Grace slid out of the car and stomped her boots to get rid of the snow before climbing the stairs and bursting into the kitchen. His view of the world was kind of sweet, and if they were in love and mates, she’d understand. But right now, they wanted to smack each other. Or get naked. Why those two feelings were intertwined when she thought of him, she had no idea. “I really don’t see—”

He lifted her, flipped her around in the air, and caught her. She yelped and grabbed on to his coat, instinctively smashing her thighs around his hips to keep from falling.

His mouth was on hers before she could make another sound. Hard and demanding, his lips were cold from the snow and his tongue so hot it burned. He went deep, one hand on her ass and the other stabilizing her back. His tongue took hers, conquering, as he strode through the cabin, his steps soft and sure.

She couldn’t breathe. She didn’t want to.

With a low moan, she returned his kiss, tunneling both hands through his hair. Snow fell all around them.

All that existed was Adare and his mouth. His hand scalded her butt, even through her jeans. His heat and his energy, his anger and his desire. His powerful determination.

He kicked the door to their small suite shut with one boot and let her slide down his body to the floor, still kissing her.

She stepped back, her mind reeling, her body aching with a need so great it had to be unnatural. Or immortal. “Adare.”

Keeping her gaze, he drew off his coat and dropped it on the floor. His shirt was next, and all of that smooth and impossibly hard muscle played as he reached for his belt.

“Wait a minute.” She held out a hand, trying to think. Tried to rationalize what was happening and use her brain instead of her body. The pull he had on her was unreal, and it was more than just need or want or lack of sex for years. There was something between them; something big and real that she couldn’t explain. The marking along her back, the faded brand that he’d put there years ago to save her life, began to tingle until it burned.

He paused, his eyes dark pools of burnt silver. “There’s only one way this works, and it’s if we both decide it’ll work. That much I know. All in, Grace Cooper. We control our cells, our DNA, not the other way around.”

The truth in that statement dug deep inside her. Where she wanted him right now. “You’re telling me you believe in mind over matter?” she asked breathlessly, the craving she felt for him making her voice shake.