He was sliding his hard length over her clit, getting his dick wet. “Never. Look at me.”
Her eyes caught on his.
“Hello again, baby.” He thrust up, joining them together.
He hissed, trying not to give into the desperate need to fuck her as hard as he could. Instead he kissed her as he eased back out of her body. Kissed her as he thrust in. Kissed her as they found a familiar rhythm, one he’d worried he would never find again. Every sigh from her lips, touch of her hand, connected him to the boy he’d been, formed a bridge between that boy and the man he’d become.
When Maddie tightened around him and called out his name, he couldn’t hold back another second. He wanted it to last, wanted to stay in this moment of rediscovery with her forever. But the orgasm bloomed over him, sending him into a spiral of pure pleasure.
He collapsed on top of her, surrounded by her warmth.
“Well I feel better,” Maddie said with a sigh.
He chuckled and rolled to the side, keeping his arms around her. “I’m glad I could help, baby.”
She cuddled close, and Deke wished the night didn’t have to end.
Chapter Nine
“Do you really have to do that so loudly?” Drake walked into the kitchen as Deke was pouring coffee into the tumbler Maddie used for her morning commute. He’d moved his bag from the car the night before. The man packed light, but he was dressed in fresh clothes this morning—jeans and a V-neck tee that would make him look like every other So Cal dude who worked in tech. Drake was good at fitting in. “We all get it. Deke’s got a girl now. You don’t have to shout it to the world.”
“Yeah, man, I could hear you two upstairs.” Kyle had already been in the kitchen when Deke had walked out to start breakfast only to find the upstairs group was already at work.
“If you don’t like it, you’re welcome to find a hotel. It’s LA. There are tons of them.” He wasn’t about to apologize for the night before. He’d woken up to a very cuddly Madeline, and he was happy.
“I couldn’t hear you at all.” Boomer was at the stove, using pretty much all of Maddie’s eggs to make breakfast. “I slept like a baby.”
“He is weirdly still when he sleeps.” Kyle frowned before taking a sip of his coffee. “I kind of wondered if he was dead, but when I tried to poke him to make sure he was breathing he nearly killed me. He got his whole hand around my neck. Like he could probably touch his fingers to his thumb. Around my neck. It’s not like I’m skinny or anything.”
MaeBe grinned. “Kyle’s been whining about it all morning. I told him there’s a saying around the building. Never wake a sleeping Boomer.”
“I didn’t even squeeze hard.” Boomer moved the spatula around the pan and added a bit of milk to the eggs he was scrambling. “I was having a bad dream. I got one real whiff of Axe body spray and realized I wasn’t in an Afghani prison and I woke up.”
“I do not wear body spray.” Kyle’s brows damn near met in the middle of his forehead.
“It’s a cologne,” MaeBe explained. “I got Kyle for Secret Santa last year and I didn’t know him real well so I bought him this cologne I like. It smells good.”
“Well, it smells way better than the dude who waterboarded me in prison so I woke up, and Kyle and I have an understanding now,” Boomer replied.
“Yeah, I know to let him stop breathing in the middle of the night. You know it’s not like I don’t have bad dreams and shit. I haven’t tried to kill anyone over them yet.” Kyle sat back down beside MaeBe, who was already on her computer.
“You’re not as committed as I am. Hey, do you think Maddie has any bread?” Boomer asked.
“It’s in the freezer. I didn’t want to waste it while I was out of town.” Maddie walked in looking all buttoned up and sexy as hell. She strode to the fridge and opened the freezer, pulling out what looked like a loaf of dark wheat bread. “You should be able to toast it. I’ll put in a grocery order this afternoon. I don’t have a lot of food. I’m afraid I usually pick up something on my way home.”
“Don’t worry about it. Obtaining food is one of the many not dangerous tasks I have on my list for today,” MaeBe announced. “By the way, I’ve managed to get into the CCTV system in your building. Just so you know I’m watching.”
Maddie’s brows rose. “I would think our security would be better than that.”
MaeBe shrugged. “CCTV isn’t hard. I would have a much harder time getting into the network. Not that I couldn’t, but it could take a while. Speaking of, what do you know about Byrne’s personal system? Do you have an idea of what kind of security he uses?”
“I’ve only been to his house a couple of times. He hosts this party every year for upper-level employees,” Maddie explained. “I know where his office is, and I’ve seen him use the system. I think it’s password protected.”
“Not a problem,” MaeBe replied. “I can crack a code. I’m more worried about biometrics.”
He wasn’t. If they needed Byrne’s eye or fingers to unlock the system, they could take the fuckers. The more he thought about the position Byrne had put Maddie in, the more he wanted to kill the man.
“He didn’t have anything like that on the computer when I saw it last, but that was six months ago. He had it at the office the last time the mystery lady came into town,” she explained.
“And she’s due back soon?” Drake asked.
When they’d explained the mysterious visitor and how they believed she might be connected to another case they’d worked, Drake had listened intently. He had not, however, offered up his own information. Maybe he didn’t have any, but something about the way he’d gone still had made Deke wonder.
“She’s shown up on a regular basis for the last eighteen months.” Madeline opened the bread and slid two slices in the toaster. “If she’s on the same schedule, she should be back either this week or next.”
“You’ve been working on the satellite project for longer than that,” Drake prompted.
“Yes. I’ve been working on it for almost four years,” she replied, getting the butter from the fridge. “But she didn’t show up until eighteen months ago. At least that was the first I heard of her, and I think I would have known. Nolan’s secretary can be gossipy. Everyone in the company thinks she’s either from the government or another corporation who wants to buy out Byrne—which is ridiculous. There’s not enough money in the world to make Nolan give up his company. It’s his everything. And some people think she’s a sex worker.”
“I doubt that very much.” Somehow he didn’t think sex workers came equipped with off-market tech that allowed them the freedom to move around without the cameras being able to capture their faces.
“And I doubt she’s with the government,” Drake added.
“How can you possibly know that?” Boomer asked. “I get that you’re connected, but you can’t know everything that’s going on. She could be Department of Defense or NASA.”