Diffusing his anger was critical. And he was having none of it. He kept coming forward. Prowling toward her. Alyssa stood her ground, refusing to back up any more.

Suddenly, he was against her, panting in her face. He grabbed her by the hair and tugged. Fury and desire were stamped all over his face, and her heart stopped.

“Tyler, n—”

His lips crashed over hers, smothering her protest. She tried to turn away, but he only tightened his grip on her hair and nudged her lips apart with her own. His tongue slipped inside, and still she resisted.

Air. And sanity. She needed both now. Damn it, she refused to be mauled by someone she considered a friend. She had to find a way to pierce his anger.

After examining her limited options, she bit his tongue.

He broke the kiss and backed away. “Fuck me!”

“Not today,” Luc growled and charged toward Tyler. “Get your fucking hands off her! Are you the one threatening her?”

“That’s it. I’m pounding your pansy ass for asking such a stupid question.”

Alyssa stepped between them. They would not fight in her bedroom. “Stop it. Now.”

Tyler looked at her, then Luc, before settling his gaze on Alyssa. “We’ll talk about this later.”

“We will,” she vowed. He couldn’t possibly think that behavior was acceptable. He’d never lashed out at her, never kissed her like that, against her will. What the hell had gotten into him?

Jealousy. The same expression dominated Luc’s face. Her gorgeous chef barely spared Tyler a scowl as the bouncer left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Shutting her alone with Luc in the room. He reached out and, with a single click, locked the door. Then he took one look at her cleavage shoved together by the tight white top, barely held together by a little white button, and cursed. His glance scraped over her short black skirt and sexy red boots. Fresh fury crossed his face. Like Tyler, his body was hard—everywhere. Unlike Tyler, if Luc touched her now, she’d go up in flames. And no way was he using sex to manipulate her or curb her independence.

“I was completely safe the whole time. I would never endanger myself. I had a ride from Sadie. I know some self-defense and have pepper spray in my purse.”

Luc snorted. “You’d never be safe against a man who could do this.”

One minute he was standing three feet in front of her. The next he was invading her personal space, picking her up, shoving her against the wall, and slamming his mouth over hers.

Alyssa wanted to be strong. Really, she did. But Luc had the most amazing effect on her. She couldn’t stop herself from opening to him.

The flavor of his kiss, the intensity . . . She didn’t feel assaulted when he ravaged her mouth; she felt desired. When he cupped her jaw and groaned, she felt needed. When he ripped the top from her body and wrenched away her bra, she felt shivery and out of control. And she felt his possessiveness down to her marrow. None of that should have made her eager or wet . . . but this was Luc. Everything he did made her want him.

As soon as her torso was bare, he bent to her breasts and sucked them into his mouth, one after the other, hard. She arched toward him, burying her fingers in his silky dark hair. Under his onslaught, her nipples spiked as he feverishly worshipped them.

Blood hummed in her body, and she shifted her hips restlessly, pressing against him, inviting him inside. With Luc, she had no shame; never had. Whatever it took to entice him. Yes, she was furious. And she’d read him the riot act later and make it clear there was no way she’d ever let a man control her. But she couldn’t stop him now. His need matched her own, as if they both sensed events speeding out of control and their time together ticking away.

“No more evading me,” he gasped as he tore his mouth away, his lips harsh and open as he breathed roughly. “No more being alone with Tyler.”

“He wouldn’t have hurt me.”

Something flared in Luc’s eyes. “Maybe not, but he would have fucked you. And goddamn it, I don’t share anymore. As long as I’m here with you, you don’t give that sweet body to anyone but me.”

The words rolled around her brain, both pleasing and disturbing. Before she could process her feelings and respond, Luc felt his way under her skirt and ripped her thong, tossing it to the hardwood floor, then rubbed a finger along her cleft, right over her distended clit.

Sensations pounded her immediately, making her weak-kneed. God, what this man did to her . . . Moments after touching her, she turned dizzy. Her fists clawed uselessly at the wall. An uncomfortable, undeniable need to submit rolled through her. As much as she resented his power over her, she couldn’t help it.

“That’s it,” he crooned. “So wet. Always wet.”

Luc plunged two fingers into her pussy. For him, she was always ready. Despite being swollen from all the recent activity, she melted, completely ready for whatever he demanded of her.

He couldn’t possibly imagine she was this ready for anyone else.

“Tyler doesn’t—”

“Not another word about him,” Luc roared, penetrating her deeply with a third finger.

She gasped at the fullness, then again when he rubbed her G-spot mercilessly.

“No more Tyler, period. I watched him kiss you . . .” He drew in a deep breath, as if trying to get himself under control.

“Luc . . .”

“No! As long as I’m fucking you, damn it, you don’t fuck him.”

His words finally pierced her haze of pleasure.

“What are you saying? I can resume my torrid affair with him as soon as my door hits your ass?”

More deep breaths. His chocolate eyes darkened to something nearly black. Dangerous. His cheeks flushed and his expression tightened as he grabbed her hips in a biting grip. Furious and aroused, he looked like a warrior ready to fight, to stake his claim.

God, she wished he’d stake his claim on her permanently, not simply try to hoard her until he left in three days. Was she anything to him beyond a great lay?

He didn’t reply, just slanted his mouth over hers again and kissed her with a ferocity that stole her breath. Alyssa tried not to lose herself, but he pressed against her and her mind jetted away in a stream of relentless desire. A moment later, he bent and scraped her nipple with his teeth. She arched and cried out.

“Spread your legs.”

Alyssa hesitated. She knew where this was headed . . . but she also knew their time together was limited. Her fantasies of making him fall for her in a week had been wishful thinking. He was leaving soon, and she couldn’t stop him. The best she could hope for was to store up memories.

Closing her eyes against bittersweet desire, she complied. He nipped at her other breast with his teeth, then scooped up her legs, one in each arm, and pinned her firmly to the wall. An instant later, his cock probed her folds. She barely had time to wonder when he’d unfastened his slacks before he plunged deep inside her, past swollen tissues and resistance, guided by her wet need and his seeming instinct to conquer.

He probed her for torturous moments, sliding in with toe-curling friction. Panting, Luc finally worked himself balls deep inside her. Now that her wet flesh surrounded him and he had control of their encounter, he trapped her with a wrenching glare.

“God knows, I can’t stop you from fucking Tyler again once I’m gone, if that’s what you want, but now . . . You’re all mine, and I’ll make sure you know exactly who’s making you scream.”

“I don’t fuck him,” she confessed in a gasp, done playing coy games. “I never have. I hired him for protection. That’s it.”

Luc sucked in a breath, looking torn. Then he shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

Because they were only fucking. Right . . . His refusal to care about her wasn’t really about Tyler; her bouncer was just a convenient excuse. That fact crushed something inside of her.

At the same moment, he sent her body soaring.

Reaching under her thighs, he curled his hands around her hips and pushed up, then plunged back down so fast and deep, her nails bit into his shoulders.

“Luc!”

Electric need sizzled across her skin, bubbled in her blood. He set a lightning-fast pace that had her gasping. His hips pressed against hers, creating a friction on her clit that blew away thoughts, objections, regrets. As soon as the feeling flooded her clit, the ram of his cock through her sensitive channel sparked her desire again until she could no longer catch her breath.

The explosion hit her bloodstream like dynamite—sudden and devastating. She screamed his name, then bit into his shoulder, clamping down on him like nothing she’d ever felt.

“More,” he demanded, not missing a beat.

Then he pressed his mouth into hers again, sinking into an endless kiss that hit her in the heart, a mating of mouths that overtook her completely. She didn’t know where she ended and he began, and she didn’t care. She just knew that she’d given some part of herself to him irrevocably.

And he’d be leaving in a handful of days and would never look back.

The thought skittered away when he jerked away from the wall, holding her body against him, then turned toward the bed. He bent to ease her onto the mattress and slammed deep inside her, all in one motion.

“Spread wider. Bend your knees. Take me deeper.”

His voice was almost an unrecognizable growl. He gave her no time to comply before he wrapped his hands around her thighs and opened her to him even more. She moaned as he sank deeper. God, perfect. Luc always knew exactly how to steal her control.

Her limbs heavy, her thoughts scattered, delicious pleasure built in her body again. Urgent pressure filled her clit again as he continued to penetrate deep with every long, hard stroke. Soon she was gasping, constricting around him, nearly bursting with feverish need.

He took her hips in his hands and pushed her down onto his cock as he thrust up. Hard. Directly at the mouth of her cervix. His hips ground against hers and, oh, dear God, the gathering storm swelled inside her, growing beyond her ability to absorb it.

Before she could release, he withdrew, flipped her to her hands and knees, then rammed home again, barely missing a beat. He smacked her ass, leaving behind a hot sting that had her gasping. Then Luc draped his damp chest over her and wrapped one arm around her body. Then he began to torment her clit.

“Does Tyler do this for you?” he whispered against her ear as the explosion brewing inside her gathered, lengthened, multiplied.

His fingers left her clit, and she cried out in protest. He nipped at her neck, eased away, then sank his cock into her pussy at the same time he plunged his wet fingers into her ass.

Sensations sparked as Luc swore and plunged into her again. Alyssa pushed back against him, countering each pounding thrust with her own demand.

A million tingles lit her up like a lightning storm. Orgasm shot from her clit to her toes.

“Oh, God.” Alyssa fisted her hands in the sheets and whimpered.

Luc moaned as his climax neared. The sound vibrated through her, making her nipples tingle, her body shudder. His fingers twitched, his cock pulsed, pushing her over the edge again. Rapture crashed and writhed, ripping away her sanity, as the cataclysm coalesced inside her. She screamed with a pleasure so brutal her mind emptied, her throat went numb, and her world nearly went black. A moment later, his seed splashed hotly inside her.

Damn, they’d forgotten a condom again.

Alyssa closed her eyes. She couldn’t think about it now. She couldn’t think about anything—except the fact Luc had ruined her for any other man and he continued to allow her nonexistent relationship with Tyler to drive a convenient wedge between them.

She had to be the one to stop it. Now. Alyssa couldn’t keep “just fucking” him. He’d shatter her heart.

Without waiting for him to move, she wriggled away and, on wobbly legs, stood. Without a word, she crossed the room and searched her drawers for a fresh bra and new shirt, all the while feeling Luc’s intent gaze on her.

And the more she thought about this encounter, the angrier she got.

Getting out of this room now wasn’t a choice but a necessity. She had to think. Alone. Before he clouded her thoughts and made her yearn again. Right now, she felt like a stupid, spineless bimbo. How could she let him have such control over her body when she clearly meant so little to him? What they shared was like a living flame, hot and destructive. She couldn’t stand in the middle of the fire and not expect to get burned.

Turning to him, she clutched her clean clothes over her chest, teeth gnashed. “That’s it, Luc. That’s . . .” She broke off, refusing to cry in front of him. “No more.”

“Alyssa, I—I’m sorry. I was angry and I . . .” he croaked into the silence, standing anxiously with pants fastened and shirt buttoned. “Did I hurt you?”

“You think?” she tossed back sarcastically. “This is just a contest to you. Tyler doesn’t do anything to or for me, and you refuse to believe that. Not that it really matters. You don’t want me for yourself, but you don’t want him to have me, either. You’ve chosen to make me the bone between two snarly dogs, not because I’m meaningful, but because you don’t have to deal with whatever you might feel for me if you can convince yourself that I’m a whore who’s banging some other guy. I won’t put up with this shit anymore.”