Heart-Shaped Hack(56)

He turned her so she was facing the mirror again. Without breaking eye contact, he raised the hem of her dress and slowly pulled it over her head. Her thighs were touching the edge of the dresser, and he pressed the full length of his body up against her. She could feel how hard he was, and she pushed back, making him groan. Slowly he unlaced the ribbons on the bustier.

“You promised to be careful,” she reminded him.

Locking eyes with her in the mirror, he gave her a half smile and unzipped the lingerie, catching it before it could fall to the floor. He placed it gently on the dresser.

He cupped her breasts and squeezed. He sucked on her neck and pulled on her nipples, gently at first and then harder on both.

She couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. “Ian.”

“Keep watching,” he said, his voice low and heavy. He slipped his hand into the front of her thong, stopping just above where she wanted his fingers the most.

She ached for him to touch her. “Please,” she whispered, looking at his hand in the mirror with her eyes half-closed.

With agonizing slowness, he lowered his hand and stroked her, and nothing had ever felt so good. His fingers slid in and out of her with ease, and she gripped the edge of the dresser, almost panting with her need. Then he knelt behind her and pulled the thong down to her ankles, his palms skimming along her bare skin on the way. He ran his hands up the inside of her thighs. “Spread your legs a little wider.”

Kate stepped out of the thong and did what he said. He left the stockings on.

“Don’t move,” he said, crossing the room to grab a condom from the nightstand. When he returned, the rasp of his zipper going down filled her ears, and there was something about that that set her on fire more than if he’d taken off his pants.

Was he going to bend her—

Yes.

She closed her eyes when he entered her. She had no choice. It was too much, too intense. The sensations were overpowering, but they were overpowering in the best possible way. He would watch though. She was sure about that.

He moved inside her, his hands gripping her hips tightly, and it was perfect. He took her to the edge repeatedly until finally neither of them could hold off any longer. After she cried out, after he added his own drawn-out groan, he pulled her upright so the back of her head rested on his rising and falling chest. “I love you.” The words sounded ragged as he said them in her ear.

“I love you too,” she said, trying to catch her breath.

I love you, I love you, I love you.





CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Ian was summoned to Washington again at the end of January. He got the call early on a Sunday evening when he and Kate were walking home from dinner.

“Who reaches out to let you know when you’re needed?” Kate asked.

They’d quickened their pace after Ian hung up and explained that he needed to leave right away.

“His name is Phillip Corcoran. He’s head of the cyber task force. He wanted me to stay over last time, get some sleep. Good guy.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Because I wanted to get home to you.”

“So what’s happening now?”

“A forum member posted details of an imminent cyberattack. Very big data breach. If they’re successful, it’s going to leave behind a mess. Phillip wants us all in the same place so we can communicate more efficiently.”

“Cyberattack sounds so ominous.”

“You have nothing to worry about. It’s not an actual battle. It’s all just keystrokes. Names on a screen. None of them real, of course.”

“Of course not. How long do you think you’ll be gone?”

“Not sure. But I’m going to show up with more than the clothes on my back this time, just in case.”

“Make sure you take a warm coat. After your last visit to Washington, you showed up at my door practically hypothermic.”

“I think I left my coat on the plane. I was so out of it.”

“Maybe you could catch some sleep this time. If Phillip offers again, take him up on it, okay?”

“If I’ve been up for more than twenty-four hours, I will. I’m not eager to relive that experience. I’m pretty sure I hallucinated in the cab on the way home.”

When they reached Kate’s apartment, Ian grabbed a duffel bag and set it on the bed. Kate went into the bathroom and gathered up his toiletries.

“How many of these carders want to know who you are?” Kate asked. She placed the items in his bag, and Ian added a change of clothes.

“Too many to count.”

“How many of them would like to see harm come to you?” It was something that had occurred to her belatedly. If one of the carders doxed Ian and showed up at his door before he could leave, what would they do?

“Not as many.”

“But some?”

“My name more than likely appears on a few lists.”

Though she knew he was in a hurry, she reached out and put her hand on his wrist. “Ian.”

He took her hand and squeezed it. “Don’t worry.”

“How can I not?”

“I’ve done everything I can to mitigate the possibility of discovery. Everything I do, every hack I make, is done behind an alias and a proxy. Nothing is in my real name.”