Switch It Up

by Sara Brookes

  “I wasn’t thinking, all right? I just wanted... I wanted to be sure it was repaired as quickly as possible. That he—whoever he is—is stopped before someone really gets hurt.” Her heavy sigh echoed through the sparsely decorated room. “I know I could have just sent an email but—”

  “You didn’t want to take that chance.” Ezra studied her closely, wondering why she’d gotten this agitated about a computer program. “As far as I’m aware, no one else has been fishing around our databases until now. Then again, something tells me I wouldn’t have known you were in there either if you hadn’t come barging into Court announcing your presence. We’re pretty small fish, so what made you choose our little corner of the net?”

  “Look, I... I do this for a living. My partner and I run a business breaking into websites.”

  “Websites that ask you to test their security and come up with a solution package. We haven’t hired anyone to do that.” While he was geeky enough to admire her skills when it came to unlawful entry, he was loyal to Kochran and the club that had given him sanctuary, which meant he needed to report the cybercrime. Perhaps locate Kochran and see if the club owner wanted to press charges.

  Or he could work together with her to sort things out because he was interested in knowing how she’d wiggled through his firewalls, and seeing the footage on the drive she’d given him. If they went to the cops, he may never see what happened.

  “Tell you what, since this is obviously something that is very close to you, for reasons you aren’t telling me right now, why don’t I contract your company to help with the patch? At a discounted rate, of course.” When she gave him a skeptical look, he offered her a warm smile. “In exchange, I won’t escort you to the nearest police station.”

  Her gaze shot to his. “You’re not mad?”

  “Don’t mistake my offer for kindness.” He wiggled the drive toward her. “I also want your help taking care of this guy that upset you.”

  She refused to look away from his unwavering gaze despite the fact her hands were trembling and her jaw was set. Whatever bravado she’d unleashed with Kochran had dissipated to give Ezra a glimpse of the woman beneath the mask. The one who had more guts than any woman he’d ever known. It had taken a great deal of courage to out such a criminal act to a group of strangers.

  “How about I kill the whole system right now? Shut down the sim world and the website so no one can access it until we get this settled? Then you can use your obviously superior skills to help me untangle this and I’ll convince myself to refrain from punishing you for calling me a half-rate code jockey.”

  His brain screamed at him for the foolishness in the words as they tripped off his tongue. This wasn’t a submissive at the club. But she certainly was a woman who’d stirred things deep inside him.

  “Deal?” he asked as he offered his hand.

  She lifted the corner of her mouth in a wry smile, signaling those reins of command she needed weren’t as far out of his grasp as he’d thought. “Can I still call you a code grinder?”

  He’d been called that on more than one occasion all through school thanks to his penchant for wearing a tie and the clean code he used to generate. “Only on days that end in Y.”

  “Deal.”

  Chapter Four

  A strange sense of comfort washed over Maddy as she stepped through the doors of Noble House on Monday afternoon. She couldn’t explain why, but it felt like coming home.

  Surprised didn’t begin to explain her reaction. Those intangible layers of need and want coiled around things she had seen Thursday night, like sweat and tears and the indistinguishable cries of pleasure and pain. When she’d calmed down enough, the decadent smells of sex and leather had struck her, making her realize she belonged right in the middle of the energy that pulsed like it was its own power supply.

  Though the decor was the same, the atmosphere wasn’t as charged. And she didn’t encounter the press of sex against her skin like last time. She fully intended the first order of business today would be figuring out who the hell the guy was from the theater.

  True to Ezra’s word, he’d shut down the entire network. Website and all. And kept it down the entire weekend while he and Steve had hammered out the finer details of the contract.

  She made her way to the top floor of the enormous building that had once been an armory for the military, following the directions Ezra had emailed her. The club didn’t look much different. Of course, now she was there totally on the up and up. Her temper had gotten the better of her, but Kochran had been so nonchalant about the breach, passing her off to someone else. For someone who obviously coveted the work he did, he sure had a blasé attitude. At least the other man had known and understood, even if he’d been the one responsible. Though Kochran was an extraordinary Dom, there was something about Ezra that struck a chord with her. A note that resonated through her all the way to somewhere deep in her center she couldn’t identify.

  For all the harmony she’d sensed with Ezra, she knew she had to squash whatever fantastical thoughts she had about him. She hadn’t missed the two gold bands tucked securely in place on the fourth finger of his left hand. Married. Maddy was open to a lot of things sexually, could adapt easily enough to whatever the situation called for, but marriage gave her pause, even if he was in one of those open relationships.

  Still, those rings didn’t mean she had to stop admiring him or not find him an interesting case study. He didn’t remind her of any code monkey she’d encountered before. No pop culture reference shirt or fraying jeans. He’d been clean cut, impeccably dressed and gorgeous.

  She shook off the tingling sensations swirling through her lower extremities. Certainly she was experiencing the residual energy from being at the club when it had been in full swing the last time she’d been there. Curiosity had always gotten her into trouble. Interesting trouble, sure. But, as she reminded herself again, he was tied to someone for better or for worse. She wasn’t interested in being responsible for the worse part.

  When she reached the top floor, she noticed the decorations were much different than the floors below. Everything was so utilitarian. Stark and nondescript. Office space. Functional.

  The directions stated Ezra’s office was behind the door at the end of the hall, but the double doors in front of her drew her attention because of the cypher locking mechanism. A heavy-duty lock like that meant someone wanted to keep the contents of the room from prying eyes. A large slice of her wanted to know why. The part that wanted to pull threads until she’d unraveled the entire canvas. She suspected she could discover everything she wanted to know about the club and never have all the answers.

  Ezra’s office door opened. “Oh good, you’re here.”

  She cast a longing glance to the double doors and made a mental note to explore later. He stood in the doorway, his gaze arrowed on her as though she was someone he’d always known.

  She forced herself to swallow. “I am. I thought we had an appointment at one?”

  “We do.” He held up his mug, the bunching of his muscles obvious under the sleeve of his shirt. “Just going to refresh my coffee before we get started. Want some?”

  She swallowed again, noting her throat wasn’t as dry as before. “I never turn down a good jolt.”

  “Can’t promise it’s good, but it will certainly give you a decent buzz.”

  As she fell in step beside him, she was in awe of how dramatically her life had changed in just a few short days. Usually such life-altering decisions were thought about for days on end. She calculated. She weighed her options. She planned. But everything about Noble House so far had thrown her off her axis. Steve was the only one who knew where she was, and he was three thousand miles away. A dangerous prospect because she didn’t know these people she’d agreed to help. These strangers who liked whips and chains and blindfolds and...who knew what else lurked in the shadows of a fet
ish club.

  She’d willingly committed herself to fixing the problem at hand. They were paying her, but for one of the first times in her life, she was nervous. She’d broken federal privacy laws with the flick of her wrist and without a second thought. Yet the idea of sitting in a fetish club office with a man she hardly knew made her tremble.

  Part of that anxiousness was due in part to the man walking beside her. He reminded her of an athlete, finely proportioned and just a bit on the stocky side. Even with his clothes on, he appeared strong and solid. Muscular. Those broad shoulders seemed to be capable of carrying the weight of the world, and then some. He had a quietness about him, a steady confidence that made her feel as though she’d known him all her life. He wasn’t remarkably tall, but certainly towered over her petite frame.

  As they entered the small kitchen, she leaned against the doorframe to wait. She was the newbie here and had no idea where everything was stored. Ezra, on the other hand, worked with a tidy efficiency she didn’t believe she’d ever noticed in a man. Not a single movement was wasted as he prepared a fresh pot.

  His hair shifted as he moved, a rich chocolate brown pelt that lay smooth against his scalp, worn a little long in the front. He flicked his head to the side each time strands of hair fell into his line of sight. And his eyes. The sort that observed every aspect in exacting detail. Thursday night they’d been green. Today, brown. She had no idea why, but she liked knowing his eyes changed color. She wondered if it was due to mood or nature. If a coming storm would darken his eyes to the same menacing shade as the thunderous clouds. The kind of tempest that was capable of stripping a woman down to full, wanton surrender.

  Her gaze continued down to his faded denim shirt, the top button of which had been left open. Maddy suspected that button would be fastened if this had been a more formal meeting. Arms weren’t something she was usually attracted to, but for some reason, Ezra’s drew her attention as she looked him over. The way he’d carefully rolled back each sleeve of his shirt with equal folds that exposed his forearms and clung to his biceps and shoulders. Covered with a downy layer of hair, the muscles in his forearms stretched and bunched as he reached for each item he needed. His biceps followed each flowing, graceful movement bulking in all the right places.

  His hands had a certain artistry. She wondered if they were as warm as she imagined, rough and thoroughly male. As he shifted to retrieve something from the narrow refrigerator tucked into one corner, his pants pulled tight across his ass. An exceptional specimen of the male form, to be certain, and one she wouldn’t have minded observing without the covering of fabric.

  She hadn’t noticed all these things before, so why now? Why was it as though he was the only man in the world she wanted to pay attention to her all of a sudden? Despite her questions, she continued to unabashedly stare at the physique that made her mouth water and her brain dull like her skull had been stuffed full of tribbles. Yeah, he may be married, but she was going to ogle the hell out of him for as long as she could.

  “Madeline?”

  Oh holy wow. The way her given name tripped smooth and silky off his tongue with a voice tuned for sin. She hadn’t noticed that earlier either. Easiest explanation was the fact she was standing on the top floor of a freaking fetish club.

  “Sorry. Just thinking ahead to the job we have in store for us. You can call me Maddy. No need for such formality when I’ve been inside your code.”

  Ezra smirked. “Sounds dirty.”

  That devastating smile made things inside her come alive. “I have a feeling a lot of things said around here can be construed as dirty. Downright filthy on the right occasion.”

  “Hazards of the job, I’m afraid.” He gestured to her with a mug full of coffee. “How do you take it?”

  “No white stuff for me.” She snorted at the implications as his lips twitched. Okay, she’d done that on purpose. No reason they needed to be all stuffy. “Seems pretty much everything you say can live in the gutter around this place.”

  “The gutter isn’t such a bad spot if you have the right company. Ready to bang it out?”

  She exhaled with a laugh. Quite a sense of humor on this one. A trait she found even more attractive than his physical stature. Brains had always been a turn on.

  “Sure.”

  Chapter Five

  The fascinating woman was a distraction of the first degree, an interference Ezra hadn’t expected or wanted. Especially when someone had expressed her opinion quite loudly.

  Half-rate code jockey. Madeline Zane certainly had a way with words. Now that she’d pointed out one of the amusing perils of working at Noble House, everything he thought was taken out of context. So far past left field out of context, it would be a struggle not to think dirty thoughts about everything they said.

  As she followed him back to his office, her energy pressed against his back. That same energy had surged through him the instant he’d found her in the hallway. His body had come alive, and his dominant instincts had surged forward. Those same instincts had grabbed hold of the fear he’d seen in her eyes the other night. The sheer determination to triumph over evil. The need to bundle her close and promise nothing would ever hurt her.

  “Sorry I don’t have a better setup for you.” As they entered his office, he pointed to the metal folding chair and card table he’d set up in the corner. “We’ll find you something more comfortable by the end of the week.”

  “Just a short-term gig, right?” She shrugged as she passed. “Think I can survive. I’m going to get my stuff out of the car.”

  After she returned and set up her laptop on the small table, he realized his folly. The angle of the impromptu workstation allowed him the perfect vantage point to watch her work, though he doubted plunging headfirst into code would be hardship. Not when she’d admitted worming her way in through less than legal means.

  He knew she’d seen the code she wrinkled her nose at before, but this time he’d given her the proper access authorizations. She’d waved those off as well, claiming she could slip back into the code faster than going through their firewalls. The point, he’d explained, was to patch those holes correctly. She’d reluctantly agreed and was now diligently working at her laptop.

  Something told him Maddy didn’t like taking directions. Didn’t like to be told she couldn’t do something when she had made her mind up that she could. Lots of possibilities with that kind of attitude around this place. Lots of ways to take advantage of it too, if she annoyed the wrong person.

  Too bad he hadn’t taken a submissive in years.

  Though he kept his face angled toward the large monitor in the center of his desk, his gaze kept sliding to where she sat. Despite the fact he hadn’t accepted this job at Noble House for the sex, he found he couldn’t stop thinking about it since Maddy had stormed into his life. In fact, he’d accepted the job when he’d been approached because being around that much sex and kink would keep him focused on the job at hand and not how fucking lonely he was. Kink had been something he’d shut out of his life several years ago when his wife had died and his husband abandoned him.

  He shook his head with a jerk, as though trying to clear the morose thoughts from his addled brain. The sooner they patched up the holes he’d been so careless with, the faster Maddy wouldn’t be around anymore to plant such thoughts in his brain.

  She turned abruptly, pulling her earbuds out. “You know there’s a better way to structure your organization?” She gestured wildly at the laptop. “These files are a mess.”

  Of course he knew. Once upon a time, he’d exerted minimal effort in order to get Kochran the working website he’d requested because he’d made a promise. Helping a friend had been more important than dealing with his deep depression. His psychological health had been so poor, it had affected his physical health and landed him in the hospital. Story of his life. Ezra was paying for it now. He’d gotten a d
ressing down from Kochran about his attitude in regard to the security of the club’s website the night before. Knew he had one still coming from Ford “Saint” Templar, co-owner of the club and the man responsible for the security of the network for Noble House, both online and physical. From what he’d heard, Kochran had already ripped Saint a new one because of the breach.

  “Let’s patch up these holes and then worry about the file trees.” Better to tackle one thing at a time. “Unless you want to split up the work? Come at this thing from a few angles. You could clean up the organization while I patch the holes.”

  A soft clicking noise sounded as she tapped her fingers against the keyboard without using enough force to type. “No, probably wouldn’t be as efficient or quick as if we work together to correct the breach. Just as long I get to be the one to kick that asshole out.” She stuck her buds back into her ears as she turned to her laptop.

  For a few minutes, concentrating on work was effortless. Then Maddy shifted in the seat, a change that pushed her shirt up to expose her lower back and his thoughts about piss-poor hypertext markup language and cascading style sheets tilted off their axis.

  Her pants embraced her body rather than constricted. He’d never understood the fad of barely covering asses or exposing crotches. Leave a little to the imagination, for fuck’s sake. Nothing remained a mystery anymore, a secret, sensual treasure trove to be discovered by covering areas that were uniquely female. Like the sloping curve of the two indentions in her lower back that called to him in a way he hadn’t expected. Taunting him with the knowledge just a few short inches lower was the supple cleft of her ass. Those milky curves would give way to the heart of her heat and he would have an unobstructed view of the flushed folds that would beckon to him when she parted her thighs.

  He would caress that wet heat just so, tease her with an infinitesimal touch as he feasted on the beauty of her sex using only his gaze. Her feminine gasp would fill the charged air between them. She’d clutch at the sheets he’d spread her out on, clenching her fingers into tight balls before flexing them as she fought against the sensations he forced her to endure.