by BWWM Club
"I'm not offended. I'd probably say the same thing." Clive sat back with a thoughtful expression. "If you want someone to look over the emails and find the one behind them I can call our computer expert. It'll take a few hours for them to get here..."
"Do it. As long as I see some progress at the end of the day I have no objection."
*****
"So you're the resident expert."
Christina paused momentarily in her typing to look up at Nathan, who was standing in the doorway to his office with a wry smile. Dressed in a black t-shirt with brand new jeans he looked too damn good. She was reminded of their kiss the night before and a blush rose up over her skin. Christina pushed her glasses up her nose and raised an eyebrow.
"I thought Leo told you what my position was in the company."
"He did but I didn't think you'd come back." Nathan entered the office. His hair was wet from the shower and he hadn't combed it yet so it fell across his forehead in messy curls. "You were supposed to be resting."
"There's plenty of time to rest when I'm dead. Isn't that the saying?"
"Not the phrase to use after what happened to you."
Christina shrugged.
"I guess. But I'm not going anywhere."
She was expecting an argument but didn't get one. Nathan crocked an eyebrow at her but said nothing, although his expression said a lot. He thought she should be at home instead of working for him.
He moved around the desk and leaned on the desk beside her, his chest inches from her face as he looked at his computer screen.
"What have you found so far?"
Christina turned away, very aware of the heat emanating from his body, and clicked through a couple of emails she had pulled up. The content in all of them had made her stomach churn.
"They're horrific. Absolutely disgusting the things they want you to do to yourself."
"Nothing I haven't heard before."
"I've seen worse but these are topping those I've already seen."
"What did you see?"
Christina took off her glasses and rubbed at her eyes.
"Four months ago a singer-songwriter stuck up a video on the internet of her work. It was meant to be dark and gothic but it was so terrible everyone left bad comments. She went off on one and started accusing everyone of plagiarism, threatening to kill everyone who said even the slightest criticism against her."
"Charming woman. How did you get involved?"
"My brother is a lyricist and works freelance for both worldwide and local groups. He's also a reviewer and put up a bad review where everyone could see it. She began sending him threats, planning on setting his house on fire and killing his children." Christina shook her head. "She was a piece of work. He asked me to put a block on her emails and I helped to put forward a complaint of harassment. The restraining order is still in effect."
Nathan whistled.
"Wow, that's a strange woman."
"Everywhere you go there's a nutter on every corner." Christina put her glasses back on. "And speaking of nutters, I might put you in that category."
"Why?"
"These emails go back weeks and clearly show they haven't been opened. How come you didn't show these to Leo before?"
"He knows about them."
"Try again. I know when someone's telling me fibs." She swiveled the chair and stared up at him. "How come you didn't show these to Leo? Or to me, come to that?"
Nathan sighed and leaned on the desk. His thigh muscles shifted under his jeans and Christina's eyes were drawn in. Nathan folded his arms.
"I didn't think it was that big a deal." He admitted, sounding like a teenager getting caught smoking in his bedroom.
"Not a big deal? You call these 'not a big deal'?"
"It's hot air, Chris. Someone's got something up their ass and they're just letting off steam by spewing it at me."
Christina couldn't help it. She laughed. Nathan glared at her.
"What?"
"For a man, you really are naive. Have you ever heard of that expression involving an ostrich and sand?"
Nathan rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, I get your point. Can you tell who sent them?"
"Why don't you do it? I thought you designed computer systems."
"Correction, the company does. I overrun things and make sure it's done smoothly." Nathan looked embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I may have been smart but beyond the simple stuff, computers are beyond me. I don't necessarily know what's going on."
"You're good at passing yourself off as a whiz with electronics."
"I have to. Businesses are dog-eat-dog. Give a competitor the slightest weakness and you're gone."
Christina could understand that. If she had a dollar for every time she was kicked about for showing a little weakness for her rivals to prey on she would be a billionaire herself. She turned back to the computer.
"Well, your inability with computers might explain why you haven't looked beyond the simple email addresses."
She tapped a few keys and brought up a new window with a load of code.
"What's that?"
"A little program that runs checks on email addresses." Christina pointed at the relevant bits on the screen. "If you can see this the email addresses are all different, none of them sending more than a maximum of three threats per message. But all the addresses have the same IP address."
"So they were all sent from the same computer." Nathan concluded. "That's about the limit of my computer expertise."
Christina giggled.
"Are you okay? I haven't heard you giggle this much before."
"I'm fine." Christina swallowed her laughter but couldn't stop smiling. "I just find it amusing for a billionaire computer guy you have no idea how to work a computer beyond turning it on."
"Dad was the genius, not me. I just inherited the position he left open." Nathan frowned at the screen. "Can you trace the IP address?"
"Already have done." Christina brought up another window with the details. "Alan Wong, aged thirty-nine. He's a freelance computer technician. Lives in Laurelhurst by the University of Washington."
Nathan grinned. Then he surprised Christina by leaning over her and planting a hard kiss on her mouth. He pulled away before Christina realized what was happening, his eyes seeming to glow with desire.
"Good girl." He straightened up and fished out his cell, which he began tapping into. "I'm going to get Leo over there. See what he can get."
"Shouldn't you be calling the police?"
"Yes, but I'm not going to wait for the police or the FBI. Leo can get over there quicker."
Christina narrowed her eyes at him.
"As long as you don't make Leo do anything illegal."
"Not a chance."
But Nathan's expression said it all. Christina clamped her hands over her ears.
"Don't tell me or I'll be tempted to thump you." She scooted out of her chair and hurried to the door. "I'm going to check on Jack. Be nice."
She could still hear him laughing as she took to the stairs.
*****
Alan Wong lived on North East 44th Street, right at the end of the dead end road. It was a handsome, two-story redbrick house. A white Mercedes was in the driveway. Leo's first impression when he saw the neighborhood was Laurelhurst was too high-end for a freelancer. Yet he owned a house in the high thousands with a flashy car.
Something was fishy here. He had to be getting money from other avenues. Even with computer technicians being in high demand Wong couldn't afford a place like this.
Beside him, Joe Hodgkiss peered up at the house.
"He affords some serious dough to live like this."
"My thoughts exactly."
"Backhanders?"
"No question." Leo checked his gun and tucked his into his jeans, his jacket falling over it. "You go around the back. I'll get him at the front."
They climbed out of the car. Joe went into the trees and disappeared. Leo c
ounted to thirty to let him get in position and went up the steps to the front door. After ringing the doorbell three times he heard the sound of footsteps and the door opened. An Asian man in his thirties peered up at him, squinting behind his glasses. Leo towered over him by at least a head.
"Hello, Alan."
"Who are you?"
"My name's Leo Connor. I work for Nathan Gilmore." He saw Alan's expression twitch, the slight widening of the eyes. "I see the name rings a bell."
"It should." Alan adjusted his glasses. He was wearing a pressed white shirt and smart navy pants, both looking expertly tailored. "I do some freelance work for the company. I go through his sister Jane. Why?"
"Well, he's been getting some threatening emails. Different email addresses but all with the same IP address. My computer whiz traced that address to this place." Leo leaned against the doorframe and raised his eyebrows. "Care to explain that?"
Alan's face went white. He tried to slam the door but Leo stopped it with one arm. He pushed in and watched as Alan ran through the house to the back, disappearing into the kitchen. There was a crash and a scream, after which there was a lot of swearing.
Leo closed the door behind him and walked through the house. Alan was on his front on the floor, Joe kneeling on his back with one of Alan's arms hauled up behind his back. Alan's cursing with making Leo's eardrums melt and he put his fingers in his ears.
"Pick him up, Joe."
Without hesitating, Joe hauled Alan up, Alan still squealing. Joe dragged a chair from the round dining table across the floor and forced Alan to sit down, letting go of his arm. Alan tried to get up but Joe placed a large hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down. Alan glowered but Leo saw the fear. That was good. If you saw fear you could use that against him.
"Okay, Alan, this is what we're going to do." He brought out another chair and swiveled it around, straddling it and leaning his arms on the back. "You talk to us and we'll go away. No beatings. Just a chat. Lie to us or refuse to talk and we'll not only go at you but we'll also inform the FBI and Immigration."
"I'm an American citizen." Alan protested.
Leo knew that was a lie. A call to the right place had dug up some interesting information on Alan Wong.
"You say that but I have a friend in Immigration." 'Friend' for want of a better word. "Your visa expired two years ago, around the same time you purchased this place. You were a professional lecturer back in China but you work freelance so you're under the radar." Leo raised a finger. "All it'll take is just one phone call and..."
"Don't call them!" Alan pleaded. He looked terrified at the thought of going back to his own country. "Please. I don't want to go back. They'll kill me."
"Then you'd better start talking. We're listening." Leo leaned forward. "Who hired you to send all of those emails to Nathan Gilmore?"
Chapter 6
"How many threats have you got now?" Nathan asked.
Christina sighed and sat back. Even with her glasses on, the words were beginning to blur together.
"Two thousand, five hundred and twenty-four. And that's just for the last three months. Do you seriously not filter any of this mail?"
"My security was supposed to do it but it appears they forgot." Nathan grunted. "And I did as well."
He was sitting on the couch, papers spread out across the coffee table. There was not a clear space to be seen. Some of the papers had tipped onto the floor. He was also wearing wire-rimmed glasses as he read through his work, much to Christina's surprise. He didn't seem the type to wear glasses because he needed them. She wondered if it was a vanity thing.
"You have been busy lately." She pointed out. "Being in charge of a company as big as yours must be very tiresome."
Nathan frowned at her but his eyes twinkled.
"You really know how to put people down, don't you?"
"It's in my nature." Christina took her glasses off and placed them on the desk. Then she stood and moved around the desk, sitting on the arm of the couch by Nathan's elbow. "Why don't you give yourself a break?"
Nathan snorted, taking off his glasses.
"I'm not very good at doing that."
"Look, we can't sit here twiddling our thumbs. Leo will call when he's got something."
Even though Nathan had called him three hours before and they had heard nothing back.
"I know." Nathan chucked his glasses onto the table and sat back, resting his head against the back. "I wish I could do something. I don't like feeling helpless."
"And you are doing something. In the last three hours you've spent time with your son and actually got some work done you've had in your in-tray for weeks. That's doing something."
Christina saw the stress lines creasing the corners of his eyes as he rolled his neck and shoulders. The pressure with dealing with too much at once was getting to him. Nathan sighed.
"You're right. I need a vacation."
"Do you know what a vacation is?"
"Probably not." Nathan chuckled. He sat back and looked up at her, reaching up and gently rubbing the back of his fingers against her thigh. "What do you think?"
Christina swallowed. Trying to concentrate on the question when she was being touched like this was not easy.
"It's not for me to say." She said hoarsely. "You do what you think is best."
Nathan grinned, a devilish look coming into his eyes. He stood up, taking Christina's hand and pulling her to stand with him. His eyes were ablaze as he stared down at her.
"I can think of something I can do."
"What?"
Christina was expecting something slow and romantic. So she was surprised when Nathan grabbed her and hauled her against his body. She gasped and tried to push away, freezing with Nathan ground his cock against her. She closed her eyes and moaned. Then Nathan swooped in and kissed her. His tongue dived into her mouth and toyed with her tongue, not even caring at this point that what she was doing was not a good idea.
Christina whimpered and kissed him back. She grabbed his t-shirt, bunching it in her fists, and rubbed her hips against his.
Nathan pulled away and stared down at her. His eyes were at half-mast, his mouth swollen and his cheeks flushed. His pupils were so big they nearly made the color of his irises disappear.
There was no denying he wanted her. That was plain enough to see. Christina swallowed, her pulse fluttering in her throat. The room had suddenly got so warm she was starting to feel constricted in her clothes.
"I told you we shouldn't get involved." She reminded him. But this time it didn't sound convincing.
Nathan snorted.
"You can keep saying that but you can't deny what there is between us." His hands went down to her backside and squeezed. "I'm fed up with fighting."
Christina decided it was futile. She needed to fuck him now or die of the need. This might be the only time she got to sample how good this man was when it came to sex. She wasn't going to miss this chance.
"So am I." She whispered against his mouth.
She tugged on his shirt and pushed him towards the couch. Nathan sat down and watched as Christina spread his thighs to kneel between them. She ran her hands up his bunched muscles to his cock, which strained against the fly of his jeans. She tentatively rubbed it through the denim with her fingers, feeling Nathan buck up against her hands.
Seeing what effect she had on him, Christina grew bolder. She gripped him firmly with one hand and the other slowly went to his zipper, undoing the button with a flick of her fingers. She pulled down the zipper, her eyes wide when she saw his cock tenting his boxers. He was huge. Her mouth watered.
Urging Nathan to lift his hips, Christina tugged down his boxers. Her mouth fell open when she saw his cock. She only had Clint to compare to but she did know that Nathan's cock was longer than most. And wider. Her pussy tightened, eager to swallow it inside her.
Christina put her hand around his cock and watched as Nathan hissed and bucked his hips. He was watching her with a
hungry look under hooded lids. God, he was gorgeous. Christina ran her hand down his cock, pulling back the foreskin and revealing the large head.
"Take your shirt off. Now."
Nathan grinned.
"Damn, where was this seductress hiding?"
"She was always there. She just didn't want to come out and play."
Christina leaned over and blew gently on the head, flicking her tongue quickly over the slit as pre-cum leaked out. It tasted good. She smiled wickedly up at him.
"And she really wants to come out and play now. But only if you strip."
Nathan didn't need to be told twice. In an instant he tugged his t-shirt over his head, tossing it onto the floor. Christina felt light-headed seeing his bare chest for the first time. Seemingly carved out of marble, every muscle was etched to perfection. He looked like an Adonis. An Adonis about to lose control if the strained look on his face and the clenched hands were anything to go by.
Christina had never known anything like it. Clint had been a satisfying lover but Christina knew she had to just crook a finger and he came running. With Nathan it felt wilder, more animalistic. And she liked it.
Bending over, she licked over the head of his cock and then along the shaft, his skin feeling smooth under her tongue. Nathan groaned and Christina felt a hand in her hair, massaging her scalp.
"That's it, Chris. That feels really good."
Christina licked her tongue from root to tip, pumping him slowly with her hand. The hand in her hair tightened.
"God, that's fucking good." Nathan drew a harsh breath. "How long has it been since you had a cock in that pretty mouth of yours?"
Her pussy contracting at the dirty talk, Christina glanced up. Nathan was looking at her with a hungry look that soaked her panties. He did something to her that made her feel very naughty.
"Three years." She whispered. "Since before my husband died."
She hadn't been able to bring herself to have another lover. No one could compare to Clint. She had never been interested.
Until now.
Nathan groaned.
"You haven't had sex for three years?"
"No."
"Would you like to stuff your mouth with my cock?"