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Jenny couldn’t believe it. All of her employee access was still live through the company web portal. Why hadn’t they cut her off? Hell, it hadn’t even occurred to her to try to access the company information until just now.

She was going to have to be damned careful to make sure nobody could see that she was accessing the information, especially her email. She bit her thumbnail.

“Stop it,” she whispered harshly.

It was her third night at Brax’s house, and despite the great bed and beautiful room, she was going stir crazy. At least she had been. Now that she’d found out she had access to the company’s internal server, she was over the moon. Maybe now she could find out who was after her.

First and foremost, she didn’t want to do anything that would tip off her company that she was logged-in and looking around. She pulled up her chat and pinged Jada.

Jenny: Jada, can you give me a call tomorrow morning? I just realized I have access to my company’s web portal, and I want to look around without having them realize I’m online.

Jenny toggled over to the web portal and looked at the welcome page and then her chat pinged.

Jada: That’s great. Do you want me to call now?

Jenny: Why aren’t you asleep?

Jada: Working on a project for Kane McNamara. Answer your phone.

Jenny immediately picked up the phone when she saw Jada’s name come up.

“That was fast.” Jada said.

“Yeah, well, I’m really hoping you can do something. I don’t know what. But something.”

“Oh yeah, we can. Once I see who has been emailing you, I can backtrack into their email, hell, I’ll have keys to the kingdom.”

“You will?”

“Absolutely,” Jada crowed. “This is going to be fun. Can you give me your username and password?”

“Sure.” Jenny rattled it off and listened as Jada typed.

“Okay, I’m in.”

“Aren’t they going to see it’s me?”

“Just for a moment. I’m switching over as a ghost, that way I can dig deep into their system and see their back end. What I want to do is get into different people’s email.”

“You can do that?”

“Oh yeah. I should have thought about this right from the get-go. Too many times companies forget to cancel out their employee’s web access. I should have been doing this as soon as you were shoved in front of the car. Damned wedding prep. If it weren’t for my family, I wouldn’t be so immersed in everything. My dad set aside money for my wedding. Even though he’s not alive to give me away, he would expect me to have the wedding of the century. I have five older brothers who are making sure this happens. As it stands, things have totally gotten out of hand.”

Jenny’s stomach clenched. She couldn’t imagine having a family like that, let alone a dad who would love her that much. It seemed surreal.

“That sounds wonderful,” Jenny whispered.

“It’s a pain in my ass, is what it is,” Jada muttered. “Anyway, give me tonight, and I’ll report back to you tomorrow.”

“That would be great.”

“Sleep tight.”

Jada hung up.

Now Jenny was too jazzed to sleep. She put down her tablet, threw back the covers, and got out of bed. Maybe a snack would help her sleep. Okay, maybe not, but dammit, it sounded good. What’s more, Brax had a great pantry, it was filled with good stuff. It was amazing that he was as fit as he was.

Brax kept the house at a nice temperature, so she didn’t need to put on socks before she left her bedroom. She wasn’t all that surprised when Faith met her in the kitchen.

“Shhhh. Don’t wake Brax, okay?”

Faith let out a quiet Woof . Good to know she understood her. Now to find something good to eat that might help her sleep as well. She opened up the pantry and found tea.

“Ugh.” She’d had enough tea while she’d worked in Bangladesh to last her a lifetime. Then she spied the container of powdered chocolate milk. “Hot damn.”

Woof.

“Shhh.” Faith let out another quiet Woof , and Jenny crouched down and rubbed her head. She stood back up and saw a box of dog treats in the pantry. She pulled one out and gave it to Faith, then she took out the container of hot chocolate.

She hip-checked the pantry door and immediately regretted it as pain zinged through her ribs.

“Dammit!”

“What did you do?” Brax asked in a husky voice.

Jenny whirled around and clutched the canister tight to her chest. “Fuck!”

“Baby, would you stop hurting yourself?” He reached out and gently pulled the canister out of her arms. “Looks like you found CiCi’s stash. Why don’t you go sit down and I’ll make you a mug?”

“Because there is no way you’ll put in nearly enough powder.”

“Sure I will.” He looked at the can. “It says two tablespoons to six fluid ounces.”

“Exactly my point. I want chocolate-chocolate hot chocolate.” Jenny reached for the canister.

“Tell me what you mean, and I’ll do it.”

She sighed. “Okay, you fill up the mug halfway with water, then microwave it til it’s boiling, then you scoop in heaping tablespoons of mix until the mug is almost to the brim. That’s chocolate-chocolate hot chocolate.”

Brax stood there and stared down at her. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Nobody would do that.”

“How often do you have to buy this stuff for CiCi?”

“Probably every other month.”

“How many times does she come over?”

“Twice a month,” Brax answered.

“And she always has hot chocolate, doesn’t she.”

Brax frowned. “How did you know?”

“I’ve been to the coffee shop with her. I’ve heard her order. I know how many pumps of chocolate syrup she asks for.”

He reached out and stroked his knuckles down her cheek and she shivered. “I’m all for that for both of you. I get worried that you’ve both been through traumatic events and you could afford to put on some weight. So again, why don’t you sit down, and I’ll make you chocolate-chocolate hot chocolate?”

“That’d be great.”

“How big of a mug do you want?”

“Not too much. Six ounces of water is just fine.”

“Gotcha. Now go take a seat on the couch, and don’t forget to wrap up in the throw blanket.”

“I’m not cold, it’s fine. Plus, I’ll be hot once I start drinking the hot chocolate.”

She spun around and headed for the living room.

Lord have mercy. She might be fine without a blanket, but I’m going to burst into flames watching her in that lacy tank top and those pajama shorts. She might need hot chocolate, but I’m going to need something a whole hell of a lot stronger.

He pulled down a mug and poured some water into it, then put it in the microwave. While he waited for that to heat, he grabbed a short glass and his good bottle of bourbon. He poured himself a healthy couple of shots. Thank God he’d thrown on a pair of jeans. If he’d been wearing a pair of sweats his hard-on would’ve been as obvious as Pinocchio’s nose when he was lying.

The microwave dinged and he pulled out the mug of hot water, then proceeded to follow Jenny’s instructions. He looked down at the thick goo. This couldn’t be right. He took a sip and winced. She was going to fall into a sugar coma for sure.

He walked out to the living room with the two drinks and handed her the mug. Brax sat down in the armchair next to the couch where she was sitting. He saw her frown, but it was definitely for the best. After all, they were still in first gear.

“You’re not going to sit next to me?”

“I’m fine over here.”

Her frown deepened. If he wasn’t mistaken, he saw a look of hurt flash over her face. He set down his glass on the coffee table, got up, and wrapped the blanket around Jenny.

“Now I can sit next to you.”

“Oh.” She blushed. As he sat down next to her and picked up his drink, she snuggled next to him. “You know, maybe you need to go put on a shirt.”

Her cheek rubbed against his chest hair and Brax held back a groan. This was such a bad idea. He sucked down a large swallow of bourbon and Jenny giggled.

“You know, it’s not nice to laugh at someone who’s suffering.”

“What are you talking about? I’m the one who’s suffering,” she said as she looked up at him. “Here I was minding my own business, just making a mug of chocolate sludge, and you come in half naked. I’d say I’m the one who has the right to protest.”

Brax liked the way her sass came out in a husky tone. Yep, she was just as caught up in the molten moment as he was.

“Be quiet and drink your chocolate sludge,” he whispered.

She took a sip of her hot chocolate and let out a satisfied sigh that had his cock twitching with excitement. For fuck’s sake, he was thirty-two years old, why in the hell couldn’t he get his body under control?

Jenny continued to sip, and he continued to twitch. At least she wasn’t rubbing her face against his chest anymore. But then she moved. He knew it was just to get more comfortable because of her ribs, but it put her hip right against his thigh. Her hip that wasn’t covered by the blanket. He could see her silky-smooth skin and it was killing him. He took another sip of bourbon. Why hadn’t he poured himself a bigger drink?

“What are you drinking?”

“Bourbon.”

“Oh. I think I like that. Can I try?”

Brax held out his left hand to take her mug, then handed her his glass of bourbon. He watched as she took a small sip. She wrinkled her nose as she held the alcohol in her mouth, then swallowed.

Once again, she gave him a satisfied sigh. “I like the burn.”

That was it. He was done. Brax snatched the glass from her and slammed that and the mug on the coffee table, then turned to her. “Second gear. Tonight, we’re going for second gear. Tell me if I do anything that hurts your ribs.”

She gave him a radiant smile. “You could never hurt me.” She reached out for him and the blanket slipped to the floor. Brax hauled her up into his lap. Her cute ponytail had to go. He slipped off the hair scrunchie, then he carefully splayed the fingers of one hand through the silky strands as he moved her head so that her mouth was at the perfect angle for the perfect kiss.

Dipping his head, he pressed his lips against her barely parted lips. Brax took his time, sipping, stroking, and coaxing her lips to part for him. Enticing her to play was part of the fun, and he wasn’t going to skimp on any part of his time with Jenny Rivers.

When her lips parted and he felt her fingernails dig into his nape, he slicked his tongue along her lower lip. Chocolate had never tasted so good as it did on Jenny’s lips. When he felt her tongue touch his, he shivered. He pulled her closer, careful of her ribs, he cradled her in his arms and deepened the kiss.

Jenny let out a soft mew like a kitten would make and she trembled. Her response ratcheted up Brax’s level of need, but he tried to hold it back. He’d promised her slow. She’d just gotten out of the hospital.

Jenny snaked her hand around to his front and was soon spearing her fingers through his chest hair until she scraped the nub of his nipple with her fingernail. He thrust his tongue deep inside her mouth, and she pulled his head down harder.

God, she’s going to burn me up.

Their tongues tangled for long moments, and Brax felt lost. Every thought of how he wanted things to go flew out of his head; instead, he was swept up in a world of glorious sensation. He didn’t know when his hand had moved, but he was stroking the soft skin of her back underneath her tank top. How could someone who felt so delicate have survived so much?

Jenny yanked her mouth away from his. Before he could protest the loss, she was at his chest, her greedy tongue sweeping circles around his nipple. His head fell back against the couch.

“Christ!”

She stopped and he felt Jenny’s smile against his chest. Then she continued with her torture, and he let her. It was too good to stop, but finally his befuddled mind kicked in and wanted to join the game.

Second gear.

As Jenny played, he tugged at her tank top and pushed it up so that it rested above her breasts. He couldn’t get a good view with her pressed against his chest, but that didn’t matter. Now he could feel. Following up on a favorite fantasy, he cupped both of her breasts in his hands, and lightly brushed his thumbs over her distended nipples.

“Ahhhh,” Jenny moaned.

Yep, two could play at this game. He continued with his torture, but soon realized that Jenny wouldn’t be stopped. She was soon grazing her teeth along his pebbled flesh, trying to make him lose his mind. But dammit, he was a SEAL, and he was trained to withstand torture.

Brax gently kneaded her plump breasts as he continued to skim his thumbs against her nipples, but soon it was too much. He had to see her. He had to.

He was easily able to twist and then Jenny was lying on the sofa, looking up at him.

“How’d you do that?”

“Superior upper body strength.”

“That’s no fair. I wasn’t done yet,” Jenny protested.

“I wanted to watch what I was doing,” he whispered into the night.

He watched her green eyes give him a considering look, then she smiled. “Only for a little bit, then I want to go back to what I was doing.”

“I’m sure you can find something to do from this position,” he teased.

Brax lowered his gaze from her face, downward to her breasts. God, she was gorgeous. He’d been wondering ever since the wakey-wakey song what color her nipples were, and now he knew. They were a rosy pink and meant to be pleasured. By him. Only by him.