DROWNING in sensation, tingles razing her, Tara could hardly breathe.

She tried to suck in a breath, but it wasn’t enough. Dizziness swam through her head, along with his masculine scent, like spice and earth. Logan oozed testosterone, drugging her senses. High on him, she soared, breath sawing, blood churning, flesh on fire.

God, this needed to stop, and yet . . . his very touch made her feel not only powerfully female, but desired in a way she hadn’t experienced since the last time he’d held her.

As his fingers glided through her slick folds again, Tara held her breath, waiting. Euphoria and need balled between her thighs. When he brushed over her clit, she rushed closer to the edge.

Normally, she was professional and able to hide her emotions. Logan completely stripped that from her. Why him? Why did he always get to her in a way no man ever had?

Too far gone to puzzle it out, she lifted to him. “Logan, please.”

He growled against her throbbing nipple. “I’m going to ramp you up without mercy, Cherry, then take you over the edge, again and again. When you’re boneless and wrung out, I’ll just keep petting this pussy with my fingers, my tongue, taking you up, up, up until you shatter. When you think you can’t take it anymore, I’ll fill you with every inch of my cock, until I’m all you can see and feel. We’ll take a hard, wild ride—the first time.”

He inhaled against the damp skin of her neck as if he could breathe her in, all the while rubbing her clit in slow, tender circles that only made her entire body clench with arousal. She flattened her feet on the bed, legs spread, and shifted, lifted, silently urging him on.

“After that, I’ll slide inside you again and pull every gasping, keening little breath out of you while this sweet cunt clamps down on me. Over and over. Even then, I won’t stop.”

Every word made Tara gasp harder for her next breath. How badly she wanted to forget their painful past, her fiancé, the dangerous mission to come, and sink into the pleasure she knew Logan could deliver, this connection that she’d only ever felt with him. Desire roared like a runaway train, making a blur of her resistance and good intentions. Being with him like this was wrong in so many ways, but it felt so damn right.

When Logan’s mouth crashed over hers, he opened her wide for his kiss. He didn’t just enter; he conquered and ravaged. He possessed.

Tara met him, hungry, greedy, opening herself deep to him, then demanding more. His clever fingers grazed her clit, toying, brushing, sensitizing. Arousal wound fist-tight in her belly.

“You feel so good.” He scraped the dark shadow of his whiskers covering his jaw over her sensitive nipple.

A million new tingles cascaded over her. She gasped his name, clutching him tighter, lost in the feel of him.

“That’s it,” he murmured. “You’re almost ready to come for me, Cherry. Wait for my command. I’m going to make it the best you’ve ever felt, baby.”

It would be. Oh God, she wanted it so bad. Every nerve in her body trembled in anticipation, quivered, as she held her breath, willing to give him anything—everything—if he’d satisfy this ache.

But if she let him, how betrayed would Brad feel? How much more would Logan tighten his twelve-year grip on her body? How much more of her soul would he steal? Tara had teased Logan in high school that if someone gave him a yard, he’d take the whole football field. Nothing had changed—except that he’d grown more ruthless.

After a mere hour in Logan’s presence, she was too entangled. As much as her body wanted Logan, what she needed was a new trainer so she could keep her head on straight, tackle her first undercover mission, and save her friend.

Closing her eyes, she drew in a shaky breath, then uttered the one word she hoped she wouldn’t regret. “Romeo.”

Chapter Four

LOGAN froze. “What did you say?”

Every muscle in Tara’s body protested the loss of his touch. If she didn’t get distance between them now, she wasn’t sure she’d find the strength to push him away again.

She glanced toward the two-way mirror from which Thorpe must be watching and shouted, “Romeo!”

Logan’s stricken face said that if she’d pulled his heart from his chest with her bare hands, he couldn’t have been more shocked. He jerked back, staggered to his feet.

An instant later, Thorpe barged in with a blanket and enveloped her in it protectively. “Come with me.”

Logan launched himself toward them. “Don’t take her! She’s topping us both from the bottom, trying to force you to replace me.”

Thorpe held up a hand to stop him. “It doesn’t matter. You know how this works. You’re done. I’ll get Agent Jacobs someone else. Stay the fuck away from her.”

Logan’s condo—Thursday evening

Logan paced his living room two hours later, gripping the back of his neck in one hand. He jammed the phone to his ear with the other.

His older brother, Hunter, hadn’t even greeted him before Logan started in. “Question.”

“Shoot.”

Sighing in agitation, Logan paced across the floor again, from the St. Andrew’s Cross against the wall, past the spanking bench, to the padded table in the corner. God damn it, Tara should be here, strapped down, taking him in every way he needed. That she needed. She was a fever, boiling him up from the inside, and he’d be damned before he gave her up. No Dom was better equipped to train her for this mission—for her life. No man could love her the way he did.

And after this afternoon, Logan had no doubt whatsoever that he still loved her every bit as much as he had at sixteen. Maybe more. She felt something for him, too. In order to exploit that, keep her safe and make her his, he had to overcome a few obstacles.

“I don’t have time for the long explanation now, so I’ll give you the CliffsNotes. I saw Tara today.” Logan struggled to get his breathing back under control as memories bombarded him.

“You said her name. That’s progress. Congratulations!”

“Save it. She wants nothing to do with me. For her, the past isn’t dead and buried.”

“The way you broke up with her was ugly. You knew it was permanent.”

“I hated every fucking second that I hurt her. Because of me, she transferred to that prissy private girls’ academy the very next day. I rarely saw her after that.” Other than the Christmas he’d gone to see her, and she’d slammed the door in his face. “But I dealt because it kept her safe.”

“With Mom’s murder unsolved and the sick bastard having Tara on his radar, you didn’t have a choice.”

“I still don’t understand the killer’s motives. Why come between me and Tara?” Logan shook his head. “That isn’t the issue right now. It’s her safety. Since the case has never been solved, we have to assume Mom’s killer is still on the loose. He hasn’t threatened me since I broke up with Tara. It’s been a dozen years. You think it’s safe for me to pursue her now?”

“One chance meeting, and you’re ready to chase this girl again?”

Since their breakup, Logan had hoped that Cherry was happy. She’d gone to college, gotten a great job, and as much as it bugged the shit out of him, she’d gotten engaged. As long as he’d believed all was right for her, he’d been able to cope with the gaping hole in his heart. After all, she wouldn’t be able to handle his needs—or so he’d believed. When he’d kissed her today, touched and restrained her, he’d figured out real quick that Tara’s nature ran sweetly submissive.

And the way she’d responded to him . . . That kiss hadn’t come from a woman happily in love with her fiancé, but a hungry female craving the satisfaction she needed and wasn’t getting. Logan would move heaven and earth to give it to her.

“Yes.” Logan didn’t hesitate. “I want to make her mine. Forever.”

“Hell, I shouldn’t be surprised. You never got over her. Maybe she’s what you need.”

“I’m working on a plan, but I can’t execute it if I’d be putting her in danger.”

“What do you think?”

Logan sighed. “Right now, I’m not doing a good job of thinking past my dick.”

Hunter’s deep laugh resounded in his ear. “If you’re ready to fuck her and end this crazy five year abstinence, I’m definitely in favor.”

He only said that because he could barely stand to leave the bed he shared with his wife.

“But what about Tara?” Logan prodded. “I won’t put her in danger.”

“It’s been a dozen years. I don’t think you can answer that question without going for it and seeing what happens. If you don’t, you’ll be one miserable bastard, always wondering ‘what if.’ ”

Shit, Hunter was right. Agitation stabbed Logan. He didn’t like unnecessary risk of any kind, but like his missions as a SEAL, he couldn’t predict the exact outcome before putting forth the effort. Planning, keeping calm, paying attention to detail—those things gave him an edge. When he did them right, he succeeded.

He paced back to the St. Andrew’s Cross, imagining Tara there. She would look amazing, bound and bare, wet and begging for him.

That fantasy wasn’t helping him think clearly.

He let out a pent-up breath. At sixteen, Logan hadn’t had the first clue how to protect Tara. Today, he was an adult, a highly trained operator. He could—and had—killed enemy combatants in seconds with his bare hands. He’d do anything to keep her from harm’s way.

“You’re right. If anyone threatens her, I’ll tear out their motherfucking throat and spit in the empty hole.”

“That’s the Logan I know and love. I’ll help you, by the way. Go after her.”

Just one small problem . . . “She said her safe word. Thorpe won’t let me near her now.”

“Oh, this is good. She submitted? Willingly? Knowing you were topping her?”

Logan wished Hunter wasn’t enjoying the speculation quite so much. “We were getting there, but I lost my head. Came at her too hard and fast. I need to downshift and regroup before I approach her again.”

“Yeah, you’ll have to hurdle Thorpe. Once you do, then you absolutely have to tell Tara why you left her years ago, if you’re going to earn her trust.”

Again, Hunter was right, but even that wasn’t simple. First, Logan could count on Thorpe to be a real hard-ass about enforcing the club’s rules.

Even if Logan found a way around that, then came the hard part: explaining the reason for their painful breakup to Tara. He refused to do it at Dominion. No way was he sharing something so personal with Thorpe. Training? Fine. Actual feelings? No.

And Logan had no doubt that revealing the truth about their past to Tara was going to get sticky. She was no longer a pliant young girl who would listen to his explanation because he asked her to. She’d definitely grown more spine. Now, he might be able to top her into giving him a blow job, but not forgiveness. As much as he’d love the first, it was the latter he’d do anything to have. If he pushed her, she might hate him more.

Logan grimaced. “I’ve been thinking about that. I doubt she cares now why I left her. Even if I could make her listen, would she believe me? If I hadn’t been through it, a killer threatening her would sound far-fetched. Tara might want me, but she doesn’t trust me for an instant. I’m not sure how to work past that. Unlike you, I’m not devious enough to marry a drunk girl.”

“Hey, it was Kata’s idea.”

“And you didn’t encourage that at all, huh?”

Hunter laughed. “Maybe a little, but it worked out. Speaking of which, my wife is on her way home, so if there’s anything else, make it quick.”

“What? Are you going to be waiting naked?”

“Good idea, bro.”

“Sick fuck. You’ll scare the poor girl.”

“Nah. Kata is made of stern stuff.”

“She has to be if she’s going to stay married to you.”

“Funny.” Hunter sighed. “Seriously, I know you can’t force it down her throat, but you’ve got to find some way to tell Tara why you broke it off with her in high school.”

Yeah. It would go over better once he’d reconnected his bond with her, established some trust. Even then, would she believe him? Damn it. If he was in her shoes, he probably wouldn’t. A mysterious stranger threatening a high school girl? It made way more sense that he’d just wanted to screw other girls. But maybe if he could earn Tara’s trust, he could find some way to make her believe him. Right now, she was too angry to hear any postmortem of their high school drama. And damn it, Logan wanted Tara to want to hear the truth.

“When the time is right, I will,” Logan murmured.

“Good luck.”

“Thanks.” He hung up and prowled into the bedroom, tossing his phone on the bed. He rifled through his paperwork. Dominion’s rules would be among them.