Tempted

He stopped as the elevator came to a sudden, grinding halt. The lights went out, plunging them into darkness, and she was thrown against him. Her cell phone flew out of her hand and hit the elevator wall with a crunching noise that made her wince.

She shrank against him, her heart thudding in her chest. With a low buzz, the emergency lights came on and bathed the elevator in a dim red light. She was still pressed against him with panicked intimacy. He was holding her with his large hands clamped around her full hips, and she flushed and shoved at his hard chest.

“Let go of me.”

“Just wait a minute, I think - ”

She gasped as the elevator made another groaning lurch and dropped a few more feet. Her stomach dropped with it, and her fear made her clutch to his broad shoulders.

“What the hell?” She whispered.

He frowned. “The elevator seems to be broken.”

She pushed again at his chest. “Let me go, please.”

His gaze dropped to her mouth and lingered there. His stare, combined with the warmth of his hands on her hips, was making her skin tingle and she licked her lips nervously. His gaze darkened and his nostrils flared, and she stared mesmerized at the dark stubble that covered his lower face. She was struck by the urge to kiss the dark shadow, to lick it with her tongue and feel it prickle against her lips. She was actually leaning forward when he gently pushed her away.

She turned away, utterly mortified by her behavior, and wondered briefly if she could pry the doors open and climb down the elevator shaft to get away from him. Instead, she walked gingerly across the elevator to rescue her cell phone. He opened the control panel door and picked up the black telephone receiver that was attached to it. He held the receiver to his ear, waiting patiently.

Lucy stared at her cell phone and muttered a curse. The screen was shattered but she pushed a few buttons, knowing it was pointless but trying anyway.

“S***,” she muttered.

He scowled at her and made a shushing gesture with his hand. “Yes, hello? This is Jason Young from the twenty-seventh floor. It seems our elevator has broken down.”

She shoved her phone into her purse and tried not to think about the fact that there was no way out. Already her chest was tightening and the air in the elevator seemed too warm. She wasn’t exactly claustrophobic, but it was useless to deny that tight spaces made her uncomfortable.

She fanned herself with the top of her blouse before unbuttoning her suit jacket and removing it. She placed it neatly on the floor of the elevator as he hung up the phone.

“Are they sending someone to fix it?” She asked.

He shrugged out of his own suit jacket, and she ignored the way his white dress shirt clung to his powerful shoulders and accentuated his wide chest.

“Apparently the power is out to the entire block - some kind of power surge. Until they can get the power back on, we’re stuck in here.”

“S***,” she muttered for a second time.

She looked up at the ceiling panels. “Can’t they send in, I don’t know, firemen or someone to open up the ceiling and let us out that way?”

He gave her a wry look. “I doubt that two people stuck in an elevator is a top priority for them right now, Ms. Reid.”

She flushed at his condescending tone and fanned herself with her shirt again. Sweat was starting to trickle between her breasts and she unbuttoned the top two buttons and stuck her head down her top, blowing lightly to try and cool herself.

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