Page 136 of Ugly Beautiful Scars

"I could use some stress relief," she says against my mouth, her fingers trailing down my chest.

I smile despite a nagging feeling I should probably check the message. "Best kind of therapy I know."

I stand, taking her with me as her legs wrap around my waist. I carry her toward the bedroom where a camera won't be watching us. We're tangled in each other, my hands squeezing her ass, herfingers finding their way under my shirt. Her lips never leave mine for more than a breath.

"This'll have to be a quickie," I say, though I'm already lost in her scent, the taste of her mouth.

"Just a quickie?" We fall back onto the bed and she pulls me down onto her. "We've got a little extra time I think."

I settle between her hips, bracing my weight on my forearms, careful not to put pressure on my knuckles that are still healing. Her legs squeeze around me, drawing me closer as my mouth traces the line of her jaw then the softness of her neck. She arches beneath me and her fingers dig deep into my shoulders. I have visions of her clawing my skin while she comes.

That nagging feeling about my phone intensifies slightly. What if it's notumma? Could be Mike. And he doesn't usually message multiple times unless something needs attention.

But I just need a few more seconds of this—the soft sounds Londyn makes as I kiss her collarbone and the rapid beat of her pulse beneath my lips.

My phone buzzes again.

"Hold on, beautiful," I say, reluctantly tearing myself away from her to fish my phone from my pocket.

Mike:Computer's acting buggy since I got back from the storage unit.

Mike:Damn thing keeps freezing up. Might need a restart. Cameras will go offline for a sec.

I check the security app and, sure enough, the feeds are all black. Every single one.

I check the last message's time stamp. When I see that he sent it ten minutes ago, my stomach plummets.

Shit. Did I really go that long without checking my phone?

A familiar tension creeps up my spine. Buggy computers in our line of work are sometimes red flags. Could someone have tampered with it remotely while Mike was at the storage facility? I was here with Londyn, but I'd checked the footage at regular intervals. I was focused on Londyn a lot, though. We'd been talking about Australia, dreaming about the future, flirting…

Fuck. Did I miss something?

"Everything okay?" Londyn asks, her cheeks flushed, lips swollen from kissing.

"Yeah, just… just something Mike's doing." I try to keep my voice casual, but my mind is already running through scenarios.

She sits up and runs her hands along my sides, fingertips tracing muscle. "Like what?"

"It's probably nothing."

Me:All cams still offline. Did you restart? Any other issues?

Londyn's hands haven't stopped their exploration, sliding under my shirt, trailing across my skin and giving me goosebumps. Her mouth finds mine again, and I set the phone aside, letting myself fall back into her gravity while waiting for Mike's response.

Could be nothing. Might just be a glitch.

Londyn's teeth graze my lower lip, drawing a groan from somewhere deep in my chest. I lose myself in her again.

Minutes pass, and we keep everything to heavy petting, touching each other through clothing, with me giving her a few teasing thrusts that make her thighs squeeze my hips.

When she starts to undo my belt, I realize Mike still hasn't responded.

I pull away again, reaching for my phone. No new messages. The feeds are still dark. Mike hasn't responded and it's been three minutes.

He usually responds ASAP. System issues are always priority one.

Londyn runs a hand along my jeans, squeezing my hard on.

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