The Unblocked Collection (37 page)

“Jesus.”

“What?”

“What? I really need to elaborate?” He held his phone in his hand to take notes, but I didn’t know that he had actually typed anything. “I’m not sure I heard a thing you just said. You lost me after ‘pampered.’”

He was mocking me. “So I like her. What the fuck is wrong with that?”

“I don’t know…what the fuck
is
wrong with that?”

His point was made.

“So what, then?” I asked.

“You keep talking about her and wine…there’s a winery in Maine that’s about three and a half hours from here. They give private tours and tastings, and there’s a nice hotel not too far from there.”

“Book it for her and Brea. A spa day, too, and hire a driver to take them there and back.”

“I’ll put something together and have it delivered to her in the next hour.” He turned and left.

“Thanks, Will,” I called out.

It was a good gift, not forcing her to spend time with me, but with her best friend. It would show her I wasn’t just all about myself; that her feelings mattered too. And it was something I thought she’d really like…until I got her email a few hours later.

FROM:
Jordan, Frankie

TO:
Block, Derek

SENT:
April 30, 3:29pm

SUBJECT:
Your gift.

Thank you for the gift. However, I can’t accept it. A messenger will be returning it. My forgiveness can’t be bought, Derek, and I’m appalled that you would even try.

She was angrier than I thought. It made me want to lick those spicy lips and feel their fire. If she thought that email was going to deter me, she didn’t know me at all. Without realizing it, she had given me what I’d wanted and that was a response.

FROM:
Block, Derek

TO:
Jordan, Frankie

SENT:
April 30, 3:31pm

SUBJECT:
YOUR gift.

If you don’t want it, then give it to Brea. I’m not taking it back.

I’ll be at your office at 7:00. We need to talk.

FROM:
Jordan, Frankie

TO:
Block, Derek

SENT:
April 30, 3:32pm

SUBJECT:
I just laughed out loud.

If you need to talk, call Brea’s extension. She can help you with anything you need.

I won’t be here at 7:00, and neither will you.

My hands clenched over my keyboard, a keyboard I wanted to rub over her pussy, teasing her with every key, so I could keep a taste of her in my office.

She knew I wanted her, that my dick was hard when I was around her and she was denying me. Testing me. She was making me work harder than I ever had.

My pink ivory was so fucking worth it.

FROM:
Block, Derek

TO:
Jordan, Frankie

SENT:
April 30, 3:34pm

SUBJECT:
7:00 tonight.

I’ll be at your building and I expect you to let me in. If not, you’ll have to leave eventually and I’ll be in the lobby when you do. I’ll sleep there if I have to.

I watched the screen, waiting for her reply to come in. She had more power over me than I’d ever allowed a woman to have, and she was using it to control me. But she was hurt, and she had every right to be. I
would
fix it.

I would fix all of it.

FROM:
Jordan, Frankie

TO:
Block, Derek

SENT:
April 30, 3:43pm

SUBJECT:
Make it 6:00.

You’ll get five minutes, before I head out for the night. Nothing more.

And don’t be late.

I wouldn’t be late. And because I intended on making things right, I wouldn’t be leaving without my tongue going inside her pussy. Whatever plans she had, she would be canceling. Tonight was our night together. She didn’t know that yet…but she would soon.

FRANKIE

I HEARD DEREK’S KNOCK
on my front door, but I halted before opening it. He needed to know I wasn’t standing by, rushing to him just because he appeared. He needed to learn how to wait.

When I finally cracked the door, he was leaning against the frame, much closer than I expected. I smelled him instantly: spice, cedar, cold fall air. All man. His beard had been trimmed, but it was still bushy and full, though neater around the edges. His dark jeans outlined his muscular thighs; a red and white flannel hugged his chest. There was a time when I would have been turned off by his appearance, when I had considered it coarse and off-putting. Now I looked at him and my body filled with lust.

How could I be so furious with him, so disappointed, and still want him this much?

I could have easily wrapped my hands around his collar and pulled him against me, begging him with kisses to take me right there in the entryway. But that would have proven nothing but the power he had over me. There would be no consequences for his inconsideration.

I deserved an apology. And until that happened, nothing else would.

“Are you going to let me in?”

That voice…it was probably safer to shut the door and tell him we could discuss whatever he wanted, but it would have to be over the phone.

Knowing he would never agree to that, I turned and walked away, moving into the kitchen. I hadn’t had a drink yet, and I hadn’t had a desire to until I saw his face and now everything inside me was screaming for a splash of liquid calm. As I glanced over my shoulder, his eyes rose from my ass and slowly met mine. That made me smile, but I didn’t let him see it. I’d worn these yoga pants and tiny tank top just for him because of how much of my body they showed. “Want a drink? I have beer.”

“What kind?”

“An IPA.” I’d kept some on hand after he’d spent the night, but I would never admit that to him.

“Perfect.” He left a gap, during which I said nothing. “Thank you.”

That was different.

I poured one into a mug and handed it to him, got a glass of wine for myself and made sure the granite island stayed between us at all times. He backed up against the fridge and stared into my eyes…and I let him. He was the one who finally broke the silence. “I shouldn’t have left you waiting at the restaurant. It was wrong.”

“You’re right. It was.”

He tilted his chin and gazed at me through his lashes. They were long and thick, and the blue of his eyes looked even deeper in this light. I could feel his hands on my body, his lips on my nipples when he looked at me that way. It almost made me stop breathing.

“I’m sorry, Frankie.”

”I know.”

He smirked.

“Apology accepted.”

He stepped forward toward the island and set his mug down, leaning into the counter. “That doesn’t sound sincere.”

I shrugged. “It’s as sincere as it’s going to get.”

“Tell me what will make you happy.”

As much heat as I was feeling on the inside, I remained cold when speaking to him. “I want an explanation…why you’d make plans with me and then stand me up.”

“I’m not used to explaining my actions.” He took a deep breath. “Hayden is the only person in my life who demands things from me. No one else dares to.”

“Well,
I
dare to, Derek. Your dominance doesn’t intimidate me.”

The expression on his face was animalistic. “It should.” He took a step closer. “Because do you know what I want to do to you right now? I want to slide you up against that wall,” his eyes pointed to the one behind me, “clench your earlobe between my teeth, and tell you how good you feel, while I fuck your ass so hard, every soul in this goddamn building will hear your moaning…”

My God.

Moisture began to dampen my folds. I’d felt his fingers in that hole, but never his dick. I didn’t know if I could handle it. The thought was as nerve-wracking as it was exciting.

I took a sip of my wine, holding it in my mouth while I contemplated which direction to take this. “I’ll make a deal with you.”

“There are no deals.”

“I can very easily ignore the apology you just gave me and ask you to leave. So I suggest you hear me out.”

He ran his fingers over his beard, a low growl coming from his lips. “What do you have in mind?”

“I’ll give you my ass, but you have to explain to me what happened last night.”

“When I want your ass, I’ll take it.”

“Appease me, or you won’t be taking anything from me… ever.”

He stared at his hands that were wrapped around the edge of the counter, his fingers turning white from his grip. “As I was leaving Timber Towers to meet you last night, someone stopped by unexpectedly. Getting them to leave took longer than I intended.” I remembered that tone: it was the one he had used the night of the gala when we had been interrupted on the patio. “I called you before I left, but you didn’t answer. When I got to the restaurant, you were already gone.”

“Who was it?” If his tone hadn’t changed so drastically, I wouldn’t have asked, but the person was obviously significant. I wanted to know about the part of his life that he wouldn’t let me into, even if it was just a peek.

“Someone I have a long history with. But don’t worry, if I’m ever late again, you will get a phone call.”

“Was it a woman?”

His teeth clenched. “No. It was a man.”

“What’s his name?”

“It doesn’t matter. I took care of it.”

It did matter. All of this mattered.

I moved to his side of the counter, stopping when there was just a foot of space between us. “What you’ve told me is probably more than you’ve told anyone in a while—maybe ever. But Derek, you were relentless the other night when you were trying to pull information out of me and—”

“His name is Randy. Now turn the fuck around and put your hands on the counter.”

“The same man from the gala?” I asked, ignoring his command.

His hands moved to my waist, gripping it so tightly I could feel the anger pulsing through his body and the breath halting in mine. “Yes.”

“Why do you hate him so much?”

His rough exhale blew into my face. I didn’t know how it was possible, but the scent of it made me even wetter. “When you fuck with the people I care about, you become an enemy… and if you hurt them, I will destroy you.”

A shiver ran through my body.

“Which category does he fall into?”

This was more than he had ever shared, more than I thought I would get out of him. If I had heard anyone else say this, I might have been frightened. But Derek’s protective nature was comforting.

His gaze shifted between my eyes, his hands tightened on my waist. “I’ve held up my end of the deal.”

The tone of his voice told me his answer, and it only led to more questions. Who was Randy? And why did Derek want to destroy him?

“You have,” I agreed. He watched my hand as I touched his stomach. I could feel the hardness of his abs, even through the thick flannel. My fingers made a circuit around his defined chest, then I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Before I give you what you want, I need something from you.”

His exhale was rough again. “Then ask.”

I tilted my neck back and looked up at him, shifting my body even closer. His erection pressed into me, intensifying the throb between my legs as I held onto his neck even tighter. “I want you to kiss me.”