His sandy hair was cut military short in a style that wasn't corporate-chic at all though. No shiny product marred its softness. She felt herself growing curious about him. She couldn't even smell any offensive aftershave wafting towards her. Just a hint of soap and clean skin. Usually being in elevator with a man in a suit was like being trapped in a cologne factory, so she usually took the stairs. Today, she was wearing four-inch pumps and forty floors was a lot. She'd learned recently that she liked a bit of punishment, but not that kind of torture.
She was just moving forward to get a better look at him when he reached towards the elevator control panel and hit the stop button. The elevator obeyed with a lurch, and Kayla grabbed the hand-rail to keep herself from stumbling.
The man in the suit turned towards her and gave her a familiar naughty grin. Kayla's heart lurched. It was him. Her cowboy. But he didn't look like her cowboy at all. He was still gorgeous, but the stubble, messy hair, and thread-bare clothing were gone. This guy looked like a complete corporate shark. And yet she still found him wildly attractive.
She looked at him in shock for a moment, so thrilled to see him again that she thought about just grabbing him and kissing him and forgetting completely about the elevator maintenance staff that were probably already alerted. Then reality set in. Had he followed her somehow? Was he some kind of deranged stalker? Was she now trapped with someone dangerous?
"Nick? What are you doing here? And why have you stopped the elevator. They're going to throw us out." She said, reaching out toward the panel to hit the release button.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him, until she was pressed up against his side. "I need a few minutes with you to explain. Just give me that and I'll get us moving again."
She frowned at him and removed her hand and body from his grip. "Two minutes and then we need to get out of here."
"Would you believe me if I said I belonged here?" He asked cheekily as he reached into his pocket, brought out a card and handed it to her.
She took the card from him and moved away to look at it. It said his name was Nicholas Finnegan, and he was the CFO and Founder of Anin Industries. She looked up at him questioningly. "I don't get it. Why would you be working at a stud-farm? Or as a prostitute, for that matter?"
He handed her another card. This one was very familiar. It was the same one that had been slipped under her door at the London conference last month. "Let's just say I have a vested interest in both."
She stared at him incredulously. "You mean you own both?"
"Well, I have the majority of shares in Delta of Venus, so I don't technically own it outright. But the farm is mine." He looked at her hopefully.
"I can't believe this." She shook her head and handed the cards back to him. "You set the whole thing up then? What if my fantasy had been something weird, like I wanted to dress you up as a baby or something?"
"I guess I'd be shopping for some really big diapers then."
"You're serious? You wanted to sleep with me that badly?" A small, pleased grin stole across her face.
"Well, yeah. Of course. Eventually. But more than anything I wanted to get to know you. Unfortunately, you weren't exactly the most approachable. I'd seen you burn a lot of guys, and I didn't want to be one of them. I thought if I could meet you under different circumstances, I might stand a better chance of not being totally rejected."
"I don't get this. We haven't even spoken before we met at the stable, have we?"
"Nope. Not a word. I know this is going to sound kinda creepy, but I actually noticed you last year at another conference."
She reached around him with a glare and hit the elevator release button. It started moving again, but very slowly. "A year. You've been watching me for a year? Do I need to call the police or something? You haven't been sitting outside my home with binoculars, have you?"
He grinned sheepishly. "Of course not. It started off very innocently, I swear. I watched how you were really kind to all the waiters and bar staff. Then, I was at that presentation on staff motivation you gave and you were so professional and confident, and yet a little bit of humor kept sneaking into everything you said. What can I say? I was intrigued."
They reached the fortieth floor and the elevator doors slid open. Kayla wasn't sure what to do. She thought of how happy she'd been to see him and how much trouble he'd gone through to gain her attention. Why was she angry with him exactly? Hadn't she contemplated stalking him just as soon as she got back home? Pretty hypocritical to criticize his methods when she was fully prepared to infiltrate his work environment to hunt him down.
He'd deceived her, for sure, but if he'd approached her in his current corporate mode of dress, would she have blown him off? Probably. She seemed to have some kind of weird prejudice against men in suits. Maybe it was her humble upbringing, but somehow she had developed an aversion to them. She didn't want to believe she was that superficial, but apparently she was.
She looked at him now, standing there looking irresistible, with his powerful arms holding the elevator open. He was waiting impatiently for her to decide if she was ready to take her fantasy cowboy and make him part of her real world. Suddenly it seemed very obvious what she wanted. Just him. Her cowboy who could exist comfortably in both her worlds. They had a lot to discuss, but it could wait. Now she needed to get him out of that suit.
For once, she did something very impulsive. Grabbing him by his very proper tie she backed him into the elevator. She hit the stop button as she passed the control panel and pushed him against the back wall. Reaching up on tip-toes, she kissed him. Really kissed him with all the pent-up longing of the past week.
Nick responded with a groan and kissed her back hungrily. He turned them so she was backed up into the corner and angled her chin up so he could kiss her neck. After a minute of this he came to his senses. Pausing, he moved back and looked into her eyes. "Kayla, I'm so sorry. I should have told you everything at the stable, but I totally lost my nerve. Tell me you'll give us a chance. That I didn't totally blow it. Because I want to be way more than a fantasy to you."
Kayla smiled gently at him and ran her hand over his very short hair. "You're already way more than that. You have been since I heard you talking to that horse." She gave him a stern look. "But I do think you need a little punishment for your behavior. Too bad that riding crop has gone missing."
He grinned and trailed one finger down her cleavage. "Well, actually, it's in my room. I've been carrying it around for a week."
She laughed and playfully swatted his firm buns with one open palm. "I knew you had it."
"Yup. I've got it, and you can give it to me later. But right now I have an elevator fantasy I'd like to fulfill." He sunk to his knees in front of her and began kissing his way up her smooth thighs.
Kayla eased her legs apart and bit her lip, waiting for the exquisite pleasure only her cowboy could give her.
When the elevator maintenance crew arrived, they discreetly waited until the moaning stopped before prying open the doors. Apparently, they were very familiar with Nick's particular elevator fantasy.