Hearts in Darkness Read online

  More of the puzzle that was Caden Grayson came together just then. Tattoo. Piercing. Buzz cut. He must look rough on the outside. But he was a big, sweet, considerate, sometimes vulnerable softy on the inside. And she wanted to get to know both sides a lot better.

  It was impossible to know how long they kissed in the darkness—time seemed to lose all meaning. But Makenna was breathless and needy and wet by the time he ran kisses and nips down her jaw line to her ear and, from there, down her neck. His short whiskers left a trail of fire against her skin as he moved. She curled her legs toward him, needing to feel more of him pressed against more of her. The groan he let loose when she hiked her knee across the back of his thigh made her whimper and rock her hips against him.

  He pulled himself closer and slid his knee between her legs, keeping her from twisting her back the way she'd been. Not that she'd really noticed. Caden sucked the small diamond stud piercing her ear lobe into his mouth as his right hand ghosted over her body and settled on the hip wrapped around him.

  "Oh, God, Caden."

  His cheek drew into a smirk where it pressed against her own, but she didn't mind him smirking when he licked and kissed and sucked at her neck the way he was doing. She tilted her head to the side to open up to him, and ran her hands back up to offer encouraging caresses to his neck and head.

  That was when she felt it. The fingers on her left hand clearly traced what could only be a scar on the side of his head. She hesitated for less than a second, but he sensed it and pulled back just a little.

  "I'll tell you all about it,” he whispered against her neck, “I promise."

  She inhaled a breath to respond when the elevator jolted and light exploded in the small space.

  Makenna yelped and clenched her eyes shut. Caden grunted and buried his face in the crook of her neck. After hours of staring into blackness, the light was painful, blinding.

  Makenna was frustrated with the timing of the lights, relieved they were on, but fearful about what would happen to her and Caden now that they were.

  And then the elevator shuddered. They plunged back into darkness.

  They both groaned again and curled around one another as they tried to adjust to the strobing effect the lights left behind their eyelids. Makenna went from being blinded to seeing a swirling kaleidoscope of disorienting red and yellow spots.

  "Shit,” Caden rasped.

  Makenna stopped worrying about her strained eyes and paid attention to him again, only to realize his body had gone rigid above her. Oh no. “Caden?"

  His only answer was a strangled groan low in his throat and his left hand clutching a little tighter at her shoulder.

  She understood what was wrong. She might've only known this man for a handful of hours. She might not ever have seen him. But she knew him. And she knew he needed her.

  "Hey, hey,” she cooed to him as she stroked his hair. “It's okay."

  He didn't relax at all, but she sensed he was listening to her, or trying to.

  "I'm here. And we're okay. We're gonna be okay. You're not alone.” This time, Makenna added to herself. She was mentally cursing that teasingly temporary return of the electricity, because it'd offered the most glaring reminder of the whole night that Caden was trapped in a small, pitch-black metal box. She found herself furious on Caden's behalf. As she continued to stroke him and offer occasional murmured reassurances, mentally she cursed the inventor of the elevator, the electric company, her meter reader, and, while she was at it, threw in a few choice words for Thomas Edison, too, because, well, Caden wouldn't be trapped in a tiny electrical conveyance if good old Tom hadn't gone and found a way to apply electrical theory. She wasn't too happy with Ben Franklin and that damned kite, either.

  Caden's shoulders finally unbunched. He shuddered and inhaled. Makenna let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.

  "I've got you, Good Sam,” she said with a relieved smile.

  He nodded infinitesimally, but she felt it nonetheless.

  "Come here,” Makenna offered as she guided his head from where it'd been buried in her neck to her opposite shoulder so he could lie alongside her. She stretched to wrap her arms around him and was just barely able to clasp her fingers together as she held him.

  The shock of the flashing light set off a panic attack so unexpected, Caden had a hard time breathing. The only thing that kept him from losing his shit entirely was the calming scent of Makenna's hair and neck.

  He didn't need to wonder why the light had set him off. All at once he was sucked fourteen years into the past, hanging upside down with his head wedged between the front center console and passenger seat, buried in a pile of baggage and vacation souvenirs. Something sharp stabbed into his side, making it difficult to take a deep breath without worsening the sting of it. His head rang and throbbed. Something wet ran down into his hair. And his right shoulder sat entirely too close to his jaw to be natural. For the longest time, the darkness and silence was eerily complete. But then the full horror of his situation would be fully illuminated by a flash of light from a passing car.

  The first time it happened, Caden had been filled with relief and used much of what energy he still had screaming, “In here! We're in here!"

  But no help came.

  Not many headlights went by as the hour had become so late, but with each one Caden had his faith raised and dashed, his battered body further buffeted against the rocks of pleading hope and terrified disappointment.

  As he passed in and out of consciousness, those rare moments were even harder to bear, because it became difficult for him to distinguish reality from nightmare. By the time a passing tractor trailer finally stopped to help, several hours later, Caden was so sure he wouldn't survive the crash he didn't answer when the driver called out to ask if anyone could hear him.

  "God, Caden, that's horrible."

  He frowned and unthinkingly shifted his head to look up at Makenna's still-hidden face. “What?” he asked, his voice a dry scrape.

  "I said that was a horrible thing for you to have gone through. I'm so sorry."

  With a start, he understood he'd said out loud what he only thought he'd been remembering. And yet, here was Makenna, still holding him, soothing him, accepting him completely despite his infuriating childish fear.

  For fuck's sake, he ought to be the one comforting her through this ordeal.

  He leaned his head back into the crook of her neck and breathed deeply. Without having seen more of Makenna than her gorgeous red hair and her tight little backside, Caden was sure he'd be able to pick her out of a crowd by her luscious scent alone.

  As he relaxed more fully, something she'd said came back to him. “Why did you call me ‘Good Sam'?"

  She squeezed her arms around him. He could hear the smile in her voice when she spoke. “Before I knew your name, I was thinking of you as my Good Samaritan. For holding the elevator door.” She chuckled. “I really needed something nice to happen to me today, and you being patient enough to wait earned you the nickname."

  Caden smiled. “Whatever you say, Red."

  "You know, I'm close enough to smack you now."

  "Go ahead, I might like it.” His anxiety had mostly subsided. He was feeling more like himself again. Now his body started responding to his memory of their phenomenal kissing and the way she was wrapped around him. When Makenna coughed out a laugh, Caden smiled wider that she didn't come up with a witty retort. He liked that his comment flustered her.

  Caden swallowed thickly and wished they had more water. He was too warm and covered in a sheen of panic-induced sweat, though neither discomfort gave him the first thought of pulling away from Makenna's equally overheated body.

  One of Makenna's hands left his shoulder just as he heard the unmistakable noise of a yawn.

  "Tiring of your stranded-elevator company already?” Caden asked, but also worried it could be true, particularly once she saw him.

  "Never,” she said through the tail end of the yawn. �
��Sorry. It'd been a long day hours before I had the pleasure of meeting you. And the heat is making me sleepy. And you're comfortable,” she added in a small, tentative voice.

  "So are you.” He squeezed with the arm lying across her torso and tucked his fingers under her back to keep his hold firm. “Close your eyes, Red.” Caden thought he could surely fall asleep in this woman's arms, but hated the idea of missing even one of what he was sure would be too few remaining captive minutes with her.

  "I don't really want to,” she protested in a whispered voice.

  "Why not?"

  She didn't answer right away, but finally said, “Because I'm...enjoying you."

  Caden hid his smile in her neck and reached forward to press a rainfall of kisses on her soft skin. He traced his nose up the slender column of her throat to her ear. “Me, too,” he breathed, enjoying her shiver. He pressed a kiss against the shell of her ear and added, “I'm sorry, for earlier."

  One of her hands felt its way up to his face, where she tenderly cupped the hard angle of his jaw. “Please don't be. I'm just glad to be here for you."

  He laid his head back on her shoulder. “But I want to be here for you."

  "You are.” He grumbled and she squeezed her arm around him. “Make you a deal: I'll help you through your claustrophobia, and you can help me with spiders."

  "Spiders?” He chuckled.

  "Those things have way too many legs to be acceptable. Don't even get me started on centipedes."

  "Deal.” He laughed, but inside he was beaming because her proposition only made sense if they were going to spend time together outside this damn elevator. And he really wanted that.

  Hopeful, Caden pulled his hand out from under her back and stroked her long hair, threading his fingers through it from scalp to curled ends. When his fingers would linger over her scalp, she'd make a noise like a satisfied purring kitten, encouraging him to pet her over and over again.

  Finally, her body relaxed under his. She fell asleep. And then it was his turn to feel satisfied—satisfied that this woman who hardly knew him and had never seen him felt safe enough in his arms to give herself over to the vulnerability of sleep. It was a trust he vowed never to break.

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  Chapter Five

  Makenna awakened slowly and begrudgingly emerged from her dream. She was lying on a beach, the heat of the summer sun beating down on her, and her arms and legs were entangled with her lover. She could almost feel his weight covering her.

  And then she was awake enough to realize at least part of what she'd dreamed was real. The night came back to her in a rush. The elevator. Caden. The kisses. She smiled into the darkness.

  She couldn't guess how long she'd been asleep, but it was long enough that her back protested the hardness of the floor.

  "Hey.” Caden's voice was gruff, thick with sleep.

  "Hey. Sorry if I woke you."

  "Nah. I've been in and out of sleep."

  "Oh.” Makenna covered a yawn.

  "You snore,” Caden said after a minute.

  "I do not!” At least, she didn't think she did. It'd been a long time since she'd slept with someone else. She covered her eyes and groaned. When Caden chuckled, Makenna dropped her hand, turning her face in the direction of his.

  "No, you don't. I just wanted to get a rise out of you."

  "You suck,” Makenna said through her own chuckle.

  Caden shifted forward and pressed his lips against her throat. His kiss turned to suction as he drew her skin into his mouth. She gasped. After a few seconds he let go. “I can suck,” he murmured as he kissed her again.

  Oh my.

  Her mind flirted with something witty, but all she could get out was a whimper as he pulled his lips away.

  Caden shifted them, pulling Makenna onto her side facing him. She groaned, but not in pleasure. Her back screamed in protest.

  "Are you okay?"

  "Yeah, it's just...my back is kinda sore. Do you mind if we sit up?"

  "Course not."

  Makenna regretted losing the feeling of Caden's body, but sitting up relieved her back so much she moaned.

  "Come here,” Caden said, his voice now more distant from her.

  "Where are you?"

  "In the corner...you can lean against me."

  Makenna smiled at his thoughtfulness—and his continued desire to touch her—and she crawled on her hands and knees toward where she thought he might be. Her fingers fell on a shoe, and she worked her way up his jeans-clad leg as she crawled between his bent knees.

  Her hand touched his thigh, and he groaned. She bit her lip and smiled.

  Carefully, she turned herself around and settled her body back against the hard plane of his warm chest. She hesitated for just a moment, then allowed her head to fall back onto his shoulder. He nuzzled against her hair. She could've sworn she heard him sniff, which reminded her of her earlier errant thought about running her nose up his throat. Pleased she could finally do what she'd wanted, she turned her face toward him and swam in the tantalizing scents of crisp, clean aftershave and man.

  When he wrapped his arms around her waist, she sighed, then covered his arms with hers.

  "Better?” he asked.

  "Mmm, much. Thanks."

  She felt him nod and smiled when he pressed a kiss onto her hair.

  Makenna was tired, but didn't think she could sleep. It was stifling in the elevator. She suspected the heat was as responsible for her exhaustion as the hour.

  "Got any more questions?” she asked after a while, wanting to hear his voice again.

  Caden chuckled and his chest rumbled against her back. “Hmm...where do you live?"

  "You know the shopping center at Clarendon, where the Barnes and Noble and Crate and Barrel are?"

  "Yeah."

  "I live in the apartments above that.

  "Those are pretty new, aren't they?"

  "Yeah, I've been there about a year. It's great for people watching. I sit on my balcony a lot and watch the kids run around the playground and the people walk between the shops. How ‘bout you, where do you live?"

  "I got a townhouse in Fairlington. I work out of the firehouse there, so it's pretty convenient. Does your family live around here, too?"

  "No. My dad, Patrick, and Ian still live outside of Philadelphia, where I grew up. And Collin's in graduate school in Boston.” Makenna hesitated for a moment, then said, “My mom died when I was three. Breast cancer."

  Caden hugged her tighter. “Shit, I'm sorry, Makenna. I went on and on—"

  "Stop, really. I didn't want to say anything before when you told me about your mom, because...well, I mean, this sounds kinda bad to say. But I don't remember my mom. So, for most of growing up, she was more of an idea than someone I actually knew enough to miss. It doesn't compare to what you went through."

  "It sure as hell does,” Caden urged. “I don't care whether you're three or fourteen—a kid needs her mom. At the age you were, you probably needed yours more than I needed mine."

  Makenna nuzzled back into Caden's chest, loving the protectiveness she heard in his voice. “I don't know. Maybe. But that's the thing. I don't know how he did it, but my dad was so great, he managed to fill his shoes and hers. Patrick is seven years older than me. He did a lot to help with me and Collin too. And my dad's sister moved to Philadelphia some time after my mom died. Aunt Maggie was always there when I had a problem I couldn't go to any of the guys with. So, while it's sad to think about not having had a mother, I had a good childhood. I was happy."

  "Good,” Caden whispered, “that's good."

  Caden couldn't believe she'd lost her mother too. It explained a lot about her—she clearly understood loss, even if her experience was different than his. But he had no doubt hers had taught her the empathy and compassion she showed when he'd told his story. He thought maybe he finally understood what people meant when they talked about kindred spirits.

  Makenna's back arched when
she stretched and yawned, and Caden stifled a groan when her bottom pressed back into his groin. The friction was fantastic but too short. His imagination took off at a sprint. All he could think about was grinding himself into her tight ass and feeling the sensual curves of her hips in his hands as he held her to him. He was surprised out of his fantasizing when she didn't lean against his chest again, but instead shifted around to face him. He could tell she was sitting on her legs because he felt her knees press against the inside of his thighs. The contact made his groin tighten. He clenched and released his fists, trying so damn badly to let her take the lead. He didn't want to push her past where she wanted to go. But her initiative was fucking sexy. When her hands landed on his chest, his cock twitched and fully hardened. He shifted his hips to make himself more comfortable. She leaned into him. He moaned his appreciation when her breasts fell against his chest as her lips found his chin.

  "Hi,” she whispered.

  "Hi.” He wrapped his arms around her body and hugged her to him.

  Then her lips found his. Caden groaned as she focused first on the double piercing on the side of his bottom lip. He was relieved she seemed to like his spider bites, as they were called, though he suspected, for this woman, he'd rip them the fuck out if she didn't.

  Her kiss was soft and slow, exploring, and he savored every pull of her lips, swipe of her tongue, and shifting press of her body. He ran his hands up and down her back enjoying the way the silk of her blouse skimmed against her body. When small moans and whimpers accompanied her kisses, Caden's erection twitched. He shifted his hips. He wanted more of her. He wanted to claim her, make her his.

  But he also wanted to see her as he took her. He wanted to learn everything about her body. He wanted to watch her reactions as he used his mouth and hands to please her. And he definitely wanted her to have more than a quick fuck on a floor. She deserved better than that. Much better. And he thought maybe he wanted to give her everything.