Out of Control

by Toni J Strawn

  He gave me a bemused look as he left. “Maybe you will.”

  I locked the door behind him, relief mixed with a little regret. Too much time spent horizontal with Blake could only lead to trouble. He was too self-assured. Too dominant. Which reminded me far too much of my ex.

  I filled a glass from the tap and went back down the hall. “Mia, are you all right?” I tapped on her door and was met with silence. I slipped it open. She was lying facedown on her bed, so exhausted she hadn’t bothered taking her clothes off before falling asleep. I picked up the blanket from the foot of her bed and spread it over her. She didn’t budge an inch.

  I went back to bed, thinking I’d be awake half the night remembering every little detail of Blake, but surprisingly, I fell asleep pretty quickly. The next morning I was up early, and it was Mia who slept in. She came barreling into the kitchen, looking bedraggled with hollowed-out eyes.

  “Do you want breakfast?” I asked, offering her my box of Pop-Tarts.

  “I’ve gotta go. I’m so late.” She grabbed her bag, then paused at the door. “By the way, was that someone I heard in your bedroom when I got home?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t think so.” I was appalled at how easily I bent the truth. Then again, how did I know what she’d heard? Besides, Blake was a one-nighter and Mia looked like she had more than enough on her plate right now.

  I was such a coward. I sighed and sat at the kitchen counter, opening my laptop. I would tell her later. Much later. When the smell of him wasn’t still on my skin and I could say his name without my cheeks bursting into flames.

  “You going to get some work done today?”

  “Of course.” I gave her a hollow smile as she finally left.

  I’d been mucking around with some new app ideas while I decided what to do with my life. I really should be out job hunting. Except something was holding me back from committing…whether it was the ex I’d left behind, the harrowing negotiations and subsequent sale of my app, or because until last night I hadn’t been sure I even wanted to stay in Wellsford.

  I had to admit that, after meeting Blake, the place was growing on me.

  Chapter Five

  BLAKE

  Lila had been on my mind since the moment I left her apartment. I’d had other nights where the sex had been great, but nothing like that. Where a partner had been so willing, yet had flipped me on my head at every turn. That mouth of hers—and not just the things she did with her tongue on my cock. A shudder slipped down my spine. She was sexy, cunning, and completely out of control. She checked boxes I didn’t even know were on my list. And that pissed me off.

  I drummed my fingers on my oversize desk, surveying my generously appointed office, and for the first time in a long time, I felt dissatisfied.

  Lila. The moment she’d asked me to leave, I’d known I was going to have an issue. Because I was the one who usually said goodbye. Hell, I hadn’t been tossed aside since fifth grade when I’d asked Melanie Rogers to be my girlfriend, then told her one of the rules of our relationship was that we had to swap lunches. She had refused, and for good reason. My mother hadn’t been big on the whole nutrition-parenting thing, so all I had were two moldering apples I’d scrounged from the pantry before school. One look at my lunch bag and I’d been unceremoniously dumped, and the newly-single Melanie had taken herself to the other side of the yard to eat her ham sub in peace.

  Until the eighth grade, I’d pretty much forgotten about girls…when they started showing an interest in me. Mostly the more advanced girls from middle school, who’d suddenly decided I was an object worth pursuing. I’d started ditching school by then. I was always late anyway, having developed a habit of waiting at home until I knew my mom was awake and okay. I was bored at school and struggled to connect with the other kids, who’d seemed young and immature.

  My forays around the neighborhood extended into the city, until I was roaming Wellsford freely. It was there I met Declan Bancroft. He had a wild side, too—wilder than mine, as it turned out. Part of an affluent exporting dynasty, he had been exposed to the shadowy underbelly of privilege and wealth from an early age. He was old beyond his years, and we naturally drifted together. Whenever my mom didn’t show at home, I would head over to his house for dinner and a clean bed. By the time I was fifteen, the state had caught up with me, and Mrs. Bancroft asked me to move in permanently.

  I loved the Bancrofts like they were my own family, which was why I had no problem pushing myself into Mia’s life to ease Declan’s mind. Which reminded me… I picked up the phone to call him and report on last night.

  “So how was she?” was his first question.

  She? If Declan meant Lila, then she was fine. Very fine, indeed. Unfortunately, my buddy meant Mia, and I was less sure about that one.

  “She seemed all right. Busy.”

  Declan’s voice sharpened. “Meaning what?”

  “Meaning Mia got called away before I had a chance to talk to her. But I met a friend of hers. The new roommate. Some woman she went to summer camp with,” I put in, knowing Lila’s credentials would be Declan’s next question. “So at least someone is around to keep an eye on her.”

  “What’s she like?”

  “Lila?” I swallowed. “We didn’t spend much time talking once Mia left.” I didn’t want to admit I’d let my dick take over. “Look, maybe you should give Mia a call.”

  “Don’t you think I’ve tried?” Declan said, his voice tight with frustration. “Ever since she started this job, I can’t keep her on the line long enough to ask a simple question. She’s always rushing off, has somewhere else she needs to be. Is she hiding something from me?”

  “No, I think she is what she says she is. Super busy. This job has her running around in circles. You know what’s it’s like fresh out of college, and she wants to prove herself.”

  “Yeah, I remember exactly what it’s like. Asshole employers looking to take advantage. I mean, they have her working all hours of the day and night.”

  “From what I understand, it’s only until shooting starts, and you know how excited she was about getting this job.” I gave a short laugh. “We always thought she’d be the star in front of the camera, not hustling her butt off behind the scenes.”

  Declan huffed. “She always did have an eye for drama. Keep on her, Blake. I feel like I’m sitting on my hands here, and it’s frustrating as fuck.”

  “You know I will.”

  Declan hung up after repeated assurances. He hadn’t always been the best big brother, but he was making up for it in spades since moving away. With his parents spending more of their time vacationing overseas, he felt the weight of responsibility for Mia on his shoulders, especially knowing the trouble he’d gotten himself into at the same age. Twenty-three was still wild and free.

  Something I had pushed aside during my dalliance with Lila last night. She was the same age as Mia, didn’t have a steady job, and had pulled up stakes to move halfway across the country on a whim. In other words, a disaster waiting to happen. I always strove to have firm control over every aspect of my life. Clearly, that was not going to happen with someone like Lila. What the fuck had I been thinking?

  I hadn’t. My dick had wanted what it wanted, and I didn’t even have the excuse of being a hormone-driven teenager. I was CEO of my own firm, a multimillion-dollar company that I’d established from nothing, built on a solid idea and hard work. These days I didn’t often take risks. I should’ve known better.

  Yet Lila’s electric energy had attracted me like dust to a heater. She had moved across the country on a whim. No job or responsibilities. Full of wild promise and a good time. You couldn’t live like that—well, not for long, anyway. Mom had taught me that, if nothing else. Chaos was okay on the good days. But the bad would always follow.

  Lila had sucked me in with those probing eyes and off-balance answers, and she’d sealed the deal with killer breasts and plump, kissable lips. My balls tightened just at the memory. I should s
tay away from her. Which was probably exactly what Lila wanted me to do. So she could walk away and not have to think about me again. No strings, no responsibility.

  Fuck that. There had been a spark between us, a connection that deserved more than one outrageous, lust-fueled night. She had responded to me in a way no other woman had, and I had driven her just as crazy. Why else had she been in such a hurry for me to leave, if not because she was afraid of what we had both felt?

  I sat back in my chair, tapping my phone against the edge of the desk. I was kidding myself, pretending I didn’t want to see her again. I wanted to rattle her cage, find out her deepest, darkest desires, and satisfy every one of them, make her squirm and writhe, turn her inside out until she couldn’t remember her own name. I didn’t know much about her, but she didn’t know me, either. One thing she was about to learn was that I didn’t give up easily. I smiled grimly. That was why I ran one of the top indie IT brands in the country. Eventually, I got what I wanted. Always. No matter what it took.

  I picked up my cell phone, then put it down again when I realized I didn’t have Lila’s number. It rang, vibrating across my desk, and I picked it up—half-expecting to hear her on the other end of the line.

  It was Sasha from the L.A. office.

  “This isn’t going to work,” she cut across my greeting. “The kid is a renegade.”

  I stifled a sigh. “Yes, but he’s also a genius.” No guesses needed as to whom she was talking about. Mason Simpson. Child prodigy. He could write SQL like it was his first language. When he wanted to. Mostly, he liked to game.

  “If you need him so much, transfer him to Wellsford so you can babysit him,” Sasha whined.

  “He doesn’t want to work in Wellsford. He likes L.A.,” I said patiently. “We’ve been over this. I know he’s a pain, but we need him.”

  She huffed out a sigh, releasing steam from her pent-up frustration. “This generation. I don’t get it.”

  I chuckled. Sasha was barely out of the generation she liked to moan about so much. As was I.

  “Come on, Sash, you run that whole office. I know you can manage one super-brat.”

  “The kid needs a leash. Seriously, how am I supposed to keep him focused enough to get an idea out of him? He’s all over the place, and as soon as I try to tie something in, he’s off on another tangent, or worse, pouting and telling me I push him too hard. Too hard? He hasn’t done one fucking thing, and we’re paying him a fortune.”

  I rubbed at my brow, conscious of the thud of blood starting to build in my temples. Sasha had a real issue with Mason, the young gun we’d hired straight out of school as our shining new app developer. He was brilliant, his IQ testing into the high 160’s, but his maturity level hovered more around twelve than his twenty-two years. Young. Willful. Taking what he wanted from life and not expecting to give anything in return.

  “All it takes is one idea, and we know he’s got them,” I said. I’d invested in his first app, and our profit line had benefited immensely. Bringing him on board had been a gamble, but one I’d thought was worth it. Better than a rival company getting their hands on the next golden egg he laid.

  “I think he might be a one-trick pony,” Sasha grumbled. “Are you sure you don’t want to cut your losses?”

  “Not yet. It’s all about getting him to fire. Finding the right conditions.” I pinched at my lip. “Let me think on it. In the meantime, have him go over the test program for BuzzYard. Maybe being stuck on something boring will push him into gear. I’ll get out there as soon as I can.”

  “I don’t need you to fly out here,” Sasha grumbled. “I need you to fix him.” But before ending the call, she grudgingly agreed to do the best she could.

  She would be fine. The L.A. office was a well-oiled machine under her direction, but I’d make time to fly out in the next week or so. It would be a good opportunity to catch up with Declan and ease his mind about Mia, if nothing else.

  The possible similarities between Mason and Lila weren’t lost on me. I’d worked damn hard for everything I had. My future was secure. Mason and Lila didn’t seem to be working hard at anything except having fun. And yet she had a bedroom full of expensive stuff…and I had no idea how she’d earned it. A trust-fund baby, perhaps? But then why would she be renting a room in someone else’s apartment?

  I pursed my lips, deciding I wanted answers. So I could report back to Declan, of course…

  I clicked open the internet and did a quick search on the name Lila Ward. With a common last name, it took a fair bit of digging through the search results to find the right one. Lila either kept very quiet, or she knew how to keep her profile clean. Either way, she piqued my interest all over again.

  Who was she? And how did she come by her money?

  I finally found her through Mia’s social media page. There was the post Lila had mentioned, the one two weeks ago when Mia had called out for someone to share her apartment. Two weeks ago. And Lila had just packed up and moved halfway across the country because of it.

  Armed with a little more information, I tried another popular search engine. Jackpot. There was an article about Lila Ward. I glanced over it, then leaned forward and read it again with growing incredulity. Holy shit. Apparently, she had developed an app and had recently sold it to Gamtotech, one of my biggest competitors in the mobile app market. How the fuck had I missed this?

  I rubbed a thumb across my chin as everything clicked into place…including plans for a very juicy opportunity for my future. Lila was an ideas person. It flicked into my mind that if I paired her up with Mason, I could have a team that would be unrivaled in the industry.

  Of course, then I would only be able to see her in a professional sense… The whole boss-employee sexual harassment sinkhole was not something I wanted to deal with. But maybe having that barrier between us wouldn’t be a bad thing.

  Hell, who I was I kidding? While it might be worth helping us both out by offering her a job, I wasn’t ready to let go of the fantasy. Not yet.

  And it wouldn’t hurt to do a bit more due diligence.

  No time like the present. I glanced at my watch. It was later in the day than I would have liked. Mia would probably be home. Then again, if I was going to declare my intention to wine, dine, and win Lila, I may as well do it in public. After she’d made it clear how eager she was to push me out the door, it would be worth it just to see the look on her face.

  Chapter Six

  LILA

  Blake Hanlon was the last person I expected to see at my door. Yet there he was, flashing those sexy-as-hell dimples, looking hotter than ever in the light of day. He was dressed more formally than last night, in all black, wearing a fitted shirt with trousers. The top button was open, exposing a hint of skin at the base of his throat. I knew if I leaned forward and licked that patch of skin it would smell delicious and taste of Blake. Hot and sexy.

  I swallowed. Hard. Everything from last night flooded back to me in full sensory recall. The sculpted ridges that dipped and curved in all the right places, the play of his muscles from his shoulders all the way down to his fingertips, the scent of him. The taste. I bit at my bottom lip. Remembered how good it had felt when I’d wrapped myself around him, our bodies slick with sweat and sex. How well we had fitted together, Blake rising above me at the end of the bed, hips thrusting like pistons, the slide of his cock as he’d slammed it home…

  I put my hand out, finding the wall to steady myself. His grin grew wider, as though he knew exactly what I was thinking. The temperature in the doorway crept up a few degrees and my cheeks grew hot. I hated blushing—a leftover from my teens, a shy and painful stage—but I refused to be ashamed of the fact that I’d had the best sex of my life last night. I clasped my hands in front of me to stop myself from reaching out and undoing more of the buttons on his shirt. I wanted to run my fingers from his chest to his waistband, skate over the smooth skin, blazing a trail to all the secret, intimate places I’d discovered last night.

&nb
sp; “Mia, it’s for you,” I yelled into the apartment.

  “Not so fast.” He latched onto my arm before I could run away. He yanked me toward him, his lips meeting mine in a clash of faces. I opened my mouth to protest and he took full advantage, his tongue snaking past my teeth to take possession of my mouth. His forearm banded around my back and I was hauled tight against his chest. There was no room for escape, even if I’d wanted to.

  I let out a moan as his scent enveloped me, a frisson of sparks running a fifty-meter dash down my spine. I was boneless, melting into him like I was made to measure. He held onto me as he withdrew. Waiting. Teasing. I lunged forward to tangle my fingers in his hair, pulling his head down to cover those last few millimeters of space until there was nothing left between us. Our lips brushed, the merest touch, but it set my body on fire and I opened to him as he devoured me whole again. Tongues and lips merged, I stole his breath and he stole mine—

  “You have got to be kidding me.”

  I broke off, stumbling backward. Mia was behind me, looking horrorstruck. I twirled away from Blake and this time he let me. Bastard. Mia put her hands on her hips, her mouth pursed.

  “Th-this isn’t what you th-think,” I stammered, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

  “Yes, it’s exactly what you think,” Blake said firmly, putting his arm around my shoulder like some sort of ceremonial claiming. I squirmed, trying to put a few inches of space between us.

  Mia’s jaw dropped, and she chuffed out a laugh. “Care to explain?” she asked me.

  “You left me with him,” I whined. Hell, that sounded lame, even to me. I snapped my mouth shut, cursing the impetuous imp in my nature, the one who’d made me bring him home last night.

  Mia’s jaw dropped. “So this is my fault?”

  “And his.” I glared at him. Fair was fair. “He wasn’t supposed to come back here today.”

  Of course he said nothing about his part in it all. He stayed surprisingly silent, although he was smiling. A giant, shit-eating smirk. I gritted my teeth.