Roman sensed her before the knock even came. That faint sweetness in the air, warm vanilla laced with something sharper, wilder—always hit him first. Her scent curled through his chest and coiled low in his gut like fire, setting his nerves on edge.

He straightened in his chair, jaw tightening. He had spent years mastering control, living by rules carved deep into his bones. But nothing in his training, nothing in his orders, had prepared him for her.

A sharp rap sounded against the ...