And then he was na**d. Beautiful and hard and ready. His body should be immortalized in marble, she thought. A master should sculpt him. Not that Kane would ever agree to pose.

He put his hands on his h*ps and stared at her. “You can still run,” he told her.

“Not with my ankle.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yes, I do. And I’m not going anywhere.”

He took a step toward the bed, then stopped. “Dammit, Willow,” he began.

She pulled her sweater up and over her head, then tossed it onto the floor. “So what, exactly, does a girl have to do to get your attention?”

He made a sound in his throat that was part growl, part groan. Then he was on the bed, on top of her, rolling with her so that she ended up sprawled across him. He tangled one hand in her hair and claimed her with a kiss that made her toes curl.

She parted for him, welcomed him. Their tongues danced. He stroked her bare back, his fingers moving slowly over her skin. When he reached the waistband of her jeans, he slipped his hands over the curve of her rear and squeezed.

She could feel his arousal pressing into his stomach. Her skin was hot and hungry for his touch. She wanted his hands everywhere, touching her, taking her, claiming her.

He shifted so she was on her back. His dark eyes stared into hers.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered before reaching behind her to unfasten her bra.

His words delighted her, but they weren’t nearly as thrilling as his mouth on her bare breast. One moment there was fabric, then a whisper of cool air followed by the warm, wet sensation of lips and tongue.

He suckled her and she felt the pull through her belly and between her legs. His teeth scraped her nipple, then he licked that tight point until she felt a scream building up inside of her.

The wanting grew until it was unbearable. Her legs moved restlessly. She wanted to rip off the rest of her clothes and feel their na**d bodies press together.

He turned his attention to her other breast and repeated his attentions. She stroked his shoulders, his back, then ran her fingers through his short hair. Sensations swept through her. Pleasure and tension and a deep hunger for more and more and more.

He began to drift lower, kissing her ribs, then her belly. He unfastened her jeans and continued to kiss as he went. Soft kisses, wet kisses, nibbling kisses. He anointed her with his mouth and tongue, driving her need higher and higher.

He grabbed the waistband of her jeans and drew them off in one easy, practiced movement. Her bikini panties went with them, leaving her as na**d as he. Then he continued kissing his way down and down and down.

When he was inches from the promised land and she thought she might die if he didn’t finally touch her there, she eased her thighs open and braced herself for the assault.

It was amazing. Hot and wet and fast and slow and everything in between. He licked all of her, teased her, made her whimper with gentle sucking before settling down into a rhythm designed to make her beg for him to never stop.

He moved his tongue back and forth, drawing her in deeper, pushing her to the edge, then pulling her back. Twice she was sure she was going to come, then he slowed and she lost it.

Her breath came in quick pants. She clutched at the sheets and dug her heels into the mattress. He picked up the pace again and she found herself straining toward her release. His tongue moved back and forth, taking her higher and higher. She was so close…so incredibly close.

“Kane,” she breathed.

He stopped. He actually stopped. She felt her release slipping away and nearly cried in frustration. Then he pushed a single finger inside of her. In and out, circling. A deep, pulsing began building through her body, the intensity stunning her. She could barely breathe from all the powerful sensations. He put his mouth on her most swollen, sensitive spot and sucked. At the same time, he touched her with the very tip of his tongue.

Without warning, she exploded into her release. One second there was nothing, the next, her whole body was shaking from the powerful waves crashing through her. It was incredible and nearly violent and unlike anything she’d experienced.

The pleasure seemed to go on forever. Finally it began to fade and he raised his head to look at her.

There was still hunger in those dark eyes, but also satisfaction. She couldn’t find it in her heart to even mind. The man had earned it.

“I’m boneless,” she whispered.

“That was the point.”

“You’re really good at that.”

“You’re easy.”

She smiled. “Words every woman longs to hear.”

He knelt between her legs and reached for the nightstand drawer. “You’re sexually responsive.”

“Better.”

He pulled out a condom, put it on and then eased between her thighs. His dark eyes were bright with wanting and need and desire. Willow reached down to guide him inside of her, then gasped as he filled her, stretching her with his hard thickness.

But instead of thrusting inside and having his way with her, he moved slowly, giving her time to adjust and appreciate their differences.

She tightened around him, wanting the experience to be as good for him as it had been for her. He groaned in appreciation, then shifted so he could touch her while he continued to move in and out.

She opened her eyes and prepared to ask him what he was doing, only at that exact moment, his fingers came in contact with her center.

She was already sensitive from what he’d done before and the combination of his skilled touch and his arousal pushing into her quickly took her to the edge of another release. She’d planned to focus on him and his pleasure, but soon it was all she could do to keep breathing.

He rubbed faster and faster, keeping the exact amount of pressure, while the pace of him moving in and out remained steady.

There was too much going on, she thought frantically. She didn’t know where to focus her attention. It was all so good, so incredible, so…

Her release swept through her, making her body burn as it shuddered in waves of perfect pleasure. Kane leaned forward so he could brace himself above her and began to pump his hips. The movement was enough to keep her own cl**ax going on and on, seemingly endless.

Nothing had ever been like this. She hadn’t known her body was capable of these kinds of sensations. She clung to him, giving herself up to him, feeling him get closer and closer until he groaned and was still.

Willow tried to catch her breath. If she’d been boneless before, she was positively two-dimensional now. She would never be able to walk again, but that was okay. She would have the memories of this night to sustain her.

He rolled off her onto his back, then wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

She snuggled up against him and rested her head on his shoulder. She could feel the rapid beat of his heart and his heavy breathing.

“Not bad for a rookie,” she said.

He laughed. “Gee, thanks.”

She smiled. “You know your stuff. You could probably heal a few diseases with that technique.”

“Like I said, you’re easy.”

If being easy meant feeling like this, she was all for it. Until tonight she’d been able to count her physical experiences on two fingers. Neither encounter had prepared her for Kane’s mastery.

His heartbeat had slowed, as had his breathing. She could feel herself getting sleepy. The part of her brain that could still function wondered if she should offer to head back to the guest room bed. But then she reminded herself this was Kane. If he wanted her gone, he would have no problem telling her exactly that.

So much for being a big, bad tough guy, she thought as she snuggled closer and closed her eyes.

Kane woke shortly before dawn and knew there were two things wrong—the woman in his bed and the intruder moving through his bedroom.

He knew the woman was Willow and someone he could deal with later. First there was the matter of the intruder. But before he could slip out of bed and attack, a skinny cat jumped on his chest and meowed in his face.

“Good morning to you, too,” he muttered and raised his hand. She rubbed against his fingers before settling down on his chest and purring loudly.

He shifted her onto the bed and got up. After grabbing a robe, he walked into the kitchen and started the coffee machine. The cat followed. When he’d flipped on the machine, he checked out her food. The bowl of canned was licked clean and most of the dry was gone. He gave her more of both, then walked into the living room.

The kittens were still in their box. One was awake and mewing for its mother. He bent over and stroked the tiny body. The kittens were blind and defenseless. In the wild, they’d be dead within hours. There were plenty of small predators on the grounds to deal with them. It was just the ugly side of life.

He could see that and accept it, but not Willow. She wanted to save the world. Funny how she hadn’t learned that a lot of the world wasn’t worth saving.

Willow awoke to sunlight spilling into the bedroom and the smell of coffee filling the house. A quick glance at the clock on the nightstand told her it was after eight and she was still in Kane’s bed. Not to mention…naked.

She smiled as she stretched, feeling sore muscles protest. It had been some workout. Make that workouts with an S, because sometime well after three in the morning, Kane had done the whole thing again.

She stood and strolled into the bathroom where she found her clothes all neatly folded. After showering, she dressed and was able to get her foot in her shoe with no problem. The swelling was nearly gone and her ankle barely hurt at all. She walked into the kitchen and poured herself coffee, then headed for the living room.

Kane sat at a desk in the corner, facing his laptop. He, too, had showered and dressed, mostly likely in the guest room because she hadn’t heard him.

He looked up at her, but didn’t speak. He looked dark and dangerous and there wasn’t a hint of desire or softness in his eyes.

“Don’t panic,” she said with a smile. “I’m leaving as soon as I’m done with my coffee, so you can afford to be pleasant. I promise, you won’t have to resort to scaring me off.”

“Why should I believe you? You settle in very easily.”

His voice was familiar and sexy. She liked the way it played in her mind, the low notes making her shiver.

“I have things to do,” she told him. “Important things.”

“I can only imagine.”

She walked closer to the desk. “What are you doing? Work stuff?”

“I finished that earlier. This is personal.”

“Ooh. An online girlfriend.”

He shook his head and turned the computer toward her. She saw a picture of a beautiful island. The sky was an impossible shade of blue, the sands nearly white. In her next life, when she was rich, she would hang out in places like that.

“Vacation?” she asked.

“Retirement. I’ll be ready in eight years. Five if my investments continue to pay off better than I expect.”

Retire? She frowned. “But you’re barely in your thirties.”

“Thirty-three.”

She sank into the club chair by the desk. “Why would you want to retire?”

“Because I can. I’ve done as much as I want to do.”

And she’d barely started on her life. “Like what?”

He leaned back in his chair. “I lied about my age, faked a birth certificate and joined the army when I was sixteen. I was there for ten years, eight of them in Special Forces.”

Which explained the scars, she thought. A warrior. Her heart gave a little shimmy.

“After I got out, I spent four years protecting rich people in dangerous parts of the world. The money was good, but I got tired of being shot at. I took the job with Todd and Ryan because I get in on the ground floor with a lot of start-ups. It’s a good way to make a fortune.”

“Is that what you need? A fortune?” If he was planning on retiring in five to eight years, he probably already had one.

“I need several.”

“For what?”

He jerked his head at the computer screen. “Privacy and solitude don’t come cheap. I want a place that’s isolated and easy to defend. Where there aren’t many people but there are things I like to do.”

While she could respect the desire for a fortune or two—frankly, a third of a fortune would be enough for her—she didn’t understand the need to be alone.

“What about family?” she asked. “A wife, kids? You can’t keep them isolated.”

“Not interested.”

She tightened her grip on her coffee. “But then you’ll be alone.”

“Exactly.”

“But that’s not a good thing.”

He looked at her. “I told you, Willow. I don’t get involved. Ever.”

It was like he was speaking a foreign language. “But family is everything to me,” she told him. “I’d be lost without them. Everyone needs to belong, even you.”

“You’re wrong.”

He spoke with a confidence that made her want to believe him. But she couldn’t get her mind around the fact that he was planning to spend the rest of his life by himself.

“Last night was so intimate,” she murmured.

“It was sex.”

“Is that the only way you feel comfortable connecting? Sexually?”

He looked more amused than annoyed. “Don’t try to analyze me. It won’t work. I’m not broken—I don’t need fixing.”

“You need more in your life than just you, Kane.” But he wasn’t going to believe her. She looked across the room toward the basket where the mother cat licked her kittens. “Do you want me to call the rescue place about the cats?”