The Fifth Lesson (The Bay Boys #2) (5 page)

And what he wanted most was
not
to be a thirty-year-old virgin.
 
Maybe she could teach him how to seduce a woman…maybe even introduce him to the intimacies between lovers.
 
Then, he’d be prepared to seek out a woman and lose his damned virginity once and for all.
 
Christie had already made it clear to him that all they’d ever be was friends…so maybe she wouldn’t be opposed to helping him out.

“Alright.”

“You’ll do it?” she asked hopefully.

“Yeah, but it’s not as simple as you think.
 
You better come over so I can explain everything.
 
We’ll need to go to your gallery tonight to set things up.
 
Are you okay to drive, since you were drinking?”

He thought he heard a smile in her voice when she responded.
 
“I’ll take a cab, just to be safe.
 
I’ll be right over.
 
What’s your address?”

*
   
*
   
*

Christie pulled up to a nice looking townhouse a half hour later and paid the cab driver before hopping out.
 
Adam lived in Walnut Creek, which was only a twenty minute drive on I-680 from her apartment in Martinez.

Glancing at the watch on her wrist, she noticed that it was almost one o’clock in the morning.
 
As the cab pulled away, she made her way up the front steps to his door.
 
She spotted his black Mercedes in the car port next to the house, so she knew she was at the right address.
 
She knocked.

Her heart beat like a caged bird in her chest as she waited for him to open the door.

And when he did, she offered him a tentative smile.
 
She couldn’t help but think of their kiss earlier, couldn’t help but see Adam in a different light, especially since he was coming to her rescue.
 
He wore a pair of light wash jeans and a dark gray cotton tee that hugged surprisingly broad shoulders and a trim waistline.
 
A rush of desire raced through her at the sight of his golden eyes and full lips, but she tried to ignore it.
 
The key word being
tried
…

“Hi, gorgeous,” she couldn’t help but breathe.

Adam blinked, but, disappointingly enough, didn’t respond with his usual flush.
 
Christie knew she’d hurt him earlier with her flippant words.
 
She still felt guilt and shame.
 
It was even worse now, because she was asking for his help.

“Come on in,” he said politely, stepping back from the front door so she could enter.

He closed the door behind her and she immediately remarked, “I’m probably not your favorite person right now.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well,” she started, caught a bit off guard, waving her hand uncomfortably.
 
“With what happened earlier…and now.
 
Barging in on you like this in the middle of the night.
 
You’re probably annoyed with me.”

He studied her in that Adam way of his, cocking his head to the side, quietly assessing her.
 
Finally, he spoke.
 
“I want something from you.
 
So, no, I’m not annoyed.”

“Oh,” was all she could say.
 
What could he possibly want from her?
 
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask, but he was already trailing down the hallway of his house and she was forced to follow.

Townhomes tended to be more narrow in size, but it seemed like Adam’s house was three stories to make up for it.
 
At least that’s what it looked like from the outside.
 
The hallway that led from the front door opened up into a spacious and modern kitchen and dining area and just beyond that was the living room.
 
Christie smiled when she saw he had the top of the line home entertainment system.
 
She figured he would…

As expected, Adam’s house was neat, just like the man living in it.
 
It wasn’t Alex’s level of neat—Livy’s boyfriend was completely OCD—but she could tell Adam took pride in his place.

“Can I get you anything?
 
Water?”
 
That mischievous look entered his eyes.
 
“I’d offer you beer, but something tells me you’d decline anyway.”

“It was tequila that did me in,” she informed him, propping a hip against his kitchen counter.
 
“But no thank you.
 
I’m fine for now.”
 
He nodded.
 
“So, how are we going to do this exactly?”

“There’s two options, but we’re going to go with the quickest one.
 
I have something called a keylogger.
 
It records key strokes on any remote computer that you download the software to.
 
So, we have to go install it on your boss’ computer at the gallery tonight.
 
It’s undetectable if I encrypt it, so he won’t know.
 
I’m assuming you have the keys to get in?” he asked.

Christie nodded quickly.
 
“I do.”

“And he’ll be coming into the gallery tomorrow, even though it’s a Sunday?”

“Yes.
 
Our new exhibit opens on Tuesday.
 
He’ll be handling last minute details.”

Adam nodded and continued, “The tricky part is that you have to make sure he signs into his email account tomorrow morning without him seeing your email.
 
His key strokes will sync up with my FTP account, which will record his password.
 
Then you can sign into his account while he’s distracted and delete the email.
 
Do you think you can do that?”

Christie blew out a long breath, but nodded, “Yeah, I think so.
 
Maybe…”

“What?”

“Maybe you could call the reception desk at the gallery,” she suggested, looking up at him.
 
“Act like you’re interested in donating.
 
My boss usually deals with all those calls, so it would be a good distraction and it’ll get him out of his office.
 
That way, you can keep him on the line after you text me his password.
 
It’ll give me enough time to navigate through his inbox and delete my email.”

A soft smile flitted over his lips and he nodded.
 
“Fine.
 
Okay.
 
That’s a good plan.”

Christie wanted to jump with joy.

Adam looked thoughtful for a moment and then said, “And you might want to send a few filler emails in the morning, so that if he does log in before you get there, it’ll buy you some time.
 
He might read those first instead of the ‘go fuck yourself’ email.”

“I like your devious mind, Mr. Thornton,” Christie teased, relief starting to soften her anxiety.
 
She didn’t want to admit it, but hearing him talk about all this techy stuff was a huge turn-on.

But his face sobered, becoming stern.
 
“Remember, this is a one time deal, Christie.
 
I’m serious.
 
I can’t afford to go around hacking into other people’s computers, especially in my line of work.
 
I wasn’t joking when I said it’s illegal.
 
So, don’t make it a habit of sending your boss angry emails.”

The thought sobered her as well and she flushed with embarrassment, nodding like a child being scolded.
 
His warning reminded her of the possible consequences if they were caught.
 
Well, if Christie was caught.
 
There was no way she’d ever drag Adam down with her when this was all her fault to begin with.

Once again, she wondered what Adam wanted from her.
 
Whatever it was, he must want it a whole lot to risk breaking the law.
 
But she needed to know.

“What do you want in return?
 
For doing all this?”

His expression tightened and for a moment he looked extremely uncomfortable.
 
Interesting
, she thought, intrigued.
 
Shifting on his feet, Adam glanced away, seemed to argue silently with himself, and then refocused his gaze on her, determination shining on his features.

His next words shocked her.

“I’m a virgin.”

Her eyebrows shot up and she tried not to gape.
 
“Excuse me?”

It wasn’t possible.
 
Absolutely not possible.
 
Christie always knew Adam was a little reserved, but the man was
gorgeous
.
 
There was no way he’d made it to his age without sex.

“It’s true,” he said, almost defensively.
 
Christie chided herself, realizing her reaction was a bit rude.
 
But she was completely flabbergasted.
 
“My friends joke that I’ll be a thirty-year-old virgin.
 
And I will
not
let that happen.”

He looked so determined, but then his words hit her.
 
Was he saying what she thought he was saying?

“So,” she said slowly.
 
“You want me to…sleep with you?”

“No!”

“Oh.”

Why did his answer disappoint her so much?

“I just want you to teach me how to seduce a woman.
 
How to…pleasure a woman.
 
I’ll do the rest.”

“Wouldn’t that involve sex?
 
Learning how to pleasure a woman?” Christie couldn’t help but ask, a spark of interest heating her in places that Adam surely wanted to learn more about.
 
She was beginning to enjoy this.

His jaw clenched in obvious discomfort.
 
“Not necessarily.”

“I disagree.”

“Do you agree to the terms or not?” he asked quickly, slowly losing his patience, his cheeks tinged with embarrassment.
 
Which surprised Christie, because in the six months she’d known him, she’d never seen him lose his cool.
 
Not once.
 
He was always in control of his emotions, like earlier at the barbecue.
 
He’d been stone-faced and distant…at least until he’d kissed her.

“It’s a deal,” she decided with a quirk of her lips.

“What?” he asked in confusion, obviously thinking she’d turn him down.

“We can start tomorrow evening, if you like.”

He stared at her in disbelief.
 
But then something shifted in his expression.
 
“Alright, tomorrow evening.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

SIX

Adam had officially lost it.

He was breaking into an art gallery at two o’ clock in the morning so that he could install a keylogger on Christie’s boss’ computer.

Although he supposed he wasn’t technically breaking in, since Christie had a key.
 
And her boss’ door was unlocked…so….

But every time he started second guessing himself—if he was caught, he would
definitely
lose his job and his reputation in the industry—Christie would give him the brightest smile and he’d be filled with renewed determination.
 
Now, he understood why men did crazy things for women.
 
Case in point.

Adam dropped down into her boss’ chair and booted up the desktop.
 
It was an old PC.
 
Adam could hardly conceal his distaste, but he popped the keylogger software into the CD tray anyway.
 
His heart was racing at the thought of being caught.

He hadn’t done this in years.
 
The last time was in high school.
 
He’d installed it on the home computer for more practice.
 
Except, back then, he hadn’t liked what he’d found.

Once Adam started the installation and correctly inputted his FTP account information, he turned to Christie.
 
She was watching him work from her sitting position on top of the desk.
 
Her thigh was close to his hand on the mouse and Adam had the strongest urge to brush his fingers across her skin.

Her eyes were rapt on his fingers as they worked the keyboard.
 
He cleared his throat to get her attention, but he was unprepared for the heat in her eyes.
 
She blinked and the look was gone.

“Um, do you know if there’s a virus program on these computers?” he asked, glad his voice was steady.
 
It was dark in the office.
 
They’d decided to keep the lights off in case anyone came snooping.
 
Christie had assured him the night guard slept through most of his shift in the break room.
 
But they still took precautions.
 
And now, she was illuminated from the light of the computer screen, the angles of her features shadowing the smooth skin of her face.
 
She’d never looked so beautiful, except perhaps when she was drenched in afternoon sunlight.

“Yes, we do,” she answered softly.

He nodded, breaking his gaze away.
 
Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out a crypter software.
 
The server file to the keylogger could easily be detected if he didn’t encrypt it.
 
He was always thorough.
 
He prided himself on it.

Once the new server file downloaded properly, Adam shut down the computer and repocketed both software disks.
 
He repositioned the mouse to where he’d found it, making sure everything was in order.
 
He even felt the urge to wipe the keyboard down to erase any fingerprints, but he knew he was just being paranoid.

Adam jumped when he felt Christie’s hand land gently on his thigh.
 
His head snapped sharply towards her, but he didn’t utter a sound.
 
Instead, he watched her carefully, even as his body started to respond to her intimate touch.