* *
The interior of the plane was as pristine and classy as the outside. Fitted in mahogany and cream tones, the club seats were grouped into two sections, one side with a shiny table separating the seats and the other without.
I chose the seat with a table. Anything for a buffer between Caleb and myself.
He watched me slide into the window seat. He didn’t immediately sit down, even though the jet was rolling out of the hangar. Instead, he took his time to shrug off his lightweight jacket. The midnight blue shirt underneath was fitted, lovingly following a streamlined torso.
When he pivoted to hang up his jacket, the muscles in his back rippled with a sleek, edgy synergy that triggered a need to see him minus that shirt. Unlike me, he was perfectly tanned, the Californian sun having found the ideal specimen to blaze upon. Without a doubt, he would be firmly toned all over.
The urge to glide my fingers over those muscles intensified the incessant throb in my pussy.
I inhaled unsteadily, shifted my gaze and focused on securing my belt as he slid onto the seat opposite me. A moment later one arm extended toward me.
Annoyingly agitated with my skittish emotions, my head jerked up. He was unbuttoning his cuffs, casually folding back his sleeves, exposing thick, brawny arms overlaid with silky wisps of hair.
The innate grace flowing through the moment was almost hypnotic.
God. Enough.
The man was mouthwateringly attractive, granted. But I’d never lost my head or hormones like this, not even during the brief months I thought I was in love with Scott Wyatt, the man Chance planted in my life to manipulate me. Even before I found out his true motivations, Scott didn’t set me on fire with a mere look.
After he was done with his hot little arm-porn display, Caleb rested his arms on the table. “Do you want a drink?”
“I’m good, thanks.”
He nodded and glanced at his watch. “It is three in the morning, and we land in about forty-five minutes. We can use the time to discuss the case, or you can get some sleep?”
“You’re giving me a choice?”
He smiled. “I’m not a complete ogre, Lily, regardless of whatever impression Maggie gave you.”
It unsettled me that he’d read me so accurately. But wasn’t that why I chose him? He’d risen to the top of my list almost immediately when I searched on the dark web because he was a maverick to the core. Totally unscrupulous when he went after something he truly wanted.
And the way he was staring back at me strongly suggested I was somewhere on his want list.
Maybe that was the reason I should’ve been bone-tired but felt oddly invigorated despite being awake for twenty hours straight. If I’d been coding, I’d be getting ready to crash hard by now.
My stalker’s latest “gift” arriving in my mail this morning had wiped rest from my mind.
That unwelcome reminder refocused me. “I’m fine to answer your questions.”
His brisk nod signified the switch back to fixer mode. “We’ll get to the background stuff when you’ve had some sleep. For now, tell me when you first realized you’d attracted someone’s attention?”
I didn’t need to think hard. The memory was etched in my mind. “About seven weeks ago I received a piece of what looked like my code in an email. It was a very rough copy but it got my attention. And no, I wasn’t able to find out who sent it.”
“So we could be dealing with corporate sabotage.”
The possibility shocked me. “You think one of SDM’s competitors could be behind this?”
The underhanded tactics that went on in Silicon Valley weren’t a secret, but usually they involved throwing enough money at an acquisition to secure it or throwing even more money at a problem to make it go away.
His mouth twisted. “You’d be surprised at the lengths companies would go to get an edge on the market. If your code is as revolutionary as you say it is—”
“It is,” I confirmed. The possibilities of my algorithm scared me a little but I was extremely proud of what I’d achieved. The thought of someone stealing it filled me with equal parts fury and fear.
Caleb leaned back but it didn’t release me from the raw force field of his personality. I was convinced he’d need to be in another state for that to happen.
“Then I suggest we make a list of the top twenty companies you think might benefit from this code.”
I shook my head. “That’ll be nearly impossible to investigate before the deadline.”
A fierce light blazed in his eyes. “Make the list, Lily. I’ll take care of it.”
I got the unassailable impression that he would. The depth of that belief scared me a little. But it excited me even more. Which was ludicrous and a lot disturbing considering I detested being taken care of.
Not true. You hate that no one’s cared enough without having an ulterior motive. Just like you hate that soft place inside you that wants to be taken care of.
I tightened my gut against the abrading truth. But it was no use. Lately, I hadn’t been able to suppress thoughts of my stepfather as easily as I used to. Truth was, my stalker had amplified the yawning cavern of my life. He, or they, had exposed vulnerabilities that made me feel raw and fearful and alone. It was that last sensation I especially despised. I wanted that aloneness gone, and if I had to endure Caleb Steele for a while to achieve a return to normal, then so be it.
“Okay, I’ll have it ready for you in the morning.”
“Good. Tell me when you first noticed this wasn’t just an online thing?” he whipped back, sharp eyes narrowed.
A swell of fear met quiet fury at the recollection of that first violation. “Two weeks ago I got another piece of code in the mail. It’s a long way from the one I was working on, but someone out there is taunting me with knowledge of what I’m working on.”
A muscle rippled in his jaw. “Did they make demands? Ask for money?”
“No.”
“They’re trying to scare you into changing your routine. Trip you up in some way. When was the next time?”
“He left me another code on top of my bike outside a coffee shop four blocks from my house.”
His mouth thinned. “So he knows where you work and live.”
I fought the shudder that rolled up my body. “Looks like it.”
His hands curled into loose fists but his breathing didn’t change. He carried on staring at me with a level look, then nodded for me to go on.
“The last time was yesterday morning. I received another code, but with a picture of me attached.”
“A
