Ada and Loch entered the transport first and sat next to each other, leaving Ian and me to sit across from them. Ian was stiff and quiet next to me. Ada swiped her identity chip over the reader and set our destination.
“So, what happened?” she asked.
I gave her a very brief recap of what I’d learned from Riccardo.
“The Silvas might be bastards but no one can say they’re not smart bastards,” Ada said. “When their deal went wrong, they made Ferdinand someone else’s problem and got paid for doing it.” She shook her head in grudging respect. “MineCorp will kill Ferdinand if they find out who he is. How do we get him back?”
Ada intuitively understood something it had taken me time to figure out. She’d always excelled at understanding tactics and motivation. Father had made a grave mistake when he’d banished her.
“I have requests for information out, but I’m probably going to need physical access to MineCorp’s network,” I said, “so I need you to set up a meeting for me later today. I was thinking we’d spin it as me doing preliminary research on companies to mine one of my planets.”
She nodded slowly. “That might work. Are you sure you want to go in as yourself?”
“Yes, I’ll need the power of our name to get deep enough to do any good. Set the meeting as late as possible. Claim my need for privacy or whatever else you have to do.”
“I will be accompanying Lady Bianca,” Ian said, his voice hard.
Ada raised an eyebrow and pointedly looked at me. I sighed. “Ian will be accompanying me, Ada. Play nice.”
She didn’t have to fake her incredulous expression. “You threatened to geld Marcus with a rusty fork. You have no room to talk about playing nice.”
Ian launched into a fit of coughing that sounded suspiciously like muffled laughter.
“That was different,” I said. I pointed at Marcus and mouthed, I’ll still do it, too. His eyes crinkled at the corners as if he, too, was suppressing a smile.
So much for all of my supposed power. Not that I thought the threat was needed any longer. It was clear that Marcus Loch was ridiculously in love with my sister, and she with him.
Envy nipped at my heart. I acknowledged the emotion, then set it aside. I did want what she had, but I’d never begrudge Ada her happiness. She deserved every happiness in the world.
Ian finally got his “coughing” under control and asked, “Why don’t we break in after hours? No one will know we’re looking for Ferdinand and you don’t have to betray your location to Riccardo.”
“Does anyone know how good their security is? I might be able to override their surveillance system given a few hours, but it’s not without risk.”
“Ada and I will check it out while you two rest,” Loch said. I started to protest, but he cut me off. “You’re dead on your feet. Resting for a few hours will do far more for Ferdinand than if you keep going and make a stupid mistake because you’re tired.”
He was right, of course, but I hated to admit it. Ada grinned at my grumbling, but her eyes were serious. “You left me out before. This is something I can do without any unnecessary risk. Let me help,” she said, her voice pleading. “He’s my brother, too.”
I closed my eyes against the tears and nodded. While I’d always see her as my baby sister, Ada was fully capable of assessing a building’s security without my help. And with Loch glued to her side, she wouldn’t be in any danger.
“Riccardo said the kidnapping contract was anonymous, which I believe,” I said, “but he thought it came from someone high in the Consortium. Can you think of anyone in particular who would benefit from Ferdinand’s disappearance?”
Ada thought about it for a minute, then shook her head. “No. It might weaken our House slightly, but Hannah would just step up and no one has gone after her.”
I bit my tongue. Hannah had asked me not to share the fact that she wouldn’t be replacing Ferdinand. Instead, I said, “Catarina is looking into a potential leak in the House. Perhaps they are related and it’s just someone with a grudge.”
Ian glanced sharply at me. “How do you know about the leak?”
“Someone tipped off a photographer about Ferdinand’s schedule on the day he was taken. How do you know about the leak?”
“It’s my job,” Ian said. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “We’ve been tracking down a high-level leak for months, but whoever it is, he or she is being very, very careful.”
“So we find the leaker, figure out who they leaked to, and find the culprit?” Ada asked.
I didn’t think it would be as easy as that, especially if Ian hadn’t already plugged the leak, but I nodded anyway. I’d update Catarina with the new information and see if she could make any more progress.
As we edged into the heart of Sedition, wireless signals flew fast and furious. Breathing helped, but not enough. I gritted my teeth and tried mentally pulling back, but it was like trying to escape a whirlpool in a rowboat. By the time the transport landed behind an impressive four-story stone house situated on a lot with a yard, my dinner was nearly ready to make another appearance.
The tiny portion of my brain not occupied with keeping the contents of my stomach where they belonged tried to calculate the vast amount of money each house represented. Every centimeter of Sedition was precious. Towers soared all around, but this street had seemingly been untouched by the ever-expanding climb upward.
Ian helped me from the transport, then lightly clasped my arm and let Ada and Loch precede us. “Are you okay?” he murmured into my ear.
I glanced up at him in surprise—he’d noticed something was wrong. I gave him an honest answer. “My stomach is upset.”
“Can I do anything?”
Warmth bloomed, but I shook my head. Getting in a silencer would help more than anything else.
“Let me know if that changes,” he said.
I inclined my head in agreement and he escorted me into the House.
Inside, the signal noise dropped a little, held back by the thick stone walls, similar to House von Hasenberg. From what I could see, the interior was as luxurious as a House worth more than some small planets should be. Ada led us up two flights of stairs, to a hallway with doors on both sides.
“Rhys and Veronica are out, but they should be back by the time you’re up. Rhys said to make yourself at home. Marcus and I are here,” she indicated a door on the right, “but the rest of the rooms are available. Help yourself. If you need anything, request it from the suite computer and someone will bring it up.”
I stepped across the hallway and opened the first door. A pretty room in buttercup yellow greeted me and I shrugged. It had a bed, so good enough.
“I need six hours,” I said. I really needed more like eight, but six would have to do. “If you decide we should go the meeting route instead of breaking in, set it up and call me so I get up in time. Otherwise I’ll see you in the morning. Evening. Whatever.” I was too tired to deal with time zones right now.
I moved back to Ada and hugged her close. “Thank you. Be careful.”
“You’re welcome and I will be.”
Ada let go and Loch handed me my bag. “I’ll keep her out of trouble,” he promised.
Ian moved down the hall and opened the door next to mine. “See you all in six hours,” he said. He looked at Loch. “Let me know if you need help.”
Loch inclined his head in agreement. Satisfied, Ian disappeared into his room.
I waved to Ada and Loch, then entered my room for the night and closed the door. I crossed to the bed and dug through my bag until I found the silencer. I clicked it on and moaned in relief. I still felt shaky, but now that I didn’t have to fight the signals for focus, my stomach started to settle.
I put the silencer next to the bed then moved away until the signals came back. I sent Catarina a quick message, then set my com on a dresser outside the silence field. If Ada called, she would be able to get through. That done, I explored the suite.
My room had its own bathroom—a giant, luxurious affair—and a huge walk-in closet. The third door opened upon a view of Ian in a pair of boxer briefs and nothing else.
My brain stuttered to a stop. Tan skin, taut muscles, and a face so handsome, it seemed sculpted. He glanced at me and raised one eyebrow. When he turned my way, I couldn’t help watching the beautiful play of muscles as he moved.
Until I realized he was moving closer and I was staring.
I squeaked, my face flamed in embarrassment, and I slammed the door closed with a shouted, “Sorry!”
Then I promptly banged my head on the door and cursed under my breath for acting like a teenager instead of a grown woman. What was it about him that turned my brain into a pile of stupid?
The door had no lock, so when Ian tried to open it from his side, I silently held the handle and prayed he’d give up. I was not so lucky. “Bianca, let go of the door.” The thick door muffled his voice, but I could still hear him.
“Let me die in peace,” I moaned under my breath.
Somehow, he heard me, and his voice turned amused. “I don’t think embarrassment is terminal.”
“It might be in this case,” I muttered, but I let go of the handle.
He swung the door open and there he was, in all of his near-naked glory. And it was glorious, even better up close than it had been from across the room. I jerked my gaze up to his chin and kept it there. Chins were safe.
I cleared my throat and pulled my tattered dignity around me. “Did you need something, Director Bishop?”
“I would ask you the same, Lady Bianca. What was so urgent that you needed to barge into my room unannounced?” Despite staring resolutely at his chin, I could see the grin hovering around his mouth.
“What makes you think I knew it was your room?” I asked breezily. “I was merely checking the exits.”
He stretched and muscles flexed in my peripheral vision. The grin bloomed, warm and tempting. I wondered how it would feel against my mouth. Soft and gentle or hard and demanding? I shivered and my nipples tightened as desire licked through my belly—and lower.
“Are you satisfied or did you need another look?” he asked.
The teasing challenge brought my eyes up to his. I gave him a coy smile. “I don’t think a look will satisfy. I prefer a more hands-on approach.”
His eyes darkened and he stepped closer. “As the lady prefers.”
I hummed in appreciation, then touched one finger to his chest. He froze. Now that I had his skin under my hands, slight though the contact was, I had to fight to stay on course. I wanted to run my hands across his chest, to see if the muscle was as firm everywhere as it was under my finger. Instead, I pressed him backward two steps.
Then, with fierce reluctance, I pulled my hand away from temptation. I turned and caressed the edge of the door and the handle. “Everything seems to be in order,” I murmured. I winked at him and pulled the door closed while he stood stock-still.
Safely on my side, I blew out a slow, silent breath. Holy hell. A playful Ian was an irresistible Ian.
When a maid knocked on the door a few minutes later with a pot of sweet, milky tea that I hadn’t ordered, I knew exactly who it came from. If I wasn’t careful, Ian Bishop would steal my heart.
And I just might let him.
My alarm tried to drag me from sleep but I fought the pull. I’d slept hard, but I could use another hour or two. The heavy drapes were closed, leaving the room dim. Putting my com on the dresser had seemed like a good idea at the time, but it meant that now I had to drag myself from bed to turn off the cursed beeping.
A knock on the door added to the racket. I pulled a pillow over my head and willed everything to be quiet. A few seconds later, my alarm stopped. I blinked in surprise at the blessed silence, but didn’t question my good luck. Now I could go back to sleep.
“Your alarm has been going off for fifteen minutes,” Ian said. “And you didn’t respond to my knocks.”
I pulled the pillow off my head and glared in his direction. “I was sleeping.”
Ian moved closer and I could tell when he entered the silencer’s circle because his steps paused. “Why are you sleeping with a silencer?”
I peered at him in the faint light. I could just make out his outline near the end of the bed. “Ian, why are you in my room?”
“When you didn’t turn off your alarm or answer the door, I thought something might’ve happened. Instead, I find you sleeping in a silence field where you couldn’t call for help even if you needed it. Why?”
I sighed and gave him one of my truths. “Sometimes I have nightmares. This way I don’t bother anyone.”
“No more silencers. I can’t protect you if I can’t hear you.”
“Not your decision. Now go away so I can sleep.” But even as I spoke, I felt the last vestiges of sleep slipping away. I wouldn’t be able to sleep even if he left, which he showed no sign of doing. I sat up and glared grumpily at him. “Fine, I’m awake. Happy now?”
“No, I’ll be happy when you agree about the silencer.”
“Then I’ve got bad news for you, friend.” I tossed the covers back and slid out of bed. I had on a T-shirt and underwear, so I was decent enough.
Ian moved closer. He was dressed in a dark shirt and dark pants. I was barefoot, and he towered over me by nearly twenty centimeters. Softly, he asked, “Why do you have to fight me on everything?”
“Why do you assume you know what’s best for me?” I responded without missing a beat. “Look, I know it’s a security risk. Of course I do. I weighed the risks and decided it was worth it. I don’t know why you always assume I do things on a whim without a thought to the consequences. I always think about the consequences.”
“And last night? Did you think about the consequences then?”
I glanced away. “I don’t play with fire without realizing I could get burned.”
“And did you want to burn?” His voice whispered around me, a temptation in itself.
Yes. Yes, yes, yes, a million times yes. I’d promised him honesty, so I said nothing at all.
He touched my jaw, turning my face up to his. I could just make out his handsome features, but the darkness washed the color from his eyes. “Tell me,” he urged, his voice low and delicious.
If I admitted it, then I gave him the power to hurt me. He’d already hurt me once, long ago. And while I hadn’t expected a love match with Gregory, I’d expected mutual respect and admiration. I’d gotten neither, only more pain. I wanted to trust Ian, to trust that he wouldn’t hurt me again, to trust that he wouldn’t turn out like my late husband, but fear stole the words.
“What are you doing, Ian?” I asked instead, my voice quiet.
He ran a thumb across my bottom lip and chuckled. “I’m trying to convince myself to leave before I kiss you.”
I made a mental list of why kissing Ian would be a bad idea, but, for once, I ignored it. I wanted him to kiss me, consequences be damned. I might not be ready to trust him with my heart quite yet, but I absolutely trusted him with my body. Ian would never physically hurt me, never take more than I offered. I knew it down to my bones.
“Kiss me,” I breathed.
He slid his hand into my hair and angled my head. His lips covered mine, warm and firm and divine. I slid my hands up his chest, one to his shoulder, one to the back of his head, and pressed upward, desperate to get closer. He groaned low and sucked my bottom lip into his mouth.
I opened with a moan and slid my tongue against his. My nipples tightened and my pulse raced, pushed by the lust blazing through my system. Ian skillfully explored my mouth with seemingly infinite patience while I wanted to rip his clothes off and ride him to bliss.
I pulled back with a gasp, aware that I was teetering on a dangerous precipice. Ian nuzzled his way down my jaw, nibbling and kissing. I let my head fall back into his hand, enjoying the feeling. I drew a mental line in the sand: I would allow this, but no further. Kisses might complicate our relationship, but sex had the potential to destroy it.
Thoughts sorted, I used the hand buried in Ian’s hair to pull his mouth back to mine. He came willingly, scorching a trail up my jaw. His hand slipped under my shirt and headed north. I stopped him before he reached his destination, though my breasts ached to be touched. But I held on to my resolve by the slenderest of threads—if he caressed me, I’d be lost.
Ian respected the line I’d drawn. His hands didn’t stray, but his mouth tempted me with every firm stroke of his tongue. By the time he pulled away to rest his forehead against mine, I was lightly panting and nearly ready to combust.
“I should go,” he said reluctantly, his voice a low growl. His breath came in uneven rasps. I wasn’t the only one affected, then.
“You should,” I agreed. I played with the soft hair at the back of his head, unwilling to let him go. Once we broke out of this quiet, hidden bubble, the real world would be all too eager to reassert itself, along with all of my doubts and fears.
He kissed the corner of my mouth and straightened. “Get ready and I’ll meet you downstairs for breakfast. It doesn’t make sense for us to switch to local time if we’re only going to be here for a day.” He pulled away slowly, then turned and disappeared through the door connecting our rooms, closing it gently behind him.
I stared at the door for a long moment, half hoping he’d come back and finish what he started. My body still hummed. It would take so little to push me over the edge. I’d never reacted so strongly to a kiss before.
I foresaw an icy cold shower in my very near future.
After getting ready, I put on my smart glasses, set up my connection safeguards, and logged in to my safe house in HIVE. Outside the window, golden early morning light hadn’t quite burned off the fog, turning the forest into an enchanting wonderland.
The forest was part of this virtual location, so I often wandered through the trees, but today I didn’t have time for a leisurely stroll. I had two replies on the note board and one of them was from Tori Waugh. Based on the time stamp, I had just missed her.
Both replies said essentially the same thing: MineCorp did not play when it came to network security. As expected, they had an entire department dedicated to locking down their systems. A remote hack was unlikely to succeed.
Tori’s note went into further detail. She wasn’t in the security department, but she knew her way around a network and had been doing a little snooping of her own. She said that a few old-timers preferred to use an older, less secure piece of software that left ports open on the systems. The sysadmins had been trying to crack down on it, but the people who used it were in upper management and they did as they pleased.
I murmured a little prayer of thanks for users who remained set in their ways. They made my job so much easier.
The ports weren’t open from the outside, but if I could get physical access to the network, I could use a cracking script to get in. She even offered a few that might be useful. She warned that the sysadmins were good, so even if I got in, I wouldn’t have much time before they caught me.
I saved the scripts, then wrote Tori an effusive note of thanks and attached enough credits to it that she and her wife could have a very nice dinner out. Unlike my other contacts, credits weren’t required here, we just helped each other out when we could, but Tori had gone far above and beyond what I had expected.
I carefully left the safe house and logged out of HIVE. I rounded up a few more scripts that might get me into MineCorp’s systems, then shut down my com and took off my smart glasses.
Now it was time to face Ian for the first time since our scorching kiss. Despite giving myself a stern pep talk about acting normal, my pulse fluttered as I made my way down to the dining room. The public areas of Rhys’s house were opulent bordering on ostentatious. Rhys hadn’t struck me as the type for conspicuous consumerism, so I wondered why his house was an altar to excess.
In the foyer, a stately gray-haired butler directed me to the formal dining room. An ornately carved table with seats for fourteen dominated the space. The glittering crystal chandelier fought for equal attention. I would’ve preferred a smaller breakfast room, but I suppose with local time being evening, that wasn’t an option. I felt severely underdressed in my T-shirt and cargo pants.
Place settings for six were laid out in the middle of the table. Ian sat at the near end with a cup of coffee. He was dressed much the same as me, to my relief, but his expression was guarded.
“Is there tea?” I asked. I’d only been out of the silencer field for a few minutes, but I could already tell that the crush of signals would be a test. If I was lucky, I’d end the night functional but with a splitting headache.
Ian waved me to the chair on his left. While I sat, he poured me a cup of tea and added milk and sugar. After last night, it shouldn’t have surprised me that he knew how I liked my tea, but the small kindness still warmed my heart.
He handed me the cup, and I took a fortifying sip. Desperate to break the awkward silence, I said, “Ada sent me a message to let me know she’s on her way back. She and Loch should be here soon.”
Ian nodded, still frustratingly silent. Finally, he said, “I apologize for earlier.”
Humiliation heated my face. If he was about to give me a new version of the “empty-headed princess” speech, I didn’t want to hear it. “There is nothing to apologize for. If you regret it, fine. We’ll put it in the cabinet of things to never mention. But we were both consenting adults.”
“I shouldn’t have touched you,” Ian said, his voice cool. “It won’t happen again.”
Pain squeezed my heart. He’d rejected me again. It seemed I would never learn where Ian was concerned. I tried to match his coolness, with only partial success. “Then why did you kiss me in the first place?”
He sighed and it sounded like it came from the bottom of his soul. “I was being selfish.”
Hurt morphed into confusion. That wasn’t the answer I’d expected. “What?”
“There’s no future for us. I know that, but I couldn’t resist. It’s a lapse that won’t happen again. I refuse to use you for selfish reasons.”
There was an entire universe of things that needed unpacking there, but before I could attempt it, Ada called from the foyer, “Bianca, I’m home!”
“In the dining room!” I shouted back. Just because I’d had a decorum tutor didn’t mean I had to follow her advice. I glanced at Ian. “This conversation isn’t done,” I whispered.
His mouth firmed into a straight line, but he nodded.
Ada entered wearing a sunny, colorful dress and a bright smile. Loch followed, dressed in his usual dark shirt and pants. “We found a way in, no meeting required,” she said. She peered at me. “You look better; you’ve got some color in your cheeks, at least.”
I very carefully did not look at Ian. “Sleep will do that,” I murmured. “Tell me about the security.”
“Let’s wait for Rhys and Veronica. They’re just a few minutes behind us and they may have suggestions. What’s for dinner?”
I shrugged, but Ian said, “Prime rib. I think I mortally offended your chef when I requested that some breakfast items be added.”
Ada winced. “Mrs. Willis takes her job seriously. She’s probably making a whole second meal. I’ll see if I can head her off.”
Ada dashed off and Loch slid into the open chair on my left. The air in the room changed, but neither Ian nor Loch gave away a hint of what they were thinking.
“Thank you for your help,” I told Loch. “I know you did it for Ada, but I appreciate it, too.”
He frowned and his eyes flickered my way. They caught the light and reflected silver for a fraction of a second. “Why do you think I wouldn’t help you?” he asked, his voice low and gravelly. It’s too bad he didn’t talk much because I found his voice soothing.
“Ah, well.” I scrambled for an explanation that didn’t give everything away, just in case I was wrong about Ian. “I did threaten you with a rusty utensil.”
“In defense of Ada, who you helped for years. You also helped me. Of course I will do the same for you.” His gaze moved to Ian. “With any problems you’re having.” The threat was subtle but clear.
Ian bristled. “She doesn’t need your help.”
Loch grinned. “That’s for the lady to decide.”
I bumped my shoulder into Loch’s. “Thank you,” I said softly.
“You’re welcome.”