He brushed against her, pressing the alarm button, and then stepped back. A small squeaking noise escaped her throat again. He smiled reassuringly, as though he'd seen how scared she was.
“It'll move again soon. You'll see,” he said in a deep, calm voice.
She nodded and latched onto those words and the sound of his voice. It soothed her for a moment.
And then the lift moved.
It wasn't so much movement as a shudder. Metal rattled above her. Her heart sped into overdrive.
Her chest felt tight as she struggled to breathe normally. She gasped at air, but it only dried her throat out, making it impossible to breathe. She looked at Erik, her eyes wide, and her whole body trembling as she panicked.
Any moment now, they were going to die.
“Are you all right?” he said, cocking his head to one side, looking concerned.
She nodded but then it turned into a shake of her head.
“I don't like lifts.” She managed to squeeze the words out. Her voice sounded impossibly tiny and tight in her ears.
“You should have said.” He pressed the alarm button again. Several times. “We could have taken the stairs.”
Too late now, she thought. She grabbed onto the wall when the lift shuddered again.
“It gets stuck all the time,” she said, more to calm herself than inform him. “All the time. They're always getting engineers out to fix it. It's so old see...probably as old as the bloody building. Fuck.” Her grip on the wall tightened and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to think about the long drop and the fact she was going to die without ever kissing the man in the stupid metal coffin with her. “Oh my God...oh my God...I should have said something. It's always getting stuck. Always. Oh God.”
Warm hands were on her shoulders and she jumped. His fingers tightened around her, holding her, making her heart beat quicker and her breathing worsen.
“Look at me, Kim.” A bass melodic voice called out to her, its tones telling her to let go of her fear and anchor herself on them, to believe in the calm they made her feel. “Open your eyes and look at me.”
She opened them a fraction, unable to do anything but obey him. He was leaning over, hunched down so his face was level with hers. She looked deep into his eyes, begging them to make it all go away, to let her get lost in them and forget the world around her. She swallowed again. Her throat was so dry. Parched. She felt his thumbs press into her shoulders.
“Hey,” he breathed and she opened her eyes a little more. He smiled. “There you are. Keep looking at me. Understood?”
She nodded, wishing the adrenaline flooding her veins was the only reason she was shaking. His grip on her tightened and she trembled over the feeling of it. She closed her eyes a little, focusing on the feeling of his hands on her. She could slip into her fantasy world. None of this would exist there. There was only ever him, in that room.
“Look at me,” he said and she opened her eyes fully again. “Everything will be fine. We'll be okay. Nothing bad is going to happen. It'll move again in a minute. Okay?”
She nodded again.
“I won't let anything happen to you. Just breathe.”
She was surprised when he moved away from her, his hands slipping off her shoulders. She tried to turn to face him, panicking that he was somehow going to disappear, but he caught her shoulders again and stepped up behind her.
“Focus on your breathing,” he whispered close to her ear.
Her vision swam out of focus as his fingers pressed into her shoulders, applying soothing pressure to her tense body. She closed her eyes, her mouth falling open as she lost herself in the feel of him kneading her shoulders. She couldn't believe it was happening. Maybe she'd slipped into her fantasy world after all. Somewhere the real Kim and Erik were screaming as the lift fell and slammed into the floor of the shaft, crushing their bodies. But here, fantasy Kim was getting a shoulder massage from dream Erik, and it felt divine.
His thumbs pressed hard against her spine, loosening it and making her want to melt into him. She wanted to lean back and feel his body against hers. The temperature in the lift seemed to rise, becoming almost unbearable.
She kept her focus locked on him, shutting out panicked thoughts and pretending that they were back in that room.
“That's right, just relax,” he said behind her.
It was so easy to when he was doing that, fingers expertly working out all her knots and leaving her liquid beneath his touch.
It felt so good. Too good.
She told herself that he was a client and this was wrong on so many levels, but deep in her heart, she didn't care.
“Feeling any better?” he breathed close to her ear.
“Mmhmm.” She smiled lazily, her heart thumping hard against her chest. She leaned back a little to get closer to him. She'd died and gone to heaven.
“Keep breathing like that. You're doing great.”
A bead of sweat trickled down her spine. She blew up at her face, trying to cool herself down. It was impossibly hot. Her fingers shifted to the buttons of her crisp white shirt and she undid a couple, desperate for a little relief.
She gasped quietly when his hands moved, fingers grazing bare skin as he pulled her shirt off her shoulders as much as he could. She bit her lip and frowned at the feeling of his hands on her, palming and kneading, tempting and teasing her. Her stomach tightened, fluttering with desire, hungry for him. She pressed her thighs together, felt the slip-slide of arousal in her panties.
Too hot.
She opened her eyes and saw the lift. Panic loomed up inside her again, crushing her calm and making her even hotter as the walls seemed to close in.
“Can't breathe,” she whispered, bringing her hand up to her throat. “Too hot...can't breathe.”
“Close your eyes, Kim,” he said, his voice still cool and collected. “Focus.”
She did, she shut her eyes tight and willed herself to focus on his hands. The way his fingertips pressed into her flesh made her ache inside, and the way his thumbs brushed against her bare back made her knees want to buckle.
A shiver ran through her when he swept the hair from her neck with one hand, his fingers barely brushing against it as his other hand continued to loosen her shoulders. Another wave of tingles spread over her when he blew against her neck, cooling her. Goosebumps raised her hairs and her nipples became pert. She could feel him close behind her, almost touching her. He blew on her neck again and she sighed. It was so cooling but made her burn inside.
She'd definitely died and gone to heaven.
The lift jolted and hummed as it began to move again.
Erik stared down at Kim and slowly took his hands away when she turned to face him.
Her wide-eyed stunned expression did nothing to alleviate the guilt he felt over his actions. He'd been so giddy with touching her, lost in their stolen intimate moment, that he'd forgotten himself and where they were. This wasn't their dreams. This was the real world and if he screwed up here, he could lose her forever.
He stepped back, giving her a little room as she buttoned her shirt again and looked everywhere but at him. He wanted to say something, but didn't have the right words. She toyed with her jacket, smoothing it in the same way she'd toyed with her shirt cuff yesterday. He wished he knew what she was thinking. All he wanted was a sign that he hadn't cocked things up.
The trouble was, she was so tempting right now, and his instincts were making him act rashly.
That and his brother.
He wanted to growl when he thought about the way Alistair had openly flirted with her. Alistair knew. If he tried, he'd be able to sense it as clearly as himself. Kim was his.
His and only his.
The lift stopped and the doors jerked open.
He watched Kim walk out and then sighed as he followed her. He had to think of a way to make things right between them again. Cursing his brother for making him act the way he had, he followed Kim up a narrow flight of stairs
and then out onto the roof.
Cool air bathed him, carrying away some of his tension. He closed his eyes to make the most of the feeling. It was such relief after the closeness of the lift. He gave a brief glance at Kim and then paced along the length of the roof. The whole of London was laid out before him, shimmering in the heat. The sun beat down, warming his back as he walked. He didn't know why he'd asked for a place to smoke.
He didn't smoke.
His brother had driven him crazy by daring to talk to Kim and he'd felt compelled to get her away from him. Smoking seemed like the most sensible excuse. He didn't think that turning to the room and announcing that he'd like to spend some time alone with his mate would have been well received.
He looked across the roof at her. She was standing still with her back to him, the breeze blowing her hair around and making her clothes dance. He wondered what she was looking at and walked towards her. Keeping his distance, he stared at the spot she was. It was the BT Tower.
She looked over her shoulder at him, her expression still a little shocked and confused. Her mouth opened a few times, but she said nothing. Maybe she didn't know what to say either.
Giving her a little space, he paced along the length of the roof again, trying to clear his head and find a way of apologising to her and fixing things.
He drew a deep breath and sighed it out as he walked back towards her. She'd moved closer to the edge and was looking down at the street below. He glanced there, seeing the red buses and black taxis fighting for dominance. The people looked tiny. A police car sped by, its sirens cutting the stifling heat and rising up to them.
“Come away from the edge, Kim,” he said and she looked over at him. “It unnerves me.”
She moved away and then frowned. She looked back at the edge and then down at her feet. He knew her thoughts now. She'd obeyed without even thinking about it. Everything was probably so confusing for her right now.
“I'm sorry about how I acted. I overstepped the mark,” he started and then ran his hand over his hair. The hair at the nape of his neck was soaked again. She wasn't the only one who had been getting too hot in the lift. She gave him a look that said he had her attention. “I'm not normally like that with women.”
Her attention returned to the city.
“I'd like to know what you're normally like then, Erik.” She perfectly echoed his words to her yesterday. He was surprised that she'd remembered them.
“More professional,” he said with a smile.
She looked over at him again, right into his eyes, her warm browns searching for an explanation.
“What is paragraph 157?” she said out of the blue.
It caught him off guard and he frowned. He'd forgotten about the damn contract and the clause that had gotten her too interested in something she wouldn't understand.
He stared at the city. The sun was already beginning to set. In a few hours, it would be getting dark.
“Come to dinner with me,” he said without looking at her. He felt her move closer and his gaze shifted to where she was standing. “Would you allow that? So I could apologise to you properly?”
She shook her head. “That really isn't necessary.”
He raised a brow, wondering if dinner wasn't necessary or the apology. Didn't he have something to apologise for? Sure, he'd smelt how aroused she'd been and felt the hunger in her was as primal as his own, but he'd still taken advantage of her panicking.
“I insist,” he said, moving closer to her.
She didn't move away. She just stared into his eyes. Damn she was beautiful. The warm sunlight bathed her skin, turning it golden and bright. Her lips were rosy and her cheeks were flushed from the heat. Her pupils dilated as she looked at him. He could feel the desire in her, knew she wanted to surrender to him and say yes.
“I really can't,” she said in a tight voice. “You're a client.”
“We can talk about work and nothing else—just this paragraph.” He took another step towards her.
She drew in a deep breath. He could see the indecision in her eyes. He felt like the Devil, tempting her to commit sin, rather than just making her come out to dinner with him.
“What does it mean?” she said, the uncertainty in her eyes becoming curiosity. “I know this contract is meant to be no questions asked, but I can feel there's something wrong about it.”
“Come to dinner and I'll explain it.”
She opened her mouth.
The door to the roof creaked open and Simon appeared. He walked briskly towards them. Kim's attention was stolen by him, but Erik noticed that she didn't look relieved to be rescued by her friend.
“Thank God you're okay. I heard about the lift. Were you all right?” Simon said as she turned to face him.
She nodded and Erik noticed her gaze shifted across to him. “Mr. Blackwell was wonderful. He really took care of me.”
“Good to hear. Alistair Blackwell's called it quits for the day. Said something about a meeting shortly after he was on a call to what sounded like one hot woman.” Simon grinned.
Erik frowned. Just like his brother not to take anything but women seriously.
“Drive you home? You don't want to be going on the tube today. It would be hellishly hot.” Simon held his arm out, gesturing towards the door while his eyes raked over Kim.
Erik's heart sunk when Kim turned away, letting Simon escort her back towards the door. She glanced back at him as she reached it, giving him a small smile. He knew what it meant. If they'd had a little more time alone together, he could have got her to agree to dinner with him.
The door closed.
He stared at it a moment.
A whole weekend away from her, and now Alistair was sniffing around.
Closing his eyes, he flung his head back and roared at the sky.
CHAPTER 6
The shiver that danced down Kim's spine made her stop in the stairwell. She looked back up at the door above her, the one that led to the floor below the roof. She swore she'd felt something, or heard something coming from up there. Something had made her stomach turn and her heart ache. Shaking it off, she told herself not to be so ridiculous. It was just guilt over leaving Erik standing on the roof like that. She hadn't known what else to do. A few more seconds alone with him and she would have agreed to his dinner proposal.
She wished she had.
Her sense battled with her heart, telling her that she'd done the right thing. He was a client. She couldn't get involved with him, no matter how interested in her he seemed.
Her heart asked her what was the worst that could come of being caught with him. She'd lose her job for sure, but it would be worth it for just one, slow kiss.
“Something wrong?” Simon's voice shook her out of her thoughts.
She smiled and began walking down the stairs again, still not quite able to get over the lift or even the rooftop. She hadn't believed it when Erik started apologising to her. If they'd been stuck in the lift much longer, she would have been the one having to apologise. She'd been a split-second away from turning and kissing him. He'd asked her if she liked the heat. There was so much heat coming off him, and off her when he touched her, that together they could burn hotter than the sun. She liked the heat. His heat.
Not listening to Simon as she walked down the stairs, her thoughts remained firmly with Erik. Why hadn't she accepted his offer? They could have kept it strictly business and she wouldn't have been stuck in her apartment watching television alone tonight. Sitting opposite him all night would have been nothing short of a dream.
She knew there was no chance of accepting now. Even if she saw him in the meeting room when she was getting her things, there would be other people around. She couldn't just walk up to him and tell him she'd love to have dinner and would he mind terribly if it was served off her naked body and all he was allowed to use was his mouth?
Simon held the door open for her when they reached the first floor. She smiled as she walked past him and then blinke
d when she found herself face to face with Erik as the lift door opened.
He smiled, but it didn't show in his eyes. They were dark and empty.
She watched him walk down the hall, taking in his build and how hot he looked even from the back. He disappeared into the meeting room and she sighed, her shoulders heaving with it.
“You're definitely out of spirits,” Simon said as he walked past. He turned to look at her, a smile still plastered on his face.
She shrugged and lied without flinching. “Dinner last night with the folks. You know it always drains me.”
It sounded like a perfectly good excuse for her current miserable mood. Why hadn't she just said yes? He'd practically begged her to have dinner with him. No other man on the planet had even asked her to dinner, let alone begged her.
She went straight to the meeting room and grabbed her bag, not daring to look at Erik. He was close to her as he packed his things away in his briefcase. It would be so easy for her to just whisper ‘yes' at him.
Her heart beat sickeningly fast in her throat and before she managed to find her voice, he'd walked out the door.
She closed her eyes a moment and gathered herself. It was probably for the best. She really did need this job. The voice at the back of her head said she needed him more.
“Shall we?” Simon said, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
He was still smiling. What the hell did he find to smile about all the bloody time?
She nodded and followed him, glad of the fresh air as she stepped out onto the pavement in front of the building. It lifted her spirits a little, making the world seem a bit brighter. She told herself that she'd see Erik on Monday, and Tuesday.
And then he'd be out of her life.
She frowned at the pavement, staring at the cracks as she walked beside Simon towards his car. She couldn't let Erik just walk in her life like that and then disappear.
A door opened in front of her and she realised that they'd reached Simon's car. She glanced at it. It was nothing short of a status symbol—a shiny red Jaguar XK. It was always so highly polished too, enough that she could see herself in it.
In Heat (In Heat Shapeshifter Romance Series #1) Page 4