Ari held on tight to Rafe, not too alarmed yet, but certainly eager to get out of the old contraption as it made its rickety decent.
After what felt like hours, but in reality was only a few seconds, the awful jerking motion stopped, but so did the elevator. There was no sound, no movement, nothing. Ari waited for the doors to open, but it didn’t happen.
Rafe reached for the “open door” button and pressed it several times.
Nothing.
Then he began pushing floor buttons.
Nothing.
Next, he pulled the emergency stop, which confused Ari, as they were already stopped, but if it got them out, she could hardly complain.
Again, nothing.
“There’s not an emergency phone in this thing?” Rafe asked Ari, as if she would know what was supposed to be in the danged elevator.
“Obviously, if you don’t see one, then that would be a big no,” she replied.
Taking out his cell phone, Rafe cursed. “It’s like we’re in the middle of nowhere. I have no service on my phone. Check yours,” he said, but he obviously didn’t hold out hope that it would be any different for her.
“No. Not even a glimmer of service,” she said.
Ari swore that if he made one little comment about being right, if he noted just once that they should have used the stairs, then she was going to beat him with her soda can. She glared at him as if daring him to do just that.
“OK, we need to assess the situation. There has to be a guard who patrols the floors. Even a cleaning crew. We need to just get the doors open and call out when we hear someone,” he said as he moved toward the steel doors.
Ari nodded and watched him take off his jacket. She certainly shouldn’t feel heat in her stomach as he rolled up his sleeves and then gripped the doors and began prying them apart, but she was mesmerized as his back muscles flexed, making her want to run her fingers over the solid man in front of her.
Though she’d continually tried to resist Rafe, she’d just given up. Since they’d begun ha**ng s*x again, she couldn’t seem to get enough.
All through her class this evening, he’d sent her looks that had her body burning and her stomach quivering. She would think that ha**ng s*x with the man for weeks on end would satisfy her cravings, but it had served only to awaken them in a whole new way.
She was hungry for him, and being trapped wasn’t helping her overheated body one iota.
“Dammit!”
Ari jumped as his voice echoed through the small box. She noticed he’d managed to get the doors open about six inches, but no matter how much he worked at them, they weren’t going any farther.
“They always make it look so easy in the movies,” she said, making Rafe turn around with a look of exasperation at that comment.
“It’s a safety feature. I was just hoping this contraption was so old that it wouldn’t have it,” he muttered as he gave up. “We’re between floors, too. There’s nothing more we can do at this point but wait.”
He was resigned, but his frustration had seemed to fade.
“Want some candy?” she offered, pulling a couple of bags of chocolate from her purse.
For a moment she didn’t think Rafe was going to ease up, which would be disappointing, since they were going to be there for an indefinite amount of time, and it would be even worse if he intended to be a bear.
To her great surprise, he grinned and accepted a bag.
“You know this stuff is terrible for you, right?” he said as he opened the package and took out a handful.
“Yep. I know exactly how bad, and I don’t care,” she answered happily as she took her own handful, popping it into her mouth with a satisfied sigh. She was very glad she’d swiped some on her way from the room. Her stomach was beginning to rumble because she hadn’t eaten since lunch.
Ari slid down the wall, deciding she wasn’t going to stand there all night. Rafe joined her as he began munching on his chocolate, making her feel quite smug, especially after his little health comment.
“I guess it’s all right to indulge once in a while,” he conceded.
“Oh, Rafe, it’s OK to indulge all the time — in many things,” she countered, giving him a flirtatious wink.
Looking at her incredulously for a moment, Rafe put down his chocolate and tugged her onto his lap, positioning her so her back was pressed against his chest, her backside cushioned on his thighs.
“You know, chocolate is an aphrodisiac,” she said as she leaned back, content to sit with him with his arms wrapped around her middle, and her fingers full of chocolate gooeyness.
“Don’t tempt me, woman. Hopefully, we’re going to get rescued at any moment and I don’t want anyone except for me to see you naked,” he said and pressed his lips to her neck.
“What if we were really quick?” She wiggled on his lap.
Never before had she been this bold, this daring. Two years ago, the thought of ha**ng s*x in a public place would have horrified her. Now, she was hot and swollen, and she couldn’t think of anything better than to have him sink deep inside her.
Ari forgot all about the fact that they were trapped. It was almost as if she were sitting with Rafe in a quiet, though uncomfortable, room. As his hands made circles on her stomach, she felt only desire and warmth, no fear, no need to be rescued.
In that moment, she realized what she was doing. By focusing on her desire, focusing on her physical need for Rafe, she didn’t have to focus on anything else; she didn’t have to think about them as a couple.
That wasn’t healthy. That’s what got them into so much trouble the first go-round. Yes, she’d fallen in love with him, but it hadn’t been enough. Why had she fallen in love with a man who had forced her into a situation against her will?
That said more about her than him.
She was already sliding back into that pattern, even though two years had passed. The thought of him fading back out of her life was almost unbearable. But why? What was it about him that made her never want to be apart?
“Tell me about South America.”
Rafe stiffened, his hand stalling for a moment.
“What do you want to know?”
“Everything. Tell me what you did, who you met, why you say it changed you so much.”
“I don’t think this is the right time,” he hedged.
“This is the perfect time, Rafe. We’re trapped in an elevator with no idea when anyone will come around,” she said.