Page 11 of His to Burn

I kept my thoughts to myself, though.

Maybe being alone wasn’t the worst thing if he was my option.

I huffed, and then shook my head. “All righty then,” I said, taking a moment to regain my equilibrium.

Dealing with jerks was fifty percent of my job, and as soon as I got out of this elevator, I could put this one behind me.

Intent on doing just that, I turned my attention to my cell phone.

“No signal,” I said, not entirely sure why I still bothered to engage him. Realized it was attempt to calm my nerves, one that wasn’t working at all. But I wasn’t a quitter. So I spoke again. “But maybe someone will hear the bell.”

Then everything changed.

One moment I was pushing the bell.

The next, my arm was slammed against my side so tightly, I couldn’t lift it.

A second after, a strong, heavy hand clamped over my mouth, and I found myself caged in the man’s arms, trapped against his chest.

Knew instantly there was no way I could free myself.

The fear that I fought to keep at bay hit me like a sledgehammer, and I cursed myself for my miscalculation.

I tried to pretend he was harmless, ignoring the instinct that said he wasn’t safe. The arms restraining me with no effort at all proved how stupid I’d been.

“What are you?—”

The loud, angry words poured out of my throat but were silenced by his hand over my mouth.

Though he still seemed to be expending no effort, his huge, warm hand smothered my voice. The arm around my waist squeezed tighter, and he whispered in my ear.

“Shut up.”

The words were barely audible, so quietthat I was surprised I heard them over my pounding heart.

But hear I did, and the words vibrated down my spine, settling in my bones.

I heard something else in his voice, too.

This man, one whose very essence screamed calm and competence, was completely alert.

He sensed trouble.

That scared the shit out of me.

My heart pounded even harder, the jackhammering beats rattling my chest and making taking a deep breath impossible.

But I tried, sucking in a breath that was half sob, half moan and then exhaled, heavy and deep, a move that sent me deeper into the man’s hold.

His body was solid against mine, my plush curves molding against his hard muscles. But at that moment, his hand still tight against my mouth, his other arm pressing mine tight against my side, I felt something almost like safe.

Insane but undeniable.

Also fleeting.

The man was tense, his body coiled as ifready to spring.

That put me on even higher alert.