It’s been a long time since I’ve let a woman touch me.
“What’s that red wire for?” she asks.
“Emergency power.” I trace it with my finger. “It’s…disconnected.” Well, there’s our problem right there.
“Can you fix it?”
“Maybe. But if I’m wrong, we might lose all the lights.”
She sucks in a breath. “Luke.”
The way she says my name sends heat through my frost-bitten heart.Shit. “Yeah?”
“Should we…risk it?”
I glance over at her, the dim lighting highlighting her delicate features in a way that has me steeling my reserve. “I’m right here, Molly.”
She nods, her blonde hair sliding over her shoulder. She presses deeper into me as I strip the wire carefully, then reconnect it to the terminal. “Here we go.”
The lights flicker, then die completely.
Molly gasps, her nails biting into my shoulder. “Luke!”
“Wait for it,” I say calmly, tempted to wrap an arm around her but force myself to wait.
The emergency lighting kicks back on, brighter than before, and the elevator hums to life. It shudders once, twice—
Then nothing.
“Shit,” I mutter.
“At least you tried,” she says, disappointed.
I stare at the panel, running through the standard wiring diagram in my head. Then I spot it—a small breaker switched to the off position.
I flip the switch.
The elevator lurches upward, and Molly lets out a surprised laugh, throwing her arms around my neck. “You did it!”
For a second, I’m frozen in time, her arms around me, her warmth, her face bright with relief and joy. She pulls back just enough to peer up at me, her hands resting on my chest. Those blue eyes sparkling, her smile wide, and before I can think better of it—before I can remember all the reasons why this is a fucking terrible idea—I kiss her.
It’s soft at first, tentative. I give her a chance to pull away but she doesn’t. She melts into me instead, her fingers curling into my shirt. I deepen the kiss, tasting the sweetness I craved all night. Strawberries and sugar and something that can only be found on her lips…
For one perfect moment, there’s no reason to keep my walls up. To keep my heart locked in an iron cage.
Then reality crashes back in.
I pull back abruptly, my heart hammering.
Her lips part, her eyes dazed and confused, and I—
The elevator dings.
I step back. My chest, despite knowing better, deflates.What the hell are you doing, man? You’ve been here before and look how that ended. In fuckin’ flames. I know better than to let pretty women like Molly ineven an inch.
“Sorry, I—”
I grunt, cutting her off as the doors slide open to reveal Danny, his phone in hand. “Oh, my goodness,” he exclaims. “How did you—?”
