and expectations. It was so close to erupting a cold sweat spread. “Careful.” His warning was the last straw. He wanted to see fire? So be it. “Tf the only reason you came here was to warn me away from you, then get out.” My words lashed at the air in the room, the release vibrating beneath my skin with cool adrenaline. His eyes hardened, the shadows inside them rising to the surface. “Nobody talks to me like that.” He’d blown the top off the bottle Pd pent everything up in for years. There was no stopping the backlash now. Not even the imposing and threatening presence on my couch. “Maybe that’s your biggest problem.” “Kotyonok,” he mocked, darkly amused, “so worried about my problems when you have no idea what kind of shit you’ve stepped into.” I didn’t know what he meant, but I did know I didn’t appreciate him turning this around on me. He was the liar in the room. And my next words became a battle of wills to make him admit the truth. “You feel this too,” I insisted. “I don’t.” If that was true, it wouldn’t bother him if I froze to death in this frigid city, would it? My frustrated heart sent a burst of energy through me. I paced to the window and slid it open. Then I walked past him with the coat he bought me, having every intention of throwing it to the sidewalk below. But I didn’t make it that far. He was on his feet, ripping it from my hand and tossing it onto the bed. “You want to play?” His voice was a growl. “Fine, we’ ll play.” Maybe it was true. Maybe they didn’t teach self-preservation in Miami. He gripped the back of my neck, spun me around, and slammed his lips against mine. Anger still brimmed inside me, and I pushed against his hard chest, but I might as well be trying to move a wall. “Don’t fight me,” he said roughly against my lips. “You won’t win.” I opened my mouth with a retort in mind, but he used the opening to Slide his tongue inside. And then I was lost to the wetness and heat, the overwhelming fever writhing and pulsing in my veins. I rose to my toes to give him full access; to fit my body against his. I panted, fisting handfuls of his jacket to pull him closer.