Wyck held the door to his apartment open for Quinn then flicked on the lights, not missing the way her gaze darted to his bedroom door. Besides the computer area to one side, there were a couple overstuffed sofas, a wooden coffee table, and a flat screen TV in the living room. Tall windows lined one wall, opposite the open-style chef’s kitchen. That was basically it. Which meant that since there wasn’t much to look at in there, she must have been avoiding looking at him.

His Scions powers allowed him to sense her emotions—a mix of desire and fear—and they matched his. She left him unsettled, flirting with him one minute, shoving him away the next. She seemed as confused about all this as him.

Still, when she walked to the windows, he couldn’t help watching the sway of her backside with appreciation. He wanted her fiercely, but no good would come of sleeping with her. They both had separate missions, separate goals, separate lives.

She glanced back at him over her shoulder, her auburn hair swept to one side. Her green gaze held his, mesmerizing.

Without thinking, Wyck was at her side, moving toward the one thing he shouldn’t want and couldn’t resist.

Quinn.

She was his to protect, this beautiful, prickly woman with such passion hidden in her depths. He wanted to hold her and kiss her until neither of them cared about all the reasons why this wouldn’t work. At the moment, nothing seemed more important—not who they were or what lay ahead. Only that they were here, now, and the were falling for each other.

Wyck almost laughed. His Scion brothers would have a field day if they knew his foolish thoughts. He’d always been the logical one, the warrior who put facts and knowledge above all else.

Tonight, he was just a man.

A man who wanted one very special woman.

The niggle of doubt inside him resurfaced. Quinn had flirted with him, yes, and he could sense her desire, but this could be another trick, a challenge to make him falter in his sworn Scion duty.

He stopped near her and stared deep into her emerald eyes, hoping to decipher the truth. Tears sparkled on her lashes and for a brief second, pure vulnerability replaced all else.

His chest ached with longing.

This wasn’t a game.

This was real, for both of them.

They were both scared.

In retrospect, he realized he’d given up the fight against his attraction to her the moment they’d touched the first night.

Quinn pressed her hand over his heart and rose up on tiptoe, her eyes slipping closed as her mouth touched his. The kiss was soft, tentative, mind-blowing. Any hint of reserve Wyck had left shattered in that instant. He started to respond, but she pulled back and smiled.

“Goodnight.” With that, she walked into his bedroom and closed the door.

Wyck stared after her, struggling to regain control. He fought the urge to kick down the door and kiss her properly as he wanted. Every inch of his body tightened at the thought of burying himself deep in her sweet body. Instead, he pressed his forehead to the cool brick wall and took a few deep breaths, wrestling for command over his libido.

Her footsteps echoed in the next room, and he tried to convince himself to go for a walk, go away period, but it was impossible. He didn’t care about the consequences. He only cared about the truth of what they felt for each other.

He barely had a chance to knock before she opened the door for him. She stood there, shoes off and blouse unbuttoned, her eyes wide as they searched his.

They reached for each other at the same moment, her hand over his heart again as he captured her lips. She gasped and he took advantage, his tongue delving inside her mouth to tangle with hers. She slid her hands around his neck, her fingers toyed with the hair at his nape again.

It didn’t matter that the city was overrun with Nephilim, didn’t matter that she might be helping them with their sinister plan. Nothing mattered but this need, this hunger, these feelings they shared.

Quinn whimpered and Wyck scooped her up, setting her in the middle of his king-sized bed, his mouth still locked on hers. He stretched out beside her, his body partially covering hers, savoring her soft warmth. He wanted more, so much more.

She did too, apparently, her hands tugging up his T-shirt to skim over his bare abdomen. Her fingertips grazed his sensitive Scion mark and he bit back a groan. His mark was the ultimate erogenous zone. If she kept toughing him there, she’d have him at her mercy in mere seconds. Not that he’d tell her that. He wanted this pleasure to last all night.

He tugged his T-shirt over his head, then stared down at her. Her eyes darkened, her pupils dilating to obscure the green of her irises. She wanted him, as much as he wanted her. She ran both of her palms over his pecs and his muscles tensed beneath her delicious touch.

“Like a god,” she whispered, tracing the lines of his taut abdomen, leaving a fiery trail in their wake. “Or a proud Viking.”

Wyck chuckled, his own hands busy removing her blouse then cupping her breasts through her lace bra. His thumbs brushed the taut peaks and he bent to kiss each nipple before undoing the front clasp slipping the straps down her arms. Once it was off, he tossed it aside, not caring where it landed. He only had eyes for her. She was so lovely, every fiber of his being screamed with want. A small part of his brain warned this could well be the power of her Seal, messing with his Scion senses, but he didn’t think so.

He toed off his shoes and socks, then stilled above her, letting her explore him. She ran her hands over his body with scientific precision, investigating each inch of him until he felt he would die from sheer need. Quinn started with his left hand, tracing the lines on his palm before moving up to his wrist, then his forearm, until her thumbs caressed the skin on his inner elbow. Then she took his left hand and guided it to her breast, urging him to explore her too as she repeated the process with his right hand and arm.

Then her fingers were at the waistband of his jeans and Wyck froze, focused on her questing touch. She met his gaze, that vulnerable look back in her eyes.

“Tell me you want this, that this isn’t all a dream,” she whispered.

“I want you more than life itself.” He cupped her cheek. “Don’t ever doubt that.”

They kissed again, long deep, drugging caresses of lips and tongue that drove them both wild. Next thing he knew, Quinn had rolled him over, onto his back, and straddled him. He cupped her breasts as she sat astride him, her skirt now bunched around her waist, leaving her bare from the waist down except for her panties. The heat of her pressed to the hard length of his cock through his jeans nearly made him come. It had been so long. Too long.

Quinn wriggled her hips and he groaned. A naughty smile curved her lips as she did it again and he took charge, lifting her off him and laying her down on the mattress again.

He hastily removed the rest of their clothes and put on a condom, then settled atop her again, skin to skin from head to toe. Her mouth met his, their tongues tangling. He could kiss her for an eternity and never get bored.

Quinn had other ideas. She shifted, sliding her fingers down to take his cock in hand, stroking him just right from tip to base. He cupped her butt, smiling against her mouth.

She pushed him over onto his back again, nibbling her way down his chest and stopping to nuzzle his left nipple before continuing downward to his Scion mark. Wyck closed his eyes as she traced the swirling lines of his mark. His skin heated beneath her lips and would start glowing soon from the sheer pleasure if she didn’t stop.

Wyck rolled Quinn beneath him once more, nestling himself between her thighs, the head of his cock nudging her slick folds.

“Wyck,” she whispered, hot and sultry.

The sound branded itself on his mind.

He held her gaze, stroking the hair from her flushed face. “I want you Quinn. Only you. I am your Scion. Forever yours. Do you want this?”

She nodded, and he gently eased his cock inside her, savoring the feeling of their first joining—so warm and tight and wonderful he struggled not to come immediately. But he wanted to make this good for her too.

Wyck held still, hilt-deep inside her. They were partners, in every sense now. Whatever the future held, they would face it together.

Her eyes grew dreamy as he thrust into her, deep steady strokes. Her lips parted and she dragged him down for another kiss, their breaths panting. She raised her hips and meeting him stroke for stroke. He pumped inside her, harder and faster, pushing them both to the brink of ecstasy.

Quinn tipped her head back and dug her fingers into his arm. “More... Wyck.”

Her soft cries spurred him on and he buried his face in her throat, nuzzling the pulse point at the base of her neck and biting her collarbone. She took all of him. This beautiful woman took everything and it only made her moan louder.

She shuddered around him, her orgasm hitting hard. Her slick walls milked his cock until he couldn’t take any more. He came hard, body taut and straining, until they both relaxed into the aftermath, his cheek pressed in the valley between her breasts. Her heart beat beneath his ear, in time with his own racing pulse. Her fingers stroked his scalp, soothing him, lulling him toward slumber.

He would never regret this moment, or any that came after.

Quinn’s breathing gradually evened out into the patterns of sleep, and Wyck closed his eyes, unable to stop smiling. He would never regret anything when it came to her.