Page 23 of Cipher

I stepped into the small, windowless room that held a bench, a monitor, and some basic supplies. Corbin’s hand brushed my lower back once before he shut the door. The heavy lock engaged with a solid thunk.

I sat down and stared at the blank monitor, my heart still racing from both the kiss and the sudden threat. It felt like time slowed since I couldn’t hear anything from outside.

When the lock finally released again, Corbin stood in the doorway, his expression carved from stone.

“Clear.” He tugged me to my feet. “No one crossed the property line. Cameras show nothing. Could’ve been an animal or a sensor glitch, but I’m not taking chances when it comes to you. The team is doing a thorough sweep of the property now.”

The adrenaline crash had left me shaky. “Thank you.”

Corbin pulled me into a tight hug. I rested my forehead against his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart while the last of the adrenaline drained away.

Then I waited for him to let go and put some distance back in place. Instead, his hand slid down to rest at my waist.

“When we leave these walls, you stay where I can reach you. No running off on your own. And you don’t let another man touch you.”

His tone left very little room for debate, but I couldn’t help teasing, “You’re aware that you skipped about six conventional relationship stages, right?”

“Yeah.” His hold on me tightened. “You got a problem with any of it?”

I shook my head. “Nope. Just wanted to make sure you knew how fast you’re moving.”

“Trust me.” He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. “I know exactly what I’m doing, baby.”

I really hoped he did because I was already falling fast.

9

CIPHER

When I woke up, Bex was cuddled against my chest, a warm thigh draped over my hips and her face tucked into the hollow beneath my shoulder. Sometime during the night, she had worked a hand beneath my shirt and spread her fingers over my stomach. My arm remained locked around her waist exactly where I’d put it.

Her hair covered my chest and half the pillow, carrying the faint citrus-and-vanilla scent that had been fucking with my self-control since Stryker’s wedding. The only thing I regretted about putting her in my bed was that the perimeter alert had interrupted us before I finished what we’d started.

My cock had been hard before I fully opened my eyes, trapped under the soft curve of her thigh while every shift of her sleeping body dragged warmth over the rigid length. I tightened my hand at her waist and watched the early light move across her face, taking in the faint flush still lingering along her throat from my mouth and the softness around her lips after I ravished it again before going to sleep.

I wasn’t sure how I’d convinced myself before that leaving Bex alone was the only reasonable choice. Now she was in my bed, wearing one of my shirts, carrying my marks on her slender throat, and there wasn’t a single part of the situation I intended to reverse.

Her lashes fluttered when my thumb slid beneath the hem of the shirt and traced the warm skin of her thigh just below her panties. Her eyes opened slowly, unfocused at first, then brightened when she found me watching her. “You’re staring.”

“Trying to understand how you can look that innocent while lying on top of my cock.”

Bex’s mouth curved into an impish smile as she fit her body tighter against mine, pressing her thigh more firmly over my erection. “Natural talent.”

“It’s a dangerous one.”

“Oh?”

I nodded as I caught the back of her neck and rolled her beneath me, settling my weight between her open legs while her surprised laugh dissolved into a soft gasp. “I suffered most of the night.”

Heat spread across her cheeks as her palms moved up my chest, but she didn’t look away or pretend the blunt answer embarrassed her enough to want less. Her legs widened beneath me, accommodating the heavier lines of my body while my cock pressed against her warm center. When I rocked once, grinding the thick ridge along her, her lips parted, and the sound that escaped went straight through my balls.

“Poor Corbin,” she breathed.

Hearing her say my real name in my bed hit even harder than it had the night before.

“You can make it up to me now.”

I took her mouth before she could say anything else, swallowing her gasp while my hand threaded through her hair while the other closed around one of her breasts. The soft weight filled my palm, her nipple tightening instantly against the center of it before my thumb dragged over the sensitive peak. Bex whimpered and arched beneath me with her fingers digging into my shoulders.