Carnal Risk

by Kym Grosso

“You’re a dick.” Garrett told him, understanding exactly what Lars was accusing him of. Sure, he was being protective, but it was in his nature to care for those in his charge. She could have been killed. There was no way he was going to admit to Lars that his feelings for Selby were any more than a casual attraction.

  “Yeah, fuck you too, G.”

  “Jesus, what’s with you? First you worry I’m going to hurt her and now you think, what?”

  “Someone’s got it bad is all I’m saying. It’s going to be fun to watch you go down.”

  “Shh…” Garrett held up a hand as he heard footsteps approaching. He’d set clothes out for her on the bed, and hoped like hell she was wearing something. “Can you please keep some of this to yourself?”

  “Yeah, yeah. Do not fuck with her, though. I meant that part.” Lars grabbed a large knife from the block and began slicing off the stems.

  “Duly noted.” He scraped the browned eggs onto a plate, held it up to his friend and smiled. “Not bad, huh?”

  “Lookin’ good, Emeril.”

  “I am good. Eggs and brownies. Breakfast of champions.” Glancing at the mess he’d made, he laughed. “Yeah, Laura’s going to kick my ass.”

  As Selby came into view, he froze. He knew Lars was watching, that he should perhaps conceal his feelings. But as she approached, it was as if they were the only two people in the room. His cock stirred, seeing her in his t-shirt. Her hard tips peaked against the draping fabric. She tucked a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear, glanced to her bare feet and then up to him again. He smiled as her eyes met his.

  “Come here, sweetheart,” he said, reaching for her hand.

  Without speaking, she fell into his embrace and his entire body responded. I’m so fucked, he thought. His lips grazed over her hair. She smelled of their lovemaking, reminding him of every mind-blowing second they’d spent together the previous night. She brushed her cheek against his bared chest, the warmth of her hands caressing his back.

  He should have cared even a little bit about the conversation he’d just had with Lars, but the only thing that mattered was Selby. Guiding her chin upward, he leaned to kiss her. Gently his lips took hers, delicately tasting her mouth. He ran the back of his hand over her bottom, fingering the hem of the shirt. He deepened the kiss, tugging up the fabric, surprised when he discovered she wasn’t wearing the shorts he’d left out for her. Palming her soft globes in his hands, his erection prodded her belly.

  A cough from Lars drew his attention, and he slowly receded. His thumb caressed her cheek, his eyes on hers.

  Garrett knew he was so far beyond gone with this woman. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t kissed a woman in front of Lars before, but the moment had been far too intimate, emotions surfacing between them.

  “Good morning,” Lars commented. He gave them a small grin as if he’d enjoyed the show, and continued eating his eggs.

  “How do you feel?” Garrett asked Selby. He smoothed his fingers gingerly over the back of her head where she’d been hit.

  “Good.” She smiled.

  “My shirt looks good on you.” He released it, his fingertips lingering on the back of her thigh. “Did you see the robe? Shorts?”

  “Yeah, I saw. Thanks.” She rubbed her torso against his as if she were a purring kitten.

  “I like it.” He laughed.

  “People. You all do get that I’m right here, don’t you?” Lars called over to them.

  “Sorry, Lars,” she said. As she spun to face him, she kept her body close to Garrett’s.

  “I’d say get a room, but seein’ as I’m the guest…” He shook his head and laughed. “Are you really okay?”

  Selby nodded. “I’m fine.”

  Garrett attempted to follow the conversation as Selby brushed her bottom into his erection. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think she was enjoying his state. Playing with fire in front of Lars wasn’t a place she should go, he thought. If she wanted public sex, he’d give it to her. Patience was his friend, and later he’d test how far she’d go. But as much as he was tempted to bend her over the counter and fuck her right there, he considered that she’d better eat. With her attack, he was more concerned about her health and less about his dick.

  “Are you hungry?” Garrett asked, placing a kiss to her neck.

  “Yes.” She winked. “Very.”

  “For food, woman?”

  “Yes and yes.” She laughed.

  “Maybe you were right about her,” Lars commented with a grin.

  “Right about what?” she asked with a curious lilt to her voice.

  “He says you’re more adventurous than I thought.”

  Garrett gave him a pointed look and mouthed the word, ‘no’.

  “Now, I on the other hand insisted that you are Selby Reynolds, you know, the girl I’ve known since college. The one who hates elevators. Refuses to go skiing. No risks ever.”

  “Hmm…and what does Garrett say?” Selby broke free of Garrett’s arms and snatched a berry out of the bowl. She turned to him, leaning her back against the counter, and seductively slid it between her lips.

  “I say,” Garrett smiled and caged her with his arms. His legs straddled hers but he didn’t move to kiss her, “that you’re repressing your inner wild child. She wants to play, and does when encouraged to do so. She just needs the right man to keep her safe and teach her how.”

  “Is that right?” she flirted. Biting the strawberry, she held the other half to his lips.

  “I’m always right.” He gave her a sexy smile. As he took the treat into his mouth, he snatched her wrist and held it in place, sucking the juices off her fingers. She flittered them against his tongue, causing a fresh surge of desire. He withdrew them, licking the tips. “See?” His eyes darted to Lars and back to Selby. “My point is proven.”

  “I didn’t say she was celibate. I said she wasn’t adventurous. Hey, it’s not a bad thing. It’s just the way she is.”

  “I disagree. Am I right?” Garrett asked.

  “Maybe,” Selby answered coyly. “Or maybe I’m both. Or maybe I’m enjoying finding out.”

  Garrett’s cell phone buzzed, drawing his focus to a text. Releasing Selby, he retrieved it and slid his finger across the screen.

  “It’s Dean.”

  “The district attorney?” Selby asked.

  “Yeah, they’re still at your place.”

  “I should go,” she said.

  “No, you should eat something. You’re staying here with me.” Garrett set his cell down and reached to plate her food. He set it onto the counter next to Lars.

  Selby raked her fingers through her hair and paced away from the kitchen island. He imagined she was stressing about the attack and went to her.

  “I’ll go to a hotel. I need to go to my place to pick up some things. I need my clothes, shoes….shit, I need to get my car.” Selby ticked off her to do list.

  “Relax.” As soon as Garrett said the word, he knew it was a mistake. Telling her, a woman, to relax was the antithesis to any goal he wished to achieve and would surely result in a negative outcome. But as he went to correct himself, she interrupted.

  “Don’t tell me to relax. Someone broke into my place. I’ve got to get my things.” Selby’s voice grew louder.

  “We’ll get your things.” Garrett crossed the room to meet her. “It’s going to be all right.”

  “What is going on here, anyway? You think that last night is somehow related to Evan, don’t you?” Selby didn’t move to accept his comfort.

  “Do I think what happened is tied to Evan’s death? I don’t know for sure but it’s likely. But I still don’t know why the hell someone would kill Evan. Do we work on some top secret things? Yes, we do. Are some of them worth killing over? Perhaps. It’s not like it’s unheard of. That’s why we have clearances and people with them can’t just travel wherever they want outside the country. You know that. But if they killed Evan and went after you, it seems like they still don’t hav
e what they want. And here’s the thing…” Garrett hesitated in front of Lars and pointed to him. “You did not hear this.”

  “Hear what?” Lars held up his hands and got up to make more coffee.

  “I told you I have Evan’s laptop,” Garrett said, his eyes trained on Selby.

  “Yes. And you also said you wouldn’t give it to me.”

  “Selby, seriously.” He paused and took a breath. “I get that you came in here with clearances, but one of my best friends had just died. You really think I’d trust you on day one with the secrets that might be in his files? No offense, but that wasn’t happening.”

  “You’re always asking me to trust you,” she challenged.

  “That’s different and you know it. I was waiting to get to know you better. Get a feel for if I could trust you. I needed to get a read on you before I let you have at it.”

  “Excuse me? Is that what you’ve been doing with me? Getting a feel for me? Has this all been some secret test?” Selby spat.

  “What’s happening between us has nothing to do with it. Listen, would you have trusted me that day Lars marched you into my office? Don’t even bother answering because I know that you wouldn’t have. Hell, you didn’t even want to work for me.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Don’t lie to me, Selby.” His tone grew serious.

  “Fine, maybe. But I idolized you. Not literally of course, but you were a case study. The chance to work for you would have been amazing if Lars over there hadn’t brought you into the club.”

  “I never judged you,” he insisted.

  “Doesn’t matter if you did. We didn’t get off on an equal footing.”

  “You broke into Evan’s office,” Garrett accused her. Selby averted her gaze, which caused Garrett concern. They both knew it was the truth, but her excuse for doing so still rubbed him the wrong way. He’d like to think that after everything that had happened over the past week, he’d learned more about her, that he could trust her with the information. He wasn’t sure what caused a flash of doubt, but he just as quickly buried the notion that she could be anything but honest with him.

  “I didn’t break in. I knocked and entered.”

  “Let’s not mince words. You went looking around when you couldn’t find what you wanted in the information I got you.”

  “Maybe. I could have hacked into your servers, which I didn’t.”

  “She could do that,” Lars called out from the other side of the room.

  “Close your ears, Lars.”

  “Just sayin’. She can hack just about anything. She could have taken the files without you ever even knowing.”

  “Would you please shut up?” Garrett walked to Selby and took her hand. He both hated and loved the sizzle that traveled up his arm, all from just touching her skin. “Selby, listen. Whatever happened to Evan…I’m not going to let anything else happen to you. I want you to stay here so I can protect you. I’ll bring more guards on the property. More at work, too. Maybe we’ll just work from here to be on the safe side. I need time to think about it. Last night, all I could think of was you.”

  Garrett sensed Selby was about to interrupt, so he continued.

  “I have Evan’s laptop. The one that he kept in his office. He didn’t have another one, because you know you can’t take it out of the building. If he needed something at home, he could always virtual network into the office, but no one can save anything externally. Technically you can’t even do it from the office, but it seems like someone is looking for something. It has to be data. I don’t know how or why Evan would have ever saved anything or even if he did it, but I need you to look at it for me. No one else has seen it. I’ve gone through the files but I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. But then again, I’m no IT expert either.”

  “Of course I’ll help you, but Garrett, do you really want me here? I could go stay at a hotel or I don’t know, I could stay with Lars?”

  “No.” Both Garrett and Lars responded at the same time. Garrett couldn’t believe she’d even suggest that she would live with anyone else. Uncomfortable with his reaction, he recognized the foreign emotion, one he couldn’t fathom he’d ever feel over any woman: jealousy. “No. You’re staying with me. No arguments.”

  “You can’t just boss me around. If I want to leave, I’ll walk out that door right now. This is an agreement or I’m out of here.”

  Garrett took a deep breath and walked back to the kitchen. His anger surged at her demand. What didn’t she get about the fact that someone could have killed her? Why would she ever want to stay with Lars after what had happened between them? He settled his palms on the counter and locked his eyes on hers.

  “You’re right about me not being able to boss you around in your private life, but I care about you.” Garrett’s eyes locked on hers. “I just watched my friend die. I will not let that happen to you. So when it comes to where you’ll be safe?” Garrett strode over to Selby, invading her personal space. As he took her hands, his expression grew serious. “You’ll stay with me.”

  The possessive tone of his voice surprised him, but he wasn’t leaving it up for discussion. The thought of her sleeping and eating with Lars didn’t sit well. She could have her own room if she wanted, but she’d stay at his mansion.

  “I…I’ll help you. But I can’t stay here forever,” she agreed, sadness lacing her words.

  “You’ll help me?”

  “I’ll help.” Selby wrapped her arms around Garrett, burying her face into his chest.

  Garrett returned her embrace, and cradled her head against his chest. He caught the judgmental look on Lars’ face as he did so, and considered that Lars had been wrong to worry. Perhaps it wasn’t he who’d hurt Selby. She hadn’t further protested staying with him, yet she implied that she wasn’t interested in a long term relationship. While the idea of him dating anyone longer than a few weeks in itself was newsworthy, her statement stabbed in his chest.

  Chapter Nineteen

  When Selby woke, she’d happily recalled erotic memories of her night with Garrett. Her heart tightened as she pulled on his t-shirt, breathing in his scent. She’d decided to forgo panties, hoping to tease Garrett. He’d been confident in his lessons, she mused. He’d pushed her and she enjoyed the thought of tantalizing him the way he’d done to her.

  But the conversation in the kitchen had turned sour after Garrett had insisted she stay with him. It wasn’t as if she didn’t want to spend more time with him. On the contrary, she’d been delighted waking up in his arms. But the attack weighed heavily on her mind. The reality that she’d almost died was setting in, that her home had been destroyed. After brunch, Lars had agreed to go to her condo to get her clothes, and other important belongings. Although she’d offered to go with him, she felt a wave of relief, not having to go back to the apartment. A killer remained on the loose, and violation was still fresh in her mind.

  Her thoughts drifted to Evan, and guilt coiled in her stomach. She hated the dead man, regretting the day they’d ever met. Once Garrett found out she’d withheld the truth about Evan, he’d probably toss her out on her ear. Regardless, she suspected that Evan had a hand in his own death. Garrett was only just starting to trust her, and she needed time to figure out the right way to explain things to him. It was vital she had access to Evan’s laptop if she had any hope of discovering tangible evidence to present to Garrett. She knew it was entirely possible Evan had cloaked data beneath the layers of everyday applications.

  Selby sat in Garrett’s palatial office, scrubbing the laptop for surreptitious anomalies. She’d done the cursory checks, and now was delving deeper, running programs to find hidden files. Selby didn’t expect it to be easy. If Evan was half as good as Garrett said he was, she’d have to work harder and smarter to find whatever he’d created.

  After several hours of going through every last folder, she suspected that he could have been hiding secrets on Emerson’s own network. Connecting to it, she initiated a serie
s of cybersecurity tools. Selby always worked bottom to top, keeping it simple, moving toward more complex solutions. As she launched the program, she hoped the sniffer would follow down a path, granting her access to files she hadn’t yet seen.

  The door creaked open, and she gazed up at Garrett.

  “Any luck?” He gave her a sympathetic smile, having realized that this project wasn’t as easy as he’d hoped.

  “Nothing so far. The laptop itself seems pretty clean. I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. But that’s in line with protocol. If he was going to store something, he may have put something on here that can access other files at Emerson. I’m running some programs to see how hard it is to get into your files using his laptop.”

  “You’re breaking into the company servers?”

  “Yeah, I mean, we’ve got to give it a go. I hope you don’t mind but I started up your laptop too.”

  “But I have a password,” he said.

  She gave him a wide smile. “Yes, you do.”

  “You hacked into my laptop?” He sat on the corner of the desk and propped his well-worn cowboy boots on the edge of a bookshelf. Craning his neck, he stole a peek of the screen.

  “Yes, I did.” She laughed. “I know you know this, Mr. CEO, but you should be using strong passwords.”

  “You mean ‘Emerson123’ didn’t cut it? For the record, I added an extra couple of characters.”

  “I saw. Very clever, but you don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

  “A dangerous cybercriminal I’m sure. Very dark.”

  “I could be if I wanted, but I’ve never been interested in being a black hat, thank you very much. I wear my white hat proudly.”

  “Why do you need my laptop?”

  “I’m trying to tunnel into Emerson from Evan’s laptop and yours, because I want to see if there are any deviations. Can I get in from one? Both? This work isn’t always clear cut. I may need to try several things before I figure out what’s going on here.”

  “Do you have time to take a break?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do. I’ve got a diagnostic running.”