have to take care of Raze, then Vinnie’s not gonna like it, and I need her cooperation.”

Lynne sighed against his jugular. “Come up with a better plan. Figure Raze out, help him, and then we all live happily ever after.”

Jax lifted her and turned for the bed. “At this point, I’m just glad we’re all still living.”

A crash banged against the wall. Jesus. Those two might kill each other, and then he wouldn’t have to worry about it, anyway.