Fascination (5 page)

The name sounded somewhat familiar, but she couldn’t place it—perhaps he’d done business with her father. He was at least third-generation Virginian, she guessed. Idly she wondered what EJ’s initial stood for—most likely his father’s name and his grandfather’s, as well. The initials probably allowed him to be referred to without confusion, a common convention.

EJ’s friendly green eyes—almost the exact same color as hers—shifted from Ian to Sage. He was freshly shaven, crisp and cool regardless of the heat in khakis and a white cotton shirt. He was barefoot, his sandy brown hair neatly cut. He wore a musky aftershave that was pleasant and not overpowering.

Sage ran a hand self-consciously through her messy hair—she must look like a street rat in comparison, though he didn’t give one glimmer of noticing, behavior befitting of a real gentleman. EJ smiled and shook Ian’s hand, stepping back to invite them in.

“EJ, I was hoping you might have time to help me out with something. Something…delicate.”

EJ’s brow creased and he nodded. “Of course. I’ve just fixed a late breakfast—are you two hungry? There’s plenty. I got a little carried away at the market this morning.”

“Sounds good.” Ian locked glances with his friend. “Are you alone?”

“Millie’s upstairs getting dressed. She’ll be down in a few minutes, but she’ll be delighted to see you.”

Ian slanted a skeptical smile, and Sage wondered who Millie was but didn’t ask. Ian guided her ahead of him, his hand impersonal at the small of her back. Sage knew it was a gesture meant to move her where he could keep her in sight, not affection of any kind, but still his touch warmed her skin.

They followed EJ into the kitchen, not saying a word. She wondered what Ian was going to tell EJ about her. She walked to a beautiful cherry dining table, admiring EJ’s taste, and he motioned for her to sit.

“Let me get some food and we can talk.”

Ian sat directly across from her, looking tired and stressed. His blue chambray shirt was rumpled, his gray eyes a little bleary. The sensuous mouth that had brought her such pleasure last night was set into a firm line. He didn’t make eye contact with her but glanced around the kitchen instead, making small talk as EJ carried some trays from the granite counter to the table.

The two men sat at the corner of the table, and Sage sat directly across, observing. Ian appeared rough-hewn
set against EJ’s more refined, gentlemanly manner. Ian’s stone-colored eyes were cold next to the warm ocean-green ones of his friend, but just looking at Ian made her heart race.

The way his black hair fell over his forehead begged her to push it back with her fingers. She knew what he felt like, what he tasted like, and she knew being with him would be heaven with just a little bit of hell mixed in for spice. The memory was still sharp and made her intimate muscles clench slightly as she observed the angles of his face, more distinct with exhaustion, but she remembered how they’d softened when he’d made love to her.

Sage smiled to herself. Soft-spoken, refined gentlemen never had been her preference, much to her mother’s dismay. EJ reminded her of her father a little bit—they had the same aura of the well-bred. Ian was more of a mystery, more of a challenge.

She sighed, thinking of her family more in the last ten minutes than she had in the last week. They’d moved from Norfolk two years ago, wanting to be close to her sister, who had just had twins in Charleston. Sage hadn’t seen them in a while; she wasn’t allowed out of the state.

She missed them sometimes but didn’t know why. Just the sense of something familiar, something she belonged to even though she didn’t exactly fit their mold. Of course, she’d never really tried.

She hadn’t dated many boys and she’d gone out of her way to find ones her parents would be shocked by.
That was part of how she had ended up with Locke, no doubt. But her attraction to Ian was something new. Her parents might even approve of him, though he wasn’t a native Southerner. It was something she would think about later. Right now she was starving.

“Oh, we have company! Ian! It’s been forever!” A sweet, lilting voice cut through Sage’s reverie. A petite, blond and gorgeous young woman entered the kitchen and went straight over to Ian, giving him a friendly hug before moving to EJ’s side. The woman moved gracefully between the men, fresh as a daisy, dressed in a white summer sheath and sandals. This must be Millie. As Millie slipped her arm possessively through EJ’s, Sage spotted the brilliant-cut diamond on her left hand as it sparkled brightly in the sunlight that lit the kitchen. EJ was clearly spoken for. Millie looked curiously at Sage, then back at Ian as he spoke.

“It’s good to see you, Millie. You’re as beautiful as ever,” he said, gracing Millie with a charming smile.

Millie pinkened slightly, and Sage fought the urge to roll her eyes. So this was what Ian was like when he let his guard down for a moment. Sage was speechless. Everything about him had…warmed.

“And who is our guest? Is this a friend of yours, Ian?”

Sage ignored the tightening of her chest as she watched his face change, and as he started to speak, she interrupted. She didn’t know how Ian would introduce her, but she didn’t feel like being publicly humiliated in front of people like EJ and Millie. She stood, push
ing her hand out across the table and taking Millie’s milky white, French-manicured fingers in her own. She remembered how to do the lady handshake, though she despised it. It was so…weak.

“Hi, I’m Sage Matthews. I work with Ian.”

The lie came out smoothly, but for some reason a small crease formed on Millie’s smooth, pale brow. Then it cleared almost instantly.

“So this is a work visit? Well, any friend of Ian’s is certainly welcome anytime.”

She looked at the food EJ was setting on the table. “Darling, I see you’ve outdone yourself once again.” Millie fluttered becomingly and smiled at Sage. “I’m so lucky to have found a man who loves to cook, but whatever the reason, I’m glad you’re both here to help us eat all of this food. I swear, I will be a cow after a year of eating like this.”

Sage highly doubted it, especially as she saw how carefully Millie made her selection from the food assembled before them. EJ accepted her compliment silently, smiling warmly at his fiancée and pulling out her chair, then sitting himself and gesturing to Ian and Sage.

“Dig in.”

Sage didn’t need to be asked twice and loaded a plate up with pastry, fruit and scrambled eggs, eagerly accepting the large cup of coffee EJ handed her. Ian filled his plate, as well, and the rest of breakfast was taken up with small talk about EJ and Millie’s wedding plans. Sage only half listened, concentrating on one of the best breakfasts she’d ever eaten.

Ian kept the conversation centered on the couple and didn’t bring Sage into it. He obviously didn’t want to discuss their business with Millie present, which she was thankful for, no matter the reason. As the small talk faded, they ate quietly and a light tension stretched over the table.

Millie looked at Sage and then Ian. “I know you have business to discuss. I suppose I should make myself scarce.”

Millie was apparently not pleased that Ian was bringing business concerns to EJ’s attention. Sage wondered why.

Ian sighed, standing as Millie stood. “Mil, I do have some things to talk about with EJ, but it’s been so nice to see you again. Don’t let us chase you away from your breakfast.”

Again he turned on the charm, and Sage wanted to gag. Well, not really, but still. Millie smiled and waved her hands at him. Was this the kind of woman Ian liked? The kind of woman he imagined marrying? Sage shifted uncomfortably in her chair, feeling even more grungy than she had when they’d arrived.

“No problem, Ian. I just worry that Ethan works too hard sometimes. But I’m his fiancée, not his mother. I have a lot to do myself and have lingered far longer than I should have. It has been wonderful seeing you again. And it’s good meeting you, Sage. I’ll leave you all to your business.”

It was a polite speech, stiffly delivered. Her disapproval was obvious as she leaned in to kiss EJ on his
smoothly shaved cheek, but no one said a word as she exited the kitchen. EJ looked at Ian in half apology.

“Sorry about that. She gets upset when she even thinks I might be having anything to do with law enforcement again. But it happens from time to time, even now, and she has to accept that.”

“I know. I’m sorry we had to interrupt your morning, but this really couldn’t wait.”

EJ nodded, pushing his plate back. “Tell me.”

Ian explained the events of the last twelve hours to EJ, who listened attentively, nodding and giving Sage the occasional glance.

She realized suddenly, while she listened to Ian explain, that he’d used her name sparingly, only in introducing her to EJ. In fact, he’d not used her name once since he’d shown up at her home.

What was going on in that head of his that using her name had suddenly became taboo? Whatever it was, she didn’t like it. She realized as she pushed her empty plate away that EJ had addressed her. She looked at him, blinking and shaking her head.

“I’m sorry, I was lost in thought.”

EJ just smiled, and she looked into his handsome face, wondering why she had never been attracted to men like him.

“I was wondering if you had any clue as to what might be on that disk?”

She shook her head. “It’s an old zip disk, obviously. Knowing Locke, though, I wouldn’t try to open it on a machine you don’t want to self-destruct.”

“A virus then. That was your specialty?”

She nodded and glanced Ian’s way. “A long time ago. It’s been a while.”

“I looked over some of your files when you were arrested—Ian dropped them by for me, as I sometimes help him out a little with these kinds of things, you understand. There was some nice work there.”

Sage couldn’t help but grin when Ian’s eyes looked as though they would pop right out of his head at EJ’s statement.

“Thanks. But that code wasn’t mine—most of it, in fact, was Locke’s. I never set my bugs loose, I just liked to create them. I was only the delivery girl for that one.”

EJ looked at her, clearly astonished. “You did time for a virus you didn’t even create?”

Sage nodded, shrugging, looking squarely at Ian. “I figured who would believe that even if I told them? It didn’t matter, I set it loose and my fingerprints were all over it.”

“Locke set you up then?”

Sage nodded, and Ian leaned in a little, his voice low.

“I hate to break into this happy little hacker circle, but EJ, while I know as a programmer you might have some technical admiration for the programs Sage created, they were very destructive.”

EJ nodded, his eyes just a little amused as they met Ian’s intense gaze. “Sorry, Ian. It’s just rare you come across that kind of finesse in programming.”

Grimacing, Ian sat back. “And you expect me to be
lieve, after all this time, that you were just set up? That this guy Locke was really responsible for that virus?”

Sage shook her head, no self-pity in her voice. “No, I didn’t expect anyone to believe that, which is why I never said anything. What would have been the point? Locke had seen my code, he knew my style and he’s a much better programmer than I am, so there was no way for me to prove it wasn’t mine. But it’s the truth.”

EJ stepped in before Ian spoke again. “A lot of hackers create viruses just for the fun of it, Ian—it’s not so far-fetched. You can get virus-writing programs right off the Internet, it’s not a secret. I’ve written many in my spare time. The code Sage had was very…mature. I was surprised to find it came from the mind of a twenty-year-old, but now it makes a little more sense.”

Ian interrupted him, still focused on Sage. “You expect me to believe you were completely innocent in all of this?”

“No.” Her voice was quiet. “I wasn’t innocent—I was stupid to get involved with him and I knew there was a virus on that disk. I just didn’t know how bad it would be. Sending it out was like an initiation in the group, proof I would carry through. At the time I liked the idea of being a hacktivist, of making a difference in the world. In a way I still do, though I obviously don’t agree with their methods anymore. But Locke said it was just going to mess up some Web pages in corporate offices—”

“Webjacking?” EJ asked and Sage nodded, continuing.

“It wasn’t supposed to do more than bug up office computers with some politically targeted messages—generally harmless stuff in the scheme of things. At least, that’s what he told me. It’s one of the many reasons I would not be involved with him right now. He lied, he used me and he’s the reason I was arrested.”

“He doesn’t seem to think you minded, according to your note. Does he really think you were so devoted to his cause that you would be willing to take that kind of fall and then he can just catch up with you years later, as if nothing has happened?”

She shrugged and remained silent.

Ian stared at her for another long minute, not saying anything before he dropped back in his chair. The silence at the table remained stultifying for a long moment. When he spoke, he didn’t address her but EJ.

“So you can take a look at this for me?”

Sage frowned. He obviously didn’t trust her to check out the disk and tell him what was on it.

“Sure. I have some victim machines upstairs.”

Ian stood, obviously ready to get to work, and Sage admitted she was impressed. EJ must do some serious programming to have victims—computers that you could use to test programs that might crash them—lying around the house. In her teenage years she’d tested her programs on her own machine and had learned a lot by crashing it, then putting it back together again. She shifted in her chair, uncertain of what her role in all this was.

“Let’s get at it then.” EJ turned to Sage. “You want
to help? I imagine you might recognize what’s on there faster than I will.”

Sage stuttered, unsure of how to answer. Technically she was still under her sentence—she wasn’t supposed to touch a computer. She looked at Ian, waiting for his call. He nodded.

“She can watch what comes up. But I want you at the keyboard.”