by Rachel Grant
Nate crossed the small space that separated them. He cupped her face in his big palm, his thumb brushing at the tears that wouldn’t stop flowing. “I’m sorry.”
In the year since her mother had died, no one had hugged her to offer comfort for her grief. It was her own fault. She didn’t have friends outside work and kept her coworkers at a distance. It would have felt odd to receive a hug from Ainsley even though they were friends. And it definitely would have felt weird if Tim Hathaway or Michelle Hollis had tried to hug her.
Dex, of course, had offered a different kind of comfort. And there was nothing soothing to be found in the power play.
So now here she was, a year after her mother’s death, and Nate Sifuentes was the first person to offer her true comfort in her grief, and he also happened to be the only man who had given her physical pleasure in far too long.
She leaned into him and brushed her lips over his. She wanted to take the comfort he offered. She wanted more physical pleasure. She wanted to feel less alone and more cherished.
Her tongue slipped between his lips. He let her in, and his tongue stroked hers. She melted into him. She needed this—him—so much.
His hand moved from her face to cup the back of her head. The kiss was deep and hot, and her worries evaporated.
Then he abruptly raised his head and pushed away from her. “What the hell? No. You aren’t going to distract me with sex.”
Her body had flushed with heat as the kiss intensified, and now she went cold, as if she’d just been tossed in the snow.
“I wasn’t—”
“Right. Listen, I might not be a technical supergenius like you, but I’m not stupid. You’ve been using my attraction to you from the start—from unbuttoning your blouse the moment you climbed into the back of my car to stealing my wallet to screwing me so I wouldn’t pay attention to where I left the damn car keys. No more.”
She had played the stupid game with the button and flirted with him to get to his wallet. But that he believed the sex had been a ploy bothered her. She hadn’t been playing games then, and it pissed her off that he couldn’t see it. “I didn’t sleep with you so I could steal the keys.”
“Yeah, well, that’s how it looks from my perspective.”
She took two steps backward, then turned and paced the small living room. “I’m sorry—”
“You said that already. It’s feeling pretty meaningless at this point.”
“What do you want from me?”
“Something real would be a nice start.”
She took a deep breath. “I’m scared.”
“You played that card already.”
Her anger spiked. “I am! Dammit! I’m terrified because a dead body was found in my apartment. A woman died in the fire. Someone is trying to frame me for murder, and I got an email that implied you’re next on the hit list.”
8
Nate stared at Leah, not as shocked by her words as he should be. He’d guessed something must have happened. What he didn’t get was why she’d choose to run instead of telling him what was going on.
“What are you involved in, Leah?”
“I don’t know.” She rubbed a hand over her face. “I got an email saying Ainsley’s missing.”
“Who is Ainsley?”
“Ainsley Weisz is the head of marketing at HH. The Christmas Day events were her brainchild. I was head of AI engineering for Peacemaker. The product wouldn’t be possible without me, but Ainsley is the one who found a way to sell it to two million American families.”
“Two million?” Holy crap. That was a lot of drones.
“Give or take. Those were the numbers as of Friday. Our manufacturer in China wasn’t able to keep up with demand. Thanks to Ainsley, who, according to an anonymous email, is missing.”
“Let me see this email.”
She pulled one of the prepaid cell phones he’d purchased last night from her coat pocket, and turned it on. “It’s a free online account I use when I can’t access my work email. I rarely use it, and only a handful of people have it—coworkers, a few friends from my Silicon Valley days. No one connected to the military contract has this address, so this can’t be related to the government job.”
After the phone restarted, she opened her email and handed him the phone.
He noted the time stamp. The email had been sent just over an hour before.
Whore. Bitch. Slut. Did you plan this with the Raptor guy? Are you feeding him government secrets? Is that why you were fired? Your innocent act won’t hold up. Ainsley is missing. Was she helping you sell military secrets to mercenaries? I will find you, traitor. I will stop you. I will stop him.
He checked the sender information. It was a random series of numbers and letters from another free online email provider.
“The only person who knows of Raptor’s—my—involvement with you is the person who followed us last night. A search on the SUV license plate would show Raptor as the registered owner. That’s the only way they would know. Freddy sure wouldn’t tell HH he was sending in a pinch hitter.”
“I know.” She stopped pacing and stood in front of him. “Ainsley was a friend. I’m worried about her. And if she died in the fire, I’m terrified I’ll be a suspect, and doesn’t that make me a shitty friend, to be worried about myself?” She resumed pacing, her hands cupped over her nose and mouth, as if in prayer. “If the person who sent that email is the person who followed us last night, then they’ve already tried to kill me once. And they threaten me in the email.”
“I promised I would protect you, Leah.”
“I know. That’s not why I tried to run. It’s the second part. The ‘I will stop him’ line. That’s a threat to you. I was trying to get away from you. To protect you.”
Nate stared at her and tried to shove his ego aside to figure out what this all meant. He needed to get his head out of his ass and think. “Why didn’t you wake me? Why run?”
“Why hesitate? Why stay?” she countered. “The email had been sent only a few minutes before. If it contained a Trojan that could snatch GPS data, the sender could know where we are. I wanted to lead him away from you. ASAP.”
Nate pulled off the back of the phone and yanked the battery. “Does it have a Trojan?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t waste time by cracking open the email. If I had a VPN set up, I would, but…” She held up her hands, indicating the cozy, low-tech cabin with weak Wi-Fi and limited cell service.
“Okay, first thing we need to do is call the police in Arlington and share everything you know. I was going to suggest we do that this morning anyway. We should have made the call last night, but it was clear you needed a break, and the difference between one in the morning and now—after all, I didn’t know a woman was inside the townhouse—didn’t seem important.”
He slipped an arm around her, pulling her to him. “You have an alibi. Three alibis including Chase and Josh. Plus, you’re caught on camera at the Navy Yard coming and going. It would be damn hard to pin a murder on you when we can show you hadn’t been in the townhouse since you left for work at…what time?”
“Nine. I slept in because I was up until two working on the fix for HH.”
“We can handle this, Leah. First thing to do is get you a lawyer. You just said you have money, so that’s not an issue. I thought rich people knew about lawyering up from the get-go.”
She pursed her lips, but then she gave him a faint smile. “I haven’t always been rich. That’s sort of new, and I tend to forget because I’m always working.”
“You’re an ace programmer, forty-three years old, and only newly rich? What’s wrong with you? I thought all computer geniuses made their first million by twenty-seven and billion by thirty-five.”
“I’m a late bloomer.”
“Well, good thing I like late bloomers.” He ran his fingertips along her forehead and temple and asked her the one question he shouldn’t. “Did you mean it when you said I was just a screw?”
�
��No.”
“Good.” He lowered his head and brushed his lips over hers. “Don’t ever try to bolt like that again. Have faith in me. I work in private security. I’m not afraid of a pathetic emailed threat.”
“What if whoever sent that email knows where we are now?”
“Then they can reveal themselves by showing up at our door. I’m sure the police will have a lot of questions for them, starting with why they came after you last night.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “It was really dumb of me to try to run, wasn’t it?”
“Not dumb. Panic. Which is what they wanted. You weren’t thinking straight. You had a stressful day and little sleep.”
“You forgive me?”
He tucked her hair behind an ear. “Of course.”
She rose on her toes and pressed her mouth to his. She whispered, “Show me. Make me feel forgiven,” then slipped her tongue between his lips.
He let her in, sucked on her tongue, and as if a switch had been flipped, he was all in, scooping her up in his arms and pressing her against the wall, her plea for forgiveness all the incentive he needed.
She wrapped her legs around his hips. He kissed her hard and deep as his erection pressed against her hot center.
He’d said he wanted spark, and Leah was a torrent of flame. He was hot and thick and wanted to make her feel wild but also cherished. Wanted to make love to her and take her fast and hard at the same time.
“I need you inside me, Nate.” She panted and gripped his shoulders, rocking her hips so his cock would press her clit.
Multiple layers of clothing separated their bodies; that had to change. He carried her to the couch and set her on her feet in front of it, then dipped a hand under the waistband of her yoga pants and slid his fingers into her soft, wet folds. She jolted with pleasure.
He chuckled as his ego soared. “You get that wet just for me?”
She rocked into his hand. “Yes. Your cock. Your mouth. Your fingers. You make me so hot, I’m burning up.”
He yanked down the pants and dropped to his knees, putting his mouth on her even as his hands pulled off her tennis shoes and socks and then tugged the tight cloth first over one foot, then the other. She placed her hands on his shoulders for balance, and he spread her legs and licked her.
She pulled the long-sleeve T-shirt over her head and unclasped her bra as he stroked her with his tongue. He looked upward to see her cupping and massaging her full breasts as she panted and gasped at the pleasure he was giving her.
She was a woman in her forties, evidenced by the few strands of gray that streaked her hair and her soft, lush curves. She knew her body and her pleasure, and that was hot beyond belief.
She released her breasts and threaded her fingers through his hair. He lifted one of her legs and pulled it over his shoulder, opening her legs wider so she straddled his face. His tongue slid inside her vagina, and she made a guttural sound that drove him wild.
His tongue returned to her clit, his beard abrading the insides of her thighs. She tightened her grip on his hair, hovering on the brink of orgasm. He could feel the tension in her inner thighs and hear it in the shift in her breathing.
“Please, Nate, I want you inside me when I come. I need you, Nate. Now.” Her panting grew harder, more desperate. “Please. Please. Please.”
“Come for me. The condoms are in the bedroom.”
“Get them. Please. Please.”
He licked her clit again, then slipped his shoulder from beneath her leg and stood. “Don’t move.” He darted for the bedroom. Condom in hand, he returned to the living room and stripped off the sweatpants and briefs.
She wrapped her hand around his thick erection and stroked him, then dropped to her knees and took him in her mouth, and it was his turn to let out a guttural groan. She placed a hand on his hip and nudged him around, sucking even as she positioned him in front of the couch. He lowered onto the cushions and she knelt before him, her lush body between his knees as she took his cock deep into her throat, one hand stroking the shaft while the other cupped his balls.
He threaded his fingers through her hair, and she met and held his gaze. There were few things that were sexier than eye contact with Leah while she sucked his cock.
He was so close to coming, but he wanted what she’d begged for—to come inside her as she came too. He ripped open the condom packet and said, “Sit on my cock.”
She smiled and took the condom. She released him from her mouth and unrolled the latex sheath down his hard shaft. In one smooth movement, she climbed on his lap and sank down on him, taking him deep.
She kissed him as she moved her thighs, rising then sinking down on him again and again. His hands on her ass lifted and lowered her even as he rocked his hips, using the spring of the couch to thrust upward, penetrating her with hard, fast strokes.
He moved one hand between their bodies and thumbed her clit. As if he’d pressed a magic button, she released his mouth from a deep kiss and let out a sharp yell, arching her back and clenching tight around his cock. He kept up the pressure on her clit and thrust upward, his own release coming in a rush after the intense buildup.
She continued coming as his orgasm faded, so he continued stroking her clit and she clenched on him again, triggering another burst of pleasure before she collapsed on him, breathing heavy, all soft limbs and satisfaction.
He held her that way for a long moment, still inside her. Replete. He trailed kisses along her neck and breathed in the scent of her.
She shifted, and he slipped from her body. He should get up and take care of the condom but didn’t want to move. Spotting the boxer briefs on the arm of the couch, he decided to sacrifice them to the cause and wrapped the used condom in the cloth, then set them aside and shifted to lie down on the couch with Leah’s body on top of his.
He’d loaded up the woodstove in the night, then turned down the airflow, and a few remaining embers still burned, giving the room a cozy glow as dawn began to break over their mountain hideaway.
He ran his fingers through her short hair and stroked her cheek with his fingers. “The first moment I saw you, I was blown away. You walked out of that gate with your head held high in those kickass, sexy boots, and I was done for.”
“And I took one look at you and knew you weren’t just a driver.”
“Hey, woman. My brother’s a driver. He employs drivers. Drivers are people too.” But he laughed. She wasn’t just a passenger for him either.
She grinned. “You know what I mean.” She ran her hands down his body. “Your body is a work of art. And I don’t just mean the tattoo, but that’s amazing too.” She traced the ink on his ribs. “How did you get the nickname Hawk?”
“It’s a little ridiculous.”
“Try me.”
“I have…an abnormally long reach.” He wrapped his arms around her, partly as demonstration but mostly because he liked the way she felt in his arms. “And hawks have a long wingspan. One day, I was messing around during basic, arms stretched wide, and one of the guys says something about how I looked like a damn hawk circling for the kill, and considering how bad nicknames can get in the military, I went all in so it would stick. Lucky for me, it did, and I spent the next fourteen years being called Hawk more than any other name.”
“Does anyone still call you that?”
“Here and there. The guys at the Alaska compound picked it up, which is why Chase uses it sometimes—he worked there a few years ago. Moving here, it was more natural to go by Nate. My brother sure as hell never called me Hawk, and Isabel Dawson—Senator Ravissant’s wife—is one of my few friends here, and she always called me Nate.”
“You’re friends with the senator’s wife?”
“Yeah. I was close to her brother in the months before he died. I’m a connection to him.”
Guilt stabbed at him. Vin had died in a training accident that Nate later found out was no accident at all. And if he’d just listened… Just paid attention
… He could have stopped it.
Did he deserve these moments of happiness when he’d failed Vincent Dawson, who was one of the finest men he’d ever known? Vin didn’t get to have moments like this, with a beautiful woman in his arms.
Vin had told Nate about the nightmares. And he hadn’t listened. When Isabel showed up telling the same story, he figured the grieving woman was searching for someone to pin the blame on and had gotten wrapped up in Vin’s delusions. If he’d taken Vin seriously, and later Isabel seriously, he could have saved a lot of people—like Chase—from suffering.
As he’d told Leah last night, that was why he’d acted when she said she was scared. He would never again ignore a person’s pleas. Not when he was in a position to do something.
She traced the edges of the hawk feathers with her nails. “You don’t like your job with Raptor, though, do you?”
“Yes and no. It’s a good job, but I’ve never been a favorite of the home office. They don’t trust me because Robert Beck hired me. I wasn’t a Beck sycophant either, but it’s not like they see that.”
“So you don’t like your boss.”
“It’s not that simple. I actually like Keith, I’m just bothered that I’ve been skipped over for promotion repeatedly, while people he or Rav hired leap past me in the company hierarchy. I’m not even saying the people they’ve promoted aren’t good. It’s just that I have more experience than all of them. Even Keith, the CEO.”
“Have you filed a complaint with management or human resources?”
“No.”
“You should. I can give you tips on how to frame it. One thing I know is how to deal with management.” Her face reddened. “I mean, I did. Before yesterday.”
He ran a finger over her lips. “I’m pretty sure yesterday is about something else entirely.”
“Me too.”
He turned his gaze to the ceiling. “I’m not a supergenius programmer. I don’t have your leverage when it comes to management.”