Mel didn't expect the kiss. She should have. His hand was on the back of her neck and their lips were already touching. But Luke wasn't the type to take advantage of a prisoner.

Lucky for her, he'd decided to break his own rules. And she didn't know who had the advantage anymore.

He started to pull back as she sat there, frozen. She followed him, hitching one leg over his lap and straddling him. She could feel his growing hardness between them. Exactly where she wanted him. She cradled his cheeks and stole the kiss from him, ratcheting up the intensity and taking over. She opened her mouth, tasting him, devouring him.

Luke was not a man to let himself be idly devoured. He bit down on her lower lip, firm enough to hold her in place, but not rough enough to cause any pain. His hands trailed down her back. Mel wanted to moan, but she was too preoccupied with taking her fill, enjoying the wickedly masculine taste of him.

She had no idea what had come over her, had come over them. She was his prisoner, the woman who had stolen his most priceless possession. And yet she couldn't imagine not kissing him. To do anything else would be foolish. It wasn't even a decision, it was instinct.

And that instinct burned her to the core. She could feel herself growing wet for him, her hips grinding against his own, feeling his erection through the soft cotton of her pants. She wanted to ride him until she came, crying out in ecstasy at the pleasure they both earned.

But kissing was just as satisfying. She gripped his hair in one tight hand, her lips trailing across his cheek and down to nip at his jaw. Her breath came in panting gasps, further evidence of her arousal. And when one of his hands dipped into the waist of her pants, she hissed out something between pain and satisfaction.

That sound gave Luke pause. He pulled back for a second, examining her expression. Mel didn't want to stop. Not until she had tasted every inch of him. Twice. And even then that sounded like only a delicious prelude to something she couldn't see ending.

And that thought shook her to her core.

This time she pulled back, gliding off of him and standing up, taking two big steps back. Whatever that was, there was no room for thoughts of something serious. A moment of lust was easy, endings were easy. She didn't know anything else.

Luke took a moment to regain his bearings. He rubbed his thumb against his lip and Mel had to clench her fist to keep from crossing the room once more and picking up where she left off. But this was a job, not a date. And that she'd forgotten that for even a second showed exactly how much trouble she could get in if she wasn't careful.

There was a dark part of her that coolly examined her would-be lover's expression, took in his arousal, and calculated exactly how she could use it. The cool silver of the necklace around her throat was a heavy reminder of the risk she would have to take to get out of here, danger that might just be fatal. Unless she used this new development to her advantage.

But Luke spoke before she could lay any groundwork. "I'm not going to apologize."

Of course not, alphas never did. "A little fun never hurt anyone." She had to keep it light. For now. Playing this too hard in any direction could screw her over later.

Luke studied her, his brown eyes narrowing for a moment before his expression hardened into stone. "I have a condition in return for my continued hospitality."

Mel kept very still, careful to not change her expression in the slightest. Was he going to require that she whore herself out to him? She didn't think he was the type. She had counted on it. Her stomach turned in distaste because she knew she would do it, and hate him all the more. "That is your right."

"When you try to escape," he held up a hand to keep her from protesting, "Or in any other case, only fight my people in self-defense. If you injure or kill anyone for any other reason, I will revoke my mercy and have you torn apart."

A death threat shouldn't have relieved her. But Mel could work with that, and her respect for the alpha grew even more. "I've hurt none of your people thus far. Why would that change?"

"There are some things that I won't risk." He left her alone in the room to contemplate what exactly those things were.