lily was in the ground, but claire kramer was still walking around, living the high life. that was so unfair.

his hands were shaking. his gut twisting. he yanked out his phone. vincent was a damn idiot. he didn't understand anything.

colby's call was answered on the second ring. "you were right," colby said, the words heaving out of him. "she was here. york brought her here. the bastard is probably screwing her."

because claire always used her body to get just what she wanted.

the tremor in his hands got worse as his rage swelled. "it can't go on any longer," colby said. "i'm going to make sure she suffers."

as his boy suffered, every damn day in that prison cell.

ethan had nothing.

claire deserved the same fate.

noah's hand lifted and curved around claire's chin. "you need to be very sure. there will be no going back."

there wasn't any place for her to go back to.

"i want to be with you." her words were the truth. she wanted him for tonight because tomorrow, well, then she'd begin running again.

a new city.

a new job.

maybe this time, it would take colby harrison longer to find her.

maybe.

he leaned toward her. "i'm going to make you scream for me."

she shook her head. she wasn't the screaming type. ethan had fumbled with her in the dark, and it had hurt, but she knew there had to be more to sex than rough touches. others found pleasure in the act. she would, too.

i want the pleasure.

but claire didn't think she'd scream. not even for a lover like noah.

"yes, i will." his lips pressed to hers.

her eyes closed. she leaned into him.

his tongue glided over her lips. into her mouth. noah knew how to use his tongue so well. he wasn't wet or rough. he was...savoring her.

she wanted to devour him.

his hands slid over her shoulders. touched the straps of her dress.

then the dress was sliding down to pool at her feet.

and he was kissing his way along the line of her jaw. down her throat. over the pulse that raced so frantically. his tongue licked over her skin. she felt the light score of his teeth on her.

claire gasped.

"like that?"

she liked everything that he was doing.

"what i like..." noah muttered, desire heavy in his voice. "i like the fact that you didn't wear a bra. claire, i like that a lot."

a bra wouldn't have fit under the bodice of that dress and-

he eased away from her. stared down at her. the lights in the suite were on, shining all around them. there was no darkness.

there was only noah.

"so perfect." he lifted his hand. caressed her right breast. her nipples were hard. aching. and his touch sent a surge of arousal straight to her sex.

i'm wet for him. already.

she reached out to noah. "i need you now." her fingers fumbled with his belt. "noah, we can-"

"no." he caught her hands. "not yet." he pushed her hands back to her sides. "i'm just getting started with you."

sex with ethan had been fast. so quick. in the back of a car or-

"claire."

her lashes lifted.

"claire, i'm going to give you so much pleasure you won't ever think of anyone else." then he lifted her into his arms. the move surprised her and she grabbed tightly to him.

but he didn't carry her far. just a few steps. closer to the window. to the big, leather couch that waited right beside that glass.

he spread her out on the couch. she started to cover her breasts, but he caught her wrists. lifted them above her head. "don't move them." he swallowed. his gaze burned her. "you look sexy that way."

she'd been hurt badly in chicago, and she bore the scar from that attack, but noah didn't seem to see it at all as he gazed at her. noah didn't seem to pay much attention to any of her scars.

i'm the one who can't see past them.

but claire shoved her doubts away right then. she was going to have this moment with him. no matter what...i'll have this.

she still had on her black panties. panties that she'd picked up back in new york before their flight had left. and she wore her heels. heels that were higher than anything she'd worn before.

noah bent his head. his lips closed around her breast. he licked. sucked.

claire arched against him. she wanted to grab onto him and hold tightly, but she didn't move her hands. she kept them above her head, fisted.

his fingers worked her other breast. lightly tugging at the nipple. stroking her. her hips arched again, helplessly. she felt so empty, and she wanted noah to fill her. she wanted him to thrust deep inside of her.

then she could pretend that she was just like every other woman. having sex with her lover. enjoying pleasure.

"with me, claire."

his hand slid over the plane of her stomach. down, down his fingers went until he was at the edge of her panties.

her eyes were on his hand.

"if i pull these off, they'll just get stuck on your shoes," he murmured. "so..."

he ripped her panties. tore them in two and tossed the scraps away.

"that's what i wanted." his fingers slid between her folds. "ah, baby, you're so ready for me."

he positioned his body between her legs. he'd thrust into her soon, she was sure of it. he'd-

he slid a finger into her.

claire jerked toward him.

"so tight. you're going to drive me out of my mind."

he was already driving her out of hers.

"but you have to be burning up. you have to need me more than breath." he withdrew his finger. moved her legs farther apart. the couch was massive, so there was easily room for them both on it and he was-he was-

noah put his mouth on her.

claire flinched. she hadn't expected that move. her hands flew down to his shoulders.

"no, claire," the words growled against the most sensitive part of her body. "hands up."

then his tongue, that wonderful, wicked tongue of his, stroked her. slid over her. slid into her.

her hands flew back up and locked around one of the pillows on the couch. her hips were arching, so he grabbed them and held them tightly. and he kept tasting her. licking her. kissing her. taking her breath away as she gasped.

every muscle in her body seemed to tense. claire heard herself crying out noah's name.

her release was close. she could feel it. no roughness. no fast groping.

this was sex. this was what it should be like. hot. consuming.

his tongue thrust into her.

claire screamed when the climax hit her. her eyes squeezed shut, and her body bucked beneath him. the pleasure rolled through her, seeming to crest again and again, and claire shuddered with the powerful release.

"that's a good start."

her eyelashes lifted. her breath heaved out.

"i like it when you scream for me, claire." he put on protection. settled right back between her legs. "let's see if you can do it again."

he drove into her. his hands lifted and pinned hers in place. his eyes locked with hers.

he filled her so completely. stretching every inch of her, and claire froze, caught between pleasure and pain.

"i wanted to fuck you from the first moment we met."

she tried to suck in a deep breath.

"you feel so good."

he still had his clothes on. she was naked. in only her heels, and he was fully dressed.

that knowledge made her feel vulnerable, exposed and-

"will you scream for me again?" he withdrew.

she wanted him back inside, as deep as he could go. her legs flew up and locked around his hips.

"so...damn...good."

he thrust into her again.

withdrew.

she met him, thrust for thrust. the rhythm became wild, so hard. he was in her so deep.

no pain.

only more pleasure.

so much pleasure that the whole world seemed to explode. she wasn't sure if she screamed or not. she only knew that after years of being cold, it felt as if she were in an inferno.

one that swept her up, hollowed her out, and left her aching for more...more pleasure.

more...of noah.

his hold tightened on her. he drove into her again. her sex was contracting around him, aftershocks from her release.

"nothing like this...never like this..." he heaved into her. tensed.

she was staring into his eyes when he came, and claire actually saw his gaze go blind with pleasure.

"claire!" he kissed her. "mine..." noah whispered against her lips.

his hands still held hers pinned. she was spread beneath him. filled with him.

surrounded by him.

mine.

claire woke when she heard the squeak of the bedroom door. noah had carried her to the bedroom after he'd given her that mind-numbing, world-altering orgasm.

he hadn't undressed. he'd put her in the bed. held her.

she'd fallen asleep with his arms around her.

only now he was...leaving?

"noah?" she sat up, pulling the sheet with her as she glanced over at the bedside clock. the numbers glowed, showing her that it was close to midnight.

he was a shadow in the doorway. "go back to sleep, claire. i just have a little business to attend to."

"wh-what kind of business?" business at midnight?

"i have to meet with the manager. we need to upgrade the security here."

because of her.

the sheets felt cool against her body. i'm still naked.

"harrison won't ever be let in this place again, and i want to make sure every staff member knows that. chuck is waiting for me now."

chuck would know-as would everyone else who'd seen them enter the elevator-that they'd slept together.

i don't fuck my employees.

"thank you," claire softly said.

"you don't need to thank me, baby. if i'd realized that sob was in the city, hell, i never would've let him get within thirty feet of you."

what had brought the man back to d.c.? she'd thought colby stayed close to his place in alabama these days.

"get some sleep," noah told her from his position near the bedroom door. "i'll be back soon."

she climbed from the bed. the lush carpeting swallowed the sound of her steps as she went to him in the darkness.

"claire?"

her hand lifted. pressed to his chest. she would've liked to see him naked. his shoulders were so wide. so built. he probably had a six pack.

she swallowed. "thank you," she said again, and she rose onto her toes. her lips skimmed the hard line of his jaw.

but then his fingers sank into her hair. he tilted her head back. took her mouth. kissed her long and deep.

her nipples tightened as they pressed into his chest.

"if you really want to thank me," noah rasped when his head lifted, "you'll stay in that bed and be ready for me when i come back." he let her go. "i will be back soon, claire."

she believed him.

she stood there, in the darkness, and a few moments later, she heard the sound of the suite's main door closing.

her body was so sensitive. he'd touched her-everywhere. claimed her. marked her.

taught her about pleasure.

claire knew she wouldn't have much time, so she dressed quickly. she yanked her hands through her hair. rushed to the smaller room she'd been given when they checked in.

she grabbed her bag. wrote him a note. because she suspected that he would look for her, and she didn't want noah to worry.

she also didn't want to throw her troubles onto his doorstep. he'd been too good to her. he didn't deserve to be yanked down into her hell.

her note was simple. short.

then claire rode the elevator down to the lobby. even at midnight, there were still plenty of people milling around the hotel. she didn't see noah or chuck, so she dashed across the lobby and hurried outside.

she paused to talk with the bellman, just for a moment. when he offered to get her a taxi, claire refused. why waste the money? claire turned away and marched down the sidewalk.

and she didn't look back.

a hard knock pounded against the hotel room door.

colby harrison jerked at the sound. who the hell would be coming to see him at this hour?

muttering, he climbed from the bed. he'd just gotten to sleep a few moments ago.

he shuffled toward the door.

the knocking came again. harder. almost...desperate.

colby weaved a bit as he reached out for the knob. he'd been drinking. the drinks helped him. they always did. without them, he couldn't sleep at all.

when he tried to sleep, he thought about ethan. poor ethan. wasting away in that prison.

he squinted as he tried to see through the peephole on the door. he couldn't see a damn thing.

a rough knock had the door shaking.

furious now, colby jerked open the door. "what the hell do you-"

his visitor's hand flew away from the door. had that hand been over the peephole?

colby frowned. "i sure as hell didn't expect to see you here-"

a gun was shoved into his face.

terror flooded through colby as he stumbled back. "y-you can't do this!"

laughter. then... "i can do anything." the door was kicked shut. they were sealed together in that room.