Nola groaned with disappointment, cupped his nape and yanked his face back to hers.

He couldn’t not kiss her back. Once he started, he couldn’t bring himself to stop, not again. He nipped the line of her jaw, ran her earlobe between his teeth and kissed his way down the elegant column of her neck. Delectable mewls escaped her, an irresistible siren’s song.

Where her pulse raced, he sucked, hard, and she moaned in surrender.

Surrender...

What he hadn’t known he wanted, needed. The tone of the kiss changed again. Faster, harder. Hotter, rougher. He lifted his head and claimed her mouth. Nola went wild, clawing at him. She hooked a leg around his waist and undulated against his length.

Sweat beaded on his brow, her desperation a match for his. The rich complexities of her innate fragrance deepened, an intoxicating drug he feared he would forever crave.

“Your shirt,” he prompted.

With no hesitation, she ripped the material overhead, revealing a lacy black bra. Her flawless skin was a magnet for his tongue. As he bit the tendon that ran along her shoulder, goose bumps spread over her skin—skin like wildfire. He tracked those bumps with his mouth, grazing her collarbone with his teeth. Inside him, pressure built, a climax beckoning. He rubbed his erection between her legs, his thoughts jumbling.

Losing control...

“Bane.” Moaning, she threw back her head, watching him with a heavy-lidded gaze. “I think I’m close.” Her lips were wet and slightly swollen from his kisses. A flush pinkened her skin, her pulse racing ever faster. She had her nails embedded in his shoulders, holding her prey in place.

Her prey. Her pet.

Her slave.

Fool! She was a princess, a royal, a queen in the making, and this was a betrayal to Meredith. He would be with a woman, yes, but not this one.

With a growl, Bane released Nola and wrenched backward. One step. Two. Ten. He panted, every shallow breath as sharp as a dagger, his blood like fire.

He remembered the day Aveline summoned him to Hivetta to discuss the Terran All War. He’d hated withdrawing from his wife without finishing, but he’d done it—easily. Here, now, he could walk away from Nola to preserve his sanity just as easily. He could. He would.

“Kiss me, Bane. Pretty, pretty please.” She leaned against the rocky wall, breathtakingly carnal, and squeezed her pert, lace-clad breasts.

Seduction incarnate... He’d wanted her lost. Mission accomplished. Magnificently so. Need for her skyrocketed, consuming him. But he would walk away. Any moment now...

Any. Damn. Moment.

She slid her fingertips down the flat plane of her stomach and fingered the button on her pants.