Hardwired (The Hardwired Series 1)(46)

He pulled away abruptly, leaving me bereft, but the discomfort of not being connected was soon derailed by the knowledge that I was being led from the dance floor and down a hallway away from the chaos that once surrounded us.

We traveled farther until the hallway split. On the left, a tall thickly-built man stood guard near a door. Blake approached the bouncer and pressed a bill into his hand, who nodded toward the door. We entered what appeared to be another private VIP area. A2n ambient light filled the room, which was quite large and entirely unoccupied. Dark red velvet couches lined the walls along two sides, and along another a private bar lit up with everything a good party might need.

“What is this?”

Blake closed the door behind us and wasted no time pinning me to it.

“This is where I’m going to f*ck you without interruptions.”

He hitched my leg over his hip and pressed into me. I gasped as he ground into me, connecting with my clit in just the right way.

Blake’s hands were everywhere as he kissed me. He massaged my breasts through the tight thin fabric before freeing them easily from the strapless top. I spilled out of the dress and he caught my nipple in his mouth, palming my other breast with his hand. A violent craving burned inside me, so potent I would have done nearly anything in that moment if not for the niggling doubt that lingered.

One last time, I thought. But how many times will you end up telling yourself that? My inner voice could be a real bitch sometimes, but I kept her around for a reason.

“Wait.”

Blake’s hand slammed against the door beside me. “Christ, Erica. Wait for what?”

“I want you, Blake. More than anything else right now or possibly ever. But I can’t share you with someone else.”

“Jesus, who said anything about sharing?” He shoved his hands through his hair and stepped back.

The anger combined with the sexual energy coming off of him scared me. I’d seen him wound tight before, but not like this.

“I don’t know what’s between you and Sophia, and I’m not about to tell you how to live your life. I get the whole casual sex thing, but the way I feel about you…I just don’t think I can do it.” I rubbed at the tightness in my chest.

Blake wasn’t like the other guys I’d been with. In fact he was nowhere close to them, and being with him had turned my entire philosophy on sex and relationships upside down. Now I was falling hard for him, and the idea of him being with Sophia, now or ever, was more than I could bear. An infidelity with Blake would break me.

“What makes you think I’m having casual sex with Sophia? Because I’d like to have words with whoever is telling you these things.”

I stared at him. “She implied that you were—I just assumed…”

He grimaced, as if he’d just tasted something unpleasant. “Well, I’ll be speaking with her then. But you need to know that there is absolutely nothing between us. There hasn’t been for years.”

“Yes, Heath corroborated your story already,” I said, cutting him short.

“It’s not a story. It’s the truth. What the hell do I have to do for you to believe me?”

“I don’t know,” I said, wilting against the door, wishing my conscience could just shut up and let us be.

Blake closed the distance between us, holding my shoulders and stroking the tops of my arms with his thumbs, sending waves of relief over me.

“You were being so cold, so distant earlier,” I whispered, barely audible over the hum of the music outside. “I never know what you’re thinking,”

He sighed. “I’m not exactly used to women running away from me, at least with the frequency that you do. Give me a chance to figure this out.”

Our eyes met and my heart stopped.

“Erica—” He tipped my face to meet his.

He kissed me deeply and slowly, exploring every opportunity to tantalize me with his tongue, making my knees impossibly weaker.

“You’re the only one I want.”

“You’re mine.” I breathed back into him, drunk on his taste and scent.

“If you could stop running away from me for five goddamn minutes, I could have told you that.”

My lips lifted and I kissed him again, licking and teasing. He growled in response, lifting me up and coaxing my legs around him.

“Now let me show you,” he said.

I nodded. I couldn’t speak for tomorrow or the day after that, but nothing else would come between us tonight. He slid his hands under my skirt, and with a sudden jerk, he ripped the delicate fabric of my panties. He tossed them to the side, carried me to one of the long velvet couches, and laid me down. He lowered himself above me, caging me with his arms. I arched toward him, knowing it wouldn’t be long now before he was inside me again, where I’d wanted him ever since I left him days ago. He pinned me with his hips, rocking into me, a promise of what was to surely come. I unbuttoned his shirt quickly and my nipples dragged across the soft hairs of his chest.

He fingered me gently, gliding through my wet folds and curling up to reach the sensitive spot inside of me while kneading the hard knot of my clit with the heel of his hand. I quivered on the edge of release. He slowed and made his way south, trailing kisses along my inner thigh.

I tried to urge him back up to me with little success. “Please, Blake, don’t make me wait.”