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neck, clinging to him.
    But even as she pressed against him, she knew she had only seconds before she had to pull away. The dam of control inside her had begun to crack, and at any moment she would be unable to stop herself from taking more from him than his kisses or his touch.
    Her body wanted his desperately, but her need for his energy was growing stronger still. He was so gorgeous, so strong, so vibrant. His skin was warm against her, but just beneath his skin lay a wealth of life. His kisses ignited her body, but the golden fire inside him ignited the flame of her inmost being.
    Where she was empty, he would fill her; where she was cold, he would bring an inferno; where she was a wasteland, he would bring vibrant life. The cracks spread and the dam began to break. She had to pull away.
    “Stop, Josh,” she whispered, her voice husky with frustration and desire.
    “What? What’s wrong?” he murmured against her cheek.
    He brushed his hand through her hair, and she nearly lost herself in the tenderness of the caress.
    “We have to stop. I can’t.” But instead of pushing him away, she pulled him closer.
    “Okay, we can slow it down,” he said, but he didn’t let go of her. His skin still touched hers—the connection was unbroken and it was intensifying.
    “Please let me go.” Adriana trembled with the effort of keeping herself in check. He loosened his hold on her, his embrace easing. She forced her arms back to her sides and closed her eyes.
    “Are you okay?” he asked, but one hand was still at her hip, the other running light fingertips across the curve of her face.
    “Please, Josh,” she whispered, tears of incredible effort and inconsolable grief spilling down her face.
    But instead of letting her go, instead of breaking the contact, he pulled her back into his arms again and gently kissed her hair.
    Her control blew wide like a window in a hurricane as Josh washed into her and through her in a sparkling surge. Her very being thrummed with the influx of his vital force. He poured into her and she began to pull on him recklessly, unable to get enough, knowing she was drawing out his life but completely powerless to stop it.
    She had never felt anything like this. The flow was a raging river of life passing back and forth between them, but Josh began to weaken as he gave her more than she returned to him. He grew heavy against her as his knees began to buckle. She tried to use his collapsing weight as leverage to tear them apart, but her muscles had locked themselves so firmly around him she couldn’t even let him fall as he leaned on her. His breath quickened against her cheek as if he were running a desperate race.
    She battled against the pull again, but forces more powerful than her will—primal forces of her very nature—overrode all her desperate struggles. The laws of gravity were more easily broken than the incredible energetic connection her powers had forged between them. She was killing him—she knew it—and the knowledge broke her heart.
    Just then, the door of her room slammed open and Cemil ran inside, another dark-haired man at his heels.
    “Step away from him, Adriana,” Cemil commanded firmly.
    “I can’t!” Bitter tears poured down her face. They were too late. The only power capable of separating them now was death. Anyone who attempted to touch either of them would only be pulled into the vortex as well.
    The other man leaped toward her and with a terrific jolt shoved her to the side, somehow breaking the connection by brute force. She stumbled in the sudden loss of the lifeline Josh’s energy had been to her. All his life, all his warmth and strength had been ripped away from her, leaving her chilled to the bone and dizzy.
    Across the room, Josh also staggered backward, his eyes seeking hers. “Adriana,” he whispered. His eyes fluttered shut and he collapsed limply against Cemil, who rushed to break his fall.
    “No!” she screamed and tried to go to him, but the