Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Rage
Luna’s been on a rampage since her bank and credit cards were hacked.
For me, the worst part is feeling helpless.
There’s literally nothing I can do for her, and as I watch her fingers flying over the keyboard in her office, I wonder how long she can keep this up.
She’s been working since last night and hasn’t stopped to eat or sleep or do much of anything else.
“Got you, you stupid motherfucker,” I hear her hiss.
I’ve been leaning against the doorjamb, waiting for the right moment to interrupt, and I take a step forward.
“What did you find?” I ask quietly.
She doesn’t even turn around.
“I found out where and when, now I just have to figure out who.”
“What does it say about the owner of the account?” I ask, peering over her shoulder.
“It looks like some sort of foreign corporate entity, but it’s under quite a few layers of encryption. It’s probably going to take me a few hours to get through them.”
“How long has it been since you slept?”
“Sleep is overrated,” she replies.
“It isn’t,” I say firmly. “Your body needs rest so you can do your best work.”
“I already am,” she mumbles, fingers still flying over the keyboard.
“Luna.” I move behind her and put my hands on her shoulders, gently beginning to massage them. She stiffens for a second but then relaxes into my touch.
“I have to figure this out,” she murmurs, still focused on the screens in front of her, but now her voice is softer.
“You’re done for now.” I press my thumbs into her tight muscles and her head slowly drops so that her chin hits her chest.
“That feels good,” she whispers.
“Uh huh.” I continue kneading her shoulders, neck, and even her scalp.
“Rage… I have to—”
“All you have to do is relax.” I increase the pressure and a soft moan escapes her. I like being able to help her unwind, especially after the day she’s had.
She came back to headquarters last night after the girls’ dinner and has been in her office ever since. I got here around nine this morning and thought sure she would peter out by noon. But nope, she’s still going and it’s almost eight o’clock in the evening now.
“Come on,” I coax softly. “Let me take you home.”
“I have my car,” she protests.
“That’s okay. I’ll bring you back to get it tomorrow. You shouldn’t be driving when you’re this tired.”
To my surprise, she nods and slowly starts gathering her things. She turns off her computers and then stands up.
“I guess I am pretty tired,” she admits.
“Let’s go.” I take her hand and we walk out to the parking lot. She gets into my SUV and I note how she practically melts into the seats the moment she puts on her seatbelt.
We don’t talk as I drive toward her apartment, and the next time I look over, she’s fast asleep.
Good.
She needs her rest.
The idea that a cyber security expert was hacked doesn’t sit well with me, and I’m worried.
I spoke to Daniil about it earlier and he agrees that we need to stay on top of the situation, but I prefer a proactive approach in protecting her.
Even if it means protecting her from herself.
As much as I love how independent she is, she needs to let the people who care about her have her back.
I pull into a parking spot in front of her building and walk around to the passenger side to gently wake her up.
“Hey, we’re home.”
She blinks sleepily and sits up. “Wow. I guess I was tired.”
“You were. Can you walk?”
“Yeah.” She gets out of my SUV and I slide an arm around her waist as we head for the elevators.
She kicks off her shoes the moment we get into her apartment, stifling a yawn.
“You should get some sleep,” I say gently.
She turns, eyes meeting mine in the low light. “Will you stay?” Her voice is low and soft, but her meaning is clear.
Still, I need to be sure.
“Do you want me to stay?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll stay.” I kick off my boots and follow her into the bedroom. She moves toward the bathroom and I watch as she picks up something that appears to be pajamas. “You’re not going to need those,” I call after her.
She glances back over her shoulder.
“I like a woman who sleeps in my arms to be naked.”
She sets the pajamas on a nearby chair and then walks into the bathroom without a word.
I strip down as well and slide between the covers. Her bed is a lot smaller than mine but I can make it work. I put my hands behind my head, waiting for her to come out and the second she steps into the room my heart begins to kick.
She’s fucking incredible.
Lush curves and what seems like miles of pale, creamy skin. She also has large round breasts with pretty pink nipples—that I’m going to spend a long time sucking on when I get the chance.
But not tonight.
First, she has to sleep. In the morning, we start working on that baby she so desperately wants.
To my surprise, I doze off almost the moment Luna crawls into bed with me.
Normally, I’m a light sleeper, but with Luna curled into my arms, I sleep nearly ten hours.
That’s incredibly rare for me and I have no doubt it’s because of the beautiful woman beside me.
Well, technically, she’s draped all over me.
One leg is thrown over mine, the side of her face is in my shoulder, and her hair is a tousled sexy mess on my pillow.
And I fucking love it.
I use the fingers of my free hand to gently trail them across her bare shoulder, and then down over her breast. With a feather light touch, I move my thumb back and forth across her nipple and even in her sleep, it pebbles almost instantly.
I continue to rub my thumb over it, watching as she slowly comes awake.
Sliding down a little, I dip my head and suck her nipple into my mouth. I know she’s awake because her fingers move into my hair, stroking it as I run my tongue around her areola. She’s warm and soft against me, and I feel her sigh of pleasure.
“Harder?” I ask softly.
“Mmm,” is her only response.
I reach out to move her fully on top of me. “Straddle me,” I say. “Then lean forward and let me feast on those gorgeous tits of yours.”
She moves lazily, like a cat stretching, eyes at half-mast as she looks down at me. Her hair is a mussed halo around her head and her face is devoid of makeup, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful woman. Not in bed with me anyway.
Damn, I’m a lucky man.
She uses her hands to move her breasts together, teasing me, and I reach up to cup them.
Full and heavy, they fit nicely in my hands, and I rub my thumbs back and forth some more, watching her face as I do it.
She likes it, no doubt about that, but I need to gauge how far I can go because I can be a little rough.
My gut tells me she’ll be on board for almost anything, but we’re too new to assume that.
“If anything is ever too much, you tell me,” I say, pausing what I’m doing to make sure she’s paying attention. This is our first time having intercourse, so I want to be positive she’s on board. “I’m a big guy—I could be hurting you unintentionally.”
“Of course.” She nods. “I know you’d never hurt me on purpose.”
Why does such a simple statement make me feel so good?
Because I’m crazy about her.
And what we’re about to do is going to change everything.
I lift a hand and cup one side of her face. “Have I told you how beautiful you are?”
She dips her head almost shyly. “N-no.”
“You’re stunning. Especially when you’re naked, your body sprawled across mine. If it were up to me, you’d never wear clothes.”
She chuckles. “That would be super inconvenient at work.”
“Not for me.”
“You might be a little biased.”
“You got a problem with that?” I ask, reaching for her breasts again.
“Not at all.” She wiggles on my groin. “You seem excited.”
“Excited doesn’t begin to describe how I feel being in bed with you.”
“Then maybe you should show me.”
Our eyes meet and for the tiniest moment, neither of us moves.
Then I reach for her again, wrapping my hand around the back of her neck and dragging her face down to mine.
Our lips move together easily, and she opens her mouth when I slide my tongue against hers.
There’s a hunger between us that I can only attribute to how long we’ve waited to actually do this.
How long I imagined this very moment. I’d jerk off night after night, my body aching for hers, and now that I have it, I want to savor every second.
With her body pressed against mine, I can feel every shudder, every moan, even the goosebumps that break out on her skin.
I run a hand down her back, slowly, content to touch every inch of her.
It was different when I went down on her, just a little tease of what was to come, but I’m done teasing now.
This is the moment that will show her she’s mine.