weakly as he moved across the few feet of space and pressed the emergency button, his movements cool and controlled and his face expressionless. Is it sexual frustration? She shut her eyes briefly and prayed for the trembling that had taken over her limbs to still. But she didn’t even have a sex drive, did she? Or not until three days ago, anyway.
‘Claustrophobia.’
‘What?’ She opened startled eyes to see his face inches from her own again, and the next moment he had taken her into his arms, stroking her face comfortingly as he held her close against him.
‘The panic you’re feeling,’ he said softly, his voice deep and low. He had seen her trembling and put it down to claustrophobia? She said a mental thank you to her guardian angel. ‘It’s perfectly natural and you’ll be out of here in a few minutes. Just relax and let me take the load—you’re doing fine.’
This wasn’t helping, it definitely wasn’t helping, she thought weakly as he enfolded her into him, wrapping his overcoat round her as he held her next to his heart. He thought she was scared to death but, instead of the biting scorn she would have expected, he was displaying a tenderness that was alarming. She was immensely glad a few seconds later when the emergency button buzzed loudly and the small intercom next to it crackled out the security guard’s voice. ‘Hello? Is anyone in there?’
‘Rogers?’ Wolf moved across to answer and Lydia leant limply against the wall of the lift, her heart thudding as she watched him. ‘My secretary and I are in here. What the hell’s happening?’
‘I’m sorry, Mr Strade,’ the male voice answered promptly, ‘but there’s some sort of a power-cut that’s affected all this side of the road. I understand it’s being dealt with as quickly as possible, but I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do at the moment.’
‘Brilliant.’ He glanced across at her quickly before speaking again. ‘Any idea how long before we’re out?’
‘Not long, sir.’ There was a brief pause while they heard him talking to someone else. ‘About twenty minutes or so at the most.’
‘Right, keep me informed.’
As he turned to face her fully again she spoke quickly in case he thought he had to continue the role of comforter. ‘I’m fine now, really.’ She smiled brightly. ‘It was just the suddenness of it all.’
‘Good.’ He clearly thought she was just trying to be brave, because the expression of gentle concern that was so surprising on the harsh features didn’t lessen. ‘Well, we may as well make ourselves comfortable while we wait. I suggest you take off your coat—it’s already getting a little warm in here.’
‘Right.’ As she shrugged the jacket off her shoulders he moved quickly and drew it down her arms, his light touch burning her flesh as his fingers briefly made contact.
‘Sit on this.’ He made his own coat into a large cushion, crouching down as he plumped it into shape. As she sat down on the wad of material he gestured at his tie. ‘Do you mind?’ he asked mildly. ‘I don’t like these things at the best of times.’
‘Of course not.’ He stood up again, for which she was supremely grateful. The way the material of his trousers had moulded to his thighs had caused her breathing a few problems. He unbuttoned his jacket, revealing the grey silk shirt tucked into the flat waistband of his trousers, and then loosened his tie, undoing the first few buttons of his shirt. Somehow, in the close confines of the small lift, the action was painfully intimate, but for the life of her she couldn’t draw her eyes away from his broad shoulders and muscled chest, the dark body-hair beneath the shirt causing hot colour to surge into her cheeks. Was he hairy all over? She shut her eyes against the thought.
‘OK?’ Her eyes snapped open to see him sitting against the opposite wall, his narrowed gaze fixed on her face. ‘You look hot.’
‘No, I’m absolutely fine.’ She smiled brightly.
As she brushed a wisp of hair from her cheek his eyes followed the action, his gaze resting on the smooth blondeness of her hair. ‘How did you come to get such unusual colouring?’ he asked suddenly. ‘Your hair is so fair and yet your eyes are almost black.’
‘I don’t know.’ She tried for a casual smile—that piercing gaze was more than a little unnerving. ‘Some errant gene, I suppose, but it must be a strong one. Hannah, my daughter, is exactly the same. Everyone says she is a carbon copy of me.’
‘Do they?’ There was something in his expression she couldn’t read and it unnerved her still more. ‘Your husband is a very lucky man to have two beautiful females to love,’ he said, after a few strangely tense seconds had ticked by.
Lydia’s stomach clenched and she looked away quickly, her eyes downcast. How could she reply to that? She took a long, hidden breath and prayed for calm. ‘How long have we been in here now?’ she asked tensely.
‘About ten minutes.’ He didn’t glance at his watch as he spoke; his gaze never left her face. ‘Shut your eyes a moment and try to relax,’ he added gently. ‘Take a few deep breaths and regulate your breathing.’ He thought there was a danger of her hyperventilating? Lydia thought weakly. How right he was, but not for the reason he imagined! Nevertheless, she did as he instructed, leaning back against the wall of the lift and shutting her eyes tight as she folded her arms protectively over her breasts. The dim light from the emergency batteries in the lift’s back-up system produced a dull charcoal glow against her closed eyelids, and after a few seconds she heard Wolf’s briefcase snap open and the rustle of papers.
He was going to work now? She opened incredulous eyes to see him crouched over a long report, a slight frown wrinkling his brow as he peered at the small figures in the shadowy gloom. He was unbelievable, quite unbelievable. Didn’t he ever stop working? She smiled bemusedly.
‘What?’ She hadn’t been aware that the blue eyes had flicked upwards, but now saw they were trained on her face.
‘I’m sorry?’ She was flustered and it showed.
‘You were smiling, a Mona Lisa smile if I may say so,’ he added softly. ‘Why?’
‘Oh, nothing, it was just——’ She stopped abruptly as she wondered if she dared tell him. Oh, blow it, he had asked, after all. ‘I was wondering if you ever stop working,’ she said quietly, ‘that’s all.’
‘Do I detect a note of disapproval?’ he asked smoothly as he crouched back on his heels, the position emphasising strong muscled legs and hard inner thighs.
‘Not really.’ She smiled with what she hoped came across as cool composure. ‘I’m sure it needs your sort of dedication to stay at the top in this business——’
‘You’re right,’ he interrupted expressionlessly, ‘it does.’ He stood up slowly, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed as he looked down at her. ‘But that is only part of it. I like what I do, that’s the bottom line.’
‘Yes…’ She shook her head slowly. ‘But incidents like the Mike Wilson thing, don’t they bother you at all?’
‘Mike Wilson has been dealt with before he could do any damage,’ he said coldly, ‘and, more importantly, has been seen to be dealt with. He will serve as a timely example of what happens if anyone is stupid enough to try and cross me, so, if anything, I have gained, not lost,
