Hardline

by Meredith Wild

  “Erica?”

  I looked up.

  “You’re going to police, aren’t you? They’ll need you to cooperate with them if they are going to prosecute.”

  “I think so,” I said, betraying the fact that I still wasn’t really convinced that I could go through with it.

  “You have to. I can’t believe he’s got the audacity to press charges against Blake after what he did to you. His vengeance seriously has no bounds. The whole thing is so backwards and wrong.”

  I sat up straighter, making sure I’d heard her right. “He’s doing what?”

  “Blake didn’t tell you? Max is pressing charges against Blake for assault. Obviously he was acting in your behalf. The bastard deserved everything he got.”

  I let out a breath I’d been holding. I let my forehead fall into my palm. “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me that. He told me he messed Max up, but I didn’t even put it together that he could be in trouble over this. Shit, I can’t even think straight. This isn’t good.”

  Alli touched my shoulder gently. “He never wants to worry you. He knows this isn’t easy for you, especially with what you went through with Mark. I’m sure Heath would have probably done the same thing in Blake’s shoes. Thankfully, the Landons have good lawyers.”

  “I’m sure the Popes do too. God, he doesn’t need to be dealing with this shit too. Now I’m upset all over again.”

  She sighed quietly. “Are you going to talk to the police? Promise me you will.”

  I nodded quickly.

  I’d been wrestling with the prospect of going to the police. Blake had told me that they’d left cards and would want to speak with me. Something about it scared the hell out of me. Maybe it was the same thing that had kept me from going to the police when Mark raped me. Deep down I’d blamed myself. The blame and the shame of sharing the experience with someone else had kept me silent. I buried it all, so far down that I didn’t care about finding my attacker, about having a voice.

  But this was different. I knew Max, and no one could question about what he’d done, with all the people who had been there. The drugs in my system were proof enough of his intentions. How I’d find the strength to walk into the police station and tell my story though, I’d never know. But if it helped Blake out of this madness, I’d do whatever I needed to do.

  “I’ll go with you. You won’t be alone.” Alli reached for my hand.

  “Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “You’ll never have to know. I’m always here for you, and I’m not going anywhere. We all are. We’re all but family now.”

  My heart pulsed with gratitude for her friendship.

  “Hey, I have an idea.” Alli brightened a little and took my hand.

  I raised my eyebrows. “What’s that?”

  “I know this is probably the last thing on your mind, but what do you think about going dress shopping this week? It would take your mind off all of this upset.”

  I smiled and nodded. “That sounds perfect.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  “Alli told me about Max pressing charges.”

  Blake had worked late and he hadn’t been home five minutes before I approached him. I could think of little else since Alli left that afternoon. On top of that, I was pissed off that he didn’t tell me right away. He tugged off his shirt and stepped out of the bedroom into the adjoining bathroom, effectively ignoring me. I followed him in.

  “Blake.”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Having criminal charges against you matters.”

  He let out a sigh and turned toward me. I tried to hold my concentration on the matter at hand, but his shirtless body and the way he smelled when he pulled me close the way he did now always seemed to scatter my brain cells. A hand on my hip, he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss on my lips.

  “It doesn’t worry me, so it shouldn’t worry you, okay? You’ve got enough on your mind.”

  I stared into his eyes, letting him know that I sure as hell was going to worry. “Will this affect your work? What about Angelcom, or all the other businesses your name is attached to?”

  A short laugh escaped him. “Are you talking about my reputation? Money talks, Erica, and thankfully I’ve got plenty of it. The same reasons the board wanted to keep rubbing up against Max until I put their balls in a jar are the same reasons why none of this is going to matter to any of them. I’m the one holding the cards. Anyway, I could give a shit what anyone else thinks.”

  I couldn’t help the worry that rooted right next to all the hate I now held for Max.

  Blake framed my face in his hands. “Listen to me. Do not worry about this. It’s nothing I can’t handle, and trust me that I’m handling it.”

  “How?”

  He sighed and released me, leaving a few inches of distance between us.

  I looped my fingers into his jeans, tugging him back. His eyes widened a fraction.

  “I’m going to talk to the police tomorrow. I don’t remember everything, but hopefully it’ll be enough. If that means testifying or whatever, I’ll do whatever I need to do.”

  He paused. “I’m glad to hear it. Not for my sake, but for yours.”

  I frowned. “I’m not sure I’d do it if it weren’t for your sake. I hate that he’s done this to you.”

  “Why wouldn’t you tell the police your story, Erica? He deserves to face what he did, and God knows, you deserve justice. You’ll never have it if you don’t tell the police what happened. You’re the victim, and they need to hear your story, not mine.”

  I dropped my gaze to Blake’s waist where my fingers idly tangled in the loops of his jeans. “The thought of going through it all makes me sick, that’s why.”

  He tipped my chin until I met his serious eyes. “There are times when it makes sense to let go, and there are times when you need to fight, no matter how miserable the idea might seem.”

  I got lost in his eyes for a second. “And you want me to fight.”

  “I won’t make the decision for you. But if this is any indication,” he said, gesturing to the now deep red scabs decorating his knuckles, “you know where I stand on knocking him down to size.”

  I winced at his injury and how it’d been incurred. I couldn’t imagine Max’s injuries, but I relished that he was likely still suffering with them. I drew in a deep breath through my nose. I’d spent the past few days trying to push past all of it. I couldn’t go down this road again. I wouldn’t give Max the satisfaction of breaking me like Mark had.

  “I appreciate that you fought for me, but this isn’t about revenge.”

  “You’re right. It’s about holding Max Pope accountable for the first time in his life. He needs to learn a lesson that he’s been working up to for a very long time. That’s not revenge. That’s justice. That’s making a situation right that’s been wrong for too long.”

  I could argue all I wanted, but Blake was right. Max hadn’t just threatened me, crossing a line that could never be uncrossed. He’d betrayed my trust, threatened both my business and Blake’s. Blake’s grievances extended far beyond the experiences we’d shared with Max. Before I’d even met Max, I’d known he was a playboy, a spoiled young man. He skated above the consequences that would have fallen on anyone else. Instead, he’d been shielded by his family’s fortress of wealth and prominence. Professor Quinlan had used such a circumstance to his advantage, earning me a meeting with him with the promise that he’d invest in Clozpin.

  How long would this go on? How long could he wreak havoc over our lives without consequences, spurred by this mindless jealousy that Blake inspired in him? Maybe Blake was right. Perhaps this was the one strike that couldn’t be ignored—by Michael or by the law. Maybe this infraction would finally show him he wasn’t immune from consequence.

  Blake broke my thoughts with a kiss that was both tender and careful. Pulling back, he studied me. “How was your day? Are you feeling any better?”

  “I feel
fine. I told you that this morning. I’m going back to work tomorrow, regardless of what you say. If I sit around here lazing around one more day, I’m going to lose my mind.”

  He smirked. “Well, we can’t have that.”

  Turning away from me, he started the shower. He stripped naked and opened the door, filling the room with a rush of steam. I chewed my lip, following his backside as he stepped in under the stream. The fire that had lain dormant for days lit within me. Apparently the days of being deprived of intimacy had taken its toll, and now that my energy was back, I was having a hard time ignoring it.

  I wasn’t sure if I was ready, but I missed our closeness. Blake had been careful with me. Exceedingly careful. I hated that what happened had put an invisible wall between us, separating us by our fear of hurting each other when I needed Blake more than ever.

  I pushed my jeans past my hips to the floor and tugged off my bra and shirt at once. He turned to watch me, his countenance reflecting the quiet hunger that was simmering through me. I stepped into the shower behind him. He let me pass to share the water. Our bodies brushed close, setting off all the familiar alarms. My nipples grazed the soft hairs on his chest, hardening instantly. I paused my journey there, perfectly content with our proximity, the hot water pulsing down on us.

  “I missed you,” I said.

  “I missed you too, baby.”

  I placed my hands on his chest, eager to feel every ridge slide under my fingertips, to entwine with him. I grazed lower over the taut muscles of his abs. I wanted to go lower. I wanted to feel his hot flesh in my hands, to know he wanted me as much as I wanted him. After all of this madness, I longed for his touch, for the reassurance that nothing had changed between us. I traced the line of hair that led from his navel downward. He caught my hand, halting my journey.

  “Turn around,” he said quietly.

  I gazed at him from under my lashes, my breath hitching with the simple command. Good things were usually in store when he told me to turn around. I spun and braced my hands on the cool marble of the shower wall. I closed my eyes, imagining his hands on me, while the water ran down my back between us.

  I heard a small click, and then his hands were in my hair, massaging and lathering. While it wasn’t the touch I expected, I welcomed it all the same. I let my head fall back as he rubbed ten tiny circles over my scalp.

  “Feel good?”

  I hummed. “Very. Thank you.”

  “Anytime.”

  I smiled. He moved the spray to rinse me and cleaned the rest of me from head to toe. He washed my shoulders, massaging the tense muscles as he went. Turning me so we were face to face again, he left no expanse untouched, between my breasts and over my belly. He avoided lingering anywhere I especially wanted him. The whole process was driving me crazy, but he didn’t seem to be in a rush, nor did he seem to be enjoying the usual game of sexual torture that we so often played.

  He knelt to rub the loofa along the soles of my feet. The sensation tickled, but seeing him crouched at my feet, unable to hide his desire bobbing under its own weight in front of me seemed to cancel that out. Every innocent contact piqued my craving for a more intimate touch. He was hard, and I was burning with need.

  When he rose, I took the loofa from him and tossed it to the floor. I caught him by the hair and levered against him, bringing us chest to chest. He groaned and pushed me back against the shower wall. Instinct took over, and in seconds I was climbing him. Thigh over hip, arching into his hard body. He cupped my ass, increasing the contact. We couldn’t be close enough.

  “I miss you. I want to feel you,” I whimpered.

  I caught a breath of air, before sealing my mouth over his again. His erection pressed against me, teasing against me. The connection sent a tingle of desire through me. But the sensation was tainted. I kissed him harder, drowning the doubt. He moaned, sliding his hand down my thigh. He trailed a slow path between my legs, slowing over my mound before cupping me. I tensed in his arms, not immediately understanding why. My chest heaved, my rapid breathing betraying the battle raging inside me. Shit.

  “Baby?”

  I kissed him fiercely, closing the small separation between us, answering any question he might have. Damn it all, I needed him. No less than I’d ever needed him.

  He pulled back and caught my roaming touch, stilling me. “We don’t have to do this.”

  “I want to.”

  He hesitated. “I know. I want to too, but…give yourself some time.”

  “I’m fine,” I insisted, even as my voice wavered.

  Was I? I knew what I wanted, what I craved, but I recognized the tension. On edge, ready to react, I battled with my desire. The battle made me as angry as I was horny, starving for him to love me, to fuck me right through the feeling that I didn’t want to face.

  He kissed me, a slow chaste kiss that I barely felt through the heat and mist that collected on my skin. The gesture seemed to repeat his words.

  “I’m fine, Blake,” I repeated. “He didn’t do anything. I’m fine. Nothing’s changed.”

  He stared down, concern swimming behind his eyes. “Just because he didn’t get a chance to follow through doesn’t mean you haven’t been through emotional hell. We’re not talking about banged up knuckles. You know as well as I do those wounds go deeper than either of us want them to. You need time. We should take some time.”

  I hated that he was probably right. I hated that I’d become so flawed and vulnerable in a matter of days. “Maybe I’m stronger than you give me credit for.”

  He let out an exasperated sigh. “I have no doubts about your strength, Erica. I’m talking about your state of mind, your well-being. You can’t brush this whole thing off like it’s nothing.”

  “How about you let me tell what you what I can take?”

  My embarrassment mingled with the rejection. I left him there alone. In the bedroom I slammed drawers as I collected underwear and a shirt and then went to bed. Huddled onto my side, I tried to ignore his presence when he joined me. A moment passed before he came behind me, wrapping an arm around my waist. Pressing his lips to my shoulder, he caressed down my arm, eliciting a shiver that almost made me forget my irritation.

  “I pushed you past your limits before. Let me honor them now, even if you won’t.”

  I closed my eyes at the truth in his words. Truth and love and all the concern that the men who’d lodged this emotional wall between us had none of. I sighed heavily, giving myself over to trusting him.

  “Look at me,” he whispered.

  Reluctantly I turned, positioning my body to face his. A smile softened his features as he traced my jaw, running a sensual line over my lips.

  “I love you, even when you’re marching around all pissed and indignant.”

  “I hate this.”

  His eyes dimmed. “I know you do. I know we both want more, but it’s worth waiting for. Tonight, all I want is to taste your sweet lips and hold you. I have the rest of my life to make love to you. Tonight, I just want you in my arms.”

  Something cracked in me, that need to fight wilting under Blake’s gentle insistence. My muscles weakened, and I surrendered.

  * * *

  I walked into the office the next morning ready to face the day. Ready to face my life. Alli rose to meet me as I drew near her desk. “You’re not going to believe this.”

  My eyes went wide. There was a whole range of possibilities for things I might not believe. “What?”

  PinDeelz is down. Sid said it’s been down since last night.”

  “Do we know why? It could be anything. Server issues or a surge in traffic.”

  “I don’t think that’s why.”

  She hauled me over to her workstation, and pulled up the site. As it did, a bold black and white image branded the screen. I’d seen it before, on our own site. M89. The hacker group’s logo had replaced the competing site’s home page, but now I was more confused than ever.

  “I don’t understand. If Trevor and
Max have been in cahoots to build this thing, why would Trevor hack it? Moreover, how would he hack his own site?”

  Alli twisted a strand of hair between her fingertips. “I don’t either. Unless somehow things went sour with Trevor, and this is payback. Like he’s making a statement or something.”

  “Just when I thought things couldn’t get any stranger.”

  “The good news is that at least one of their advertisers got back in touch about renewing their ad contract with us. Never mentioned PinDeelz of course, but I’d say we can expect to hear from more of them now.”

  I chuckled softly. “Unbelievable. We’ll see how many come crawling back, I suppose. Or how long the site stays this way.”

  “Speaking of crawling back, what did you decide about Perry?”

  “He seems sorry, but it’s not enough. Blake’s right. It’s a bad idea to get involved with him.”

  “I’d have to agree.” James’s deeper voice interrupted us. He seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

  “James, hey,” I said, confused about his presence in the office.

  “Alli thought it’d be a good idea for me to be in while you were out.”

  “Right.” I nodded quickly, not wanting to think about Blake’s potential reaction to this.

  “Well, I’m glad you’re here. Can we catch up for a second?”

  I left Alli for the small privacy of my office. James followed me and sank into the chair across from me.

  “What’s going on? What did I miss, other than an entire week?”

  “I talked to your fiancé. That was pretty interesting, but I’m going to stay on in-house for now.”

  I dropped my jaw and the shock settled over me. Already I was more overwhelmed than I expected to be in my first fifteen minutes back at work. Fear rooted in my stomach. “Are you kidding me?”

  He laughed. “It’s nothing to worry about. You should probably talk to Landon about it though.”

  “Okay, fine. In that case, you want to give me an update. I’m behind on everything.”

  I spent the rest of the morning getting up to speed. After a week away from watching the pot boil, I could fully appreciate the progress that had been made in my absence. We were close to rolling out the changes that would have put us light years ahead of Max’s site. While the threat of competition might be in the past, I could see clearly now that the competition had been important motivation to push us forward in an entirely new way.