Regardless of there being other avenues she could have traveled to break free of him.
With or without her laptop.
She gnawed her lip for a brief moment, contemplatively.
She wasn’t fully an innocent pawn in this game.
The longer she stayed with Damen, the more she became a willing participant.
That was something significant and substantial—and, yes, dangerous—to further examine.
And to acknowledge and accept.
Moreover, it was time she faced why she was here, in Damen’s house, in Damen’s bedroom, in Damen’s arms.
28
Her hands slid up his thick neck and cupped his face. She sincerely and wholeheartedly told him, “I want to meet your family. I want you to take me to the ops campus and show me around. Naturally, I want to be right by your side when you offload the info on my computer—and I insist on being the one to check my personal files. There are also client summaries saved that are highly confidential, Damen. I don’t screw around with that.”
“Duly noted,” he said without hesitation or protest. “When I have what I want, the laptop’s all yours again.”
She eyed him curiously, a new thought occurring to her and making her insides seize up. “You don’t think they’ll want to scrub the hard drive, do you? Just in case? As a precautionary measure to ensure there are no hidden files or offshoots or whatever?”
“They will scan for these things, of course. But they’re capable of doing that without opening any files, Nik. Unless they’re associated with the intel.”
“And what about a virus? What if that intel comes with one to infect the host system?”
“We have experts who know how to handle things of that nature. Trust me, please.” His fingers swept through her hair. He cupped the back of her head, holding her in place as he stared deep into her eyes. “As long as the device didn’t wipe out your hard drive, you will get your computer back in the condition it was in when you gave—”
He let out a short, strangled sound.
She gave him a sardonic look.
His jaw clenched for a moment. Then he amended his statement, saying, “In the condition it was in when I commandeered it.”
“Thank you.” She kissed him.
Damen did not allow for it to be a quick one, of course. His lips and tongue tangled with hers in a sexy, seductive way that had her sighing and convincing herself that, somehow, this was all going to work out.
She had no idea what that would entail, specifically.
Just because they could remove the data from her computer did not mean she was instantly out of danger, was her guess. Her fear.
For the moment, however, she was too exhausted and too sated to even wander that path, mentally.
She and Damen tidied up in the bathroom and she settled comfortably in his arms once more. This time in his bed.
She did not question the fact that it felt… Right.
Nikki actually got several decent hours of sleep. In fact, it was noon when she woke. As her eyelids fluttered open, her gaze landed on the bedside table and the phone that had a large screen, digitally displaying the time in glowing blue.
She was still cozied up next to Damen. His arms were around her and her head was on his chest, one of her hands splayed over his abs. He was breathing steadily and calmly. A good sign. If he was agitated about what their day would bring, she’d likely catch it in his pulse. Sense it, even. They seemed to be that attuned to each other.
At the moment, however, he was relaxed and his fingertips were lightly sweeping over her lower back, absently drawing abstract art.
His touch was warm and feathery. Soothing. So much so, she had no desire to move. Not an inch. She felt languorous and content. This was how she wanted to face the day. Not thinking of anything dark and dangerous. That would come later.
Right now, she just wanted to remain enveloped in the little haven Damen created with his embrace, his reassuring breaths and his addictive heat and presence.