34. Kian

34

KIAN

" S hit," I hiss as the building's emergency lighting flickers to life around me.

The front doors burst open before Jamie's voice fills the foyer. "Is she in the elevator?"

"Yeah, it stopped on level five."

"She needs six."

"Yeah," I call, already running toward the stairwell.

Jamie's heavy footfalls follow me as I take the stairs two at a time.

My chest is heaving by the time I hit the fifth floor and fly through the doors that will lead me to the elevator.

It's darker up here than it was downstairs, but I don't let that stop me.

"Lorelei," I bellow the second I get to the closed elevator doors.

There's silence for a beat that allows a little hope to slip in.

Maybe she got out on this floor for some reason. For all I know, she has a friend on this floor.

But despite trying to convince myself, I don't believe a word of it.

She's in there, I know she is.

"Lorelei."

"Kian?" a quiet voice says.

"Yeah, babe. Are you okay?"

Nothing.

"The power's gone out," I explain. "We're gonna get you out, okay?"

Silence.

"Have you called for help?" It's a stupid question, I know, but I ask it anyway.

When she doesn't respond again, I begin to think she's ignoring me, but then I hear her.

"It's dead. No one is answering."

"Shit." Spinning around, I face Jamie. "We need to get her out."

"Leave it to me," he says before confidently striding back down the hallway and disappearing into the stairwell.

The fuck?

"Jamie has gone to get help," I tell her, hoping like hell it's true. "Can you call me so we can talk properly?"

"My cell is dead," she calls back. There's a waver in her voice that makes my heart fracture.

She's not okay.

"Have you been thinking about my offer?" I ask in the hope of distracting her from the situation.

I'm sure I hear a laugh, but I can't be sure.

"Just think about the benefits."

"Not interested in the benefits, Kian. I thought I'd made that clear."

"I'm not talking about sex, Temptress."

"Then what can you possibly offer me?"

"You said you wanted to go to Paris or Rome this weekend. Which would you prefer? I'll book the company jet."

"You're an idiot."

"Maybe so. But I can be your idiot."

As I say those final few words, Jamie rushes into the hallway.

He briefly looks at me questioningly before turning his attention to the elevator.

"Oh shit," I gasp when I find a crowbar in his hands. "Why are you driving around with that?"

"You never know when it might be useful," he mutters before jamming it between the elevator doors and attempting to wrench them open.

"Is that really going to work?" I ask skeptically.

"Do you have any other suggestion?" he snarks, sounding very un-Jamie-like.

"Uh…" I guess not.

"Then, do you want to help?"

Jeez, who knew my driver was so snappy in a crisis?

"Shit," he barks when we finally manage to get the doors to part enough to see that the car isn't fully on the fifth floor.

"Lorelei," I breathe, peeking through the gap to see her darkened form huddled into the back corner. "We're right here."

"I-I'm—I'm a little claustrophobic."

"We'll have you out in a few minutes."

Her quiet sobs fill the air. I hate it.

"I can't climb up there," she says, staring up at me with wide, terrified eyes.

"Trust us, yeah?" I urge, although honestly, I've no idea how we will make it happen.

Jamie continues to do whatever he's doing that involves a lot of grunting and groaning, and only a few minutes later, the crippled doors finally give.

Dropping to my knees, I reach down into the car for her.

"I'll pull you out," I say, trying to reach her.

"Y-you can't."

"I can, Lorelei. You just have to trust me. Come on," I say encouragingly.

Slowly, she pushes from the back corner and moves closer.

A second later, she lifts her arms for help.

"Get up," Jamie demands.

"W-what?" I ask, ripping my eyes from Lorelei to glare up at him.

"Get up," he repeats. "I'll lift her up to you."

Too baffled to argue, I get up and stand aside, allowing him to drop to his front.

"Take your shoes off. You're going to need to help me by climbing up."

"I can't climb," she whispers.

"You can."

She quickly kicks her shoes off and stretches up.

"Ready?" he asks.

Lorelei doesn't say a word, but she also doesn't back away as Jamie leans into the space as much as he can and lifts her from the floor.

"That's it," he grunts. "Walk up."

The second I can reach her, I grab her arms and pull her higher.

"Hey, babe," I say, giving her my best smile hoping it'll distract her.

A loud rip fills the air, and her watery eyes shoot to mine.

"My dress."

"Fuck your dress," I grunt. "I only care about you."

I hear the words as if someone else says them, but as much as I want to, I can't regret them.

The second her legs are free, I sweep her up into my body and take off.

"My keys are in my purse," she cries when we're almost at the stairs.

"Jamie will get it."

Fuck knows how, but something tells me that he will.

Tucking her face into my shoulder, she allows me to carry her up the stairs.

I hold her tighter than probably necessary, but the sound of her crying and alone in that elevator continues to haunt me.

"What if he doesn't get my key?" she asks quietly once we're at her front door.

"Then I'll take you to my place."

The thought of having her in my space does weird things to me. But as much as I might want to see how she looks in my penthouse, she needs her own place right now.

Her breath catches at the prospect, and I'm unsure if it's with fear or excitement.

I don't get a chance to find out though, because the sound of Jamie's footsteps pounding up the stairs gets closer before he appears with Lorelei's purse and shoes in his hands.

"Keys?" Jamie says, holding up her purse.

"They're inside," I confirm before Lorelei has a chance to say anything.

Jamie hesitates, not wanting to dive into a woman's purse.

"Just get them," I grunt, fed up with standing in the hallway.

"Yeah, okay," he mutters before finally flipping it open and pulling them out.

It takes him two goes to find the correct key, and not a second later, I march through Lorelei's apartment.

Not bothering with the living area, I immediately turn toward her bedroom.

"No," she argues, wriggling in my arms the moment she realizes where I'm heading.

"Stop fighting, Temptress," I mutter as I kick the door open and march into her room.

The lights around us flicker to life, and suddenly, we're once again flooded with light, allowing me to see her room.

The place is a state. There's makeup, clothes, shoes, and all kinds of products everywhere. It's also possibly the girliest room I've ever stepped in. It is not what I was expecting at all.

"It's pink," I state, unable to stop the words from spilling free.

When she fights again, I finally release her, placing her on her feet at the end of her bed.

"You can leave now," she says, her head bowed so I can't see her face.

"Lorelei," I warn, tucking two fingers under her chin and giving her little choice but to look up at me.

"Stop trying to hide from me," I whisper, taking in her red, swollen eyes and tear-stained cheeks. "You've got nothing to be ashamed of."

Moving both hands, I brush my thumbs under her eyes, wiping away some of the darkness and lingering wetness.

"I fell apart," she confesses brokenly.

"So? That doesn't make you weak. Having a fear doesn't make you inadequate."

I study her closely, trying to gauge her reaction, to see if my words register at all.

"You need to leave," she says, taking a step back and severing our connection.

"No," I state. "Not until I know you're okay."

It's the wrong thing to say. Her shoulders tense and a fierce expression appears on her face.

"I'm fine. I've never needed anyone to look after me before, and I don't need you now."

Her words hurt. If it weren't for me—okay, if it weren't for Jamie—then she'd still be trapped inside that elevator. I think it's clear to both of us that she needed me tonight. Needed us.

"Are you sure about that, Temptress?"

The air turns thick around us. So thick that it becomes hard to suck in the breath I need.

She stares up at me with her big, watery eyes. Fear lingers within them, but there's more than just that alone: anticipation, desire, and hope glitter within them.

She trembles in my hold, her tongue sneaking out to lick across her bottom lip.

Unable to do anything but lower my head, I bring our mouths closer as the magnetic pull I feel toward her becomes stronger than ever.

I still when my lips are a hair's breadth from hers, giving her a very brief chance to react, to back away. But she doesn't.

Instead, she holds my eyes steady, silently daring me to do it.

Fuck.

My lips brush hers in the softest, sweetest kiss I think I've ever experienced, my hold on her face tightening in the hope of stopping her from running, should that be an option right now.

Three of the longest seconds I've ever experienced slowly pass as I wait for her to react, and just as her lips move, accepting the kiss, a voice rings through the air.

"I've made you a hot chocolate. I thought that might—oh, fuck," Jamie gasps when he walks into her bedroom and finds us locked in a kiss that is nowhere near finished. Hell, it's barely even started. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I'll just?—"

He runs out of the room, this time ensuring that the door is closed almost as quickly as Lorelei jumps away from me.

"You should go," Lorelei says, turning her back on me and wrapping her arms around her waist.

"No, I already said?—"

"Leave, Kian. I don't want you here. I don't…" Her words trail off as she marches into her en suite and slams the door behind her.

"Lorelei," I call, rushing over, refusing to accept that she's better off alone right now.

It doesn't escape my attention that if this were any other woman, I'd have left a long time ago without giving her a second thought.

But this isn't any other woman. This is Lorelei.

"Goodnight, Kian," she calls brokenly.

"Shit," I hiss, combing my fingers through my hair, trying to figure out what to do for the best. "Fuck it."

Marching through her bedroom, I rip the door open before slamming it behind me so she knows I've left, only to come face-to-face with my driver.

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't think?—"

"Forget it," I say, waving him off. "I've got a job for you."

"Anything," he says keenly, just like I knew he would.