When Ronin turned his back to her, she noticed he was vibrating with anger.
Maybe she'd been freaking out about the details and had missed the big truth. Ronin's quick thinking and years of training had gotten them out of a potentially deadly situation. She oughta be thanking him, not questioning him.
Amery moved in behind him. "Thank you for saving me tonight, Ronin." She took a chance and circled her arms around his waist. "Sorry if I seemed ungrateful. I'm not."
"Amery-"
"Let me finish. I've never seen you like that. In ass-kicking Master Black mode, showcasing your eighth-degree black belt skills in the real world."
"You weren't put off by seeing that violent side of me?"
"Shocked at first. But now? I'm more than a little turned on, if you want to know the truth. You moved so fast." She stood on her toes and kissed the back of his neck. "It reminded me you don't play at self-defense. Your body responds instinctively because that's how you've trained it to respond. It's sexy as hell." She kissed the slope of his shoulder. "Makes me want you. Right now."
Ronin whirled around. His mouth was on hers, his hands were on her, and nothing else mattered.
Her fingers automatically went to the buttons on his shirt, while Ronin's hands made quick work of the zipper on her jeans. They managed to get undressed. He lifted his mouth from her throat long enough to say, "Bedroom is too far away. I want to fuck you here." He pushed her up against the wall.
She groaned when his teeth scraped down her throat. "No. On the floor. Like a takedown."
Next thing she knew, they were on the hardwood with her knees clamped against Ronin's ribs as he slammed his cock inside her.
"Yes. God, yes, do that again."
He withdrew and rammed into her with long, deep strokes, his mouth at her ear. "I want to feel your nails digging into my back and my ass. I want to feel your teeth on my skin. I want to wear your marks."
She just about came right then.
As he pounded into her with enough force they slid across the floor, Amery sucked a love bruise on his pectoral. She dragged her nails down his back when his tongue flicked across the sweet spot in the curve of her shoulder. She arched and ground against him, giving herself over to this primal mating. This physical testament that they were alive.
Ronin's hands pushed her knees until the outside of her thighs pressed into the floor. That change forced his pubic bone to keep continual contact with her clit and she gasped.
"Hands on me," he demanded.
With his mouth sucking on her nipple, it only took six short strokes and she came so hard white spots obscured her vision. Ronin's orgasm started on the tail end of hers and she dug her nails into the back of his neck, his long moan sweet to her ears since the man usually came in near silence.
They stayed slumped together in a sweaty pile, breathing hard, until the chill from the floor caused her to shiver.
Ronin pushed up and looked into her face. "You blow my mind every fucking time."
"And just think . . . you didn't even have to break out the ropes for it to be that hot between us."
"Smart." Kiss. "Ass." Kiss.
She reached up and touched his face. Sometimes she couldn't believe this gorgeous, complicated, kinky man was in her life.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked softly.
Rather than tell him again how hot, sexy, and amazing he was, she said, "Thank you for your quick thinking and getting us out of a bad situation tonight."
"My pleasure." He kissed her with such sweetness tears stung her eyes. "Let's get cleaned up and ready for bed."
"That means I'm staying over?"
"Be a little hard for you to leave after I tie you to my headboard."
She laughed, but come to find out . . . he hadn't been joking.
• • •
AMERY showed up for work thirty minutes late on Wednesday morning. She hadn't tried to sneak in, but after seeing her friends circled around Molly's desk, loaded for bear, she wondered if she should've made her appearance after lunch and claimed a new client meeting had kept her away from the office.
"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in," Chaz said with no hint of a smile.
She wasn't exactly surprised by the ambush since things had been tense for the past couple of weeks. Chaz defined surly, even in casual conversation. And after Emmylou returned from her on-site jobs, she grumbled and slammed her office door. Amery had tried talking to each of them, in person and via text, but neither had responded, so she figured the issue was between them and they hadn't wanted to drag her into it.