April walked inside to one of the cutest scenes she’d ever seen. Damon was sprawled in a kitchen chair, his head back, while little Lena slept curled into his chest. The lantern was on low, illuminating the entire room. The man looked like a natural holding the sweet girl. April’s body flared alive, and she could swear that her ovaries sprang to life.

No. Definitely, no.

He slowly turned his head, and his brows drew down upon seeing her at the outside door.

She quickly stepped inside and shut the door. She liked his head clean-shaven. He looked like a total badass, which he absolutely was. Even with a child trusting him enough to sleep on him. She reached him and carefully lifted the sleeping girl from his arms. “I’ll take her back to bed,” she whispered.

Damon stood, looked at the outside door, and then focused back on her. His brown eyes flared. “Where the hell have you been?”

She reared back from the heat in his terse whisper. “I’ll talk to you in a minute.” She hadn’t thought it was a big deal to go back to the Pure, but she had promised to return when he could be on a radio with her, so…hmmm. They might be about to have their first real fight.

She walked out of the room and hurried into the younger girls’ room to place Lena back in bed. Then she took a couple of deep breaths and returned to her apartment, taking her time during the walk. If they were going to argue, she didn’t need to hurry for him.

Her body hummed, and her heart ticked faster.

He was waiting with arms crossed and a glower across his high cheekbones.

Her abdomen went all tingly. She swallowed and shut the door behind herself. “I had bible study at the Pure, remember?” Though it had been much more socializing than Psalms.

Tension flowed from him in a swell of heat, overtaking the atmosphere. “You had what?”

Well, he’d definitely heard her. So he must be requesting clarification because he didn’t quite believe it. Her weight shifted from one foot to the other. “You were sleeping. I figured it was safe, and I knew we needed to discover the status of these people so you could deal with the gang and that Bunker you want to steal.” Why in the world was she explaining herself to him?

“You went by yourself with no backup or even a line to the outside world?” He spoke clearly, concisely, and with a hint of heat.

Now she felt like a deer facing a hungry mountain lion. “Well, yes.”

“I thought we were clear on the parameters of this.” His voice remained low, but there was no doubt that he’d crossed over from surprised to angry. It was etched in the hard line of his firm jaw and the tight press of his lips.

If she had anywhere to go, she’d take a step back. Instead, she decided to grow a pair. “There’s no need to be pissed.”

His longs legs suddenly brought him to her, his gaze dark and angry.

Shit. She took that step back, but it was too late. Before she could get out another word, he had a hand on her nape and one grasping her hip.

She couldn’t move.

Even worse, her hesitation hadn’t sliced to anger. Nope. It had cut into full-blown excitement. Her heart thundered, and she could feel the pulse in her neck ticking wildly. Her throat was dry, but she forced words out. “What are you doing?” Yeah, her voice was way too breathy.

His hold was absolute, yet it didn’t hurt. The control he kept on himself was just another turn-on. “What do I need to do? You’re obviously not taking me seriously.”

She was. Oh, definitely. “I didn’t think there’d be a problem.” Yet she’d seen a guy she’d never noticed, and she’d ended up getting caught snooping in King’s office. “I may have acted a bit hastily,” she admitted.

“Hastily.” Amusement tinged the dark anger coming from him. “You’re off the op, April.”

The words cut through her haze of arousal. “I’m what? No, I’m not. You can’t do that.”

“I just did.” His face was implacable. “I’ve tried to reason with you, and I warned you. You’re done.”

He couldn’t. She smashed her hands against his bare chest. “That’s not your call.”

“Yes, it is.” Damn it, he was right. Everybody would listen to him, even the Pure church. Probably. And he was point on the op, at least according to the Vanguard-Merc soldiers. “You’re being unreasonable.” She struggled slightly against his hold, not expecting to get free. Worse yet, she hated the reasonable control he exhibited.

“Too bad. It’s done.” He waited patiently.

It’d be better if he yelled or lost his temper, because then she could argue with him. But, no. Perfect Damon Winter kept his voice calm, and his movements controlled. “You are being such a dick.”

The amusement deepened. Did anything shake this guy’s control? “I’m fine if you want a fight, but my mind is already made up.”

“Fine.” She shoved him. “I choose fight.” What was she saying?

He released her. “All right. Just how do you plan to fight me?” The amusement melded with an arrogance that he had probably earned.

How? The idiot was just asking to get kicked. She’d never engaged in a physical altercation in her life, yet everything inside her wanted to shock him. “You’re a moron.”

He exhaled. “That the best you’ve got?”

Oh, he did not. Her temper finally flying free, she cocked back her arm and shot her fist into his gut.

He didn’t even breathe out heavily. “Hmm.” Grabbing her wrist, he flipped her reddening hand over to study her aching knuckles. “Looks like that might’ve hurt.”

Sparks flew through her. She shook her head, her hair flying. One kick to the balls. Just one to make him drop to the ground and take her seriously. He must’ve read her intent because he shifted his weight just enough to angle to the side.

“I wouldn’t,” he advised, his voice like molten lava.

There was no way she’d win a fight with him. Physical or otherwise. “Get out,” she hissed.

He lifted his chin. “You sure that’s what you want?”

Damn it. He really would leave if she asked. How could he be so reasonable? “You aren’t in charge of me.”

“Aren’t I?” He cut fast toward her, lifting her by the waist and putting her butt against the wall.

Her mouth gaped open. Both of her breasts tightened so hard and fast she stopped breathing. “No?”

“Really?” He leaned in, his breath hot on her mouth. This close, the rim of his iris looked more amber than the darker brown of the rest of it. “If you want me to leave, tell me again. Right now, and I will.”

Words would not come. Definitely those words.

“That’s what I thought.” Then his mouth slammed down on hers. Not soft, but hard and demanding as if he’d finally had enough.

She made a noise in the back of her throat, opening her mouth for him.

His tongue darted out and swept inside, knocking her head back against the wall.

He tasted good. Like whiskey and mint and all Damon.

She curled her fingers over his hard shoulders, her knees going weak even though he held her against the peeling paint.

His mouth plundered hers. Completely, and without hesitation. There was no other word for it. Rough and callused, his fingers shoved her dress up her legs and then found her core.

She gasped and then moaned as he slipped those talented fingers past the edge of her panties and inside her. He fucked her with his fingers like he was kissing her, deep and demanding, not giving her a chance to breathe.

“Damon,” she gasped against his mouth, panting, the intensity of her need terrifying her.

He snapped the panties off, and she had a quick thought that she needed those.

Her hands fumbled with his jeans, and he took over, shoving them down to his feet. He must’ve grabbed a condom from his back pocket first because he ripped the wrapper open with his teeth and rolled it on.

Then he grabbed her bare butt, partially lifted her, and then pulled her down to take him. He shoved in to the hilt, fully implanting himself in her. Pain shot through her, and she bent over, her forehead slapping his chest.

He didn’t stop.

Holding her hips with ruthless fingers, he hammered into her while pulling her down with each thrust.

The pain shot right into blinding pleasure, and she arched, her head going back. She dug her nails into his skin, trying to hold on, fighting to keep from just exploding into nothingness.

His thrusts were brutal and overpowering, and she started moving her hips to meet him. Her legs tensed tight, and energy coiled inside her with shocking sparks. His fingers clenched on the sensitive flesh of her butt, digging in, and she detonated.

She cried out his name, her eyes shutting to keep them from blowing out of her head. Her sex clutched tighter around his hard dick, the vibrations starting there and rippling through her entire body.

His thrusts, already savage, somehow increased in strength. Her breasts bounced up and down, enhancing every sensation already overtaking her.

He slid his hands forward and clamped them on her hips, thrusting into her one more time and then staying there. His body jerked with his climax, and his mouth dropped to her neck, where he bit her hard enough to leave a mark.

She blinked, her mouth opening and closing but no sound coming out. Wow. Just wow and then wow again. Her body felt as if she’d run a marathon, but her limbs were as relaxed as humanly possible.

He leaned back, his nostrils flared and a stain across his rugged cheeks. “You okay?”

She swallowed and slowly nodded. He was still inside her—still partially hard. “Yes.”

“Could you retract your nails?” A smile tugged on his full lips.

Oh. Whoops. She straightened her fingers and then tried to smooth the divots away. Nope. Looked like she’d marked him, too. “I think I like fighting with you.” Well, the making up part anyway.

He leaned in and kissed her again, this time with a gentleness that stole her breath. “Oh, sweetheart. We’re just getting started.” Without missing a beat, still holding her aloft, he edged to the side and walked toward the bed, falling down on top of her. Even so, he cushioned her on the landing to protect her.

She laughed, snuggling her butt into the bed. She curled her fingers. “Hey. What’s up with your abs being tougher than my fist?”

“I’ll teach you how to punch after you no longer want to punch me,” he said, rubbing his nose against hers, the movement sweet. “This time, you punched and hurt yourself.”

He’d made sure she knew it, too. Then he’d fucked her up against the wall like a wild man.

She smoothed her hand over the side of his head, enjoying the freedom to touch him. From the first second she’d met him, she’d felt drawn. “Your skull is perfectly symmetrical.”

“Good thing. I was worried about the brick, but if the skull remains intact, all will turn out just fine.” He kissed her, his warm lips firm and devastating.

A brain could still be damaged even with an intact skull. He’d been lucky. “How’s your head?” she asked.

His smile moved against her lips. “Everything I have feels pretty damn good right now.” He withdrew from her, and she bit back a moan of protest.

“This is the most relaxed I’ve been in months,” she whispered.

He took care of the condom, and when he rolled another one into place, her body perked up. Then he was on top of her again, taking his time sliding inside her. Inch by inch, he took her with a deliberation she felt in every nerve.

More was happening here than casual sex, but she’d worry about that later. His dark gaze captured her as completely as his body did, and she let herself sink into it.

“This is what’s going to happen,” he said.

She paused in rubbing her hands down his arms. “Giving orders?”

“So you say.” He kissed her harder, leaving her lips wanting more. “We’re going to do this again, and then we’re both going to get some sleep. After a too-warm shower tomorrow outside out of buckets, I’ll go get breakfast, bring it here, and then you’ll report on your observations from your visit to the Pure.”

That sounded reasonable. She wrapped her legs around his waist. “I’m glad we’re on the same page again.”

“You’ve misread me.” Before she could question him, his mouth was on her breast.

Within moments, she forgot about everything but how he made her feel.

Morning would come soon enough.