Hardpressed (10 page)

He rose and gave me a gentle shove toward the bed. I flopped down, mindless and boneless.

“That was unexpected,” I said, my voice light, drunk on bliss.

“Well, you do hate networking, so maybe that’ll relax you.”

Laughter bubbled to the surface and I smiled, delirious and sated. Propped up on his elbow, Blake lay beside me with a satisfied smirk. I lowered my gaze and immediately recognized the outline of his erection through his tuxedo pants. This situation had become a little one-sided. His grin broadened and he stilled my hand as I moved toward him.

I puffed out my lower lip, disappointed with his refusal. “What now?”

“That can wait.”

“Why? We have time.” I thought so anyway. I’d lost all concept of space and time in my recent orgasmic blackout.

“Delayed gratification, my sweet. I’ll be bored as hell at this thing, so now I can imagine taking these thigh highs off you with my teeth and licking you from head to toe all night. By the time we get home, I’ll be ready to do some truly shameful things to you.”

My nipples hardened, grazing almost painfully inside the satin of my bra as my breasts swelled with each shaky inhale. Sometimes I was convinced he could make me come with words alone. I loved how dirty and honest he was when it came to sex. And from the sounds of it, he was coming to terms with my openness to his kinky ways. I only hoped he’d take me there in baby steps. I never knew where my limits were until Blake barreled through them.

“What kind of shameful things?” I asked, equally curious and anxious.

“I have a few ideas.”

“Do tell.”

“Hmm, no, I like surprising you too much. Plus, that’ll give you something to think about. Anticipation of the unknown.”

“Give me a hint.”

His eyes twinkled and he smirked. “Not a chance. Let’s get that beautiful dress on you before I lose my mind staring at you in all this lace.”

He pulled away but I brought him back to me, urging him down by his black lapels until our lips met. I was still reeling from the orgasm, and I had an inexplicable urge to taste myself on his lips. He kissed me back tenderly, brushing his fingers over my cheek. I got lost again, forgetting time and reality until he backed off gently.

“If you don’t let me go, baby, I’m going to make you come again. And then we’ll never get out of here because I can’t take much more.”

*

Guests glided along the museum’s hallways in their elegant attire. Blake and I followed, finding our way into an expansive enclosed courtyard. The room alone was breathtaking, with forty-foot floor-to-ceiling windows offering a view of the original building’s stone walls lit up against the summer night sky. I’d been to some fancy Harvard gigs before, but nothing like this.

I stopped at the balcony overlooking the party and took it all in.

“Beautiful,” Blake murmured in my ear.

“It’s breathtaking.” I stared in childish wonder.

He circled my waist and pulled me tightly to his side. I turned to meet his eyes. They burned into me with the stormy intensity I’d come to love, to crave.

“I wasn’t talking about the view.” He brushed his thumb over my lips and planted a chaste kiss there.

My heart did a flip as I breathed him in. The sights and sounds around us ceased to exist for a minute while I reveled in the work of art that was Blake.

A voice broke through my thoughts. Someone called my name in the distance. Daniel, arm-in-arm with Margo, approached our spot on the balcony. Daniel looked dapper in his tuxedo, and Margo wore a flowing emerald green satin gown that suited her slight frame and auburn hair.

I hesitated, unsure how to greet them in public until Margo came close to kiss my cheek.

“Erica, so good to see you. You look lovely.”

“Thank you. It’s wonderful to see you.”

The men shook hands and Daniel greeted me with a warm smile. An emotion passed over his face that was quickly masked by his perfected smile, even broader now.

“Beautiful, Erica. Landon is a lucky man.”

Blood rushed to my cheeks at his compliment.

“Is this vintage?” Margo ran her delicate fingertips over the velvet flourishes of my dress with obvious approval.

“Um, yes,” I answered nervously, my gaze darting to Daniel whose eyes betrayed him. In my girlish excitement over the dress, I’d never really thought that Daniel would notice it, let alone remember its origin. But by the pained look in his eyes, he did.

Daniel cleared his throat. “Well, why don’t we go mingle and see who we can introduce you to?”

“That would be wonderful,” I said quickly, eager to diffuse the awkward moment that only Daniel and I could fully understand.

Margo frowned slightly. “I can show Erica around a bit, sweetheart. Why don’t you two get a drink?”

Something passed between them without words. I couldn’t place it.

“Right. Let me buy you a scotch, Landon. Maybe I can talk you into making a donation to my campaign.”

Blake’s lips lifted a fraction. “I don’t do politics, but I’ll still take that scotch.”

Daniel laughed loudly and casually patted Blake on the shoulder. Margo swiftly hooked her thin arm into mine and led us down the broad staircase and into the crowd below.

“How have you been, dear?” She slowed enough to lift two glasses of champagne off of a passing tray and handed me one of the delicate flutes.

“Well. And you?”

“Well enough. The campaign has been stressful of course.”

“I can’t imagine. Daniel made it sound like things were promising though.”

“Numbers fluctuate, predictions shift. We’re slipping behind, but he tells me everything can change at the last minute.” She shrugged and gave me a half smile.

“There’s still time. I’m sure he has the best people working for him.”

“He does, I know that. I just worry. He needs all his energies on this effort to pull through ahead.”

She held me in her gaze, as if she wanted to tell me more. I waited for her to continue.

“He speaks of you often, Erica. I know he wants a relationship, to make something out of this new development with you. But if you care for him, you’ll give him some space until the election is over. He needs to win this, and God forbid if anything came out about your relationship… It could be devastating. Do you understand, dear?”

I swallowed down the last of the champagne, hoping she couldn’t see the way her words hurt me. I hadn’t pursued him since our last meeting for this very reason. I hoped she understood that he’d invited me, not the other way around. She wasn’t being mean, but that didn’t lessen the sting of her feelings about my potential involvement in her husband’s life.

“Of course. I—I’ll keep my distance. Shouldn’t be hard since our lives don’t exactly overlap.”

She took my hand, gave it a light squeeze, and smiled. “Thank you.”

Feeling suffocated by her words, I scanned the room, already wishing I were connected enough to know any of the people around me, until I stopped suddenly on two familiar faces.

“Will you excuse me, Margo? I see a friend.”

She nodded. I crossed the room toward Risa, clad in a solid black gown with a dangerously low backline.

“Erica, hi! You look gorgeous.”

“Thanks, you too.”

She returned my smile and we both looked up to the gentleman I’d interrupted with my arrival.

“Erica, I think you know Max.”

“Of course.”

“You look well, Erica.”

Max gave me a slow once over that ended with a slanted smile. I had forgotten how dashing he could look, his short blond hair and tanned skin contrasting against the bright white of his tuxedo shirt. In fact, I was surprised I hadn’t found Risa melted into a puddle at his feet based on her obvious and unabashed approval of the gorgeous men who’d graced our office. If I found her flirting at James’s desk one more time, I was probably going to have to say something. For his sake.

“Likewise.”

“Risa tells me the site is doing well.”

I glanced at Risa and realized, gratefully, that she had no idea what had gone on between us. I hadn’t seen or spoken to Max since Blake blew the deal we’d been minutes from finalizing. I’d flown out of the Angelcom boardroom in a tearful rage, unable to really explain what had happened. With that, our working relationship had been effectively severed, since Blake wouldn’t have anything to do with him when it came to investments, and vice versa.

“So far, so good. We have high hopes for growth now that we have Risa on the team.”

“No doubt. She’s been working the room like a pro.”

She slapped his arm playfully and laughed. “Well, Max has been introducing me, so I can’t take all the credit.”

Risa exuded a mix of excitement and bashfulness that most guys probably ate up. She was pretty and came across as sweet. She could get what she wanted though, and I was interested to see how she went about it. Especially with someone like Max. If she could play the high-powered playboy, I’d be nothing short of impressed.

The three of us made small talk until Max’s focus shifted from us.

“MacLeod. Good to see you. Enjoying the party?” Max reached out to shake the hand of the other tuxedo-clad guest whose dark brown eyes gleamed when they met mine.

“Working on it.”

“Erica, this is—”

“How are you, Mark?” I interrupted Max’s introduction and forced myself to hold Mark’s steady gaze. Inside, alarms were going off and my heart beat loudly against my chest. But I refused to show him any weakness.

“Much better now,” he murmured.

Max grinned, mirroring Mark’s lascivious gaze on me. I tightened my grip around my clutch and harnessed all my energies to appear polite and unaffected, keenly aware that my reaction to Mark’s proximity would be noted by those around us. Of course the two men would know each other from business dealings with Daniel’s firm, but Max was the last person who needed to know about my dark past with Mark.

I’d known I might see Mark here, and I’d swore I’d keep it together if by chance I did. If Daniel would be in my life, at any point, Mark would continue to make appearances. I couldn’t have a panic attack every time he did.

No longer a ghost, Mark had become real. All too real. A tangible creature with a name, a past, with vulnerabilities and weaknesses as real as my own. I tried to remember all this as he shamelessly drank me in.

“How about a dance?”

I masked my disgust at the suggestion. Max and Risa looked at us expectantly.

“Maybe later. I need a refill.” I tipped up my empty glass. I’d need way more than a glass to consider the request.

“I’ll get you one. Go, dance.” Max winked and took my glass.

Max had never given me cause to hate him. Even with Blake’s warnings, I had often questioned whether his intentions were as malicious as he’d made them seem. Now I hated him for reasons he’d never understand.

Mark captured my hand and pulled me to the dance floor, his grip tight. I moved mechanically to follow him, swept too quickly into the situation to game plan an exit. He slowed and swung me close to him. A wave of nausea washed over me at the sudden contact of our bodies. I tensed, certain that becoming physically ill on the dance floor would not bode well for whatever I’d hoped to achieve professionally tonight.

“Relax,” he crooned, bringing us so close his mouth was at my ear, his breath hot and moist on my skin.

Every place our bodies connected sent shockwaves of pain through my system. Years of loathing the man and the memories he’d given me were programmed into my brain, telling my body to fight. I clenched my jaw and took a deep breath through my gritted teeth, not because he wanted me to, but because I was determined to get through this without completely freaking out.

“Why are you doing this?” My voice was unsteady. I wished I sounded more in control than I felt.

“Can’t stay away. I think I’ve missed you. So glad I had Daniel invite you. I had a feeling you’d come when he asked.”

“What do you want from me? Just let me be, please.”

“I think you know.”

His mouth brushed against my neck and my whole body froze, panic taking over. My focus blurred with the tears that threatened. Couples all around us smiled and danced, but I couldn’t see Blake anywhere. Max and Risa stood beyond the dance floor chatting. They were no help to me now.

He can’t hurt you here.
Logic’s voice was quiet and easily overwhelmed by the loud and alarming thoughts reeling through my mind. He’d gotten to me once, despite a circle of friends and a crowd. I could put nothing past him.

“You know, I can still remember everything about that night.”

The only benefit of being so close was that I couldn’t see his face. His face, the terrible sneering smile that was permanently embedded in my memory. I shut my eyes, trying to block everything out, but I remembered it all.

“Was that your first time? Must have been. You were so tight. So scared.”

I fought the urge to heave and I tried to push away when he seized my wrist in a vise-like grip, pulling our bodies even closer with his other arm.

“I love a good fight, but let’s not make a scene at Daddy’s party, shall we?”

“Let me go. Please,” I pleaded. I started trembling uncontrollably. Ghost or man, I had to get away.

The band slowed to the end of the song.

When I thought I might actually scream, Mark finally loosened his hold and released me.

“Until next time, Erica.” He smirked.

I stepped away, relaxing only slightly at the separation. I tried to orient myself on the dance floor. Where was Blake? I needed to get out of here. The music started back up and people began moving around us, talking and laughing. Everything felt like chaos around me.

“Is everything all right?” Daniel came from behind, circling me with Margo by his side.

The reality that Daniel was tied to Mark, this horrible person who’d damn near ruined me for good, was more than I could bear. I turned without answering and left the dance floor, escaping down a hallway that led to the outdoor courtyard.

The courtyard was aglow from the tiny holiday lights wrapped around the trees that lined a brick path. As soon as I stepped outside, I took a deep breath of the night air. I was dizzy, my fingers were tingling, and I knew from experience I was on the verge of hyperventilating. The cool air washed over my skin, which was now covered by a thin sheen of perspiration, a remnant of the past few minutes of sheer panic.