For the briefest moment, it was like traveling through the ether, wild and chaotic and dark, and then I appeared in a small stone room that smelled damp. Gasping, I spun in a circle.

Lachlan surged upright off a small bed pressed against the wall, a single torch illuminating his face in golden shadows. “Eve?” He blinked, shock flashing on his face. “Tell me you’re not really here.”

“Just my spirit. For a little while.”

His shoulders relaxed. “Thank fates.”

“Where are you?”

“They took me somewhere while I was unconscious, but I have no idea. He’s too clever to give me any insight.”

As I’d expected. Still, at least I was there.

More than anything, I wanted to walk up to him and kiss him. Seeing him in danger—experiencing the threat of losing him—had shaken something loose inside me. I wanted him more than anything. I certainly didn’t want to lose him.

But first things first, I had to see if I could get him out of there. I knew it was unlikely even as I walked to the cell door, but I had to try.

When I reached it, I tried to grip the handle, but my hand passed right through. It was expected, given the limitations of the potion, but disappointing. Still, I pulled a tiny vial of potion from my wrist and dripped it onto the handle, hoping it would eat away at the metal. It dripped right through.

Double damn.

Lachlan appeared at my side. “How are you here?”

I turned to him, taking in his stern, handsome face. “A potion that connects two mates together. It’s why I can’t influence the environment here. My body is back in my workshop.”

“You look so real.” He reached up to cup my cheek, and his hand made contact, warm and solid. I gasped, and his eyes widened. “I can touch you.”

“I think you’re the only thing I can touch in this whole place.”

“Because we’re mates.”

I nodded. We’d been fighting it for so long—I needed to fight it, for my very life. So did he. But now that we were here, with his life on the line and mine not far behind, it was hard to remember that.

“One of us could die tomorrow,” I murmured, the reality of it sinking in. “What are the odds we both make it out?”

Shadows flashed across his face. He’d run the numbers on this as well and hadn’t come up with a good answer.

“We’ll be fine,” he said.

“You don’t necessarily believe that.”

“I want to believe it, and I think we’ve got a very good shot.”

My future, my whole life, was being boiled down to a very good shot. Those were the kind of odds that were only good when you were hoping to get a table at your favorite restaurant on a Friday night, not the odds required for survival.

I swallowed hard and stared up at him, drawn by his sheer nearness. He was so damned handsome that it was hard to look away. His normally icy eyes had turned warm, the green filled with heat, and his full lips parted as he stared down at me.

“I’ve never seen anything like you,” he said. “You’re so beautiful, it’s like a sunrise.”

My breath caught. I wasn’t one to be swayed by pretty words and compliments, but when they came from Lachlan, apparently, that flew out the window.

As his forest scent wrapped around me, I drew it deeply into my lungs, unable to stop myself. I couldn’t get enough of him. I didn’t want to get enough of him.

This was crazy—dangerous—but it felt like we might not survive tomorrow. And if we didn't…

I couldn’t die without having kissed him one last time. The fact that a miraculous potion allowed me to visit him had to be a sign from fate.

In my soul, my wolf awakened. A deep, animalistic desire overcame me, sweeping me up in its grip, impossible to resist.

“Eve.” He made a low, tortured noise in his throat. “When you look at me like that…”

“Like what? Tell me.”

“I can’t help but want to kiss you. I won’t be able to stop myself.”

“Then don’t.” I leaned up on my toes, hovering my lips an inch from his.

Tension sparked between us, heat and desire arcing across the scant space between our mouths. My body was only an inch from his, and that same electricity lit up the tiny chasm. My head spun from the ferocity of my desire, and when Lachlan finally crushed his lips to mine, joy exploded inside of me.

He gripped my waist and pulled me to him, pressing the full length of my body up against his. Every inch of him was hot and hard, a perfect match to my curves.

It felt so right that everything inside me lit up with pleasure. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned into the kiss, parting my lips to give him access.

He made a low, animal noise in his throat and cupped the back of my head, holding me still so that he could plunder my mouth. He kissed like it was going to be his last, and pleasure made my head spin. A fierce desperation filled my body, and I slipped my hands under his shirt, running them over smooth skin and hard muscles. He shuddered hard, a groan tearing from his throat.

“Stop that if you don’t want this to continue,” he growled.

I moved my hands higher, sweeping them around to the broad planes of his back. He shuddered again, seemingly unable to help himself, then tore his shirt over his head.

Golden light gleamed across the flat stretches of muscle that called for my touch. I ran my hands over his chest, and he dropped his head back, a low growl escaping his throat.

When he raised his head and met my eyes, his flashed brighter green with his wolf. “Your shirt.”

I yanked it over my head, and his gaze dropped to my breasts. A simple cotton bra concealed them, but he looked at me as if I were wearing lace and satin.

With slightly trembling hands, he reached for the bra and unhooked the front clasp. It popped open, and cool air rushed over my breasts.

“Eve,” he groaned, reaching for my waist and pulling me toward him. “You’re so beautiful.”

Before I could say anything, he lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he bent his head to my breasts and drew his tongue over the sensitive skin there. I shuddered, clutching his head as pleasure rushed through me.

“Tell me you want this,” he said. “I have to hear it.”

“I want this. I want you.”

He growled and bit gently on my nipple. I cried out, clenching my thighs around him.

With purposeful strides, he carried me to the small bed and laid me down. His movements were rougher, harsher, as if his control were fraying.

I loved it.

With a couple of yanks, he had me naked from the waist down. He knelt between my spread thighs like a god. Any nerves I might have had were banished by the desire on his face.

With strong hands, he gripped my hips and pulled me toward him, lowering his head. I looked down to see his burning eyes staring up at me over my stomach. Chills raced over me, hot and cold at once. Every inch of me felt so sensitized that I couldn’t bear it.

“I’m going to kiss you now.” His voice was a low growl, and I nodded, my eyes wide.

He lowered his head and pressed his mouth to the sensitive flesh between my thighs.

I cried out and arced off the bed, but he held me still, kissing me like he would die if he didn’t. Pleasure raced through me as he focused his attention on the most sensitive part of me, making my head spin and my breath grow short.