by Vivian Arend
James marched to his bedroom to get dressed so he could go track down Kaylee and fix what he’d broken between them as soon as possible. Not to mention so he could fuck her silly and take her as a mate. “Annoyed. My brother insists on talking to me when I’m in the throes of mating fever, and my woman just vanished for some goddamned reason. Oh, and the power is out. Oh, and I got hit by lightning. Annoyed pretty much covers it, though.”
The dead silence on the other end of the line was unexpected.
“Talk or I’m hanging up,” James ordered.
“I’m shocked to find you this coherent,” Cooper confessed, his words coming out sharp and crisp. Accelerating as if he was reading his brother’s mind and getting to the point before James followed through on his threat. “Kaylee called Amber who called me. Seems Kaylee’s stuck in your elevator, and she’s worried because you’ve got the mating fever and are insistent you want her as your mate.”
“I do want her as my mate. Damn it, the elevator? Power surge must have fried out the entire building when the lightning struck. I’ll have to climb down to save her,” James said in a hurry. “You’ll have to contact emergency services to make sure there’s no one else in the building who needs help. And get my power up and running ASAP, got it?”
“Wait,” Cooper said sharply. “How come you’re not stupid with the fever right now? This is only your second time—it took years before I wasn’t mindless the entire seven days I was feverish. Are you sure you’ve got it?”
The desperate need to be with Kaylee was growing stronger by the minute, and his skin was on fire, but thankfully his mind was crystal clear. “Maybe getting struck by lightning cured the stupid—and why the hell didn’t you or Alex warn me about that part? Assholes.”
“Rite of passage. But slow down. Kaylee was scared to call you for help. Maybe I should come—”
A full-fledged roar escaped James’s throat at the thought of another unmated male near his Kaylee.
“—and forget I even mentioned it,” Cooper added smoothly. “You sure you know what you’re doing?”
James snorted. “Absolutely. Lightning strikes are great for clearing the confusion. I think I even know why she didn’t call me for help, but don’t worry. Everything will be fine. She’s mine. We belong together.”
He didn’t wait for Cooper to say goodbye. Just stabbed the off button and finished yanking on his clothes.
Kaylee obviously had a working phone, but calling her to say he was on his way wasn’t going to get her rescued any sooner. He shoved emergency supplies into a bag, pulled on his coat, and made his way to the elevator control station.
Thank goodness Alex, in his role of head of security, had insisted all family members knew the inner workings of all potential escape routes from their buildings.
Of course, his brother had been raving about espionage and kidnappings and other impossible scenarios at the time, but the end result was James knew exactly which panels to remove to get access to the support cables for the stuck elevator.
He shined his flashlight into the darkness then checked the master controls.
“Damn it.”
The elevator cage was caught between floors. There was no easy way to get Kaylee in or out without joining her.
First things first, then—and at least being trapped together would give them time to talk where she couldn’t run away.
James slipped on the leather gloves he found on the work shelf by the controls, slung his bag over his shoulder, and got ready to make a move.
Maybe a warning was in order…
“Hey, Kaylee.”
Even from a lot of floors away he heard her gasp. Words followed, albeit muffled. “James? No, you need to stay away.”
“I need to be with you, Kaylee Kat. Don’t worry. I’m in my right mind this time.” He caught the thick cable in both hands. “I’ll be landing on the roof of the elevator in a minute. Expect a bang, okay? It’s just me.”
“I’m scared.” The confession came out softly. “So scared.”
“I’ll make it better,” he promised before wrapping his teeth around his flashlight and making the jump.
The slide downward would have been exhilarating if this weren’t a rescue mission. James moved quickly but tried to land as softly as possible to keep from rocking Kaylee. Poor woman was worried enough.
His feet touched down, and he quickly took the light from his mouth, unscrewing the ceiling access as he spoke. “I’m here. You’re safe.”
He lifted the escape panel out of the way and poked his head into the black box that held his woman trapped.
Kaylee was curled up in the corner, wrapped in one of his throw blankets. She held her phone in front of her like a candle, the golden light from the screen reflecting off her face.
Her worried and tear-streaked face. At the sight of her fear and sadness, his gut dropped five feet. “Oh, sugar, it’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.”
She shook her head. “I’m so sorry.”
James forced himself to chuckle as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “Nothing to be sorry about. Let me drop the things I brought, and I’ll be right with you.”
Because once he got her into his arms, he wasn’t going to let her go.
7
It had taken her minutes, not seconds, to react after being plunged into darkness.
She’d actually had to close her eyes and pretend she was just sitting in her room to be able to stop shaking enough to grab her phone and call for help.
Her inner cat was no help—not only was the creature mad at having left the warm apartment, her cat disliked dark places just as much as Kaylee did.
Although the beast would never admit it.
And now, as James dropped toward her, sadness enveloped her harder than the terror that had shaken her in the dark.
She hadn’t been able to save him.
Maybe if she was really, really lucky she could find a way to hold him off, but with them trapped together in close quarters, it was a long shot, considering what she’d heard about the mating fever.
Considering how he’d been acting before she escaped his apartment.
His feet touched down and the elevator shifted. Kaylee squeezed her eyes together and bit her jaw down to keep from crying out.
Then she was being scooped up in his arms, cradled against his body.
“I’m sorry for scaring you earlier,” he murmured. James put his back to the wall and slid downward. She ended up in his lap, legs draped over his.
He wrapped a hand around the back of her head and tugged her to his chest, then rearranged the blanket over the two of them and just held her.
After being terrified that the elevator was going to plummet to the ground, this moment of being protected was exactly what she needed. His heartbeat rang firmly under her ear, and his breathing evened out. She tried to keep pace and found herself relaxing in the darkness, guarded by the big bear shifter who’d been her friend forever.
The one about to make a terrible mistake. Oh dear.
“Hey,” he soothed, rubbing her back in circles. “It’s okay.”
She couldn’t keep the tension from returning. “It’s not okay, on so many levels.”
“Well, since we don’t really have anywhere to go for the next while, maybe we should talk about all the things that have you tensing up like a bowstring.”
“You’re going to be stubborn about this, aren’t you?” she complained.
“Stubborn as a bear,” he teased back.
The phrase was familiar and so theirs that Kaylee pushed away from him. She hauled out her phone and turned on the screen so she could see his face.
He was smiling. Or at least his lips were curled upward, but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes that made her heart ache. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked sincerely.
“Because I’m glad to be here with you, but I’m sorry I scared you away. We could be enjoying the blackout in the safety of my suite
right now.”
“Staying with you wasn’t a good idea,” she said drolly. And sitting on him wasn’t too smart, either. He didn’t seem to be acting weird anymore, but he was still fiery hot.
Surely he couldn’t just turn off the mating fever?
Kaylee wiggled with the intention of moving to her own corner of the space.
Nope. His arms locked tighter. “Stay where you are. You’re cold, and we can talk with you sitting where you are just as easily as with you freezing all by your lonesome.”
She growled at him in frustration. “Bossy bastard.”
“You ain’t seen nothing, Banks. Now let’s go through your bullshit list of what’s currently not okay in your world, shall we?”
Bullshit list? She tilted her phone to shine at her face so he could see her glare of disapproval.
James snorted.
Fine. He was going to be an asshole when she’d been trying to save him from himself? “We’re trapped in an elevator, and it could fall and kill us any moment.”
“We’re currently locked in place by the best backup system my overbearing oldest brother could purchase,” he countered. “Cooper paid extra to have emergency double redundancy systems in place for exactly this kind of circumstance.”
She pondered that, blinking when James snorted in obvious amusement.
“I still think my idea of a backup power source would have been even handier, but that’ll be an argument for the next time I see him.”
Oh. “So, we’re safe?”
“Safe and sound. But trapped, at least until Cooper finds a way to turn the power back on.”
At least she could put dying off her list of concerns.
The rest of it—
She took a deep breath and blurted it all out.
“You have mating fever, or you did, and you were raving about wanting me for a mate. And you can’t. I mean, you’re my best friend, and I like you tons. I do think you’re attractive, sexy even, but there’s no way you can be with me forever. You’re…you. I’m…me. I’d be terrible for you as a mate.”
He rubbed his chin against the top of her head and hummed happily. “You think I’m sexy?”
Arghhh. “That’s all you pulled out of my confession?” she snapped.
“Other than the bit about me being your best friend, it was the only part worth listening to.”
Oh. Hell. No.
She grabbed hold of the front of his shirt with both hands and shook him. She had to make him understand. “I’m scared to death of so many things, and you’re the public face of your family’s company. I can’t talk to strangers. I can’t go to business meetings in all parts of the world because I’m scared to fly. I would die if I had to get up beside you on a stage and schmooze with people.”
“Is that what’s got your knickers in a twist?”
A small scream escaped as she rose in the darkness. James had caught hold of her, lifting and twisting so when she landed, she was straddling him.
His hand reclaimed her neck. The other landed low on her body, keeping her from being able to squirm away.
“Let’s see if I can answer the rest of your worries. Yes, I have the mating fever, and yes, I was raving—sorry about that. You can hit Alex and Cooper later for not warning us that the first years of fever tend toward bear-in-charge stupidity.”
Okay, that made sense. “I saw your bear in your eyes—wait. You still have the fever?”
He ignored her and went on. “I’m apologizing for the raving bit, not the desire to have you as my mate. You’re my best friend, Kaylee. And I like you tons, too. You’re also sexy as fuck, and I can’t think of anything I want more than to have you beside me forever.”
“You’re not listening,” she shouted. Although the sexy as fuck part had been nice to hear. “I’d be terrible for you.”
“This isn’t a job application,” he stated back, louder than before, but not yet reaching her volume. “I’m not looking for a publicity partner. I’m looking for a mate.”
She didn’t see it coming. Literally, since it was completely dark and they’d been having the entire conversation in a small seven-by-seven-foot metal box that caused their words to echo off the walls.
He caught her with her mouth open, kissing her with heat and wetness, tongue and teeth. That hand on her lower back tugged her in tighter until the entire front of their bodies connected.
The fear that had rushed her earlier was swallowed up whole by the greedy way he took her mouth. The worry he was making a terrible choice was consumed by the ardour roaring between their bodies.
Everything that was wrong was shoved to the side by the lust that had been denied for far too long. It lit every nerve in her body and sent her reeling.
She’d tried to stop him. She’d failed. Now it was up to fate.
Kaylee slid her fingers into his thick hair and fisted tight. Holding his lips to hers so she could give back as good as she got. His tongue slicked over hers, and she moaned.
No longer cold, alone, or fearful, she was the one who came out the winner in this deal.
Even that thought made her sad.
James disconnected their lips, breath escaping in pants as he fought for control. He leaned his forehead against hers, speaking softly. “You’re perfect the way you are. I swear.”
“It’s just—”
“Kaylee.”
She took a deep breath. “I don’t want to hurt you,” she whispered.
He kissed her gently. “Then don’t run away or abandon me again. That’s the only thing you could do that would hurt.”
It was a reasonable request. “I’m sorry.”
“Forgiven. Promise me you’ll talk to me if you get worried, just like we’ve always talked about everything.”
She snorted. “Obviously that’s not true.”
His confusion hovered on the air even as he stroked his fingers over the back of her neck. Caressing. Teasing. “What have we not talked about?”
It was easy to smile in the darkness where he couldn’t see it. “‘Sexy as fuck’? I had no idea.”
A low chuckle escaped him. “Ditto. But I’m glad you feel the same way. I want my mate willing to jump my bones.”
“Jumping could be arranged,” she whispered. She curled against his chest, trying to push aside the lingering worries he seemed so willing to dismiss. “But can I request we not do it for the first time in an elevator?”
“We might be here for a long time,” he warned, “if they can’t get the power restored. I might find it hard to resist the mating fever.”
Kaylee had forgotten about that part—he was so much more in control now than he’d been before. “Are you in pain?”
“Some. You can make it better, though.”
“Yeah?”
“I need a little to tide me over.”
She paused in the middle of petting his chest sympathetically. “Need a little what?”
His lips brushed her ear. “You. Perfect, wonderful, delicious you.”
8
J ames kicked his own butt for not figuring out earlier that all her protests were because Kaylee was trying to be noble and completely underestimating herself.
Utter bullshit—her not being perfect for him.
Even the way she snuggled in tight, her hands stroking him as if trying to ease his pain, was exactly what he needed.
Well, he needed a bit more, but he was enough in control that the mating fever was like an intriguing plot line in a favourite TV show. He could see the pivotal moment approaching, but in the meantime, it was fun to figure out exactly how they would get to doing the deed.
The beginning of forever. He didn’t need to rush.
In fact, now that he was in his right mind, he realized he had a few options available to make this moment more than just an acceptance of the animal magnetism between them.
He drifted his fingers forward until he cupped her face. Pressing his lips to hers for a very gentle kiss. “Don’t move.”
It only took a moment to settle her to one side, carefully tugging the blanket around her shoulders to keep her warm.
A soft laugh escaped her lips, teasing his senses. “Gee, I was planning on doing a CrossFit workout.”
James reached for the bag of supplies he’d brought with him, unzipping the front compartment and pulling out a set of flashlights. “If you’re looking for exercise, I’m pretty sure I can get your heart rate going.”
He clicked on the first light, adjusting it to a warm glow. He did the same with the second, then tucked them into the far corners of the elevator. The light reflected off the decorative mirrors and turned the small space into a cozily lit oasis.
James glanced at Kaylee to discover her eyes were wide open, her lips glistening as if she’d just licked them.
Oh, yeah, he could totally do something to get both their hearts pounding.
He reached into the bag and pulled out a bottle of water, passing it over. “Drink. I don’t want you to get dehydrated.”
The heat in her eyes gave way to amusement. “You just said we might be stuck in here for a while. If you give me too much to drink, this is not going to end well.”
Good point, although she really didn’t have anything to worry about.
“Trust me,” he said softly. “Just a couple swallows.” She’d cried out enough moisture that she really had to replace it.
Her shoulders lifted in a gentle shrug, obviously willing to put up with him being a bossy bastard. “Just believe me when I say there are some things I don’t want to share.”
It was his turn to laugh. When she handed the bottle back, he took it in one hand then relaxed against the wall opposite the lights. A second later, he pulled her on his lap so she was straddling him, taking the time to drape the blanket over her shoulders again.
Kaylee stared down, the gentle light revealing her worried expression. “What if I hurt you?” she asked again.
“You never will,” he promised. “Now, considering we’ve been friends forever, maybe the easiest way to switch things up is to do this one step at a time.”