by Leigh James
I woke up to bright sunlight, and a feeling of sick disappointment flooded me. I’m in Gabe’s bed, but where is he?
I rolled over and found a note on his pillow.
Babe.
The thing that blew up last night is still a problem. I slept for a few hours and headed back to the office. Dinner. Tonight.
By the way, I still love you.
Gabe
PS—You’re adorable when you’re snoring.
I sat straight up, mortified, and grabbed my phone.
I do not snore, I texted him immediately.
In a meeting, he texted back. And yes you do.
A minute later, my phone buzzed with another text from him. See you tonight.
If you’re lucky, I wrote back.
I wouldn’t be so sarcastic. I have something for you, he wrote, And I know for a fact that you like it.
Heat suffused my cheeks as I took in his meaning. I did like it. I couldn’t pretend otherwise. Sighing, I put down my phone and left Gabe to his meeting. I took a quick shower and dried my hair as fast as I could. I noticed, much to my chagrin, that I’d already completely adjusted to having most of my personal grooming items and clothes at Gabe’s house.
We hadn’t been together that long, and he’d already moved me in. And even though things were moving fast, I hadn’t put up too much of a fight.
I made the bed and sighed as I inhaled his scent from the pillow. I took one last look around the room. I needed to get back to the office, and even though he’d promised me dinner, I probably wouldn’t be leaving Paragon anytime soon. Gabe wasn’t going to like that. For once, I didn’t like it either. I missed him. I missed him so much, I was smelling his pillow.
Being in love was so ridiculous.
I finished my coffee and was just about to text my driver when my phone buzzed again.
I’ll be there in two minutes. Don’t leave.
A shiver ran through me. There was no way in hell I was going to leave.
I paced the kitchen as I waited, anticipation coursing through me. Then the door opened, and Gabe came through, smiling and making me melt. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself.” I threw my arms around his neck, eager to touch him. “I missed you.”
He ran his hands down my sides and brushed his lips against my face. “I obviously missed you too. I just bailed on my meeting. I only have a few minutes.”
I looked up at him with my eyebrows raised. “A few minutes?”
Gabe’s brown eyes darkened, and he continued to run his hands down my sides, sending electric sparks through me. “It seemed a lot better to me than nothing. I couldn’t wait until tonight to see you.” He kissed me, slowly at first, his lips parting mine. I arched against him immediately, molding my body to his.
“Well,” I said, a little breathlessly, “when you put it that way…”
Gabe ran his hands down my back, cupping my backside. His tongue sought mine hungrily. He pulled me against him, and I could feel his erection. I clung to him, thrilled to be back in his arms and desperate for him to be inside me, to claim me as his again.
He pulled back, breathing hard. “I need to be inside you. Now.”
I needed that too. I nodded, pulling him toward the bedroom.
He shook his head. “I literally don’t have time for that.”
“Uh…okay.” I looked around. There was the couch and a wall, but before I could suggest either, he lifted me up and headed straight for the island in the kitchen.
Come to think of it, he had mentioned something about the island before.
Little icy thrills ran through me as he positioned himself between my legs. He undid my blouse, more slowly than he likely had time for, and looked at me worshipfully. “You’re so beautiful.” He ran his fingers gently down my bare skin. “It almost hurts to look at you.”
I blushed in pleasure. Sitting on the granite island in the middle of his kitchen, in just my bra and the morning light, I somehow did feel beautiful, even though I was also raw and exposed. It was the way he looked at me. “Thank you.”
He kissed my neck, sending hot tremors down my skin. “It’s my pleasure, babe.” Gabe gently unhooked my bra, and I lifted up so he could pull off my skirt and panties. I was naked before him. He kicked off his jeans, and we were finally touching each other, skin against skin. It had only been a few days since we’d made love, but I needed him desperately with a keening emptiness I needed him to fill.
He trailed hot kisses over my shoulders and my neck, rubbing his cock against my wetness, getting us both slick. The granite was cold against my naked skin, but I felt as if I were on fire, lit up from within.
“I’m ready,” I said, my breath coming out in hot little pants. “I need you.”
He grunted, notching the head of his cock at my entrance. He stilled for a moment. “I’m gonna go slow to start. I don’t want to hurt you.”
I threw my head back, breathing hard, as he inched himself into me. I wanted to feel all of him, to be filled by him, and I never wanted to let go. He held my hips as he started to thrust into me, gently at first, letting my body adjust to his. Then he entered me fully.
I threw back my head and moaned.
“Is it okay?” His voice was a hoarse whisper.
I nodded, giving him permission to take me the way he wanted. “It’s deep…and it’s so, so good.”
He grunted, sliding his hands under my ass and pulled me against him, driving into me with urgency. He rocked me back and forth against the counter. The hard granite was a cool contrast to his fluid, hot strokes. Gabe’s hands gripped my ass. All the muscles on his torso strained as he pumped his cock into me. My vision blurred.
“I’m not gonna last like this,” he grunted.
It didn’t matter. He spread my folds open with his fingers and found my clit, rubbing it, and the orgasm hit me hard, taking over. I leaned back and cried out, feeling every hot inch of him as he continued to pump into me. He cursed when he came a moment later, and I could feel his warmth spreading inside me, hot and deep. My muscles squeezed around his cock, and I felt triumphant, satisfied in a primal way.
I don’t think I’d ever used the word “primal” in a thought before I met Gabe. But it seemed entirely appropriate now. For fuck’s sake, as he would say, I had it bad.
We clung to each other afterward, our bodies entwined. I felt sated, exhausted, and a little sad, because I knew we were about to separate again.
Gabe blew out a deep breath and hugged me to him, kissing my hair. “Five minutes with you isn’t gonna cut it. I need a lifetime.”
Something twisted deep within me at his words. He tapped my chin, so I raised my eyes to his. Then he gently kissed me. “I forgot to tell you something.”
“What?” I asked, a little breathlessly.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Good.” He grinned at me, making my heart skip a beat. “Now stop enticing me with that hot body of yours and all that blonde hair. I have to get back to work.”
Before I headed down to the lab my phone buzzed.
“Ms. Taylor, it’s Jennifer Schilling. I spoke with Mr. Warren last night and passed along your message.”
“Thank you.” I waited.
“He said that, to be clear, the favor was to benefit you. And that Mr. Betts’s release was to benefit him.” Her voice was smooth, professional, and impenetrable.
That didn’t make any sense to me—any sense that I liked. “I’m sorry. Who’s him?”
“I believe my client was referring to himself.”
I licked my lips, which had suddenly gone dry. “What does that mean?”
“I didn’t ask him that,” she said curtly.
“Can I ask him?”
“He can call you collect through the system, but your number has to be approved by the jail. I can send you the link to set up access. Are you interested in doing that?”
“Send it now,” I snapped. “And tell Clive to call
me as soon as he can.”
“There’s a waiting list to make calls,” she said.
“Just tell him to call me as soon as possible,” I said through gritted teeth.
I hung up and scrunched my eyes shut, feeling a headache coming on. The text came through almost immediately, and I followed the steps to register with the jail system’s phone service. Then I headed down to my lab to get my patch ready to launch in a wildly expedited timeframe.
And to wait for a call from the man who’d made that necessary.
Chapter 21
Thankfully, I could still lose myself in my work. Eva and I managed to make significant progress with the preparations for the mass-market production of the patch. We’d scheduled our final approval meeting with the FDA protocol team.
Agent Marks had spoken with my assistant and set up an appointment for later in the week. I’d put my legal team into a conference room and told them to prepare for the FBI. I didn’t know what they were going to come up with, but I felt relieved to have delegated something unpleasant to people I trusted. It was win-win: I was happy to not deal with the FBI, and my legal team was happy to earn their thousand-dollar-an-hour rate.
Nervous excitement thrummed through me as I worked. I’d almost forgotten about Clive Warren and his troubling message when my phone buzzed. I ran into one of the private rooms in the lab and locked the door, out of breath when I finally answered.
“Collect call from Santa Clara County Correctional Facility—will you accept the charges?”
“Yes.” I caught my breath while I heard the line click over.
“Lauren,” Clive said, “I was thrilled you wanted to hear from me.”
“Don’t be a prick, Clive. I literally don’t have time for it.” Just the sound of his voice made my blood boil. He’d been incarcerated to avoid being killed, and still, he wanted to play games.
Clive clucked his tongue. “That doesn’t sound very philanthropic of you, Lauren. Or grateful. I’m the reason that you and Gabe aren’t in prison, remember? At least you could pretend to thank me.” It sounded as if being in jail had afforded him his first night’s real sleep in a long time, and that his personality had been restored as an unfortunate result.
“I said thank you. That’s the message I sent.”
“But now you just sound ungrateful, not that I’m surprised. I think your admirable intelligence makes you think you deserve all sorts of special treatment.”
I closed my eyes and counted backward from ten. I wanted to unleash a litany of curses on Clive, but that wouldn’t help me right now.
“I don’t think I deserve special treatment. And of course I’m grateful that you helped both me and Gabe.” I paused for a beat, choosing my words carefully. “But I was surprised that you helped clear Gabe of the charges. I know there’s no love lost between you two. And I didn’t understand what you meant when you said that you did it for your benefit. That’s why I need to talk to you. I think we’ve gotten to a place where we can at least be honest with each other. I need you to explain what you meant.”
Clive sighed. “I wanted you cleared of the charges because I dragged you into this, and I know it.”
“And what about Gabe?”
“He’s free now so he can…protect you. Or maybe, if karma really exists, he’ll end up as collateral damage.” Clive’s voice was calm and casual.
My stomach plummeted. “Why do you hate him?”
“I don’t hate him, but you chose to partner with him, not me. He won, and I lost, and I was forced to go down the path that brought me here. You can’t blame me for hoping that he feels what I feel someday. That he loses like I’ve lost. Because that’s what justice is, Lauren.”
It occurred to me then that Clive might be totally fucking crazy. “No one made you go down that path, Clive. Gabe sure as hell had nothing to do with it. I never chose between you two. Your offer wasn’t up to my standards. Dynamica’s was a good fit. It was business. You chose to steal from me and sell my information to Jiàn.” I remembered that the call was being recorded, but I was too frustrated to care.
“I only did that when you refused my offer. I wouldn’t have involved them if you’d cooperated with me.”
“I was never going to sell you my company, Clive. After spending a year on my board, you should have known that.”
He laughed, but it sounded bitter. “I guess I overestimated the attractiveness of my offer.”
“You stole from me and then tried to blackmail me into partnering with you. I think you deluded yourself. It wasn’t an overestimation. Your offer was never attractive.”
“Your directness is going to give me a headache, Lauren.” Clive went quiet for a moment. “She reminds me of you, you know.”
Gooseflesh raised on my arms. “Who?”
“Li Na. But you’re much nicer.” Another bitter bark of laughter escaped him. I pictured him with that patchy beard and shuddered.
“What do you mean, Clive? And is she going to hurt me? Is she going to hurt Gabe?”
“I already told you—you’re going to be last. You’re just going to wish you were first.”
“Who’s going to be first, Clive?”
“I’d love to tell you, but apparently, I’m just a lowly pawn.” He chuckled again.
Fear and disgust trickled through me, coiling in my belly. “Give me your best guess, then.”
“Well, it would have been me. But since I’m safe in here, and you’re going to be last, that only leaves…huh. Who could that be?”
Panic rose up inside me like bile. “Clive—”
“Good-bye, Lauren. And good luck. Even though you’re much smarter than the rest of us, don’t ever underestimate the power of luck. You’re going to need it.”
Chapter 22
Stephanie spoke through the intercom. “Lauren.”
“What?” I snapped, shoving my laptop into my bag. I had to get out of there. I had to warn Gabe. I wasn’t sure of exactly what, but the sick feeling I still had in my stomach was evidence enough that it was bad.
“I’m sorry to interrupt. But Leo needs to see you.”
“No, I’m sorry for being rude, Stephanie.” I buried my face in my hands and took a deep breath. “Please tell Leo I’ll be right down.”
I grabbed my things. Once I talked to Leo, I planned to go straight to Dynamica to see Gabe. I hustled down the hall, barely nodding at Stephanie, and barreled into Leo’s office. He was spread out at his computer, and Dave was on the couch with his laptop propped up on his legs. The office was littered with empty food containers, as if the coders hadn’t eaten anywhere else in weeks, which they probably hadn’t.
“What’s going on?” I didn’t bother with formalities.
Leo looked up at me, his eyes bleary from staring at the computer. “Something disturbing.”
I dropped my bag into a nearby chair. “What?” My palms began to sweat.
“All of the files related to Paragon were just deleted from Warren Technologies,” Leo said.
“Who did it?” I asked.
“I don’t know. It was done from a remote server.”
“Well, trace it,” I said firmly.
“We are,” Dave said, his voice soothing. “We just wanted you to know right away.”
I nodded at them and tried to keep my emotions under control. “Thank you. The FBI wouldn’t have done that. It was probably Jiàn. Maybe they didn’t want the information available to the FBI or the people at Warren Technologies anymore.” I took a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter. Just keep an eye on it.”
“Are you okay?” asked Leo. He was staring at me, his brow furrowed in a deep V.
“Not really, but that’s not like it’s anything new, is it?” I grabbed my bag and rushed out, desperate to talk to Gabe.
Relief flooded me when I got to his office. I went through the door and saw him dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, his biceps on display.
But then, I remembered what was happening, and all hopes of re
lief fled.
I had to tell him about what Clive had said. And I had to tell him what I thought we should do about it—which he wasn’t going to like. Not one bit.
Gabe pulled me in for a quick hug and kissed the top of my head. “I thought we were meeting at home, but this is a welcome surprise.”
I pulled back shakily and sat down. I wanted nothing more than to be close to him, but I was too anxious to be held right now. “I had to see you right away.”
The softness that had been in his eyes when he saw me evaporated, replaced with wary concern. “What’s wrong?”
“I spoke to Clive today.”
“What? Why?”
“Something’s been…bothering me.” I fidgeted, picking imaginary lint from my skirt. “I don’t understand why he helped you.”
Gabe’s eyes pierced mine. “We already talked about this, Lauren. It doesn’t matter.”
“But it does. He…told me.” I felt the pinpricks of tears in my eyes. “He said that he wanted you out of jail because he wants you vulnerable. And that Jiàn is coming for us, and that I’m going to be last.”
“Babe.” He pulled me up and held me against him. “I might need to get arrested again just so I can break Clive’s stupid fucking face. I have had it with him messing with your head.”
“I’m being serious. He wasn’t messing with my head, Gabe. He said that I was going to be last but that I was going to wish I was first.” The tears were really threatening, and they weren’t for me.
They were for what I might lose.
“I don’t want you to get hurt. I just found you. I can’t let them take you from me.”
“No one’s taking me anywhere.” Gabe brushed the hair back from my face. “Clive’s crazy. You know that. And no one’s going to hurt me. No one’s even going to come close. I have an army of security living at my house. Most of my brother’s staff has relocated to the Valley in recent weeks.”
“Clive’s crazy, but he’s right about Jiàn. They want my technology, and if they can’t figure it out for themselves, that’s only going to be a speed bump for them, not an actual deterrent.”
