The Only One

demanded of him. Romjha didn't show it. His arms folded around her, molding her to his body. The pressure of his lips forced her head backward, triggering a flood of desire that pooled low in her belly.
    His kiss was ravenous, not tender; it was scorching and unrepentant. Taj's anger dissipated like so much ash, burned away by something even hotter.
    It was clear, now, how badly they'd both wanted this—and that they'd waited too long for it.
    Romjha's hands moved lower, stroking and kneading as they went. He found her backside and hauled her close enough for her to feel the proof of his arousal. If radite crystals were volatile, this was spontaneous combustion.
    Taj kissed and caressed him frantically. They stumbled backward into the closest room. The lab door slammed closed behind them.
    She tore through the fasteners on Romjha's shirt, yanking it down his shoulders. Her fingers raked over the swell of his hard chest, her palms dragging across his flat stomach, riding the muscles that rippled under taut skin there; they ruthlessly explored his warrior's body, the thick, rugged belt slung around his waist, and then lower.
    Reaching between their bodies, Taj cupped her hand over the hard bulge in his trousers. He pushed her up against the wall.
    Her needy moan seemed to encourage him. The scrape of his teeth on the side of her throat made her shiver as he fumbled with the fastener at her waist and shoved her pants to the floor.
    His hand slid up her inner thigh. When he touched between her legs, her body gave an involuntary jerk.
    Thick, callused fingertips explored her, found her wet and hot. His breath was harsh against her skin. "I've wanted you, Taj. Wanted this. Longer than you know." He kissed her again.
    She moaned into his mouth, her legs suddenly weak. He found the small nub of her sex with breathtaking skill, rasping her gently with two slowly rotating fingers. Her hips writhed. A shattering rush of desire wiped her mind blank of anger and fear.
    She grabbed his wrist, slowing him. They kissed feverishly as she worked to free him from his trousers. His erection was thick and hard, heavy with desire. Caressing, stroking, she took him into her hand. Her thumb circled over its rounded tip, spreading a hot bead of moisture she found there.
    Something seemed to let go inside him then—an explosive reaction that she had the giddy feeling she wouldn't be able to control. He groaned her name, thrusting hard into her hand, stopping himself with a shudder, only to sweep her off her feet so fast she lost her breath. His arm muscles bulged as he slung her legs around him. Her shoulder blades pressed into the wall behind her.
    The sensation of his hot flesh colliding with hers was almost too much. With a single jerk of his hips, he entered her, pushing deep, stretching her to a point of exquisite tension. She clung to him, muffling her cry of shock and pleasure against his shoulder.
    Clutching her hips, Romjha rocked inside her with long, powerful, upward strokes, sending shock waves of carnal pleasure all the way to her toes. Pinned between his body and the wall, she could do little else but hold on to his heaving shoulders and make small, pleading gasps.
    "Ah, Taj . . . don't make me stop," he teased gruffly, pretending to misunderstand.
    She choked back a laugh of joy. "You're kidding," she gasped, running her hands over his biceps, feeling the muscles flex under his skin. Reaching around, she loosened his hair from its binding. It fell shaggy and free around his neck, and she reveled in the silky strands.
    He bit her neck, thrusting deeper inside her. His blond hair was dark with sweat; his shirt, hanging halfway down his arms, was damp with it, too. He radiated the scent and heat of insatiable hunger, of the fierce desperation of a soldier leaving home, likely for good. With that realization, anguish and anger invaded Taj's mind, twisting together and sharpening her need.
    She and Romjha were wild and rough. Whatever one hungered for, the other seemed to know how to supply. Taj's entire body trembled and ached from exhaustion, but it didn't make a difference. It didn't stop her from asking for more. All he had. All he could give her.
    Without thinking, she clamped her legs tighter around his hips. Deep inside, she convulsed. She hovered there, at a peak so intense she was sure her heart had stopped beating, until at last she shattered, a cry of joy and astonishment exploding from her throat.
    Ecstasy swept her