Troubled Paradise (Gray Tower Book 2)

by J. M. Brister

  “Well, here’s some good news for you: Carr has given me the run of the place to do my security assessment.”

  Her faced brightened.

  “Oh! That’s great! When can we start snooping?”

  “After lunch, if that’s okay with you. My only worry is that us walking around together would arise suspicion.”

  Kat thought for a moment and said, “Since Veronica thinks we’re all googly-eyed for each other, tell anyone who has an issue with it that I insisted on tagging along, so we could spend more time together.”

  “That could work,” Jack admitted. “Sounds like a plan.”

  There was a part of him that wanted her to be googly-eyed over him instead of always looking mildly annoyed. Okay, sure, he did tend to be annoying sometimes, but that was just his way of bantering. She obviously wasn’t the type to adore his charm.

  Maybe he should attempt to be nicer? You know, as a way to connect with a work colleague.

  You are so full of shit, Hunter, he thought as he started to get ready for lunch.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Kat walked nervously beside Jack as they cruised the hallways of Carr’s mansion. She had her laptop as well as a few accessories hidden in a beach bag. To anyone there, she looked like she was hanging out with her boyfriend. At least, that was what she was hoping, anyhow.

  Jack was given blue prints of the mansion as well as a few other specs. Carr’s office would be the best place to start, but it was the most dangerous to do. They would skip there for now. What did look promising was a few suites that had been converted to office spaces.

  They decided to start there first.

  Jack had grabbed her free hand and was holding it as they walked, which was already giving her mini panic attacks. She had almost lost it earlier when he had seen her in that ridiculous bikini Alex had made her get. Now, he was insisting that he give her the “boyfriend experience.”

  Or, he was trying to give her a heart attack.

  Come on now, Kat. Is the thought of sex with me that bad?

  She had almost lost it when he had said that. Her problem was that she thought about sex with him way too often, though he didn’t know that. Alex had been urging her to do something about it, but Kat just didn’t have the courage.

  Or the looks. Or the body.

  Jack was a gorgeous alpha male who could literally have any woman he wanted. And Kat was some nerdy girl who stared at computer screens all day. She wasn’t sexy, and she certainly wasn’t what Jack wanted.

  Heck, she wasn’t even sure if anyone wanted her unlike Alex, who had to have a special policy in place to keep the guys at Gray Tower from knocking down her door. Kat pouted a bit. She wished she had her own policy. Of course, she was getting jealous and a little petty right now. Perhaps she should just concentrate on the task at hand?

  Jack opened the doors to one of the offices with a key card that Carr had given him. Kat was just relieved that the space was empty when they walked in.

  Closing the door behind them, Jack turned to her and asked, “What all do you need from me?”

  “Just keep an eye out for me,” she said as she pulled out her equipment from her bag.

  She surveyed the desk and surrounding area and noted a closed laptop on the desk that was most likely just using wireless as only the power cord was plugged in. The only wireless network available was not the one she wanted.

  Kat looked below the desk and along the walls and did find some network cabling that ran to the wall. She took out her laptop and plugged into the ethernet connection. It took a few minutes to do some digging before she decided that she indeed hit the jackpot. This was what she was looking for.

  “How are we doing?” Jack inquired from where he was standing at the door.

  “Good. Just from what I’m looking at, Carr was paranoid about outside attacks, so he kept this network apart from everything else. However, if you are physically here, it’s a breeze to get in and start tinkering around.”

  “Great. I’d like to get this part over with as soon as possible.”

  Some more time went by and Kat had already run a few scripts that had bypassed the cursory security measures. She had an admin account within a few more minutes after that. Bingo! Orson Carr may have built Cypherus to its glory, but whoever did his networking here sucked.

  Kat found one server and proceeded to start the download process to her laptop. There was a lot, so it would take a while. She glanced up nervously at Jack.

  “It’s going to take some time,” she told him. “It’s transferring quickly, but there’s just a lot of data here.”

  “Understood. How much time are we looking at here?”

  “Maybe thirty minutes,” she said, watching the progress from her laptop.

  “Oh, hell,” Jack said with a laugh. “I thought we were talking hours here.”

  Kat had to laugh.

  “No, this isn’t the dark ages anymore. Looking at what’s stored on this server, it’s a bunch of smaller documents—just a lot of them.”

  They waited there together. Kat felt anxious the whole time. Jack’s pacing back and forth by the doorway didn’t help either. Finally, the last of the data was copied over, and they were free to leave.

  “Done!” She said excitedly.

  “Good. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  Kat quickly packed up her laptop and moved everything back into place around the desk. It was only a few moments after that a beep from the key card reader at the door sounded. Someone was coming in.

  Jack had heard it first and stalked across the room so quickly that she had little time to react. He grabbed her, pushed her to the edge of the desk and kissed her.

  She barely had any time to react. One moment, she had been standing there. Another moment, Jack was kissing her deeply, his arms wrapped around her. She let out a soft murmur as he moved his mouth over her, his hard body pressed tightly against her.

  His tongue began to explore her mouth, and she felt lost in the sensation. Her body reacted to him, and she instantly pressed harder against his body.

  Yes. Yes. Yes! She thought in giddy excitement.

  This was finally happening after a year of girlish fantasies. Jack was kissing her.

  Kat was so lost in the kiss that she barely noticed the door opening and a figure stepping inside. Then, she heard someone clearing their throat.

  Jack jerked his head away from hers, ending the bliss. Kat stood there breathless as he turned to look at their visitor. The reality of the situation came crashing back to her. They were in a lot of trouble.

  She glanced at the doorway to see Mr. Westfield staring at them, his face expressionless.

  Uh-oh. She thought.

  “I am so, so sorry to interrupt,” Westfield apologized. “I wanted to get some managerial work done, but I see this room is occupied.”

  Jack took Kat by the arm and steadied her, saying, “Sorry. I just couldn’t keep my hands off this one, so I found a quiet place to—uh—you get the picture.”

  Kat’s heart sank.

  The kiss had just been a diversion. It was a quick reason to give Westfield for why they were in the office. He hadn’t really meant it.

  Of course, he hadn’t, she thought bitterly. You’re not his type.

  “Understandable, Mr. Hunter,” Westfield said. “Now, if you are done, I’d like to use this space.”

  “Yep,” Jack said. “Let’s go, sweetheart.”

  Kat was barely able to grab her bag before Jack half-led, half-pulled her out of the office and down the hallway. He didn’t stop until they got back to their room.

  When the door was firmly shut, he turned to her and said, “I’m sorry about…that. It was the only thing I could think of when Westfield started to come in. I know you didn’t sign on for that when you agreed to come on this mission. I’m sorry.”

  Kat just stared at him, feeling hurt. She wasn’t sure why. His reasons for kissing her were solid. She was glad that he had thought tha
t quickly. But it still hurt somehow. She had wanted it to be real. The way he had kissed her had just rocked her world, and it had apparently meant nothing to him. That was too bad.

  “It’s okay,” she finally said. “I need to go and upload all of this data to Gray Tower.”

  Jack nodded and said, “Go do your thing. I’m going to get working on the security plan for this mission.”

  Kat grabbed her laptop as quickly as she could and dashed into the sanctuary of her bedroom. When the door shut, tears involuntarily began streaming down her face. Why in the world was she crying over this man? He hadn’t promised her anything. He hadn’t acted interested in her at all. Why get all upset about it?

  Maybe because she had gotten a glimpse of what she had wanted for so long? And it had been snatched away from her before it even began.

  Chapter 8

  The rest of Jack’s day seemed to go in slow motion. He spent the rest of the afternoon trudging through parts of Carr’s mansion, making notes, and working on a write-up for him. Then at dinner, he shoveled food into his mouth, but he didn’t taste it.

  Kat was on his mind, and he couldn’t fucking get her out, no matter how hard he tried. What the hell was wrong with him?

  That one kiss had sent him overboard, and what was worse was the fact that she seemed to enjoy it just as much as he had. Now, the possibilities were spinning through his head.

  Jack could fuck her.

  He now knew that she wanted it as bad as he did. That much had been obvious by the way she had responded to him. However, that would create a complicated working relationship. Plus, she was the type who you brought home to mom, not one that you could fuck and forget.

  So, in that case, he could ignore her and beat a couple out in the shower. That wouldn’t be as satisfying, but it would at least keep her from getting hurt. He certainly didn’t want to do that to her. She was special to him—in a brotherly way, right?

  That is a bunch of bullshit, and you know it, Hunter.

  After dinner, they went back to their suite. Kat immediately went to her room and shut the door. Maybe he had misread the situation, and she was pissed at him for kissing her? The moan she had let out when he put his tongue in her mouth made him think that maybe she wanted more. Perhaps that was just an involuntary reaction to the kiss?

  Jack let that dwell for a while as he worked on his report. He had a ton more to do, so he did that for about an hour. His head really wasn’t into it. He had a hard time focusing on anything that wasn’t about Kat.

  Finally, he couldn’t stand it any longer and decided to “check in” on her. She was being too quiet. Plus, he wanted to see how her progress had gone on the upload to Gray Tower. She was using the secure satellite connection to Gray Tower that they used for Internet when on a mission. Data came fast when downloading but was a bear to upload.

  Jack knocked on her door a few times, but he heard no answer. He knocked again and then turned the doorknob slowly, peeking in the room.

  Kat sat there on her bed, legs crossed, with her laptop out in front of her. She was in an oversized t-shirt and shorts, and she had popped out the contacts she had been wearing. Now, she had on her goofy black-rimmed glasses. A pair of noise-cancelling headphones were on her head.

  There was the Kat he knew. This new version with the sexy outfits just didn’t fit her. As much as he enjoyed Kat the sex kitten, he kind of preferred the geeky version.

  Go figure.

  Her eyes flicked up at him, and she startled a bit when she saw him.

  Pulling off her headphones, she asked, “What are you doing in here?”

  He sauntered over to the bed, trying to look casual, though his heart felt like it was beating through his chest.

  “Just checking on you.”

  “I’m fine. Now go away,” she said dismissively.

  Jack wasn’t going to cave that easily.

  He walked over to her and sat down next to her on the bed. She tensed but said nothing. Glancing at her screen, he had to laugh.

  “Are you serious?” He asked as he watched her play one of her video games. “You go to a tropical paradise, and here you are playing games.”

  She immediately minimized it, shut the top of her laptop, and put it on her bedside table. A glare crossed her face, and he started to wonder if he should be pestering like he was, but he figured she needed pestering.

  “What do you want, Jack?” She asked, sounding annoyed.

  “I just wanted to see how you were doing with—you know—the mission and all. It can get stressful, even with an easy one like this. And this is your first time out in the field, popping your cherry so to speak.

  She stiffened but didn’t take the bait. A pity.

  “Everything just finished uploading. Miles knows. He’s very pleased. I sent you an email. Didn’t you get it?”

  Jack took his phone out of his back pocket and sighed when he saw the message on his alerts.

  “Sorry. I was busy with Carr’s security plans.”

  She nodded and looked away from him, staring at the floor. Was this his cue to leave?

  Jack watched her closely. Kat had her hair tucked behind her ears all cute-like. He loved seeing her relaxed and in her natural element, even if that meant those stupid games she always played. Jack decided that he should probably leave when his arm bumped into something.

  Turning where he sat in the bed, he patted the covers and found a lump. Then, he pulled the covers back and found a well-worn teddy bear. It was brown and the fur was roughed up like it had had years of use.

  He laughed.

  “No!” Kat exclaimed, grabbing the bear from his hand.

  “A teddy bear? Seriously, Kat. I’m surprised. It’s a little childish. Don’t you think?”

  “Go away,” she demanded firmly, tears filling her eyes.

  She looked pretty damned upset, and he immediately regretted teasing her.

  Wait.

  That hadn’t been his intention. He’d just wanted to joke around a bit, lighten the mood a little. She wasn’t supposed to start crying. Why was she crying?

  Oh, hell.

  Alex’s words from before they left echoed in his mind.

  Just swear to me that you won’t make her cry, or I will come down on you so hard that you’ll wish you weren’t employed here.

  Jack supposed he already screwed up on that. He just always ran his mouth like that. That was kind of his thing, fun banter and whatnot. Now, how could he fix his mistake?

  “Hey, Kat look…”

  “Just go away,” she said, tears now streaming down her face. “I can’t take it anymore.”

  “Take what?” He asked, his voice softening.

  “You!” She exclaimed. “Please, just leave me alone. I’m tired. I’m going to go to bed. Goodnight.”

  Something stirred in Jack as he realized that Kat didn’t respond to his sense of humor. She was too sensitive. That wasn’t a bad thing, but he was going to have to change his approach. He didn’t want to make her cry again.

  What would she respond to? Hell, he only knew one thing that had made her light up and that was when he had kissed her.

  No, don’t do it, he told himself. Don’t you dare do it.

  Jack leaned in close to where she sat on the bed, cupped her face, and kissed her.

  At first, she seemed shocked and sat there stiffly, but after a few moments, she melted. He deepened the kiss, lust shooting through his body right to his groin. Kat responded, a small sigh escaping her lips. His tongue found the inside of her mouth, exploring it with slow, agonizing strokes. She tasted so damned good, and all he wanted was more.

  However, he wanted to make sure that she was on board with this because he knew that if he went down this path, he would end up fucking her senseless. He pulled away from the kiss and studied her. She looked so fucking beautiful right now, but her expression looked confused.

  “Jack, what are you doing?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.


  He gently pulled off her glasses and set them aside. Then, he slowly wiped a tear from her face.

  “Apologizing,” he told her as he leaned in to kiss her again.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  This is really happening, Kat told herself over and over again. Jack is actually kissing me.

  It was her fantasy come true.

  He had gently pushed her down on the bed so that she was laying underneath him. His hard body covered the length of her as he continued to kiss her. She kissed back, welcoming the delicious sensations that came with Jack’s mouth on hers, his tongue meeting hers.

  Kat left out a soft moan as his kisses trailed to her neck. He nipped at her skin just slightly before moving up to her earlobe and then to the shell of her ear. Jack was usually clean shaven, but he had a five o’clock shadow going that felt amazing on her skin. She felt like she was floating.

  His hands moved down her body, lingering at the hem of her t-shirt. Then, he lifted her shirt and explored underneath. Kat hadn’t been wearing a bra, since she had expected to go straight to bed after getting a bit of gaming in first. She wasn’t expecting company, and she definitely wasn’t expecting to be making out with Jack.

  Calloused hands crept up to her breasts, and she gasped when they found her nipples. She hoped that he wouldn’t notice how inexperienced she was with men.

  Kat was basically in the “barely been kissed” category, despite being twenty-six, though she didn’t want to think about the reasons why she had remained that way for so long. She just hoped that she didn’t embarrass herself in front of Jack, especially after he found Mr. Snuggles.

  Don’t worry about that now, she told herself. Just…enjoy.

  His thumbs circled around her nipples, which had hardened at his touch. This sensation was new to her and was sending shockwaves down her body all the way to her clit. Meanwhile, he continued kissing down her neck until he pulled up his head and slid his hands out of her shirt.

  She was confused for a moment, hoping desperately that he wasn’t going to stop. Then, she watched as he pulled his black t-shirt up over his head, displaying one of the most magnificent male bodies she had ever seen. Kat knew that Jack filled out a shirt well, but she didn’t quite realize what a hunk he really was.