Bound to be Taken (Emergence) (4 page)

“You work together?” Her gorgeous medium-brown curls flipped off her face when she leaned to look at Aiden.

“Yep. We own the restaurant two blocks north.” They’d reached the elevator and Aiden pushed the button.

Dane tapped his leg with one hand. Time was running out. They needed to say something.

“The Italian one? Ameci’s?”

“That’s the one.” Dane grinned at her. To the best of his knowledge, she’d never been there. He’d have noticed.

“I’ve been meaning to try it out. Heard it’s good.” She smiled, and the sparkle in her eye made Dane’s blood pump fiercely through his body.

“You should stop by. Dinner’s on us. Are you free this evening?” Aiden asked.

Way to go, Aiden. Good plan.

“Oh… I’m uh, not sure. I have to work late.”

“We’re open until ten on weekdays. But for you we’d stay open even later if you’re running late.” Dane tipped his head to one side and batted his eyes playfully. “We try to give new customers the royal treatment,” he added when she blushed from ear to ear.

The elevator pinged and Dane flinched. How many seconds did they have left? Fifteen, twenty? At least they’d maybe possibly perhaps secured something for tonight.

Ms. Red in the Face bit her lip, and Dane almost groaned. If that woman didn’t stop biting her lip…

“I might be able to swing that. Let me see how the rest of my day goes. But don’t stay open just for me.”

Aiden cleared his throat. “Hey, if you’re comin’, say the word and we’ll wait.”

Were they laying it on too thick? Maybe, but time was ticking. They needed to act—now.

Aiden still held the door open, even though they were all safely inside now. Dane smiled. The man was stalling. Good for him.

Finally, he released his hold and pushed the button for floor ten, and then another for fifteen.

“So, how do you like being on the top?” she asked.

The top?
Dane nearly choked. His mouth hung open as he pondered how on earth she knew he was a Dom.

When her brow furrowed he realized she meant the top
floor
. Jesus, he needed a head adjustment.

Aiden poked him in the side. “Not bad. You should come check it out sometime.”

Dane sucked in a breath. They were pushing all the limits this morning.

She crossed her arms and cocked her head to one side. Her eyes drew close together in confusion. But Dane only glanced at her face. His gaze preferred to stray to her chest where her jacket now bulged open, revealing…well, not a whole hell of a lot, but with her arms pushing her breasts together and out, he could tell she was well-endowed. Her clothes were too prim for him to see her cleavage, but his imagination was working just fine with the partial glimpse of her blouse.

He wanted to peel that jacket off her and unbutton that shirt until her chest was fully revealed to his gaze.

Suddenly the elevator gave a hard lurch and stopped with a screech of metal. All three of them stumbled and Dane watched in slow-motion horror as Aiden lost his grip on his scalding coffee. It flung into the air and sailed toward the ground, hitting the floor hard and splashing the woman Dane had been in the middle of ogling.

She jumped back the few inches available to her, but not fast enough. A quick yelp escaped her lips when the burning liquid spattered all over her legs.

“Oh my God.” Aiden bent immediately and grabbed a slim ankle.

“Ow ow ow,” she stammered, jerking from his clutch. “That fucking hurts. Don’t touch.”

Ooh, she could cuss. If the situation hadn’t been so serious, Dane would have grinned.

Brown curls hanging in front of her, she bent at the waist and reached down to lift her skirt. Her legs were soaked and it had to burn.

Dane glanced at the panel on the wall and noted the elevator was stuck. He knelt with Aiden in front of her and assessed the damage. “Your hose are trapping the heat. Can you take them off?”

Geez, this was not what he’d had in mind when he’d imagined getting this woman’s clothes off. She was in pain. He glanced up at her face. Her eyes were scrunched together, and she was gritting her teeth.

“Good idea…” With little hesitation, she inched her skirt up and reached beneath it, her hands trailing up one thigh. Dane could see nothing, even from his perch on the floor. Although she was in enough pain to care little about her incredible modesty, she still didn’t give them a glimpse of her paradise.

Within seconds, she had rolled one thigh high down her leg, stepped out of her shoes and pulled the wet silk away from her toes. She immediately repeated the action with the other leg and then exhaled. “That’s better. Jesus.”

Dane reached for her ankle and gently lifted her foot. Her smooth skin was pink as though she’d spent way too much time in the sun, but he didn’t think it was too bad. Working in a restaurant, he’d seen all kinds of burns. This one was maybe first degree. She needed some cool water and a salve, but she wouldn’t need medical attention.

“I’m so sorry.” Aiden inspected her other leg. “I couldn’t hold on to it.”

“Not your fault.” She gave a half grin. “Unless you caused the elevator to break down that is…”

Aiden shook his head, and Dane wanted to slap him.
She’s kidding, man.

“I’d never do such a thing to a lady,” Aiden said. “If this damn thing ever starts moving, I’m sure Dane has some sort of ointment upstairs we can use to take the sting away. After all, he’s been known to burn himself a few times a week.”

This time Dane didn’t hold back. He did swat Aiden in the back of the head. “Usually only when I’m distracted.” He raised an eyebrow at his lover when Aiden turned to face him.

They both stood as Dane realized the implication of what he’d just said.

The elevator took that moment to lurch forward again and continue climbing. How fortuitous. Dane gripped his own coffee tight to avoid a repeat performance.

When the ping sounded and the doors opened on the tenth floor, the woman stepped forward. Dane took her arm. “Let it go. You wanted to see the view from our place. Now’s your chance. We can’t just let you leave without making sure you’re okay. And we really do have an ointment you can use.”

The doors closed once again while she gaped at him. A few seconds later, they reopened on the fifteenth floor, and Dane led her into the hall while Aiden stooped to grab her shoes, hose and the now-empty coffee cup.

“Where are all the doors?” she asked as they headed left.

“What doors?”

“To the apartments.” She glanced at him, her brows raised.

“Oh, that. Well, there are only two on this floor. The north one and the south one. We have the south.”

“Oh.”

Shit, he hoped she wasn’t overwhelmed by their opulence. They did like to live high. No doubt about that. Comfort and luxury was their middle name now that they could afford it. Since the restaurant had taken off and done so well so fast, they’d kept up the pace. They weren’t stupid financially. And they realized how fast the floor could drop, but they’d invested well, both of them, over the years and they could afford this apartment.

“I’m Dane, by the way. Dane Whitman. And you can thank Aiden for having butterfingers this morning.” He nodded over his shoulder.

“Hey, hey, now. It was an accident. Aiden Collins.” Aiden nodded, opened the door to their apartment and held it for her to pass.

“Stephanie Parkins,” she murmured as she entered. “Geez. They don’t have apartments like this on the tenth floor.” She glanced around and set her purse on the small table by the front door. Aiden laid her shoes and stockings there also.

“Come.” Dane still held her by the arm, guiding her across the room toward the kitchen area.

“You don’t have walls.” She twisted her head in every direction.

Dane chuckled. “Well, we have
some
walls. We just don’t like them in the living space. So we took them out. We own a restaurant. Cooking is important to us, so the kitchen is the focal point in our day. We like it open to the great room, so whoever we are entertaining can engage with us.”

“Makes sense.” She sat in the chair Aiden pulled out while Dane grabbed a towel and flipped on the faucet.

A ring tone Dane didn’t recognize filled the silence and Stephanie scrambled to pull her cell out of her purse. She mumbled a quick “sorry” as she answered the phone. “Hey, Lisa, what’s up?… No, I’m at lunch… Yes, that file is on my desk… Mr. Reeves was looking for me? Ugh… Yeah… No… I’ll contact that client right after lunch. Thanks for letting me know… ’Kay, bye.”

She hung up as Dane came back around the breakfast bar, wet cloth in hand. He gingerly lifted one leg. “Everything okay?” He leaned forward to assess the burn and then set the cool cloth on her skin. It wasn’t too bad, but he knew it had to sting like a mother right now.

“Yeah, just a lot going on this week. Too many clients. Too little time.” Stephanie hissed in a breath between her teeth. “I hate to be a baby, but that really burns. Do you mind if I use your bathroom? Maybe I could just um…never mind. I should really go back to my place.”

“What for? No, that wouldn’t be polite.” Dane stood and ran his hands through his hair. “We can’t just leave you alone after trying to burn you to death.”
Say something quick, before she walks out.

“I hardly think I’m going to die,” she stammered. “I just really need to submerge my legs in cold water to ease the sting. They still feel like they’re on fire.”

“Of course. Good idea.” Dane nodded toward the hall. “This way.” Jesus, fate was so very on their side today. Sure, he felt guilty as hell about her pain, but he was basking in the results. What were the chances they’d have been able to lure her upstairs and now get her at least halfway into their bathtub less than five minutes after entering the building?

After leading her to the master suite and then into the adjoining bath, Dane turned the right knob on the huge tub and reached for the stopper to let it fill with cool water. “Sit on the edge and let the water run over your legs…”

Stephanie didn’t hesitate. She hiked up her skirt a few inches, stepped into the tub and then sat on the edge. She sighed when the water started cooling her skin. “Much better. Thank you.” She turned to look up into their faces, her gaze bouncing from one to the other. Then she blushed again.

“No problem. We always try to provide medical aide after burning people in the elevator.” Dane turned to the cabinet and bent down to gaze at the contents until he came up with the item he’d been searching for. “Here it is. The best burn ointment I’ve ever used. We’ll give your legs a few minutes to cool off and let the burning reduce and then put this on.” He tapped the round plastic dish against his palm and set it on the counter behind him. He couldn’t keep from fidgeting.

Dane was totally out of his element trying to seduce this woman. Why? He’d lured women in before. What made her so…special?

Maybe because you’ve never met a woman who made your cock grow quite that hard that fast.
Just a whiff of her in the enclosed elevator had sent his libido into overdrive. And that was saying something considering the number of times he’d gotten off in the last twenty-four hours. Including twice this morning before they’d gone out to get the coffee.

Something about her. Her timidness. Her mysterious lack of understanding about how very attractive she was. Geez…

“We totally owe you,” Aiden said.

Stephanie jerked her gaze toward his. “Owe me?”

“Well, yeah. You know. We owe you a favor. Whenever I burn someone, I usually buy them dinner or take them to a movie or something,” Aiden hedged, a teasing lilt to his voice.

Good one, Aiden.
Dane smiled at his partner in crime.
Or a fetish club. It’s all the same thing.

“Oh, well, in that case…” Stephanie tucked her bottom lip into her mouth and then blurted out the next sentence on a sharp exhale. “I could really use a date for a company party I have to go to Saturday night. I’m trying to get a promotion and I need to look…I mean I need to… Let’s just say a date would help with my image, in my bosses’ eyes. In fact, I’d totally owe
you
if one of you would go with me.” She glanced from Aiden to Dane, her face so red now Dane almost chuckled.

My oh my. She needs something from us too.
Maybe that was why she’d even spoken to him last night. Dane thought back to their meager conversation and pondered the possibility.

“Hmm, intriguing.” Aiden rubbed his chin. Dane narrowed his gaze on the man. “Well, that’s not quite equal. I mean I did spill coffee on you, but…a date?”

“Well,” she stammered, twisting around to face them so that her legs barely hung under the spray of water. “I said I’d be in your debt too. Hell, I’d work it off if you want. I could trade a date for some shifts at your restaurant or clean for you…or something?”

Dane had to repress his gasp. She was desperate.

In a million years, he would never let her waitress or clean for them. He might want her on her knees…but not to clean the toilets. He might even ask her to wear an apron…but only if that were her only clothing. He groaned, fuck, out
loud
.

Aiden cleared his throat. Thank God he took over. He was obviously a better man than Dane. “Of course not. But, tit for tat, we sure could use you. It seems we have the same problem you do. We need a date for Friday night.”