My fingers crush her firelit hair as I drag my lips over hers. She gasps into my mouth and, like a ruthless bastard, I take advantage of her surprise and devour her whole. I sweep my tongue into her mouth and claim her passion for my own, give a deliberate nip of my teeth to chase away all shadow of doubt. Cupping the base of her skull in my palms, I take her mouth with a fury that sends sensation rippling dangerously over my skin. How many times have I envisioned her in my arms? How many goddamn times have I wrapped a hand around my hard-on, darkness as my only witness, and cursed myself for fantasizing about a woman who blames me for tearing apart her family?

I don’t know.

Right now, I don’t even care.

Laela’s hands jump to my arms, holding on tight like I’m the only thing keeping her upright. She stretches onto her toes, back bowing like the string of a violin in the hands of a master composer. I sense every disapproving glance aimed in our direction, and if I could tear my mouth from hers and abide by social niceties, I would. But fuck, there’s no stopping now. Heat punches me in the gut when her full breasts graze my chest, and a hoarse groan scrapes my throat raw.

She shouldn’t taste this good.

She shouldn’t . . . Goddammit, she shouldn’t make me feel this wild.

Especially when I never anticipated her not recognizing me tonight. The beard that once shadowed my jaw is gone and it’s been over a year since the ashy blond hair dye grew out. Beneath the disguise I’d worn for a different assignment, I’m still the same man who stood on her family’s doorstep and felt my hands clench with the need to comb my fingers through her lush auburn hair, which was streaked with the colors of a sky set ablaze.

I wanted her then.

I fucking crave her now.

A good man would peel himself away and admit the truth before this all goes too far. Someone honorable wouldn’t have kissed her in the first place. Seems that I’m neither because instead of backing off like a gentleman with a functioning moral compass, I crowd Laela and destroy the final gap that separates us, breaking the kiss only to bury lips against her neck and inhale her clean, floral scent. She shudders under my touch, her bare shoulders trembling as she arches into my body with a hiss of need. “Sir—”

Fuck.

Fuck—