Hardwired (The Hardwired Series) (Volume 1) (11 page)

“Do you have something in mind, Erica?” Blake left his post at the desk and stalked closer.

I had reached the cut off for the amount of time I could safely spend alone with him. Like a drug, his presence was potent. I bit my lip at the fantasy of him being my living breathing dessert plate.

Get a grip, Erica
.

I snapped out of my reverie and straightened. “Do you have your fancy car here?”

“I do. And no, you can’t drive it,” he teased.

“I need to grab some household things for the apartment. Give me a ride, and I’ll make you chicken parm tonight.”

“I’m ready when you are.”

We spent the next hour in a large department store, filling the cart with kitchenware, towels, and bedding. I grabbed the cheapest sheet set I could find in a color I liked, but Blake wordlessly put them back and replaced them with a 400-thread count set at thrice the price. I didn’t argue since I was relying on him for transportation at the moment. Beyond that, he behaved, though he obviously hadn’t shopped for much on his own in years.

At the checkout, I was so busy organizing bags in the heaping cart that I didn’t notice Blake slide his credit card through before it was too late.

“What the hell, Blake?” I protested.

“Call it your housewarming present.”

“Absolutely not. You’re being ridiculous.”

“It’s the least I can do. I did basically force you into living next door to me.”

“Below you,” I said.

“That’s how I like you,” he murmured, his eyes darkening.

Those few little words rendered me speechless and I heated from head to toe. My hands trembled a bit as I stuffed the receipt into my purse.

Blake insisted I wait in the car while he loaded the bags. We rode back to the apartment in relative silence. I stared at the screen between us and remembered the call that had come in the last time I was with him here.

“So who’s Sophia,” I asked. I feigned disinterest, looking out the window as buildings sped by us.

“She owns a company I invest in,” he said. “Why do you ask?”

“I was just curious.”

I shrugged and spotted our brownstone. So far Blake hadn’t blatantly lied to me about anything, but he had a penchant for misleading me. For now I decided to believe him and put the subject out of my mind.

Blake brought everything upstairs for me. He ascended the steps, his arms lined with about ten bags each while I hurried to unlock the door.

Just as we started putting things away, Sid walked in. Blake straightened immediately from his task of folding towels, which he was doing all wrong but I didn’t have the heart to tell him.

“Sid, hey. This is Blake. Blake, you remember me talking about Sid, our developer.”

Blake visibly relaxed and the twitch in his jaw disappeared. What was with him and staking his claim in my apartment? Sid could be easily agitated, so the last thing I needed was for Blake to make him uncomfortable on day one.

“Sure,” he said, walking over to shake Sid’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
 

Sid towered over him but his arms were about half the diameter of Blake’s. The two men could not have been more different, in physicality or temperament.

“You too. And you are?”

“I’m Erica’s neighbor,” Blake said quickly.

A pang of disappointment shot through me. What had I expected him to say?

“I guess you’re my neighbor too then.” Sid shrugged out of his enormous hiking backpack.

The twitch was back, and the taut line of Blake’s jaw made me question my grand plan.

“Great,” he said.

I walked over quickly, hoping to neutralize the situation that Sid had no idea he’d just walked into. “Yeah, Sid is going to crash here until we figure out the financing thing. Dorms close this week, you know.”

“Right,” Blake said, running his hand through his hair.

I’d fill Sid in on Blake’s association with Angelcom later. In the meantime, I had a kitchen to organize, a meal to cook, and an awkward dinner to host.

I showed Sid his room. All I had was the blow up mattress and bedding that would have to do until we got some real furniture. He didn’t seem to care much, so I returned to the kitchen and started prepping the meal. Before I knew it, Blake was behind me. He spun me around.

“You never told me about the roommate.”

His voice was low and serious enough to set my heart beating a mile a minute. Was he angry? I couldn’t really tell, but I felt like a child about to go to time-out.

Inviting Sid to be my roommate had been a rash decision, granted. I knew how he lived, typically in a pile of pop tart wrapper rubble, and it worried me a bit. But in truth, I wasn’t ready to live solo anyway, and I could use his presence at the apartment to deter Blake’s advances, though it wasn’t working at present.

I swallowed hard before replying. “You haven’t exactly been straightforward with me either, Blake. I don’t know what you expect.”

“It’s a complication. I suppose we’ll have to work around it.”

“Oh?”

“We’ll just be spending a lot more time upstairs is all.”

He stepped between my legs and lifted my knee over his thigh with a single fluid motion. My breath rushed out of me, and I gripped the edge of the counter as he pinned me to it. He pressed a hot kiss on my neck before taking my earlobe between his teeth.

I gasped at the sensation and held on tight and squeezed my eyes shut, reminding myself of every good reason not to give in to him. There was a line with Blake. On one side of it, I wanted him desperately, but somehow I could muster the willpower to refuse him. We were on the other side of that line, where I was completely at his mercy, helpless against his determination to have me.

His hands crept under my shirt and stroked the bare skin of my back, the contact sending me into orbit. My nipples hardened and brushed against his chest as I arched into him.

“I need you, Erica. Tonight.” He pressed the evidence of his desire into me.

His mouth was on mine before I could say no, obliterating any remote ideas about putting him off again. He kissed me hard and deep, sucking and licking with an urgency I fully met. I finally released my hands and raked my fingers through his hair, urging him closer. He pulled back to catch his breath, and I gripped him tighter, willing him back to me.

There we were, Blake’s hands on their way up my skirt, each of us on fire for the other, when Sid shuffled out of his bedroom and stopped short in the living room.

I froze, petrified by being caught in the act. With Sid entirely out of his view, Blake slowly retreated. He gave me a little smirk, letting me know our little show had gone according to his plan. He adjusted himself before turning around and busying himself with something at the island.

Flustered by my desire and newfound irritation, I channeled my emotions into the food, ignoring Blake’s requests to help. We were obviously playing a game, but I was already growing tired of it. The only move I could think up was to ignore him, to not give him what we both wanted even though I was ready to combust with sexual frustration. If I could get a handle on that, maybe he’d learn I wasn’t someone to toy with.

Somehow we all made it through dinner. I ate at the counter. Both Sid and Blake devoured my mother’s chicken parmesan at the breakfast bar. We needed real furniture at some point. Buying furniture worthy of the space while on a budget would be a challenge, but not impossible. I resolved to do a little bargain shopping after I finalized my presentation notes in the morning.

Now more than ever, I needed this to feel like home, a safe place away from the rest of the world. Right now the apartment was barren and strange. Between that, Alli being out of my immediate life, and Blake’s mission to turn my world upside down, I felt as if I were dangling precariously, hanging on for dear life to any semblance of normalcy.

Blake must have picked up on my withdrawal, because when we finished cleaning up, he let me know he was taking off. I walked him to the door, and Sid disappeared on cue.

“Are you okay?” Blake’s eyes, not so long ago clouded with the heat of lust, were now filled with concern.

“I’m fine, just tired. It’s been a long day.” It was only half of the truth but I didn’t have the energy to talk it out or bicker with him.

“Do you want a ride to the office tomorrow?”

“No, thanks. I’d rather just finish up here. I have some errands to run.”

He nodded, and when he leaned in for a kiss, I turned my head, narrowly escaping his lips on my own. I closed my eyes. As much as I wanted to make a point, I dreaded the look in his eyes. When I opened them, he had disappeared up the stairs.

I shut the door and leaned against it. My face fell into my hands. How the hell had I gotten into this mess?

I spent the morning shopping IKEA online and picked out a bedroom set, figuring I would will my futon to Sid eventually. I also ordered a small dining room table and matching chairs, and a few other odds and ends. I scoured the classifieds and found a decent used couch that someone could deliver for an extra few bucks. Sid had already moved in his television and gaming systems, which sat in the otherwise bare living area.

This apartment might be the closest thing to a real home that I’d had since my mother passed. Of course now I was sharing it with Sid, but who knew how long that would last? I clung to the thought of this being home, my home, giving the word new meaning with this new chapter of my life that was filled with so many unknowns.

For the past four years, more even, I’d had everything planned out. Now I had no idea what to expect from my future. I had only my intuition to guide me. Unfortunately Blake was marching all over my intuition. I wasn’t expecting a man like him—and everything that came with him—in my life.

Unable to concentrate on work, I slapped down the screen of my laptop. I needed some fresh air. Thanks to Blake’s chauffeuring me around and the new living situation, I’d been cooped up inside most of the day.

I stepped outside and walked the length of the street, keeping a keen eye out for a celebrity sighting, until the grass-lined walking path ended. There I settled on an empty bench and let the sun warm my skin. The day was mild, still too cool for the beach but perfect for being outside comfortably.

I decided to call Alli. I missed her too much already. After several rings she picked up.

“Hello?” she answered, her voice hoarse.

“Are you okay? You sound sick.”

“I’m fine. Long night.”

“Who are these friends you’re staying with?” I asked, suddenly concerned.

“I was with Heath.”

“Oh.”

“What can I say? He parties like a rockstar.” She let out a weak laugh.

“On a Thursday night? When do you start work?”

“Monday, and you can stop worrying now. We’re just having fun. Plus I’m meeting some new people here. Making connections for us.”

“Okay.” Though what great connection partied all night on a Thursday?

 
“So how are things with you?”

“Pretty good. The new apartment is great.”

“Ugh, I’m so jealous. The apartments here are ridiculous. I feel like I’m shopping for closets.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I could end up on one of those hoarder shows in a few months. I invited Sid to come stay with me. The new can collection has begun.”

She laughed. “Oh shit. Okay, I’m not jealous anymore. At least I won’t have to share my closet, if I’m lucky.”

I laughed and agreed.

“What’s new with Blake?”

I told her about the housing situation, which didn’t surprise her as much as I thought it would. Maybe Heath had already clued her in to Blake’s over-controlling tendencies. Thankfully she didn’t grill me on whether I intended to keep our one-nighter just that, because I was still trying to figure it out myself.

“So when are you going to come visit me?” she asked.

“I guess when we both get settled. We’ll see how things go with Max. I should be able to visit after that.”

Alli filled me in on all the fun spots she was discovering in the city that we’d go to eventually. In the middle of our conversation, Blake beeped in. I promised to call her later and answered Blake’s call.

“Hey, the site went offline a few minutes ago.”

My stomach fell. “What? How do you know?” The site had gone down before, which obviously wasn’t good, but I needed everything to be perfect for my meeting with Max tomorrow.

“I set up a program to ping me if the site went down.”

“Why?”

“Erica, can we focus on the issue at hand?” He sounded more irritated than I should have been, considering it was my website we were talking about. “Can you put Sid on?”

I didn’t like being pushed to the side, but this was not my department.

“I’m out right now, but I can be home in a few minutes.”

“Give me his number, I’ll call him.”

“Don’t bother. I’ll call you back in a bit.”

Back at the apartment, I knocked quietly on Sid’s door, then louder. He was never up this early. Eventually I walked in, determined to wake him from his sleep coma. He was fully dressed and passed out face down on a sheetless air mattress.

“Sid!” I yelled, breaking the silence of an otherwise quiet and peaceful morning.

He groaned and rolled over. “What?”

“The site’s down.”

“Oh,” he said, unmoving.

“Blake called. He wants to talk to you.”

“I need caffeine,” he grumbled.

I groaned, in no mood for his pissy morning routine. “I’ll be back with some energy drinks. Get up and figure out what the hell is going on.” I left my phone on his desk with Blake’s number up and walked down the street to the convenience store.

A few minutes later, I returned to find Sid frowning at his computer screen, analyzing what, from past experience, looked like the server logs. These held answers about the site’s activity that I had no idea how to interpret. I heard clicking noises coming out of my phone, which was set on speaker.

“It looks like they’re attacking the log in script and bombarding the server with requests so the host shut us down,” Sid said.