Page 50 of The Hacker
He needed to get Tully involved with this. He was in over his head and, even worse, Dawn was right there with him. Why the hell had he allowed her to come with him to Ramón’s office? Because he’d expected this to be some minor fraud.
You’d think he would have learned a lesson after Derek and Alice’s dangerous encounter with a crazy hacker. Even white-collar crime could turn deadly. He should have kept Dawn far, far away from this project.
Shoving his chair back, he stalked out of the room and down the hallway toward Tully’s office. His partner probably wasn’t there, but Leland needed to channel his tension into movement. Sure enough, the big corner room was empty and showed no signs of its owner just strolling away from his desk momentarily.
Leland ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He didn’t want to tell Dawn anything until he figured out how to proceed. Time for a swim to straighten out his thinking.
He had just hit the perfect rhythm in his stroke, freeing his mind to focus on the Tactical Arms problem, when he caught a glimpse of someone standing beside the pool as he turned his head to breathe. Surprise and irritation jerked him out of his hard-won zone.
On Sundays no one else ever used the pool so he hadn’t bothered to lock the elevator door in privacy mode. Since KRG had paid for installation of the pool, the partners had the right to control access to it. Leland didn’t often take advantage of that perk because his powers of concentration were substantial. He just hadn’t been prepared for the possibility of company today.
Ignoring the intruder, he hit the wall and executed a flip turn, staying underwater as long as his breath held out before surfacing to start his stroke again. He’d already decided that the first thing he’d do when he finished his swim was to call Tully, even though it was a Sunday. Criminals didn’t respect weekends, and it was likely that the website would change its address in the near future. That was how the dark web worked to ensure anonymity and to avoid law enforcement. The only way he’d be able to find Tactical Arms again would be to pose as a major gun buyer and try to find it through boards where the dark website links were listed in plain text through anonymous postings. That would be a bear of a search.
He was deep in thought as he approached the pool wall, so he didn’t see the bare feet dangling in the water until he was about to touch them.
He slammed his hand against the wall beside the feet and jerked his head up out of the water. “What the h—?” It was a woman with her jeans rolled up to the knees. “Dawn?!”
“Yup. Natalie and I were helping Alice design her wedding gown at her apartment.” She looked a little uncertain before she smiled. “I figured I was in the neighborhood so I’d stop by.” She flicked a small splash of water with her toe, hitting him in the face and making him sputter.
The mischief in her smile made him react in a way that proved he had lost his mind. He reached up to where she had her hands braced on the side of the pool, grabbed her wrists, and tipped her into the pool, catching her against his chest as she fell.
She shrieked and slammed her hands against the surface of the water to send a deluge into his face this time. He didn’t care because his arms were filled with her sweet, tempting body. Her hard nipples were pressed against his bare chest with nothing but wet silk and lace between them.
“You are going to pay for this, buster.” But she wound her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer. “In fact, you may have to pay for this blouse because I borrowed it from Alice and I’m pretty sure it’s one of those dry-clean-only garments.”
“It was worth every penny to see the expression on your face when you started to fall.”
She gave him a sideways smile. “I didn’t think a proper southern gentleman would do such a thing. Although it’s better than throwing me out.”
Something twisted in his chest. “Is that what you thought I would do?”
“Honestly, I wasn’t sure. You told me you had a lot of work to get through.” She stroked her palm over his shoulder, sending a thrill of sensation across his skin. “I’m glad you don’t mind that I’m here.”
He was still stunned by the idea that she’d thought he wouldn’t want her to be there. What did that say about him? Had he really become that kind of person? He tightened his arms around her. “Your appearance here is the best thing that’s happened to me all day. Well, except for this morning before I left your bed.”
He skimmed down to grab the inviting curves of her denim-covered butt. When she made a delicious little mewing noise and rocked her pelvis, he shifted his hands lower to grip her legs, opening them and lifting her so that his erection pushed at the juncture of her thighs. All he could think of was how it would feel to ease himself inside her as the water lapped around them.
“Leland, what if someone else comes to swim?” she said, but she wrapped her legs around his waist.
“They won’t, but if you’re worried, I can lock the elevator door so no one else has access. However, you have to promise me you’ll stay here while I do it.”
“I was thinking I might take off these wet clothes.”
He hesitated, half wanting to peel them off her himself. Then he imagined her floating naked in the water with her hair swirling around her like a mermaid when he returned. “That’s an offer I can agree to.”
He vaulted out of the pool, water streaming off him as he strode to the elevator door. He punched in the lockout code at lightning speed before turning to head back to the pool, anticipation hardening his cock so it tented his swim trunks. Without thinking, he stopped and shucked the trunks off, tossing them aside to land with a wet splat before he continued.
“You read my mind. That’s exactly how I wanted to see you,” he said as he got to the edge of the pool. Dawn floated on her back, her bare body wet and glistening, her hair swirling around her head and shoulders.
Her gaze drifted down his torso to stop at his groin and she smiled. “And you read mine. We’re psychic.”
“No, we’re horny.” He did a shallow racing dive and came up beside her.
“That too.”
She started to stand but he slid his hands under her back and butt to keep her floating. “Wait. I want to look at you.”
“You’re doing more than looking so I won’t complain.” She wiggled her bottom against his hand. He curled his fingers into the cushion of her flesh to hold her still.
