“Whatever you’re thinking, get it out of your head,” Wade said fiercely. “Look at me, Eliza. Look only at me and see me.”

Reluctantly she lifted her gaze to his, so afraid of what he’d see. Of the evil lurking beyond the façade she’d perfected over so many years. A knot formed in her throat, robbing her of the ability to speak, because there was only understanding. Gentleness and such tenderness that it made her want to weep all over again.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, his lips hovering just above hers. “Inside and out. Never have I met a woman as fierce, loyal, loving and vulnerable as you. You break my heart, baby. And as God as my witness I’m going to piece every part of you back together so that one day you’ll look in the mirror and see exactly what I see. A woman who stands for good. A woman who won’t back down at the first sign of adversity. Someone who will go to the wall for those she loves. A protector of the innocent and bringer of justice. And you’re mine.”

Satisfaction was a savage light in his eyes as he announced his claim. He didn’t wait for a response, not that she could have given him one anyway. He ravaged her mouth in a hungry kiss as if he were starved for her. As if he’d waited forever for this moment. It bewildered her. He bewildered her.

His mouth swept down her throat, his teeth grazing her sensitive skin, alternately sucking and nipping his way down to her breasts. Her hands fluttered to his shoulders but he quickly captured her wrists and pinned them above her head, holding her in place while he took possession of every inch of her flesh.

For a moment she struggled, not liking that she felt so helpless, but he raised his mouth to hers again, shushing her with a deep, spine-tingling kiss.

“You know I won’t hurt you, baby,” he said, his eyes full of tenderness. “But this is my show. I’ve waited for fucking ever to have you beneath me, mine to do with as I wish, and I’m going to savor every minute of it.”

The lump in her throat grew larger. He couldn’t possibly mean it. His words, his expression, the way he looked at her. It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. No one could ever love her. Not after knowing all she’d done.

“Stop,” he said in a forceful voice. “Stop thinking and just feel. If you won’t believe my words then I’ll have to show you what you mean to me.”

She stared at him with all the fear and vulnerability she felt. He had the power to destroy her. She, who admitted no weakness, no vulnerability, had realized that he held the key to her ultimate destruction. If he turned away from her after making her believe . . . She closed her eyes, unwilling to even think it. He could destroy her when nothing else had. He could do what even Thomas had been unable to accomplish and she hated being so powerless against Wade.

“Baby.”

Just one word. So filled with the one thing she’d never allowed herself to even entertain. The one thing she had craved above all else. He kissed her again. And again. Then he began working his way once more down her body, lavishing so much caring in every kiss, every caress.

He pressed a kiss to her navel and then flicked his tongue into the shallow indention, causing an immediate eruption of chill bumps over her belly. He went lower still, gently parting her thighs, patiently waiting when she immediately went rigid. He merely waited, lifting his gaze to hers as though silently willing her to trust him. And oh God, she did. She did trust him.

Gradually she relaxed and he spread her legs, running the tip of his finger through the net of curls between her thighs. He grew bolder, parting the soft folds and then caressing the sensitive bundle of nerves at the very heart of her.

She cried out when his mouth followed suit and he carefully licked and then sucked the taut bud into his mouth. He licked his way downward, leaving no part of her most intimate flesh unattended. The tip of his tongue circled her opening and then delved within. Her back bowed off the bed in an unconscious plea for more. She wanted all of him.

“Wade, please,” she cried.

Her outburst seemed to wrest his carefully wrought control from him as though he’d been using great restraint until now. Suddenly he was dominant and forceful, his body moving over hers, his eyes glittering with harsh need that matched her own.

Once again he pinned her wrists above her head, holding them tightly against the mattress so she was helpless to move. His big body covered hers in a blatant show of dominance as he fed ravenously from her mouth, her neck, bending lower to ravage her breasts.

No longer did he take things slow and sweet. He was showing her his ownership, that he’d never let her go now, and God, but she didn’t even care. She wanted—needed—was desperate for release. Need clawed at her insides. Never had she felt anything to match this. Never had she even imagined needing someone the way she needed Wade.

He kneed her thighs apart, his turgid erection prodding urgently at her opening. In one thrust he was so deep inside her that she couldn’t differentiate between the two of them. In that moment they were one person. One body. She gasped at the fullness but then he withdrew and hammered forward again, wringing a desperate cry from her.

She wanted to touch him, to caress him as he’d done her, but her arms were firmly captured against the bed, his hands wrapped around her wrists as he pounded into her over and over. And suddenly he yanked himself from her body and she whimpered her protest, suddenly bereft of his warmth, his comfort, his strength.

Before she could ask him what was wrong, he flipped her over onto her stomach and once more placed her arms above her head with a gruff command not to move them. Then he slid one strong arm underneath her belly and lifted her to her knees. When she would have raised her head, he gently placed his palm over her hair and pushed her head back to the pillow.

With her ass in the air, head down and arms above her, she felt . . . captured. Deliciously so. Arousal thrummed hotly in her veins. Wade wasn’t finished with his show of ownership.

His fingers dug into her hips and then feathered over her behind. She felt the brush of his lips at the small of her back and she closed her eyes as her thighs were once again parted. Then he was on her, inside her, plunging so deep that she gasped and balled the sheets with her fingers into tight fists to stave off her impending orgasm. Not yet. Oh God, not yet. She closed her eyes as her body rocked forward with the force of Wade’s thrusts.

He set a relentless pace, hard, deep, planting himself into her very soul. And yet through it all, his hands and mouth were gentle on her skin. So tender and sweet her heart ached. It was as if he were sending her a message, one she’d refused to hear verbally.