“How is that possible?” Devon asked. “Me and a guy like you.”

  Powers knew where this was coming from, and he understood it. “It comes from here.” He placed Devon’s hand on the center of his chest, right above his heart. “In my job, I follow my head and the things I can reason out. With you, I have to let my heart do the leading. That’s what happened with your past boyfriends. They were heartless and treated you like you didn’t have feelings. But you have heart and strength you haven’t discovered yet.”

  Devon humphed. “How do you know?”

  “I can see it in your eyes. Everything you’re feeling is right there. They shine when you look at me, and I can feel them from across a crowded room.” Powers caressed down Devon’s chest and over his fluttering belly, never taking his eyes off him, holding his gaze with everything he had. “I love that I can make you shake just by touching you.”

  “Well, yes.” Devon wrapped his arms around Powers’s neck and held on, drawing him in until their lips met once again. This time it was Devon who deepened it, adding his own energy. To Powers’s surprise, Devon rolled them on the bed, smiling as he stared down at him. “I think I want to do the driving for a while.” His chest heaved and uncertainty slipped into his gaze. Powers doubted that any of his past boyfriends had ever given up control, and Powers was more than delighted. Yeah, he liked to think of himself as a strong guy, but in the bedroom, with Devon, he was more than willing to switch-hit.

  “Sweetheart, you can have whatever you want.” Powers splayed his arms on the bed. “I want you to be happy.” The smile he received outshone the sun. Powers watched every movement Devon made.

  They fumbled getting the rest of their clothes off, and Devon seemed discomfited, but Powers chuckled as he kicked off his pants and slipped off the bed to tug Devon’s away.

  “Are you laughing at me?”

  Powers shook his head. “Sex should be fun and sometimes funny. It’s okay. Things don’t always have to go perfectly. All that matters is that you’re here with me.” He tugged Devon right down on top of him. “And I’m hoping I’ll be here with you all night.” Devon moaned as Powers slipped his hands down his back, cupping his firm little butt. Damn, Devon was a handful of special, that was for sure. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

  Devon nodded and ground his hips against Powers, sending slow burning zings of desire running up and down him. He wanted Devon more than he’d wanted anyone before. And the feeling seemed to be mutual.

  Powers rolled them on the bed and slid down Devon’s body, caressing him, taking in the groans of pleasure before sucking him hard and deep. Devon whimpered, then cried out as Powers took all of him, determined to make Devon forget his name.

  “Oh my God!”

  Powers pulled back and took him again and again, feeling Devon come unglued under him. The chorus of whimpers and soft cries only added fuel to the fire burning inside him, and Powers wasn’t going to last much longer at this rate, especially when Devon placed his hands on his head, thrusting upward desperately.

  “Powers, I’m…,” he gasped, and Powers didn’t back away, his own pleasure washing over him as Devon cried out his release.

  Devon flopped back on the bedding, wrung out. Powers pulled back, swallowing and smiling as he released Devon’s cock, kissing him more gently than before, then lay next to him, holding him.

  “I didn’t mean to do that,” Devon said. “I was so… I couldn’t help myself.” He closed his eyes.

  “Sweetheart, that was hot. Seeing you take what you wanted was sexy.”

  “But….” Devon rolled onto his side. “That’s what they did to me. They took what they wanted from me, and I let them. Am I turning into a jackass like them?”

  “I don’t think so. You were happy, and that was amazing. I….” Powers didn’t quite know how to explain to Devon what he wanted to say. “Things happen in the heat of the moment, and you were far gone. That was perfectly fine. And like I said—it was hot.” He stroked his fingertips over Devon’s cheeks. “Just worrying about me means that you’ll never be like them. So relax and be happy. That’s what I really want.” He tugged Devon tighter. “Why don’t you go on in and get cleaned up, okay?”

  Devon slipped out of bed as Powers gathered their clothes, straightening them, laying them across the back of the chair. When Devon came out, he took his turn and then joined Devon in bed.

  “I’m too excited to sleep,” Devon whispered.

  “You need to try. We both have big days ahead of us.” Powers closed his eyes, inhaling Devon’s scent and trying to fall to sleep.

  Chapter 7

  DEVON GOT to the office and went to his desk to handle as much of his regular work as he could until Powers came in.

  “Anything?” Powers asked as soon as he closed the door to the secure area they were using.

  “No. The program hasn’t been activated, and there’s nothing to report right now. If I were them, I’d do it toward the end of the day or even over the weekend. There’s less activity, and the systems aren’t watched quite as closely.” Devon sat down, trying not to think too much about last night or the fact that he hadn’t been able to sleep until, at two in the morning, Powers had done a repeat of his performance and Devon had finally dropped off.

  “You’re probably right.” Powers leaned against the desk, arms folded over his chest.

  “I’ve been thinking. Up until now, you’ve been doing this investigation on the sly, trying not to raise suspicions.”

  “Yeah. We don’t want to alert people that there might be something wrong. Word would get out, and then there would be bigger questions for the firm, which Mr. Mauer is trying to avoid.”

  “Maybe we need to be a little less circumspect. Really shake up whoever is behind this. Make them damn near panic, and even hint that you’re getting close to figuring out who’s trying to steal the designs of the system.” Devon leaned back in the chair. “But if Mr. Mauer doesn’t want that, then there isn’t much we can do. He’s the boss and the one calling the shots.”

  Powers nodded. “But you’re right. We need to shake things up some more, though I’m not sure how.”

  “Another rumor?” The one he’d tried to start before hadn’t done much. It had gone through the office with little effect as far as Devon had been able to determine.

  “No. But some straightforward questions. Maybe I should talk to the various managers, question them about—” Powers’s phone interrupted him, and he pulled it out of his pocket. “It’s Lucy.” He answered it and put it on speaker. “I’m here with Devon.”

  “I got some results. It seems that Judy Spalding is in debt up to her ears. She has a mortgage she can barely keep up the payments on, and two kids in college. She and her husband are in hock. It was worse a few months ago, but there was a large deposit into their account recently that gave them some breathing room. I can’t tell where the money came from, but it’s a nice round number.”

  “Like, big enough for a down payment on the designs on a banking system?” Devon asked, his spirits hitting the floor. He hated to think of Judy being involved with this. She was a good supervisor and worked hard.

  “It’s possible. People have done a lot more for a lot less,” Lucy said, explaining to him what she found.

  “Really?” Devon questioned. “Ten grand to put her career, her family, and the kids she’s trying to put through college at risk? I don’t think so. I don’t know where the money came from….” His mind traveled back to the day he’d been trying to gather the items for fingerprints. “Okay. She has to stay on the list.”

  Powers leaned forward. “Why the change of heart?”

  “It’s just something Judy said the other day. It was strange and gave me the creeps. It could have been because I was trying to steal stuff for Lucy to fingerprint and I was jumpy, but it didn’t sit right with me.” Devon hated feeling that way about someone he cared about. She had pictures of her kids in her office, and even nieces and nephews, stuff they had made, a teddy bear—it just didn’t add up for him. “What about James Abramson?” He was Judy’s colleague, and he could just as easily have done it as she could.

  “His life is so boring, it would put you to sleep. His bank accounts show regular paychecks and regular withdraws, like clockwork. It looks like he has everything set up on autopay. I about fell asleep. The only large withdraws that were irregular were for taxes and things.” Lucy actually yawned loudly for effect. “I checked his team as well, and there was nothing there. Though it does look like one of his team has an outside business of some kind. Or maybe his wife does. There was a lot of activity to a Create-a-Palooza, so I checked. It’s a paint-your-own-ceramics place in Carlisle.”

  “Lucy, what about foreign transactions? If I were doing something like this, I’d have the transfers done offshore. I certainly wouldn’t use my local bank.” Powers seemed to be thinking out loud.

  “Yeah, and I’ll get that information when pigs fly. I can’t look at everything, and that’s the kind of stuff this system is supposed to help expose.” Lucy was probably shrugging. “I hate to admit it, but whoever is doing this has hidden their tracks pretty good.”

  “Try to dig into where the money came from for Judy. I’m going to arrange to talk to both of them. I’ve already spoken to the project manager and the senior manager in charge of the system, and they impressed me as so truthful that it hurt. I honestly think the thought of someone stealing their system was on par with giving up a child. Besides, they are too easy of a target. Any theft would lead back to them first.” Sweat broke out on Powers’s forehead, and Devon wanted to wipe it away and tell him that they would break this case open, just to make him feel better.

  “Will do,” Lucy said. “I’ll message when I have something.” She ended the call.

  Devon lifted his gaze to Powers. He was running out of ideas. He hated the idea of just waiting for something to happen. It put him on edge, and he’d already been there almost since meeting Powers.

  “Keep your ears open and let me know if you hear anything. Maybe encourage people to brag if you can. If you have good news to share, then someone else might feel compelled to drop a hint or two.”

  Devon knew that Powers was getting desperate; he could feel it in his gut. “I’ll do my best.” He left the office and returned to his workstation and regular work. He sat down and unlocked his computer as Karen slid over.

  “This project must be something special if they give the guy his own office and you always keep the door closed.”

  Devon’s suspicions rose. Why was he being watched so closely? Especially given that Powers’s office was on a different floor. He needed to be more careful.

  “Mr. Mauer put me on the project, and it requires some discretion and confidentiality.” He figured making the most of it would not draw additional attention while at the same time raising Karen’s personal curiosity through the roof. “What are people saying?”

  “Not much. Just mouth-wagging stuff.”

  “Nope,” Mark butted in, leaning over the divider wall. “They’re saying that you’re behind all the security changes and stuff like that.” He scowled. “Maybe just leaving things well enough alone would help us all.”

  “I can’t argue with that,” Lee chimed in, with Susan right behind him.

  “I’ve had to update a ton of processes because of the changes, and I can’t see any real difference.” Susan scowled. “So if the rumors are true, tell them to stop. It’s killing us.” She sat back down after flashing a glare at Devon.

  “Like I have that kind of power.” Devon shook his head, chuckling slightly. “Really, guys, I can’t talk about it, but….” He lowered his gaze to the computer screen, watching out of the corner of his eye as Karen returned to her desk, clearly believing what she wanted. The others seemed to as well, which was what they needed. Keep people on the edge.

  Devon spent a quiet morning working, and at lunch, the others left without asking him to go along. That stung a little, but he did his best to ignore it. He had a job to do, and he’d read enough mysteries and things to know that a crime affected everyone in some way or other. Bonds of trust, especially ones as new as the ones between him and the team, were easily strained and frayed. Besides, he was keeping secrets from them, so distance was certainly going to come. That didn’t mean he had to like it.

  “Did they leave you all alone?” Powers asked, making him jump a while later.

  “Yeah.”

  “I sort of figured.” He placed a wrapped sandwich on his desk, winked, and hurried away.

  Devon smiled and finished his document before leaning back in his chair and running the sandwich around in his hands. It was only a sandwich, he told himself. But it wasn’t, not to Devon. It meant Powers knew him well enough and cared enough to get him something for lunch. He unwrapped the smoked turkey on wheat and took a scrumptious bite, sighing and relaxing for the first time that day.

  Devon sent Powers a message to thank him for lunch, got a bottle of water from the machine, and used the quiet time to gather his thoughts. His phone dinged, and Devon expected it was a message from Powers, but it was an alert.

  The program had been activated.

  HE SAT at his desk, messaged Powers about what had happened, and then sent a text to Alexander, who was available and called him.

  “I got the message as well. As soon as you can, log in and download a file and send it to me. I’m texting it to you.” He hung up, and Devon did as he was asked.

  He was glad the others were away from their desks, hoping that gave them an alibi. He got the file and sent it to Alexander, using his phone instead of the work computer.

  I’ll call you tonight, Alexander texted back.

  Devon knew he needed to act like nothing had happened so he didn’t make the thieves suspicious, even as he watched his coworkers for anything unusual.

  We need to talk, Powers messaged. Right now!

  Devon locked his screen and left his desk, going to Powers’s floor and down to the office. Powers was fuming and glared at him as soon as he closed the door. “What’s going on?”

  “Devon.” Alexander’s voice came through the speakerphone. “What have you been working on this morning?”

  “Just regular work. Why?” Devon grew more and more nervous. “What’s going on?”

  “You activated the program,” Powers said.

  “Excuse me?” Devon swallowed. “I certainly did not. Why would I? What the hell are you saying?”

  “The file I set up was to capture any information possible about who activated the program, and it’s showing that it was you.”

  Devon collapsed into a chair. “I didn’t. I was working on some information for Judy, and I’ve been coding a design program for a client. I haven’t gone anywhere near that system all day. I figured it was best not to leave a trail.” He glared right back to Powers. “You should believe me.” Damn, the look he received in return cut like a knife.

  “Hold on,” Alexander said. “I want to check something.” He grew quiet as Devon and Powers engaged in a stare-down. He hadn’t done one of these since he was a kid, and then Devon had always lost, but this was different. He hadn’t had anything to do with this and wasn’t going to back down. Screw Powers and his suspicion. He should have believed him and not thought the worst of him. The asshole.

  “I trusted you,” Powers ground between his teeth, finally looking away. Not that Devon felt any sort of win at all.

  “Hold the door,” Alexander said on his end. “Damn….”

  “What is it?” Devon asked, ignoring Powers.

  “There’s a parameter. They ran it with a parameter that included your login,” Alexander said. “Hell, they laid a trap, and we fell into it. Well, we nearly did. Whoever did this set up something in the program so they could try to mask who ran it.” Alexander’s keys clicked through the phone. “I can report that the program failed almost immediately, as we expected it would. So they got nothing for their efforts.”

  “Why try to frame Devon?” Powers asked, turning to him as though Devon could provide the answers. He shrugged.

  “I can’t get who did this because of the parameter I didn’t account for, but I’ll make an adjustment and we can add it to the system. I’ll be back over tonight, and we can make adjustments. It’s going to take them some time to figure out what we did, and I have an idea where we can add another trap later to throw them off.”

  “Thanks, Alexander, for your support.” At least someone hadn’t jumped to conclusions.

  “Dude…. Of course. Never doubted you.”

  He hung up, and Devon stood, leaving the office without another word. He fumed all the way back to his desk, plopped into his chair, and returned to work, hoping he didn’t have to lay eyes on Powers any time soon.

  “Who made you mad?” Lee asked a little while later. “You look stormy. Was it Karen, from earlier?”

  Devon shook his head, schooling his expression. “It wasn’t anyone here. I got some bad news from my family. That’s all.” He kept it vague and hoped it was a good enough cover. “It’s nothing really. I’m just overreacting.” He went back to his tasks, trying to keep calm and not think about how little Powers had trusted him.

  “Devon,” Judy said as she approached. She motioned back to her office, and he followed her inside to where James Abramson waited, closing the door. This was really serious if Judy wanted to have a witness. “Have you been in the development control system?” she asked, passing a printout across her desk that showed where he had entered the system. It showed him executing the failed program.

  He felt himself pale as he shook his head. He had about a second to figure out how he was going to play this. He needed to be shocked and remember that he hadn’t done anything wrong. “That wasn’t me. I don’t know what that is, and I don’t have the access to run that kind of program.” At least it wasn’t generally known that he had the access. “What did it do?” He watched Judy and then glanced at James before returning his attention to Judy. He felt a little like it was a tennis match, and he was unsure where he should look.