by Soraya Naomi
Kissing the tip of my nose, he asks, “They’re done in the office. Want to see it?”
“Yes.”
He takes my hand, and we walk to the neighboring room where I stop in the doorway. Henry didn’t just make it into his office; he made it into a room for both of us. To my left is a rectangular cherry desk pushed against the wall with his two computers and two laptops. Heavy, reddish-brown drapes adorn the windows, and a cream lounge sofa with cushioned pillows is placed to face the wall next to the door. And suddenly, a white screen lowers from the ceiling.
Henry sails inside and places a small remote onto a round coffee table, pointing to the projector. “I made you a home movie theater, so you can watch Netflix on the big screen whenever you want.”
I clap my hands and jump into his arms while he holds me up by my ass. “This is fucking awesome.” Crashing my mouth onto his, I grip his thick, black hair.
Pulling back, he places me on my feet and guides me to the sofa that has just enough room for both of us to lie on. I take the remote and Henry explains how to use it while getting his laptop from the desk. “I’ve connected everything, so all you have to do is switch on my laptop, sign in to Netflix, and then start the projector.”
This time, he does it for me, playing Narcos, and as he heads back to the sofa, I recline against the cushion.
“This is so comfortable. This is the best room in our apartment now.”
With a smile, Henry lies next to me and I roll halfway on top of him – my favorite position. His hand caresses my curls, tracing a path down my back to rest on my behind while I throw my arm around his middle. Snuggled up, we watch the first episode of our TV show again. Only, the first time we watched it, we sat far apart from each other, but now we don’t allow any space between us.
All of a sudden, Henry kisses the top of my head and says, of his own volition, “I love you.”
“Love you,” I murmur, living in a place where happiness reigns supreme.
Being with Henry has taught me that relationships can be messy, but that doesn’t make them any less loving. Ultimately, no one is perfect. We can just love each other because that’s the best thing we do, for all its flaws and suspicions. It’s worth every agonizing moment with the right person.
He’s the first and only man who’s conquered the part of my soul I always held back for someone special. The one who stole my heart while I was still with another man. The one I wanted long before he ever became my friend. This friendship was never meant to be just a friendship.
I’ve found a man who makes me feel cherished, loved, and protected by merely being with me, which is the only thing I ever wanted from him, and I’ll always love my black hat hacker in all his imperfections.
EPILOGUE
Henry
I’m seated behind my laptop in my office, completely stress-free, even though someone has decorated my desk with flashing red and green Christmas lights, when I discover Mary’s been on my laptop. Checking the history, I see that she’s searched for undergraduate programs in the area.
I’ve been wondering what her plan is, but ever since I got shot, Mary’s returned to being her easygoing self and it’s as if we picked up where we left off. Even before Tara intervened, I was already in love with her. However, these days, it’s grown into an intimate relationship like I’ve never had with anyone in my life since nothing stands between us anymore. And while I’ll always be concerned with Mary’s safety, living with her is so tranquil that I feel more laid back, which is imperative in allowing me to center myself in this merciless world.
Although I’m no longer programming and working all the time, I still work a lot of odd hours with Adriano and Luca, so I need for Mary to have something else besides us to focus on. But she’s still searching for what to do education-wise, and I have a feeling she’s much more bothered that she didn’t get into Urbana-Champaign than she lets on, and that troubles me because I want to make her happy.
The problem is that I absolutely won’t allow her to move away, and without my okay, I know she’ll never go – albeit, being a hacker, I could get her in, despite the fact that she was denied before.
Leaning back, I rub my hand over my chin, contemplating my options about how I can help Mary as she bursts into the office, cursing.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, pinning my gaze on her bare legs that are peeking out from under her blue satin robe.
Mary waves her hand irately, and she’s so sexy when she’s annoyed. “Nothing important. I just can’t find a scarf I wanted to wear and have been looking for it for months.”
“What kind of scarf?”
“What?”
“What color?” I add.
“Reddish brown. Copper to be exact.”
“I have that scarf,” I explain, recalling when I stole it from her bedroom. “It’s on my bottom shelf.”
“Why do you have it?”
“I took it from your mirror the first night I came into your apartment,” I reply as she approaches me with a grin.
“And you just kept it?”
“Yeah.”
She points her finger at me. “Ah, Henry, you already loved me back then.”
Chuckling, I swivel the chair around and snatch her wrist, pulling her to stand between my legs. “If you want to believe that, baby, that’s fine by me.”
“I do want to believe that,” she speaks softly in her husky voice, sitting astride me while I grip her ass before sliding my palm up her spine. “I love you.”
A fierce longing courses through me with an almost painful prickling, and I clasp her face with both hands and tilt her head down, pressing my lips to hers and seeking a thorough kiss. “I love you too,” I say with conviction.
Unreservedly, I take what belongs to me, crushing my mouth against hers again. Our teeth clash and she circles her arms around my neck, weaving her fingers through my hair in the most soothing manner as our kiss becomes languid, more intense – unbreakable. Then she pulls back, resting her forehead against mine.
I can never get enough of Mary and the intimacy she offers – it’s a phenomenon that’s been there since the first time I fucked her. And I need that outlet, a way of being just me, because in reality, I can only be my true self when I’m with her.
“I have to shower,” she announces and gets up.
Since I’ve been wondering about her plan, I ask, “Mary, did you find any vet programs here in the Loop?”
I swear I catch sadness behind her eyes. “No, let’s not talk about that,” she concludes, leaving the room before I can reply.
A nagging sensation troubles me, so I pivot back around to face my laptop, going to the tab for the University of Illinois and perusing her options.
***
A week later, on a snowy Christmas Day, I’m upstairs in Adriano’s apartment with Adam when Cam yells from the living room, “Henry, Mary’s here.”
I tell Adam, “Don’t say anything to Mary yet, okay?”
He nods vigorously, his blond curls springing as I pick him up and hurry down the floating staircase, causing him to giggle as he holds on to me.
The entire group has gathered around the dining room table which is placed by the floor-to-ceiling windows and is plated with red and black china among dozens of candles. The scent of spices wafts up from the turkey, pastas, and pies, and the white lights of Adriano’s Christmas tree located in the corner of the room glows as he places a gift on the pile beneath it with Amalia in his arms. Luca, Fallon, Logan, Rosalia, and Carmine are already seated in their black tie attire, and I glance around, searching for Mary, but only spot Cam in the kitchen.
Setting Adam in his chair between his parents, I nod to greet them, righting my bow tie and questioning, “Where’s my girl?”
I haven’t seen Mary all day since I had to work this morning. Then I picked up Adam so that he could help me get one of Mary’s Christmas gifts, and I changed into my black tux and brushed my hair back with some gel before coming up here.
<
br /> “Right here,” the one voice I want to hear says, so I turn toward her, and my cock twitches from the sight of her hips swaying in a floor-length burgundy dress with thin straps that expose her shoulders.
“Hey.” I sift my hands into her wavy curls, kissing her lips briefly and then whispering into her ear, “You look good enough to eat.”
“Later,” she murmurs around a half smile before she greets everyone while I sit opposite Logan and Rosalia.
As Mary joins me, Adriano’s situated at the head of the table with Carmine and Cam on either side of him.
“Aren’t your parents coming?” I ask Mary, and she shakes her head.
“No. My mom’s feeling under the weather today, so they’re staying home,” she replies right when a bark is heard and all eyes land on Mary, who frowns.
“What was that?” she probes, glancing at everyone before stopping at me. “I heard a...”
“What?” I feign ignorance, and she smirks as she catches the obvious eagerness in Adam’s behavior, prompting him, “Pumpkin, I can see you’re dying to tell me something.”
“I have a surprise for you, Mary,” Adam pipes in and clamps his tiny hands over his own mouth, staring at me.
“He’s the worst secret keeper.” Logan taps Adam’s nose as I wink at him.
“It’s okay. Shall we give her the gift?” I suggest, and he bobs his head.
Mary regards me in anticipation, her excitement matching Adam’s. Quickly, I go upstairs, hiding the present under my jacket, and return to the table as Adam hops off his seat and goes over to Mary when she slides her chair back.
“Henry and I got you a present,” Adam speaks, opening my jacket and exposing her new Chihuahua.
“Oh, my god! You guys got me a dog.” Mary reaches for him and holds him in her arms, stroking his pointy ears and brown fur.
“It’s a boy,” I inform her as she cuddles him tightly.
“You’re okay about living with a dog?”
“Only that one, baby,” I answer. “And I’m not walking him.”
Mary smiles widely. “I’ll do it.” She stoops low when Adam wants to play with the dog but first kisses his cheek. “Thank you for my gift. You can name him, of course.” He opens his mouth, but she adds, “No fruits.”
So he closes it with a dejected look. Yet not a second later, he beams. “Christmas.”
Mary arcs a brow at Rosalia and Logan while the others laugh, and I jokingly say to Logan, “Your grandkids are going to have names like banana and laptop.”
Grinning with a shrug, he retorts, “I don’t mind.”
Sinking down in my seat again, Adam heaves himself onto Mary’s lap so that they can hold Christmas together.
“Well, Christmas,” I mutter, “welcome to the family.”
Mary puts in with an amused expression, “This is the last time he gets to name anything of mine.”
“Wise choice,” I agree right before Adam looks up to Mary with such adoration.
Then he nuzzles Christmas, who chuffs, and Adam asks, “Can we take him outside, Mary?”
“Later, pumpkin.”
Rosalia points out, “Only if it’s not too late, Adam.”
Adam scowls at his mother while he and Mary cuddle so fucking cutely together, and he tells his mom, “I’m gonna marry Mary and live with her doggy.”
Barking out a huge laugh, I ruffle his curls. “Ha! No one’s going to marry Mary but me, little man. I’ll fight you for her,” I tease him, and he stares at Mary in expectation that she’ll choose him over me.
Mary embraces Adam firmly, watching me as she murmurs to him, “You can both marry me.”
This seems to be fine with Adam, who’s distracted by the dog, and Mary places them on the floor.
“Just to be clear, you’re never fucking marrying anyone else,” I declare and she smiles, paying no attention to my comment.
“Thank you, Henry. This is the best Christmas gift ever.”
Seeing that sparkle in her upturned hazel eyes returning in full force with her new dog, I know one other thing that will make her just as ecstatic as I am in every aspect of our lives. Simply because I crave to prolong the look of love she gives me, I reveal, “This is actually not the best gift yet...” Reaching inside my jacket, I take out a card and an envelope, handing them to her.
Mary accepts them, turning over the plastic card, and her brows knit together as her gaze shoots up to me. “This is my student card for Veterinary Clinical Medicine.”
“Yes.”
“But how did I get in?”
Via the website, I hacked their system easily; it’s pathetic how badly secured school records are. I had to add her to the database myself, bypassing the common admittance method. These are the perks of being a hacker though – I can alter any data I want.
“I’m a black hat, I can get you enrolled into Harvard if you want. And I’ve paid your tuition.”
She then opens the envelope, taking out an airline ticket. “A return ticket to Urbana-Champaign?”
Resting my arm along the back of her chair, I lean closer to her. “You can go without moving there. You don’t have classes every day and it’s a forty-five minute flight, so the days you have to be at school, you’ll fly there.”
Her eyes widen in surprise. “Oh, my god, Henry. This is so sweet.”
“I knew you wanted to go there, baby.”
“Wow, how decadent. I’ll fly there. Alone?”
“No, it’s a commercial flight, but a guard will go with you, of course,” I tell her sternly.
“Of course. But this is really expensive.”
I kiss her lips, brushing mine over her beauty mark. “Nothing is too expensive. Whatever I make is yours, and we can afford it. I don’t want you to worry about money.”
“Okay. I won’t.”
Her sexy voice washes over me, skittering along my flesh, and I pull back with a smirk. In response, she grins as if we’re silently communicating.
“Thank you. Ti amo,” she whispers, and I desire her so intensely that I’m positive it’ll never fade.
Tucking her curls behind her ear, I promise, “I love you too, Mary. I’ll always protect, trust, and take care of you.”
Our eyes lock and she presses another kiss on my mouth before leaning halfway against me, and at this moment, I’m entirely content.
As I look around the table at everyone eating, drinking, and enjoying the night, I realize I’ve found my family with the Syndicate and with Mary. She was a burst of freshness in my jaded world when my soul hungered to trust again and needed someone pure and vibrant to counter my methodic hacking ways.
Our lives became inexplicably intertwined when I had to rescue Mary on her dog missions. Our lives meshed together as she managed to break through my walls and peel away my layers. And I’m fucking glad she did. Now I simply accept our love and work with it since life can be cut short at any moment, and I refuse to die with regrets.
Because at the end of the day, she’s the only one who I need to be with. The only one who truly knows me and my past, and I trust her with everything I have.
The end of Henry and Mary.
Chicago Syndicate series
The love story of Fallon and Luca.
For Fallon (#1) on Goodreads
For Luca (#2) on Goodreads
The love story of Adriano and Camilla.
For Adriano (#3) on Goodreads
For Cam (#4) on Goodreads
The love story of Logan and Rosalia.
For Logan (#5) on Goodreads
The love story of Henry and Mary.
Black Hat Hacker (#6) on Goodreads
The love story of Carmine and Eva.
For Carmine (#7) on Goodreads
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Soraya Naomi
As always, I must thank the best editor in the world, Renee, for working on this novel with me. It’s a continuous pleasure to work with you and learn from you.
Many thanks to the lovely Reb
ecca Marie from The Final Wrap for making the awesome cover.
Thank you to the beautiful Amélie, one of the best beta readers I’ve met!
A big thank you to the most amazing Charity Chimni. Without your PA skills, I’d be lost!
A huge thank you to Just One More Page, Give Me Books, Enticing Journey, and Chance Promotions for handling the cover reveal and release day blitz.
Thank you to the awesome readers of the Chicago Syndicate Reader Group for embracing my mafia men!
And from the bottom of my heart, thank you to the ARC reviewers, bloggers, and all the readers who’ve taken the time to read and review the novel.
TRADEMARKS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:
Superman: DC Comics
BMW: BMW AG, Munich, Germany
Netflix/Narcos: Netflix Inc.
Facebook: Facebook
Betty Boop: Paramount Pictures
Starbucks: Starbucks Corporation
Jack Daniels: Brown-Forman Corporation
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Soraya Naomi reads many genres but favors intense, seductive, and provocative novels where the male character loves fiercely, without remorse or boundaries. She has a passionate obsession with the written word and indulges in chocolate pastries much too often. Her debut novel, For Fallon (Chicago Syndicate, #1), was released on July 26, 2014. She’s honored that For Fallon won “Best Breakout Novel 2014” in the Novel Grounds Semi Annual Literary Awards.
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ABOUT THE NOVEL
Black Hat Hacker
Copyright © 2017 by Soraya Naomi
Published by Soraya Naomi
Book 6 of Chicago Syndicate series.
First digital edition published March 28th, 2017.
First print edition published March 28th, 2017.
