by C. J. Miller
When the doors closed, Kit set her hands on Griffin and mimicked the woman who’d been stroking the other man’s bare, hairy chest. “Room forty forty-three is your next stop?”
Griffin stilled her hands. “No, but keep that up and the bed will be.”
Because of a playful touch? She had been kidding around, but he sounded mad. Was he frustrated she had trapped him into this assignment with her? Kit went silent and pressed her hands to her sides. If he didn’t want to be touched, she would respect that. She despised introductory handshakes and hugs, and she understood everyone had boundaries.
When they arrived in their room, she frowned. One small room, two double beds. No privacy. “Can’t we get a suite? Or connecting rooms?”
“I need to watch you. I’ll give you as much space as I can while keeping you safe.”
Griffin set the box he’d been carrying under his arm on the floor. Kit clapped her hands. Her costumes! She couldn’t wait to try them.
She ripped at the packing tape sealing the box shut, but it was hard to open. Griffin pulled a knife, wordlessly moved her hands aside and sliced through the tape.
His first outfit was on top. Faux leather jacket, tight black T-shirt, black jeans and black sunglasses. She held up the pieces to show him. “Do you like it?”
He eyed it. “What is it? I mean, what character does it belong to?”
“Don’t worry. Not a woman or anything. You’re a vampire. More specifically, a dark lord of the fifth realm.”
He arched a brow. “Will there be a quiz?”
She shook her head. If anyone asked him about the game, she could cover for him.
“What about you?” he asked. “Leather, too?”
She shook her head and drew hers out of the box. “You’ll see.” She scampered into the bathroom to try it on. The dress was short, coming about six inches above her knee. The top was as she’d pictured it, high neck and long sleeves. When she was dressed, she opened the door to the bathroom.
Griffin had changed into his costume. Though she’d wanted a reaction from him, her reaction was summed up in a few words: sexy, drop-dead gorgeous god. Griffin was an attractive man. His face was unabashedly masculine with a straight nose and strong jawline. His full lips looked utterly kissable. He looked like he had stepped off the screen of the video game “Dark Rising.” He had the muscles and the tone and the build. Broad shoulders tapered to a trim waist and long legs.
“You look great,” she said, the words coming at a stammer. Their costumes were supposed to help them blend. Griffin would draw attention, at least from the women. He would play a starring role in every woman’s fantasy.
Griffin’s gaze wandered up and down her body, stopping at her legs. “Are we a couple?”
She wished. Like on her best day she could be the girlfriend of a man like Griffin. She wouldn’t know how to handle him and a relationship that involved face-to-face contact and time together in bed. Did their cover at Gamer Con include pretending they were lovers? They were sharing a room. “In the game, your character protects mine. We have an on-again, off-again relationship. It’s touch and go. We are lovers and fighters.”
Griffin blinked at her. “There’s sex in video games?”
Sex crept in, especially in role-playing games. “Staying home on a weekend night to play means a slim possibility of getting laid. Tensions are played out on the screen.”
“I wouldn’t have guessed,” Griffin said, rubbing his chin.
This conversation was making her skin tingle and ache to be touched. Talking about the video game was easy for her, but she didn’t know how to make the discussion of sex cross into real life. Could she tell Griffin she found him attractive, especially dressed as he was? “Are you ready to hit the conference? I have a list of people I want to track down.”
Griffin nodded toward the door. “Lead the way. I’m at your back.”
* * *
His pants were too tight, and his erection was straining to pop out of them. Kit seemed excited about the characters and playing dress-up like it was Halloween, but his body cared only about how good Kit looked in her dress. If he was supposed to be a vampire and she wanted him to stick to his role, he could suck her neck or somewhere she found pleasing.
Knowing the thought was inappropriate and shaking it off, he followed Kit into the elevator. His costume gave him places to hide his weapons. His character was a gun-carrying vampire. Griffin’s were real, but if anyone asked, he would play them off as props.
Griffin slid his arm over her shoulders. She grinned up at him. “In the video game, your character leads mine around by a collar.”
Griffin jolted. “What?” He would slip into this role, but dragging her around by the throat was beyond anything he was comfortable doing.
She laughed. “I’m joking. But you might see stuff like that here. Don’t act shocked. If you were a gamer, then it would be nothing to you.”
Being with Kit, it was hard to ignore the energy and excitement in the air and easy to get caught in the drama.
“Stay close.” He needed to protect her, and she might need to translate or cover for him if they were pulled into a video game conversation.
They paid their entrance fee and entered a huge conference room with rows of vendors selling game products and accessories, new games, comic books, high-tech equipment, energy drinks and bars and an assortment of fan memorabilia.
Most notable were the conference attendees. His and Kit’s outfits fit in with those of the gamers, though Kit’s costume was the most sensual. Not nearly bare breasts and skirt to the ass dimple, but showing enough skin to entice him and leaving something to the imagination.
Griffin ignored the looks she was receiving from other gamers. He didn’t believe that anyone recognized her as Lotus, one of the world’s most famous hackers. He interpreted the looks as interest—in getting her to their rooms. Wouldn’t happen. Kit stayed with him, and he would watch over her.
Did Kit notice their glances? Maybe when she was with her sister the supermodel, she was accustomed to being ignored, but here, away from her sister’s shadow, it was easy for Kit to grab attention.
Kit turned and pressed her face against him. His left arm instinctively went around her, and his right reached for his gun.
He pulled her out of the center of the walkway. “Tell me,” he said.
“I see someone I shouldn’t recognize, but I do.” She looked up at him with the most doe-eyed expression he’d seen in years. How was this innocent-looking woman responsible for a superamped cybersecurity system protecting the United States’ most critical data?
“Tell me who he is,” Griffin said.
“Rezwald. He’s a hacker for hire. He was brought in to break into the Locker during testing. He couldn’t do it while working as a contractor. Once his contract ended, he tried to break in again. For fun. He almost succeeded.”
“You think he’s helping Incognito now?”
“Maybe. Depends how much information Incognito has on the project. Rezwald was a black box tester. Rez didn’t have access to the code or the hardware it ran on, but he had access to the console to break in.”
“You think he broke into the Locker and discovered something?” Griffin asked. Information like that would be valuable to Incognito.
She didn’t move away from him. “Maybe.”
“Would he recognize you?” he asked.
She appeared uncertain. “Hackers knew Lotus was working on the Locker. But my face wasn’t attached to my old alias, and for the past several years, I’ve been Orchid. I also don’t post my picture with that name. I recognize him because I made knowing everything I could about the Locker my business. If I discovered his identity, he could have discovered mine.”
“We won’t take chances. I’ll alert Connor that he’s here an
d ask him to send someone to keep an eye on him. Let me know if you recognize anyone else related to the project.”
Griffin sent the information to Connor. As they walked through the booths, Kit seemed tense. He didn’t blame her. While this place was ripe with people they could use for their team, it was also thick with wanted criminals and threats to their safety.
* * *
Kit’s breasts were rubbing against the vampire costume. It was a little tight through the bust, which provided good support, but it was also making her aware of her desire for Griffin. The hem of her skirt brushing against her thighs added to the effect. Feeling feminine and sexy in Griffin’s presence was a dangerous thing.
He was experienced with women. He knew how to seduce a woman. Without a keyboard in front of her, Kit was lost.
Seeing Rezwald had shaken her. He could know who she was. After all, she knew his face even though she wasn’t supposed to. She had been assured that no one would know she had worked on the Locker, yet her identity had been uncovered by Incognito. Who else knew Kit Walker was Lotus?
As they passed one of the vendors, a man shoved a small black ticket into her hands. “You look like a couple who enjoys having fun.”
The man eyed her and Griffin with equal interest. Glancing at the ticket, Kit almost handed it back to him. She wasn’t interested in Ménage-Play, a rave held every year during Gamer Con, but off the premises. It wasn’t an official event sanctioned by the conference. Too many incidents in years past made Gamer Con distance itself from Ménage-Play: drugs, drinking to excess, sex acts on the dance floor, fights and police involvement.
Griffin took the ticket and nodded his thanks.
“What’s this?” he asked as they wandered away. “Ménage-Play?”
“A rave,” she said. “I haven’t attended, but according to rumors, it’s a party with music pulled from video games and remixed. Very intense.” Lots of half-naked people gyrating and grinding on each other and looking to play out fantasies they’d had while gaming.
“Will any of the people you want to speak with be there?” Griffin asked.
“Maybe.” She had some gamer friends who talked about the yearly rave like it was the mecca for sex.
“Then we’ll go.”
Kit shook her head. “It’s not my scene.” Being touched by strangers made her uncomfortable. Actually, that wasn’t the right word. Being touched by strangers panicked her.
“What are you afraid will happen?” Griffin asked.
“Lots of stuff could happen,” she said. She lowered her voice. “People have sex in the open in front of other people. That’s not my thing. And the drinking and the drugs are crazy. If any of my friends are there, they wouldn’t be in a state to talk about a serious matter.”
“Under the influence, people will let their guards down,” Griffin said.
Even so, screaming over music and being mashed against sweaty, oversexed people wasn’t her idea of fun.
“We wouldn’t have to partake in any of the substances,” he said.
“If you want to go, then go. I’ll stay in our hotel room.” She was offering because he wouldn’t leave her. Let Connor West send someone else to Ménage-Play if he wanted to know more about it.
“We’re staying together. We’re going to this rave.”
Kit frowned. “Why do you want me to go so badly?”
“We have limited time to find the people you’re looking for. You admitted they might be there. We have to take every opportunity.”
She couldn’t imagine herself at a rave. “Did you see me at my sister’s birthday party?” Which had been a million times tamer, at least until Griffin and the Incognito gunmen had arrived.
“I saw you.”
“If you saw me, you know I don’t socialize well. I was uncomfortable. How will I feel at a rave?”
Griffin put his arm around her. “I’ll be with you. I won’t leave you all night.”
Kit sighed. He looked at her in a way that made it impossible to say no. Nothing about this or the Locker had been easy for her. They could attend and leave if she couldn’t handle it. “Guess we’re going to a rave.”
* * *
Ménage-Play was as crowded and hot and insane as Kit had imagined. The party was taking place in a rehabbed warehouse downtown, about two blocks from the hotel. The area was divided into three spaces, each blaring music and a thump that hurt her head. A hallway extended away from the main rooms. Kit assumed the hallway was lined with rooms for those looking for an intimate, but private, experience.
Griffin was pressed behind Kit, and a young blonde woman wearing a silver bikini was grinding into her. She had hair to her waist, and it curled at the ends like ocean waves.
Kit tried to move away. In the crowd, it took a full minute to shuffle three inches. The woman giggled when Kit was out of the way. Silver Bikini reached for Griffin and pressed her hips against his, leaving no question what she had in mind. It was the same thought every woman had when she saw Griffin. He looked incredible tonight, still wearing part of his vampire costume, the tight black T-shirt and dark jeans. He had removed the leather jacket and sunglasses, but the outfit worked on him.
Kit had known this would happen. She had no interest in standing by while women ground their half-naked bodies against Griffin. It was hard for him to blend. He was a head taller than most of the men and broader across the shoulders.
Should she put more distance between them? Should she tell Griffin it was okay if he wanted to leave with one of the women eyeing him?
To her surprise, Griffin pivoted away from Silver Bikini and instead put Kit in front of him. He didn’t even look at the other woman with longing. Shock rippled over her and following on its heels was a jolt of happiness. Griffin had picked her.
The music volume made conversation impossible. The rhythmic thumping vibrated her. Someone passed by her, brushing against her, a hand lingering on her leg. She wished she had changed from her vampire outfit into pants that covered more of her.
She wanted to go home. Kit moved toward the door. Griffin grabbed her hand and asked her something, but she couldn’t hear him over the music. He brought his mouth close to her ear, but even then, she made out only disjointed syllables.
Griffin turned her to face him. He positioned his big body around her and she instantly felt safe as if sectioned off from the crowd. In the circle of his arms, no one else touched her. Griffin ignored the women who pounded against him with their curvy hips and big beach-ball breasts. His eyes were on her and only her.
He was forgoing sex to watch over her. She was the focus of his absolute attention. Her skin tingled with awareness, and desire enveloped her. Was she misreading him, or was he into her? This was one area of her life where she had little experience. If she could have called Marissa, she would have. Marissa would know. When it came to men, Kit didn’t trust her own instincts.
After almost wrestling her hormones under control, the song changed, and Griffin put his hands on her shoulders. For a man who seemed uptight much of the time, he could dance. His fluid motion, as if the music were part of him, had her moving with him. She closed her eyes and followed the rhythm of his body.
As they danced, Kit pretended she was the video game character Liliana Sole, vampire and soul collector, and Griffin was Clash, her lover, her soul mate, the man she was meant to be with forever and who would protect her until the end of time.
What would that feel like? To have a man like Griffin infatuated with her? Infatuation had a negative connotation, but if it was in a reciprocal, must-have-each-other way, couldn’t that work? Her sister had a long series of relationships with men who were obsessed with her. They’d profess their love; they’d shower her with gifts, attention and affection. They would watch her move through a crowd as if she were the single most fascinating creature in exi
stence.
Kit had been jealous of that attention and had wished for a man to look at her that way. Griffin was watching her, perhaps not with lust and longing, but with something akin to desire, and she felt powerful.
Her sister’s relationships didn’t last. They burned too quick and too hot and flamed themselves out. The key to a happy relationship might have been finding that sizzling, spicy love and building a foundation under it.
Kit wanted a man to send her flowers, take her to dinner and buy her a drink, dating rituals she had heard of but hadn’t experienced. Her skin felt flushed, and her palms itched to reach for Griffin. This might be the only chance she had to touch a man who looked like him. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—run away, and while the possibility of rejection was high, she could claim she had lost herself in the music.
She rubbed against him harder, lust humming in her veins. She squeezed his biceps, feeling the roped muscle beneath the tight skin. Leaning forward, she brushed her chest against his, her nipples feeling sensitive to the point of pain.
Griffin had his hand on her lower back, and the state of his erection left no question that he was turned on. By her? By the experience?
A woman in a red devil costume extended her hand to Griffin, a purple pill in her palm. Some designer drug, likely used to heighten sensation. Griffin shook his head, as Kit knew he would. The woman shrugged, smiled and popped the pill in her mouth. Kit had never taken illegal drugs. She was too afraid of what they would do to her or what she would do under the influence.
Griffin put space between them, and she felt the loss of the connection in her gut. She was jolted out of her fantasy realm and fell hard into reality. She was a nerd being used by the government, again, for her computer skills and her connections. Griffin had been coerced, by duty or guilt or maybe the promise of a big payday, to look out for her. Believing his motives lay anywhere else was deluding herself.
Kit gestured to the door and made a sign of pleading. She couldn’t talk to anyone this way, and she wanted to leave. She was overheated. She wanted a drink and didn’t trust anything the bar served.
