Mia gave him a weak smile. “I’m fine. Honestly. I’m fine.” She motioned for him to come in and sit down.
Once seated, he rested his elbows on the arms of the chair. He stared straight at her. Usually this kind of scrutiny made her uncomfortable. Not now. She was becoming comfortable with herself. Just another thing that had changed. She met him head-on.
“The order for his execution has been given.”
Nausea washed over her. She gripped the desk. “When?”
“Two weeks from now. They can’t risk him escaping and disappearing. It was pure luck they got him this time, someone sold him out. They want him dead.”
They couldn’t break him and they didn’t understand him. Their only solution was execution. Fear of the unknown drove them to the edge.
Fuck with the Company, and they put you in the ground. How had she not seen their appalling ethics?
She sensed Ramierez’s hesitance. He wasn’t telling her everything. She searched his face for telltale signs.
Everything became perfectly clear. “You want him dead too.” She closed her eyes, not wanting her friend to see the pain there.
A world without Dylan? Unimaginable.
“Yes, I want him dead.” The passion and hatred in his tone shocked her. “I want him out of your life. I want whatever happened between you two out of your conscious. I want any link between you destroyed. Mia…” He stood and cupped her face. “I want the old you back. The woman who hadn’t been tainted by this criminal.” He sighed. “You seek him. You see him in his cell. It’s not good for you. He’s a criminal. He fucks with people’s minds. I won’t let you be consumed by him.”
She shook her head. “I already have been.” She tried to remove his grip. She needed to be away from him. The physical contact made her burn. A kindling desire sparked inside her.
He refused to let her go. “I want the old you back.”
Something stirred. Desire slammed into her gut. A tremendous need. She moved her body closer to his.
Dylan’s words haunted her. Take what you need. She didn’t have to be controlled by her past.
“The old me is dead.” She licked his jaw, inhaled his scent. A purely masculine scent.
Ramierez stumbled back, collided with the chair. He fell into it. “Mia, what are you doing?”
She rolled her shoulders and tilted her head to the side. A smile spread across her lips. “You have something I need.”
She padded toward him and swayed her hips seductively. Her body hummed, sparked alive after years of being dormant. She lifted her arms over her head and stretched, reclaimed her sexuality. She opened her mind to Dylan, hoping he could see her. She didn’t have him to satisfy her. She could achieve her own satisfaction.
Hitching up her skirt, she swung one leg over the arm of the chair Ramierez sat in. She lowered herself onto his lap and laughed at his shocked expression. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him closer.
She whispered, “I know what you want. It’s been obvious for years. Those little looks you give me when you think no one is watching. Those hungry, comforting touches. You fantasize about fucking me.” She took his earlobe between her teeth and tugged it into her mouth. “Now’s your chance.”
Dylan. See me now. He wasn’t the only one who could tease.
She rolled her hips against Ramierez and felt him harden. Moving her lips from his ear, she traced his jawline with her tongue. She had never felt so wild, yet so in control.
Unexpectedly, Ramierez shoved her and Mia fell off his lap. Sprawled on the floor, she looked up at him. His breathing was labored. His cock bulged in his pants.
He swallowed. “No. This is not you. We are not doing this.”
He rose. Anger coursed through her. She launched herself at him, tearing at his shirt. She bit and nipped at his neck, his jaw, his lips.
“You want me, Ramierez. Take me. I’m offering myself.” She needed to ease the ache inside.
Somehow Ramierez untangled himself. Throwing her off him, he ran for the door. He only paused and turned back to her when he was a safe distance away. “It will be better for us all when he’s dead.”
He closed the door behind him, leaving her to her shame.
She drew her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on her lap. Her body still burned with desire. Dylan was right. No one else would understand. The image of him pounding into her, biting her roughly, flashed into her head.
She followed their link and saw him sitting in his cell, a frown etched on his brow. She thought he’d be laughing at her failure. It startled her that he wasn’t.
“My beautiful Mia. Remember, only I can give you what you need.”
* * * * *
“Authorized. Dr. Ramierez.”
Ramierez held his chin high as he strode down the corridor. He ignored the call of the guards with a dismissive wave. He had business with Dylan. Business that couldn’t wait.
Light bathed the convict’s cell. He lay on his cot, his arms folded behind his head.
“Of all the criminals I’ve treated, I hate you the most.” The venom of his words surprised him. He had never been a violent man. He preferred the path of peace and diplomacy.
But he hated Dylan. Hated him with a vengeance he couldn’t explain.
Dylan lay as still as a stone. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
The doctor moved closer to the glass that separated them. “What have you done to her? What has she become?”
“What makes you so sure I’ve done anything to her?” He shifted, turned onto his side and propped himself up. “From what I hear, it was you who put my blood in her veins.”
Dylan’s smirk made anger rise in Ramierez. In less than a few minutes of conversation, the criminal had reached the core of what bothered him. He blamed himself for what had happened to Mia.
“Very good observation. It doesn’t change my hatred of you.”
“Tell me, Ramierez, when her pussy was grinding against you earlier, making your dick hard, begging you to fuck her, how did it make you feel?” He flashed a toothy grin. “We’re both men here, she was hot for you. How did that make you feel?”
Ramierez swallowed, trying to get some moisture into his dry mouth. How had Dylan gotten that information? “You are one sick bastard. They should make you hang. Like the old executions. Injection is too good for you.”
“Hit a nerve?” Dylan continued to smile. He didn’t flinch at the mention of execution.
“Mia is an extraordinary woman. Beautiful. Intelligent. How dare you insult her as if she is some whore? She deserves to be treated with honor.”
Dylan shrugged. “And you’re an honorable man? You love her, but you can never understand her. You think Mia wants to be treated like some delicate flower? The fuck she does. She hides herself from you, from the world. You don’t understand her, you never will.”
Ramierez snarled, “And you do?”
“More than you can comprehend. Much more. Mia is like me in so many ways. I’ll never deny her anything she asks. Shame you can’t say the same.”
The criminal had won this round. He would always win. Ramierez left with one final shot. “Your execution date is set. You won’t be seeing her again.”
“We’ll see, Doc.”
Chapter Six
Every bone in her body ached with weariness. Not bothering to turn on the lights in her apartment, Mia kicked off her pumps, threw her purse on the table and padded barefoot into the bedroom. Flopping onto the bed, she curled into a ball and pulled the covers over her head.
The events of the day flashed through her mind. Every thought, every emotion came rushing forward and she felt the impact with such clarity it made tears well. Shame coursed through her as she remembered what had happened with Ramierez. How could she have done such a thing? Tearing at him as though she was a sex-starved bitch in heat. How had she been reduced to this?
She couldn’t battle sleep anymore. Her body
needed time to rest. Her mind needed time to heal. Her thoughts drifted. She forced her mind to a tranquil place.
She opened her eyes and gasped. Her surroundings had changed. No longer in bed, she stood in a dark alley. Shadows loomed, casting an eerie path in front of her, but she wasn’t afraid. He was here.
She shouted into the darkness, “Won’t you allow me to sleep in peace?”
He stepped out of the shadows. “This is as much your dream as it is mine, Mia.” His arms hung passively at his sides. There was no tension in him, just a smooth gracefulness in his movements as he emerged farther into the light.
It was she who tensed, who took a step back from his commanding presence. “I’m tired, Dylan. Too tired to stand here tonight and play these bullshit games.”
Dylan tilted his head, shrugged and smiled. “Then leave.”
She wouldn’t. They had played this game many times over the past few weeks. He invaded her dreams, and each time she told him she wouldn’t stay. Yet she did. Every single time, she stayed.
Shivering, Mia rubbed her arms. She looked at the floor, trying not to stare at him. She was afraid if she looked at him she would end up in his arms or chained to the wall. She shivered as lust coiled in her belly.
She pushed it aside. Not this time. This time she refused to let her emotions take hold.
“Ramierez paid me a little visit today.”
That got her attention and her anger blazed.
Dylan smiled. “Yeah, we had a man-to-man talk.” He nodded at her. “About you.” Before she could say anything, he continued. “I’ll be dead soon.”
Flinching at his words, Mia took a step toward him. She would have Ramierez’s head for this. Dylan’s eyes were half closed. His lips parted slightly in pleasure.
He wrapped her in his arms and cupped her ass.
“Don’t.” The word came out low and throaty. Her voice filled with lust. She had to make him stop.
She felt him retreat and let out a deep breath. She brushed her knuckles across his cheekbone.
“Did you wish it was me? Did you want me to be the one seducing you? Of course you did.” His tongue snaked out and licked his lower lip.
Mia’s breath hitched. His fingertips moved across her face and she grabbed his wrist. “You’ve destroyed me, Dylan.”
The nerve in his jaw twitched erratically. In one quick movement, he turned her around and pulled her body flush against his. “No, I haven’t destroyed you. I’ve set you free.”
Mia bolted up in bed, drenched in sweat. “Fuck.”
His words echoed in her ears. He had set her free. Her unleashed desires refused to be ignored. Dr. Mia Simon was a persona she’d created to bury her needs. To forget her past. She no longer needed to hide. Not even from herself. She’d reclaimed control of herself and her desires. All thanks to Dylan. Her mate. Yin to her yang. The man who made her realize she’d buried the trauma of abuse. But he made her face it, confront it head-on and break its hold. She didn’t have to be ashamed anymore.
She couldn’t live without Dylan and the feelings he unleashed. She felt stronger, more determined than ever.
A plan took root, unfolded. Her path became clear. She had to get Dylan out.
Chapter Seven
Mia waited in her darkened apartment. Slivers of moonlight shined through the windows, casting eerie shadows that threatened to consume her. She sat nestled on the couch, knees drawn up to her body.
She waited for him.
There was no doubt in her mind he would come. Their doctor-patient relationship meant nothing. The connection ran much deeper. Her career meant nothing compared to what they shared. She’d been insider his mind, relived his most painful memories. He was branded on her soul.
She focused her thoughts, picturing him in her mind.
Dylan Benjamin. The handsome criminal.
Ahhh, but he’d never killed anyone. Or maimed them. He didn’t deserve to be locked away with the most notorious killers on the planet. He didn’t deserve execution.
Her mind called to him. Her body wept for him inside her. She glanced at the clock. Five hours ago, she’d planted a computer virus in the facility’s mainframe. Five hours was a long time, almost eons to an escaped convict. He could be anywhere.
He could be on his way to some new life.
He wasn’t.
She opened their connection. She saw him drawing near, avoiding danger, keeping to the back streets. His body pumping with raw vitality. His brain analyzing escape routes and exits as he evaded his captors.
Warmth flooded her, pulsed in her nerve endings.
“I’m coming for you.” His whispered words echoed in her ears before he cut off their connection, forcing her from his mind.
Dylan was coming to claim what was his. Yin to his yang. Heat sparked, tightened her belly. She was tired of waiting.
She contemplated her actions. She felt no sense of remorse at helping him escape.
The men who ran the facility were no better than the criminals they incarcerated. The only difference was the glossy veneer powerful men wore like masks. Since Dylan, she had been able to see past the human exterior, into the dark side of the human psyche and into the heart of the Company she worked for, into the depths of their corruption. Her desire to fit in had blinded her to the truth, but no longer. Dylan had set her free.
A blessing and a curse.
The air stirred. A subtle change in pressure alerted her senses.
Mia shifted and stiffened. Awareness washed over her. Her nipples tingled, her clit began to throb. “Hello, Dylan.”
“Waiting for me, Dr. Simon?” He moved out of the shadows behind her. “That’s a bad sign for someone who claims to hate me.”
She smiled into the darkness. How naïve she’d been back then. “I never made that claim.”
“That’s a lie. No more lies between us.”
Dylan curled his fingers around the back of her neck, moving her hair over one shoulder. His palm was warm against her cool skin and his calluses scratched the tender surface. He moved his fingertips back and forth and Mia sucked in a deep breath. Her whole body became a sensitized mass of nerve endings waiting to be caressed.
He’d come to claim her. To claim his mate.
“Dylan…”
He leaned down, inhaled the scent of her hair. “Dylan what, Mia?” He blew a steady stream of air onto the back of her neck, and her eyelids fluttered shut.
“Don’t.”
Dylan replaced air with his velvet-soft lips. She let out a low, guttural moan and felt him smile.
“Don’t what, Mia?” Trailing across her neck to her ear, he sucked the delicate lobe between his lips, nipping with his teeth. The sharp sting sent a jolt of electricity down to her clit.
Something primal surged between them. Something raw and dark and forbidden.
She pulled his hair, stilling his movements. Her ragged breathing came out in short, sharp pants. Need pumped through her. The pure, unadulterated need to fuck.
She hadn’t felt this sexual in years. She wanted him on a level that defied logic. “Don’t tease me.”
He removed her hand and rounded the couch to stand in front of her, towering above her like some dark presence threatening to consume her. He cupped her face, ran the pads of his thumbs over her lips. “I want to tease you. I want you so turned-on you can’t breathe. I want you primed and ready so as soon as I enter you, you’ll take what you need. You’ll come because you’ll be so ready you won’t be able to stop yourself.”
She turned from him. Her body was already primed.
He gripped her chin hard and forced her to look at him. “Trust me to hurt you enough to bring you pleasure. Trust me to take you over the edge.”
Mia’s heart softened even as her hormones fired into overdrive. In some fucked-up way it was the most romantic thing she’d ever heard. She didn’t doubt his words for a second. Once she embarked on a physical relationship with him there would be no going back. The life s
he’d built for herself would be gone.
She didn’t care. All that mattered was being with Dylan. “I trust you.”
He nuzzled her neck, pressed a delicate kiss to the raging pulse beating below the surface. “Good. Now stand up.”
She stood.
Dylan clamped her wrist, jerking her forward. Pain lanced through her with the force of his jerk. Her anger surged, unfurled. All the emotions she’d repressed for years came bubbling to the surface. She wasn’t the victim anymore. She could take what she desired.
She launched herself at him, matching his violence with her own. Clawing. Biting. Punching.
Her unleashed fury knocked him to the ground. Tumbling on top of him, she continued to rain blows on every exposed part of his body. In her mind, their darkness fought for dominance, ripped at each other.
Someone screamed. Mia realized the cry of frustration had fallen from her lips.
Dylan gripped her wrists again, locked his thighs around her waist and rolled over, pinning her wrists above her head. She continued to snap at him with her teeth. Reaching up, neck muscles straining, she latched on to his collarbone, sucking on the tender flesh until he hissed.
Blood rushed to the mark, forming a bruise. She fell back. This was what she wanted, what she needed.
Him. Only him.
“You’ll pay for that.”
She jerked her hips upward, slamming her groin into his. “Make me pay.”
He swallowed her words with a rough, tantalizing kiss. Tongues dueled, teeth clashed. He grabbed her hair. She raked her nails over his shoulders, scoring the flesh. Locking her heels around his thighs, she lifted her hips, ground her pussy against his groin like a wanton whore. She tried to ease the ache that throbbed like a sensual drumbeat between her thighs.
He moved down until he reached the lapels of her blouse. Dylan gathered the material in his fist, growled and tore. The silk gave. Cool air burst over her feverish skin, her nipples tightened and beaded into tiny, rosy buds, aching to be palmed and pinched.
Dylan hungrily raked his gaze over her, stopping when he reached her scars. Mia held her breath. Reverently, he ran his fingertips over the ugly, puckered welts.
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