Chapter One
FIONA
I tapped the button inside the elevator, and the doors began to close. Just then, I heard footsteps moving swiftly in the direction of the elevator. A hand shot out, catching the door, and a second later, a man appeared. My system felt jolted for one fiery second.
His eyes met mine as he smiled. “Made it.” He stepped into the elevator, and the small space suddenly felt even more cramped. This man’s presence and size filled it.
“Floor three?” he prompted when he glanced at the panel.
I cleared my throat with a nod.
“Well then, we’re going to the same place.”
He tapped the button, and the elevator began to move before it abruptly stopped with an unsettling shake.
“Hm,” the man said. “That didn’t feel right.”
“Did we stop on the wrong floor?” I asked needlessly because we’d barely moved.
“Something like that.” He tapped the button again.
I looked around the small space, curling my arms around my waist and willing myself to stay calm. The man beside me pulled out a phone and tapped on the screen. A second later, he swore. Lowering the phone, he eyed his screen. “No reception.” His gaze flicked to me.
Even though I could feel my heart racing and a sense of panic churning inside, I couldn’t help but notice he had stunning eyes. They were a silvery shade of gray with thick dark golden lashes to match his hair, which was the color of burnished brass with glints of gold that shimmered even in the dim light of this elevator.
“We won’t be here long,” he assured me, his confidence belying the anxiety I felt.
“If you say so.”
“I’m Blake,” he offered after another moment. “There are only four stories, so we don’t need to worry.” His tone was light, and meanwhile, the space was feeling smaller and smaller.
When he arched a brow after several beats, I kicked my brain into gear. “Oh, I’m Fiona. Fiona Blake, actually.”
He chuckled. “We share a name.”
I smiled, thinking this man was way too handsome. Here we were, trapped in a tiny elevator, and my hormones were doing gymnastics at the sound of his rumbly laughter.
“It can’t be too long,” Blake offered another few minutes later.
He tapped the emergency button on the panel, only to get a crackling sound in reply. Suddenly, the elevator jerked, and I lost my balance, stumbling against him.
His arm curled around my shoulders as he steadied me. “That’s a good sign.”
“It is?”
“Sure. It means they’re trying to work on it.”
The elevator jolted again. Blake’s arm hadn’t left my shoulders, and it felt nice. He was warm and solid. Just when I started to feel hopeful, the elevator plunged. I cried out when it stopped with a shuddering thump.
“I think we just fell all the way down.” My voice was a little shaky when I peered up at Blake.
He met my gaze, nodding. “I think so. That’s either good or bad.”
“Good?!” I squeaked.
“Good, because we can’t fall any farther.”
He slipped his phone out of his pocket again to peer at the screen. “Still no reception. What about your phone?”
I still had my purse looped over my shoulder, so I fished my phone out of it to glance at the screen. There wasn’t a single bar of reception. “Nothing.”
“Damn,” he said slowly. “I guess we’re here for a bit.”
I took a breath, willing my heartbeat to slow. He leaned his hips against the wall, curling one hand on the railing. “Well then, tell me about yourself.”
My eyes widened as I looked over at him. “Now?”
His lips kicked up at one corner, and my belly did a little shimmy. “We’re stuck.”
The elevator jerked again, really hard, and then lifted slightly. Once again, I stumbled into Blake, my purse falling off my shoulder and hitting the floor with a soft thump. My hand landed on his chest. I could feel the heat of him through his Henley shirt. I could also feel the muscled planes of his chest under my palm and the steady beat of his heart.
When I looked up at him, my heart drummed a little faster. We stared at each other.
“I want to call you Fi,” he said, his slow and raspy voice sending heat pooling low in my belly.
“You can call me Fi,” I whispered, a distant corner of my mind almost aghast that I hadn’t leaped away from this man.
Maybe he wasn’t a complete stranger, but all I knew was his name and that we were both trapped in a small elevator in an office building in Juneau, Alaska. I was here for an initial screening with a human resources department for a company for a new job in a smaller town nearby.
The elevator jerked hard and then abruptly started rising. I leaped back in a hurry, trying to catch my balance and failing when the elevator shuddered again.
Blake’s hand landed on my hip as he steadied me. “I think we’re moving up.”
There was one more shudder before the elevator started moving smoothly, stopping when the lights indicated we were once again on the first floor. The doors opened just as I stepped away from Blake again.
“Not sure what went wrong, but we seem to have it working again,” a man standing outside said. “For now, we’re going to ask that you take the stairs.”
I bent down to lift my purse, trying to gather my composure. Between being trapped in the elevator, my hormones coming out of a long hibernation, and telling a man he could call me Fi, I felt seriously flustered.
I straightened to find Blake’s intent gaze on me. “Are you okay?” he asked, his tone low.
The man waiting outside the elevator was saying something to a woman who appeared.
“I’m fine,” I said, mostly unsettled by the fact that I actually wanted to kiss this man in the elevator.
“Nice to meet you, Fi,” he said, the heat banked in his eyes sending sparks leaping through me.
“You too, Blake.”
He dipped his chin. “Take care then.” He walked by, saying something to the woman standing outside the elevator. He appeared to know her. With a quick wave, he crossed over to a door and disappeared through it.
I glanced around until the man waiting said, “Stairs are right over there.”
I followed where he pointed and hurried up the stairs. A few minutes later, I twisted my hands together, waiting to meet with the woman doing my initial screening for a job interview. I needed this job. It was my ticket to a fresh start.
Chapter Two
BLAKE
A few weeks later
I looked over at Fiona Blake, trying to contain my body’s reaction to her. She was sexy as fuck. With her brown hair with golden glints pulled back in a tight bun, almost severe. With her wide blue eyes and thick lashes. With her glasses she kept pushing up on her nose. She had sharp features—starkly angled cheekbones, a straight, narrow nose, and elegantly arched brows—all set off with the most kissable mouth I had ever laid eyes on.
I could still recall the feeling of her against me in that elevator. The soft give of her breasts against my chest when she stumbled and fell into me, the sweet curve of her hip, and the way my palm itched to slide over her bottom.