Page 25 of My CEO Neighbor
"Monica," Ted said, his voice closer now.
"What?"
"I am lonely too."
Her heart rate spiked, not from anxiety but from the recognition that they were approaching a point of no return.They were moving beyond neighborly confessions into something more.
"Nothing about today makes sense.I should be panicking about missing my meeting, about being trapped, about losing control of my day.Instead, I'm sitting in a broken elevator with a woman who thinks I'm a soulless corporate drone, and it's the most honest conversation I've had in years."
"I don't think you're soulless."
"What do you think I am?"
Monica considered this, her heart pounding so hard she was sure Ted could hear it in the quiet space."I think you're scared and brave and completely exhausted.I think you care so much about everything that you've forgotten how to care about yourself.I think you're..."
"What?"
"I think you're someone I could fall for if I'm not careful."
The confession escaped before Monica could stop it, honest and vulnerable and completely terrifying.Ted went very still beside her, and Monica immediately wanted to take the words back, to laugh them off as elevator-induced delirium.
"I know it's crazy.I know we barely know each other, and we want completely different things, and tomorrow we'll go back to being incompatible neighbors who—"
Ted's mouth found hers again in the darkness, cutting off her rambling with a kiss that was hungry, desperate, like Ted had been holding back for longer than just the few hours they'd been trapped together.
Monica melted into him as she kissed him back with equal fervor.He tasted like coffee and vulnerability, like three years of suppressed want finally given permission to surface.He kissed her like she was oxygen and he'd been holding his breath for years, Monica found she didn't care about complications.
She cared about the way Ted's mouth moved against hers, skilled and seeking.She cared about the way his body was warm and solid against hers, grounding her in sensation and touch.She cared about the way he kissed her like she was precious and powerful and exactly what he'd been looking for without knowing it.
When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Monica rested her forehead against Ted's and tried to process what had just happened.
"Well," she said, her voice shakier than she'd intended.
"Well," Ted agreed.
"That was..."
"Yeah."
Monica felt Ted's breath warm against her lips, and realized they were still close enough to kiss again if either of them moved the slightest bit forward.The temptation was overwhelming—to lose herself in the heat and want and the perfect fit of Ted's mouth against hers.
"Kiss me again," she said, throwing caution to the wind.
Ted didn't need to be asked twice.His mouth found hers in the darkness, and this time Monica let herself fall completely into the sensation.Into the way Ted's hands mapped her face like he was memorizing her features by touch.Into the way he kissed her like she was the answer to a question he'd been asking his whole life.
Into the terrifying, exhilarating possibility that maybe, despite all logic and reason, they might actually be perfect for each other.
The elevator shuddered and began to move, but neither of them pulled away.Whatever waited for them in the light could wait a little longer.
Right now, the darkness was exactly where Monica wanted to be.
