Shadow of a Doubt (Tangled Ivy Book 2) (20 page)

“What is it?” I asked.

From in his pocket, he produced a tiny, silver flash drive and showed it to me. “The code I stole.”

“The code that documents the biodata?”

He grinned. “Yep.”

“Aren’t you afraid they’d just take it from you?” I asked.

“It’s encrypted,” he explained. “If they try to crack the password, the data erases itself after three failed attempts.” Reggie pushed the drive back into his pocket. “I figure, if it comes down to it and Devon isn’t around or is unable to take my side, I at least have a bargaining chip.”

“It’s a smart idea,” I said. He just shrugged modestly and continued playing his game.

“How old are you?” I asked after a few minutes. Reggie seemed barely out of his teens.

“Twenty-three,” he said. “But I’ve been writing code since I was nine.”

“Wow,” I said, impressed. “That’s really young.”

“Yeah, I guess. I got bored with the kiddie stuff and started consulting when I was twelve. People said stuff like
kid genius
and
prodigy
. Shit like that. But I don’t feel like a prodigy. I just do what comes natural to me.”

“That’s really cool,” I said. “I don’t really have anything that comes naturally to me. At least, nothing I could make a living from.”

He glanced at me. “You’re really nice,” he blurted. “Most girls who look like you, they don’t give me the time of day.”

I felt my cheeks heat and I didn’t really know what to say. “Thanks. I’m sorry that people treat you badly. That’s not right.”

He shrugged. “Whatever. People aren’t always what they seem, I guess. You look at the outside and people judge, whether they think I’m some kind of socially inept loser or that you’re a cold bitch.” He seemed to catch himself at that. “Sorry,” he said.

“It’s fine,” I replied. “Yes, a lot of people assume I’m not a very nice person based on how I look. I don’t have a lot of friends.”

“Me neither,” he said.

“I’m your friend,” I said, smiling. “Will you be my friend, too?”

He grinned. “Absolutely.”

A sudden noise made me sit up in bed. I listened intently, then heard it again. A loud voice, almost like a cry, coming from my room.

I vaulted out of the bed and ran to the door. Flinging it open, I peered in confusion at my room. No one was there but Devon, asleep on the bed.

Okay, that was weird, I thought as I waved a goodnight to Reggie, who just shook his head at my antics and returned his attention to the flickering screen. Closing the door, I glanced back at the bed—

Devon cried out in his sleep, throwing his arms like he was hitting someone and grunting as though he was in pain.

I rushed to the bed, unsure what to do. He was flailing and I didn’t want to get hit accidentally. I reached to turn on the lamp, but Devon knocked it to the floor.

“Ivy!”

I froze.

He’d called my name. In his sleep, Devon had called my name.

“Ivy!” he said again, his voice desperate. “Where are you?”

“I’m here,” I answered, speaking loudly to try to break through his nightmare. “Devon, I’m here.” Tentatively, I reached out and touched his shoulder. His hand snatched at mine.

“Ivy . . .” he breathed in relief, hauling me off my feet and into the bed.

Devon wasn’t even awake. His eyes were still shut as he tucked me in beside him like a child with a teddy bear. An arm curved underneath my shoulders and another wrapped around my waist to hold me close. His face was buried in my neck, breathing in my scent.

He was murmuring something against my skin, but I couldn’t tell what. He was falling back into a deeper sleep and his lips barely moved. It took a moment before I could make out what he was saying.

“Need you . . . need you . . .” Over and over and over until the words faded away to nothing and he was still, his chest steadily rising and falling with his breath.

I didn’t know what to think. I was overwhelmed, stunned at what Devon’s subconscious had shown me. I was wrapped so tightly in his arms, his bare legs entwined with mine, there was no way I was going anywhere in the foreseeable future.

Tears leaked from my eyes to trail down the sides of my face and into my hair. I wished Devon could tell me more about how he felt when he was awake. I wondered what prevented him from doing so . . . and if he’d ever overcome it.

We were a pair, he and I. Both damaged goods, but from the outside looking in we were perfect—our pretty façades hiding the broken and jagged parts of our souls. Perhaps that’s why we fit so well together. The shattered pieces of our psyches were just enough to complete the other.

I loved him. I knew that, accepted it, despite realizing the chances of us being together were between slim and none. I thought, and tonight had given me hope, that Devon loved me, too. Even if he didn’t want to admit it yet.

Hope was a dangerous thing. Hope could save me . . . but hope endlessly deferred would kill me by inches.

I woke slowly, my eyes fluttering open. The sky was just beginning to lighten outside.

Devon was kissing my neck, his lips trailing a warm path to my shoulder. He’d spooned me during the night, my back to his front, and his hand was palming my breast through the thin material of my blouse.

All the reasons I’d had for keeping him at arm’s length had disintegrated in light of what had happened during his nightmare. I wanted him. He wanted me. This wasn’t just about sex. That was now obvious.

It was a relief, giving in. My body craved his touch. To be so near and yet to be denied had been agony.

Closing my eyes again, I reached back, threading my fingers through his hair. At my touch, an obvious acquiescence, Devon groaned. His lips met mine in a hard kiss, his tongue stroking mine as his hands skated down my body.

He pushed my jeans and panties down my legs and off before pulling my shirt over my head, carelessly tossing away the blouse and my bra. I was just as eager, shoving at the boxer briefs hugging his hips. His erection sprang free into my hands.

Pushing against his chest, I was able to reverse our positions so he was on his back. I slid down his body and took him in my mouth.

The air left him in a sharp gasp, which was incredibly satisfying. He was thick and long and I had to wrap my hand around the base of his cock since I couldn’t get all of it in my mouth.

My hair was in my way, so I flipped it up over my head with my hand. He tangled his fingers in the long blonde strands that trailed across his chest.

I lightly brushed the tip with my tongue, teasing him, circling the head before wrapping my lips around him again. I was no expert at deep-throating, but I did all right; at least by the noises he was making I was doing a fine job indeed.

Cupping his balls in my other hand, I gently squeezed. His hips thrust upward, pushing his cock into my mouth, sliding in and out at an ever-increasing pace. Seeing him lose control was an incredible turn-on, and I watched his face. His breathing was harsh and his face was creased in lines of pleasurable agony. The flesh between my legs began to throb with need.

When the steady rhythm of his thrusts began to change, I knew he was close. But before he came, he hauled me back up and flipped me onto my back.

“Want to be inside you, sweet Ivy,” he rasped, spreading my thighs. His cock was still wet from my mouth and he slid right into me.

Our tongues tangled and I wrapped my legs around his waist, lifting my hips to meet his. He’d slowed, waiting for me to catch up, I expect. But I gripped the muscled globes of his ass, squeezing and urging him to move harder. Faster.

Devon groaned, deep in his throat, his hands biting into my hips hard enough to leave a mark. But I didn’t care. If for now this was the only way he could show me how he really felt, I’d take it.

His orgasm overtook him, his body jerking hard into mine, and I could feel the pounding of his heart against my chest. The noises he made were more vocal than usual, the kisses afterward deeper and lingering. He petted my hair and pressed light kisses to my cheeks, my eyes, my jaw.

There was a sharp rap on the door, then Reggie walked in carrying his laptop. “Hey, guys—”

I shrieked and dove under the covers. Devon gave a heavy sigh.

“Dammit, Reggie,” he said.

“Aw, shit, I’m sorry,” I heard Reggie stammer.

“Do you mind?” Devon asked.

“Oh! Oh, yeah. Okay.”

The door closed. I cautiously peeked out from under the covers. Reggie had retreated back to his room. I glanced at Devon and giggled at the ludicrousness of the situation, getting caught in bed like teenagers.

He cracked a smile, too, then rolled his eyes. “Reggie isn’t the most socially aware person I know,” he said dryly.

“I got that,” I replied, still smiling. “He’s nice, though. I like him. Obviously, he’s a really smart guy.”

“Too smart,” Devon said. “The things he thinks about are on a whole other level than you and me. But that leaves him vulnerable because he just doesn’t see the dangers around him or in what he does.”

Glancing at the bedside clock, Devon swung his legs out of bed and stood. Sunshine flooded through the window and I didn’t look away, staring unabashedly at his naked body as he walked to the desk and checked his phone.

“I need to go out,” he said. “Can you watch him for me while I’m gone?”

“Yeah, sure,” I said.

“I won’t be gone long,” he said. “Why don’t you order us something to eat while I shower?”

That sounded good to me. I was starving.

When the food was delivered, Devon was still in the shower, so I knocked on Reggie’s door. I’d thrown on one of the hotel’s complimentary bathrobes.

“Are you hungry?” I asked once he’d called out for me to enter. “I ordered room service.”

Reggie’s face was beet red and he wouldn’t look me in the eye as he stammered back, “Uh, no, I’m fine.”

“Did you eat already?” I persisted.

He shook his head.

“Then come eat.” I grabbed his elbow and tugged him into the room. His embarrassed shyness was sweet.

I made him a plate of eggs with bacon and sat down to eat with him. It took a little coaxing, but he relaxed once I got him talking about his gaming again. By the time Devon emerged, fully dressed in jeans and a black, fitted long-sleeved knit shirt, we were chatting away like old friends.

“You two all right to be left alone for a few hours?” Devon asked, grabbing a couple of strips of bacon from the tray.

“We’ll be fine,” I assured him, watching as he slipped his gun into the back of his jeans and shrugged on a leather jacket.

Devon cast a skeptical eye our way, but I just blew him a kiss and waved him off. After he’d gone, I turned back to Reggie.

“I think I’m going to take a shower,” I said, “but I can come get you when I’m done. We can watch a movie or something.”

“Okay, sure, no problem,” he said, wiping his mouth with the napkin. “See you in a few.”

He went back to his room and I was quick with my shower, slipping the robe back on as I combed out my wet hair. A noise from Reggie’s room distracted me. Was that the sound of his door opening into the hallway?

Worried, I set down my brush and went to my door, peering through the peephole just in time to see Reggie creep stealthily by.

C
HAPTER
T
EN

I
wasted no time in yanking open the door.

“Reggie, where are you going?”

He spun around guiltily. “I, uh, um, I was, uh, just . . .” he stammered.

“Yeah,” I said, sarcasm edging my voice. “You were just, uh, what? Leaving? After Devon told you to stay? He’s here to help you, and this is how you’re repaying him?”

Reggie hung his head. “I swear, I wasn’t sneaking out,” he said. “Well, I was, but not for the reason you think.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Then why?”

“You’ll think it’s dumb,” he muttered.

“Not any more dumb than sneaking out on Devon,” I retorted.

“Fine,” he huffed. “It’s just that . . . there’s this convention going on just a couple of blocks away, and I really wanted to go.” He shrugged. “I didn’t think Devon would miss me for a couple of hours. There’ll be tons of people there and it’s not far.”