He moved his hands to her jeans, unsnapped them, cursing the stiff denim as he hauled it down her thighs and pushed it, and her shoes and socks, off her legs.

“This was just an excuse to get me to do all the work, wasn’t it?” he asked.

“Ah, darn,” she said. “You’re onto me.”

He looked at her, her top pushed up, barely covering her breasts, bright blue panties low on her hips, standing out against her pale skin. “I’m finding it hard to be too upset about it.”

He slipped his finger beneath the waistband of her panties, his breath hissing through his teeth as he felt the soft hair beneath the silken fabric. As he moved lower and felt how wet she was for him. How much she liked this game.

Well, he liked it, too. It was everything he never thought he’d do, things he’d never thought he’d want, and now he was all in, shaking with need. Unable to turn back.

He didn’t even want to.

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her stomach, her skin soft beneath his lips. He breathed in deep, taking in the scent of her arousal, the scent of her.

He lifted his head and looked at her, at her flushed cheeks, her blond hair tumbling over her shoulders. This was not his life. This was not the kind of thing that happened to him. Not the kind of beauty he was allowed to indulge in.

He almost couldn’t breathe. Everything in him was bound up, suspended in the moment.

He reached into his pocket and took out a condom, shrugging his pants and underwear down his legs while holding tight to the plastic condom packet. “I did this out of order.” He tugged his T-shirt up over his head, fighting with the tight space of the car.

She giggled. “I’m suddenly remembering why, since becoming an adult with my own bed, I haven’t revisited my backseat days.”

“I never had to use one.”

“Oh, am I your first?” she asked.

“You are. My first for quite a few things in this particular instance. And now, my first woman in handcuffs in more than one way.”

He tore open the condom and rolled it over his cock, his chest muscles seizing up as his fist squeezed his aching flesh tight.

She arched her hips upward and he positioned himself, pressing his arousal against her cloth-covered sex, heat shooting up through his teeth when he made contact with her. He rocked against her and she gasped, arching upward, pressing her breasts to his chest, the metal handcuffs clanking against the window.

“Oh...please,” she said.

He didn’t need any encouragement, not when he felt like he needed to be inside her five minutes ago. But he loved to hear her beg. Loved that she was at his mercy.

Who the hell was he?

Right now, he didn’t know, and he didn’t care.

All he knew was that watching her, seeing how much she wanted him, making her wait, was the best damn feeling he’d ever had. This was for him. It wouldn’t fix anyone, it wouldn’t save a damn thing. But it would feel good. And he wanted it.

Wanted her.

“Take my panties off,” she said, her words coming out short, harsh.

“Not yet,” he said, rocking against her, watching the color in her cheeks deepen.

“You bastard,” she said, and wrapped her legs around his hips, tugging him down harder.

“I think you called me that last time I had you in handcuffs.”

“It was true then, it’s true now.” She shifted. “And you didn’t make me come either time.”

“We still have time.” He slipped his hand around beneath her and cupped her ass, tugging her hard against him.

She whimpered, her breath hot on his neck. “Please...I need you.”

He shifted his hand and tugged her panties to the side, positioning himself at her entrance and sliding in slowly. He cursed, short and sharp. She was so slick and tight, he thought he might go over the edge the moment he was buried inside her to the hilt.

“Eli,” she whispered, his name broken on her breath, the splinters lodging deep inside him, burning his soul. Branding him.

“I’ve got you, baby.” Her eyes clashed with his, wide and...shocked? Almost afraid? It made his stomach clench tight. “Hey, hey, I’ve got you.”

She nodded wordlessly, her eyes never leaving his. He leaned in and kissed her lips, long and slow, withdrawing from her body, just an inch, before pushing back inside.

Then he was lost completely, chasing the liquid heat that was raging through him, building, bringing him closer to the edge. His blood roaring through his ears, canceling out everything, his vision going dark, nothing remaining but the hot, hard bite of pleasure, twisting and turning in his gut, ready to savage him, ready to squeeze everything inside of him into dust, the pressure building, threatening destruction if he didn’t find release soon.

“Come for me, Sadie,” he said, the words hard-won, almost impossible to push through his tightened throat. “Baby, I’m on the edge. Come for me.”

She arched against him, flexing her hips, the motion twisting everything in him even tighter. He tightened his hold on her ass, his other hand braced flat on the window behind her head as he circled his hips slowly, grinding against her clit.

Finally, he felt her give, heard the hoarse cry escape her lips, felt her internal muscles squeezing him tight. And he let himself go.

His release roared through him like a wildfire, scorching everything that had been contorted inside him, hollowing him out completely and leaving him devastated in its wake.

He tried to catch his breath, his muscles shaking, sweat rolling between his shoulder blades. He felt like he’d just run five miles in the desert. And found an oasis at the end of the race.

Sadie.

He let out a harsh breath and moved away from her. “Well,” he said, leaning back against the seat, dimly aware that sitting bare-assed in his patrol car was probably not the most professional thing, but he didn’t think he could move much farther right at the moment. “I didn’t think the condom thing through,” he said, looking down, feeling vaguely embarrassed that he hadn’t quickly dealt with it out of her sight, like he would normally do.

“Oh, dear,” she said, wiggling slightly then giving him a hard stare. “I need releasing.”

“Oh, sorry,” he said, leaning forward and pulling the key out of the cup holder, undoing the handcuffs as quickly as possible.

She smiled, almost shyly, which was unusual, if not unheard of, for Sadie. She rubbed her wrists, looking around. “Yeah, I think you have to bury it.”

He let out a long breath. “This is more complicated than I thought.”

“Well, you can’t litter. That’s a crime and you’re, like...running for sheriff. Can you imagine the scandal?”

“You’re right. We can’t have that,” he said, opening the passenger door, one bare foot hitting the pine-needle-covered ground. “This is the most awkward thing I’ve ever experienced.”

He heard a giggle behind him and turned and gave her a hard look.

“The view is good anyway,” she said.