She must have lost her mind.

Mina stared at herself in the mirror for another long moment and willed the butterflies to vanish.

She'd finally managed to work up the strength to pry herself away from Dan just a couple hours before. Now here she was, gearing up to go back.

To seduce him, no less.

"Idiot," she muttered under her breath.

This was exactly what she'd spent a lifetime trying to avoid. And yet, there was no scenario that she could imagine herself changing her mind.

She wanted him. Even more now after what they'd shared...what she'd seen. She wanted him more than anything she'd ever wanted in her life. Didn't she deserve that? A little happiness?

Soon to be followed by a lot of misery.

But she shoved that thought away ruthlessly and all but flew down the hallway on feet light as air.

She turned the knob of the door to the office and held her breath, her pulse careening wildly. So strange, this feeling. Like she'd never lain with a man before. It had been a long time...years, but there had been a few.

Caleb.

A familiar shaft of pain shot through her. Duller than it had been all those decades ago, time wearing down the sharpest of edges. Her first and only experience with something close to love.

Losing him had been enough to cure her of the urge to ever experience the real deal. Her kind just wasn't cut out for it. They loved too hard, too completely, and, as she'd told Dan, the loss of a mate could be devastating enough to be fatal.

Which makes Dan the perfect choice, doesn’t it? her subconscious whispered. The safe choice. Because as much as she wanted him, she would never be stupid enough to fall in love with a human, would she? Even the strongest of them...even a man like Dan was as fragile as a snowflake. One tumble down the stairs, one ill-fated car ride, one tiny little virus away from death.

But that didn't mean they couldn't take comfort and find joy in one another, however fleeting it might be. There was no point in denying them that. Not now. Not anymore. They were like two sides of the same coin. Surely, they would both be strong enough to walk away when the time came.

If they lived that long.

The reminder lent her the strength she needed to push the door open and step over the threshold.

She closed the door behind her and turned to face him. He was a wreck. His hair stood up in dark tufts, clearly the product of frustrated fingers tunneling through it. His wide, strong shoulders were slumped as if they held the weight of the world. And when he finally glanced up and met her gaze, the despair in his eyes made her heart squeeze.

He opened his mouth to speak but then closed it when he noticed her robe.

The room seemed to hold its breath as the silence stretched between them.

She swallowed hard and called on the inner strength and confidence that had always served her well. The past week had left her with precious little reserves, but she forced herself to lift her hands to her belt and tug on the knot there until the robe fell open. She kept her gaze pinned to the floor as she slipped it off her shoulders and let it drop to the floor in a heap.

His sharp intake of breath was like a symphony to her ears, and she let the heat of his reaction wrap around her like an embrace.

She could do this. She needed to do this. To give them both a port in this storm.

She moved toward him slowly, each step a victory as her knees trembled. The scent of his desire curled around her and she finally worked up the courage to meet his gaze. What she saw there nearly made her falter.

Lust, to be sure. Taut, thick lust that rolled off him in waves. But behind that, lurking in his chocolatey eyes, was something softer. Sweeter. Something that terrified her.

"Dan, I--"

His chair squealed in protest as he shoved himself back from the desk, but didn't stand.

"Don't fucking stop now, Mina," he ground out, his voice tight with need.

His hot gaze devoured her now, trailing over the line of her shoulder, past her breasts, and then lower. A jolt of pure desire coursed through her and the pressure built low in her belly.

She rounded the desk slowly, deliberately, the confidence that had been so scarce returning under the weight of his desire. She paused just inches from him, his seated position lining his mouth up just below her breasts. His warm breath washed over her flesh and her nipples peaked, straining toward him.

She reached out and laid her trembling hands on his wide shoulders, pressing him backward, but he was as immovable as a mountain.

But he didn't stop there. He leaned in closer to press his lips to her rib cage, and then trail kisses from one side of her torso to the other. All the while, he kneaded the flesh of her hips. She gripped him more tightly as he tilted his head back to move his mouth higher, brushing his lips against the underside of one sensitive breast.

"I knew you'd be beautiful," he murmured, his voice so low, she had to strain to hear him over the sound of blood rushing in her ears. "All the times I dreamed of seeing you like this, I knew. But the reality of it steals my breath."

As if to illustrate the point, he released her and rolled his chair back just far enough that he could see her from head to toe. The stark planes of his face were taut with need, and his nostrils flared as he took every inch of her in again. With a growl, he moved to stand, but she held out a staying hand and slowly shook her head.

"I want--"

She broke off, and swallowed hard.

What did she want?

She wanted Dan, that much was for sure. But, if she was being totally honest, she also wanted--no. She needed to keep a part of herself for herself. Shielded and safe. To withhold just enough that she would have a safe haven to go back to and hide in when their time together was over.

Or she would be forever lost to him.

And that couldn't happen.

He waited, his dark head cocked expectantly, his perceptive eyes watching her.

Rather than elaborate, she shoved his shoulders hard and this time, he didn't resist. He dropped back against the chair and laid his hands on the arms in tacit surrender.

She stepped in and lifted her leg to straddle his thighs until he was seated between them. Then she lowered herself onto his lap, gasping as his distended zipper came into contact with her overheated center. His cock was like a baseball bat. Thick. Hard. Long. And oh so ready. She steadied herself, using his muscular chest to ground her as she swirled her hips, grinding against him. The move sent an electric charge through her that zinged from her head to her toes, so she did it again.

"Keep it up, Mina, and it's going to be a short trip to round two," he muttered through gritted teeth.

Her head was humming with the delicious elixir that was desire and adrenaline as she dug her fingers into his pectoral muscles and grinded against him again, fluttering her hips. It had been so long...he was so fine, and her need was so keen, she realized with a start that she could come like this. Sitting on this fully-clothed human male’s lap, rubbing against him like a teenager on prom night.

The thought sent a lick of panic through her, but before it could flame out of control, his hands were on her, closing over both breasts. His fingers teased her nipples and she stiffened, biting her lip to hold back a cry of sheer pleasure. She flexed against him, relishing the feel of his thick erection against her pubic bone as he teased her breasts

She didn't know about the Sheriff here, but short and sweet was fine with her. There had been hours...days of foreplay and she'd been ready since the night she'd met him. More than this would be unnecessary torture.

She slipped her hands down his chest, over his abs and lower until she reached his belt. Angling her body backward so she could work, she began unbuckling it. When she was done, she unbuttoned his pants and then closed her fingers over the zipper. She tugged it down, and the sound echoed through the room.

"Jesus," she muttered as her fingers closed over his straining cock. She'd known he was big through his pants, but this? Her Sheriff had been blessed with godlike proportions. His low, tight laugh sent a sizzle of pleasure through her.

"That's the kind of reaction a man could get used to."

She shoved back the sudden wave of sadness that washed over her at his words, and instead focused on the way her body felt and the things that being this close to him did to her. She tunneled her fingers beneath his boxers and reached bare flesh with a groan. He was like velvet wrapped steel, and so hot, it warmed her hand instantly.

She met his gaze and squeezed, firmly, deliberately, not letting the fact that her fingers didn't touch as she circled him break her concentration. She could handle him. Every single solitary inch. In fact, she could barely wait to prove it.

He let out a hiss and arched his hips toward her as she stroked his shaft from root to tip. "Ah, that feels so fucking good," he groaned.

If she could speak, she would've told him the same, but her voice had left the building as the sudden, overwhelming need to feel him inside her short-circuited her brain.

Need.

She rolled up onto her toes and held him firmly, pressing the thick, smooth head of his cock against her entrance.

He gripped her waist in an effort to still her. "Wait, Mina. Let me--"

But she was in the throes if it. So desperate to have him inside her, to make her feel something more than this despair she was living in, that an incoming train wouldn't have stopped her. She didn't take it slow or work it in. She just sat straight down, eyes closed, body at the ready for his most welcome invasion.

Stars exploded behind her eyes as she plunged herself onto his thick shaft. She didn't stop until she was fully impaled, filled to bursting. For an endless moment, they both remained motionless, their ragged breathing the only sound to break the silence. A feeling so strong, and in that moment, she was changed. It was like a light switch flipping on.

She was the lock, he was the key.

She was the question, he was the answer.

She was a Valkyrie...and he was her mate.

A feeling of abject terror washed over her, so keen it sent a sob to her lips, and she tried to disengage. To leap off his lap, run away and never look back. Surely it wasn't supposed to be like this with a human. So deep. So primal.

But then he was there. His big, hot hands on her hips, guiding her up and down. His warm breath on her breasts. His low growl of pure, unadulterated need filling her ears.

"Christ, Mina," he bit out through gritted teeth as he drove her down again, filling her with his swollen cock.

Her instinct to be with him...to complete their connection, was bone deep, warring with her rational mind.

And when he slipped his hand over her belly and lower, to stroke her aching clit with his thumb, her body took over. On a regular day, she was part animal. With Dan in this moment? The last of her humanity sizzled away, and she became creature of pure instinct.

She bent low and took his face in her hands, tracing his firm lips with the tip of her tongue, gasping when he lunged forward and caught it gently with his teeth. He was everything. He was everywhere. Sucking her tongue, working her over his cock, strumming that sensitive bundle of nerves, filling her senses with that masculine scent that would be a part of her for eternity.

The need to come hit her like a sledgehammer. One second she was letting him control the pace in long, deep strokes. The next she was riding him hard, clutching at his muscled shoulders to brace herself, racing toward the finish line. Dimly, she heard his groans of encouragement. Felt his thumb moving faster, massaging harder. Scented the testosterone filling the air around her.

She stiffened, her whole body drawstring tight. Then, she was flying. Shattering into a million pieces as the climax ripped through her. Electricity shot through her body, from head to toe as the orgasm racked her. He held tight as she rode it out, bucking and quivering, wringing every last drop of pleasure from it. And just as the last of the tremors subsided, she felt him, right there, so close behind her. She murmured his name as she rocked her hips, squeezing her inner muscles tight around him until he groaned. She pulled back and looked into his face, needing to see his eyes, needing to watch him as he exploded.

His fingers clutched her hips in a punishing grip as his cock twitched and jerked, spurting hot liquid spurted deep inside her, filling her.

They collapsed against each other, spent and sated, holding each other while their breathing calmed. As the sensations of Mina's orgasm ebbed, another emotion overtook her.

Dread.

What the hell did she just do?

Dan didn't just feel good. He felt right. His body against hers was a perfect fit. She never felt that with another lover, human or shifter. Sex with her former mate was good but it didn’t come close to how Dan had made her feel.

The realization hit Mina like a bucket of ice tossed on her head. She didn't just have sex with him. It wasn’t the release of sexual tension between two willing partners. There was another spark there, a place where their souls met and touched. She made love to a human.

No. That cannot happen. Not ever again.

When Mina could speak, she pulled away and made another mistake. She stared into his chocolate eyes.

The highway to his soul.

And she was there with him as he gazed in wonder at her face, flames licking around his heart, but not the flames of lust. No.

Another feeling entirely.

Love.

Fuck no.

No. No. No.

She couldn't go there. Wouldn't go there.

She tried to stand but he held her fast as if he'd never let her go.

But he had to.

She'd warned him and, in spite of that warning, this Sheriff, this human, was prepared to offer up his heart to her totally. Beyond the edges of his emerging emotions she felt he wouldn't just give his heart. He would give her all of him, heart, mind and soul.

Bonded.

Mated.

'Til death did them part.

And that, eventually, would kill them both.

Even if one of them survived the upcoming battle, if she allowed the full bonding to take place, the other would perish. It was suicide.

Her immortal soul warred with her heart.

Holding him was wrong. Taking pleasure from him was wrong. Bonding with him was wrong. As much as her body demanded that she throw aside her unerring moral compass to merge with him she couldn't. The Valkyrie in her wouldn't allow it.

She pushed against his shoulders in an attempt to stand.

"It's been a long day," she said.

He smiled at her, a look bright and full of promise. It broke her heart.

"Then come sleep with me."

She laughed, a throaty thing that belied the stab of pain to her heart. "If I did that, I suspect I wouldn't get much sleep."

He put his head between her breasts. "Worse things could happen," he murmured.

Yes, she thought. They could. And they will if we keep this up.

"I'd love to stay with you, but I really need some sleep." She was lying. What she needed was to get away from him fast, before she went too far and damned them both.

Uncertainty flickered across his handsome face.

"Okay. You get some rest. See you in the morning?"

She kissed him quickly on the cheek and he released his grip on her.

"Definitely. And, thank you," she said, "for understanding."

"No problem."

But it was a problem. A big one. Just him being so sweet about it made her pathetic, marshmallow heart go gooey.

Mate.

Mina fled from the office, tears edging her eyes. Disappointment and loss dogged her steps to her room.

She could never make love to Dan again. The thought brought a searing pain that cut deeper than any assassin's blade.

And that, more than anything else, terrified her.