A kiss was a disaster.

A kiss was power.

A kiss was love and togetherness and faith.

It was so many, many things.

But this…this was something so much more.

More.

I want more.

I want everything.

She moaned again as her tongue dove into my mouth, taking control of the kiss and rocking her hips, seeking more just like me.

I kissed her deep. I kissed her hard.

Her knees fell wide, welcoming my body to claim hers. We both needed to join. Become one.

My fingers skated down her hip to her inner thigh. She bucked, trying to free her wrists as I dipped further with questing traces.

“Jethro…let me touch you.”

“No. I’m touching you.” With no hesitation, I thrust a finger inside her, mirroring the action with my tongue.

She groaned, her back flying off the bed.

Our lips never unglued, driving each other to galaxies beckoning with freedom and sanctuary.

“Oh, God.” She rode my finger, her body wet and wanting. “More. Give me more.”

I bit her bottom lip. “Your wish is my command.” I inserted another finger, driving deep, stretching wide. She was wet but so damn tight.

I wanted to fuck her so badly, but it wasn’t a simple matter of climbing on top. It never was for me. I had to prepare—had to make sure she was ready—even when it drove me to agony.

I wanted her hard and ruthless. This wasn’t making love. This wasn’t even a battle—this was a ceasefire. An admittance that we couldn’t keep fighting, but it didn’t mean we were dead.

“Kite…please, fuck me. I need you,” Nila begged between kisses.

Shit, she called me Kite again.

Every time she did, goosebumps scattered down my spine. All those nights of messaging her, getting into her head and heart—playing a game I never should’ve started—all crescendoed.

She’d slept with me as Jethro, but she hadn’t slept with me as Kite.

I lost all sense of self as I tore my fingers from her wet heat and shifted my body higher. Our eyes locked as the tip of my cock found her heat. The world stopped spinning.

There was so much to say and no words in which to speak.

Gritting my teeth, I nudged inside her.

The second I entered her, all decorum went out the fucking window.

I let go of her wrists and her hands flew downward, digging her nails into my arse and dragging me forward. Her knees came up, opening wide. “Yes. Oh, God, yes.” Her cheeks were rosy red, eyes wild.

Clutching the sheets, I thrust without warning, driving too fast and deep inside her.

She screamed.

“Shit!” I clamped a hand over her mouth, pulling out. “Be quiet.”

She vibrated in my arms, eyes glassy and lust-stricken. Dropping my hold, I growled, “No one must know you’re here.” Finding her wetness again, I climbed inside—slower this time, pushing, pressing, invading.

The tight unforgiving muscles of her body resisted me, but I was too far gone to care.

“Feel that?” I grunted as I slowly conquered her.

She moaned, her breath coming in short pants. Her eyes squeezed tight as I relentlessly filled her. “Yes.”

“Does it feel good?”

“Yes…so good.”

“You want more?”

“I want everything.”

I thrust hard and fast, sliding all the way inside. I’m home. I’m never fucking leaving again.

I’d killed three bikers tonight with no second thoughts. I was a killer, defender. So why couldn’t I be the same for Nila? Could I become a traitor to my family? Could I kill my father and Daniel in order to save the woman I loved?

I drove again, rocking her body deeper into my mattress.

Do I have a choice?

She threw her head back, hair fanning over my pillow. “You belong inside me, Jethro.” Her hand cupped my cheek, transfixing my soul to hers with irremovable super glue. “Never forget that.”

I just got my answer.

Pills and debts and empires.

Utterly worthless compared to this creature who’d stolen my heart.

Sighing, I gave up. I surrendered to the inevitable. I have to kill to protect. She was mine. It was my duty.

“I ache when you’re not inside me,” she murmured, dragging my mind back to her.

I smiled sadly, consumed with a gruesome future I didn’t want. Her face was in shadow from my body suffocating hers. She looked like she might vanish any second.

Tilting my head, I licked the seam of her lips. She opened, welcoming me inside. She was silk and sugar. Despair and happiness.

How could I be so happy yet so shredded at the same time?

Her hands fell to my hips, pulling me into her with every thrust. Our chests stuck together, our bellies glued. Her legs wrapped around the back of my thighs, using her ankles to push up and meet me thrust for thrust. “Harder, Kite. Harder.”

Once again, that tiny voice filled my head. Would you be so rough with her if she was pregnant? Shouldn’t you ask?

But the fear of the unknown and what it would mean silenced me. I obeyed instead, driving hard.

Her head fell back as I fucked under her command.

“I missed you.” Her voice broke. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

And that was it for me. I knew there was no going back.

Never again.

“Nila.” My voice was lost.

She opened her eyes, anchoring me to her.

“I need you to know that I feel what you feel. This—” I never broke my rhythm, diving inside her over and over. Loving, fucking, claiming. “—this, it’s right. I see that now.”