Alana

Sitting perfectly still on Thorn's lap, I try to calm my breathing. My skirt has ridden up to my thighs, and the material is trapped beneath my rear, so I can't pull it down. Not only are his thighs hard, his entire body is warm. Hot, even. The heat seeps toward me, circling me, tantalizing me in a way that negates any calming.

He finishes his call and places his phone on the armrest. "Look at me, princess."

I push against him, trying to retake my seat. His abs are rock hard and ripple beneath the T-shirt. His arm doesn't tighten but I can't move. Is he the terminator or what? The arm is solid steel. So I turn, my breath catching at the raw heat in his eyes. "Let me go."

"No." His gaze drops to my lips, and they swell. Or at least, they feel like they swell with a shocking tingle. None of this makes sense. He continues in that devastatingly deep and now dominant tone. "I hadn't planned on establishing your rules until we arrive at my home, but apparently I need to do so now."

Rules? My head jerks and I plant a hand on his chest. "I don't do rules, buddy."

He licks his bottom lip and lets out a soft hum. "You do now."

"Where are we going?" I ask, my butt feeling soft against his legs.

"My place."

I blinked. "You're going to kill me at your house?" I lean in, studying his eyes. Clear pupils, no sign of being on drugs. "You know it's a mistake, right?"

One of his dark eyebrows rises. "Do tell."

My brain finally just explodes and I start to babble. "You know, DNA evidence. Blood, saliva, tears, and all of that. If you're going to murder somebody, you want to do it far away from your house. Also, leave the murder weapon." Though, looking at him, I know he is the murder weapon.

He cocks his head and a glimmer twinkles in his eyes.

I take that as encouragement. "Right? So now that you know that fact, you should plan better. How about you let me off here, and I'll meet you near the Golden Gate bridge next Saturday night? That way, there's no way to connect us." I know it's stupid to hope that he's that crazy, but it's all I have going for me right now.

"You promise you'll be there?" he asks.

I brighten. "Absolutely."

His free hand settles across my throat, his long fingers wrapping all the way around to my nape. His massive paw is heavy and heated, and there is no doubt he can snap my neck in a second if he chooses.

I jolt, swallowing and then finding relief that I can swallow.

He leans in and slightly squeezes. "That makes two rules of mine you've broken within ten minutes, Alana Beaumont. You break another one before we get home, and I'm going to flip you over and spank that perfect ass until you're screaming."

The threat, from another man, would infuriate me until I drew blood. But this one? His hard and oddly possessive tone slams right to my core, zinging heat and fire so fast I nearly groan. Maybe insanity is contagious. "What do you want from me?"

"At the moment? Obedience." He glances at his buzzing phone.

"Bummer," I blather.

His gaze returns to me. "Excuse me?"

"There's a gene that leads to obedience," I say wisely, my head spinning. He's holding me too tightly for me to grasp the door handle again, so I need to loosen his grip. "Researchers have identified it on the Y chromosome, which I do not have." I test the waters and try to push away from him…but don't move an inch. Man, he's strong. "But the good news is that learning to live with disappointment builds character. So you should be a decent guy in about a millennia with several more disappointments like this. I'm grateful to have started you on this journey."

His stare deepens and I want to blink but can't look away. "You're humorous. I had not expected that."

A tremble slakes through me. Somehow, I channel my inner Wonder Woman and tear my gaze from his, looking down at his broad chest. "You have enough going on, Thorn. You don't want to start a war with my father."

"I'm already in a war. Having another adversary doesn't change the chess board much," he counters. "You broke one of my rules by lying about meeting me."

"What other rule did I break?"

He loosens his hold on my neck and swipes a calloused thumb along my jawline. "We're traveling at about a hundred miles an hour, and you tried to jump out of the vehicle. Rule number two is to stay out of danger. Period."

"You're all danger," I say without thinking.

His grin is quick and gone so quickly I'd wonder if I saw it if my nipples didn't sharpen instantly. "Smart girl."