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“My computer was unguarded in a trusted space!” Hux’s hands tightened into fists—a kind of clench-release, clench-release that made my throat go dry. “Jesus, fuck, Kev. I was here in your house with all known agents.”
I tilted my head and wrinkled my nose at him curiously. “Are you… are you serious?” I demanded. “Knowing someone isn’t the same as trusting them, Hux. Look at what Champ’s ex did. Doesn’t matter if someone is a ‘known agent.’ Unless you’d trust them with your life, you don’t trust them with your system.” That was Cyber Security 101, right there.
Hux’s face got redder—like, concerningly red—probably because deep down, he knew I was right. “Clearly, it was a mistake thinking I could trust you.” His words hit me like poison, bitter and caustic. “Why the hell would you sabotage me in front of my team? Do you have any idea how hard I work to make Champion Security safe from intruders? This isn’t a game, Kev. There’s a lot at stake here. We’re dealing with cartel intel. A cartel that murders people.”
Like I didn’t know that? Like my own cousin hadn’t been kidnapped by the cartel people and I hadn’t stepped in and helped to get him back safely?
I focused on keeping my breathing steady so I wouldn’t yell at him for being so condescending. In my calmest voice, I said, “Then it seems extra important to keep your systems secure by logging off your machine when you step away from it, hmmm?” Honestly, that was IT Security 101.
He rubbed his face with his hands the same way he had when we’d worked together to decrypt the data on the cartel’s stolen Horn—like he was disgusted and weary in equal measure. “Christ, you exhaust me. Is that all? You’re saying the single vulnerability in Champion Security’s system is the one time I left my own machine at the hands of a rabbit-napper?”
I opened my mouth to admit there was more to it, that there was an actual vulnerability, but then Hux shifted his weight toward me, and a wave of his signature scent hit me, making me dizzy again.
“No, I…” I shook my head to clear it, and my gaze caught on the stark black ink of his tattoos, which shifted as the muscles beneath them shifted. Even when he was angry at me, the man was impossibly distracting.
I tried again. “I just meant that I…” But then Hux ran his hand over his face again, and I became hyperaware of his callused hands and long fingers as they scraped along his chin, and I had to look away and close my eyes to get my breathing back under control.
Good freaking gravy. What the hell was wrong with me?
But even as I thought the words, I knew. Obviously, I knew. Sexual frustration could make a man desperate, and considering I was about to enter my twenty-fifth year of sexual drought, it was no surprise that I was starting to feel like I was back in high school, popping wood every time the breeze blew.
I’d had a kinda-sorta sexual encounter with Anomaly—Adam—a few weeks back, and it had been great, but… well. If I was being honest, it hadn’t quite lived up to my fantasies. When I’d imagined my first time, I’d envisioned sensual touches and husky pleas, not an MUD—a Multi-User Dungeon—where we typed our commands to one another.
You’ve taken off your shirt and now you’re naked.
You love it when I play with your sensitive nipples.
Your dick is enormous and hard, and when I touch you, you moan.
It had been fun, sorta, and Anoma—Adam. Jesus, why was that so hard to remember?—seemed to really enjoy it, which made me feel good, but… Well, if the universe had intended for a man to type and jerk himself at the same time, he would have been born with three hands, you know?
I’d thought about setting up a hookup through an app. Adam had said many times that he didn’t expect me to make a commitment or be exclusive yet, even though he was committed to me in his heart. But… I’d gone this long waiting to have sex, and now I wanted it to mean something. To be more than an anonymous fuck.
My brain flashed an image of Hux naked and sweaty on top of me, grunting into my ear—most likely something bossy and rude. I imagined my bare legs wrapped around him as I arched up against him.
Whoa. Where had that image come from?
And why did it get me more excited than all the MUD commands put together?
Hux’s nostrils flared. “That’s it, huh? Nothing to say for yourself?” He shook his head. “This is why we don’t work with fucking civilians. You have no idea what trust and teamwork mean.”
The fantasy bubble I’d been floating in popped, and I sucked in a sharp breath as I came back to reality.
