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“Please don’t,” I say quietly. “We can’t…”

“Tell me why not?”

“Because you…”

If I let myself have him now, I don’t think I’ll be able to forget him. Right now, I can walk away. I can help him figure out who is behind Haze and go back to my old life as Detective Alexander Kimura. I can be normal. If I let him have me, he will be my destruction. “Because you’ll always choose The Snake.”

And not me…

He moves closer to grip my chin, forcing me to look at him. My heart hammers against my chest, a lump I can’t swallow down forming in my throat.

“I know that’s the choice I’ve made before and you have no reason to believe that I’ll do any different now, but I’m not choosing, Alex.”

I frown. “What?”

He tilts his head a little, eyes gleaming. “You said it yourself; I’m spoiled. I get everything I want. And I want you, Alex. I was too dumb to realise it before, and I’ll spend the rest of my life kicking myself, but I want you and I want The Snake too,” he says, moving closer to whisper, “Who says I can’t have both?” His lips brush against the shell of my ear and a shiver goes up my spine.

Heat coils inside me again as our eyes meet, and I can’t help it. I breathe in his scent, savouring it—him.

“Rowan,” I say quietly, but I don’t try to move out of his grip.

If you kiss him now, there’s no going back, a voice says in the back of my mind. If we cross this line, there’s no uncrossing it. I’d be putting my job with OCU in jeopardy, my life, everything I’ve worked for.

Halle is fine,a new voice whispers,there’s nothing to go back to.

Rowan assesses my face for a moment, and he must come to some conclusion because he withdraws his hand, taking a careful step back. I hate it. I want him close to me again, his hands on me.

Our eyes meet and just like in the bar when I first saw him again, time stands still, and the world disappears. There is a strange breath of silence, pregnant with questions unresolved and words unspoken, but they will have to wait.

I rush at him, throwing my arms over his shoulders, my lips smashing against his and finally, I’m kissing him again. I realise this is exactly where I needed to be all along.

There is nothing slow about the kiss. Nothing teasing nor tentative. Rowan kisses me in the way that he is—dominating and powerful. His tongue moves into my mouth, a solid hand moving up to grip my throat.

A desperate moan comes from deep inside me, letting him take control. When he slams my body against something hard, the edge of the counter I realise, I barely feel the impact, too focused on taking off his shirt instead.

My eyes drink in the sight of his bare torso, his muscles, the dips and ridges that converge into a perfectly trimmed waist. A hint of ink peaks over his shoulder from the serpent tattoo on his back. How did I, for a second, even believe I could resistthis?

“Fuck me,” I say breathily.

He laughs. “Eager.”

“Shut up.”

“Make me,” he says, eyes glinting.

He kisses me again, swallowing any retort I might’ve had. His thigh presses between my legs, and instinct takes over. I grind against him, the friction against my trapped dick driving me to the edge of madness.

Rowan laughs, low and dangerous. “You like that, don’t you? Grinding against me like a needy little thing.”

In response, I reach between us, my hand slipping down to press against the growing hardness beneath his sweats. His breath hitches, and I grin, tugging at the drawstring. “Looks like you’re just as pathetic for me,” I murmur.

His eyes narrow, and before I know it, he’s spun me around, pinning my face against the cool surface of the counter. My arm is twisted behind my back, and my ass in the air. It’s a compromising position and I’m completely winded by how quickly he managed to do that.

It’s terrifying to know Rowan is a trained killer. He’s so much more powerful than he presents himself. Years ago, he was the youngest, careless Vasilyev who enjoyed a good party, but he always held a quiet power to him. It always felt like I could match it. Now, I’m not so sure. There’s nothing weak about me, but Rowan is formidable. He is all power and strength. Enough power to possess, to kill, to own.

He leans in, his breath hot against my ear. “You’re not in charge here, Lexie. Have you already forgotten?” His hips press into me, letting me feel the hard line of his dick against my ass.

I think I might lose my mind. I moan, moving my hips slightly to rub my ass against him.