Page 38 of Suddenly Desired
Blake took a mug, the warmth seeping into his cold fingers. “Thank you, Sophie. You’re an angel.”
Ellie took a mug as well, cradling it in both hands as if drawing strength from its heat. The four of them stood in silence, sipping their tea, the room heavy with unspoken thoughts.
Finally, Blake set his cup back on the tray. “Thank you,” he said, his voice steadier now. “But I can’t stay. I have to figure this out.”
“Go,” Sophie said softly, her eyes filled with compassion. “And remember, you’re not alone.”
Blake nodded, then pulled Nate into a quick hug. “Thanks for everything, man. Let me know if you find anything.”
Nate clapped him on the back. “I will. Stay sharp, Blake. We’ll get through this.”
Blake glanced at Ellie, her presence still grounding him. Whatever came next, he was glad she was by his side.
“Let’s go,” he said, a flicker of determination lighting his heart.
Blake’s jaw was still clenched as they left Nate’s apartment, his mind cycling through every possible betrayal, every moment where he might have let his guard down around Michelle. His shoes hit the floor hard as he strode down the corridor towards the lifts, Ellie keeping pace beside him. She didn’t say anything, but her presence grounded him in a way he hadn’t expected, like an anchor in the middle of a storm.
At the end of the hallway, he jabbed the button to call the lift, the glowing circle dimming under the force of his thumb. The metallic buzz of the lift’s approach filled the silence, but the noise barely registered over the thrum of his blood pounding in his ears.
“Blake,” Ellie said softly, breaking through the haze of anger clouding his thoughts.
He turned to her, his expression tense, his chest rising and falling in shallow breaths. “What?”
She didn’t flinch at the roughness of his tone, just stepped closer, her eyes steady and filled with something he wasn’t sure he deserved. “We’ll get through this,” she said. “Together. Nate and Sophie were right, you’re not in this alone.”
Her words stopped him cold, hitting him like a punch to the gut. He stared at her, the power of her gaze pulling him out of his spiral for a moment. The air between them seemed to thicken, the charged silence suddenly electric.
He felt his anger still simmering just beneath the surface, but now it was twisting into something else, something he wasn’t entirely prepared for. His pulse quickened as her hand lightly brushed his forearm, her touch sending a jolt through him. The tension wasn’t just from his frustration or the betrayal they’d uncovered — it was deeper, messier, a dangerous blend of his heightened emotions and the undeniable pull he felt towards her.
Blake gritted his teeth, trying to shove it all down, but the energy between them crackled, almost tangible. He didn’t want to let his anger manifest as something he couldn’t control, something charged with arousal. Yet as he stood there, inches from her, the temptation was undeniable.
Her eyes flicked to his mouth for the briefest second, and he felt the shift like a spark igniting a fuse. His heart slammed against his ribs, his breath shallowing as the tension wrapped tighter around them.
“Ellie . . .” he said, his voice low, rough around the edges.
Her fingers tightened on his arm, her lips parting as if she might say something, but no words came. She didn’t move away, didn’t break the connection, and that only made the moment more volatile.
Blake’s hand hovered at his side, the urge to close the gap between them almost overpowering. Every muscle in his body was coiled, his self-control fraying. He knew better than to lean in to this kind of intensity, not when everything in his life was already on the verge of collapse, but with Ellie standing there, looking at him like that, it was damn near impossible to think straight.
And then, a door creaked open.
The sound cut through the moment like a blade, and Blake jerked back, his head snapping towards the source. A man emerged from one of the neighbouring apartments, balancing astack of cardboard boxes, oblivious to the charged atmosphere he’d just disrupted.
Ellie dropped her hand, her cheeks flushed, and Blake took a step towards the lift, running a hand through his hair as if that would somehow clear the heat still buzzing in his veins.
“Let’s go,” he muttered again, his voice harder than he intended.
Ellie nodded, her eyes wide, and followed him in.
Chapter 19
ELLIE
The lift doors slid shut, and Ellie was suddenly hyperaware of how small the space felt. The hum of the machinery and the faint click of the floor numbers were the only sounds, but the tension between her and Blake filled the silence like a living thing.
He stood beside her, hands in his pockets, his jaw tight and his gaze fixed on the metallic doors. The faint reflection of his face in the elevator’s sheen revealed just how hard he was trying to hold it together.
Ellie wanted to say something, to comfort him, but the words wouldn’t come. She shifted her weight, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. His face was pale, his shoulders taut beneath the fabric of his polo shirt. He looked like he was carrying the weight of the world — and maybe he was.
