After he worked a good lather onto his torso, arms, and neck, Axel set the soap aside. That devil on her shoulder started riding her again, and she picked up the white bar. Once she’d soaped up her hands, she reached down and cupped his balls, then began working her way up.

Almost instantly, his cock rose to attention, the shaft filling, the head rising. Mystery watched in fascination, a shiver running through her as Axel groaned.

“Princess, you’re inviting trouble.”

“What a shame,” she teased, batting her lashes his way.

He drilled his gaze down at her, his blue eyes turning hot and dark. He braced one palm on the wall just above her head, caging her in the corner of the shower. But he didn’t stop her from stroking his cock in long, slow drags.

His jaw tightened. His breathing turned rough. “I don’t recommend this now.”

She swiped her thumb across the sensitive head, delighting when he hissed in a breath through his teeth and stiffened even more in her hand. “Why is that?”

“Because I’m about to push you against that cold tile wall while I shove my cock inside your pussy and ride you hard. And I don’t have a condom.”

Mystery didn’t hate the idea of playing with fire—at all. She sidled up to him and rubbed herself against his length, still gripping and stroking him. “Just a little more. Just for a moment.”

Clearly, he hadn’t expected her assent. Heath’s voice rang in her head again, telling her that she didn’t know Axel that well, but she blocked it out. Her bodyguard was wrong. He was the one who didn’t know Axel. He didn’t understand. Her heart did.

For a long moment, Axel stood frozen, simply letting her undulate against him, touch him at will. “You’re trying to tempt me, princess.”

She peered up at him with a smile. “Is it working? It didn’t the first time I tried in that little ghost town, but I think—”

He snorted. “Oh, it worked then, too. One more of those fuck-me stares, and I probably would have worked my way inside you and never stopped.”

“Really?” She blinked at him.

“Oh, yeah. I would have hated myself for it if I had.”

“And now?” She licked her lips and dragged her fingers up the long length of his shaft again in a slow tease. “I’m not a girl anymore. I’m a woman who needs you.”

His breath turned choppier. His shoulders tightened. A flush crawled up his face. “You understand you could get pregnant.”

“Not the right time of the month. Besides . . . would it be the worst thing in the world?”

Axel gripped her wrist, stilling her stroking hand instantly. He came closer, crowding her even more. His chest flattened her breasts. His intent stare dug into her. “Be sure.”

Mystery froze. He would really do it, knowing the risks? Axel wasn’t the sort of man to walk away from his own child or the woman who had birthed it. “Is there some other reason I shouldn’t want you naturally?”

He gave a sharp jerk of his head. “I’m clean.”

She lifted on tiptoe and kissed his jaw. “I’m hungry for you.”

Axel sawed in a long breath, on the fence, his fist tightening just a bit on her wrist. “Oh, I want you so bad.”

The words had barely cleared his lips when he had her against the wall, her back stinging with the chill of the tile, and her legs in the crook of his elbows. His cock probed her swollen opening, and he sank in to the hilt in one vicious stroke.

Excitement seized her breath, made her heart race. Then he hit that sensitive place deep in her pussy. “Axel!”

His head fell back with a massive groan. “Oh, fuck. Yes. You have such a tight pussy, princess. I’m going to take it. It’s mine, and I want to mark it.”

Mystery couldn’t catch her breath. “Now.”

He pumped inside her, watching her breasts jiggle every time he slammed deep. A sense of being taken and owned steamrolled her, and it turned her on more than she’d ever imagined. Yes, she’d wanted to be closer to Axel. Her heart cried out for him. But her body certainly wanted its fair share of him, too.

When he dragged his length down her sensitive channel, then shoved back in again, she clawed his shoulders.

He rammed her, pummeling deep, baring his teeth and staring straight into her eyes. “That’s it . . . Feel. Every. Inch. Of. Me.” He punctuated each word with another thrust.

His strength, the force of every upward surge, ricocheted through her body. She cried out, her pleas echoing off the tile.

Her nerve endings were already so sensitive, so stimulated—yet miraculously ready for more. The scrape of his cock pushing up through her swollen tissue delivered tingles. As he withdrew, he left behind a terrible ache. Time slipped away, disappearing like the water down the drain. Mystery simply let herself feel as he worked, grunting and flexing, to deliver the orgasm brewing right behind her clit.

She tightened on his cock, locked her arms around his neck, stared into his eyes and swore she saw the future coming together. She’d missed him every day since Death Valley. She didn’t ever want to miss him again.

“Axel!” Her breath hitched. She whimpered.

He readjusted, grabbing her by the ass, then using every rippling muscle in his arms, chest, and shoulders, lifting her up his cock, then impaling her again, thrusting at the end of the stroke to reach that damn spot that reacted to the feel of him deep.

With a scream, she splintered in his arms, shattering into little pieces around him.

Axel barely gave her time to catch her breath. Pressing his forehead into hers, he clenched his jaw and jackhammered into her like a madman, the lightning speed and pure power he put into every stroke dazzling her until she saw stars. Mystery reclined her head against the tile, closed her eyes, and tumbled into bright, tingling pleasure again.

Her body was still aglow when he withdrew and set her on her feet. She blinked, head dizzy, as she watched Axel take himself in hand and stroke his cock roughly. Soon, he clenched his teeth and stared at her with blue eyes that burned into her. With one look, he wanted her to know that, even if he wasn’t coming inside her, he considered her his. Then he sprayed across her belly with a low groan.

As he panted and recovered, the waterfall from the showerhead pelted his torso. She stood against the wall, protected from the deluge, and felt the most primal urge to touch his seed, rub it into her skin.

When she tested the need by grazing her fingertips over her stomach, he drew closer and grabbed her wrist, then flattened her palm into the warm, thick liquid and worked it. “That’s it. I want you to smell like me.”

Her breath caught. The idea of carrying his scent all night long didn’t merely arouse her again, but made her heart thump. It sounded odd and maybe even a little taboo, she realized, wanting to wear the product of someone’s passion. On the other hand, she couldn’t deny that she liked the idea of belonging to Axel in every way he would let her.

A tiny part of her heart wished that he’d wanted to come inside her and see if nature blessed them, but she understood why he hadn’t. They juggled so much right now—a stalker, a burgeoning relationship. She was supposed to be back in the UK next week. She lived there . . . and he’d still be here. What if she’d conceived? Yeah, she didn’t have an answer. She’d better start using her brain and stop letting her heart and hormones run the show.

He cupped her face and dropped a little kiss on her lips. “I’m always going to take care of you first.”

His expression told her that he would have loved to take her up on her offer, but duty compelled him to be responsible.

No way could she be upset with him for that. “You always have. Thank you.” I love you.

He smiled and reached for a towel. Mystery air dried while she tried to repair her hopelessly half-drowned hair. Within a few minutes, they’d dressed, and she felt more than a little wicked knowing that Axel’s very essence had seeped into her skin.