Page 52 of Mountain Security

At least, he thought he could—until he saw her shiver.

She was trying hard to hide it, but there was no hiding the goosebumps up her arms.

He’d been so busy admiring her, he hadn’t even stopped to think she was standing there in a fucking sleeveless dress.

Alex took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

She burrowed into it gratefully, but then shook her head. “You’ll get cold,” she said. “I should go inside and—“

“Don’t move,” Alex begged. “Please tell me what you were thinking about just now.”

Yvette nodded. “I was wondering … do you think what happened tonight could be related to the missing files? Maybe that’s what they were after, more information about Pierre and his affair?”

Alex shook his head. “It’s certainly possible. That would explain why they placed a keylogger in the mayor’s office, if they wanted access to his personal passwords. But it doesn’t explain why there was one on your computer as well.”

Yvette bit her bottom lip. “No … that doesn’t make sense. And the stolen files that were clearly marked as project files.” She shook her head. “It’s been driving me crazy. Those seven files have nothing in common, other than the fact that they were big projects. But they’re completely different from one another, down to the fact that some of them were approved, and others were rejected.”

She made a frustrated sound.

“We need to keep an open mind,” Alex said. “I’ve got a couple of searches going that might shed some new light on those projects. We’ll know more tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow.” Her eyes had a faraway look. Alex took that as his queue.

“I should go and let you sleep,” he said, standing up.

She stood up as well, and he followed her inside. The warm air hit him like a wall. Her living room wasn’t large. In a few strides, he reached her front door.

Suddenly, Yvette was there as well. She’d slipped in under his arm, her lithe body blocking the door.

“Stay,” she breathed. “Stay the night.”

Alex hesitated. He saw the pulse flicker at the base of her throat. And he wanted to stay. He wanted it so badly. But if all she wanted was comfort, he didn’t know if it was fair for him to stay—not when he had so much more in mind.

“Stay,” she repeated. A slow smile played on her full, red lips. “I was planning on asking you anyway, before … before my professional life imploded.”

Alex’s hands made the decision an instant before his brain did, coming up to trace a path from her hands all the way up her bare arms. His fingers followed the line the dress made, from her collarbone all the way down, down.

When he reached the outline of her breasts, Yvette shivered. Alex was tempted to stop there, but finally continued, tracing the edge of the dress up the other side of her chest until he reached her shoulder.

He’d never touched anything as soft before.

Yvette shivered in his arms.

“Turn around, beautiful,” he asked. She did so quickly, anticipating his next move, which was to find the hidden zipper. Bit by bit he revealed her smooth back, all the way down to the edge of what looked like a tiny pair of black panties.

No bra in the way.

“That answers one question I’ve been asking myself all night. Now turn around again,” he ordered, his voice husky.

Yvette did as she was told. Unable to wait any longer, Alex pulled the dress off her shoulders. It pooled by her naked feet, leaving her nearly naked before him.

Her nipples puckered under his stare.

“You like it when I look at you.”

Yvette’s eyes closed. “I love the way you look at me, and I love the things you say to me. You make me … you make me want things I’ve never wanted before,” she admitted.

Alex swallowed thickly. “I want to hear about all those things. I want to give you everything you want, Yvette.”

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