Page 35 of The Hacker
Without a word, he slipped his arms under her and lifted her off the mattress. She squawked in surprise but relaxed in his grasp when she realized how erotic it was to have the wiry strength of him supporting her while their naked bodies touched in interesting ways.
It was a short experience since he simply walked around to the other side so he could reverse her position and deposit her on the bed again. He nudged her over and lay down beside her, his weight compressing the mattress as he pulled the covers up over both of them.
She braced to fight the clutch of panic when he came up on his elbow and loomed over her to press a kiss on her mouth, but the mild flutter in her chest was banished by the warmth of his lips on hers. He looked down at her. “You are one amazing lady.”
His eyes held admiration and heat. His voice brushed over her like velvet. His words she discounted because he’d just had an orgasm. “Thank you,” she said nonetheless. “I think we were mutually amazing.”
He laughed, a deep rumble in his throat. “It does take two to generate that level of mind-bending pleasure.”
Mind-bending.She liked that because his brain was so powerful. It was saying something that she’d bent it.
He kissed her again, a soft, tender exploration. She answered it with the same slow, mellow mood. They hadn’t had the patience for this earlier. She nibbled along the strong line of his jaw, feeling the scruff of his late-night beard against her lips.
He touched his forehead to hers with a rueful sigh. “Darlin’, I wish I could keep this up but I have to get some sleep. I’m not in the same peak condition you are.”
“If I keep training you, you will be,” she teased.
“Which kind of training are you talking about?” His smile was slow and sexy.
“Whatever kind motivates you.”
“How about you not wearing any clothes while you train me? That would get my heart rate skyrocketing.”
“I’ll have to ask Ramón if he’ll allow that.”
He laughed and lay down fully, snaking his arm around her waist to spoon her up against him. She no longer worried that she would react badly, even when he tucked his hand under her hip, its weight caging her to keep her pressed back against his hard, hot body. She reveled in the solidity of his chest and thighs against her back and legs, the way his cock nuzzled against her buttocks, and the whiffle of his breath across her hair.
His breathing deepened and slowed while his arm relaxed over her waist as he slid into sleep.
But she didn’t want the oblivion of sleep. She wanted to stay awake to the wonder of Leland’s presence enveloping her in a way that made her feel safe, not threatened.
Yet the question of why she felt that way nagged at her. Natalie had pointed out that Leland with his brains and success and confidence was more likely to trigger the opposite effect. Yes, Dawn had controlled their intimacies to a certain extent and Leland had responded to her cues—because he was a smart guy and she’d learned how to manage the situation with a certain subtlety. However, that didn’t explain her lying cradled against his big, heavy body without even a small tightening of her throat.
Maybe it was better not to delve too deeply into her reasons. There might be some emotion there that she didn’t want to acknowledge. This was supposed to be about sex with a man she had the hots for, nothing more. Smarter to keep it that way.
She shifted in response to her uncomfortable thoughts. Leland responded in his sleep, crooking his knee to rest on top of her thigh, trapping her even more thoroughly.
And she let him.
A shriek of music jolted her awake. But she couldn’t sit up because Leland was still wrapped around her, a confinement that sent a spear of fear through her not-quite-awakened brain. “What the—?” She started to shove against his weight but he was already pulling away.
He rolled out of the bed and mumbled, “Sorry, my alarm.” He found his jeans, yanked his cell phone out of the pocket, and silenced the music.
“What was that?”
“Nerd music. The originalStar Trektheme.” His grin was charmingly sheepish.
She held the sheet to her chest as she pushed upright, her heart rate settling back to normal. “What time is it?”
“Midnight. I need to get back to the office.” He pulled on his briefs.
“The office?! It’s the middle of a Friday night. That’s called the weekend.”
He had his jeans zipped and buttoned. “I have an RFP due a week from today, on top of a lot of other projects.”
Guilt poked at her. She’d piled on another one, a job that didn’t pay. “Don’t worry about the gym. It’s no big deal. Vicky will get it straightened out.”
The angles of his face hardened and she saw what Natalie had warned her about. This man would always attack a challenge. “There’s something not right going on there. That can’t be ignored. I’ll be at our training session tomorrow.”
