Ava, Selene warns in my mind, her voice a distant echo. Remember what you need.


    I try to focus on her words, but it''s hard when Lucas is kissing me like this, like I''m the only thing that matters in the world.


    His hands slide under my shirt, his calloused fingers skimming over my sensitive skin. I arch into his touch, a soft moan escaping my lips.


    "Lucas," I breathe, my voice barely recognizable to my own ears. "We have to stop."


    He pulls back, his golden eyes blazing with desire. "I know. I''m sorry. I just can''t control myself around you."


    But his hands are still seeking, and I''m still arching into their touch. Rough fingers pull the cup of my bra low, and his thumb flicks over my nipple.


    I take a shaky breath, trying to clear my head. "I need time, Lucas. Space. I can''t do this right now."


    But I step closer, trying to yank his shirt out of his waistband.


    I should push him away, remind him of the boundaries I''ve fought so hard to establish, but my traitorous body melts into his embrace, craving his touch like a parched flower thirsts for rain.


    The way my name lingers on his lips, the way he breathes it like reverent prayer against my ears as his fingers continue to tug and twist in a sensual dance against my breast? I''m lost. Drowning beneath sensation.


    The very core of me throbs with a need so basic, so simple, and so consuming.


    "Lucas," I whisper, my voice a breathless plea. "We can''t..."


    But even as the words leave my lips, I''m pulling him closer, my fingers tangling in his dark hair, my mouth seeking his with a desperation that frightens me. He meets me halfway, his kiss searing and possessive, claiming me as his own.


    The bond between us has flared to life, a pulsing, living thing that demands to be acknowledged. It''s a force beyond our control, a need that overrides all reason and logic.


    At this moment, we''re not Ava and Lucas, two individuals with complicated pasts and uncertain futures. We''re simply two halves of a whole, drawn together by a power greater than ourselves.


    His hands, strong and sure, squeeze both breasts in a way that drags a moan out of me. His answering growl sends another throbbing pulse of desire straight to my clit in a way that has my thighs clenching.


    Sliding his hands down my ribs, he settles them against my hips and walks me backward, guiding me until I feel the edge of the hospital bed pressing against the backs of my thighs.


    "More," I insist, as another finger slides in.


    "You like that, love?" he asks, his words hot against my ear, sending shivers through my body.


    I nod, frantic as I grab onto his shoulders and try to ride his hand. "Please, Lucas, I need more." My body burns with need, with urgency. Our bond screams between us, ecstatic and frustrated in turn.


    "More fingers?" he asks, and his fourth slides in with a little more difficulty, stretching me as he flexes and spreads them inside, never stopping his thrusts.


    "Faster," I pant, trying to keep my lungs filled with air. It''s impossible. It''s too hard to breathe and enjoy this at the same time.


    "As you wish," he murmurs, and but his hand disappears from between my thighs.


    Aching, sore, and wanting, I struggle onto my elbows to stare at him in disbelief. "Why did you—"


    Oh.


    Oh.


    Those strong hands unbuttoning his pants? That''s sexy.


    Arousal slams home, crashing straight into my core as he unzips, the full length of him springing free from the confines of his jeans.


    "Ava," he grits out, even as he steps between my legs once again, falling onto his hands above me. "This is your chance to tell me to stop."


    I shake my head, opening my legs wider.


    Didn''t I ask for space? I did.


    But that deep part of me, that instinctual bond that begs for him, won''t let me out of its clutches.


    I need him like I need the air I breathe.


    "Hurry up, alpha," I murmur, wrapping both arms around his neck. "I need you inside."


    "Fuck," he mutters, grabbing both legs and yanking me closer. The hospital bed isn''t at the best height, so my hips lift off the bed as he settles the warm head of his cock against the core of me.