Page 13 of Hacking His Code

Hunter smiles. “Don’t think of it as lying. Think of it as a lesson well learned.”

“A lesson? How is giving me bad information a lesson? I could have been doing something productive.”

“Because now you know how easy it is for someone to lie. Don’t take any detail of this case as fact. Assume everyone, down to the clerk that entered those documents into the system, is bribable.”

I roll my eyes, slamming the laptop shut and casting it aside.

“And now you are officially on the job.” He holds up his glass, and I grab mine from the table I set it down on, raising it up before choking down a gulp.

Hunter casts me a wink. “Try sipping.”

I now understand the phrase ‘panty-dropping smile.’ I’ve barely had half a cup of wine, but already I feel drunk…on him. He’s entirely masculine with a hint of wry mischief. A man that can make a woman laugh is a dangerous thing, they say. One minute you’re grabbing your gut chuckling, the next, you’re naked and in his bed. Not that I’ve had such experiences.

The men in my life have always proven to be quite toxic.

“So, when do I get started for real? Do you have me working from a computer lab? I’d like to dig in tonight.”

An uneasy look crosses his face. “We start tomorrow. After you leave this room, you’ll be escorted to my suite where a team of professionals will attend to you, preparing you for a family dinner.”

My brow shoots up. “Ummm…there are all kinds of problems with that. For one: a team of professionals? Like I’m some kind of Neanderthal? And two: a family dinner?”

“Yes. My mother will be thrilled that I’m getting serious with someone. She’s been a bit of a recluse, and she’ll be happy to have someone to chat with.”

“I-I just can’t imagine being in the same room as Ernestine Whitmore, let alone talking to her. Like I’ll have anything interesting to say.”

“You’ll do fine.” He gives me a reassuring smile. “Oh, and, to make it clear, you will be working out of my suite…and you will be sleeping there as well.”

Yes, please!

God—what is wrong with me.

“Your suite? Is that like an apartment?”

“You can think of it as a little studio apartment. It has my bed, a small kitchenette, and an attached bathroom.”

I feel a rush of what I can only assume is hormones, every fiber in my body bursting with excitement.

Down, girl!

“You-you can’t be serious,” I stutter out.

“I can’t have you roaming the halls and provoking questions. My mother will just assume we’re creating the next line of Davies. She’ll approve.”

My cheeks flush red as my heart rate quickens at the thought of a carnal week with Hunter, which is most definitely where my mind goes, visualizing him closing the distance between us, his lips grazing mine.

What the fuck is wrong with you?

It’s silly because I have so little experience in love. As in, I haven’t even kissed a man. Most people would be shocked by that confession, but my teenage years were spent on strict lockdown due to my hacking mishap, and just when I was afforded the tiniest bit of freedom, my mother fell ill.

There was one man in college I was sure would be my first…but he taught me a lesson in trust that forced me to erect a wall, disallowing any man from getting close to me again.

“Is that alright with you?” he asks with a raised brow. “Or would you prefer to dine in what you have on?”

Looking down at my Wish-dot-com outfit, I know that is not an option. “I guess I’ll suffer a makeover, although whoever you have has their work cut out for them.”

The look he gives me is one I’m unprepared for. It’s of disbelief. Like what I’m saying is crazy.

But that’s impossible. Hunter Davies is filthy rich with the kind of money that could afford him a bed full of supermodels. And he’s attractive—oh my God, he’s a level of hot that can only be brought about with superior genetics and hard work in the form of exercising and the strictest of diets.