“What’s going on?” I watched Luka flip on all the lights in the gym’s weight room. “Why are we in here?”

Ever since we left his parents’ house, he’d been pretty quiet, but wheels had been turning behind his eyes like mad. Now, he was acting like he was on some kind of mission. The thing about Luka was that he always had energy brewing beneath the surface. You just couldn’t always tell where it originated from. Anger, concern, apprehension, fear. I couldn’t imagine what in the world could scare this particular man, but everyone had at least one fear, right?

“I’m sorry you got upset earlier,” he said over his shoulder. “I didn’t think about how being there would affect you.”

I shoved my hair off my face, my own anxious energy amplifying. “Why do you think I was upset?”

Hadn’t I hid it pretty well? No one else had seemed to catch on when I’d slipped up and let my emotions leak through the cracks. Surrounded by Luka’s close-knit family, I’d felt like an interloper. They’d shared stories and laughter, and I just…didn’t belong.

Then the guilt had struck.

I’d been smiling and having such a carefree time while my sister was being held against her will somewhere. What the hell kind of person did that make me?

Luka’s gaze collided with mine when he answered, “Because I saw the light leave your eyes when Gia was talking about sisters. You were thinking about Luciana.”

Sí, I had been.

Watching the bond between Gia and Roxy had brought so many memories of Luciana and I to the surface. Despite our seven-year age difference, we’d been inseparable throughout most of our younger years. I’d looked out for her as the big sister, and she’d followed my every move. For her sake, I’d learned how to make a game out of everything, particularly during the bleak times. When there was hardly any food in the house, or when Papí stumbled home in the middle of the night, drunk after tying one on at the local watering hole. She and I had always found ways to make a joke out of even the most morbid of circumstances. Desperate for any excuse to smile.

I bet Luciana isn’t smiling right now.

When I turned around, I jolted in surprise. Somehow, Luka had snuck right up on me with the stealthy silence of a panther. Former Army Ranger.

“I told you I’d help you find her.” His voice sounded like he’d swallowed broken glass. “And we will find her. You trust me, don’t you?”

To my amazement, I realized that yes, I did trust him.

But maybe I shouldn’t.

My entire upbringing had been a series of lessons about why safeguarding one’s emotions was the key to self-preservation. Life experience had instilled in me the knowledge that self-reliance was paramount. No one can be trusted. No one is afforded the benefit of the doubt. All of this had been engrained in my psyche from a very young age.

Fate could be a harsh teacher.

But ever since I met Luka, I’d been rejecting the curriculum.

I’d seen his darker side and still knew him to be principled. Noble. I knew what pure evil looked like, and it was not Luka Rossetti. And now having met his family, I was even more convinced of the man he was.

Family could say a lot about a person.

I wasn’t sure what my own said about me, but I saw Luka’s character as a reflection of his parents’ raising. Same with his brothers and sister. I wasn’t a genius. Wasn’t a psychic. Wasn’t even a great judge of character. But all that hard-knock life experience had taught me how to sniff out the liars.

And Luka wasn’t one.

“Yes,” I answered firmly. Confidently. “I trust you.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed in a way that told me he might have actually been unsure of my answer and was grateful for what he’d heard. When he started walking backwards without looking away, curiosity forced me to follow.

“I may not know what you’re going through,” he said, heading toward the bench press, “but I know what guilt feels like.”

I tilted my head but said nothing. It was unfair of me to want to learn everything I could about this man, to hear the intimate thoughts he didn’t share with anyone else, when I was such a closed book. I had no right to pry into his mind if I wasn’t willing to let him take a crowbar to my own.

“My special ops team was on a mission to take out a dangerous arms dealer who was supplying weapons to Salafi jihadist groups in Syria.” He walked behind the bench press and gripped the metal bar, lowering his head. “The situation heated up when he figured out we were closing in on him. He started setting off bombs and threatening the lives of dozens of civilians. We were eventually given orders to move in.”

My feet were silent as I slowly closed the distance between us. “What happened?”

The veins in his arms bulged as he squeezed that bar. “It was the middle of the night. Our intel showed no one else was in the structure he was hiding in, so my team was given the green light. Myself and one of my team members went in first. By the time we eventually found him, he was holding a civilian hostage. He’d been hiding her beneath some kind of trap door that wasn’t on our blueprints.” He let out a long, shuddering sigh. “He was ready for us.”

I waited on bated breath for him to continue. Something told me this was a story that he never talked about, with anyone. What deemed me worthy enough to hear it?

“I won’t relay all the details,” he went on, “but the hostage took us by surprise, and my team member got caught in a…trap. The target basically gave me a choice—save the hostage or save my team member.”

Oh, Luka.

His throat worked as he swallowed several times. “I thought I could save them both, but I had to work fast. I mean, civilians are always priority in those situations. No civilian casualties was always impressed upon us. But it’s different when you’re in that situation and death is on the line. I’d known that man for years. We’d been through training together, dozens of missions. We had both put our lives on the line for each other, and I had never seen this woman before in my life. But you could see it all over her face…she was terrified of dying.”

I couldn’t imagine being in that position. Having a human life in your hands, let alone two of them.

He shook his head. “My team member saw my hesitation. He knew I didn’t want to make that call. So, he made it for me. I took out the target, the hostage survived, and my team member left a wife and two children behind.”

My eyes welled with tears.

What an unbearable burden to have on his shoulders.

“I’ve asked myself a thousand times, why him? Why wasn’t that me?” Luka shrugged. “I didn’t have a wife and kids waiting for me at home. Why was I the one who came back with nothing more than a scar?”

He turned his head to the side and lifted the longer portion of his hair to reveal a vicious looking red scar on his scalp that I’d never noticed before. It was a long, angry slice that ran from his right ear, down to his hairline on the left side of his neck. I crept closer to examine it, my heart aching for this beautiful, scarred man. My fingers lightly ran over the scar tissue, sending a shiver up his spine.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that. I can’t imagine…” I couldn’t even finish the sentence because nothing I said could erase the past.

His fingers curled around my wrist as his gaze met mine. “I didn’t tell you that story to gain your sympathy, Cat. I told you so you’d know that I trust you too.”

Why did hearing that make it feel like a dozen doves just took flight in my chest?

“People like us feel things differently,” he rasped. “We handle our emotions in ways most people wouldn’t understand.”

“And how is that?” My voice was breathy, almost inaudible.

Still grasping my wrist, he lowered my hand to the metal bar. “By physically purging them.”

I felt the somber mood that had enveloped us for the last several minutes slowly ebb. What took its place was heady and dense and intoxicating. The heat emanating from his body permeated my skin. My lungs had to work harder to suck in oxygen through the thick cloud of lust gathering over our heads.

Luka watched the changes taking place on my face, his nostrils flaring in response. Letting go of my hand, he turned to pick up the large, round weight plates and slid them onto both ends of the bar. The little devil inside me licked her lips as he hefted those heavy hunks of metal with such ease. A throbbing sensation began in my lower belly that sent signals to all of my extremities. The urge to bring something into contact with my mons was so insistent that my thighs clenched without me telling them to.

Once he had the right amount of weight he wanted, he straightened, faced me, and ripped his shirt over his head. Leaving him in nothing but his loose joggers that sat indecently low on his hips. So low I could see the top patch of hair his treasure trail led to.

And all of that tattooed, eight-pack, muscled goodness was on display.

Just for me.

I swear, every muscle in his torso flexed as I took my fill of his body. “I’m going to lift, and you’re going to do whatever you want with me.”

My lips parted. “You’re saying you’re going to be on your back for me, completely at my mercy?”

His tongue dragged over his bottom lip. “That work for you, baby girl?”

I shrugged out of my gray leather jacket. I didn’t need to be coaxed into an offer like that. “You come up with the best ideas.”

“Stick around. I’ve got tons more.”

With that, he lowered himself onto the bench and scooted back until his head was at the end. His hands rose to grip the bar, fingers tightening around the metal. I had no idea how much weight he’d put on there, only that it was a substantial amount. But when he straightened his arms and held the bar above his head, unsupported, it looked as if it barely required any effort at all.

The air surrounding us crackled with erotic sensuality.

When he bent his elbows, bringing the bar closer to his chest, every muscle in his arms contracted. His forearms tightened, his biceps strained, his stomach flexed. The sight enraptured me. So much so that when my body gave my mind an order, I didn’t hesitate to follow it. I undressed as quietly as possible, loathe to interrupt his “purging.” When I slid my leg over his waist to straddle him, I was completely naked.

His head shot up, his gaze snapping down to where I sat atop him. His eyes squeezed shut as his breathing shallowed, mouth tightening. “Ah, God. I should have known you wouldn’t pull your punches. Straight for the knockout, huh?”

I tsked. “No, no, no. I need you awake for this.”

Once my feet found purchase alongside his thighs, I carefully placed my femininity right over his manhood. And dropped all my weight onto him. Presión máxima. Maximum pressure.

He held the bar above his head for several seconds, his arms shaking a little. “Jesus Christ. This wasn’t a good idea. I don’t think I can handle whatever you have in store for me. Just fuck me, Cat. Please.”

I purred in sympathy as I scraped my nails down his bare chest. “Patience, corazón.”

He growled. “Fuck patience. Your bare pussy is humping my cock through my pants right now. Your clit is literally riding the center seam. If I have to suffer through your teasing, you have to suffer through my impatience.”

I moaned when he thrust said seam against me with a quick punch of his hips. “Mmm, you said I could do whatever I want. Maybe I want you to get a little mad.”

He shoved the bar back up with more force than I expected. I met the action with a hard roll of my hips against his erection.

“You like my anger?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“I like your passion.”

“Everyone’s got their limits, baby. How far do you think you can push mine?”

The bar went back down, and I slid against his chest, my nipples grazing his. I traced invisible patterns all over his torso with my puckered tips, the only point of contact between our bare flesh.

“Until you grow so angry from your unfulfilled needs that you don’t remember what those limits even look like.”

His jaw clenched. “Then pay attention. Because I’m about to get fucking pissed.”

Up, down.

Up, down.

The devious side of me wanted to see how much he could really take, how long he could go before he broke. I got the sense he wanted the same thing. That he was ready for the challenge, that he wanted me to issue the dare. With his elbows extended and the bar above his head, I quickly slid underneath it and laid a hungry, wet kiss on his mouth. On a groan, he took advantage of the contact and gave lots of deep tongue action. When the movement of his hips started matching the rhythm of his tongue, I suspected he was trying to speed things along. Force me into action. Or maybe submission.

He needed to be reminded who was in charge.

I ripped my mouth away and went back to grinding against him. Only this time, I turned around and rode him in a reverse cowgirl. Leaning forward and resting my hands on his knees, I rolled my hips to make my ass swerve. I bounced on him to make it jiggle. I shook it in his gorgeous face just to drive him fucking crazy. I wanted him completely wild and untamed.

I wanted the animal inside to come out and play.

More like come out and attack.

“Holy goddamn,” he panted. “Yeah, shake that fine ass in my face, baby girl. Christ, I want my hands on that so bad.”

“Soon,” I promised.

His breathing turned labored.

The more he lost his concentration, the more his elbows buckled under the bar’s weight. Then he’d gather himself and press it right back up.

“Look at me.”

Flipping my hair back, I did as commanded. When our eyes connected, liquid heat infused my blood. His eyes were colorless and filled with not just lust, but a deep, dark possessiveness that should have sent me sprinting upstairs to move out of his apartment and far, far away from anything and everyone he knew.

Instead, I mirrored his expression.

Matched everything he was feeling and gave it all back.

“Tell me in Spanish how you can’t wait to fuck me,” he said in a hoarse voice. The bar came down, he pushed it back up. All while keeping his gaze glued to my face. “Tell me how badly you need my cock tearing into you. How it’s the only one that can give you the filthy fuck my Cat needs.”

His demands had me dripping between my legs. But I followed them exactly. In Spanish, I told him in precise detail how he was all I thought about. How horny I was all the time to feel him pumping between my thighs. How insane I felt for the kind of pain he could inflict on my body, and how much pleasure I got when he immediately soothed it away. The insatiability he caused in me, yet the comfort and security that being in his arms offered.

Being with him was all of that.

It was overwhelming. Exasperating. Maddening.

He was all I had never dared to dream of. Because I was always taught it was a wasted effort to dream of things that didn’t exist. Or that were beyond your reach.

But he does exist. And he’s right here, well within my reach.

As soon as the last word left my lips, Luka’s hips jackknifed off the bench. “Fuck! I’m gonna come soon. You gotta do something, or I won’t be able to hold on.”

Something about pushing the envelope with him like this—testing our sexual limits—was thrilling. Addictive.

“You can take a little more.”

He shook his head, deliberately averting his eyes. “I don’t think I can. I can’t even look at you right now or I’ll lose it.”

Poor bebé.

It was crazy how I wanted to soothe and comfort him and also watch his sanity unravel right before my eyes, all at the same time.

“Stop lifting,” I told him. “Let go of the bar.”

He instantly dropped the bar onto the stand with a loud clang. His chest heaved up and down rapidly. He couldn’t seem to catch his breath, which admittedly, only excited me more.

I crawled up his body backwards with careful movements.

“What are you doing?” he snapped when he realized I was moving away from his cock.

I didn’t stop until my entrance rested right over his face. “Being in charge.”

Pain was etched in every line of his chiseled face as he stared at my center. But his eyes—oh, they were hungry. “I can’t handle this. I’m about to blow here, Cat.”

I lowered my hips, closing the distance between his lips and mine. “Are you saying you don’t want to kiss me here? Lick me? You don’t want to swallow my taste, baby boy?”

He gnashed his teeth. “I’ve wanted to bury my face in your cunt since the very first moment I saw you. I want to inhale you, devour you. I want to fucking ravage that pussy, baby. I just don’t want this to end in my goddamn pants.”

I reached forward and quickly divested him of his confines. Shoving his pants as far down his hips as I could manage in that position, I freed him—

Only to find him without underwear.

I moaned lasciviously. For some reason, I found the fact that he went commando ridiculously sexy.

“There,” I breathed. “Does that help?”

“No.”

“I promise I’ll ride it hard as soon as you’re finished with me.”

As an extra incentive, I bent down and licked across his barbell. Little teasing lashes. Then I closed my teeth over the end and tugged lightly.

He hissed through his teeth. “Condom. Back pocket.”

For a moment, I thought about just taking him into my mouth and sucking until he spilled down my throat. His cock looked too mouthwatering and greedy, jutting up proudly like that. But I also didn’t want to miss another opportunity to feel those metal balls stroking my inner walls.

I retrieved the protection and very carefully slid it down his length. The moment my fingers let go of him, he grabbed my hips and hissed, “You want me angry, baby? This is what you fucking get.”

Roughly yanking me down, he planted his mouth over me.

Ay, madre de Dios.

He went from zero to toe-curling with a single swipe of his tongue. The pressure buildup was so intense I had to maintain a steady grip on the bar after nearly losing my balance.

Oh, he was definitely mad.

The flat of his tongue lashed my clit before he sucked it between his lips. He licked along my folds before driving his tongue inside, spearing me with it. The prickly hairs of his short beard chafed my skin, and I hoped he left beard rash on my inner thighs. I wanted a reminder of this later.

Then he started…moving me.

Hands clutching my hips, he guided them in a circle, around and around, over and over, until I matched his rhythm without help. It took me a moment to realize what he was doing.

Smearing me all over his mouth.

Rubbing my slick flesh all over his lips, his cheeks, his chin. Like he was trying to bathe with it. Drown himself in it. His deep groans of appreciation rumbled against my skin, vibrating against my highly sensitive area. And that’s when I could no longer maintain my grip on reality.

That orgasm was…an awakening.

A moment of revitalization.

I never knew how fulfilling such hedonism could be. How something so sinful could feel so heavenly. I threw my head back and screamed my thanks to God for creating this man with the wicked mouth and depraved thoughts. I was convinced a dark angel must have blessed him at birth with the gift of delivering the greatest pleasure known to womankind.

He tore his mouth away on a shouted expletive. “Now, Cat! Get me inside you now.”

I lunged for his lap and impaled myself on him. An ear-splitting roar cracked through the air when he came seconds after bottoming out. Another wave of my own climax washed over me, which I rode out right alongside him.

Once he’d spent himself of every last drop, I collapsed over him. Our heavy breathing were the only sounds in the room, although I wasn’t sure he couldn’t hear the frantic beating of my heart, it was so out of control.

“What the fuck did you just do to me?” he pushed out.

I choked on my laughter. “I could ask you the same thing.”

Because I think he just made me fall in love with him.

No, not with him. With his body. And the way he sexes you. That’s all.

Sí.

Sí…that was all.