Page 45 of The Hacker
Her blood fizzed as Leland pushed open the door and helped her out of the limo, his grip strong and warm. She wanted to wrap herself in him to keep the ugliness of her suspicions at bay.
As they climbed the stairs, she noticed that Leland had his laptop case in his hand. “Are you going to look at the data here?” she asked.
He glanced down at the case and winced. “No. I picked it up out of habit.”
“It’s like my gym bag. I get the feeling that a part of me is missing when I don’t have it.”
“Proving that we’re both too tied up in our work.” He shook off the serious mood and reached out to give her butt a playful squeeze. “But the next few hours will be devoted entirely to pleasure.”
Chapter 11
The next morning a shiny black limousine glided to a stop in front of Dawn’s apartment building. But it wasn’t Leland’s. This limo had been sent by Alice to bring Dawn and Natalie to Derek’s penthouse apartment in Manhattan, where Alice now lived. A wedding dress designer was coming to discuss Alice’s gown, so she’d invited her two maids of honor to help her with her aesthetic decisions. It was a project Dawn felt she had no business being involved with since she spent her life in either workout clothes or jeans.
Dawn quickly locked up her apartment and jogged down the steps, feeling a few twinges from Leland’s promised pleasure of last night. He’d certainly kept his part of the bargain—twice—before they both fell into exhausted slumber. He’d awakened early, initiated another round of pure sensual delight, and then had gone to the office, where he said he needed to stay all day.
Maybe the wedding dress would be a good distraction from missing his hot, sexy presence like crazy. Except she knew she would have to confess her relationship with Leland to Alice and Natalie. Friends shared things like that, even when they weren’t entirely sure they wanted to.
“Hey, Nat,” Dawn said as she ducked through the car door that the driver held open.
Natalie looked as perfectly put together as always, her short blonde hair styled in smooth curves against her cheeks and an array of fine gold chains draped around her neck. A cream linen blouse, slim black trousers, and maroon suede stiletto-heeled booties completed her ensemble.
Dawn sighed as she looked down at her jeans and long-sleeved red T-shirt. “How do you always look so good?”
Natalie raised her elegant eyebrows. “It’s my job. Your job is to be in top physical condition. If I attempted to do a single pull-up, I would fail miserably while you would make it look easy.”
“Good point.” Dawn hugged her friend. Natalie gave the impression of being cool and self-contained, yet she always made Dawn feel better about herself.
“Would you like a mimosa?” Natalie asked, pointing to the bottles of champagne and orange juice sitting in coolers in the limousine’s console. “I know how you feel about fashion so you might need something to relax you.”
“Are you having one?”
“Now that you’re here, I will. I try never to drink alone.” Natalie plucked a champagne flute from the rack, waited for the limo to round a corner, and poured some bubbly in the glass. “In fact, I may skip the juice.”
“Same for me. You shouldn’t ruin good champagne.”
They touched their glasses together with a gentle clink. “To Alice’s wedding dress. May she wear it in happiness,” Natalie said before they drank in unison. “By the way, what’s going on at the gym?” she asked. “Have you found your mysterious tech expert?”
Dawn choked on her champagne, even though Natalie wasn’t asking about Leland directly. “Not yet,” Dawn gasped. “But we’re getting close, I think.”
“‘We’?”
“Leland Rockwell and I.”
“You’re blushing.”
“I might as well tell you because you’ll get it out of me anyway. I’m having sex with him. Great sex.”Incredible sex.
Natalie smiled and squeezed Dawn’s hand. “I’m so happy for you, sweetie. It hasn’t triggered any problems for you?”
“Every now and then he does something that feels too aggressive, but the moment I start to shift away, he eases up.”
“So he knows?”
Dawn shook her head, remembering her cowardice in the face of Leland’s concern. “He pays attention so I don’t need to tell him. Besides, I want to keep this uncomplicated.”
Natalie gave a snort that somehow sounded ladylike when she did it. “Sex is rarely uncomplicated.”
“Right now, it’s perfect.” Because it had been going on for a grand total of thirty-six hours. “Except that he works all the time.”
