The Harder They Fall (4 page)

Chapter
Four

Blaine
regretted choosing this place before their drinks arrived. He’d counted no less
than three dozen flashes, and those were the ones he’d caught. By morning, their
picture would be on every tabloid site and hundreds of message boards. At least
half the people who saw it would assume he had gone out with Colleen because he
was trying to rebuild his company on the surface. She already suspected that’s
why they were here. He should have invited her to his apartment.

Then
again, she still might suspect him of ulterior motives. And the truth was, he
had asked her out because of the permits, but that wasn’t the only reason. He
liked her directness and her lack of shyness. He was used to dealing with
people who weren’t afraid to speak their minds, and he preferred his women that
way, too.

And
that face … she was so pretty. In this light, her hair shone like copper. When
she looked into his eyes, he swore he could dive right into hers. They were
deep pools of green, like the crater in a volcano in Indonesia he recalled
seeing a picture of when he was a young boy. He’d always loved shades of green,
and her eye color was unusual.

She
glanced up from her menu. “I’m sticking with the pasta shells. Everything else
sounds too artsy-fartsy.”

Blaine
chuckled and closed his menu. “I understand what you mean, but I like this
place. It’s airy and open. Reminds me of the surface the way it used to be.”

She
swiveled in her chair, taking a long look around them, while more flashes went
off from phones. Either she didn’t see them or didn’t care, because she didn’t
react to them. When she faced him again, she smiled. “You’re right. It does.”
Then she put her elbows on the table and rested her chin on folded hands. “So
tell me the truth. How does it feel to be the heroes of the entire planet?”

“We’re
not. Dave Perry is.”

“He
wouldn’t have done that if all of you hadn’t forced him to.”

“We
got lucky. When we picked him up, we had no idea he’d built a back door or the
ability to read and execute suggestions into the program.”

She
frowned. “Sounds like he led you all on a wild goose chase for years.”

The
hairs on the back of Blaine’s neck prickled, though he couldn’t say why. “What
makes you say that?”

“Well,
for starters, you never knew about his jealousy over who got credit for
designing that program, did you?”

How
did she know about that? Those details weren’t public knowledge. “We did, but
we had no idea how deep his resentment went.” Their salads arrived, and Blaine
picked at his while she attacked hers as if she hadn’t eaten in a week. He
wanted to keep her talking. “What else makes you say that about him?”

“Well,
look at the chances he took at HCS. First he came out publicly against your plan,
and then that article.”

The
article was public knowledge. No alarm bells there. “He got complacent. At
least, that’s what he told us.”

“He
had an affair with Bonnie Clough, which was pretty stupid considering her
husband strung someone along for three years, and that someone then came to
work for one of you. And he stayed friends with Bonnie, taking her into his
confidence. I mean, what was he thinking, getting mixed up with that woman in
the first place?”

That,
however, was definitely
not
public
knowledge. “All of this still doesn’t explain why you say he led us on a
chase.”

She
looked at him like he had lobsters crawling on his face. “He tricked you.
All
of you. For
years
. You weren’t looking for him. You had no idea how involved he
was, or that he had written the Tommy Twister virus.”

Okay.
That
definitely
was not something she could possibly have heard from
anyone except one of them, someone high up the food chain at HCS, or the
President plus a few key members of his staff. Who the hell was this woman? And
why hadn’t he done a background check on her before asking her out?

Because you were thinking with your
dick from the moment you met her.

Stupid
move on his part.
Very
stupid.

“Where
did you hear that?”

She
looked confused for a second. “About the virus you mean?”

“Yes.”

“My
aunt, of course. I shouldn’t be telling you this, but she laughed her ass off
when she heard about it. Said you guys wasted eight years and who knew how much
money, when all you had to do was ask Dave.”

Who the fuck is her aunt?

“Even
if we had asked him right away, eight years ago there were no dire threats
against us all living underground like there is now. He hadn’t had time to
build up enough guilt, or realize he’d been fucked from the moment he trusted
the hackers. He had no reason to tell us anything at the time. It wouldn’t have
played out the same way.”

He
was giving her information the public didn’t know either, but it hardly
mattered now.

“You
weren’t there. I was. I watched his face, and I heard his voice. He never meant
to send The Madeline Project on a course of destruction. He only wanted to take
control of it until
he
got the credit
for its design and concept, not Ronnie Treadway.”

“Assuming
what he told you is true, don’t you still feel foolish for not knowing?”

“Foolish
isn’t quite the word I’d use.” Even now, two months later, hearing the excuses
Dave gave them said out loud sounded like the flimsiest reasons in the world
for doing what he had done.

“And
speaking of the threat that Oliver Fairchild found, there’s something I’m
confused about. Now that we can go up to the surface, don’t we still have only
a few years left down here?”

“That’s
difficult to say for a while yet.”

“You
know there’s been a committee formed who are planting trees, right?”

“Yes,
but they’re trees grown down here and no one knows if the soil will support
them. Some scientists theorize it’s been stripped away too heavily and the
plants might not grow. It will take decades to completely rebuild the surface.”

“I
agree.”

“We
all have to live somewhere in the meantime.”

She
shrugged, as if the threat of slowly suffocating underground was no longer
real. “I guess we’ll find out.”

He
wasn’t half as concerned about the trees right now as he was about the burning
question of the evening. He had to ask. It was his own fault for not checking
into her life before. If he walked away with egg on his face, so be it.

“I’m
afraid you have me at a disadvantage with respect to all the inside information
you’re aware of.”

“Can
you be more specific?”

“You
mentioned having heard about Dave writing that virus from your aunt, but I
don’t know who you mean by that.”

“Oh.”
She looked surprised. “My bad. I had no idea you didn’t know. I thought when we
had that little exchange about who had started the AFSR a few days ago, you
were only bluffing.”

What the fuck
? Blaine struggled to maintain a
neutral expression as he recalled their conversation on the surface, grateful
that their server came to collect the empty salad plates, and distracted her
from watching him too closely.

The
truth hit him square in the face like a blast of cold air. Icy cold air, that
chilled his bones and sent a wave of nausea washing over him.
No!
It couldn’t be. And yet, who else
could she possibly mean?

Praying
she didn’t notice anything amiss, he forced his gaze to her face. “She’s your
aunt on your mother’s side, I take it?”

“Yes.”

Which
meant her family was wealthier than he was. Did she know his history with her
aunt Charlene? He hoped not. “That’s convenient for you.”

She
put up her hands and shook her head. “Oh, no. Not really. She won’t do anything
to make it look like she’s playing favorites. Even this job I had to land on my
own.” She gave him a sheepish grin. “I guess you’ve probably figured out by now
I was only posturing when I said that about knowing her, too. She has no
influence over your permits.”

Wanna bet?

She
narrowed her eyes slightly. “But I had no idea
you
knew her. Or did you just say that?”

She
didn’t know, and she’d just given him the perfect out. But if he lied and she
found out later, he’d lose any chance he had with her. Plus he’d fuck up his
project, permits or not.
Son of a bitch!
He was stuck, and Blaine didn’t like being in this position. He’d done a sloppy
job here. That wasn’t like him.

“We
knew each other a long time ago.”

“I
suppose that makes sense since she grew up in Thompson. It wasn’t that far from
Grand Forks. That is where you’re from, right?”

“Correct
on both counts. Where did you grow up?”

“Fargo.”

“Did
you want to be in government work growing up?”
Changing the subject. Good call!

“No,
not really. My parents weren’t into politics like my aunt. She’s really the
only one in my family who had those types of aspirations. My master’s degree is
in urban planning and development. That’s where my interest lay growing up. I
wanted to design cities that would protect our planet, but at the same time
give people comfortable, prosperous places to live and work.”

He
smiled. “Your passion for what you do shows.”

She
tilted her head slightly, her pretty green eyes ablaze with doubt. “Really,
Blaine? My passion shows? You mean my unwillingness to let you bend the rules,
don’t you?”

He
lifted his glass. “Touché. Tell you what. I’ll admit I need to apply for the
permits, if you’ll assure me it’s nothing more than a formality, and the agency
will allow me to build my towers.”

She
lifted her glass, but didn’t move it toward his yet. “It’s not my decision
alone. It goes before a committee.”

“I
know that, but now that you’ve met me, and had dinner with me, surely you can
put in a good word for me with the committee.”

Disappointment
flooded her features. “I knew this was a set-up.”

“It’s
not a set-up, Colleen. I asked you out because you’re pretty and because you
intrigue me. The fact you work for the people I need to help me realize my dreams
is only a coincidence. When you were growing up, fantasizing about the kinds of
cities you wanted to build, what would you have thought if someone tried to
crush those dreams?”

“I’d
have told them to go to hell, but this isn’t the same situation.”

“Are
you so sure? This project is
my
dream. I’ve been planning it since before the world went to hell and back. For
eight years I’ve dedicated my time, my money, and my emotional energy to taking
back our planet. Now that we’ve done it, are you really telling me that because
of a bureaucratic snag, I will never see my dream come true? A snag that isn’t
even realistic with respect to the future needs of living on the surface?”

Her
gaze faltered, and Blaine resisted the urge to pump his fist in the air.

“You
think it’s unrealistic?”

“Very.
I think in time you will see that as more companies make the same argument.” He
must remember to thank Ace for those words of wisdom.

“Perhaps
you’re right, but we still have to do this with some semblance of fairness and
procedure.”

“I
realize that. It’s why I told you I’ll apply for the permits. But I need more
in return than a vague promise that my appeal will be given consideration. Any
politician can make that same promise, but they’re only words.”

He
was playing with fire bringing politics into it, but that was all the
ammunition he had right now. “I prefer actions. I want to see the promises
played out, not listen to them repeated.”

“What
is it you think I can do?
Realistically
?”

He
ignored her emphasis on the word. “Push it through. Give me my towers.”

Her
eyes had gone all soft. Blaine knew when a woman was about to cave. Whether it
was sex or something else he wanted, he knew that look. He had her. “What do
you say, Colleen? Just a tiny bit of favoritism? Everyone on a committee, even
in a government agency, has their own agenda.”

“And
what’s your agenda, Blaine?” Her voice was low and smoky now.
Almost there
… “Besides your towers, that
is?”

“You.
In bed. With me.”

She
stared at him for long moments, and he forced his gaze to stay on her eyes
while he watched several emotions race through them. When the doubt was finally
gone and all he glimpsed was lust, he released the breath he’d been holding.

She
clinked her glass against his, softly, leaning closer. “I’ll drink to that.”

Chapter
Five

It
was all Colleen could do to get through the rest of dinner. In the deep
recesses of her mind where even her lust for this man couldn’t reach, she knew
he’d seduced her. And she knew he might have only done so to get what he
wanted, but she was less sure of that than she was of one simple fact. She
hadn’t minded him seducing her. In fact, she had hoped he would.

 
The man was so damn hot, and hearing him talk
about his dreams had really gotten to her. That she understood. Nothing had been
expected of her as a child or a teen except to find a good match—whatever the
hell
that
meant—and become involved
in the same charities her parents supported. And by supported they meant showing
up at fund raising benefits so everyone could see how generous they were with
their time and money.

When
she told them she wanted to go to college to learn how to build and design
cities, they said she’d be throwing away an education. She’d already had to
contend with hearing she was too smart, too much of a bookworm, and too
introspective. These apparently were unsuitable qualities, at least as far as
her mother was concerned.

Her
Aunt Charlene was the only relative on either side whom Colleen had admired.
She’d gone her own way, and didn’t give a damn what her family thought of it.
She’d been the one to encourage Colleen to pursue any and all degrees she
wanted to.

“How
are the pasta shells? Are they as good as you remember?”

Blaine’s
question pulled her back to the present. She’d been eating them without even tasting
them. “They’re great. Thanks. How’s the swordfish?”

“Better
than I thought it would be, even though they put that damn sauce on it.” He’d
scraped off the balsamic brown butter sauce before he’d taken a bite. Colleen
had laughed, saying if she’d done something like that in front of her parents,
they’d have had a heart attack. To which Blaine had replied his parents
wouldn’t have know what balsamic brown butter sauce was to begin with.

“My
mother would have tasted it,” he said, “judged whether she liked it, and then
scraped it off if she hadn’t cared for the taste. My father would have asked,
loudly, ‘What the hell is this crap on my fish?’”

Colleen
had laughed again, admiring the fact he could talk so openly about his
upbringing. Most wealthy men she’d gone out with spoke as if no one in their
families had ever used the wrong word, been embarrassed over something they’d
said or done, or burped in public.

It
was refreshing to be out with someone so down to earth and uninhibited. He
hadn’t tried to lie about wanting her to help him with his project, and he
hadn’t tried to hide the fact he wanted to have sex with her.

She
knew he was a player, but that didn’t bother her. It was part of his charm.
Casual relationships were just fine with her, thank you very much. She had
plans for her life, and they didn’t include marriage and children. Even if the
man in question was one of the infamous Weathermen.

Blaine
didn’t mention the permits again as they ate their entrees, so she didn’t
either. She would do what she could for him, but in the end it wasn’t her
decision. She knew they were a formality and used only for tracking purposes,
but because Blaine had such a rebellious reputation, her coworkers might get a
kick out of holding up his requests just for fun. She didn’t see the point in
telling him that. He likely already knew it.

She
declined dessert, and Blaine said he never ate it. Then he asked if she wanted
coffee or anything else to drink. Colleen leaned closer, catching a whiff of
his scent. It wasn’t cologne, and she was grateful for that. She’d never liked
artificial smells on a man. The scent surrounding him was shampoo and the food
he’d eaten. She loved it. It was real.

“What
I really want to do right now,” she said, keeping her voice low, “is go to your
apartment and see how many rooms we can make love in before we can no longer
walk.”

He
stared at her like he wasn’t sure what he’d just heard, then signaled for their
server. She excused herself to the bathroom while he took care of the check,
and when she emerged he was waiting near the front for her. Colleen smiled. He
was only a man, after all. Tell them you want to fuck them into next week, and
they’re yours.

“Do
you need anything from your place to spend the night?” he asked as they left
the restaurant.

“No.
I’m fine.” She loved it that he assumed she’d spend the night. This man was so
confident, and that was sexy. Colleen hated the awkwardness that came with a
first sexual encounter, or subsequent ones, for that matter. She wanted to know
up front what the expectations were. It made life far less complicated, and
avoided any emotional angst afterward. She had no time for such nonsense.

She
took Blaine’s arm and enjoyed the fake night air for once, because this time
she knew it wouldn’t last forever. One day, she’d walk outdoors at night and
breathe fresh air again. She’d stare up at the real stars, and she’d enjoy the
beauty of the moon. Would the insects eventually return? Would the birds come
back? Were there scientists working on trying to find any trace of either,
still left alive?

“You
look deep in thought.”

She
glanced up to find him watching her carefully. “Musing about what it will be
like to walk outside at night on the surface once more.”

He
nodded slowly. “I was thinking the same thing. Does it seem real to you yet?
That we can go back home one day?”

“No.
Not yet.”

“What
are your plans? Will you move up there as soon as possible?”

She
frowned slightly. “I’m not sure. Talk at the agency is they want to erect
temporary structures up there within two months. It’ll be easier to supervise
building if we’re in both places. But that means roughing it a bit if we live
up there, too.”

“And
you’re not a roughing it type of girl?”

His
voice was teasing, but not mocking. She shook her head and smiled. “That depends.
I’d be fine short-term, but after a while I’d miss indoor plumbing and reliable
Internet.”

He
chuckled. “I hear you. Still, if having my complex built means I’ll need to
live topside in a camper for a while, I’ll do it.”

“You
look like you’re used to being outdoors.”

“I’ve
always preferred it. I was never into the whole suit and tie at the office, or
surrounding myself with wood-paneled walls. I’d rather run my company from home
where I can wear sweatpants all day and walk around barefoot.”

She
shivered at that image. It was so seductive to imagine him like that.

“I
used to love to take my laptop outside and sit in the sun,” he said. “As long
as I had a Wi-Fi connection from somewhere, I was happy.”

“I
remember doing that in high school. Everyone would take their lunch outdoors in
the nice weather. I’d be there with my laptop and lose track of time. Sometimes
I wouldn’t even hear the bell ring and would be late for my first afternoon
class.”

“You
must have been concentrating pretty hard.”

She
shrugged slightly. “I was usually studying.”

“How
ironic, because you no doubt got in trouble for being late to class.”

“Worse
than that. I was usually locked out and had to walk around the front to sign in
at the office.”

“Such
silly things we make teenagers go through, all for the sake of an education.”
He gave her a thoughtful look. “It couldn’t have been too many years after you
graduated that you moved underground.”

“One
year. I had already started my undergrad in college when we came here. What a
mess that was. It took me over a year to transfer to the university here.”

“None
of them were ready to begin.”

She
nodded. “And then so many records were lost. We had mine in paper form when we
came here, but I know classmates who didn’t. The school servers went down, and
no one who hadn’t printed theirs could prove they’d actually graduated from
high school.”

“A
lot of them went down. We were all getting calls from various schools around
the country, asking if we’d graduated with specific people.”

“Yes,
I did, too. It was surreal. Here was I was, nineteen years old, and I had to
vouch for classmates so they could continue or begin their degrees. Do you
think it will be that chaotic again once we rebuild everything?”

“I
don’t believe so. There’s no urgency this time. Assuming the trees begin to
grow up there, that is.” He gave her a quick glance. “So, that makes you what
now, twenty-seven?”

She
laughed. “Blaine, if you want to know how old I am, just ask. In fact, anything
at all you want to know, please ask me. You don’t have to find a segue into the
subject.”

“You
prefer directness.”

“Yes.
Always. It makes things a lot easier. Don’t you agree?”

“Absolutely.”

“And
yes, I’m twenty-seven.”

They
stopped in front of his building. “Here we are. Last chance to back out.”

“Last
chance? Really? You mean if I change my mind once I get up there I’m stuck?”

He
chuckled. “Well, all right. Not your
last
chance, but one chance.”

Colleen
stared into his eyes. No point in being coy now. She put her arms around him
and pushed her body against his, barely stopping a moan in time. Not that she
imagined he’d mind that. He was hard as a rock, and his body was so warm. She
couldn’t wait to be skin to skin with him. “Why would I want to change my mind?
Is there some hideous thing about you I should know?”

He
put his arms around her and pulled her closer. This time, she did moan. “Well,
let’s see. I’m covered in scales under my clothes, I’ve been known to breathe
fire in my sleep, and my cock has spikes on it. Change your mind yet?”

She
laughed so hard her sides hurt. “Not really. You sound like a dragon.”

“You
like
dragons?”

“What
girl doesn’t?”

She
was about to kiss him, but he beat her to it, taking his arms from around her
and cupping her face, hard. He shoved his tongue into her mouth, and this time
she didn’t bother holding back the moan. People walked by, but she barely
acknowledged it. She was lost in the feel of Blaine’s lips on hers, doing
things to her she hadn’t yet experienced.

Holy shit, this man can kiss!
They’d be lucky to make it to the
elevator still dressed. The more he moved his lips and tongue, the crazier her
arousal became, until she was dizzy with need. She mimicked his movements,
wanting to devour him.

When
he released her mouth, he stared into her eyes. His gaze was filled with lust
and so damn intense, she could hardly keep breathing. “We’d better get inside.”

She
nodded, unable to form words, as he took her hand and breezed into the lobby
with her. She didn’t glance around at the décor, or at the security guards who
barely gave them a nod. Blaine led her to an elevator where he punched in a
code before the doors opened, and then once they closed, he punched in another
code before the car began to rise.

They
exchanged another long, lustful look, and then she was up against the back of
the elevator car before she knew he’d moved. Blaine kissed her again, just as
roughly and seductively as he had out on the sidewalk. Colleen moaned into his
open mouth as tiny jolts of electricity raced through her body with each pass
of his tongue against hers.

She
reached around him and grabbed his ass, not surprised at all to find it firm.
He chuckled low in his throat, moving his mouth to her neck, where he planted
tiny bites until she was ready to scream with need. When he shoved his hand between
their bodies and cupped her left breast through her clothes, she pushed closer
to him, rubbing her abdomen against the rock hard bulge in his pants.

The
doors opened and she gasped, expecting an audience, but no one was there. Of
course he’d have a private elevator. He took her hand and led her through the
apartment at breakneck speed. She had just enough time to glimpse woodsy décor,
like the kind she’d expect to find in a log cabin. The apartment wasn’t what
she’d been anticipating, but it was clear a tour would have to wait.

He
took the stairs two at a time, and she giggled as she tried to keep up with his
stride. His legs were much longer than hers, and he was a man on a mission.
When they reached his bedroom, she smiled at all the woodwork and details that
made her feel as if they were outdoors. Clearly that was where his heart lay.

Blaine
pulled her into his arms and cupped her face. “I have no STDs. May I assume the
same of you?”

“Yes.
I have none. And I’m on the pill.”

“I
always use condoms regardless.”

“Okay.”

He
gave her the sweetest look. She hadn’t been expecting that, either. Almost
everything she had believed about him had turned out to be untrue. “I want to
make love to you until neither of us can walk.”