Page 17 of Forbidden Sins
“Shit,” Gabe muttered. “This happens sometimes. It’s stuck.”
“Stuck?” Ellie tried to calm the hysteria that edged her voice. “I can’t be stuck in an elevator.”
“It’s okay,” he said, putting a hand on her arm, attempting to placate her. “It’s fine,” he told her in a calming tone. She pushed the emergency call button, but Gabe shook his head. “The button doesn’t work. It hasn’t for years.”
Ellie tried to get her breath, but the panic won out, and she leaned against the wall to stop the small box from spinning around her. “We’re going to die in here.”
He laughed, his deep chuckle both soothing and irritating. “We aren’t going to die in here. Claustrophobic?”
She shook her head. “Just afraid of plummeting to my death in a small, metal box. Or, best-case scenario, getting chopped in half during a rescue.”
“I think we’re a way off from either of those outcomes.” He laughed again.
“Did you plan this?” she asked, mimicking his earlier words.
“I guarantee I did not,” he insisted before laughing again.
“This isn’t funny,” she repeated, slapping him on the chest.
“It’s a little funny.”
She looked around. “Okay, we’re stuck, and the call button doesn’t work. How do we get out of here?” Looking up, she saw the ceiling tiles, and briefly considered climbing onto the top of the elevator and scaling the wall to safety.
“We call the front desk. They’ll get the service people in.” Gabe took out his cell phone. His frown wasn’t encouraging. “Dammit. No signal.” He shrugged. “We’ll just have to chill out here until they realize we’re in here.”
“Are you kidding?”
“Afraid not. But it won’t take long. There are only two other elevators. They’ll soon realize this one is out of commission.”
“Okay, fine. What do we do in the meantime?”
Gabe faced her, and a moment passed between them, where a flicker of heat ignited. “I’m sure we can find something to pass the time,” he said, his voice smooth as silk. When she looked up at him, his eyes connected with hers. He was just as sexy as he’d been the night she’d met him when he’d taken her on the Ferris wheel, and the night after that when they’d had sex in his kitchen. Before Ellie could stop herself, she reached out and grabbed his tie, pulling him to her, kissing him. He seemed surprised at first, but then his arms wrapped around her waist. The kiss was hot, all-encompassing, and when she pushed her hips against him, she could feel his rock-hard length against her stomach. He groaned and pressed her against the wall of the elevator, and his hands landed on her thighs, just above her knees. He slid them underneath the material of her dark skirt and cupped her ass in his large, strong hands, and squeezed. But it was the movement of the elevator finally kicking in that separated them, reminding them of where exactly they were.
They pushed apart, and Ellie fought to catch her breath.
“Jesus,” she heard him whisper, as he brushed back his wavy, golden hair from his forehead.
She straightened her skirt and clenched her shaking hands into fists in an effort to regain control, just as the doors parted on his floor. He stepped out, but she stopped him from walking away. “Just so we’re clear, I’m just as much at risk here as you are. And I’m not playing any game. This is my life, and I’m not going to fuck up my career, or any relationship I could have with my father, for anything. So, let’s just forget anything ever happened between us, okay?”
He looked her up and down. His body was tense. “Fine by me.” But then his expression changed. “I’ll still see you tonight?”
She held the door open with her hand and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll meet you at the address you gave me. I don’t think I’ll get out of here until later. Can I meet you at nine?”
“I’ll be there.”
She smiled. “Thanks.” She stepped past him, out of the elevator, and into the hallway.
“Where are you going?”
She walked away from him. “I’m taking the stairs the rest of the way down.”
CHAPTER SIX
GABETAPPEDHISfingers repeatedly on the manila envelope. He looked over the balcony from his spot at the Brotherhood’s table at Di Terrestres, watching for Ellie. He couldn’t sit still, and a restless energy made him fidget in his seat. He wasn’t nervous, but he wasn’t completely sure why he couldn’t sit still. Maybe it was leftover sexual tension from their kiss earlier. Maybe it was because knowing that she was his boss’s daughter, and he her new mentor, meant that he couldn’t touch her again.
He checked his watch again—it was a little past nine. She was late, and as his friends started arriving, and taking seats next to him at the table, he wished that he’d asked her to meet him anywhere else.
Alex got there first, holding the hand of his fiancée, Maria. Gabe stood to greet Maria with a light kiss on her cheek. “So, where’s your old lady?” Alex asked Gabe, as he held out a chair for Maria.