Page 22 of Cipher

He didn’t look up when I stopped in the open doorway. “You packed my coffee too?”

“You drink it every morning.”

My brows drew together. “Today was the only morning you’ve ever seen me do anything.”

He stopped typing, and his eyes met mine. “I checked the cabinet to see if your dad had another bag besides the open one on the counter. Assumed the pumpkin spice was yours since I can’t picture the sheriff drinking that shit.”

I stared at him. “That is either thoughtful or deeply unsettling.”

“Both can be true.” He finally glanced over, his dark eyes unreadable. “Come here.”

I moved close enough to see the screen.

“Your old accounts are locked down. New passwords are already set. I’m finishing the alerts now. If anyone tries to access anything tied to your name, I’ll know before they get past the first firewall.”

I couldn’t be upset that he'd rewritten my digital life without asking, not when he’d only done it for my protection. “How can I get into everything?”

He walked me through all the safeguards and made it clear I didn’t need to worry because he’d used military-grade encryption on my accounts and wired everything into his protection system.

Turning the new phone over in my hands, I murmured, “My favorite hacker.”

Cipher was out of his chair and backing me against the wall beside the door before I knew what was happening. Then he braced a hand beside my head, caging me in. The other slid up and around the nape of my neck. “Say that again.”

My throat was tight, but I managed to repeat, “My favorite hacker.”

His eyes darkened to the point where the amber ring around his irises nearly disappeared. “Don’t call me that.”

“Hacker?”

“Yeah.” His thumb stroked along the side of my neck. “Use my name. Corbin.”

I knew enough about MC life from Jacqueline to understand this was a big deal. The swift change from avoiding me for three weeks to being in his home and using his real name made my head spin, but I wasn’t about to fight it when this was what I had wanted all along. “Corbin.”

Male satisfaction gleamed from his eyes, then his mouth came down on mine, hard and with no hesitation. He kissed me like he’d been holding back all this time and had finally lost control. One hand stayed locked at my nape, tilting my head exactly where he wanted it while the other gripped my hip and pulled me flush against him. I gasped against his lips, and he used the opening to sweep his tongue inside, devouring my mouth until my hands were fisted in the front of his T-shirt and my knees felt wobbly.

He broke away only long enough to drag his mouth along my jaw. “You have no idea how many times I talked myself out of this. How often I told myself you were off-limits.”

“And now?” I managed.

“Now you’re in my house.” His teeth scraped lightly over the sensitive spot just below my ear, drawing a soft moan from my throat. “And in my bed tonight.”

I arched into him without thinking, and the hand at my waist slid lower, gripping my hip hard enough that I’d feel his touch for a little while but it wouldn’t leave a bruise. He kissed me again, slower this time but no less intense, his tongue exploring my mouth as though he had all the time in the world.

One of my hands found the back of his neck as he pressed me tighter against the wall. When he rolled his hips against mine, the friction dragged a needy moan from me that made him growl. “That’s it, baby. Let me hear what I do to you.”

I couldn’t have stopped the soft sounds if I tried. “Corbin.”

“Fuck, I like hearing you say my name in that breathy voice.” The swipe of his thumb against my neck sent a trail of goose bumps in its wake. “No more pretending this isn’t happening.”

If he hadn’t kissed me senseless, I probably would’ve pointed out that he’d been the only one trying to deny the attraction between us. But I was shaking with want by the time he finally rested his forehead against mine, both of us breathing hard. And before either of us could say anything, a shrill alert cut through the room from one of the screens behind him.

Corbin went from heated to lethal in less than a second.

“Perimeter alert. Stay behind me,” he ordered.

I followed him out of the study on unsteady legs. He moved fast through the house, pulled open what looked like a regular section of wall in the hallway, and revealed a reinforced steel door. After he looked in the iris scan and pressed his thumb against the pad, the lock disengaged.

“Inside.” His tone left no room for argument. “It locks from the outside and only opens to my biometrics or the override code. Do not come out until I clear you.”