He broke their kiss to set his mouth on a hot trail along her neck. She threw her head back, her hips meeting his urgent thrusts despite the clothing that separated them.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“I want you.” His hot breath puffed against her cleavage. “I need to taste you.”

“Yes,” she murmured again, wishing he’d relieve the ache building between her thighs.

He unbuttoned her jeans, slid down the zipper, and with a swift yank sent them to the ground. The wind whispered over her bare legs. He slid off her shoes, kissed her toes, then kissed his way up one leg. He licked the back of her knee, tingles spreading all over her body. Then he switched to her other leg, kissing up her thigh, his mouth achingly close to where she yearned for his touch.

And he gave it to her. Circling her opening with his middle finger, he tested her dampness, then slid inside. She felt the breach of one knuckle then two, and she drenched his fingers.

So intense. So good.

She arched against the hood of his car, throwing her arms above her head.

“That’s it, let go. Let me give this to you,” he murmured, his voice husky and sexy as hell.

A cry escaped her as he slid his tongue through her folds and licked her aching peak. As ecstasy and sheer pleasure coursed through her, she opened her thighs to him, loving the way his tongue caressed her. Slow. Steamy. Succulent. He took his time, like he had all night to taste her.

At the first flicker of an orgasm, she sent her hands into his hair, urging him on. Then her fingers curled into fists as the sensations intensified, filling her with pounding, aching need. Her blood rushed hotly through her veins. His tongue set a powerful rhythm. Her hips bucked. A burst of sensation lit fireworks behind her eyes. She clenched and then released her passion against his mouth.

“Oh, my God.” She quaked in his hands.

He pressed a lingering kiss to each thigh. Then he edged his mouth upward, swirled his tongue around her belly button, and reignited her internal fire.

A sudden buzz in his pocket made him still. He lifted onto his forearms and sent her a look of intense regret. “I should probably get that.”

She responded with a shaky nod. “Probably.”

“Damn.” He pushed up from the car hood with one hand and answered his phone. “Yeah? Okay. On our way.”

Hastily, she slid off the hood of his car and dragged her panties and jeans on. “News?”

“Yep.” He sighed, running a hand over his mouth. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want this to stop.”

The absence of his warmth in the abrupt separation created a depth of need. She didn’t want to be without his warmth, leaving her with a horrible vacant sensation, even though she’d spent years guarding against this. “Duty calls.”

“Right.” He nodded. “You okay?”

“Sure.”

Did that sound sarcastic?

After the roller coaster of an emotional ride she’d been on tonight, she couldn’t summon the effort to retract her sarcasm.

“Devon—”

“I’m good.” She held up her palms. “Just…let’s just go.”

During the drive back, he took her hand again, like he had on the way there. She squeezed his fingers, grateful for the unspoken support.

The darkness and starlight was soon overcome by the glare of street lights. She cared about Trey. A lot. Eventually, she’d have to shed some light on the reality of her situation. Her plans to leave. A part of her withered inside.

When they returned to her house, the news was worse than she imagined. They’d found four frigging cameras in her house.

The heinous, spying bastard.

Sick to her stomach, she sank into the office chair in front of her computer, staring at the screen as if it were an alien that might attack without warning. The one thing that had always provided a safe haven now had the potential to damage her. To the point she might not recover.

And she wasn’t thinking about her files or data.

From the kitchen, Logan and Trey’s voices carried to her. They spoke in low tones about problem solving methods. None would do any good. They weren’t part of her world. They didn’t understand how to deal with this threat or how to keep her safe.

Safe.

What a joke.

Sliding her arms over her stomach, she wanted to laugh or vomit. Whichever came first. At this point in the night, either one was probable.

Then, like a death knell, her warning alert dinged. Right in front of her. Her lips parted. My God. Again?

She barely heard Trey, Logan, and the team rush to her side.

The pirate flag waved again on her screen. Mocking. Taunting. Invading her soul, and damaging any scrap of resilience she had left.

The cursor flashed on the screen like an illuminated omen. “I can still hear you. I told you, he shouldn’t be there. None of them should. Get them out. Before I take this to the next level.”

Devon pressed a hand against her mouth. Tears splashed her fingers. “Why won’t this end?” she whispered. “Hasn’t he done enough?”

Trey instantly knelt at her side, wrapping his arm around her waist. “We’ll get this guy. I swear it.”

“His days are numbered,” Logan agreed vehemently.

Empty threats.

They didn’t get it. They didn’t get hackers. And they didn’t understand the full damage this man had inflicted on any sense of autonomy or safety she’d ever believed in.

“I can’t stay here,” she said in a shaky voice.

“You can stay with me,” Trey offered.

She shook her head. She needed room to breathe and vent and cry. She couldn’t do that with Trey. Not yet. “I can’t.”

Logan glanced between them and then placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Looks like Allison and I will finally get some use out of our guest room.”

Chapter 5

Devon woke to the sound of a child wailing.

Her head hurt. Her mouth tasted like cotton.

She cracked one eye open and found Peanut’s tail tucked against her face. She spat out his fur, sat up in bed, and tried to orient herself. The surroundings were familiar. She’d crashed here before, the night of Thanksgiving last year, in one of Allison and Logan’s spare bedrooms.

Then she remembered…

After learning that the hacker was not only a video-stalker but an audio-stalker, too, her world had crumbled into a state of appalling misery.

That dread crawled across her skin again.

Last night, Trey had offered his place as an alternative to hers, since Logan’s team needed to revisit her house again Saturday morning to sweep for more hidden equipment. But that offer had seemed too intimate, too soon. She didn’t want to open that door. She wasn’t ready to give a man, let alone a whole team, full reign over her life. She’d deal with any issues herself, damn it.