“What?” She said the word nice and slow, as if trying to figure out his plan.

Gabe didn’t see a reason to make her guess. They were talking about her life. Her safety. “We’re leaving here.”

“That sounds better than hanging around depending on your brother for help.”

“That’s not happening, ever.” Even before the fight Gabe didn’t operate that way. He’d long moved past the time when he needed his big brother to swoop in and take over. In fact, the idea of it pissed Gabe off. As an adult and successful businessman, he was in charge. Always and completely.

“Any chance you can pick a beach area next time?”

Tempting, but Gabe already had a destination in mind. “We’re going to my house.”

She stilled, every muscle frozen in place. “The fake one in Maryland?”

“The real one in Virginia.” The words came out before he could mentally weigh the pros and cons and find more cons. Taking her breached his personal vow to keep his work world and private world separate. Truth was, bringing her to his most sacred place, the house he shared with Brandon when he wasn’t off at college, meant something. He didn’t want to examine what, he just knew it was the right answer.

And the things they could do in his big bed. His feelings for her went beyond sex, but the fantasy had been working in his head. He looked forward to the live version.

She sat down hard on the armrest of the couch. “You often take people you’re protecting to your private home?”

“Never.” He slipped off his coat then kicked off his boots. The move gave her a little extra time to process, which she seemed to need since she just stood there.

Her eyes finally narrowed. “Why me?”

The simple answer popped into his head and he said it. “You’re special.”

She shook her head. “I’m not.”

Damn it, someone did a number on her. Her idiot father or some loser she dated. Somewhere along the line she’d learned the lesson that she didn’t matter except for what she brought to the job. Even that got trounced by the men in her office who insisted on taking credit for her ideas. He’d seen the evidence in the research file he complied for this job and heard about the annoying tendency during his talks with Eli and Bast about her.

“I’m going to show you.” Not that she lacked confidence. She just funneled it all to the CIA and her abilities there. Not to who she was as a woman. And that part of her appealed to him on a very primal level. “Do you remember what I told you around the time we got to Montana about liking to be in charge?”

“I don’t know what you’re—”

“Right.” He didn’t believe her. Her eyes and the faint color on her cheeks said otherwise. “I’m going to tie you down.”

“There’s no headboard.”

Always so practical, but interesting how she’d already done the math on that one. “I’ll improvise.”

Her mouth broke into a sudden smile. “You’re not going to watch the door this time.”

He liked this side of her, playful and sexy. When she let go and allowed this part of her personality to come out it was pure magic.

“The only thing I’ll be looking at is you.” He started unbuttoning his shirt. “Consider it a good-bye gift to the cabin.”

“Does the sex end in Montana?”

She had to be kidding. “No.”

He didn’t even want it to end in Virginia. That was the problem. The way she wound her life around his without even trying. Maybe without intending to.

Scary shit.

She nodded, clearly unaware of the thoughts in his head. “Good.”

“Take off your clothes.” This time he wanted to see all of her, take all of her. It would whet their appetites until he got them back to Virginia. “All of them. I want you naked.”

She didn’t fight him. Her fingers went to the hem of her sweater. She lifted it up and over her head. Shed the bra next. Her body trembled in what he hoped was excitement as she moved. The flush of her skin suggested yes. So did the way her nipples stood in stiff peaks.

The temptation to touch her, run his hands over her while his mouth went to work tasting her, kicked strong. He held it off. This time he would give her pleasure the way he needed it. In control. He liked when she touched his dick or licked her tongue over him. She could initiate sex any time she wanted and he was in. But this time would be about a mutual satisfaction brought on by anticipation.

When she continued to stand there, with her hands at her sides, he pushed a little further. “The pants, Natalie. Don’t make me wait.”

Her hands went to the buckle of her belt. With aching slowness, she opened the clasp. The zipper came next, ticking down with a sound that vibrated in his head. This sexy woman knew how to play him. Knew exactly what it took to rev him up until he itched with the need to touch her,

But not yet.

“Keep going, baby.” He lowered his gaze to her legs. “Off.”

She shimmied then. Rocked her hips from side to side as she peeled the slim jeans down. Hands down the hottest striptease he’d ever seen. Heat flushed through him, and he had to force his body to remain still. When she stood back up, completely naked, he almost lost it.

He had to swallow before issuing the next command. “Get on your back on the bed. Fingertips against the wall and legs open.”

This was going to kill him. No question about it. Just watching that high, firm ass walk across the room had his erection thumping. And she knew it. She worked that walk. The gentle swing of her hips. The way she glanced back at him over her shoulder, as if to tease and lure him in.

Here he thought he was in charge. Truth was all the power lay with her. She said yes or no. She turned him on. When she harnessed that feminine strength he turned to mush. It was fucking embarrassing, but he was starting to get used to it.

Now he just had to survive the next hour. He stepped into the bedroom doorway. Neither one of them could hide in the small space. She didn’t even try. She sprawled out on the bed, that skin gleaming in the soft white light. When she spread her legs, taking her time and stretching out the process, he had to remember to swallow. He was pretty sure he’d stopped blinking, too.

As he stood there, she lowered her arms. “No, hands against the wall.”

“There’s nothing to tie me to.”

Goddamn. “Then you’ll have to be a good girl and keep those hands up.”

She shifted her legs from side to side on the mattress, blocking his view but enticing with every move. “You don’t want them on you?”

He heard a screeching sound in his brain but ignored it. “There will be time for that later. After.”

He wanted her this way first, open and free. Following his commands as he walked her through each step and brought her body to the brink. The question was whether he could survive this. He’d been dreaming about her, thinking about her, for so long. The sex they’d had before now only stirred his cravings. He wanted more.

He slipped his shirt over his head and reached for his belt. When she flinched, as if wanting to join in and help, he stopped. Dropped his hands to his sides and lifted an eyebrow. She quickly got the hint. Those palms pressed tighter against the wall.

“Nice.” And he meant all of it. Her body glowed. Every inch firm and lean, toned from exercise and all of her training, which she never gave up even once she exchanged the streets for a desk at Langley.

The pants came off next. Something inside him drove him to rip them off. He fought the sensation, choosing instead to strip them down, watching her as she watched his hands. The boots, the socks, nothing stayed on. This time would be their bodies with no barriers other than a condom.

The reminder had him picking up his jeans and digging the one out of the pocket where he had put it this morning. He clenched it between his teeth as he crawled up the bed. He would have smiled as she opened her legs to make room for him but his nerves had his body pulling tight and his emotions raw.