Page 41 of Summer People
My vision blursas I stare at the cursor blinking inside the black box on the screen. My fingers should be moving over the keyboard. I should be creating the code I need to slip through the bank’s firewall. Instead, I’m humming the tune to that damn Dave Matthews song again. The lyrics—hell, the damn moment—have been on repeat since Libby rested her head on my chest.
The warmth of her body against mine in the cool night. The satin of her skin beneath the pad of my thumb. The way she shivered—and not because of the cold or a spider.
What would it have felt like if I had slipped my hand beneath her thin shirt? Pressed my palm to her bare skin. Tucked her closer. Her hair tickling my neck, her heart pounding against mine. She’d look up at me, and I’d lean down, closing the space.
I blink. Jesus. I should be working. Instead, I’m turning myself on thinking about a fucking dance.
I yank my headphones off and slump back in my chair. Focus is my superpower. Slipping into the world of code, where everything is black and white and controllable, that’s what I live for.
Yet right now, I can’t do anything but imagine what it would be like to kiss her. To press my lips to hers and finally taste her. Swallow her moan and make her crave me the way I crave her.
Head dropped back, I groan. The move gets Bing’s attention. He perks up, eyes on me.
“I know. Looks like I’m not getting anything done tonight.” I straighten and switch one of my monitors over from PowerShell to the cameras set up around my house. Do I feel guilty about changing the angle of the camera by my front door to point at Libby’s? Not in the least. Brad Fedder is harassing her, and I have no idea how far the famous actor will go. A quick phone ping tells me his Apple ID is still in LA, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t pay someone to harass Libby. If not for the respect I have for her privacy, I would have gone through every email between them in search of clues about what the fucker did to her on the set of their show.
When the white house next door appears on screen, I scowl.
When I made the donation to the charity from his account, I hadn’t even considered that he’d suspect Libby. Not a single string leads back to her or me. Or this island. A person with the skill set to track me would think I was overseas. From the look of things, the guy is just being an ass. Even so, I want to make sure nothing happens to her.
It’s after eleven, but there are a couple of lights on inside. I’ve just zoomed in on her blurry figure standing in the kitchen when she jerks back. Through my open window, her scream is audible half a second later.
My heart stops for one beat. Then I’m on my feet.
I stand, sending my chair clattering to the floor, and fly out of the room.
“Stay with Sutton.” I eye Bing as I point to my niece’s door.
Once he’s lying in her doorway, focus fixed on me, I step into my boots and take off at a sprint. As I race through the grass separating our lawns, my heart pounds in my ears.
I tell myself it could be another spider. Or a shadow. But my gut is screaming that’s not the case.
“Libby!” I bellow as I throw open the front door. Fuck. Please let her be okay.
Hands to her chest, she spins to face me. She blinks several times, her full lips parted in shock, either because of the original scare or because of my sudden appearance. Regardless, she’s here and breathing.
“Are you okay?” Though my nerves settle slightly, I’m still shaking as I eat up the distance from the door to her kitchen, inspecting her for injury. She’s wearing an oversized white crewneck, and she’s barefoot. The tiniest shorts I’ve ever seen highlight her toned legs.
I have to fight a groan. Because she doesn’t just look fine, she looks fucking gorgeous. “You screamed.”
With another blink, she points to the shattered window that faces my house.
“You broke the window?” Jesus, I thought she’d been attacked.
“I didn’t,” she growls. “It shattered out of the blue. One minute, it was fine. The house was quiet. And the next, glass was flying.”
Huffing, I take a step closer to the damage. If not for the tightness in her features, I’d be sure she’s fucking with me. Windows don’t just shatter.
“It scared me,” she whispers.
Heart aching in the strangest way, I cup the back of her neck and pull her against me. She comes without argument, instantly burrowing into my chest and sighing. The move causes that ache to morph into a deeper pang. I shouldn’t love that she scareseasily, but I can’t deny that I treasure once again getting to hold this woman in my arms.
I drop my head and press my lips to her crown. “It’s okay, Princess. I’ll figure out what happened.”
She clears her throat and pulls back, shoulders tightening. Damn, she looks cute putting on a brave face. “It just broke. Maybe one of the million birds that won’t leave me alone flew into it.”
I cock my head to the side. “You feed the birds every day.”
She throws her hands up with a huff. “I know, and yet instead of leaving when they’re satisfied, they keep begging for more.”
