Accounting for Lust (17 page)

She toyed with the keys clutched in her hand.
Who knew if the person after her didn’t lurk
in the shadows
? He could be waiting behind the pillar directly in front of the doors.
Fear
glued
her feet
to the floor. The light in the elevator hummed and
her heartbeat roared
like thunder.

Her glance darted from left to right, trying to pierce the shadows. She couldn’t stay in the elevator the whole night. She had to get out of here.
Q
uickly. 
Taking a deep breath
,
she stepped out of the elevator and let loose an ear
-
piercing scream as someone stepped out from behind the pillar, his face shrouded in darkness.
Dropping
her briefcase
,
she bolted for Jake’s car. Heavy footsteps followed behind her and Cassie increased the pace.

From a distance
,
she could hear someone
call her name
. The person behind her increased his pace and Cassie drew on all her reserves to lengthen her stride. A quick glance over her shoulder had her stumbling to a stop. She gasped for breath and doubled over while her temper took a flying leap straight into the overload zone.

“Why didn’t you tell me it’s you? I was scared out of my wits.” If she thought she had any chance of success
,
she would have kicked his shins.

Jake’s breath didn’t chase and he looked at her with a mixture of amusement and pity. “You didn’t give me chance.” He took a step closer to her. “Why did you bolt? Didn’t you get Matt’s message that it was all for show up in your office?

Cassie
’s face heated crimson with anger, but she tried to keep her voice cold.
“I did, but thought you guys would keep a low profile for the time being.”

“We are keeping a low profile, but our first priority is to keep you safe. It
’s
what you hired us to do, isn’t it?”

Damn, why did men have to sound so logical and calm all the time. Her heart still
skipped
a few beats while she tried to calm
down and here he stood, cool as ice.
Complaining about it wouldn’t do her any good, so she
turned and
walked to
wards
the car.

Jake handed her briefcase to her. “You might need this.” Cassie’s eyes narrowed. If he dared laugh at her she would . . .  she would what? What did you to a man whose only vice was to try and keep you safe and satisfied
?
Yep, the satisfied part he mastered. She prayed he was as competent in the
keeping her
safe
department
.

“You also need to drive. I’ll hide so it would look as if you’re alone.”

Cassie nodded and took the keys from him. Driving the large car didn’t scare her. Him hiding in the backseat did. It brought home the reality of the danger she might be in and her hand trembled lightly as she inserted the key into the ignition.
Get a grip, she admonished herself. She’d lived
on
her own
,
far from
the constant security her father insisted upon
,
for more than ten years
.
Succumbing to fear didn’t solve anything. They were in the middle of thi
s nightmare
, and she needed to see it through with as much dignity as she could muster.

Despite the stern talking
-
to she gave herself, Cassie
sighed with relief
when she parked the car at her apartment.
Rubbing her neck, she alighted from the car and waited for Jake.

“You need to go in alone. We placed an agent inside this morning, so you’re perfectly safe. I’ll join you as soon as I can.”

Jake
’
s whisper
weakened her knees with fear
. She might be angry
with
him for scaring her out of her wits, but he’s the only one that made her feel safe. Without indicating she
’d
heard him, she slammed the door shut and started towards the apartment.
A female agent opened the door before Cassie could reach for the handle and pulled
her
inside.

The apartment appeared crowded, her privacy invaded in the worst possible way.
The tel
ephone jack hosted a shiny black box and a constant buzz sounded from the laptop on the dining
room table. With the curtains drawn, the place resembled a low budget
spy movie where
the producers saved costs on lighting
.

“Put your laptop on the table and back
off
.”

Cassie started at the accusatory words. They couldn’t really believe she masterminded the thefts and attacks on herself, could they? Her hands trembled as she dropped the case on the table before heading
for
room.
Once she shut the door behind her, she
slumped
on the unmade bed. Rumpled sheets and dented pillows
bearing
the only evidence that she experienced the throes of passion less than twenty
-
four hours ago.

She closed her eyes and battled against the tears threatening to spill. Playing the helpless heroine never suited her and wishing upon stars
was pointless
. Physical activity combatted fatigue and limited time to think.

Cassie changed into sweats and a t-shirt and pulled the treadmill open. Dust mites floated
in the air
as she plugged the machine into the electrical outlet.
She’d worked up a sweat after fifteen minutes when she noticed the piece of paper sticking out from her jacket pocket. Without waiting for the treadmill to stop, she jumped off and opened the folded sheet of paper.

Don’t panic. You’re safe. Just follow the instructions of the woman in the apartment and we’ll catch the SOB. Call you as soon as we have news.

Great. The inefficiency of negative instructions struck her and she smiled against her will. People only start reading at the first verb and in this case, her body reacted to the panic part
,
ignoring the don’t.
She stuffed the note into her jacket and eyed the treadmill. The thought of more sweating
abhorred her
and she rinsed her face, upended the machine and walked to the dining
room.

“Feeling better?” the woman asked without lifting her head from the laptop.

“Yes, thank you. Do you need anything from me?”

“No thanks.
You should choose the passwords for your computer more carefully. It took me
all of
five minutes to crack it.”

Cassie stared open-mouthed at the woman. “You must be very good at your job. I spent weeks compiling passwords with enough strength according to
our
IT department.”

The woman laughed, but Cassie detected no mirth in the sound. “Doesn’t matter now though. I think I know how they used your computer to do the transactions.” She turned the screen so Cassie could see. “Someone assigned a static IP address to your computer. This means anyone with the same IP address and your access codes could use their own computer, log on to the server and perform any task you could.”

Cassie nodded. “And with the camera the access codes wouldn’t have been a problem even though I changed it regularly.”

“Exactly.” She turned the screen towards
her
again
and her fingers pounded on the keys.
Cassie paced the living room, hugging her midriff. If only this nightmare could be over, her
world
would return to normal.

Not that she knew what normal was anymore. She quite enjoyed the challenge of running the company and meeting interesting people along the way. A couple of months ago she would have shied from any high stress confrontation with the milkman. Now, she negotiated deals with governments not altogether friendly towards the western monetary system. Could she go back to her charted accounting practice and feel fulfilled? She supposed she had to decide eventually. At present, she would be happy if Matt caught the culprit and she could commence running the company without incurring unnecessary losses.

Ignoring the woman at the dining room table, Cassie switched on the television
and flipped through the channels. She found a romantic comedy she hadn’t seen before and settled on the sofa with her feet drawn under her.

She awoke with a start when someone shook her arm. Jake’s face hovered inches above hers and she stared transfixed into the brown pools of lust above her. Only this time, lust wasn’t what darkened his eyes. It was pity.

Cassie
stretched and swung
her feet to the
floor
. The
small
hand on the
clock
rested deep in the east side of twelve.
A quick scan of the apartment confirmed the woman had left.

“Did you find anything?”

Jake nodded. “I came to fetch you. We need your take on what we found.” He took her hand and pulled her up. She ended with her breasts pressing into his chest and his leg between hers. Unable to resist, she tucked her head under his chin and listened to the steady beat of his heart. Despite the lateness of the hour, he smelled all man. She sighed.

“If you keep doing that we aren’t going to get to the office soon.”

She softly ground her pussy against his leg. “Do we have to go right
now
? Will an hour or so later make any difference?”

Jake
retreated and
stared at her.
“I’m afraid it would. Matt and the team are waiting for us.”
He
held her gaze for the longest time
, indecision rampant in his eyes.

“The hell with it. They can wait a little longer.”

Jake picked her up and carried her to the kitchen. He
gently
deposited her
on the counter before he claimed her lips in a kiss. He ran his tongue over her lower lip, teasing her lips apart and deepening the kiss. She clung to his shoulders
as
evidence of his arousal pressed against her inner thigh
.
Cassie shifted her buttocks to hug him closer, grinding her already moist pussy against his hard cock. Jack lifted her off the counter and
removed
the sweats
and
her thong. She kicked her legs until the garments
thudded
on the floor.

Jake broke the kiss and and
lowered her shoulders
until his mouth could reach the hardened pebbles of her nipples. He caught them in his mouth through the fabric of her t-shirt,
nibbling
and
she writhed against him
.

She clasped her hands behind his neck as he
put
a finger into her wet pussy, whirling and twirling the digit inside until she thought her body would explode with sensation.
Tw
o fingers probed her opening and Cassie gasped. She writhed and bucked against his hand, unable to form a coherent thought. She needed more.

“I want your cock inside me,” she
fumbled with the button on his trousers
.
Jake
removed her
hands and dropped his pants to the floor. He
pulled her buttocks closer to the edge of the counter
and
rubbed the head of his penis along the slit of her vagina, teasing her clit into a throbbing mass of wanting.

“Now. Please.”

He pressed his cock against the tight opening of her anus before slowly making his way to her clit, spreading the moisture alon
g
the engorged lips. When he at last
entered her
in one fell stroke Cassie cried out his name
and dug her nails into his arms.
Her body arched.
Jake had no mercy, moving hard and fast. Banging into her until he filled her to the brim of her womb.

“Harder. Faster,” she panted.

With his free hand
,
he rolled her nipple between his finger and thumb
increasing the pressure in her pussy, heightening the want.
Her muscles clench
ed
, puls
ed
and
the peak of pleasure catapulted
Cassie
into mindless ecstasy.  Jake pounded harder and
deeper into her. Moments later
,
he flooded her with his warmth
and
gathered her against him, hugging her tight.