Defended & Desired Read Free

floor. My computer ’s blank. Can’t get my screen up. Tried IT. No answer.
    Trey launched into action. He stole the dry-erase marker out of Devon’s hand, pitched it toward her desk and grabbed her waist. “We’re shutting this down.”
    “Wait—”
    “Now.” He scooped her up and out the door before she protested further. She moved toward the elevator. He veered her in the opposite direction. “We’re taking the stairs. I’m not gambling the operational status of the elevator with the fate of our company.”
    Her demeanor became resolute. “Got it.”
    Kicking off her heels, she picked them up and flew down the steps ahead of him. Hastening his strides, he caught up to her. Resting his hand solidly on her back, he flung open the basement door followed by the door to the server room, and ushered her inside with him.
    The first thing he noticed about this unfamiliar room was the loud drone of equipment fans. Air-conditioning pumped constantly, cooling the temperature—the vibration hum of static electricity and the stale chill scent of free-on cooling the space at a constant set temperature.
    The sounds quickly became white noise. Then he noticed rainbow splashes of color running like rivers from the server cables. Blue, purple and green. Then yellow, orange and red.
    He scanned the loud, crowded space, completely out of his element, though he berated himself for not paying more attention to all the things that functioned under his watch. “Where do we start?”
    “Third floor. This row.” She dropped her shoes and trailed her fingertips along the metal mesh backs of the server racks. “We have to contain the virus here before it creeps through and attains second-floor access.”
    With a quick, thorough scan, he took in the room and its components stacked floor-to-ceiling. On the way, he noticed a section of the wall where plugs fused with huge sockets meant to handle massive flows of electricity. “Is that the ultimate off switch?”
    “If I say yes, do you promise not to use it?”
    “Nope.”
    “I was afraid of that.” She let out a distressed sigh. “Please, Trey. That is our absolute last resort. You have no idea how long it takes—”
    “I’ll make that call. Fix what you can before I have to.”
    “I will, but I need your height.”
    His height? “Why?”
    “We need to investigate the condition of the servers. The racks down this aisle cover the top three floors.”
    “What am I looking for?”
    “Green lights are good. Flashing yellow or red lights and we have problems. You take the top, I’ll take the bottom.”
    If only they were in his bed right now and not fending off a pending disaster. Smart, sassy and incredibly sexy, he’d love to have her under him any day, any time, any place.
    Thirty seconds later, he paused as a series of red lights flashed in his face. “Devon.”
    She came to his side. “Did you find something?”
    He pointed to the highest server on the rack. “You tell me.”
    She stood on tiptoe and craned her neck. “I don’t see—”
    Without stopping to think, he slid his arms around her waist and hoisted her so she was eye-level with the top server. If the situation wasn’t so dire, he’d revel in the feel of her in his arms, her slim body pressed against him.
    “Now?” he asked.
    With an audible gulp, she stated, “Pull the plug, Trey.”
    He slid her down his height until her toes touched the floor, and then darted to the knot of plugs at the end of the row. Wrapping them in his fist, he gave a hard yank. The servers went dead, their loud hum silenced.
    He breathed a sigh of relief, and the tension tightening his chest eased a fraction. He glanced at Devon who rubbed her temples. She looked close to tears, although her tough-as-nails persona would probably never allow her to admit it.
    The corners of her eyes pinched with a strain he could almost feel. “Now there’s no way I’ll meet the deadline for the software update release this week.” She