He stripped me from the waist down and I heard his clothes drop to the floor at my feet before his body covered mine.
I twisted my wrists, a pointless effort since I had no way of breaking free on my own. As I did, my heartbeat ratcheted to a rapid rate, panic seeping in. He"d done this before, left me helpless, unable to touch him or move. Those bonds had been a little easier to negotiate, but these didn"t budge. I couldn"t see him now. I was helpless and in the dark. A cold fear crept in, replacing Blake with a nightmare, the darkest memory.
"Blake." My voice was uneven, tainted with the uneasiness that grew. I wasn"t sure if I could do this.
His hand rested over my heart, my chest rising rapidly with the breathing I could no longer control.
"Shh, baby. I"ve got you," he murmured.
He covered my body with the warmth of his own, claiming my mouth with his, tender and full of love, silencing my fears. He kissed my jaw and moved to the sensitive skin of my neck, just below my ear.
"Do you feel me? It"s me, baby. It"ll always be me."
With those words, my body went lax beneath him. I released the fists I"d been clenching and focused on his touch, unlike any other. No one had ever touched me the way he did, like he knew my body better than I did.
Slowly the panic subsided, melting away as he reintroduced himself to my body, his voice bringing me back to the moment, our moment.
"I"ve been hard all day thinking about you like this. Do you have any idea how impossible it is to work that way? Thinking about your tight little body quivering under me, ready for me?"
Inch by inch my skin came alive, quickening as his hands and his mouth claimed me. Urgent touches and hot, wet kisses. His voice talking me through every motion, every plan. My hips circled into the motion of his fingers ma.s.saging me, sliding through my wet folds and inside of me, a promise of what was to come.
My focus pinpointed on the contact. I was panting, aimlessly wondering how much longer I could hold out like this. G.o.d, the man loved torturing me.
"You okay?" He circled my wrists gently and feathered down the sensitive skin on the underside of my arms.
I roused myself from my longing to consider his question. Panic was so far in my rearview. I could think of nothing but the sweet inevitable of having him inside me.
"More than okay. Don"t stop."
He spread my legs around him. He notched at my opening and pushed in, slow enough to drive me a little crazy. I held my breath until he was rooted, stretching me fully. He took my mouth in a deep kiss, and I took my next breath from him as he ground his hips gently, reminding me how deeply he could possess me in every way. I moaned, and fire spread through my veins, heating me from limb to limb as I clung to his body the only way I could. I hooked my ankles behind his thighs, urging him into me, the need to have him moving inside me almost more than I could bear.
He slipped his arm around my waist and splayed his hand at my tailbone, protecting me from the hard floor as he thrust into me harder. I gasped, relief and ecstasy flooding me.
He rocked into me, finding a steady rhythm. Between kisses, he murmured in my ear. "Love you, baby. Being inside you...like this. Controlling your pleasure. I need this."
He whispered the things he wanted to do to me, how every minute inside me made him feel, staying with me so I"d never forget who was loving me.
"Blake, oh G.o.d..." There was nothing but the sound of his voice and his c.o.c.k plunging into me. No distractions, only the fierce claim of his body over mine. My lip trembled as the tension mounted.
"That"s it. Now you"re going to come loud and hard and introduce me to the neighbors."
He took my hands in one of his, holding them tight above me while the other found my hip. Then, lifting me a few inches off the floor, he drove in hard so his c.o.c.k hit the spot inside me that made everything go white behind the black.
His name left my lips in a hoa.r.s.e cry. Colors exploded behind my eyes as my body seized around his, the tremble rocketing through my core.
"Christ, Erica... f.u.c.k, just like that."
My toes curled as he rolled into the last few strokes that took us both over the edge. He gripped my hips roughly and buried himself in me one last time with a loud moan.
He collapsed over me, his body slick and fevered. I twisted my hands again, wanting to touch him and soothe him through the aftershocks. He untied the fabric deftly, freeing me. I squinted against the light pouring into the room when he slipped off the mask.
Blake"s face was relaxed but his eyes were dark and serious. He stroked my face reverently, pushing tiny strands of hair away as we caught our breath.
"I missed your eyes. Next time I want to see them every minute I make love to you, all the way to the end. I want you to see what you do to me."
CHAPTER TWO.
"I love fashion."
I didn"t doubt it. Dressed in a sleek black designer wrap dress matched with heels that I would absolutely fall over in, Risa Corvi was very well maintained. Almost too put together. She didn"t have the effortless beauty that Alli carried, but nothing was out of place, from her shoulder-length jet-black hair to her fresh French manicure.
She came across as high-maintenance. I bet she got her eyebrows waxed like clockwork too. Sadly, I could probably take a few notes from her. I scanned her resume. For an entry-level candidate, she boasted some impressive work, but I was still skeptical about hiring a friend of a friend.
"I can see that. Tell me about some of the campaigns you"ve worked on."
Risa pulled out a large portfolio case with sections of printed material organized by campaign. Every page was aligned perfectly and the content was equally clean-cut and professional. Lots of stock photo models sporting fake and perfect smiles, because their retirement accounts were making them that happy. The technique was overused and a far cry from who we were as a company.
"This is great, Risa. But to be honest, these are very mainstream. We want to be mainstream, but we also want an edge to our brand that makes it feel young, exclusive, and hip."
"I completely understand. These are very safe. Obviously I was limited by what the client wanted here, but I could explore many more directions with Clozpin. We can do edgy high fashion and make it clean and elegant, you know? Simple but s.e.xy."
She talked a good game, but could she deliver? I flipped through the rest of the portfolio and studied her a moment.
"How do you feel about networking and sales? Landing new accounts is possibly the most critical component to this position. You can love fashion all day long, but you need to be able to sell it."
"Agreed, but it"s really difficult to sell something you don"t love. I can sell this service, and if I have to do after-hours events for the networking effort, I"m totally fine with that."
I sat back in my chair and weighed her words. She was hungry. No one could deny that. In the past couple weeks of interviews, I hadn"t come across anyone who exuded as much pa.s.sion as she had in the past five minutes.
We had no real office culture, so I had no idea how she would gel with Sid and his new troupe of techies. More importantly, how would she gel with me? The clock was ticking on getting our newly funded plans in place, and I needed to make a decision. Hiring her on the spot seemed rash, but she was basically perfect.
She took a deep breath. "Listen, I understand this is your baby, Erica. You seem like someone who would be great to work with and learn from. The decision is yours of course, but I"d really love to be a part of this team."
She bore into me with her dark blue eyes, waiting to pounce on the next interview question, no doubt.
"You"re fine with the pay?"
"Absolutely." She waved her hand definitively.
I clicked my pen, stalling even though I"d already made the decision. "Fine."
"Fine?"
"Let"s do this."
A huge smile spread across her face. "Really? Oh my G.o.d, you won"t regret it."
I stood, and when we shook hands, hers trembled slightly in my own. Wow, was she that nervous?
"You can start on Monday. We"ll sort out the paperwork when you get in."
"Awesome, thank you so much." The smile plastered all over her face wasn"t going anywhere, I could tell.
Alli stretched out on the blanket beside me while I tossed crumbs to the ducks in the pond. The public gardens were just a few blocks from my apartment, and on a beautiful warm day like today, the park was alive with families, tourists, and people like us. I"d cut out of work early to pick her up, and we decided some sunshine was the first item on the agenda for her long weekend visit with me.
"I forgot how much I love summer here." Her eyes were hazy and wistful, like her thoughts were here but also someplace else.
"You miss Boston yet?"
Alli propped up on her elbow. "I think I do. New York kind of sucks you into its vortex. Sometimes I have a hard time imagining my life outside the city, but I have to say, I am enjoying the change of scenery. I needed a break."
The past several weeks had been an adjustment for both of us. After three years of sharing a dorm to being two hundred miles away, our friendship had been strained. But deep down, I knew distance alone couldn"t shake what we had.
"No doubt. Any news from Heath?"
"He"s doing well."
"I thought maybe you"d go see him, you know, instead of me." I was glad she hadn"t, of course. After bringing her up to speed on everything that had happened between Blake and me and then having Mark show up seemingly out of nowhere, we"d both agreed that we needed face time.
"Friends first, b.i.a.t.c.h." She smiled and gave me a little poke.
I retaliated by aiming a few breadcrumbs at her perfectly tousled soft brown locks falling down her back.
"Do you think you"ll visit him in L.A.?"
"No. He needs his time there, and frankly, I need time too. I finally got my own place, and the move has been strangely liberating. Every day I felt like I was waiting for him there. Now I"m finally starting my life in the city, without every moment revolving around him and us."
I nodded, knowing full well how important independence could be in a new relationship. Keeping Blake at arm"s length was a constant struggle when I wanted nothing more than to be enveloped in the safety and security of his hyper-controlled world. Blake"s world was safe, but it wasn"t always reality.
"That makes sense. When does he get back from rehab?"
"Another month or so. Not sure yet."
"What then? Are you going to pick up the pieces and try again?"
"I think so. We haven"t made any commitments, but-" She lay back and stared up at the trees above us.
"What is it?"
"I just... I miss him. That"s all."
I paused, not wanting to push her either way. She was struggling with their separation, but I still wasn"t convinced Heath was good for her. Even if he was Blake"s little brother.
"Sometimes all I can hear is people judging us."
I cringed a little, praying she hadn"t read my expression or my mind.
"Like, what the f.u.c.k am I doing wasting my time with someone like him? My friends, even you, think he"s trouble, and I admit it, he"s got problems. But I can"t give up on us. He deserves another chance." She wiped away a tear before it had a chance to fall.
I lay down next to her on the blanket and waited for her to collect herself. Finding out Heath had a drug problem had been a shock, but I couldn"t ignore the fact that they were hopelessly in love. I"d never seen Alli so blissed out, and Heath had taken her there. I hoped she could do the same for him, enough to lure him away from an addiction that could ruin their chance for happiness together.
"Alli, I care about you, and I want you to be happy. If I come across as judgy, it"s because I"m worried about your well being, not because I question Heath"s value as a person. Trust me, I know full well that no one and no relationship is perfect. He"s got issues, but all hope is not lost, I"m sure."
She turned her head and gave me a weak smile. "Thanks."
"If he can get his s.h.i.t together, you can still make this work. Just be smart about it. That"s all I want."
She laughed. "I"m trying. I"m not very smart when it comes to being in love, I guess."
"Maybe this break is good. Obviously he needs to work through some of his own issues, but also you both can have time to really think about your relationship without being so wrapped up in the intensity of it."
"You"re right. I"m already getting into a better mind-set, you know, the more time we spend apart." She took a deep breath. "Anyway, enough about me and my problems. What about you and Blake? Is he still driving you crazy?"
"You know it."
"In a good way or a bad way?"
"Both, but we"re figuring it out."
She gave me a grin. "I think Blake has met his match with you, Erica."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, I"m sure you don"t take any of his s.h.i.t. Mr. Software Billionaire probably has no idea how to deal with you putting him in his place."
I laughed at the picture she drew of us. She might have been right. I couldn"t imagine many people challenging Blake the way I did. I did it for self-preservation though, not sport. Still, the tug of war drove us both crazy. Mostly good crazy.
"He keeps me on my toes, and he could probably say the same about me. Never a dull moment, that"s for sure." I smiled to myself and my heart did a little flip at the thought of him. Blake was full of challenges. I never knew what the h.e.l.l to expect from him, but that was just another part of our relationship that I couldn"t get enough of. The rush, the negotiating, and when the occasion called for it, the sweet surrender.
"Okay, the look on your face is making me nauseous."
I laughed. "Sorry."
"Don"t be. I"m just bitter and lonely. Anyway, stand your ground. I know you will, but those Landon men can be pretty d.a.m.n persuasive."
She looked serious for a minute, then a smile curved her lips and we burst into a fit of laughter.