Defended & Desired Read Free Page B

chest, knowing she should stop this, but ended up curling her fingers around his lapels. It had been so long since she’d felt wanted, desired. The sensation wrapped around her along with his arms, and she melted into his strength, ceding to this powerful attraction and undeniable chemistry.
    This time he sought entrance beyond the barrier of her teeth. Thoughts of refusal turned to ash. He licked her upper lip. Hesitantly, she parted for him. The silken touch of his tongue sent sparks of lust shooting through her veins.
    “Miss Leigh?” someone called from the doorway.
    Devon sprang away from Trey. She grabbed her heels and hopped as she slid them on her feet. Using the back of her hand to blot her lips, she stepped out from the row of servers. “I’m here,” she said unsteadily.
    “I think I’ve found the hacker’s source code, and I’m running a search.” Zander Atkins tugged at the sleeves of his oversized shirt that made his thin body look concave. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Are you all right, Miss Leigh?” he asked with a slight lisp.
    “Fine.” She raked a hand through her hair. “No, actually, I’m not fine.” She admitted defeat. “We had to pull the plug on the servers to stop the virus from spreading.”
    “Unavoidable,” Trey said, stepping out from the row of servers to stand beside her.
    “Oh. Hi, Mr. Soren.” He scratched his ear, where his hair hung in untrimmed layers. “Looks like the team has some long hours ahead.”
    “I’m not happy with this outcome, either,” she assured. “I’ll be making plenty of Starbucks runs, I promise.”
    She’d mentioned her team’s caffeine withdrawal to Trey earlier just to get his attention. She would never let anyone who worked for her suffer, in any way.
    Zander nodded and sent her a shy smile. “Sounds okay to me.”
    Her team was extraordinary. She realized she hadn’t told them that enough lately. She had nothing without their effort and dedication. Is that how Trey felt now, knowing she was all that stood between his reputation and a shallow hacker?
    Their kiss was probably his response to a shocking situation. She shouldn’t read into it. Besides, more important things loomed.
    She offered the young, dedicated man on her team a grateful look. “I appreciate all your help, Zander.”
    “Anything for you, Miss Leigh.” He blinked twice, flushed, and left her in the server room. Alone with Trey.
    As far as bosses went, she liked Trey immensely. He gave her equal amounts of freedom and support, and that was rare. Unlike Logan Stone, who’d needed to know and control every detail before he approved her management decisions, Trey gave her his blessing and let her results speak for themselves. While he left no doubt that he was the ringmaster, the one in ultimate control, he gave her a wide circle to perform whatever technological acrobatics she believed best benefited the company.
    But with one incredible kiss, he’d knocked her equilibrium off-balance. Not that she was complaining…she just had no idea where she stood on the line between personal and professional interaction. She didn’t know what to think. And this was not the time to have her thoughts scattered to the wind.
    “Devon—”
    She held up a hand to stop him from speaking. About their kiss. About the server catastrophe. About how unsteady she felt even as she savored the remnants of his taste. About anything she had no solid answers to give. She needed to gather herself and deal with this very serious breach. “Later, Trey. Right now there are four back-up servers calling my name. They’re cranky about this whole thing and so am I.”
    “Sure. Do what you have to do. We’ll set up a meeting for tomorrow. I want to know your thoughts on all of this.”
    Them or the hacker? The hacker, she’d figure out—years of experience would see to it. But them? There couldn’t be a “them,” even if her body ached for more of his touch. She worked