Defended & Desired (15 page)

“Believe me, it is. Knowing I’ve got just the right plans to make my dreams a reality is well worth living with a rotting roof, leaking sunroom and seventies shag carpeting.”

She grinned. “Let me guess. Avocado green countertops, too?”

“Oh, yeah. And they carried the color scheme into the bathrooms.”

She made a sour face and laughed.

“Oh,” he added, “and they must’ve gotten a steal on crappy harvest gold flower wallpaper. The stuff is everywhere.”

“My God, how awful. No wonder you got it on the cheap. How have you lived with it this long?”

“The plans went through four revisions before I signed off on them.” He poured himself another cup of coffee and topped off her mug. “As long as, in the end, the result is exactly what I want, I can be a very patient man.”

The double meaning behind his words—which applied to all aspects of his life, including her—must’ve shown in his gaze. Because her eyes widened a fraction, followed by a subtle glow that settled in their brown-gold depths. “I’m sure it’ll be worth it in the end, when you have a beautiful home you’re proud to live in and share with your family.”

“That’s the plan.”

For some reason, when she said the word “family,” he saw acute sadness fill her eyes. She glanced away and blinked a few times, then abandoned her coffee cup on the counter, heading toward her fluffball pooch.

“Hi, baby boy.” She kissed the dog’s wet nose, and he licked insatiably. “Let mama get dressed and I’ll take you out to pee. You were such a good boy last night. Thank you.” She tossed Trey an apologetic look and shrugged. “Gotta take care of my boy.”

“Sure.” Trey nodded. “He’s been really good. Does he always hold it this long?” Were they really talking about her dog’s pissing habits? He snorted to himself.

“He can, but this situation isn’t ideal.” A frown pinched between her eyebrows. “I can’t keep him in the hotel with me, but I don’t want him to stay overnight for days on end at the kennel.” She made a face. “Whenever I’ve taken him there longer than a day, he comes back with an upset stomach. He leaves me disgusting presents all over the house for days.”

“Hey, I get it.” Trey crouched to Peanut’s height on the bed and reached out to scratch behind his ear. “Animals become a part of the family. Especially dogs. They’re so eager to please, what’s not to love?”

“Exactly.”

He glanced up to find her expression wistful as she looked at her goofy little dog with the painful underbite. “I could take him” he offered. The fluffy guy held a big place in Devon’s heart, and he’d do anything to make her happy.

She blinked as though startled. “What?”

“Yeah, no big deal. I can take him to that puppy-care place you talked about, during the day, then grab him on my way home at night.” Then he added, “Just until you hear back from Stone Security Systems about your alarm trigger.”

“Oh. Okay. You’d do that?”

“Sure. I kind of miss having a dog.”

The look she sent him suggested she didn’t believe he’d dare to be seen with a lap dog Paris Hilton would stash in her purse. Normally, she’d be right. Peanut wasn’t his first choice in canines, but he’d always been around pets and wanted to help her out in her tough position. “Hey,” he admitted, “our house backed onto an alley. Cats galore. And our two labs loved breaking through the fence my dad repaired weekly. Growing up, we had guinea pigs, lizards, shakes. Even an alligator once.”

She looked horrified. “Did you feed it alley cats?”

He laughed. “No, goldfish.”

She let out an amusing sigh of relief. “I guess that qualifies you to handle one small, cranky dog.”

He shot her a grin. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

She hesitated. “Just until I hear from Stone Security, right?”

“After that, Peanut and the townhouse are all yours,” he assured.

“Trey.” She twisted her fingers together and glanced down at her hands. “Thank you—”

Swiftly, he closed the distance between them and kissed her lips until her throat relaxed and her tongue twined with his. Then he cupped her cheek and stared down at her. “No worries. I’ll take care of it.”

She held his gaze for several poignant moments then nodded. She threw on the bare minimum of clothes required to take Peanut outside to do his business. He watched her tight ass in leggings and her small perfect breasts poking through her tank top glide out the door, while she attended to her dog.

He blew out a low whistle. Then he went to the window to watch her let Peanut out, since he couldn’t be too careful with the hacker-stalker lurking around any corner. He saw her down below urging Peanut to do his business. Her ass looked amazing in those stretch pants. Willing himself to do the noble thing, he got dressed instead of diving into bed and waiting for her under the covers, so they could pick up where they’d left off.

Actually, he did have a lot to do today. Even though he could pay someone else to take care of his property, he liked the mindless escape of hopping on his mower and trimming his four acre lawn on Sundays. His dad had always mocked the upper crust, wondering why they had huge beautiful laws they never bothered to mow themselves—what was the point? So Trey mowed his own lawn. Also on Sundays he watered the extensive flower beds the previous owners had left, then lazed around envisioning his future house with a huge great room and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the distant city lights. And six bedrooms he couldn’t wait to fill with a brood of his own.

Obviously, his first addition would be Devon. The rest would follow its natural course.

He grinned, picturing his wife and tons of kids scrambling around his new huge house, hardly containing himself until his life spread before him exactly how he’d imagined it.

*

Late Sunday morning, Devon returned to the office.

Truthfully, she needed something to take her mind off Trey. And sex. And sex with Trey.

There weren’t enough positive adjectives in her vocabulary to describe his mind-blowing moves in bed. Her thighs clenched just thinking about their torrid lovemaking last night. The way he’d gripped her tight, the sensation of his length gliding inside her. And Lord, what that man could do with his mouth. He’d found all her hot zones and matched his need with her own.

Even more tantalizing, she suspected he was just getting started. Ramping up for future sweat-soaked marathon sessions between the sheets. So much to look forward to…

She’d never felt more connected to a man, so in sync on so many levels. He
got
her. He knew what she needed before she even asked and gave her what her heart had craved for so long. Connection.
A true, deep, undeniable bond with another soul. He looked into her eyes, and all she wanted to say was
yes.
To anything.
To everything that his beautiful eyes promised to give her. And those dark depths told her that if she said yes and took the leap, she wouldn’t regret it.

She shivered and blew out a slow breath to calm her spiking heart rate. If she didn’t focus, her confused thoughts would drive her to distraction.

With a pained sigh, she eyed the stack of notes she’d started to work on for technical documentation. The bane of every programmer’s existence. But a necessary evil if she wanted to leave her IT team with the capability of moving on without her.

An uncomfortable hollowness took root within her.

This new job offer came with so many unexplored horizons. She had felt excited and so certain yesterday at the arcade, experiencing interactive player games that she could help create to please nerds and gamers all across the globe. But today, the boops and beeps and zombies and quests seemed more like a consolation prize than her dream career path.

After spending the night in Trey’s arms, something fundamental had shifted her internal chemistry. He’s pushed past her well-maintained emotional boundaries. Throwing her into chaotic, unexplored aspects of herself.
Which overjoyed her and irritated her at the same time. She didn’t know what to do. The split inside her was fast becoming a chasm.

Two weeks with Trey wasn’t enough. Not nearly. That she knew for certain.

Yet she wanted equal fulfillment in her career choice. She didn’t mind her job as Director of IT for Soren Security Bodyguards, but the work didn’t make her spirit dance or her soul sing, whereas, on a personal level, Trey accomplished both those beautifully. But as much as she wanted to dive into and explore what could be between them, she needed to think about her future as a big picture. Something she’d always excelled at before her new lover had enticed her into exploring boundaries unknown and possibilities undiscovered.

When it came to Trey, the adventurous side of her intended to live in the moment, to hell with the outcome. Still, the cautious side of her insisted she stop playing with fire before the flames Trey stoked inside her burned them both.

Realizing she wouldn’t solve her conundrum today, she forced herself to attend to the deadly dull task of writing up the one thing she knew back and forth with her eyes closed. Network administration.

She set up the table of contents and formatted the basic structure of her document. Then she plugged in technical layouts, and typed the explanations behind them, plus her thoughts and suggestions about how to smoothly implement all the logistics involved in maintaining her legacy.

Hours later, the sun sank toward dusk, washing the snowcapped mountain peaks in a white-gold glimmer. She stared out at the beautiful vistas, appreciating her fourth floor corner office packed with windows. In Phoenix, all she’d see were flat planes of rust-colored desert in her new company’s one story office complex.

A ding from her email alert caused her to swivel in the direction of her monitor. She clicked the notification.

The blood drained from her face. Her fingers went cold then numb as she read the email unsourced email.

Hello, Devon. Don’t bother tracking me. You’ll be wasting your time. I see you’re distracted by your new boy toy. Whatever. If that’s what scratches your itch, I will leave you alone this week. In return, I want you to join me at DEFCON. Below, you’ll see I’ve taken care of your travel arrangements.

Devon shuddered.
The balls on this guy!
Out of morbid curiosity, she kept reading. Like watching a train wreck in slow motion, she couldn’t look away.

I set you up with a suite at the MGM Grand. The same room where Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt have stayed.
Since you’re into the pretty boys.

“And that’s supposed to impress me?” Freaked out, she shivered and shook her head. Evidently this guy had access to serious cash. The hotel receipt he’d scanned into the email—without identifying information like a name or credit card statement, unfortunately—proved his loaded status.

She’d rather share a cardboard box with Trey over the celebrity accommodations from this nut-job any day. In fact, Trey had set her up in similar luxury right here in Denver, thanks to the douche bag who’d written her this email.

Like I said, I’ll leave you alone. But you’d better confirm my reservations by this Friday. Or you won’t like my response. Things could get very ugly.

She swallowed at the growing tightness in her throat.

I’d hate to put you or your boy toy in a bad place.
By Friday, Devon. I mean it. You don’t want to know what I’m capable of.

As if he hadn’t caused enough damage in her life and Trey’s? “Psycho.”

Grabbing her mouse, she hovered her cursor over the delete button. Then a thought struck her. What if he’d gained admin access to her work computer the way he had her home system? If she deleted the email, the cyber control freak might go off the rails. He’d given her a week, free of his menacing shadow stalking her every move, reading her email, combing for clues as to her reaction to his “magnanimous” gesture of taking her to DEFCON which started in ten days, all expenses paid. And that was no cheap trip. The madman had almost thirty grand on the line.

Half-regretting the move, she left the email alone. She assumed he had his email set up to send him a reply the second she opened his creepy note. So she’d leave him guessing, for a change. Assuming he stood by his word, he’d leave her alone for the next five days, let her breathe in peace. And give her plenty of unfettered time with Trey to enjoy whatever the week would bring in sensual opportunities.

To hell with this jerk’s threats. She would bide her time, and Friday, she’d tell the cyberstalker exactly where he could shove his thirty thousand dollars.

Chapter 8

Monday morning, Devon called a meeting with her team, and the diverse crew gathered into her office. She handed out ten copies of the report she’d created yesterday and kept the eleventh copy for herself to reference if they had questions. Attached to each report was a Starbucks gift card for fifty dollars.

Allen Guthrey, her IT manager, grinned. “Coffee is the nerd equivalent of black gold. Better than overtime pay.”

The team chuckled since they were all salaried and received no overtime for the extra hours they’d put in. Weariness passed over their faces as they discussed the intensity and stress of the hacking incident.

“You guys deserve it, for the miracles we pulled off last week. On an even better note, in my budget proposal that finally passed, I included a Keurig coffee maker. Soon we’ll have good, fresh coffee at the touch of a button.”

Cheers greeted the news, and high-fives went around.

Flipping through the report with a perplexed groove between his eyebrows, Zander pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “This documentation looks intense. What’s it for?”

She settled down to business. “I’ve asked a lot of you guys recently. You’ve been pushed to the limits, and I’m really proud of your efforts. You’re a great team to work with, and you proved my faith in you.”

They beamed under her praise and acknowledgement.

“Still, I should’ve better prepared you for emergencies like last week. That oversight is my fault and I need to fix it. Going forward, for the next month I’m setting up meetings with the entire team, as well as one-on-one sessions to identify each of your strengths, goals, and what you want to learn working here.”

Inwardly, she cringed because she’d meant to say two weeks and had inadvertently locked herself into another thirty days at Soren Security. But she’d never go back on her word. Honestly, this training endeavor required at least a month’s worth of dedication. Somehow, she needed to buy time from her new employer to ensure her team’s success in her absence. She never did anything halfway or left things incomplete. Trey and this company deserved an outstanding IT department, and she’d give him that.

“You’re a great teacher,” Zander blurted. Ears turning bright red, he rushed to explain. “I mean, you’ve won awards. You know this industry inside and out. You have name recognition and working for you puts me at a level I’d never achieve on my own or at another company. Right?”

Zander glanced around for support and received several nods of agreement.

The ardent praise lifted her spirits but also distressed her. Because teaching by example wasn’t enough. She needed to cultivate their skills and let them do their own problem solving.

“Thank you, Zander. Still, I’ve asked myself lately, what would happen if I couldn’t be here as your director? You’ve followed my lead, while I’ve focused on getting the network and IT department up and running here. Now that we have the support of upper management, it’s time I focused on you. You’re all very talented, and I want you to put those talents to use.”

She leaned forward and folded her hands on the desk.

“From now on, I don’t want to just be a boss you report to, I want to be your mentor. I want to teach you my strategies, and give you the chance to improve on what I’ve created.” She met their wide unblinking stares with a smile of reassurance. “My focus is shifting to growing your careers and developing your skills. So you can meet the fast-paced demands of the IT field no matter where you go in life.”

“Thank you,” Allen stammered in surprise.

“Unless you decide to stay with Soren Security and fill my shoes, you can thank me when you’re all hired into the upper ranks at Microsoft and Apple.”

Split down the middle in their preferences, they launched into a heated debate about which company’s operating system reigned supreme. She’d accidentally unleashed a monster.

“Guys, guys. Save if for the Internet cafes and chat rooms. In the meantime, look at your calendars and send me meeting invites for times you have available. Wherever, whenever. I’m at your disposal.”

Ross, who always wore jeans and a tie with cartoon characters, snickered. “
Any
where?”

Alan cuffed him on the back of the head. “Show some respect.”

Fighting a grin, Devon sighed. “Okay, let me clarify. Any place work-related or tech-centered.”

Ross’s BFF and former roommate at Stanford, Scott, leaned forward and wiggled his eyebrows. “Hey, my bedroom’s filled with technology.”

“Yeah,” Ross shot back, “in your mom’s basement. Because that’s super hot.” He drew a laugh from the group.

Scott grew quiet and slumped in his chair.

She didn’t take offense. The recent college grads were dorky and young and irreverent, but in their awkward-teenage-boy sort of way they’d paid her a high compliment. “I’m going to let that slide.” She gave them a firm look. “Regardless of my new role as mentor, I’m still your boss.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the two muttered.

“I’m also looking forward to hearing your thoughts on my documentation and how I run things. This is your department, too. Suggestions for improvement are welcome and encouraged.”

Her team nodded.

Flatting her hands on her desk, she stood. “Okay, that’s a wrap.”

They thanked her and filed out. The door closed, then opened again. “Hey, gorgeous.”

Her eyes snapped up to find Trey shutting the door behind him. And locking it. He strode toward her like a man on a mission. “Hey, yourself.”

“Did I miss your email? Should I have been in on that meeting?”

“No, not at all.”
Thank God.
She didn’t want him to hold her to the thirty days she’d promised
her team, even though she planned to stay true to her word. She didn’t want him to know about any timeline at all, in case she had to leave earlier than planned.

Or if she decided not to leave at all.

The thought made her brain synapses misfire and her heart lurch. Not a good combination after struggling to stay detached. But her useless attempt at detachment hadn’t lasted. She was crazy about him, and the thought of leaving had become a source of frustration and confusion. She stared at his handsome face, lost in the way his dark eyes absorbed her. Then she pulled herself back to the present.

“I came by to see how last night went,” he said.

She shrugged. “Uneventful. Kind of nice for a change.”

He nodded. “I guess you didn’t need me then.”

“Need and want are two different things,” she replied in a flirtatious tone.

His expression lifted. “So you didn’t need me, but you wanted me. Which means you missed me. I’ll take that.” He reached her in three swift strides and caught her in a tight embrace. “I’ll take this, too.”

His head lowered, his kisses open-mouthed and hungry. He tasted her deeply, and her toes curled.

Briefly, he came up for air. “I want you,” he breathed against her lips.

“Now?” Scandalized and instantly turned on, she loosened his tie and unfastened the button at his shirt collar.

“Yes,
now.
” He dragged his lips down her neck, leaving a trail of steam.

The contrast of the air-conditioning and his hot mouth on her skin made her shiver. He picked her up and sat her on her desk, stepping between her thighs. “I see you mean business,” she murmured.

“I’m taking an early lunch.” He dropped to his knees. His eyes glittered as he yanked up her skirt, slid off her panties, and his head disappeared between her legs.

“Shame on you.” She gasped as his tongue found her most intimate place. “Mixing business with pleasure.”

“My new favorite combination.” He tongue swirled and lapped her peak. Then he drew her into his mouth. She fell back onto a pile of papers and arched, issuing soft moans of encouragement.

With expert skill, he tasted her and brought her to the brink fast. She shut her eyes and her hips lifted off the desk as she came against his mouth.

“Sweet God.” She gasped as he urged a few more tremors from her swollen peak. “I think your tongue is your best asset.”

With a growl, he shoved his pants down his hips. “I’ll show you my best asset.”

He drove his cock inside her. The breathtaking force shoved her back on the desk and a monitor crashed to the floor.

“Oops,” she giggled, dizzy with lust and, aching with need.

He rocked against her. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“Mmm.
Can’t wait.” She tried to contain her urge to scream as he surged inside her. He circled his hips, gliding in a smooth, erotic rhythm that made her claw his forearms, desperate to bring him closer.

Lips parted in concentration, he planted his hands on the desk on either side of her. His suit jacket draped half off his shoulders, his tie was askew, and his dress shirt pulled tight across his straining chest.

She licked her lips. “Damn, you’re a sexy sight at the office.”

A grin quirked one side of his mouth.
“Payback.” He went deep. “For all the times you drove me crazy strutting around here in your little skirts and high heels and long legs that I wanted to wrap around my waist.”

Following his suggestion, she dropped her shoes to the floor and crossed her ankles behind his back. “Like this?”

Fierce desire sparked in his eyes. “Just like that.”

He grabbed her hips and held her still as his rhythmic strokes sent an intimate blush across her cheeks. She bit her lips to keep from crying out as she tensed around him.

“Oh, yeah,” he moaned.

Hot and throbbing, they came together. He stayed inside her until the residual ripples of her orgasm faded. Then he wiped the fine mist on his forehead with the back of his hand. “I’ll have to take you at lunch more often.”

“I like that plan.” She trailed her fingertips down the heat-soaked front of his shirt. “I’ll pencil you in.”

“What?” He feigned offense and flexed inside her. “That doesn’t deserve ink?”

She grinned. “Send me a memo with your ideas and timing. I’ll see if I can fit you in.”

“I think I fit in just fine.” He flexed again before easing out. Then he helped her to her feet and settled her skirt back into place. “But I do like your memo idea.” He tucked himself back into his pants. “The janitor’s closet comes to mind.”

“Nothing like the scent of Clorox to get a girl all hot and bothered.”

“Miss Leigh?” A nervous voice came from the hallway.
Zander.
“I thought I heard a bang. Just checking to see if you’re okay.”

In a low voice, Trey murmured, “Oh, you heard banging, all right.”

“You’re terrible.” She shook her head at him. “I’m fine,” she called to Zander.

“Just rearranging the furniture,” Trey announced.

“Will you stop?” she insisted, unable to contain a slip of laughter.

“Not unless you beg me.”

She buttoned his collar and straightened his tie. “We’ll see about that.”

“Thanks for lunch, babe.” He dropped several kisses to her lips. “I’ll catch up with you later.” He glanced at his watch. “Right now, I’m ten minutes late for a meeting with my finance team.”

She gaped. “What will you tell them if they ask why you’re late?”

“That I was crunching some important numbers. And they added up to something very fine.” He tapped her backside, stole another kiss and left her wondering how soon he’d send her that memo he promised.

With a luxurious quiver of anticipation, she looked forward to his next burst of inspiration.

*

Tuesday, she met with Allen Guthrey, then later she had a meeting with Zander. The two of them were her powerhouse pair. Together, with a little guidance, they could probably fill her shoes within the month. The thought didn’t make her as relieved as it should have, because she knew she should be the person in command of IT at Soren Security.

Later that night, Trey came to her hotel room and rocked her world. As usual. He left at dawn on Wednesday, but made her a pot of coffee before kissing her goodbye.

Most mornings, she was cranky and non-functional until her first cup of java. She appreciated the little things he did to show her he was the kind of man who paid attention and noticed her quirks and habits. Like brewing coffee for her, sending sexy memos, and replacing her cracked monitor with a new one. Without her having to ask.

If he was trying to win her over, he was more than succeeding.

In fact, throughout the day Wednesday she kept coming up with more reasons and excuses to delay her final interview with ActionNet. It wasn’t really fair to ActionNet. But she had committed to her team’s training and couldn’t deny the desire to pack in as much time with Trey as possible.

Sexually, that proved an easy accommodation to make. Her blood heated the instant she thought about him, which was a lot more than she wanted to admit.
From what she could tell, he seemed to enjoy their fling with as much enthusiasm as she did.