“Let’s go in,” he whispered before I could start undressing him on the spot.
I tasted myself on his kiss, his erection pressed into my belly. Always too much and yet never enough, the fierceness of my craving for him still took my breath away.
I followed Blake into the house and he led us to the bedroom, an enormous room with vaulted ceilings and whitewashed walls. The house put the Fitzgerald summer home to shame in size and elegance. They were old money, but the reality was that Blake could probably buy and sell Daniel.
The bed, covered with a fluffy white down comforter, was the centerpiece of the room, and became my sole focus as I counted the seconds until we could be naked on it. Blake unzipped my dress slowly, taking his time and taunting me with light touches. I slipped out of my dress and walked to the bed. I climbed up and sat on my knees, waiting patiently as Blake stripped down. He crawled onto the bed with the lithe grace of a predator stalking his prey, and I was in just the mood to be hunted.
He shifted me until I was under him, spread around his legs as they parted me. Taking my breast into his mouth with a hard suck, he teased the tip with his tongue. I arched into him and hooked my leg around his in a feeble attempt to urge him closer. He didn’t move an inch.
“You are a squirmy little thing,” he teased, trailing his hands along my inner thigh, inches from where I throbbed and craved his touch so much more.
“Touch me, please, Blake.”
His lips curled up. “Put your arms up.”
Eager to please if it meant he’d stop taunting me, I obeyed. He stretched them higher and unclasped one of my bracelets, hooking it onto my other wrist and linking them together, creating a rather expensive pair of handcuffs.
“Blake, no, you’ll break them.”
“Not if you don’t move.”
“How am I supposed to do that? You’re driving me crazy.” Controlling myself when he held me was one thing, but I had no idea how I was going to behave myself without any help.
“Self control,” he said simply. “Hold on here.”
He guided my hands to the headboard. I swallowed hard and circled my fingers around the metal rails, my mind hyper aware of every sensation stirring through my body and the physical reactions that I now had to keep in check so as not to ruin Blake’s beautiful gift. He was barely touching me as it was, and I was already writhing with anticipation.
He started low, nipping at the tip of my toe. A jolt of desire arrowed right to my sex. Jesus, he knew every trick in the book. I tightened, knowing he was miles from being there at this rate. He trailed wet kisses up my thigh, over my stomach, diving into the cleft of my belly button with his tongue. He languished over my breasts and my collarbone, blowing warm breaths onto my neck that gave me gooseflesh in a very good way.
“How do you feel?” He grazed my lips with his, a knowing smile lifting them slightly.
Every nerve stood at attention, every cell in my body lurched toward his, as far as these constraints would allow. “Alive,” I whispered, holding on by a mere thread.
“Good.”
He held his cock, lubricating me with my own moisture, sliding between my folds. I tightened my hold on the headboard at the friction over my clit. Then he was inside me in one swift motion. I cried out, fisting my hands around the rail, not wanting to struggle against the metal of my bonds.
His lips were on mine then, kissing me frantically. I moaned into his mouth as he drove into me again and again, with a depth that had me spasming around him uncontrollably. I could barely breathe in anticipation of the promised release. I dug my heels into his thighs, urging him deeper.
My emotions were raw and I was desperate for him. Blake reached up and replaced the second bracelet to its rightful place. Freed from my restraints, I fisted my hands in his hair and kissed him hard. I needed more, the rest of him. Whether he knew it or not, I wasn’t about to let him go.
I met his dark gaze. “I love you,” I whispered. I needed him to know, after everything we’d been through.
He pulled away a fraction, his expression almost pained, as if those three little words cut him to the core.
“Make love to me. Please, Blake, I don’t want to feel anything else but you right now.”
And for the rest of the night, he did. He loved me with every masterful thrust, reminding me that our bodies were made for this and for each other. We were wasted, physically and emotionally, but Blake never tired. When we slowed, my lazy caresses turned into hungry demands, and he took me again, each time no less earth shattering than the last, until we’d both collapsed in each other’s arms.
***
I woke in the morning to the sound of the ocean. Seagulls sailed through the air just beyond our bedroom window. I crept out of bed quietly to let Blake sleep.
Dressed in his T-shirt, I let his scent wash over me. I padded through the house and helped myself to a banana from the bowl of fruit in the kitchen. I took out my laptop and set up at the dining room table overlooking the water. I started an email to Professor Quinlan, addressing him as such. No matter how much time went by, I’d probably never be able to call him Brendan.
I struggled for the right words to describe the current situation. He knew Max’s history better than most, but I hoped this turn of events wouldn’t reflect poorly on the professor. I felt compelled to bring him up to speed in case it would. I drafted the message and reread it, feeling overwhelmed anew by the breakneck pace my life had taken over the past forty-eight hours.
And I’d thought college was stressful.
I hit send and clicked around a few sites, landing on Clozpin. The browser’s loading graphic spun indefinitely. The site was down again.
Shit. I called Sid. No answer. I called again and he didn’t pick up. I hurried back into the bedroom, hating to wake Blake, but I couldn’t shake the worry.
I sidled up next to him, draped my leg over his, and peppered him with tiny soft kisses. If I was going to wake him up, at least I’d do it pleasantly. He finally stirred, rousing with a smile and a fantastic case of morning wood. As tempting as that was, I needed him for something else right now.
“Baby, the site’s down again. I can’t get hold of Sid.”
He got up, slipped on his jeans, and followed me out to the dining room. He glanced at my screen and fished out his own laptop from his overnight bag, settled on the couch, and powered on.
“Coffee?” I asked.
“Please.”
Already he looked incredibly focused, though barely awake, his hair an adorable mess. I figured out the coffee, and while I waited for it to brew, I refreshed the site again. This time it came up instantly, with a large singular logo overlaying the site beneath it. The logo text read clear. M89.
Blake was typing furiously. I didn’t dare ask, but I had a sinking feeling that being targeted wasn’t random anymore. I filled a mug and took it to him. He took it wordlessly, working as if I wasn’t there. I stared patiently, waiting for him to come back to me.
“Can you tell me what’s going on? For real this time?” I said, my voice quiet.
He looked up at me with tired eyes.
“The photo of us at the conference. It went viral. You probably saw a spike in traffic. Most of that was legit, but they took notice.”
“They?”
He hesitated.
“So this isn’t random.”
“Not anymore,” he said, his eyes dark with regret.
“Why are they after you, Blake?”
He shook his head and raked his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry, Erica, but I’m going to fix this. I promise.”
I nodded, trusting he would.
CHECK OUT THESE OTHER TITLES BY MEREDITH WILD
Hardwired
Hardpressed
Hardline
Hard Limit
Hard Love
BLAKE AND ERICA’S STORY CONTINUES
IN THE HACKER SERIES SEQUEL
HARDPRESSED
HERE’S A SNEAK
PEEK…
CHAPTER ONE
“I can’t believe I’m doing this again,” I said.
Blake slid his arm around my shoulders. He pulled me close and I relaxed into his familiar warmth. We stepped out of his office building and headed a few blocks down the street. He leaned down and gave me a reassuring kiss on the cheek.
“No funny business this time, I promise.”
I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Very reassuring.”
I almost believed him. The past few weeks had been intense, but something had changed between us. I could joke, but he had my trust now. After all my fervent protests and desperate attempts to fight the way I felt about him, I’d finally let him in. At least more than I’d ever let anyone else in, and nothing had ever felt more right.
He flashed me a mischievous smile. “Don’t worry. There was no way I could get Fiona to pull a stunt like that again.”
Dressed in white capris and a navy chiffon shell, Blake’s sister, Fiona, waited ahead of us near the entryway of a quaint café. We stopped directly in front of the entrance. The engraved sign above read Mocha. A young patron swung the door open and the deep aroma of freshly ground coffee and chocolate wafted out, setting off happy signals all over my body. I’d nearly forgotten about our original mission when Fiona motioned us toward an unmarked door next to the café.
“We’re upstairs.” She ushered us up a narrow staircase to the second floor.
“Who owns the building, Fiona?” I tried to make it sound like small talk, but who was I kidding? The fact that we were a few short strides from a steady caffeine source was already a major selling point, but Fiona knew my position on renting from Blake or any of his subsidiaries. I trusted Blake, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still committed to becoming intricately involved in my business dealings at every possible opportunity.
Blake had plenty of his own contradictions. He could be sweet and heart-wrenchingly tender one moment and be driving me into a fiery rage with his compulsive controlling tendencies the next. He could micro-manage the hell out of my growing business during the day and fuck me straight out of my mind the second we walked through the door every night. Granted, sometimes I needed both, but I still wasn’t sure how I felt about all this dominance in my life. Letting him in scared me, but I was learning to be more open to it, to trust him as much as I could.
Today, a part of me, the part of me that needed separation and independence from Blake, wanted to make absolutely sure he wasn’t pulling a fast one on me again.
“I can assure you that Blake has no ownership stake in the property,” Fiona reassured me.
That was all well and good, but not so long ago she’d sold me on a beautifully updated apartment within the same Comm Ave brownstone that Blake not only owned, but also lived in. The tenuous line between our personal lives and businesses was already too blurred. I was holding firm on this one.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Fiona dug into her purse. Despite my misgivings, my anticipation grew. She unlocked the door and we filed into the space. The long room was small, at least compared to Blake’s. Though musty and in dire need of a cleaning crew, the space held promise. Behind me Blake sighed.
“Fiona, seriously. This is the best you could do?”
She shot him an annoyed look.
“We—Erica and I—discussed her budget, and for the location and size, this is a fair option. Obviously the space could use some TLC, but you have to admit it has potential.”
I took a long look around, envisioning the many possibilities. I had been so busy keeping things running out of my apartment, all while hiring, that I hadn’t had a chance to get excited about this move. But this would be fun.
“I love the wood floors.”
“They’re filthy.” Blake scuffed the sole of his shoe on the floor, drawing a faint line through the dust.
“Have a little vision, Blake. We just need to clean it up, and with a few enhancements, this could definitely have a cool design studio feel.”
“Exactly. Exposed brick never goes out,” Fiona added.
“Pretty old.” Blake wrinkled his nose.
I laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. “Show me a building in Boston that isn’t old.”
The space was a far cry from the Landon Group’s renovated modern offices, but I had modest and realistic expectations. The current state of the space left much to be desired, but with some elbow grease and a few additions, we could make this work.
We stopped in front of the large windows facing the street. A flutter of excitement coursed through me. Giving the business its own address would be a major milestone and make everything we’d accomplished so far seem much more real.
I turned to gauge Fiona’s reaction. “I think I like it. What do you think?”
Fiona pursed her lips and looked around. “The price is fair and the lease term gives you options for growth. All things considered, I would say this is a safe bet. Can you see yourself here?”
“I can.” I smiled, having renewed faith in Fiona’s brokering skills. At the end of the day, we needed a comfortable, affordable working space for the new team members of Clozpin, the fashion social network I’d spent the past year growing.
“Let me make some calls and see if I can get the price down for you. Because Blake’s right, this place is kind of dirty. Plus, if you plan on fixing it up, that gives us a bargaining chip.” Fiona pulled out her phone and exited toward the hallway, leaving us alone again.
“You didn’t ask me what I think.” Blake gave me a crooked grin.
“That’s because I already know what you think.”
“I could give you twice the square footage and you wouldn’t even need to leave the building to come visit me. Plus you’d get the girlfriend rate, which I think you’ll find is unmatched in this part of town.”
Blake’s uninvited assistance in all matters was a lost cause. Sure, he was controlling, compulsive, and persistent as all hell, but he was ultimately a fixer. When the people he cared about ran into problems or wanted for anything, he came to the rescue, sparing no expense in the process.
“I appreciate the offer. I really do. But you can’t put a price on independence, Blake.” We’d had this conversation before, and I was standing my ground. He needed to trust me to make things work on my own. This trust thing went both ways.
“You can be independent. We’ll put it all in writing.”
“In my experience, putting it in writing only commits me to being dependent on your ample resources for a minimum length of time.” Blake already had me bound to a year-long lease with my apartment, though he’d yet to cash any of my rent checks.
“Call it rent control. You could lock in the girlfriend rate for, say, a twenty-year lease, and then we could negotiate from there.” He encircled me in his arms, pressing me firmly against his chest, his lips inches from mine.
My heart pounded. This went beyond our usual banter of trying to outwit each other. We had only been together a matter of weeks and he was already thinking about the long-term? My lips parted slightly as I struggled to take a full breath. Blake’s words and his proximity made my world spin, time and again. No one had ever affected me like this, and I was gradually learning to enjoy the roller coaster.
“Nice try,” I whispered.
He growled and closed his mouth over mine. He claimed me with gentle urgency, teasing me with tiny licks of his tongue.
“You drive me crazy, Erica.”
“Oh?” I breathed, trying not to moan as the air left me.
“Yes, in every conceivable way. Let’s get out of here. Fiona can wrap up the paperwork if you’re intent on renting this dump.”
He grabbed my hips and sandwiched me between his rock hard body and the wall behind me. I didn’t know what it was about him pinning me to hard surfaces, but I fucking loved it. I slid my hands through his hair and kissed him back helplessly, so easily forgetting myself in his embrace. What time was it? Where did I need to be later
? I mentally ran through every possible obstacle between me and being naked with Blake. His thigh found the space between my legs, exerting the perfect amount of pressure so the crease of my jeans rubbed me through my panties.
“Oh, God.”
“I swear, if there was a clean surface in this place, I’d fuck you on it right now.”
I giggled. “You’re bad.”
His eyes went dark. “You have no idea.”
“Ahem.”
Fiona leaned into the doorway, wide-eyed.
Blake stepped back abruptly, leaving me dizzy and momentarily confused. For the first time ever, I witnessed him flush as he ran his fingers through his hair, seemingly embarrassed at having been caught making out in front of his little sister.
“If you two are finished, I got the price down another couple hundred. Can we make a decision on this, or do you want to see some more places in different parts of town?”
I straightened and stepped away from Blake to join her, knowing the farther away I was, the more clearly I could think.
“Decision’s made. Let’s do this.”
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Blake is determined to learn more about Erica and goes to great lengths to achieve this. What are the qualities in Erica that you think capture Blake? Why is she so different than any other person that he’s met before?
2. Blake is the first to pursue Erica and to declare how he feels about her. Why do you think after being the one to initiate everything, he still continues to keep his past hidden after Erica has finally opened herself up to him?
3. This book is told from Erica’s perspective only. Are there certain points in the story in which you wish you could know what Blake is thinking? Which scenes or moments would you pick, and why?
4. It’s important to Erica to maintain autonomy with her business, despite Blake’s offers to be more involved. If you were in her position would you choose to be the same way, or would you choose to handle it a different way?
Hardwired Page 22