Unbridled Temptation (19 page)

“Good. Then my intent is simple. I want you to know that I didn’t tell Kendall your identity. I only mentioned a few names of those I calculated
could
have done the break-in three weeks ago. He obviously recognized your name from the short list I gave.”

“And when was this
informative
conversation?”

“Less than an hour ago. I told him I’d check for sure. But once I realized where you were, I wanted to square things. I would never have given him your identity or location.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. If either of your
reasons
had been maliciously motivated, I would have come after you myself. You understand what other skills I possess, correct?”

She cleared her throat. “Yes.” He was a security mastermind, but that was second to his being a skilled mercenary and protection badass.

“Excellent. Then I’ll let you decide how best to handle the aftermath of being inadvertently caught.”

Jocelyn wasn’t sure that was a good idea either. “Fine.”

“Oh and if you’d like, tell my brother I said hello.”

“Right.” Jocelyn ended the call, tucked the phone in her pocket, and wondered what on earth she’d say to them.

“Everything okay?” Kendall asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know.” Her gaze stayed trained on Kendall when she added, “Your brother says hello.”

Logan piped up, “That was Clay?”

She nodded. “And since you know it was me who hacked in and now I understand how you have this information and the force I’m up against, I’ll tell you why I hacked into your system. And then I’ll leave quietly.”

“Did Clay threaten you?”

“No. But you obviously don’t trust me any longer. I understand that. How could you? I broke your faith before we even met.” A wave of sadness crashed down her body and through her soul. She’d screwed up royally and lost something precious as a punishment. They’d never look at her and not think she was scheming. Hard to blame them.

Jocelyn turned away from their intense regard and explained her indiscretion. “You see, my younger sister, Jenna, ran off with her shiftless boyfriend, Dean, about a month ago. She’s nineteen, but my parents are understandably worried and asked me to find her at all costs and bring her home. I took extreme measures, ones I’m not proud of, to accomplish my goal of locating where they’d gone after they ran off. So I’m sorry for what I did to you. And I’ll leave now. I won’t bother you again. Please forgive me.”

Without looking at either of them, she made her way slowly to the door.

Before she even got close, Kendall strode quickly and blocked her path to the exit. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I…” Jocelyn couldn’t look him in the eye. “I’m removing myself from your presence. I won’t bother you again.” She kept her eyes averted, afraid to see any disappointment in his expression.

Logan approached her from behind. She felt his warmth at her back. Also, a rush of his masculine scent washed over her once he got close, making her clit twitch in need. She was suddenly so horny she hoped she’d be able to walk back to her car without limping from lack of release.

“You wouldn’t actually tease us with the promise of a round-two sexual experience and then not stay for it, would you?” Kendall’s seductive voice stroked her libido like he’d physically touched her.

Shooting a quick gaze to Kendall’s face, Jocelyn saw he wasn’t angry or disappointed. He looked as turned on as she was.

Logan moved closer and rested his chin on her shoulder. He kissed the sensitive spot on her neck next to her ear before taking her lobe between his teeth for a nip. A pulse of lust went from where he nibbled on her straight to her pussy. A gush of moisture shot into her panties as her legs went weak.

“Doesn’t what you plan involve trust? You’re never going to trust me again.”

“That’s not necessarily true. Besides, the trust involved in this particular case is yours, Jocelyn. The question you need to be concerned about is whether you trust
us
to tie you down. Will you let us bind you and then obey each and every command we deliver until round two is complete?”

* * * *

Kendall wanted her with a desire he was only barely in control of. The mere feminine scent of her put his libido over the top. He’d promise almost anything to ensure she stayed and let them seduce her for the round-two pleasures that had been circling in his head for a week. He’d even forgive her for hacking into his system. He believed that she’d merely been looking for information to locate her sister.

He’d been furious when the first hack had registered, but at the time he certainly hadn’t been worried about a sultry siren trying to find her sister. Even before she told him the reason for her invasion, he’d forgiven her. She didn’t have a conniving bone in her body. She wasn’t trying to corrupt their security or track down one of the owners for a nefarious plan or to ruin anyone. Besides, loyalty to family was understandable and loyalty to siblings was a class in and of itself. What would he do for Clay? What had he
already
done for Clay?

“I want to trust you,” she said quietly, but the tremble in her voice belied that statement. “But now I’m afraid because of what I’ve done. And what’s worse is that you found out before I could be the one to tell you.”

“Let’s discuss what you did, get all of that out of the way, and then move on to our…wicked pleasures,” Kendall said.

“Okay.” The uneven tone of her voice made him promise himself to ensure she knew he’d truly understand whatever further explanation she gave.

“First of all, what did you expect to find in our computer?”

She pushed out a long sigh. “The address and any information on my sister’s boyfriend, Dean.”

“And when you
peeked
, did you find anything on our system?”

“Not the first time, but the second time…possibly.” She dropped her head and stared at the floor. “I found his name on a document in an old file buried on your hard drive. But I didn’t have time to look at it. I don’t even know if it will help with my goal or not. At this point, I find my actions truly ridiculous. The lengths to which I’ve gone in this personal matter, whether forgiven or not, have been ludicrous.”

“Let’s chalk it up to family issues.”

She shrugged, but didn’t look at him.

Kendall tipped her chin up until their eyes met. “Why don’t we go take a look?”

Her lids narrowed with suspicion. “What?”

“I’ll let you take a look at the files on our computer, and get what you need.”

“Really? Why?”

“While I’m not condoning what you did, if you’re simply searching for information to find your sister—and not the utter destruction of my livelihood or ruination of my personal domain—then I can at least allow you to take a longer look.”

Her face transformed from dismayed to hopeful. “Thank you. That’s really nice of you considering everything.”

He smiled and gestured to the computer on the desk. Jocelyn walked around and seated herself. Both he and Logan settled on either side of her.

She shifted the wireless keyboard toward him. “Login and password.”

“You can’t do it?” he asked with a laugh.

“I could, but it would take longer,
and
besides I got in big trouble for doing that the last time.”

Kendall logged in, giving her access.

Once in command of the system, her fingers practically flew over the keyboard in a blur. She found a root folder, scanned down a list of documents he didn’t even remember having, and found an obscure file listing names, addresses, and phone numbers of some summer part-time help from several years ago.

She opened the document, and scanned down the list until she found the name Dean Mosley. Listed next to his name was a local address and phone number. She retrieved her cell and typed Dean’s miniscule information into it. She then closed the file and exited his computer.

“That’s it?” Kendall asked before realizing he’d spoken out loud.

“Yes.”

“Hardly seems worth it.”

“Not for you, but this is the first time I’ve even confirmed that Dean was ever from this area. He told my sister that he used to live in a rich house behind compound walls. Which was why I even looked this place up and made the attempt to get in and take a look. My father was convinced he’d come back here for financial help. However, I never found any evidence of that.”

“To the best of my knowledge, Dean Mosley never lived here. I don’t know who he is.”

Logan straightened. “I don’t know him either.”

Kendall watched her closely. “Do you have a private detective at work on this?”

“No. Just me. My parents feel like it’s
my
duty.” She looked at the floor again.

“Will you let me help you with this?”

Her head popped up. “How can you help me?”

“I know someone who can look into this for you.”

She shrugged. “Jenna is an adult. I don’t really have any authority. Which is why it’s taken so long.”

“That’s why you hire a
private
detective.”

“But I need to be the one to find her. To keep the peace at home.”

“However, you just want to ensure she’s safe, correct?”

“Well, that’s my agenda, but my parents want her to come back home. They want me to bring her back.”

“Tell you what, I can put you in contact with someone who can look around for you. They can then report her location, if she’s found, and you can then go to her. How about that?”

“How much?”

“Free to you.”

“No. I have money. I can pay.”

Kendall smiled. “I don’t want you to pay. Look at it like a favor.”

“You just want me to owe you?”

“Yes.”

“But I already owe you.”

“Yes.” He brushed his fingertips down her face.

“And let me guess…you’d like my focus on what I already owe you and not looking for my sister.”

“It’s like you read my mind.”

“Who is the person you’ll call?”

He laughed. “Actually, it’s my brother, Clay. He has a list of contacts like you wouldn’t believe.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think he likes me. After what I did to you and your security system.”

“Not true.”

“How do you know?”

“Because he called you instead of me a few minutes ago. Besides, it doesn’t matter whether he likes you or not. Hand me your phone.”

She did. Kendall dialed a private number.

His brother said, “Yes?”

“It’s Kendall.”

“Why are you on Jocelyn’s phone?” Clay asked without preamble, but his tone was amused.

“She has a request. I’d like you to help her.”

Clay laughed. “All right. This should be good.”

“She’s looking for her sister who apparently ran off with a less-than-stellar boyfriend. I’ll let her give you the specifics. Can you find someone to locate her sister and report the information back to her?”

Clay laughed again, but he said, “Probably. Sure. Why not?”

Kendall handed Jocelyn the phone. She sat at the desk and detailed what little she knew. After she hung up the phone, and tucked it in her pocket, she stood and approached him. “He said he’d have a friend look into it, and call me tomorrow.”

“Good. Now you don’t have to worry.”

She responded quickly. “But most importantly, I’m yours until tomorrow without my mind focused elsewhere.”

“Yes. You can put your mind at ease.”

“Thank you.” She actually looked sincerely relieved for the first time since entering the compound this morning.

Her phone rang again. She turned away and answered it. The nature of her short, clipped answers made Kendall think she was having a fight with the person at the end of the line.

After only a few minutes, she hung up after saying tersely, “No. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

She whirled around, her eyes bright with Kendall didn’t know what. Irritation? Determination? Either way, she surprised him by turning her phone off completely. She then handed it to him.

“Here, you keep this. I don’t need it until tomorrow. And I believe I owe you something that I’m ready to pay off without distractions.”

Kendall glanced at her phone, and handed it to Logan, who shoved it in his front pocket. It was truly daring of her to allow someone else to take possession of her business phone, but perhaps she felt like it was a good icebreaker to show she was in this fully. Kendall agreed.

Logan straightened. With a peculiar look in his eyes, he moved close to Jocelyn, pinning her against the right side of the desk. She wrapped her arms round his neck and put a lip-lock on him that Kendall figured was her opening salvo. Logan pushed her down to the surface of the desk and kissed her like she was already tied down.

“I’ve missed you,” she said when Logan released her. He pulled her up again and sent her in Kendall’s direction.