She didn’t want that to happen. “Don’t!”
“Or kill the bastard so he doesn’t hurt you,” Ryan finished. “Either way, I protect you. Consider me your human shield from this moment forward.”
Chapter Seventeen
Something was wrong.
Simone’s breath seemed too fast. Her skin too pale. And her frantic gaze had locked on the elevator doors. Her body was way too tense, and he did not like this shit.
“Simone?”
She jumped.
And the elevator…stilled.
“Ohmygod.” Her body swayed. “I cannot get stuck in this elevator. That can’t happen. Not now.”
“Are you claustrophobic?” Simone sure as hell seemed to be acting that way.
She surged toward the panel on the right. Her hand flew down, and she started hitting buttons, just as the elevator had begun to move again.
Unfortunately, when her hands frantically flew over the buttons, the elevator jerked to a halt. A hard halt.
“No!” Simone tried to punch the buttons again.
He caught her hands. “It’s okay. Give the system a second.” Actually, he thought she might have accidentally shoved the stop button. An alarm was sounding nearby, and that was not good. “Simone? Look at me.”
Her gaze crashed toward him. Her pupils were too small. Her body trembled.
Static crackled from the elevator’s speaker. A female voice inquired, “Is everything okay in there?”
“We’ve stopped!” Simone cried out. “Get us moving, please.”
“Of course. Please stay away from the doors. Movement will resume shortly.”
Ryan pulled Simone away from the control panel and the doors. “You’re terrified.”
She didn’t deny the charge.
She’d laughed in the face of torture, but the elevator ride made her nervous? She’d seemed fine in the elevator earlier. When he’d been kissing her, she’d certainly seemed, um, more than fine.
Something had changed. Something had set her off.
Her family? Had his questions about her past stirred up old fears? “How did your family die, Simone?”
A shudder worked her delicate frame. “Not now. I can’t talk about them now. Not while I am in here.” Panic underscored the words. “I can’t breathe.”
He’d done this to her. He knew it. He’d brought up pain for her, and now she was hurting when he’d sworn that he would not hurt her. Ryan’s hand flew to cup her jaw.
“Ryan?” Confusion. Pain. Fear.
He needed to distract her from her terror. Needed to give Simone another focus.
He took her mouth. Took that precious, gorgeous mouth and kissed her with all of the passion and hunger surging through him. As soon as their lips touched, a long shudder raked over her body. She grabbed for his shoulders, holding on tightly, as if he were a lifeline when he wasn’t. He was the problem.
Her nails bit into his shirt and coat. Her body pressed hard to his. His touch on her jaw remained light, but his mouth kissed her with undeniable intent. Driving passion. Burning lust. His tongue thrust past her lips. He tasted her, and she met him with a greedy, desperate lust.
The elevator began to move again, but he wasn’t sure she realized what was happening. She’d pushed her body even closer to his. Her mouth was wild against his.
