He had wanted to believe he could live by Elijah’s rules. They were putting their own men in place of crime lords, taking over territory to control the underworld. There was no stopping corruption. No matter how many cops, how many people doing their best to prevent crime, someone would always break the law. Greed and power were huge motivators. When one head was chopped off, another grew, sometimes someone far worse than whomever had been stopped. They hoped to take the worst out and minimize the crimes in their streets.

He rubbed her hand along his jaw. He hadn’t shaved and he had a shadow. That stubble provided the same kind of radar as his leopard’s whiskers did. When she touched him, he felt that touch driving straight to his cock. He wanted to push her hand down to cover the thick erection building in his groin—he would have if the cops hadn’t been there. His men were leopard and they could just leave. It was his home, now that she was in it. Home. He savored the word. He’d never had a home. He’d never thought he’d have one. That he could sit in a room and want his woman to wrap her fist around his cock and bring him pleasure beyond belief.

Her eyes jumped to his face and for one moment there was only the two of them in the room. He saw very, very clearly that she had exactly the same idea, that she wanted to wrap her fist around his cock. Her tongue touched her lips. Moistened top and bottom. He nearly groaned. She wanted more than her fist around his cock. His erection went from semi-hard to just plain aching, throbbing, pulsing hard. Holy hell. He was in trouble with her. He could find control when it was only him, but it would be impossible if she didn’t help him.

He leaned down, one hand going to her hair, bunching there, his thumb sliding along her cheek as he raised her head and lowered his even more so his lips were against her ear. “You’re going to pay for that.”

Her eyes darkened. Burned for him. Were lost in him, just the way he wanted when the room was full of tension and suspicion was on him. She’d said she loved him. She’d said it. But they had been in the midst of the Han Vol Dan and who knew what a woman might say when her body was on fire and desperately needed her man? He needed her to love him. He needed it to be true. The way she looked at him, he could almost make himself believe it was the truth.