by Kelly Moore
“Don’t hang up,” I beg quietly.
“I won’t, but get to my office and hide.”
I slip off my shoes and tiptoe down the hall, accidentally triggering the floor security lights to come on. I hear a noise behind me and I move faster to his office, easing the door shut behind me. I hide in the closet in the back of the pitch-dark room.
“I’m in your office,” I whisper into the phone.
“Good girl.”
The door opens and I can see light through the slats in the door. I watch as footsteps change the angle of the lights as he steps into the room. He walks over to the desk and I can hear his fingers flying over the keyboard. He must not have found what he wanted because I hear him ripping open drawers. I back into the corner of the closet as I see motion coming my way.
The door flies open and I brace myself to fight, but suddenly the man tumbles to the floor with Connor on top of him, pinning him down.
The guy is trying to fight him, but Connor overpowers him. “Get the hell off me!” he screams.
“Reese, call the police.”
“If she calls the police, I’ll tell them what you’ve done. You’ll be behind bars with me!” the man yells.
I’m stunned by his words.
“Then you better start talking right now,” Connor says.
“You get out of my life and leave me alone.”
Connor gets off him and stands. “You attack a young girl and get away with it and now you want to be left alone,” he laughs.
“You planted evidence and I can prove it.” the man spits out, getting off the floor.
I’m suddenly very aware of what’s in that file.
“I don’t give a shit what they do to me as long as your sorry ass is in jail.” Connor has his finger in his face. “Go call the police, Reese” he states again.
I run to my office and pick up the phone, dialing 9-1-1. I slip the jump drive out of my computer and stuff it in my bra. The operator answers and I tell them we need help, giving them our address.
An hour later, I watch as the police cuff both of them. The man kept spewing that Connor was a criminal and the police had no choice but to take them both in custody. I followed them to the jail, but they wouldn’t let me see him and no bail would be set until tomorrow.
Back at the office, I dig through phone numbers until I find Jade’s. She insists on meeting me at Kid Power as soon as I tell her what happened.
I give her thirty minutes and I head over. She is just unlocking the front door as I get there. We don’t speak until we are in the upstairs office with all the security monitors.
“Tell me what Connor has been doing,” I demand.
“Have a seat.” She sits down on the couch. When these girls come to us, they are terrified. Some of their offenders are still out there.” She stops for a minute and looks down at her hands.
“Did they ever catch the guy that hurt you?”
“No. Connor tried, but too many years had passed.”
“So, he was hacking their computers and finding ways to plant evidence against these men?”
“Yes. Everything he’s done here, he’s done for me.”
“This guy must have had enough knowledge to figure out who hacked him.”
“I’m proud of Connor and I will stand behind him one hundred percent.”
“I understand why he did it, but he could go to jail.” I stand and start pacing. “You know they will have the FBI all over tearing his office apart tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“They will link him to this place. Is there anything in your computers here that they can find to prove the accusations?”
“No. Connor has been very careful not to link the companies. He doesn’t do any work on the computers, only the security system.”
“Good, then we have nothing to worry about.”
“What do you mean?”
“I found the code he was using to hack these men. I wiped it clean.”
“How did you know?”
I figured it out right before all this went down. He used your name encrypted into the file. ‘Jade survives’. You’re right, he did do all this for you.”
“Thank you for protecting him.”
“I will, but I don’t know if I can be part of this anymore.”
“He loves you, you know?” She stands.
A tear slides down my cheek. “I know, and I love him. But once their experts get their hands on my computer, they will know there was a file that I erased. My career will be over.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Play innocent and bat my eyes,” I laugh. “Then get out of Boston.”
I can’t sleep at all thinking about Connor sitting in jail. As soon as Jewels is up, I tell her what happened. Her response is just as dramatic as I expected – she’s ready to pack our bags and head off to a deserted island somewhere and live under fake names.
I get dressed and head to the office. Jade said she would go to jail to bail out Connor. Just as I thought, the computers are being confiscated and every one of us was questioned. They did ask me about the file, but I told them I thought it was a threat to our company, so I deleted it.
Once they are finally done with me, I call Connor’s phone, but it goes directly to voicemail. Next I try Jade, with more success. She confirms that he was released several hours ago, but does not know where he is at now. I head straight to his apartment, but he’s not there and neither is his car.
I’ve checked my messages every five minutes, but there is nothing. I’m exhausted by the time I get home and can’t think straight anymore. Jewels bombards me with questions, which I more or less ignore. All I want to know is where Connor is. I collapse in bed, but sleep still evades me. At four in the morning, it dawns on me where I might find him. I wait until daylight to call a cab. It will be an expensive ride, but I’m banking on him being there.
The cab driver pulls up to the little blue house sitting on the hillside overlooking the water. I give him my credit card to pay for the ride. Connor’s car is parked off to the side.
The steps creak as I walk onto the porch. Connor is watching me through the screen door, opening it as I come close. He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. I walk past him into the smell of coffee spreading through the house.
“Why haven’t you answered your phone?” I ask, turning toward him.
He shuts the door and walks over to the round kitchen table, sliding out a chair to sit in.
“I didn’t figure you wanted to be with a criminal, especially one that’s not sorry for what he did.” He pushes the chair out beside him with his foot.
“I met with Jade last night. She told me what you did.”
He hangs his head.
“More importantly, she told me why you did it.”
His eyes lift to mine.
“I don’t blame you one bit and neither can the police or FBI if they don’t have proof.” I sit.
“Their experts will find it.”
I reach out and take his hand. “Not if there is nothing to find.”
“You erased it?”
I nod.
“Are you fucking crazy? That puts you at risk too! I told you to stay out of it, that it was none of your goddamn business.” He stands.
“I answered their questions. We are free and clear.”
“I would rather be found guilty than those men on that file get away with what they have done. Now I’m back to square one.”
I drop my bag off my shoulder and reach inside, pulling out the jump drive and stuffing it in his hand. “No you’re not. You just have to find a safer place to download it.”
Realization lights up his face. He scoops me into his arms and swings me around in circles, planting kisses all over my face.
“God, I love you Reese Beckham!” He stops turning me in circles and puts my feet back on the ground, but keeps a firm grip around my hips.
I take both my hands and place them on either side of his face.
“I love you, too, Connor Blaze.” His concern over these bad men receiving justice and his selflessness towards his own situation makes me fall more in love with him than I already am.
“Thank you for not listening to me.” He kisses my nose.
“You’re more than welcome, mister control freak. I can think of several delicious ways you can thank me.”
He bends at the knees and throws me over his shoulder. I squeal in laughter. He marches up the wooden staircase and kicks open a door, then sets me on my feet and starts undressing. “This was my childhood room and as a teenage boy, I always wanted to get lucky in here.”
“I’m sure there were many girls in magazines that you got lucky to,” I say, joining him in undressing.
“I bet my stash is still under my mattress,” he says as he yanks off the last of his clothes.
“Do you want me to check? Maybe you would like to get off to one of them,” I tease him and he yanks me flush to his hard body.
“You are the only woman that I need or want.” He kisses me passionately and my heart melts, along with other parts of me. He lays me on the bed and kisses every single inch of me, leaving none of me untouched. I’m a wet mess needing relief. He positions me on my stomach and lies over me. His hands are under me, firmly gripping my tits.
“I love you, Reese.” He bites my shoulder blade.
I tilt my head to the side and look over my shoulder. “I love you, too.”
He sits on his knees and pulls my hips toward him, so that I’m on my elbows and knees. His hand grazes my ass, spreading wetness around. “I want to claim you here,” he nudges a finger inside me and I gasp. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
He spreads my legs a little wider and then slowly inserts the tip of his cock inside me. It burns at first and then the pain transforms into a pleasure like I’ve never felt. He twitches almost immediately.
“It is so tight like this. If you move one muscle, you are going to unman me.” He’s already fighting for control.
I stay stock still because I want him to take what he wants from me. His hand smacks against my ass, and my head goes flying up as he pushes himself deeper. Waves of pleasure start their descent over my body. He pushes my cheeks together as he starts to pull out, making the pressure build even more. He slams into me and I fall into an oblivion that can only be described as pure satisfaction. One orgasm rolls into the next as he continues thrusting deep inside me. My mind can’t comprehend so much bliss, but my body is a slave to it. I’m panting and screaming his name at the same time until he lets go inside me. I fall limp onto the bed with him covering me. He whispers something in my ear, but my mind is closed off, not hearing his words. I feel every part of him inside of me and outside of me. I know without a doubt that this – him claiming me as his own - is something I want forever with this man.
Our hearts finally settle down from the tantrum in our chests and we fall asleep wrapped in each other’s arms.
Epilogue
Connor
Three years later.
“Take Mommy the fish. She loves it when you bring it inside the house.” I nudge Brody to the steps.
“I heard that. Don’t you dare bring that thing in here! And neither one of you are allowed inside this house until all the fish smell is off of you,” Reese says through the screen door.
“Put it in the bucket little man and I’ll clean him later.” He lets the fish plop in the bucket and then raises his arms in the air to be picked up. I wash him off in the outdoor shower as Reese sits on the steps watching us.
The woman still turns me on. I can’t keep my hands off her. We just found out we’re having another baby, and I couldn’t be happier. Brody turned two last week and I can’t wait for him to have a little brother or sister to play with. He is the spitting image of me and as much trouble as I was at that age, according to my dad.
I bought the house from them and fixed it up. They are living in a condo a few blocks away enjoying time with their grandchild. Never in a million years did I think this would be my life. There was never a thought of a wife or family for me. I thought I would work my life away and find sexual satisfaction with one-night stands. That all ended for me the moment I saw Reese outside that bar. Something about her drew me to her and I never wanted to be apart from her again. Her love for me has surprised me many times through the years.
The men I was chasing are all behind bars now. I know what I did was illegal, but it was worth the risk to take them down. All that is behind me now and I’m sworn off hacking. Thanks to Reese, I was never caught.
I sold my company and we moved out here away from the busy city. Kid Power is still going strong. Reese and I go there every couple of weeks to see some of the girls she has bonded with. She gets me back in the ring every time so she can practice her defensive moves. I started going easy on her, letting her think that she can take me down, but her abilities frequently surprise me. I have been flipped over her shoulder, fair and square, many more times than I like to admit. She and my sister have become good friends and they like to double team me.
“I think he’s nodding off, Connor,” she says, walking towards me with a towel. I look down and see his little head bobbing. “Let me take him while you wash off.” She wraps him in a towel and walks him inside. A few minutes later, she’s back outside on the porch handing me a beer as she sips on ice cold lemonade.
“Did you boys have fun?”
“I love teaching him to fish. I can hardly wait to teach him how to ride a bike.”
“You do know he’s only two, right?” she laughs.
I kiss her lips and sit down on the steps beside her. “I’ll wait until he’s eight to teach him how to pick up women,” I tease with her.
Her hand smacks me in the back of the head. “You will do no such thing. He’s going to be thirty before he’s even allowed to look at a woman.”
“Well, if that was the rule for you, you wouldn’t even be allowed to date for three more years, much less be married to the hottest guy in town.”
“Yeah, or have a toddler and be knocked up again,” she giggles. “I think it’s time for a little snip snip.” She makes scissor motions with her hands.
“Ouch, that’s not even nice. Besides, I want at least two more after this one.” I rub her belly even though she’s not showing yet.
Her lemonade spews out. “You want four kids?”
“Um, I don’t know. But I’d like to practice. A lot.” I raise my eyebrows at her.
“I swear you never get enough,” she laughs.
“I never get enough of you. I want an entire slew of kids so that I can tell them the story of how their mommy and daddy met. That Mommy picked me up and screwed my brains out thinking she’d never see me again.”
“You wouldn’t dare.” She squints her eyes at me.
In one move, I pick her up and throw her over my shoulder. “My mouth is sealed if you let me fuck you every day for the rest of our lives.” She swats me in the back as I haul her into the house up to our bedroom.
She’s wet and needy by the time I plant her feet on the ground. She wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me. “I think that is one deal I’m willing to make.”
Acknowledgments
I can never do any of this without my readers. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Each of you have touched my life in some fashion. Thank you for always keeping me on my toes and making me grow as an author.
Jennifer Thomason – as always you are my superhero! You read anything and everything I throw at you. You push me to think deeper and be more creative. To take an unlovable character and make him sexy as hell. You encourage me to make the connections with each character so the readers will like them. Thank you for the countless hours you have spent on my books and thank you for your friendship
To every blogger and reader that writes reviews for me – I am so grateful. Without reviews, my books would go nowhere. Thank you for taking the time to post them or to writ
e on your blogs. To my family – I love you and thank you for your support.
Also by Kelly Moore
Broken Pieces
Pieced Together
Piece by Piece
Pieces of Gray
Syn’s Broken Journey
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Next August
This August
Seeing Sam
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Taking Down Brooklyn
Taking Back Brooklyn – coming soon
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Cocky Captain – short story
Falling Hard for the Boss
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Imperfect
About the Author
Kelly Moore is a southern girl raised in Florida. She works and lives as a gypsy, a traveling nurse, with her husband and dog. She’s a hopeless romantic, and a crafty, travel loving soul. She loves strong characters and happy endings. When not writing, she gets her inspirations from her travels, hiking, and camping.
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