Fascination (9 page)

The sailboat he was “borrowing” for the weekend—he’d hacked into the marina’s Web site and made a few “adjustments” so there had been no questions asked when he’d shown up to take it out on the water—bobbed gently on the calm surface of the Chesapeake. It was a clear night, and he’d had no problem at all seeing the cop’s house from his vantage point on the water.

When his LadyBug had bent over the patio rail and let the cop do her, Locke had gone hard himself, all of the passion they’d once shared rushing to the surface. He knew he needed an outlet for it before he went crazy. His voice was rough and commanding, his eyes never leaving the spot where the couple he’d watched was no doubt still going at it even though he couldn’t see anything in detail.

“Candace. Come here.”

He waited for less than a minute, but it seemed like forever, his frustration and anger simmering to a boil. Was LadyBug playing the cop? Or was she playing him? How would he be able to know?

He wouldn’t—not until he met her. Looked into her
face. Buried himself inside her. Then he would know. And if she was playing him…

Candace, his companion for the weekend, stepped beside him. It was more convincing—and less threatening—when he’d shown up to get the boat as part of a couple. The guy working at the marina had handed it over with no problem. Although the paperwork the marina had on file had noted the owner was not slated to pick up the boat for another week, the guy trusted the computer’s online schedule, which said differently. Locke laughed to himself about what a breeze it had been, running his hand along the stern rail—it was some luxury vessel.

He turned to face Candace, raking his eyes over her bikini-clad form as she stared flirtatiously up at him. He’d picked her up on campus; she was effortlessly seduced by a handsome older guy who was looking to party on his private boat for the weekend. She was all of twenty—the same age LadyBug had been when he’d met her. But Candace was far more experienced and sophisticated than LadyBug had ever been. She was happy to use him and was willing to be used, which was convenient.

“I need you.” Reaching forward, he pulled roughly at the thin material of the bikini, ripping it off. She laughed and stepped closer. Kissing her hard, he reached down, freeing his erection. He dug his hands into the ample breasts that she pressed against him, thinking about how she was much larger than his baby girl but satisfying all the same.

Remembering how LadyBug had gone at it with the cop on the patio as he’d watched, her passionate expression as the fed had thrust into her from behind, Locke spun Candace around and pushed her up against the rail, ripping the bikini bottoms off and bending her over, pushing inside where she was already hot and ready for him. Apparently she didn’t need much finesse, which was good. He didn’t want to seduce her, after all, he wanted to screw her.

Candace’s cries of release and enjoyment blurred for him as he closed his eyes, reliving the sight of LadyBug’s ripe mouth formed in passionate cries. He jack-hammered himself into Candace’s tight heat, his breath ragged with the memory. He let all of his anger and frustration pound into the body in front of him and he was barely conscious of the young woman, who was no doubt putting on one of her best performances.

All he wanted to do was release what he’d felt watching someone else have the only woman he’d really wanted for the last five years. As his climax blasted through him, he yelled out over the water, one name repeating through his mind as the pleasure drained him: LadyBug.

S
AGE CLOSED THE DOOR
behind her with a heavy sigh, sagging back against it. God, that was hard. Walking away when all she really wanted was to be with him again. Trying to pretend his pulling away from her didn’t matter. Facing the night alone.

It mattered. But he couldn’t know that. She’d been
saved by the fact that he couldn’t see the shock of loss she knew must have shown on her face. She was grateful she’d had a few moments to compose herself before she’d faced him.

She hadn’t expected it either, the rush of emotions that had swamped her when he’d held her so tightly against him after they’d peaked, his heart thudding strongly against the hollow of her back, his face pressed into her neck. Even if Ian didn’t mean it in an emotional way, how he’d held her meant something. To her, anyway.

But she’d seen the regret in his expression when she did face him—it was clear he wasn’t feeling anything more than that. Not that she had expected more. She knew the score; he’d been straight with her. She knew he was sorry about losing control and she tried to find some satisfaction in that. It’s what she’d wanted, right? To make him lose control? To keep him off balance?

Somehow it didn’t help all that much. He’d lost control, but he’d gotten it back quickly. She hovered on the edge of losing something much more threatening.

Walking to the shower, she shook off the sense of hurt and loneliness. She couldn’t expect him to love her—or even to like her, for that matter. But she could make him want her. She’d driven him to the edge and a tingle formed at the base of her spine when she realized she wanted to do it again.

If all she could have was his body, she could live with that. She had to remember what was important. As long as her freedom was part of the package. Three
more days to go. Three days to be with Ian. Three days to find Locke. Turning a hot stream of water on full blast, she stepped under it and let it wash over her. Three days until her life could begin all over again.

“I
DIDN’T EXPECT YOU BACK
so soon.”

“Yeah, sorry for the late call. I just don’t want to waste time and thought you might have found something.”

EJ nodded and grabbed two beers from the fridge, eyeing Ian speculatively as he stood in the middle of the kitchen pacing like a caged animal.

“Millie’s sound asleep, but let’s go outside, just in case. I gave her the shorthand version this afternoon. I don’t want her getting concerned.”

“Sure. She looks great. The wedding is soon?”

EJ nodded, and Ian thought he saw his friend’s features tense slightly. “Six months.”

“Sounds like she’s neck-deep in preparations and trying to pull you down, too. Did you try to convince her to elope?”

EJ snorted. “Like that would ever happen. This is going to be the event of the year. Damn it, Ian, I think she has white horses or some insane thing like that lined up.”

Ian barked out a laugh and put a sympathetic hand on EJ’s shoulder.

“I’m here for you, man. We’ll have a rockin’ bachelor party—best man duties and all. No white horses, I promise.”

EJ sighed. “Thanks. Where’s Sage?”

“Home.”

“You just left her there?”

“I locked her room. From the outside.”

“Jesus, Ian. That’s kind of a shitty thing to do.”

Ian narrowed his gaze, irked at the response. “What would you know about it, Ethan? You think she’s a goddamn hero.”

EJ cocked his head, appearing unbothered by Ian’s outburst. “No, I don’t think that and you know it. But she’s not hacking anymore and she needs someone to help her get a new start. That really should be your job, right?”

“No, my job is to try to keep her out of trouble and to arrest her if she breaks the law again.”

EJ shrugged. “She is trying to help, after all. There’s no reason to bark at her all the time. You have to admit she’s a pretty little thing and kind of sweet. That red hair—”

Ian might have growled, but he wasn’t sure, as the next moment EJ burst into knowing laughter, setting his beer down on the table.

“I thought so.”

Ian did growl this time. “You thought what?”

“You’re completely gone for her, aren’t you?”

“Hardly. She’s in my custody. Off-limits.”

“Right. But desire, love, all those messy emotions don’t usually play by the rules, my friend. And she is a beautiful woman. Smart, too.”

“I don’t love her, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

EJ nodded, pursing his lips thoughtfully. “Okay. You’ve slept with her, though?”

Ian looked away but nodded. He and EJ had known each other too long for him to lie about it.

“I would hate to be you, man, when you go back there. You sleep with a woman and then lock her in her room and leave? She didn’t strike me as one to take something like that easily.”

“It’s not like that. She won’t care. We have an…arrangement.”

EJ’s expression cooled a little.

“I never knew you to use a woman like that, Ian. Especially one you’re supposed to be protecting.”

The barb hit, and it stuck in a very sore spot. He wasn’t about to let this conversation go any further. Leaving his beer on the table, he met EJ’s gaze head-on.

“I’m not protecting her. I protect society from her.”

“It goes both ways and you know it.”

He did know it and he chose to ignore it. This wasn’t the conversation he’d come here for. “Did you find anything more on the disk?”

EJ’s eyebrows arched at the cool dismissal the change of subject signaled. “As a matter of fact, yeah.”

“What?”

“Bread crumbs. Locke left a path of clues for Sage—little bits of information that were coded into the notations, things that don’t mean much to me but might make sense to her.”

“A location? Where to find him?”

“Maybe. You’re going to have to let her look through it.”

Ian nodded. “Okay. We’ll do it tomorrow.”

“You mentioned earlier today there was something else you wanted to talk to me about?”

Ian blinked, trying to remember. “Oh, yeah. I wanted to ask you to think about joining HotWires.”

EJ was clearly surprised, and it showed.

“The NPD team? But I’m not a cop.”

“You worked for DOJ. You have investigative skills, background. And you have computer skills. I don’t need just any cop, I need cops who can do the stuff you do at a keyboard.”

“Well, yeah, but my work for the Justice Department was a while ago.”

Ian moved forward. “You’re a good lawyer and you’re a magician, EJ, as a programmer. Your experience with fraud investigation would be valuable to the team. You know how to look at code in a ways other people don’t even think about, and I need that. I know you’ve been restless with the family business for a few years now. This could be a good change.”

“Maybe. But I do have family obligations. They’d be pretty ticked if I quit. And to be honest, they’ve needed me here since Dad died. I don’t know how I could work two positions. I could still freelance for you, like I’m doing now. I’m always happy to help.”

Ian shook his head, knowing he was putting EJ in a tough spot, but he wanted to push it. He knew his friend, and not only would EJ be an excellent addition to the
team, Ian knew he hadn’t been happy in the family business for a long time.

“I want you full-time. You were a lot happier when you worked for DOJ. You could do some good work here, EJ. Your skills are going to waste. Your dad’s been gone for a while, the company is on its feet now….”

EJ still seemed to be processing what Ian was asking, and nodded. “Can I think about it? I don’t think Millie will be thrilled with the idea, but I’ll run it by her. I need to at least do that, since my decision would affect her, too.”

“Okay, but you need to decide quickly. I want to get the team up and running.”

EJ nodded, standing, and the two men walked to the back door. Ian stopped in the doorway, looking back at his friend.

“For what it’s worth, EJ, I’m not using her. Not like you think.”

“Then what are you doing?”

Ian shook his head, looking out into the dark front yard, the fragrant flowers on the porch reminding him of Sage’s scent. “Damned if I know.”

EJ refrained from further comment, though his eyes seemed to soften a bit. He put his hand out, and Ian shook it firmly.

“You’ll let me know soon about the job?”

“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”

W
HEN HE RETURNED TO THE
house, Ian didn’t even bother turning on the lights but went directly upstairs.
He unlocked Sage’s door when he passed by her room on the way to his own. Everything was silent; she must have been sleeping for hours now. She wouldn’t have even known he’d locked it.

In a way he felt let down. He was exhausted but wired from no sleep and too much tension and would have felt better if she’d been waiting for him on the other side of the door, spitting mad and spoiling for a fight. He stood outside the door for a moment, shaking his head in self-derision. He wanted her again. Wanted nothing more than to open that door and slip into her bed and her body, emptying himself until there was nothing left. And he knew if he did that, he’d be lost.

S
AGE FELT
I
AN’S GAZE
burning into her skin as she tried to concentrate on the screen. In spite of their passionate lovemaking the night before and the relaxed conversation that had existed for a few precious moments during supper, he was back to watching her as if she was apt to bolt away at any moment. She just tried to ignore him as she worked, but his presence and those looming looks were difficult to block out.

Ian was reading through a report he’d received on Locke—she’d been asking him a question and had seen the e-mail attachment pop up on his computer. She knew the report wouldn’t offer up much. Locke was careful.

Her fingers tapped the keyboard. At first it felt awkward—it had been a while since she’d sat at a computer—but soon her hands flew over the keys and the excitement of it thrilled her. She glanced over her shoulder at Ian. Not that she could let on about how good it felt, especially given the situation and the subject matter. Locke had indeed left her coded messages, broken up like parts of a puzzle and scattered through his notations, and she was trying to put them all together.

EJ had described them as “bread crumbs,” just as in the fairy tale, and that’s exactly how it was. But she felt as if this particular path was going to lead her farther into the woods instead of safely back home. She wrinkled her brow, focusing on the task at hand.

“I’ve got it—the first one anyway. He is giving me locations, but I think they are clues, not the place where he actually is. He wants me to figure it out, to hack my way to him. Typical.”

“Where is it?” Ian was immediately at her side, scrutinizing the screen.

Sage bit her lip, taking a deep breath. The first location was a set of map coordinates that she plugged into a GPS site, recognizing the place immediately. It was a secluded spot where she and Locke had once made love. Where they had first made love. She didn’t want to share that information with Ian, particularly.

“It’s a small, deserted island on the Intracoastal.”

“Do you think he has set up shop there?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s wild land. I’ll have to figure out the other ones to get a whole picture. He’s not just going to come out and tell me where he is, Ian. Locke is never that direct. Besides, he knows someone else could hack the code and find him, so these are just clues not actual locations. It’s probably a triangulation or a puzzle of some kind.”

Ian sighed heavily and paced to the other side of the room. EJ had left them alone, needing to go in to the office for a few hours, and Sage had been chipping away at the code since he’d left.

“How long will it take you to decipher the others?”

“Hopefully not long. EJ did the hard part, finding all the pieces. If he got them all, it’s just a matter of decoding and figuring out what he’s trying to tell me.”

“We don’t have much time. If he plans on setting this virus loose in two days, we need to find him fast.”

Sage didn’t respond but just tapped at the keys more furiously, grumping. She was getting hungry, but Ian never seemed to think about sleep or food—those were afterthoughts. Work was his main priority.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were a robot or something.”

He stood by the window and turned to look at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You never stop. You are so focused on work, you don’t even stop to go to the bathroom or eat. Don’t you ever just get tired?”

“We’re working against the clock here, Sage. I can’t afford to get tired.” He ran a hand over his face, seeming to struggle to remain patient, and then set his hands on his hips, regarding her. “Are you hungry?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll get something. You keep working.”

“Are you going out?”

Maybe her tone was a little too hopeful, because his eyes narrowed and suspicion entered his gaze again. He shook his head. “No. I’m sure EJ has something. Just keep at it. I’ll be in the kitchen.”

Sage’s shoulders slumped and all of a sudden the fun of working through the clues faded. She couldn’t quite
make sense of the moods running rampant over her. That morning, when Ian had told her she was going to be able to work on the code, she’d been excited but nervous. She’d wondered if she’d even be able to do the basics anymore, but that was no problem. It had come back quickly.

And it had been fun, until Ian’s glares and hovering had gotten on her nerves, and then she’d just wanted to be done. That was frustrating. But while EJ had done the grunt work of finding all the encrypted nuggets of code, putting them back together was not only tedious but it gave her time to think, to remember things about her past that were better forgotten.

Locke was playing games with her, toying with her yet again, leading her along like some hapless child. And to be reminded of their affair, of the things they’d done on that island and elsewhere, was deflating. And she’d been down long enough—she wanted to rise up. It wasn’t going to be easy, though, from the looks of it.

Being sandwiched between her past broken up to bits on the screen and Ian’s harsh attitude toward her in the present was getting to her. He hadn’t so much as touched her or even acknowledged what had happened between them since they’d awakened that morning.

Though she hated to admit it, it made her feel cheap. And that made her angry—she didn’t expect wine and roses, but some acknowledgement that she was a human being would be nice. When she’d made a sarcastic comment about it not being necessary to lock
her in her room at night, he’d just looked away. The dismissal had hurt as much as his blatant distrust.

So she had two men dorking around with her, and both of them held her future in the balance. Instead of gaining more control over her life, she just seemed to be spinning more out of control.

She attacked the keyboard with a fury, her fingers flying and her concentration so intense she didn’t even notice Ian setting a plate down at her side.

“Here. Take a break.”

She looked at the fruits, cheese and crackers arranged on the china plate and the sparkling, cold glass of iced tea with the little wedge of lemon and mint. He’d fixed this—for her?

All of her irritation was washed away in her overemotional response to so small a gesture. Sure, he was only feeding her because she complained, and it wasn’t
that
big of a deal, but…God, what was wrong with her today? She felt her eyes sting and wiped her hand across them, hoping he didn’t see.

But he did. As usual, Ian saw everything.

“What’s wrong? I know it’s more of a snack than a lunch, but it will have to do until—”

Sage shook her head, turning around quickly to interrupt. “No, it’s lovely. Really. I guess I’m just a little tense. And this was so nice of you. It almost looks too pretty to eat, you went through such trouble to fix it all so nicely—”

Ian stared at her as if she was losing her mind, which she very well might be. “It’s just fruit, Sage.”

She nodded, feeling more ridiculous by the moment, and reached down to pluck a cherry from the plate.

“It was kind of you nonetheless. I appreciate it. I was starving.”

He said nothing in response as she popped the fruit into her mouth, but she was aware of him studying her.

“And you don’t expect kindness from me, do you?” He ran his hand through his hair. “I guess I can’t blame you. I’ve been a prick of epic proportions lately. I’m sorry about that.”

She shrugged while darting her tongue out to catch some juice that dribbled down when she bit into a slice of peach. “No, you’re not sorry. It’s just your job, right?”

Sage was intrigued by the change in his demeanor. He crossed the room and reached down to pick up some cheese from the plate.

“No, I am. There’s a lot of stress right now, but it’s really not my job to be on your case every minute. You’ve made it clear you’re trying to help. It’s also not part of my job to—”

“Have sex with me?” she said baldly, and he hesitated, then nodded. She could tell he felt uncomfortable with the casual way she’d completed his sentence.

“I just want to get this guy and get this over with. For both of our sakes.”

She took the glass of iced tea, swallowing deeply, trying to remove the hard lump that had formed in her throat. When Ian saw the look on her face, he stepped forward, placing his hand on her arm, forcing her to
lower the tea. Her hand shook as she set it back on the table. What a mess she was.

“Sage, I didn’t mean that how it sounded. Or I don’t know, maybe I did….”

His voice turned oddly gentle, just confusing her more. Why was he being so nice to her
now?
His harshness was easier to deal with.

“It’s okay, Ian, I know the score—”

He tipped her chin up. His mouth was drawn tight, and there was something in his eyes she didn’t recognize, and it disturbed her.

“No, I don’t think you do. You’re tough, Sage, but we both have a lot at stake.”

“I’m not worried about it,” she lied and her breath caught in her chest.

He was silent for a moment and then lowered his head. She sucked in a breath, unprepared for the sudden move. His lips brushed across hers, teasing her. She let out the breath and he captured it, sliding his hands into her hair, nestling her against him while his mouth played over hers in the most tender, seductive kiss she’d ever experienced.

The kiss was undeniably hot, so sexual she simmered as he licked and nibbled, teasing her mouth open so he could explore further. She moaned against him, wrapping her arms around him, pressing herself into him. Of all the things she’d felt today, this was undeniably the best.

His mouth left hers, traveled across her cheek to
nuzzle her ear. She was sure she would come on the spot from the sensations that were shooting through her.

He whispered, “You taste sweet, like cherries, peaches and honey, and all I want is more,” before he returned to her mouth, continuing the same seductive onslaught he had started.

Sage’s head spun. She had no idea what was happening but clung to him, hungry for more of this gentle heat. She felt him harden against her belly and she reached down to stroke him, pushing their embrace toward what she assumed would be the natural progression of things. But he surprised her yet again by capturing her hand and just holding it while he continued kissing her.

When he finally lifted his head, his expression was alive with desire but also softened by a gentler emotion. She had no idea what to do. Finally she spoke, trying to figure it out.

“Do you want to go upstairs?”

Ian shook his head, looking so deeply into her eyes she felt the urge to hide away somewhere and not let him see too much. But instead she stood frozen, looking back at him.

“No, Sage. I want you, you know that. And we’ll probably have each other again sooner rather than later. But I’ve been hard on you. And I guess I just wanted you to know, to realize—” he faltered and glanced away for a moment, looking unsure “—that sometimes it can be tender and good and slow. And sweet. You are worth those things, even though I haven’t shown you that.”

Sage’s head was really spinning. What on earth was he saying to her? What had brought on this sudden change? Was he doing this to confuse her? Throw her off balance?

It was working. She couldn’t think. She stepped away, breaking their eye contact.

“I should, uh, get back to work.”

He nodded. She could still feel his eyes on her when she started tapping at the keys again, but now it was distracting in an entirely different way.

S
AGE SAT BACK IN FRONT
of the computer, effectively erasing his presence. It wasn’t so easy for him—he still wanted to touch her, to continue what they’d started, but he fought the impulse.

Maybe he’d stopped because they were in EJ’s home and his friend’s words about using Sage pricked at his conscience, reminding him that he and Sage could never be together—not really. But also because she was still a woman. And she deserved to be treated like one.

The problem was, when he allowed himself to start thinking like that, other thoughts followed. Dangerous thoughts. Impossible thoughts. Thoughts he hadn’t had about any woman in a long time. Thoughts he couldn’t have about
this
woman.

He saw her back tense slightly and realized he was still staring. All he wanted was to close the space between them and touch her again, but instead he turned away and got back to the report on Locke.

Sarah had been thorough, but there wasn’t much to
tell. Some discussion about his coding at a Web site, nothing too useful. Apparently Locke kept to himself and communicated via a number of pseudonyms, so he was nearly impossible to track.

Sarah had located several bank accounts, none of them showing suspicious balances or any recent activity. There were a few virus incidents, fairly severe ones, that local authorities and hacking groupies attributed to Locke, but no one had any evidence. He read through an FBI report on one of the incidents. The man arrested claimed to have been working with Locke but had no proof. Just like Sage. Ian felt a wave of guilt settle over him.

Locke was sitting quietly, waiting to implement his plan. Waiting for Sage. But Ian was going to make sure that whatever he was up to this time, it wasn’t going to work.

S
EVERAL HOURS LATER
Sage looked up when EJ walked in. Eyeing them, he threw a stack of mail on the table and hung his coat neatly over a chair. He was in full business armor, and while she’d never been one to go for guys in suits, EJ packed a wallop when he dressed up.

She wasn’t one for swooning, but she appreciated a good-looking man when she saw one, especially when her eyes and back ached after sitting at the computer for over eight hours. He was literally a sight for sore eyes. She also looked forward to seeing him because
he was always nice to her. EJ smiled at both of them and took a seat.

“You guys still at it? You’re in the same exact position I left you in. Did you even stop for food?”

Ian nodded toward the empty pizza box on the table, and EJ arched a brow.

“Well, while it may be a stretch to call that food exactly, I guess it’s something. So where are we with the code? Did you find out what those bits were about?” He looked at Sage inquiringly.