Chapter5
Amedeo looked at the printout his IT department brought him. Well, just the head of it. Carl Walker stood only five feet six inches tall, but Amedeo would want the man with him in a fight. He was a bull of a man with a thick neck and ham hocks for hands.
He’d been in the Marines and now was the smartest man that Amedeo knew. He’d hired him the day he’d interviewed and hadn’t ever regretted it. In fact, he’d let Carl choose his own employees because Amedeo had that much faith in him.
“You think we’ve been hacked?”
“Yes, Amedeo. I know it. I’ve found a back door that I can’t account for. I didn’t put it there. No one in my department put it there.”
“You haven’t had anyone leave recently?”
“Jessica left to have a baby. I would have killed to take her back, but she wants to be home with her child.”
Which made him think of Violet. If he managed it, would she stay home with their child? He’d loved coming home from school to see his mother. She made cookies and listened to his day. An idyllic setting.
He shook himself. Back to business. He sighed, looking at what Carl had brought him. He understood the code and it chilled him. There was a back door in his system. Not good at all. Who would do that?
“You have any idea who it is?”
“None, but I’m betting that whoever put this in, knows who we all are. We need someone from the outside to take care of this.”
His mind went back to Violet. Could she do something like this? Could she track down this person? He’d have to ask her tonight. Amedeo put the pages down on his desk. “I may know someone who can help us and keep it quiet. I trust her implicitly.”
“Okay. I’d appreciate whoever you can send my way. I don’t know anyone who does stuff like this. I can build a secure network, but I can’t hack it,” Carl said.
Amedeo’s phone buzzed. Madge was calling him. “Hold on.”
“Violet is here to see you. Shall I send her in?”
“Yes.” He hung up then turned to Carl. “The person I want to take this on is here. Let me talk to her then I’ll have her come in with me tomorrow. She probably doesn’t have her laptop with her nor is she prepared to take on this task.”
Carl nodded, then left. He held the door open for Violet and glanced at her butt as he did. Amedeo felt a twinge of jealousy, but he knew that Violet had a great butt. He’s kissed, licked and nipped the damn thing. He’d do it again, too.
Taking her from behind was priceless in his mind. Damn. He wanted to do that again. Maybe tonight.
Violet smiled at him. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
He stood, but wasn’t sure what he should do. His instinct was to kiss her on the cheek, at least. They were lovers. He should be kind to her. Show her some affection. She took the initiative and kissed him on the cheek.
“What was that for?”
She smiled again then landed on one of his chairs. “Just because. You free for lunch?”
“Not yet, but I can be in about a half an hour. Where do you want to go?”
His fingers itched to touch her. What would she do if he did her on the desk? He could take her from behind that way. He licked his lips.
“Doesn’t matter to me.”
“You’ll eat anything?”
“Nothing too spicy.”
“Fair enough. I actually have to talk business with you.”
One of her eyebrows went up. “Oh?”
“Someone has hacked into my company. I don’t think they’ve done any damage, but I don’t want someone internally investigating it.”
She sat straighter. “Do you think it was recent?”
He held up his hand. “If you choose to take the job, I’ll have you deal with Carl my IT guy. He’s the one who found the hacker.”
“You need to do some backups to save your data.”
“I’m sure he’s doing that as we speak. I’d hate to lose everything.”
“Why hire me?”
“Because I trust you.”
She shifted in her chair as if that made her uncomfortable. “Okay, but I don’t need you giving me a job just because you feel guilty.”
He stood then came around the desk. “I’m not, Violet. I need your services and I’m willing to pay for them.”
“Are you sure? This might be you trying to fix things. I know men are that way. Always wanting to make things better.”
He didn’t know how to stop those ridiculous words coming out of her mouth. He wasn’t doing this for charity. He needed her expertise. He grabbed her face and kissed her, stopping the flow of words.
When he stopped the kiss, the look on her face was priceless. She’d never expected him to do that. Good. He liked to keep things fresh and alive. Even if they weren’t in love. They were lovers and he wanted to keep it interesting.
She would be around longer than any other woman had been in his life. He didn’t want to screw this up, but he liked her. Even if he knew the relationship had a sell-by date, he wanted it fun and interesting.
He liked to keep people on their toes. Surprise them.
Her fingers went to her lips then they gripped his tie to pull him closer. She used her tongue and he was a goner. He wanted her right now, but he’d have to lock the door. “Hold that thought.”
He locked it then turned back to see that she hadn’t moved. Thankfully his desk only had his laptop on it. He shut it and put it on his chair. The rest of the stuff, he moved aside.
Now he was ready.
***
The kiss had ignited something in Violet and she wanted to tear Amedeo’s clothing off. She hadn’t thought he’d be amenable in his office, but he’d locked the door then grinned at her. He was taking of his tie as he stalked to her. That was the only way she could describe it. He was the predator and she was his willing prey.
Damn these pregnancy hormones. She’d never been this horny in her life. Ever. Maybe part of that was this man who was currently in her personal space. He was the hottest man she’d ever been naked with. He was also an excellent lover.
He kissed her, sweetly at first, but then he deepened it, letting her know exactly what he planned on doing to her. He wasn’t kidding around. She chose not to think about how many women had been in this office naked. Didn’t matter.
She was going to be naked soon with this man inside of her. Her panties were wet at the thought of it. Her mouth was dry. She licked her lips.
He dropped his tie on the chair then began to unbutton his shirt. He leaned in, whispering in her ear. “Do you have any idea how sexy you are when you lick your lips like that? I know what that tongue can do.”
She shivered. His breath wafted across her neck and ear. He nipped at the side of her neck. Chills ran down her spine. This man was an expert when it came to sex. She could feel the heat coming off him and she’d bet he was already hard.
She reached down and found him hard, just as she’d suspected. She rubbed his erection lightly. That would be inside of her soon. She didn’t care how or where they did this as long as they did.
Did his assistant know not to bother him? Had he given her some signal or was the locking of the door enough to let her know? When he licked her neck then blew on it gently, all thoughts left her brain.
She was on auto pilot as she undid his belt then unzipped his pants. She shoved them down his legs. Ah, there it was. Her favorite penis in the world.
“Have I got a place for that,” she said.
He chuckled as he put his hands under her top. His fingers skimmed over her breasts, his thumbs bringing her nipples alive. She wanted to freeze this moment. Capture it. Bottle it. He was just all man and he was here for her. Erect for her.
He may not always be this turned on, but right now he was. No one had ever seemed so entranced by her in her life. She would miss this. Miss the power as she took his erection in her hand, stroking up and down his hard length.
“Oh, Violet.”
He nipped at her neck as his fingers unfastened her bra. He let her girls free. She almost sighed from the relief, but it was short-lived. He tugged off her shirt then put his mouth on her breast. She arched into him, her body doing exactly what it wanted.
Her pants fell off her as he made her body tingle. Finally they were both naked and she could feel his muscles bunch under her fingertips. He was all man. Chest hair that came to a line on his stomach. As if pointing the way to the playground below.
“Put your hands on the desk, Violet.”
She paused, then did as he asked, her ass on display for him. He’d told her on their night together that he loved her ass. His hands warmed her cheeks. He leaned over and bit her one cheek. She yelped a little. It didn’t hurt, she was just surprised by the action.
It wasn’t the first time he’d done that. “Nice ass, Violet.”
He put his hands on her hips, his feet nudging hers apart. She’d never done it this way with anyone but Amedeo. She’d never trusted anyone this much. As he slid into her, it took away her breath for a moment.
No barriers. Just the two of them. In his office. He set up a pace keeping her just on the edge of her orgasm. She wanted to reach out and grab it. She pushed back to take him deeper.
Oh. There it was. Her body clenched, her fingers curled into fists. Yes. Yes. Yes. She sailed off the cliff her orgasm going on and on. She heard him grunt and come with her over that edge.
When her body finally stopped spasming, she rested her head on his desk. He chuckled.
“You are beautiful from every angle.”
Amedeo didn’t lie. She knew that, but part of her just couldn’t believe that she looked beautiful on her best days, let alone with her large ass in the air. She stood as he stepped away from her.
He took her, leading her to his private bathroom. “You can shower if you want.”
She nodded. “I’ll be in and out.”
“It’s fine.”
He washed himself with a cloth then left her to her shower. Damn. He was hot and sexy and all hers. For now. Would he feel this way when she was large with child? She doubted it. She glanced down at her still flat stomach. When would she look pregnant?
She had no idea. She should probably get a book to tell her all of this. She’d never been a girl dreaming of children. Most of her friends from high school were on their third baby with their third baby daddy.
She’d wanted no part of that, instead, choosing to stand on her own. Never relying on a man. Ironic that she’d gotten pregnant out of wedlock and was relying on that man.
Still it chafed at her, but she had no choice. If he wanted her to bring this pregnancy to term, he’d have to pay for it since she couldn’t afford it.
She steeled herself for the fact that at some point, Amedeo would want nothing to do with her.
***
Amedeo woke in an empty bed. They’d made love again at bedtime and fallen asleep naked together. He had to admit he was beginning to like it. Waking up to someone. Coming home to someone. Who would have thought? He’d never considered himself that domestic and his broken engagement had been somewhat of a relief.
Was that because of Tory or him?
He shook his head. He didn’t know.
Hopefully, Violet wasn’t regretting their decision to become lovers. Women usually couldn’t handle the physical without the emotional. He hopped into the shower and cleaned himself off. He didn’t feel like shaving today. He always kept a little scruff on his face.
He whistled as he dressed, wondering where Violet had gotten to. She wasn’t rethinking what they’d done? Damn,” he thought, better find her and do damage control. Talk her off the ledge. Not just for his own satisfaction but for his own sanity.
He sniffed. He smelled breakfast. Breakfast burning maybe. He scrambled down the steps to the kitchen. Smoke billowed off the pan. Violet stared at it in horror. Amedeo put a lid on the pan to smother the fire then turned on his kitchen fan to get the smoke out of the kitchen.
“I was trying to cook pancakes,” Violet said.
She wore an apron and had a spatula in her hand. Her face looked like a little girl who had lost her puppy. A frown tilted her mouth and wrinkled her forehead. Oh. My. God. Was she going to cry?
“It’s okay. I don’t eat pancakes very often anyway,” he said.
“So you wouldn’t have eaten them anyway?”
He had the distinct feeling that one wrong word and she might explode. He put up his hands, approaching her with the same care he’d approach a ravenous tiger. “Of course I would have. If you made them I’d eat them. How about I make breakfast?”
“Because I can’t?”
“No, that isn’t it. I just want to make you breakfast. You cook so much for me.”
“I suck at cooking. I don’t know how you eat it.”
Oh. Shit. This was going downhill fast. Some women he could just throw his credit card at them and they’d take it and run. Retail therapy. This wasn’t going to work with Violet. She wasn’t a shopper.
What the Hell was he supposed to do? He couldn’t call his mother. Even if she knew about Violet, he hadn’t told her himself. He’d bet Dante had mentioned something. Or maybe his brother hadn’t thrown him under the bus, yet.
Still. He was out of his depth here. “You’re cooking is delicious, Violet.”
She dropped the spatula on the floor, then crossed her arms. “You’re just saying that.”
Her bottom lip grew to twice its size. Then it began trembling. Oh. Crap. She was going to cry. He hated crying women. He never knew what to do. His hand hovered over her shoulders, wanting to take her into his arms.
He couldn’t blame her. These were pregnancy hormones. Dante had talked about how his wife Gwen was a different person when she was pregnant. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not.”
“No need to cry.”
Shit. Wrong words.
“I’m not crying,” she wailed as the first set of tears streaked down her face.
Should he pull her to him? He didn’t know. He preferred coding or negotiating business deals. Crying women were not his forte.
With nothing to lose, he pulled her up against him. She resisted at first, but he held on. Soon, she melted into him, her sobs getting louder. He murmured into her ears. Finally her sobs slowed down.
Her breath hitched and she sniffed loudly. He grabbed a dishtowel, wiping her face. “It’s okay, Violet. You’re pregnant.”
“I’m not a crier,” she said. “I can’t remember the last time I cried.”
Sniff.
“It’s okay, honey. You can’t help it. How about I take you out for breakfast?”
“You’d do that?”
“Yes. I’ll make sure the housekeeper comes in today to clean. You don’t have to worry about it.”
“Really?’
Her sniffing subsided. She looked kind of cute with her red eyes. He let her go and she stepped away. “Really, Violet. Wherever you want. What are you in the mood for?”
Food he could do. He’d take her to McDonald’s if that was what she wanted. As long as she stopped crying. He couldn’t do that. If she cried all the time, this was going to be a long few months until she had this baby.
Buck up. She’s the one who has it worse. He had to remember that. She was going to push a tiny human out of her body.
“Uh, I don’t know.”
“Go get cleaned up and we’ll go out.”
She sniffed again then left him in the kitchen. He cleaned up a little while he waited, then was ready by the front door. She stood halfway down the steps. “I’m sorry, Amedeo.”
“You have nothing to apologize for, sweetie.”
She looked better. Calmer. “Where are we going?”
“There’s a breakfast place we can walk to if you want? It’s a nice morning.”
“You won’t be late for work?”
“I own the place, honey. I can walk in whenever I want,” he said.
“Oh, okay.”
She walked down the rest of the steps. He took her hand, leading her out the door. He interlaced his fingers with hers. Like a lover. Hopefully she’d feel safe this way.
“I’m sorry about the kitchen,” she said.
He kissed her cheek. “No worries. No damage and it’ll clean up.”
“I’ll clean it when we get back.”
“No, you have to come to work with me, today. Remember?”
“Oh, right. You asked me to find your hacker. I almost forgot. Okay, I did forget.”
“You okay to do that today?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
She did seem back to normal.