And it didn’t happen with every encounter.

There had to be the incelebratus– that special connection with the other party. No one knew what caused it. How it formed or why.

It simply was and came without warning.

But he understood it, at least in part. Jayne fit him in so many ways. She was patience when he wanted to rush, calm when he raged.

And she soothed him when nothing else did.

That alone could bring him to his knees.

Claiming her lips again, he smiled as she lifted to her toes. Then his full attention was on her taste. Their tongues danced, a sensual tango.

He needed more. Needed all of her.

“The door is open.” He pressed his lips to hers.

She pulled back with a laugh. “Think Mordacity will kill us?”

“Probably. But what the hell? She was the one who took the hit out on me.”

Jayne laughed again. “So you say.”

“Either way, she owes us.”

Releasing him, Jayne led the way into the bedroom.

The sway of her hips was a private invitation. His breathing ragged, he shut the door with the heel of his hand and locked the world from their haven.

The buzz of the well-tended lock satisfied him. Before he could turn around, her hands slid under the edge of his jacket. They were so warm that her touch set fire to him.

His forehead hit the door and he froze to savor her touch. Chills ran across his chest. His nipples drew into tight buds. The breath he’d thought to release locked in his lungs.

All his blood fled south, and his thoughts tangled between his need to stop her and his desire to make sure she didn’t.

Her hands traveled his spine before reaching around to the front. Deft fingers made short work of his shirt, then slid down lower. She caressed him through his pants.

He trembled at the fire that rushed the length of his body. God help him. He’d never felt like this before.

Never been touched by a woman whose thoughts weren’t overriding his.

Grasping her hands, he pulled them away from him. “If you don’t stop, we’ll both be disappointed.”

She snorted at those words. “I’ve already had my fun, punk’n.”

Her humor was infectious. “In that case . . .” Hadrian released her hands long enough to sweep her into his arms.

He carried her to the bed, then lowered her toward the mattress.

“Thank you for not groaning when you picked me up.”

“What?”

She nuzzled his cheek. “Nothing kills a woman’s desire faster than the sound of her lover groaning from her weight. You made me feel weightless. Thank you.”

He laughed until her body slid along his, every inch inciting a fire he wanted to bathe inside.

A fire that was stoked when Jayne began to slowly undo her clothes. Dumbfounded and overwhelmed, he couldn’t do anything other than watch.

Damn . . .

She was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.