Jory pivoted and put her against the wall, covering her mouth with his before she could let out a sound.

Warmth and woman. An electric shock flared his entire nervous system alive. Soft and sweet, she breathed in as he pressed against her. He'd meant to subdue her, to throw her off balance, but shock ricocheted through him.

Need compelled him. He shot both hands into her hair, tilting her head so he could go deeper. So f.u.c.king deep he could get lost.

The second he tasted her, all cinnamon and woman, hunger slaked him. Devastating in its intensity, a demand he couldn't deny. Her smooth, velvety lips softened under his, and for once, he lost himself.

Strands of her silky hair caressed his hands as he held her jaw, nearly lifting her up to meet his mouth. There was nothing but getting... more.

She stilled against him, her mouth parting. He swept his tongue against hers, taking in a primitive claim too powerful to deny.

Her gasp mingled with his low groan. She pressed harder against him, her mouth curving under his, and he forgot... everything. Who he was, where they were, the fire and danger. Only the woman against him, warm and willing, sweet and s.e.xy, filled his mind.

He clasped her tight, forgetting any gentleness. Any seduction, any mission. Only this woman and this moment mattered. Letting go of himself, he allowed the creature inside, the one so rarely let loose, to take over. To push deep, to demand more. To take.

And give everything.

His mouth overtook hers, memorizing every groove, every small nuance. His free hand gripped her b.u.t.t, hauling her up against his steel-hard erection. Heat from her core nearly dropped him to his knees. Pain and sparking pleasure flared along his skin, and he deepened the kiss, tightening his hold.

He needed to get inside her. Now.

A siren trilled on the lower street, and he jerked his head free.

Danger.

She blinked, her eyes the green of a rain-filled meadow. Desire burned there, hot and bright. Somehow sweet.

Possessiveness gripped him with a chokehold. One kiss. One kiss and she'd changed him. He had to get her out of the parking lot before guns fired again.

That quickly, realization crossed her face. Then shock, as she tried to take a step back. Her hands rose and shoved against his chest.

Denial gripped him to be quickly quashed with cold, hard training. So he grabbed her wrists and hauled her closer, his face lowering to hers. He wiped away any expression and shoved down all emotion. "Those men don't care who they shoot. They're scrambling and might kill you-or innocent bystanders." He spoke low, commanding.

She blinked, her mouth opening but no sound coming out.

"If you fight me, they'll find us, and they might shoot. Collateral damage doesn't mean a thing to them."

She shook her head and looked around.

He pulled her closer and lowered his voice to pure, no-bulls.h.i.t command. "We're getting in that four-door Jeep, and we're leaving here quietly. Your only choice is alert or unconscious? Decide now." He let conviction ring in his tone. If he believed he could knock her out, then she'd believe it, too.

No f.u.c.king way could he knock her out. Scaring her held little appeal, but he didn't have a choice if they were to both live through the night.

She quickly nodded. Gulping air, she relaxed her body as two teenagers giggled while walking by.

He knew full well she agreed to keep bystanders safe and not because the kiss had changed anything for her. She had no reason to trust him, and she'd never really know him. Why that pierced his chest with the cleanness of a sharpened dagger, he'd figure out later. For now, they had to run.

Piper clenched her knees together and bit back a scream as Jory careened the vehicle around a post and darted into traffic. She'd thought the safest course of action was to leave the bystanders unaware behind them, but what if Jory crashed into a car? "Slow down," she hissed. Horns blared behind them.

"Put on your seat belt." He dodged around a minivan and took a ninety-degree-angle turn down an alley. His hands rested loosely on the steering wheel, while his shoulders remained down and relaxed.

As they fled for their lives. The guy couldn't be human. Yet he sure kissed like a man. Her lips still tingled, and desire lay barely controlled in her abdomen.

He'd kidnapped her, and yet... d.a.m.n he could kiss. What in the h.e.l.l had she been thinking? Her entire body had flared alive, while her brain had just shut down.

While his hold had been tight, dominant-there was no question she'd kissed him back.

Her father's enemy. A man who'd betrayed his country and his soldier brothers.

What was wrong with her?

Even now, minutes later hurtling through traffic, her body hummed in full alertness next to his. Completely in tune with every movement he made.

But something was seriously off with him. He was too fast, too in control, way too d.a.m.n smart. His MacGyver move with the keypad had been incredible-and his reflexes unbelievable. No military training, no matter how intense, was that complete.

She clutched the dash, and the car whipped around a taxi. The cabbie hit his horn, the sound yanking her out of her head.

"Just let me out." She scrambled for the door handle, throwing her shoulder into the window. No way was she dying in the old SUV.

"No." Not even glancing her way, he reached out and yanked her into his hard body while executing a perfect turn into one-way traffic. Warmth and the scent of male washed over her. "Hold still."

Her nipples pebbled. G.o.d. She punched him in the ribs, trying to scoot her b.u.t.t back across the seat.

"Piper." A calm warning.

He swerved, and a woman walking a gaggle of dogs jumped back, screaming, her face contorting. A Pomeranian leaped onto the back of a Great Dane, and the Dane shot in front of a moving bicycler, his teeth baring. The guy on the bike flew over the handlebars and landed on an apple green Volkswagen Bug. He flipped off Jory.

They were going to die. Piper gulped in air. Sparks flickered up her back, and her ears rang. Energy rushed through her, and she pummeled Jory's side, her vision fuzzing. Garbled words flew from her mouth, and she didn't even try to stop the tirade.

If he didn't slow down, they'd die. She screamed high and loud. Black spots danced in front of her vision.

Jory sighed, his hand sliding down her arm and around her torso to clasp her wrists in a hard hug. In a movement so smooth it didn't seem real, he lifted a knee into her leg, pulled up, and effectively twisted her onto her back. Her head hit his iron-hard thigh, and he jerked her head toward his door, his hand flattening hers to her chest, immobilizing her.

She blinked up at the steering wheel. Her mouth opened and closed. The worn leather cooled her back. How had he done that? No way would she let him control her in such a way.

She twisted her head, trying to get purchase to bite, while kicking the pa.s.senger-side door with ineffectual thumps. d.a.m.n tennis shoes.

"Mellow out before I accidentally hit somebody," Jory muttered.

The man held her too tightly for her to gain leverage. Panting, she settled, staring up at his cut jaw. This close, lines of tension cut into the sides of his mouth, leading down to rigid muscles along his corded neck. So he was affected. Thank G.o.d. She was starting to wonder if the commander had created some sort of rabid half-robot soldiers.

"Jory, you can't outrun them." Her voice shook, but she spoke softly, trying to reach the man that had to be inside this guy. The man who'd kissed her with enough pa.s.sion to burn them both where they stood. "They'll have air support soon."

He nodded and turned the wheel again. "In about an hour. Plenty of time."

Unfortunately true. "I'm just slowing you down. Let me go."

His gaze lifted to the rearview mirror. "You don't get it, do you? Those men were shooting at you, too."

She shook her head, static electricity popping her hair against his shorts. "No, they weren't. They were trying to take out the vehicle, and you know it. My father wouldn't hurt me."

"The commander is a monster who'd hurt anybody and everybody to get what he wants."

Her breath heated and her chest tightened. "What is it he wants?" Yeah, she really wanted to know.

"Right now? Me." Jory's jaw relaxed. "Once we get to safety, I promise I'll let you go."

Sure he would. Right after he turned her over to the Russians. Or whoever he had yet to contact. A scream tried to rise from her gut, and she shook her shoulders to hold it in. "Vodka isn't my thing. Just let me go."

He chuckled. "I'm not aligned with the Russians, and you have nothing to worry about."

"I've seen your file." If she could just get him to relax his hold, she could grab the wheel.

"What file?" He frowned and jerked the wheel to the left. A horn honked.

She blinked up at him, her back tensing. "Your entire military file, starting when you joined the organization. Even the proof of your betrayal with pictures."

He snorted. "Sounds like a nice plant. How hard did you have to hack?"

d.a.m.n hard, actually. Yet his calmness in the face of her proof gave her pause. "So you're denying perfect proof?"

"Is any proof perfect?" He ducked his head to stare up at the quiet sky.

She tried to move her hands without any luck. "You're saying somebody actually went to the trouble to plant that file and make it nearly impossible to find just in case I started to investigate you?"

"Sure." He glanced down at her. "Could Chance plant a file like that?"

Well, yeah. So could she. "No." When those gray eyes narrowed on her, she fought the urge to squirm, considering where her head currently lay.

"Right." Jory lifted his head back to the window.

"Where are we going?" Her jaw ached from her muscles tightening. She wasn't strong enough to break his hold, d.a.m.n it.

"I need to reach, my, ah, group."

She bent her knees to relieve the pressure in her lower back. "Who's your group?" More important, what would they do to her? A chill slithered down her spine.

"They're good men, and I'll contact them as soon as we're out of the city and hidden from the air support." He c.o.c.ked his head to stare up at the sky again. "What I need from you is agreement and obedience. Temporarily, of course."

Her head snapped back. She may have to kill him. "I'm neither agreeable nor obedient. Sorry, pal."

His lip quirked. "I figured."

The sounds of the city slowly dissipated. Piper bit back a scream. "Did you lose them?"

"Yes." He turned the wheel again, drove around a worn-out gas station, and cut the engine. "Any chance you'll cooperate with me?"

"Of course," she said as sweetly as she could, fury banishing the fear. Finally.

"Humph." With masculine grace, he opened his door, pulled her out, and tossed her over his shoulder. Her ribs impacted solid muscle, and the breath whooshed from her lungs.

Ow. She blinked and took a second to get her bearings. Drawing in cool air, she opened her mouth to bellow for help... and the world spun. She ended up coughing as Jory yanked open the driver-side door of a rickety old Chevy and dropped her on the seat. A spring poked her in the a.s.s. Fire lancing her blood, she punched him as hard as she could in the thigh.

He leaned over, calmly tore free the driver's seat belt, and wound the strong strap around her wrists, knees, and ankles. She squirmed, kicked, and tried to hit him. Where did he get such strength? The man was unreal.

Her gaze darted around only to see overgrown gra.s.s and abandoned tires. A cricket chirped in the distance. With a hiss, she tried to throw a shoulder at him.

His hand cupped her chin and turned her to face him. "Is anything too tight?"

Her head jerked. "Are you f.u.c.king kidding me?" she yelled, even her breath heating. "Too tight?"

He frowned, and his hold firmed on her chin. "Answer me."

That was it. She freakin' lost her mind. "f.u.c.k you, Jory. You f.u.c.king a.s.shole of a cold-blooded soldier traitor son of a b.i.t.c.h." The words started to flow together so rapidly she lost track of verbs. "You are all robot-not even f.u.c.king human. You don't feel a thing, you sociopathic d.i.c.khead."

He lifted one eyebrow, and something glimmered in his odd eyes.

Oh, h.e.l.l no. Rage scalded her throat. "You are not f.u.c.king amused right now!"

He pressed his lips together. His thumb swept across her jaw. "Nope. And you're wrong."

A tremble wound through her. The gentleness from the dangerous soldier threatened to short-circuit her brain. Her heart clenched. "About what?" Her tone quieted, and her shoulders hunched in what actually felt like defeat.

"I feel way too much with you." Ducking his head, he swept his lips across hers.

She blinked, stunned. Sweet warmth caressed her mouth and blazed through her, landing in her abdomen and spreading. She swayed.

Humming, he released her to gently push her over on the seat. Quick motions had him leaning across her.

Her lungs compressed, and she pushed back against the seat.

"I won't hurt you." He secured the pa.s.senger seat belt around her. No threats, no anger, no freakin' emotion at all from him. She blinked, fighting the effects of his kiss and her struggle. She'd fought him with everything she had, and he hadn't even broken a sweat. Who the h.e.l.l was this guy?

She tried to rub her mouth, and her hands remained bound. Anger torpedoed through her again. He ripped free wires and ignited the engine, and she glared with every ounce of mental strength she owned, picturing his head imploding. Or exploding. She didn't give a s.h.i.t which way his head blew.

He had no right to be so calm, and definitely no right to control her body with something as simple as a quick kiss. No right at all. Left with no other alternative, she screamed.

He clapped a hand over her mouth, no emotion on his fallen-angel face. When she stopped, panting in breath, he exhaled and pointed to a bunch of filthy rags on the floor. "That's all I have to gag you with. It's your choice."

Bile rose from her stomach. Dirt, oil, and who knows what else covered the rags. She'd die if he shoved one in her mouth. She searched his face, his expression, for any rea.s.surance that he wouldn't follow through on the threat.

Nothing. No doubt, no give glimmered in his eyes or softened his hard jawline.

Finally, she nodded, and he slowly removed his hand. She hunched her shoulders, her stomach sinking that he'd consider gagging her. Oh, this was so not over, but she didn't have much of a choice. Helplessness should make her feel vulnerable, but instead, fury boiled through her veins. "I'm so going to kill you," she muttered.

He jerked his head. "Can't say I blame you." Then a grin split his face. "I'd much rather die looking at you than the commander or Madison. If we get to that point, feel free."

She blinked. Her heart thumped. "How can you be so blase about death?"