Clutching his head to her, her breath caught as he bit down on her nipple. Unable to resist, she moved her hips against his stroking fingers. Wanting more. She clutched his head to her as he gently bit down on her nipple and caused her breath to catch and then moan out loudly, moving her hips against his stroking fingers.

“Lex? You around?” Cade’s bellow from downstairs shocked her back to her senses. Lex’s growl around her nipple stopped her from her attempts to sit back up.

“Lex! You have a call from New York,” Cade yelled out again.

“Go! He’s going to come up here any minute.” She squealed as he pinched her clit between slippery fingers.

“I can’t leave you this way,” he murmured.

“Lex! Damn it, it’s important,” Cade called out again, the frustration clear in his voice. She could hear him coming closer, footsteps getting louder. Feeling panicked, she grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand out of her panties and pushed him back, panting and irritated.

Sighing, he brought his fingers to his lips and licked them, eyes falling shut at the pleasure of her taste. “So sweet. This isn’t over,” he promised and adjusted his ridiculously hard c**k in his pants and limped out of the room to deal with his call.

She sat for a few minutes trying to pull herself back together. What on earth was wrong with her? What was he doing to her? When he touched her it was as if everything else seemed to disappear. It was as if he was the only thing that mattered, and that was dangerous. She didn’t have the time or the emotional energy to deal with a relationship right then. Ugh! And a man like Lex Warden wasn’t really relationship material to begin with. She could just f**k him out of her system and then move on, but she had the sinking feeling that sleeping with Lex would not be something easily walked away from. She needed to get laid, plain and simple. She tried to tell herself that it could wait until after she had some distance between herself and Lex, but she knew it was a lie.

* * * * *

She ordered herself to suck it up and got dressed. She pulled on jeans and a T-shirt and made a mental note to stop at the mall and get some new clothes on her way back from the police station. Her hair was a lost cause. She put it into a loose braid that was already coming undone because her ponytail holder had snapped the night before.

Giving herself a stern talking-to, she took a deep breath, and clutching her case and the other laptop, she headed downstairs to the kitchen.

Trying not to show how much she enjoyed seeing Lex there cooking and holding out a mug of steaming coffee to her, she kept her focus on her laptop, setting it on the bar. She put the other case down and made sure the programs were still running before she looked up to him, grabbed the cup gratefully and sat down.

“Thanks,” she murmured, putting her gaze back on the screen. If she ignored him, perhaps they could just forget that scene in the bedroom even happened.

He pushed the laptop aside and put a plate filled with bacon, hash browns, eggs and toast in front of her. “Eat.”

She gave him an annoyed glare but dug in heartily, realizing it had been quite a while since she’d last eaten. Moments later she could feel the delicious food begin to energize her, and she needed that strength to meet the day.

Cade strolled in and grabbed a mug of coffee and sat at the bar with them. He did a double take, eyes widening as he took her in. “Uh, wow, who are you?” He laughed and it got even louder when he saw the look Lex threw at him.

Nina explained the situation quickly and Cade sent a surreptitious look at his brother and then back to her. “Well, I think glasses are sexy but I have to say that the you you’ve been hiding is pretty hot. I can see why you wanted to keep things low-key. I do look forward to hearing just exactly what it is you’re hiding from someday.”

“Put your eyes back in your head while you still have them,” Lex growled.

Cade chuckled and looked back at Nina, who was blushing. He winked at her and tipped his head toward the laptop that was on the counter. “So? Any news?”

She took a sip of coffee and turned the screen to face Cade. “I’ve broken through some major security protocols but I’m still working on the encryption program. Right now there’s a program running through my laptop, hooked up to this one, that’s trying to break through. The problem is that the protection program on this is layers deep and much newer than the program on my computer. Whatever your boy found out, it’s something pretty major. This is really sophisticated stuff.” She looked to them and narrowed her eyes. “You guys running guns or drugs? If you are, say so now because I have enough trouble and I don’t have any need to borrow more.”

“No! What is it you think a Pack does anyway?” Cade asked, offended.

She made an annoyed snort and waved in Lex’s direction. “Look, your brother here carries a mighty big gun and seems pretty comfortable around ass kicking. You live in this very posh mansion, you drive a Mercedes and a Harley. Your clothes are designer. You’re both wearing expensive watches.” She stood up and began to pace, trying to stay calm.

“My brother was infected on purpose in a bar fight by one of your own Pack members. He pretty much has been off the radar for the last two years. I have no idea what you do but if he had a part in it, I can only guess that it’s shady.”

Lex gave an inarticulate growl of offense. “We don’t run guns or drugs, Nina. The Pack owns a construction business. By trade I’m an architect but I handle Pack security. I carry a gun because sometimes we have to deal with dangerous situations. Cade runs the Pack as well as the day-to-day business stuff from the construction company and our coffeehouses. The Pack owns a coffeehouse in Queen Anne and another in Bellevue. Carter, the third-in-command, runs the coffeehouse in Queen Anne, and our fifth, Melissa runs the one in Bellevue. Nothing illegal.”