This time he let himself be gentle, nuzzling her neck, trying to calm the panic in her voice. “I would never hurt you.”

“I know that.” But still she held onto his arms.

“Then let go, Kara.”

“Let go,” she repeated, as if the words weren’t quite making it to her brain. “Okay.” Slowly, her grip loosened and she released him.

Blake’s hands settled on her slender waist and traveled downward to cup her backside. She stiffened instantly and he began a gentle caress of her cheeks. He could almost feel her holding her breath, almost taste her anticipation. He leaned in, pressing his face to her face, drawing in the sweet floral scent of her, and demanding, “What are you thinking? Exactly what is in your head right this moment? Say it. Say it now.”

“Blake,” she protested.

He squeezed her cheeks. “Now, Kara, or I’ll spank you this instant.”

“Nothing,” she panted. “Everything. I don’t know what is about to happen. I don’t know what to expect. I can’t believe I’m doing this or you’re doing this, and—”

Blake turned her around to face him, her back against the end of the bed, his legs caging her. “That’s what I was after,” he said, his hands resting on her shoulders.

“What?” she asked, looking confused. “What you were after? I don’t understand.”

“I’m not going to spank you. I was never going to spank you. I just needed you to feel what you just felt. I wanted you to experience that moment when you could think of nothing but what came next. That moment when nothing else could find its way into your head. That’s the kind of escape I’ve used to get through these past two years. It’s the only way I survived and I got it however I could get it. I lived on the edge and I pushed every limit I could push. Kara, I need you to know that’s how far gone I was over Whitney, because that’s how just the idea of losing you makes me. Your job is going to make me insane and I’m going to be overbearing and impossibly protective. I’ll try not to be, but I’ll fail sometimes. I might fail more than I don’t. We’ll fight. We’ll probably fight a lot.”

“I can handle it.” Her hands went to his face. “We’ll get through it. I promise, though, you didn’t have to do the whole spanking thing. I’m going to pay you back for that.”

“Kara—”

“I can handle it, Blake.”

He covered her hands with his and pulled them down between them. “Can you? Because, Kara, I can’t let you go back undercover with Alvarez. I won’t let you.”

“I’m okay with that. My cover is blown, and—”