Fascination

by Samantha Hunter

  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.

  SAGE 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.

  SEVERAL 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.

  “I think I have it.”

  Both men came forward to see what was on the screen. Ian looked tired, she noticed. Not that he would admit it.

  “Have what?”

  “Locke’s location. Or at least the spot he seems to be leading me to.”

  “Where?”

  “There’s a college bar near Virginia Beach, the Blue Shark. You wouldn’t know it, it’s just a local dive. We used to go there all the time because you could stay all night, drink on the cheap and no one really paid attention to what you were doing.”

  “And you think that’s it? Can you be sure?”

  “As sure as these clues have led me to believe. So now I guess all I have to do is meet him, right?”

&
nbsp; EJ spoke up. “It doesn’t seem like a great idea for you to go in there alone. He could be dangerous.”

  Sage arched an eyebrow. “Well, I’m the one he’s contacting—and I can tell you he wouldn’t like me showing up with another guy. Besides, if he knows about my sentence, where I am, then he knows about Ian. It’s not exactly a secret that you’ve run my life for the last five years. So how else exactly do you plan to get close to him? You have to rely on me.”

  “Is there any way to tell from those clues what he wants?”

  Sage’s face flamed and she broke eye contact. She had a pretty good idea what Locke wanted with her and how he would expect her to show her loyalty. She didn’t have to say another word, and Ian stiffened.

  “He’ll want you to sleep with him.”

  Sage nodded.

  “Are you willing to do that?”

  Tension crackled in the air, and Sage met Ian’s eyes, her voice steady though she felt as if there was an earthquake going on inside of her. “No. But there has to be a way around it. We can stall him somehow. Though resuming our…old relationship—or at least leading him to believe we will—might be the only way to get him to take me to where the main computer is.”

  Ian was silent, staring out the window. A storm was rolling in, and a huge bolt of lightning sizzled through the sky. The loud clap of thunder that followed didn’t even make him blink.

  “Ian?”

  He turned his head back to look at Sage, his eyes intense. Sage could tell he was forming a plan.

  “I think you’re onto something with leading him on. This guy has an ego the size of Godzilla, right?”

  Sage snorted indelicately. “Bigger.”

  “That’s his weakness. And you—and the fact that he wants you in his bed. But what if you were to offer him something even better?”

  Sage blinked, unsure what he meant. “Like what?”

  “Two of you—two beautiful women, ready to meet his every desire.”

  Sage’s forehead furrowed. She couldn’t see exactly where Ian was heading with this, but it was sounding kind of kinky. He turned to EJ, excited.

  “I know a woman—Sarah Jessup—a knockout and a crack programmer. She’s helped us out a lot, and I’ve been thinking about adding her on as a HotWires investigator. She could go in with Sage, pretending to be a new friend, and that would protect Sage from having to go back with Locke right away. The two women could offer to meet him at his house. You and I could follow.”

  EJ perched his chin on his tanned, groomed fingers, nodding thoughtfully. “Could work. What man is going to refuse an offer like that?”

  Sage chimed in. “Locke is paranoid to a degree you can’t even imagine. He won’t trust anyone new, no matter how much of a knockout. He won’t even trust me.”

  Ian smirked. “I think you are underestimating the male libido and the fantasy of having two women at the same time, sweetheart. Besides, he’ll probably assume he has it all under control. His type always does.”

  Rain started pelting the windows, and EJ stood, speaking to Ian.

  “This sounds like a workable plan, but you’d have to get your girl—uh, Sarah, was it?—up here by tomorrow. Possible?”

  “Yeah. She’ll do it. I’ll call her, but I’m sure she’ll do it.”

  Nodding, EJ cast a glance at the clock on the wall. “It’s going to be a late one tonight then. Why don’t you call her and make arrangements and you two can stay here tonight, and Sarah can meet us in the morning. There are bound to be some red-eye flights available from the city to here. I can pick her up.”

  Ian nodded. “I’ll call her now, set it up.” He met Sage’s eyes, and she marveled at how his tired look had changed, sparked by the excitement of the hunt. Sage realized that Locke and Ian were in some ways different sides of the same coin: both driven to control whatever situation they were in and both predators at heart. And both had been able to breach her defenses. The thought made her shiver as he continued.

  “You’re willing to go along with this? You’re going to have to convince him that you and Sarah are friends—friendly enough to want to get into bed with him. But EJ and I won’t be far away and we’ll be monitoring the whole thing. We won’t let anything go wrong. All we have to do is bring him down and get to that computer in time.”

  Sage looked up and met his eyes calmly. “I’m ready. I can do it.”

  Ian nodded. “Let’s get to work, then.”

  HOURS LATER THE WOMAN named Sarah was on her way to Norfolk, and Ian had left EJ’s to return to the office to get some surveillance equipment. Sage was a little surprised he’d left her there on her own. She supposed EJ was acting as watchdog. Sitting curled up in a comfy chair by the window, watching the storm ebb, Sage was so wired she was unable to even think about sleep. She didn’t hear EJ come into the room behind her.

  “How about a drink? I make a mean martini.”

  She looked up and smiled. “I’ve never had a martini.”

  “You’re in for a treat then.”

  While EJ worked some magic at the marble-topped bar that was tucked into the corner of the room, Sage sighed and bent down to look through a stack of books—no, not books, photo albums—that were piled on a shelf near her chair. Picking one volume up, she looked at EJ as he approached her with their drinks.

  “Is it okay if I look at these?”

  “Sure, that volume has no embarrassing naked baby pictures, so feel free,” he said, placing her martini on the table and then sitting across from her in an old leather wing chair.

  Sage chuckled and took a sip of her drink, rolling her eyes back at the spicy taste of the drink. “Oh, this is marvelous. Do all martinis taste like this?”

  EJ smiled proudly. “No, just mine. There are a lot of different martinis nowadays, but this one is a classic—except for the secret ingredient I throw in.”

  “Really? What is it?” She took another sip and felt more relaxed by the moment.

  “Well, that’s a secret.”

  She grinned. She felt so at ease around EJ, it was nice. “Hmm. Where’s your fiancée tonight?”

  “She’s staying at her mother’s until tomorrow. Some wedding preparations seem to take more energy than my feeble male mind can imagine, and they expect to be awake long into the night.”

  Sage grinned. “Sounds like it will be quite the event. My sister’s wedding was like that.” Sage leaned forward as if sharing a funny joke with EJ, who chuckled when she said, “She had swans. A dozen of them. Can you believe it? For the pond in the background of their pictures. Of course, no one could get near the pond because of the, uh, swan poo.”

  EJ chuckled, but Sage thought he seemed slightly uncomfortable all of a sudden, as if she had brought up something he would rather not discuss. Odd, she thought, for a man about to be married not to want to talk about weddings, but she turned her attention back to the albums.

  Paging through the carefully preserved photos, she asked questions, commented on clothes and the striking people who filled the volume, listening with rapt interest to EJ’s explanation of each picture she pointed out.

  Their drinks were empty, and he pulled his chair a little closer, pointing to a man in a black-and-white photograph standing beside a huge boat on the shores of the Elizabeth.

  “That’s my granddad. Standing by the first boat his factory ever made in 1901, that tug. It’s still going, though they just use it for river tours now. He progressed onto much bigger ships, and fast.”

  “He’s so handsome. You resemble him—but I’m glad you don’t have the mustache.” They laughed and she inquired further. “So you work for your family’s business? Have you always?”

  He sighed. “Feels like it sometimes. But no, I didn’t work here always. I studied law in college, like Dad and Granddad, but I started out working for the government as an investigator with the Department of Justice.”

  “Why’d you quit?”

  Sage watched his features tense, and he looked down at the
pictures while he spoke. “Well, it’s complicated. You know the old South—family and tradition mean everything. My family wasn’t happy with me not returning here and going right back to work for the business, but they were patient about it. Then my dad died unexpectedly. Heart attack.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry. That’s awful.”

  “Yeah. I miss him. He was a great guy—driven but a real family man. He wanted lots of grandchildren, and I hate that he didn’t live that long. My sister and I are late bloomers, I guess.” He smiled to himself and sighed before continuing. “As the oldest and only boy, I was expected to come right home and fill the gap.”

  “And you did.”

  “Yes.”

  “What do you do?”

  “A mix of things, whatever’s needed—chair the board, dabble in the legal work. I have implemented an entirely new computer system company-wide. That’s been my greatest accomplishment so far.”

  “Ah. I see.”

  “What?”

  “Hey, birds of a feather—you are as hooked in as I am.”

  He grinned and nodded. “I guess so. I’d like to do more, but I’m spread rather thin right now. In spite of the situation, I’ve enjoyed the coding work the last few days.”

  “Hmm. No other member of your family would be interested in taking your place?”

  EJ laughed softly. “Yeah, my sister Grace has been chomping at the bit and resenting me like hell for the last three years. She wanted this position when they called me home, but no one would hear of it.”

  “Why not?”

  “Aw, c’mon—you know that a proper Southern lady is not expected to run a shipping company. Even though she could probably do a better job of it than I’ll ever do. She just finished her MBA at Princeton and has always had her fingers in the biz, even though it seems my mother is only interested in seeing her getting an engagement ring on one of them.”

  “Couldn’t you just hand the position over to her? You are the boss, right?”

  Sage turned the page, smiling as she realized she had made a suggestion that seemed to startle EJ. He shook his head, laughing.