A steady stream of warm air blew in through the open windows and the sunroof, tickling errant strands of Tiana’s hair across her face. She’d adopted a new hairstyle a few weeks ago—straight and tied back tight into a ponytail—but Dax hadn’t commented on it yet. He was focused on his driving, which was typically too fast for the winding, hilly roads of Los Angeles. His Jeep Cherokee was a smooth ride though, and she enjoyed being out and about for a change, even if they were only driving to his house. It felt almost nostalgic to be on the move after so much time spent indoors, pottering around Cassie’s house like some agoraphobic old aunt.

 

Yet, try as she might, Tiana couldn’t get a handle on why Dax was taking her in. To just show up at Cassie’s like that, out of the blue, with a bunch of flowers and an (admittedly smooth) invitation to move in with him: it had knocked her for a loop at the time, and she still didn’t have her bearings. It was the first time they’d spoken since before the incident. How naturally the conversation had flowed during his visit perhaps revealed how eager they both were to pick up where they’d left off—she’d definitely made a big effort to make him feel comfortable around her—but the questions still lingered: Could things ever be the same again between them? Did he genuinely want to be with her? Or was he doing all this out of guilt?

 

“It’s going to be weird having a dog around,” she said. “Mom and Dad always had one. Ever since I left home, I’ve been meaning to get one, but we never—Thad never liked the idea.”

 

“It’ll be good for you, and Annelise too.” He glimpsed Tiana in the mirror. She looked away self-consciously. “She’s got tons of energy when she’s out, but the moment she hits that sofa, it’s lights out,” he explained. “One walk a day generally does it. Partly why I like the breed: they adapt to your routine. None of this three times a day or else malarkey. Cavaliers are chilled out. Well, this one is.”

 

“I still think it’s adorable that a badass ex-Marine UFC fighter has a King Charles spaniel called Annelise.”

 

“Wouldn’t exactly intimidate my opponents if they found out, huh?”

 

“Might even give them a false sense of security,” she replied.

 

“Hmm.”

 

“So Dax…”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“What are we doing?” Tiana shifted position, tugging the hem of her skirt so that it covered a couple more inches of her bare legs. “What’s this all about…really?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I mean, one minute we’re nowhere, we’re history, and the next minute we’re moving in together. Tell me I’m not the only one feeling whiplash.”

 

He stayed silent.

 

“I just can’t figure out why the sudden change of heart,” she said. “After the hospital, I didn’t hear from you at all. Nothing. It’s like…two steps back, five steps forward. I’m not sure where I am right now, that’s all.”

 

“I know. It’s new for me, too. I’m doing the best I can.”

 

“That’s not what I meant,” she said. “This whole taking me in thing, what’s it really about?”

 

“It’s like I said: we had a good thing going. Would’ve been a shame to lose it. And I, ah, thought it’d be good for you…for us…to hang out together. Your sister seems okay, but you were kind of in a holding pattern there. Not really moving forward. I thought it’d be better for you to get out on your own, only, you know, with me. Kind of figure it out as we go. See what happens.”

 

His cute fumbling for phrases would have made her smile once. Men were so bad at expressing how they felt. However, it was important that she knew exactly where he was coming from. Their relationship already had a shaky foundation. Tiana needed to get her footing somehow before any kind of meaningful building could begin. The only way she could think of to achieve that was to be completely honest with him, and for him to be completely honest with her.

 

“Just go with it,” he added. “Trust me.”

 

She stuck her hand out of the window, caught the rushing air on her open palm. “Did Cassie put you up to it?”

 

“Kind of,” he replied. “She let me know when it was time. I’d been waiting for the opportunity.”

 

Good choice of word, she thought. I can live with opportunity.

 

Neither of them spoke again until they reached his place. Thank God it was the low-key suburban home, not the weekend hacienda; she’d have thrown up if he’d have taken her back there. And it suddenly occurred to her she’d only assumed it would be this house they’d be staying at. He hadn’t stated it. Which meant they were on the same wavelength so far. It relieved the tension a little as he carried her suitcase inside.

 

Just go with it, Tiana echoed what he’d said. Trust him.

 

Not an easy concept at this point in her life, but he was right: this was an opportunity.

 

“Okay, I forgot. Lacey has Annelise until six.” Dax tapped his forehead. “So much for that walk I had planned.”

 

“Do it tomorrow? You can help me get settled in.”

 

“Deal.”

 

He took her case up to the guest bedroom, which was already girl-themed. A Justin Bieber poster on the wall, and a pink karaoke machine and microphone rigged up near the dresser, told her Lacey had stayed here at some point.

 

“Feel free to get rid of Bieber,” he said. “Or you can throw darts at him. Either way is fine with me. Just don’t replace him with anyone else unless his first name rhymes with stare.” Dax threw her a wink.

 

“Sweet. I’ve been waiting for somewhere to put that Bear Grylls poster. The shirtless one.”

 

He pulled a face. “That’s strike one, Crowe.”

 

“Keep pitching, Easterling.”

 

He set her suitcase down on the bed, then pointed at the various fixtures around the room. “There’s plenty of closet space. Most of the dresser drawers are empty, but you’ll find fresh bedding, towels, and extra pillows up there on the closet shelves.”

 

“Lacey hasn’t stayed here in a while, huh.”

 

“Not regularly, no. Just the odd night when she’s had trouble at home, or if she doesn’t want anyone to see her shit-faced.”

 

“Nice.”

 

“She’s a journalism major. And she weighs about ninety pounds dripping wet. Alcohol is not her friend.”

 

“Does she know that?”

 

“Occasionally. That’s why she has her own key. But don’t worry, she’ll take the sofa from now on.”

 

Tiana quirked an eyebrow. “You’re just collecting vulnerable young women, aren’t you?”

 

“Damn. You got me.” He chuckled. “So, ah, do you want a tour around the rest of the house?”

 

“I think I’m good for now. And I saw most of it last time…if you remember?”

 

“How could I forget?” The way he looked at her, so confident and suggestive, almost smoldering, made her shrink from him. Tiana hid her embarrassment by turning away and opening her case. “Are you okay?” he asked.

 

She shrugged; she couldn’t address him directly. It was the oddest thing, and it made her feel horribly self-aware. Pathetic even. For Christ’s sake, she’d had sex with this guy several times and had loved every minute of it, but now she couldn’t even look him in the eye without imploding like a virgin pressured on prom night.

 

He might be the most powerful, attractive, macho guy she’d ever met, but that was also the problem. That power and that strength frightened her. Right now, she had neither of those things, as the incident with Thad had so amply proved. She was not equal to him. Her confidence had taken too big a hit. In its place, when Dax looked at her, on some level she felt threatened.

 

“What’s wrong with me?” It came out almost as a gasp.

 

“Absolutely nothing.” He made his way over to her.

 

Tiana recoiled. “Don’t touch me. Maybe this wasn’t such a good…” She didn’t dare finish her sentence in case he agreed. Damn it, she needed to be here with him, so she could move forward with her life, so she could get past the trauma. He did make her feel wanted, safe. That was the frustrating part: she felt safe and threatened at the same time. Being in his company was exactly what she needed, but the idea of being intimate with him, with anyone, triggered her mind’s defenses.

 

“We can just sit,” he said, perching on the edge of the bed. “You can trust me.”

 

She desperately wanted to. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” As Tiana sat on the bed next to him, trembling, she thought about the nights she’d woken up screaming and knew she couldn’t succumb to that fear. It would ruin everything if she couldn’t fight it somehow. And the only way she knew how to fight the fear was to be brave, to take chances. Like agreeing to move in with Dax Easterling out of the blue like this: to outrun a nightmare by chasing a dream sounded like such a good idea.

 

Why couldn’t it be that simple?

 

“Tiana, there’s nothing wrong with you. You haven’t done anything wrong. Everything that happened was his fault, and he’s not coming back.”

 

She sneaked a glimpse of him and saw his sincere frown of concentration. This wasn’t hooey he was giving her. It reminded her what he’d said about trusting him. “You like a woman with guts,” she said. “I remember what you said.”

 

“Yeah. Maybe not the potbelly kind, but I know what you mean.”

 

She gave him a shove, then heaved a huge sigh. “I wish I was braver for you.”

 

“You’re braver than me.”

 

“Yeah, right.”

 

“I mean it,” he said. “You put up with that asshole for years, and you didn’t let it beat you, not even a little. You supported him as long as humanly possible. Believe me, most people would have jumped ship a long time ago. And after all that, after everything you’ve been through, you’re willing to give it another shot.”

 

“With a guy I know I can trust…”

 

“Uh-huh. But here’s the thing. I know that’s just a word.” He gently lifted her hand from the bed, one crooked finger at a time, and kissed it. “So I’m going to prove it to you. Starting right now, you don’t have to be brave. You don’t even have to think about being brave. You just have to be here with me and know that I’ll never let anything bad happen to you. Okay? You’re officially retired from stress. From now on, you’ll have no more problems, and no more obligations, except one: you have to let me look after you.”

 

She closed her eyes and nestled into his embrace. He’d changed his aftershave since the last time they’d been this close, and the new one smelled wonderful. He began to caress her arm with the backs of his fingers. It felt good, gentle. Tiana flinched when his touch strayed toward her neck though. Those wounds had healed, but the memories of them had not. Alone on a bed with a man, a professional fighter, who had the power to do whatever he wanted to her…

 

The anxiety squeezed and flexed like a clenched fist in her mind. And another, far quicker, in her chest. This was the crux of all her fears, she knew. This moment when she could either surrender herself to him or get the fuck out. She sucked in a sequence of deep measured breaths to try to calm the storm. It was all in her mind. The reality was so much kinder, if only she could lower her defenses and let Dax in.

 

If only it was that simple.

 

He held her softly and continued his caresses, but not in any sensitive, potentially red-flag areas. He seemed to realize that gentleness was the only thing that would keep them together now. That she would break if he mishandled her. It went against all his instincts as a fighter, as an alpha male, but he kept to his word.

 

How long they stayed there together on the edge of the bed, quiet and intimate like that, just petting each other with no anticipation of taking it further, Tiana couldn’t tell. There was no clock on the wall. Time couldn’t intervene. She’d never felt the effect of healing in progress before—it had always been a recognition after the fact—but she swore she was changing, little by little, with every caress. He would not make the next move. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t press his advantage…that much was clear. So it would have to come from her, if and when she wanted it. She would have to make the next move.

 

That not only made her feel safe, it gave her a groundswell of confidence that seeped into her womanhood. The kind that aroused her in ways that wouldn’t have been possible with those inhibitions she’d worn like a flak jacket since the incident.

 

“Do me a favor,” she whispered.

 

“Mm?”

 

“Clear the bed?”

 

He waited a few moments, then slowly kissed her forehead. After dragging her luggage onto the floor, he flattened the duvet behind her, then gave her hand a light squeeze. “Are you sure?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You don’t have to, you know.”

 

“I know.”

 

“I’ve not pressured you?”

 

She shook her head. “Quit stalling. We both need this. Unless I’m pressuring you?”

 

Cradling her in his arms, Dax slowly lifted and carried her around the bed. He set her down on the pillow and began to kiss her. But they were not the dominant, urgent kisses of a guy ready to conquer a woman. He hadn’t brought the fighter; he’d brought Dax instead, the gentle giant inside the bad-boy ring god. Unless she reciprocated, he would not move forward. Again, knowing that gave her the confidence to make it happen.

 

She determined this was her chance to finally take hold of her life, her future, and make it into something beautiful. If she wasn’t too damaged.

 

There was only one way to find out.

 

At first she was stiff, unyielding on the bed. The place where Thad had…no, she had to stop thinking backward. Dax was here to make her feel good, make her feel safe. And the more she latched onto his desire, the way he looked at her, wanting her, waiting for her permission, the more she moistened. Tiana began to rub his stiff cock through his jeans. He grunted, then smiled at her.

 

Dax’s kisses ventured further down her neck to her shoulder. He slid her dress straps down her arms and kept pulling, slowly exposing her breasts. Tiana arched her back to help him complete the reveal, baring herself even more. Electricity soaked into her as he nipped at her tits, and even more when her upper body writhed slowly, in rhythm with his searching touch. Her hands were now all over his shoulders and back, orchestrating desire straight to her pussy. She kissed his lips, pouring everything she’d denied these past few weeks into making Dax want her even more. To her delight, he gave back tenfold, but not aggressively. No, it was her nails clawing at his shirt, insisting he take this as far and as deep as he possibly could.

 

“Take me, Dax.”

 

Oh God, yes— She helped him rip his shirt over his head. Tracing her fingers over his dark, swirling tattoos and his many hidden scars. She looked up at him and gasped. “Poor baby,” she said. “Let me help you forget.” She roved her hands across his rock-hard abdominals. Pleasured his nipples with slow kisses and quick bites. Then with a rapacious curl of her lips, eyes locked on his, she undid his jeans and pulled them down to his ankles.

 

He grunted again and rolled his head back. She stroked his shaft, peeled back his foreskin, and lapped at his pre-cum, the taste and the warmth sending shudders of delight right through her. Everything she wanted and that they could be together was concentrated on the tip of his cock. She pursed her lips around it…and began to move…in rhythm, insatiably.

 

He couldn’t contain himself, she could tell. All those weeks of waiting, wondering, agonizing over the right time to ask her here, maybe even lying awake at night frustrated by the memory of her that night in the Jacuzzi, or on his sofa downstairs—now he could let it all out. And she could have him any way she wanted.

 

“I said take me.” She pulled him down by his hips.

 

He sank next to her on the bed and kissed her again, gripping her waist with his hands. Then he slid her dress all the way down. He glanced down, licking his lips. One of his favorite things was to handle both her breasts at once, cupping them together. She gasped as Dax sucked and bit at her nipples until they stood erect, and again when he tongued the areolae until they pebbled. All the while, her aroused body curled under him, and she indulged in every groan of pleasure he elicited from her.

 

She bit her lip in anticipation as he slid her panties down below her knees…

 

It wasn’t just that he had a stunning body—broad-shouldered, cut, and rock-solid—or that he could restrain his enormous strength even when his blood was up. Dax radiated something else, the fumes of an electric charge she craved more than breath itself.

 

He gently spread her legs, placed his palm flat on her stomach with one hand, and began to rub his fingers against her clitoris, slowly and sensuously. She helped him pinpoint her sweet spot, and a wave of pleasure washed viscously through her, clenching her backward until she was fully splayed for him. He hoisted her thighs and pulled her in. Rubbing her again, he slid his cock inside her without breaking the momentum.

 

Oh God. He stopped rubbing with his fingers and began to penetrate her deeper, still slowly, as her back and shoulders inched across the soft bed sheet. Her moans were now audible, her eyes closed and swimming in anticipation. The deeper he went, the closer she felt to that blissful place where letting go did not mean opening herself up to be hurt; it meant pure joy. An existential craving deep in her being. Trust and pleasure and love all rolled into one.

 

He desisted for a moment and eased her onto her side, lifting her right leg high onto his shoulder. When he resumed, it was with an even slower, more restrained rhythm, and it wasn’t enough.

 

“Okay, my turn.” She lifted herself free, barely supporting her own weight on arms shaking with adrenaline. “Lie back, Dax.” His piercing eyes stopped her heart for a moment as she shoved him down. Christ, what was it about him that stirred her insides into a maelstrom by virtue of proximity alone? Beyond chemistry. She’d been deep in lust before with him, but she’d never felt anything like this.

 

“Aren’t you glad you came—?” He stopped mid-sentence and sucked in a sudden breath when she maneuvered his cock into her crouching sex. His next grunt excited her, reminding her of that first time on his sofa, easily the best lovemaking experience she’d ever had. A man like Dax wanted to be surprised in bed, and she had the natural assets and the appetite to give even a macho god like him a run for his money.

 

“Holy shit. Tiana…”

 

As low as she could crouch, she slid up and down on his shaft, letting him flare against her until she felt the momentum return to their lovemaking. Then, perhaps greedily, she changed position again, swiveling to lie on top of him so that they could kiss as he drove up into her, his cock at its full height.

 

“I don’t want to take it slow any—” She didn’t get to finish before he accelerated into rapid action, his deepest, most accurate surges drilling right through her bliss, again and again. He gripped her hips and used her whole body to feed the motion. Finally, he gathered her breasts together with strong hands and had her utterly, soul to womb, in heaven. One more thrust and she splintered into a rainbow of colors.

 

***

 

Later that evening, while they were on their way home after walking Annelise in the park, Dax reached into his rucksack. The first thing he got out was a chewy treat for the dog, which she promptly devoured. While Annelise was occupied, he retrieved a Taser gun, letting Tiana hold it briefly before he put it back.

 

“It’s yours,” he said. “I want you to carry it with you wherever you go.”

 

Tiana didn’t know what to say. She looked around to see who might be watching. “Is that legal?”

 

“Put it this way: when it comes time to use it, you won’t care if it’s legal or not. And I want you to be able to defend yourself at all times. This one’s a little more…intimate.” He retrieved a small, silver flick-knife that, when collapsed, was no bigger than his index finger. “Use it as a last resort. Don’t ever let them see you’ve got it until you’ve stuck it in whoever makes a move against you. Preferably in the jugular. Here, I want you to keep it with you at all times.”

 

“Uh, you’re the boss.” Tiana squirmed as she put the knife in her pocket. Then she took Dax by the arm and held him close, hoping like hell he’d be there with her if anything bad like that did happen. “But what about you? Are you armed when you go out?”

 

“Don’t worry about me. I can handle myself.”

 

“Yeah, I know that. But what if someone came at you with a gun?”

 

“It’d be the last thing he ever did.”

 

Tiana believed every word he said. If he was half as good around weapons as he was at dismantling people in the ring, it was woe to any mugger who made a move against him.

 

“And one more thing,” he went on. “I want you to have this.” The final item he retrieved from his goodie bag looked more her style. It was a slender silver bracelet of some kind, with a peculiar-looking clasp that screwed together to adjust the tightness. He put it on her wrist and fastened it so that it felt secure.

 

“Wow. Thanks.” It wasn’t like the jewelry Thad had borrowed for her, even bought her on occasion, but it had a pleasant enough Celtic floral engraving. Not flash, but elegant, cool. She could tell from his demeanor, however, that it wasn’t as romantic as it seemed. “That’s sweet. Does it go with the Taser?”

 

“I’m afraid so.”

 

“Okay. Where do the poison darts go?”

 

He chuckled. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

 

“Because you were never a secret agent. Me, on the other hand…”

 

“In that case, you’ll be used to wearing a panic button.” He ran his hand up and down the back of her coat, then leaned in and spoke softly in her ear. “Don’t worry, it’s not activated. But if you ever get into trouble, press the screw head twice in quick succession and it will send out a GPS distress signal. I’ll be able to monitor it from my laptop. Just for emergencies.”

 

“Oh, okay. Well, I hope I never have to use it.”

 

“Me, too.”

 

“But I feel safer already,” she lied. Actually, it made her feel a little paranoid. “You did promise to look out for me.”

 

“Always.”

 

“You’re adorable. Come here.” But when she went to kiss him, Annelise got between them and glared up at Tiana. “Okay. I see you’re already well-protected.”

 

“What can I say? Girls can’t help but fight over me.”

 

“Hmm. Wait till we get to know each other better,” she replied. “Then we won’t need your conceited ass anymore.”

 

“Maybe I should keep the Taser,” he said.

 

“Okay. And I’ll take the dog treats. We’ll be feeding them to him before long, won’t we, Annelise?”

 

The dog cocked her head to one side, then spun to face the opposite side of the street. She started to bark—cute, girly barks that wouldn’t scare a mouse. There was a man running with a Rottweiler across the road toward them. He was Hispanic and looked like a gang member with his low-waist jeans, hoodie, and goatee. Tiana suddenly felt glad Dax was with her. The man nodded as he passed, and that was that.

 

However, she’d been flippant about the precautions Dax wanted her to take. But she knew that if she’d had a Taser and a panic button that night when Thad had come to abduct her, things might have turned out differently. She might have fended him off. Or Dax might have gotten to her sooner, before she’d almost clocked out.

 

There was a fine line between caution and paranoia, she decided. And after what she’d been through, Tiana was going to listen to the Marine.