Hard Limit

by Meredith Wild

  “I have a handful of apps built for major platforms that will be releasing in a few months.”

  “How quickly do you think you can bring more apps to the marketplace?”

  “It depends on funding. I need a lot more developers who specialize in different platforms working on multiple projects. Right now it’s pretty much just me.”

  “Do you have more ideas already mapped out?” I asked.

  “I have several. The technical specifications are ready to go. I just need more hands on deck to build them out so we can release them before someone else does.”

  I nodded, doing some quick math, matching up his funding request with the timeline in front of us. I glanced to the side, hoping what I saw in Blake’s eyes was interest. He looked back to Geoff before I could try to read him.

  “Okay, Geoff, I think we’ve covered all the basics. Do you have anything else?”

  Geoff shook his head. “I think that’s the gist of it, unless you have more questions.”

  Blake glanced around, an unspoken last call for questions. When met with silent nods, he prompted the gentlemen on the other side of us to speak. “What do we think, gentlemen? Ready to decide?”

  The first man, one who’d sat in on my pitch, quickly passed. He’d passed on mine as well. Geoff worried the inside of his cheek.

  The next two investors passed, and I was fully anxious for Geoff now. His gaze landed on Blake, the familiar terror of being unilaterally rejected plain on his features. Blake clicked his pen a few times.

  “I will…” He paused, taking another moment to tap the pen to his lips. “I think I will defer to Miss Hathaway on this one.”

  He gestured to me at his side. My jaw fell open slightly. I loved Geoff’s concept, but as the seconds ticked by, I hoped that Blake would be the one to make the move. With his arm over the back of his chair, Blake gave me a crooked smile. Damn him.

  Geoff now looked as confused as he was terrified, his face even paler than it had been.

  “I like it,” I said quickly.

  Geoff’s face brightened. “You do?”

  “I do. I like everything about it so far. I think it has incredible promise. I’d love to hear more about your specific app ideas.”

  A broad smile split his face. “Thank you so much. Whatever you need to know—”

  “How does next week look for you, Geoff?” Blake interjected, shifting Geoff’s attention away from me.

  “Next week is perfect. Um, anytime that works for you, of course.”

  “Great. We’ll have Greta set something up in reception.” Blake glanced to the other men. “Gentlemen, thank you for coming. I think we’re good to wrap up.”

  Gradually the other investors rose with us.

  Geoff gathered his notes and circled the large table to where I stood. “Thank you so much for this opportunity.”

  “No problem. I’m excited to check out some of the things you’ve built.” I gave him a warm smile and shook his hand. “I’m Erica Hathaway, by the way.”

  Blake rose by my side and held out his hand next, his palm meeting Geoff’s in a firm grasp. “She’ll be Erica Landon in a few weeks. I’m Blake, her fiancé.”

  Geoff’s smiled broadened. “Great to meet you, Mr. Landon. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “Yeah? Well, it’s all true.” Blake laughed quietly before his attention diverted across the room. “Excuse me. I have to go talk to someone quick. But congrats, Geoff. Erica has very discriminating tastes, so you’re lucky to have her in your corner.”

  I rolled my eyes and nudged Blake’s arm, urging him off. “Go away and let us chat.”

  Blake grinned and left us.

  “Sorry. He’s… Well, don’t feel bad. He horrified me at my first pitch.”

  “You pitched here?”

  I shrugged, in disbelief that I was now sitting on the other side of that table after a matter of months. “Yeah, that’s kind of how we met.”

  “Wow. He must have really liked your idea.”

  I laughed and fought the blush that I felt certain was coloring my face. He liked something.

  “Blake is a great person to have on your team. He’s taught me a lot.” I reached into my purse and handed him my card. “Here’s my info if you need to reach out to me for anything. I might contact you with a few more questions before our meeting. I need to let all that information marinate for a bit though.”

  “Of course.” He studied the card closely. “Clozpin?”

  “That’s my startup.” I decided not to mention that Blake refused to print my Angelcom cards until I changed my name. Damn, the man was possessive.

  Geoff looked up, his elated smile now a seemingly permanent feature on his face. “Awesome. I can’t wait to check it out.”

  “I’ll be in touch, okay?”

  “Great, thanks again.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  As Geoff turned to leave with the others, Blake spoke in quiet tones to someone through the open door. I leaned back against the table, waiting for him to return. He closed the door and stalked toward me.

  “Alone at last.”

  I bit my lip. “How did I do?”

  He slowed in front of me and wrapped an arm around my waist, drawing me closer to him. “You made me proud. You always do.”

  “You put me on the spot. Are you going for some sort of record for the number of times you can drive me nuts in this room?”

  He smirked. “Would you expect any less from me?”

  “No, of course not. Tell me what you really think about his idea though. Am I way off?”

  “It has promise. I had a feeling you’d bite.”

  I skimmed my hands up to his neck, sifting through the hair that fell a little long against the collar of his shirt. “What if you hate something that I love? It’s our investment. Shouldn’t we agree?”

  “I guess, ideally. But if you like something, grab it and go. Just like you did today.”

  He ran a finger down the front of my dress and back up, cupping my breast through the fabric. I leaned into his touch. The unmistakable proof of his desire was hard against my hip.

  “I take it you like when I’m decisive.”

  He pressed his hips forward, trapping me between the table and his hard body. “I’m not like most men whose dicks go limp at the sight of a woman who has her own mind.”

  He brought his lips to my neck, trailing down over my collarbone. Goosebumps raced over my skin and my nipples hardened into points that strained against my dress. I arched against him, desperate to give them some relief, but the more our bodies touched, the more out of control I felt of my own.

  “You realize that runs in stark contrast to your compulsive need to be in charge of me, right?”

  Curving his hand at my nape, he gazed at me. The now serious look in his eye stole my breath.

  “I don’t want to run your life, Erica. I want to be a part of it, and I want you to be a part of mine. But I won’t have you exclusively calling the shots for both of us, especially when it comes to life and death.”

  I stared, speechless and breathless—from his intoxicating proximity, his possessive hold on me, and the painful knowledge that our relationship hadn’t been the only thing in peril over the past few months. At times, our lives had been too. For that, I wasn’t entirely blameless.

  “That’s not too unreasonable, is it?” The tension around his mouth softened.

  “No,” I whispered.

  We’d been to hell and back, negotiating the terms of who held the power in our relationship. He’d made concessions, and in the end, torturous as it had been, so had I. I’d given him more control than I’d ever given anyone.

  He relaxed his grasp, roaming over the fabric of my dress, down to where the edge of it met my thighs.

  “Good. I’m glad we cleared that up. Now that work’s done for the day, I’d like to fuck you on this table, if you don’t mind.”

  I paused, gauging the seriousness of his statement. “I wouldn�
��t mind, but I’m sure no one in the company wants to walk in on that. There’s no lock on that door.”

  “Doesn’t matter. I gave Greta explicit instructions not to disturb me in here—under any circumstances.”

  “Explicit instructions?” I teased.

  A small smile broke his earlier seriousness. “Yes, they were filthy. She was appalled when I detailed the things I planned to do to you.” He hiked my dress over my hips and effortlessly lifted me onto the table.

  “She might be too busy wishing it were her to keep people out.” I covered his hands with my own, trying in vain to push my dress back down to a decent place over my thighs. He pushed farther between my legs so I was nearly baring everything.

  The reality of what he was proposing crept over me, heating my cheeks and setting a slow burn over my skin. I saw no shred of doubt in his eyes. A second later, he covered my mouth with his, overwhelming me with his hungry kiss. Starving for him too, I let his tongue pass between my parted lips. I sought the warm sweetness of it and gave myself over to it, but where was this really going?

  I gasped when he broke away, bringing his mouth down, kissing me behind my ear and down my neck, drawing a decadent path of desire over my exposed skin.

  “Blake... We aren’t really doing this, are we?”

  Sifting his fingers through my hair, he mangled the twist I’d carefully arranged earlier. “I’m going to be balls deep in you in about thirty seconds. So, yes.”

  I struggled for my next breath, anticipation and fear robbing me of air.

  “Are you wet for me, Erica? Because I’m coming in hard.” He pressed his fingertips into the meat of my ass, bringing us closer so our bodies connected through our clothes. “Fast and hard. Is that how you want it?”

  Fuck, yes. In time with my mind’s silent reply, I gripped his shirt at the shoulders, drawing him closer still.

  He kissed me roughly, tugged down the arm of my dress, and spread a torrent of hot, wet kisses over my collarbone and shoulders. I let my head fall back, my mind humming with desire. My breathing became shallow. I spread my legs wider to accommodate him, hugging his hips and welcoming his advance. Lifting my knee, I hooked an ankle around his thigh to urge him against me.

  He exhaled sharply, grinding his steely erection against my soaking panties. “Jesus, I want you. Right now.” He curled his fingers around the strings of my panties and yanked down.

  “Oh, God,” I groaned, reeling with the delicious contact and painfully aware of the ache between my legs where my body was more than ready for everything he wanted to give me.

  “I’ve wanted to take you on this table from that first day. In fact, I have no idea why it’s taken this long to get around to it.”

  “Then get around to it, before someone finds us.” I had no idea how or if we’d get away with it, but I knew Blake wouldn’t be deterred, and I wasn’t about to say no. I unbuttoned his shirt quickly, eager to feel more of him against me.

  He wet his lower lip with his tongue, watching me intently as I skimmed over the hard muscles of his chest. “You worried?”

  I swallowed, my worry rising to the surface again. “Yes, obviously. I don’t want to get caught.”

  “I think you do. ” Mischief flashed behind his eyes. He slid my panties down past my ankles, giving my thigh a quick slap on his journey back to my hips.

  “Why would I want that?” My voice was weak and breathy, betraying the physical effect the vision had on me.

  He reached for his zipper. Pushing down his boxers, he freed his thick erection, palming the length of it in slow decadent pulls. I bit my lip too hard, suppressing a moan that might go beyond the walls of our precarious location. I desperately wanted him inside me.

  “I think you like the idea of it—the chance that someone might catch me fucking you. In public. Where we shouldn’t be.”

  I stared at him, my mind a haze of desire and excitement as I envisioned the possibilities. All of them humiliating but strangely erotic when I imagined a stranger walking in to see Blake fiercely claiming my body the way I knew he would be… soon. My core pulsed, empty and eager to be filled.

  “No,” I lied.

  He threaded his fingers through my hair again, fisting tight enough to make me shiver. That edge, that promise of control, shot a bolt of awareness through me. If I’d been wet before, I was drenched now.

  “Yes, you do.” The husky words did little for my waning self-control. “Imagine it… you on the brink of coming... so close to the edge that we couldn’t stop if we wanted to.”

  My heart thumped as I imagined the scene he drew. The more we talked about it, the more time we gave someone to find us. “Just fucking do it, Blake, before someone walks in.”

  He teased his cock against my entrance. “Don’t piss me off, Erica. I’ll make you scream. Then everyone will know I fucked you on this table.”

  I closed my eyes and rolled back my head. “Blake, please... I’m begging you. Fuck me now, or...” Or what? Or... stop? No. I needed him badly, and I needed him now.

  He nudged into me a fraction more. I quivered against him, wishing I could somehow draw him into me, but he held me firmly in place. At his mercy.

  “Blake,” I pleaded, clawing at his hips. His taut muscles flinched under my fingertips.

  Then he bent over me, lowering me so my back rested against the table. He slid his fingertips across my cheek, over my lips, and finally rested on my throat. He caught my hip with his free hand, and without further warning, lunged into me. Our bodies connected with a slap. When an uncontrollable cry left my lips, he covered my mouth, muffling the sound.

  Everything inside my core seized around him. My thighs clung to his unmoving body, waiting for more. With trembling hands, I gripped the edge of the table for leverage. Somewhere in the crazy rush of his possession, I wanted him to reach the deepest part of me. On his next thrust, he did. He stoked the burning heat of my needy body, again and again.

  I tried to keep quiet, but small gasps and moans crept past my lips into the hot shield of his palm.

  The reminder that we could be discovered enflamed all my sensations with prickling fear. My skin heated unbearably. I arched off the table, his name on my lips. I didn’t want to get caught, but I couldn’t keep quiet to save my life.

  Blake did this to me. Turned my body and mind against all reason. His breathing was labored as he fucked me steadily, his silence seemingly locked in the bulging muscle of his jaw. His hand left my mouth, found purchase around my still clothed breast. With a firm squeeze, he taunted the hard nipple underneath. I bit my lip with a groan.

  Something right and karmic weighted the air as he pushed us deeper and deeper into our pleasure. This is where we had begun. I closed my eyes, remembering how badly I’d wanted him, against all reason. Now he was mine. Utterly mine.

  I’d fantasized so many times about the different ways that first day in his board room could have ended. This was one of them. As much as I’d hated him then, my body still wanted him. I trembled, the beginnings of a climax taking hold. The fantasy coming to life was pushing me to the brink.

  “I imagined this... Blake, I wanted this.” The confession poured out of me, with all the other forbidden sounds leaving my lips.

  Without warning, he pulled out of me, bringing my slow climb to an abrupt halt. My eyes flew open. Before I could speak, he’d pulled me down and flipped me to my belly. My hips pressed against the hard table. Blake bent over me, his erection, slick from my arousal, pressed against my bare bottom. Energy radiated between us—taut and tenuous. My heart beat in a flurry against the table. My hands on either side of me braced me for whatever Blake had planned. His breath kissed my neck. My pussy clenched, desperately empty without him.

  “Blake,” I whimpered, squirming back against him to be closer.

  “This is how I wanted you, Erica. I wanted you bent over this table, screaming my name. I couldn’t hear a single fucking word you were saying.”

  He kneed my le
gs apart. I fisted my hands into tight balls, my hips pressed back. Then he was inside me again, filling me completely with a hard shove.

  I released a small cry before I could stop myself. “Blake!”

  My body at his mercy, my cheek against the cool, slick surface of the table, I couldn’t imagine anything more intense than what I was currently experiencing. My body buzzed, building with sharp climbing sensations that brought me closer to heaven.

  “You’re so deep.” Shocks of pleasure rocketed through me every time he filled me.

  “I haven’t shown you deep yet.”

  Before I could catch a breath and brace myself, he grabbed both my hips. Hauling me back to him, he drove farther into my sensitive tissues. Something between a scream and a groan rumbled through my chest, but before it could escape my lips, Blake’s hand was there, silencing the next series of cries as he powered into me.

  Hands fisted, toes curling, I came hard and weakened against the table, wasted, but Blake was still hard as ever.

  “Come, Blake. Hurry,” I whispered. The thought of Greta walking in on us was sobering, and another wave of fear raced through my veins.

  He released my hip and stilled inside me. “That was too quick. I think we have time for one more, don’t you?”

  Blake pulled out slightly. Circling to my front, he found my clit and pressed firmly. I jolted, on edge from having come so recently. Now he was threatening more. With every careful ministration he brought me closer, higher.

  This wasn’t a quickie. He was destroying me, and I was coming apart.

  I cursed repeatedly, not caring about where we were anymore. Mindless, powerless, I lost all sense of propriety and decency as Blake continued to fuck me, rolling his hips with every driving thrust, massaging the tight walls of my pussy from the inside.

  My orgasm built like a storm rolling in from a distance, until seconds later it was thundering through me. I could see it, bright flashing pulses of light behind my eyes. And God, could I feel it, a tornado rocketing through my core and shooting out of every limb.

  Overwhelmed with sensation, I slapped my hand on the table, drawing a damp path down to my side. I muffled my cries against the table now that Blake’s efforts to keep me quiet had seemingly been replaced with the singular task of fucking me as hard as he could.