DISCLAIMER: Just for fun! I own nothing.

Special Thanks to Jackie for editing!

808 at 10

Chapter 1

I probably should have seen this coming. I mean, my life has never been simple. Weird things just happen to me…always have. I'm sure it's my own fault, but I tell myself that at least my life isn't boring.

Things have been going great! Steph is still working for Vinnie, but agreed to get more training and to stay away from the high-risk FTAs. She also agreed to stay away from Ranger. We finally had a long talk about the rumors of kisses, touches and visits to a certain man-in-black's apartment and Steph acknowledged that she had feelings for him and that she'd allowed him to come between us. Thankfully, she also acknowledged that she wanted her future to be with me and she was willing to cut her ties to Manoso and give me…no, US a real chance. My Cupcake (and Rex) moved in shortly thereafter, we had been together (with no off-again) for over a year and engaged for 3 months. I feel like my life is finally making sense. Stupid me. I should have smelled the shit about to hit the fan.

"Joseph Anthony Morelli?" asked the nicely dressed man in the doorway of my office.

"That's me." I answered with a dumb smile on my face. (Little did I know…)

"You're served." He replied with a smirk, handing me a subpoena.

I looked down at the legal document in my hands and I could feel the blood draining from my face at the sight of her name. "Violet Marie DeFranco" Damn! I knew instantly that I was screwed!

I drove my SUV in a daze barely able to think straight. I'd paged Vy with our code – "808 at 10" and knew she'd be waiting for me at the hotel. It had been years since we'd met like this, but neither of us had ever said no. At least, not until I broke things off to pursue the woman I loved.

I drove to the halfway point between Trenton and Newark (where Vy lived) to the hotel where we always met and to the room where we'd spent virtually every minute of our relationship. I opened the door to room 808 and locked eyes with the first woman I ever really loved even if I had never said the words. She was as stunning as ever with long, dark hair, big green eyes and the longest legs I'd ever seen. My heart was beating fast as I realized the effect this beautiful woman still had on me and in an instant we were locked in a passionate kiss that flooded my mind with memories of all the time we'd spent here in each other's arms. Reality hit me hard then and I pulled away.

"Joe." She said on a sigh with her eyes shining brightly. "I've missed you." She paused for a moment and took a step back to look me over. "You look great!"

"You're as beautiful as ever, Vy." I replied, still not thinking clearly being this close to her.

She smiled at me coolly and licked her full lips. Then she took a step closer to me and I put up my hands.

"Violet," I began, "I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong idea, but I'm not here for…well,…" I felt like an idiot. Did she really believe we could pick up where we left off? She still wanted me after all this time?

"I'm getting divorced, Joe. I'm finally leaving John and I thought…"

"Vy, I'm engaged to Stephanie. I…I love her."

,

I saw the flicker of pain cross Violet's face at my words. Shit. I didn't want to hurt her anymore than I already had, but I needed to get it all out so I continued.

"I know about your divorce, Vy, because I just got a subpoena to testify…for your husband." I told her.

Violet looked shocked. "Wh…What are you talking about?" She asked.

Just then my cell phone rang. I looked down at the caller ID – Stephanie. Shit. I'm not ready to talk to her yet. Vy and I locked eyes again and I could see that she was near tears. I closed the distance between us, led her to a chair and we sat down together. Violet read thru the subpoena while I sat with my elbows on my knees, looking down at my hands.

Finally, Violet looked up. "I can't believe it." She said, "I mean, nobody knew about us, Joe. Nobody."

"I know." I said softly and the silence stretched between us and then finally I asked, "So, what now?"

"I don't know." She murmured. "Let me make a few calls and then I'll figure this out." She stood then seeming to pull herself together. "I'll call you, Joe." She said meeting my eyes and then heading towards the door. Just before she walked out, she turned back towards me and said, "And Joe,…"

"Yeah, Vy?"

"I'm really sorry you're getting dragged into this."

I drove back to Trenton still in a fog of confusion. How did anyone know about my affair with Violet? We'd been so careful! We parked offsite, came separately and were never seen in public together. Plus it had been literally years since we'd been together so why was it being brought up now? Was this just about her divorce or was it something else? Did her husband suspect all those years ago? The cop in me was trying to sort it all out. It just wasn't making sense.

I thought back to the beginning. Let's see, it was a little more than 4 years before I was accused of murder. I had been working undercover on a huge case in Newark and we'd finally made the bust. I started working with Violet DeFranco, a beautiful, young Assistant DA who seemed to hate my guts. Every time we were in a room together, it would end up in a screaming fight. I thought she was an obsessive control freak and she thought I was an arrogant cop and a giant pain in her ass.

That was until the night we found ourselves all alone in her office going over my testimony for the hundredth time. I was tired and hungry, but she just wouldn't let up so naturally we started screaming at each other again. She walked up and got in my face with her green eyes glaring and her fists clenched. I should have been angry, too, but when she got close to me the attraction crackled like electricity between us and the next thing I knew, her hands were in my hair and mine were on her back and our mouths were locked in a passionate kiss. I picked her up and put her on the desk. She pulled me between her legs and I pulled off her jacket while kissing her again. Our hands and mouths were everywhere, grasping, pulling, licking and clawing. We were out of control and completely swept away by our passion. I laid her back, pulled off her panties and began to taste her while my hands reached up to unbutton her blouse. She was fisting my hair in her hands and moaning. I felt her start to shake so I licked and sucked until her screams subsided and then I stood up and pulled her mouth back up to mine. I grabbed a condom from my wallet and entered her with a hard thrust. She screamed out my name as another orgasm hit her at that moment. It was all I could do to keep my control as this beautiful woman lost her's over and over again. I finally let go of myself and came hard inside of her.

I thought that would be the end of it, but neither of us could deny the sexual tension between us as we continued to work the case. After I testified, she slipped me a small note that said, "Hampton Inn, 808 at 10". And that became our routine. Sometimes it was a few days and sometimes a week or more, but eventually I'd get the page, "808 at 10" and we'd meet at that same hotel, have amazing, mind-blowing sex and then go back to our separate lives. I knew she was married. If the 3-karat diamond on her finger hadn't given it away, she and her husband's high profile lifestyle would have. He was a major player in a big law firm in Newark and she was the rising star of the DA's office. They were a power couple and the envy of everyone it seemed. But I just couldn't stop seeing her.

After a few months, the passion that never seems to dissipate was joined with something else. Love? Maybe, but definitely affection and some sort of bond was growing between us. She was beautiful, smart and feisty – everything I wanted in a woman, but I knew she would never be mine. I couldn't admit, even to myself, how much I cared about her. I knew I was just setting myself up for pain. She'd made it clear that she loved her husband, John, and had no intention of leaving him. She'd also made it clear that she loved me, too, and wanted to keep our secret affair going. I didn't mind really. I didn't think I was cut out for marriage and at first it seemed like the perfect situation. I dated other woman, but none of them measured up to Vy and our meetings continued. Like I said, neither of us ever said no. And we went on like that for the next 4 years until I went FTA and Stephanie Plum came back into my life.

I'd always had a thing for Stephanie even as a kid. Like Violet, she was beautiful, smart and feisty. She always had this gleam in her eye like she was ready to try anything. She was ready to fly! I guess you could say I had a crush on her when we were younger, but I was trouble and I knew there was no way her parents would let her get anywhere near me. Especially after her mom found out about our game of choo-choo! But that didn't stop me from coming to see her a few days before I left for the Navy. I swear I just went in to say, "Goodbye." Okay, maybe I'd hoped for a kiss or something, but I never expected her to give herself to me. We were both overcome with passion though and like the stupid, selfish kid I was, I took her virginity and then wrote all about it on walls all over town.

After Stephanie helped me clear my name, I sent out the message, "808 at 10" and Violet met me, of course. She was so excited to see me and happy that I was safe and free. It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, but I broke up with her that night. I told her that a woman had come back into my life that I thought might be my future. I told her that I wanted more out of life than trysts at an out of the way hotel with a woman I could never really have. She cried that night, but told me she understood and then she told me goodbye.

My cell phone rang again. I took a deep breath and said, "Hi Cupcake!" hoping I sounded normal.

"Hi, Joe!" Steph replied. "Will you be home soon? I ordered a pizza and the Rangers game starts in 20 minutes."

"I'll be home in about 30 minutes." I said, "Save me some pizza, okay Cupcake?"

She laughed and replied, "I'll try, but hurry!" and disconnected.

Home. Home and Stephanie. It was all I ever wanted and now my poor decisions from the past were threatening it all.