Chapter 1
Natalie wasn’t about to let a pair of elevator doors win.She lunged for the narrowing gap, slipping through at the last second with a breathless, “Made it!”Her tote and portfolio carrier were clutched to her chest like priceless artifacts.
For the thirty-second descent, she allowed herself one rare luxury—breathing.Her phone buzzed inside her bag, screen flashing with a parade of messages she didn’t have time to read.With a sigh, she shoved it back and fixed her gaze on the glowing floor numbers.
“Faster,” she muttered, fingers drumming against her thigh as the elevator crept down.
Finally, the doors slid open and Natalie shot forward, a burst of speed that belonged on a racetrack, her mind working through the details of her next meeting…!
And smacked into a wall of muscle hard enough to jolt her teeth.
Her portfolio exploded from her grasp, papers skidding across the gleaming lobby floor.She windmilled for balance, one heel wobbling dangerously, and would’ve gone down in an undignified heap if a pair of strong hands hadn’t clamped onto her shoulders.
The world narrowed to the blur of movement and the heat of him—crisp white cotton stretched taut over a chest built to stop traffic, and at the open collar, a teasing glimpse of sun-warmed skin that made her pulse trip over itself.
“Are you okay?”
The voice—low, deep, threaded with concern—hit first.Then the eyes.Dark.Intense.Glinting with something hot and molten under the lobby lights.They locked on hers with such quiet power her lungs forgot their job.
Even in her four-inch heels, she barely reached his mouth—a fact that somehow made him seem even more impossibly tall.Her gaze lingered on the strong, clean line of his jaw, the faint stubble darkening it just enough to hint at recklessness under all that polish.From there, her eyes drifted upward, catching the elegant sweep of cheekbones and the hardness of his chin that made her fingers twitch with the urge to touch.
Then the lashes—thick, dark, and utterly wasted on a man—framed eyes that were all sharp focus and quiet power.No one needed lashes like that unless they were deliberately trying to undo a woman.And judging by the way his gaze held hers, steady and unflinching, she suspected he knew exactly what he was doing.
“Miss?”he prompted, amusement now curling his tone.
Natalie blinked.Words.Use words!“I—I’m fine,” she stammered.
Weight shifting, trying to balance once again, her hand accidentally landed against his chest.Oh my.Warm.Solid.The muscles shifted beneath her fingers, and her pulse spiked.His hands loosened their hold on her arms, brushing lightly against her skin in a way that sent a shiver darting down her spine.
“Good,” he murmured, voice low enough to feel.“I’d hate to think my clumsiness hurt you.”
Clumsiness?The man was standing like a marble statue in a suit, and she was the human wrecking ball.Mortification hit in a hot rush.Natalie yanked her hand back, though the sudden cool air against her palm felt like a betrayal after the warmth of him.
Her pulse was still sprinting, a ridiculous mix of adrenaline and… whatever this was.Attraction?Nerves?Both?She smoothed her skirt with her free hand in a useless attempt at dignity.
“No, no, it was my fault,” she blurted, the words tumbling over themselves as heat climbed her cheeks.“I wasn’t paying attention.I’m so sorry.”
And yet—her eyes betrayed her, flicking up to meet his again.Big mistake.The way he was watching her, calm and faintly amused, made her feel like she’d just stepped onto a tightrope without a safety net.
The corner of his mouth quirked up, just a fraction, as he dropped his hands.Her arms tingled at the loss of contact.Those hands, warm and strong, seemed made to steady her in more ways than one.Spider-killer hands, her mind offered unhelpfully, spiraling into a ridiculous fantasy about this man saving her from every arachnid within a ten-mile radius.It was the bane of her existence as a single person that she had to kill all the spiders.Looking into his eyes, she considered several other, more imaginative, tasks he could perform.
Before her thoughts could derail further, Natalie stepped back—and promptly tripped over her portfolio carrier.She wobbled, her arms flailing, but his hands returned, catching her with an ease that made her knees feel weak.
“Careful,” he said softly, his tone laced with a quiet authority that made her stomach flip.
Natalie froze, losing herself in those darkly intense eyes.They seemed to go on forever, like staring into a deep, still pool of chocolate.Her heart hammered in her chest, and for one long, suspended moment, the bustling lobby around them melted away.
“Ma’am?”a new voice broke the spell.
She startled, jerking her gaze away to find a woman holding her fallen portfolio carrier.Reality came rushing back, slamming into her with humiliating force.“Oh!”she gasped, stepping away from the man—the wall of a man—who’d caught her.“Thank you,” she mumbled to the woman before turning back to him.
Her eyes betrayed her again, snagging on the too-perfect lines of his jaw, the breadth of shoulders that looked as if they’d been built to block doorways—and maybe entire life plans.She swallowed hard.“Again, I’m so sorry for running into you.It won’t happen again.”
He didn’t answer, but the faint twitch at the corner of his mouth sent an electric jolt of awareness down her spine.That steady, unblinking gaze pinned her in place, making her pulse stumble, skip, and pick up speed again in a dizzying loop.
Natalie turned sharply, desperate to escape before her mouth or her body betrayed her further, and strode toward the glass doors.At the last second, she risked one more glance over her shoulder.
He was still watching her.
