Page 9 of Elevator Pitch

His hands clamp onto my bare waist, and I try not to focus on how strong and warm they feel. He bends his knees and then lifts me up in the air. I scramble a little trying to get my footing on his thighs. He stays steady, which is impressive, and lessens my worry that he’ll drop me. At least I won’t have far to fall.

My groin is level with his face, though, and I pray to the elevator gods that I don’t plump up. Jesus fucking Christ, focus.

His voice is strained when he asks, “Are you close enough?”

I feel guilty when his arms shake from the exertion. No way I could return the favor with the weight difference between us. “I think if I grab onto the lip, I can lift up a little more.”

I feel a sliver of air filtering in from the misalignment between the floors as he pushes me higher. As soon as I’m able to grasp on to the edge, I yell, “Hello? Anyone there?”

My plea is met with silence.

Goddamnit.

“If anyone is out there, we’re stuck in this elevator!”

That’s when I hear it—another muted voice calling for help, same as us. I don’t know why that hadn’t occurred to me before now. Suppose I was hyper focused on Jace’s wedding and okay, Caleb too. How could I not be? Even now, I can’t ignore how my skin is prickling being this close to him.

“I think there are other people trapped too,” I call down to him.

His breath is labored as he says, “Looks like we’re going to have to wait it out. No doubt the hotel is aware that people are stuck on these elevators.”

“I think you’re right.” His hands begin slipping and then I’m falling, but Caleb catches me before I hit the floor.

I lose my footing, but he hangs on, helping to steady me. We’re toe to toe again, panting softly in the space between us.

I have the urge to seal our mouths together, if only to give him a taste of something he’s missing. Never mind the clandestine atmosphere and the fact that he’s fucking gorgeous.

I’ve hooked up for less, and sometimes, just to get off.

“So…what should we do while we wait?” I ask, my voice huskier than anticipated.

“Fuck,” he swears under his breath. “You’re driving me crazy.”

4

CALEB

“Crazy good?”he asks, and the light from my phone catches on his hazel eyes as they darken with unmistakable need.

Graham shivers as I graze my thumb along the line of his hip. I should let go of him, create some distance. This isn’t what I do. I’m not the guy who hooks up in a broken-down elevator with a man I just met. Fuck, who am I kidding, I’m not a guy who hooks up ever, but his skin feels too good under my palms, feels right. I revel in the flash of goosebumps pebbling beneath my touch, in the way I’m affecting him. It has to be over a hundred degrees in here, the heat bathing my bare skin proof enough, but somehow, my skin prickles on the back of my neck too. This awareness, like I’m about to jump headfirst off a cliff into unknown depths, like I’m about to do something stupid, and amazing, and maybe I won’t hate myself in the light of day if I just let myself have this one moment, is too much to ignore.

“Good,” I say, finally able to break through the cloud of lust building inside my brain long enough to find the words I shouldn’t say. “I really want to kiss you right now.”

“But?” He leans up on his toes, his hands burning my chest, stealing every last thread of my restraint.

“I can’t think of a reason not to.” I raise my hand, the tips of my fingers tingling as I dust them along the line of his jaw. The rough scratch of his five o’clock shadow foreign and perfect sends all the blood in my body rushing to my groin. “I can’t… think at all.”

Graham presses against me, the brush of hard against hard has my lips parting in a quiet gasp, and I can’t stop, the progression is too much, too real, and I lean down, his breath mingling with mine. “Can I…” He nods and it’s all I need to close the distance, before his hot mouth is on mine and my hand is curling around the back of his neck pulling him closer, chest to chest.

Graham tips his head back for me, opening himself up, taking me in as my tongue sweeps against his. His moan is enough to make me forget myself, forget all the reasons I shouldn’t be kissing a stranger, and it spurs me on. He tastes sweet and, maybe I’m imagining it, a bit like powdered sugar. Graham bites my bottom lip, and a sound so unbidden and new rumbles in my chest.

“Caleb…” he whispers my name, his palms skating over my heated skin, until his arms are around my neck.

There’s no space between us as I tower over him and back him against the wall of the elevator. My cock is heavy and throbbing, and it’s like he can read my mind as he presses his shoulders into the wall to find leverage. My hands find his ass, lifting him until his thighs are wrapped around my hips. We both groan, mouths open and wet and sticky with salt and that hint of sweetness I can’t stop chasing. Our hips grind together, the tension of it, of him, the friction, Jesus fucking Christ, I might actually come in my pants. The thought is sobering, and before I embarrass myself, I break away, breathless.

“Holy shit.”

He chuckles and rests his forehead against mine, his fingers light as feathers, tickling the back of my neck. “Holy shit is an understatement.” I huff out a laugh and he kisses me again. His lips are unhurried, measured. He’s mapping the curve of my jaw, taking his time, time I’m not sure we have, and I’m lost in him.

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