Chelsea's eyes met the mirrored wall instead of Olivio's face, and what she caught there—-just a flash, barely a second before he redirected his attention to the closing doors—-was him looking at the place where her braid had come undone at the nape of her neck.
Her hand flew up before she could stop it, fingers finding the loose strand and tucking it back.
She didn't see his jaw tighten. But Edgar, standing between them, did.
The elevator doors opened again at the eleventh, and more people stepped in. Chelsea started feeling nervous as the space compressed.
If this continued...then what?
The same thought, unbeknownst to Chelsea, was running through Olivio's mind. And at first, he simply intended to stay where he was. But when he saw one of the men shifting slightly toward her, Olivio found himself moving, and the next thing he knew, he had placed himself between Chelsea and the man, which had the secondary effect of positioning her behind him and against the mirrored wall.
What the hell am I doing?
Olivio tensed as more people came in, the space tightening again and again, bodies rearranging with the wordless efficiency of people who rode elevators in expensive buildings.
Chelsea herself was struggling to put some distance between her and Olivio, trying at first to make herself smaller as her shoulder blades pressed against the mirrored wall while she held her quilted case in front of her like a shield.
Oh please, let this be it!
If more people came in after this, there was nothing else she could do, and she just didn't want to risk Olivio thinking she was coming on to him or anything.
Please let that be it.
But instead it was the opposite, with more people entering at twenty-two, and then twenty-five. The physics of the situation simply overruled her, and the next thing she knew they were completely pressed against each other, and there was no mistaking the lethally masculine power he radiated through the fabric of his suit.
Oh no.
The scent of his aftershave reached her first. It wasn't overpowering like the lady's perfume from earlier. It was more subtle. But also...more complicated. She couldn't explain if this had more to do with the man wearing the scent or the scent itself, but there was just something about it that made Chelsea want to lean closer rather than further away.
Control yourself, Chelsea Regis!
She pressed her fingernails into the quilted fabric of her case, but it was no use. Her body, which had been "dormant" for years, suddenly felt more alive than ever, and it was all because of...him.
The scent that she couldn't get enough of. The masculine strength that his powerful form radiated. Everything about him was just so...oh, how to put what she was feeling into words?
There was just something about him that had every nerve ending from her collarbones to the backs of her knees straining, just yearning and helplessly aching to close the last millimeter of distance between her and the warm wall of his back and just...stay there.
I think I'm going crazy.
Because this...this didn't make sense. The way she could feel his breathing and how every breath he drew mattered. To her. Meanwhile, her own breathing had gone completely rogue, shallow and fast and happening at a rate that she hoped he didn't notice.
But alas, it wasn't to be.
Because Olivio did notice.
And the fact that he did had Olivio gritting his teeth.
He had never been the type of man who was so easily affected by mere proximity. No matter how beautiful a woman was, he had never struggled to maintain his control, and it was always the woman who ended up begging, always the woman who ended up succumbing first.
But this time...
This girl who was now his wife...
Everything about her was different.
She wasn't even touching him, but the impact of her just being near to him was maddening. In fact, he was experienced enough to know it was the opposite, with how Chelsea was doing her rigid best to hold herself away to keep her body from coming into contact with his.
He had no idea if that was her being coy or something else. All he knew was how hard she was trying not to press against him, and she was just trying so hard that she didn't realize it was making things worse for both of them, her efforts turning into an unbearable tension that was just a touch away from turning into attraction and desire.
