*I don't own these characters.

The Elevator

BPOV

When I looked up, I saw him getting on the elevator. It was him! He looked a lot more relaxed than he had that afternoon, with his tie loosened, jacket placed over his arm, and the sleeves of his white button down shirt rolled up to reveal his edible forearms. The beautiful man glanced my way as he entered the elevator, and even that brief glimpse of his emerald green eyes left my knees wobbling.

He hesitated for a moment, his finger suspended in front of the buttons. I had already pressed floor twenty-five, so I assumed his room was on the same floor. The thought of him sleeping so close caused a flurry of butterflies to take flight in my stomach.

The beautiful man took a place in the back at a normal personal-space-in-an-elevator distance from my side. The atmosphere became charged as I realized we were riding to our floor alone together in that small space. The slight breeze he elicited when he moved from the door to my side sent a shockwave to my senses. He smelled of sandalwood, fresh linen, soap, and just man; the tantalizing scent was so potent, I tasted it in the air.

My heartbeat quickened as the door began to close. I didn't normally like being in small, enclosed spaces, but being there alone with the beautiful man completely eased my phobia. I wondered if I could be brave enough to say anything to him.

But, what could I possibly say? I want to lick your earlobe and have your babies?

I was sure that wouldn't have gone over very well. My mind ran through humiliating scenario after humiliating scenario while I contemplated how to get his attention. I hoped the elevator was slow because I felt the Jeopardy clock counting down in my head, and I knew I needed to come up with something quick. I was glad there were no other people on the elevator with us so I wouldn't have any witnesses to the impending disaster of my making an introduction.

Suddenly a hand appeared from the outside, stopping the door from closing. I blew out a gust of air in disapproval as I watched an entire family of six, strapped down with enough luggage for twenty, hurrying to get on. The encroachers kept piling in, and I was cursing my rotten luck, until I felt the charged atmosphere getting more energized by the second.

The beautiful man crept closer and closer to me as we were sardined in the box by the boisterous family. I was pushed slightly in front of him when a large piece of luggage was shoved toward my previously inhabited corner. With my back to his chest, I felt the electrical vibrations of our close proximity even though we were not actually touching one another.

I reminded myself to inhale and exhale because my brain buzzed from the claustrophobic conditions and closeness of my personal brand of masculine perfection. I stood rigid, afraid if I moved even a little, I might be reduced to a puddle of nothing on the elevator floor. But it didn't stop me from imagining what it would feel like if I relaxed and fell back a few inches, pressing my body to his.

Oh my God. What the hell am I thinking? Bella, get it together and do not embarrass yourself!

My inner good girl was at war with my inner bad girl. Both of them thought that the beautiful man made an excellent candidate to father my children.

I peeked at the number board, and inner bad girl did a cartwheel, realizing the family would be unloading on the twelfth floor. In my excitement, I looked down to keep my idiotic grin a secret. I thought the beautiful man behind me growled lowly, which sent my girly parts into heat.

Not soon enough, the door opened and mom, dad, and their spawn departed. I sidestepped back to my corner reluctantly, although as a tradeoff I had a better vantage point to see his gorgeous face. If I stood there for years just looking at him, it wouldn't have been enough. He and I both glanced at each other and simultaneously broke out with grins, relieved the obtrusive occupants had vacated.

His smile was so captivating, I actually began to lean toward him. Of course, because I was challenged in the balance and grace department, I had to catch myself from toppling forward by grabbing onto the handrail. However, we both reached out for the handrail at the same time. When our hands collided, a spark traveled up my arm and through my body; it was as if I had been electrocuted. I wondered if he felt the same because we both gasped at the sensation.

My eyes locked on his open mouth, hoping he would say something. When the elevator stopped unexpectedly, the sharp halt of ascension caused me to lurch forward. His arms grasped me tightly, holding me up against him, before the lights inside the elevator went out.

EPOV

I had almost broken out into a sprint to make sure I got onto her elevator, frantic at the thought I would miss her. Having made it in time, I looked at her as I entered. I forced myself to tear my eyes away so I didn't stand there gawking like a lunatic. It was difficult, to say the least, because she was absolutely the most perfect and beautiful creature I had ever seen.

I busied myself looking at the panel to choose my floor and hesitated when I realized the single illuminated button was my destination. I stifled a groan, knowing this beautiful girl would be sleeping someplace very close to me that night. I was equal parts excited and scared shitless to have her alone for the twenty-five floor ride.

I moved alongside her to the back of the elevator, trying to work up the courage to speak. I wanted to hear her voice. The air in the elevator sparked with energy, and I had trouble thinking coherently. I turned my head to look at her, trying to come up with an opening line that didn't scream 'stalker' or 'pervert'.

Want to lick my ear and have my babies?

No, that wouldn't work at all.

I was sure this perfect girl had heard every pick-up line in the book and was well-rehearsed at deflecting idiotic, would-be suitors. Just as I was going to engage her with a lame line about the hot weather, a giant brood of tourists and their three-ring-circus disrupted my personal time with my beautiful girl.

My beautiful girl?

Huh?

I didn't have time to ponder my prematurely possessive thoughts, because I wasn't about to let anybody get between me and my dream girl. I inched closer and closer to her as the family loaded in a year's worth of luggage. Much to my delight, one of the large travel bags was forced into my beauty's corner, causing her to step in front of me.

As she moved, the aroma of freesias and strawberries bombarded me. In my state of intoxication, I leaned my head forward to breathe her scent in more fully. I clenched my fists to prevent myself from grabbing onto her and pressing her to my body, for surely that would have freaked her the fuck out.

Right?

My brain was going haywire from her nearness and her scent which was enveloping me in such a delicious way. My excitement was so palpable I was glad I had at least the clarity of mind to move my hips backward, as far away from her as possible, lest I scare her.

I raised my eyes to determine what floor the circus would be getting off on and sighed out in relief that my girl and I would still have time alone. As I looked up, I caught the slick-haired father of the brood leering at my girl's perfect breasts. I instinctively let out a low growl and glared at him when I got his attention.

MINE.

He evidently got the hint because he kept his eyes forward from then on.

Mine? Where the hell did that come from?

I had never been a jealous guy before. I shook my head slightly, trying to get my bearings back.

Finally, we reached the twelfth floor, and the herd unloaded, but not nearly quickly enough for my liking. I was seconds away from helping them out by throwing their luggage out the door at them. My attention was diverted when I physically felt the connection to my girl decrease. I looked over to see her slide a small distance away from me. Although I was disappointed that she had moved back to the corner, I smiled knowing we were alone again. My heart thumped when she reciprocated.

Damn, her smile!

It deserved to be on billboards selling toothpaste. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I leaned forward, grabbing for the handrail to keep from falling into her, and was hit with a lightning bolt as our fingers touched. I gasped out loud as the energy coursed through my veins.

I couldn't hold back any longer and was about to introduce myself when the elevator shuddered to a sudden stop. My girl lost her balance and tumbled forward. I grasped her by the waist and held her up, pulling her close to me.

That's when the lights went out.

In the following few seconds of darkness, my senses were overwhelmed with the feel of her body, the scent of her skin, and the sound of her heavy breathing. It took every bit of my restraint to keep myself from kissing her luscious lips senseless. I wanted to taste her so badly that I had to bite down hard on my bottom lip to keep control over my body.

When the dim emergency light came on seconds later, I looked down at my beautiful girl, and her wide eyes told me she was scared. I prayed her fear was of the stalled elevator and not me. I would never hurt my angel. I wanted to worship at her sandal-covered, pink toenail-polished feet. I needed to reassure her that everything would be alright.

"It's okay, beautiful girl. It looks like the power might have gone out. We should be out of here soon," I said slowly and calmly.

She leaned into me and buried her face into my chest. I exhaled in relief, knowing she didn't consider me a threat. I needed to reach over to the emergency button for help, but didn't want to release her from my arms.

Her heartbeat got faster as her breathing became quick and shallow. I needed to calm her down before she had a panic attack. I held her close, by the waist, and walked her with me to the front of the elevator where I pressed the red button.

"Anybody there?" I asked into the intercom.

"There has been a power outage, sir. We are working on the problem and will try to get you out of there as soon as possible. How many of you are on the elevator, sir?"

"There are two of us here. We are somewhere between the twelfth and twenty-fifth floors," I relayed to the gentleman.

"Okay. We are working to get it fixed as soon as possible. We will keep you informed of any changes," he replied.

"Thank you," I said.

My girl trembled slightly, and I decided to get her more comfortable in order to calm her down. I sat down on the floor with my back to the wall, and pulled her down onto my lap to hold her close. She didn't appear alarmed by our proximity. I stroked her gorgeous hair and murmured in her ear that everything would be fine. Eventually, she turned her head and looked at me.

She was beautiful with her big, brown eyes and glowing skin, even in that dim light. I wondered if she felt the same energy between us that I did. I desperately wanted to kiss her lips at that moment. But I didn't want to be an asshole and take advantage of a situation like that when she was probably scared out of her wits.

After a couple minutes, her breathing was back to normal. I kept one hand around her waist and the other ran through her hair, placing errant strands behind her ear to keep her beautiful face in full view. Her eyes seemed to be less scared and more inquisitive, probably waiting for me to speak.

"My name is Edward Cullen. I figured we should introduce ourselves," I said, giving her a smile.

"Isabella Swan, but I prefer Bella." She smiled back. Her voice flowed over me like dark honey.

Her smile alone made my heart pound. I had never felt anything like that before. I knew it was probably Lifetime movie network worthy, but I couldn't help it. I was smitten.

"Bella. Beautiful. Very fitting." I nodded as I said her name out loud. I saw her blush, even in the dim glow of the emergency light. "It's nice to meet you, Bella."

I couldn't resist leaning in a little closer and breathing in her potent and desirable scent. I inhaled sharply when her small hand reached up and brushed my cheek. I closed my eyes and leaned into her touch. She pulled back slightly, and I opened my eyes to see her biting her bottom lip.

"Sorry. You….it's just….um…." she softly mumbled, as if embarrassed.

"Shhh, beautiful. It's good. I liked it." I didn't want her to be embarrassed. I wanted her to touch me. Everywhere. That touch re-ignited my cock which was then painfully hard. I felt like an out-of-control teenager.

"Really?" she asked, moving in closer. I held my breath in anticipation, thinking that she might initiate a kiss; I didn't want to do anything to scare her away. We were so close, I could feel her breath as she exhaled on my face. At the last second, instead of heading for my lips, she leaned into my neck and inhaled deeply. My hand that had been stroking her hair stopped on the back of her head, holding her close to me.

"Can you feel this, too?" she whispered near my ear.

"Yes, beautiful girl. I feel it. I don't know what it is, but I feel it, too," I said as she leaned back to bring us face to face again. Her hands moved around to the back of my neck, and she played with the ends of my hair. My eyes slid from hers down to her lips and back up again, silently asking permission. She smiled and nodded slightly; I slowly leaned forward, giving her plenty of opportunity to pull back if she wanted. Instead, she closed the gap herself, and our lips met halfway.

Fireworks exploding in the elevator wouldn't have come close to describing the heat and energy released when our lips met. I was in a fog of euphoria and tilted my face to kiss her more deeply. I brought her bottom lip between my own and sucked gently before moving my tongue lightly over hers. She opened her mouth in invitation, and our tongues explored each other with fervor. She tasted like strawberries, and I couldn't get enough.

I was so lost in the feeling of my mouth on hers, I failed to notice the movement of her body until she was straddling me. I hissed as she settled herself, wondering if she would hesitate when she felt me hard against her. She didn't pull back though, instead gently rocking her hips in a motion to get more friction. We both moaned into each other's mouths at the sensation. My hands moved down to hold her hips still because I was very close to taking her right there on the dirty floor of the stalled elevator.

In desperate need of a breath, I broke away from her mouth and moved to kiss her neck slowly, down to her collarbone and back up again. As I sucked on a spot at the base of her ear, vibrations from the most sensual moan I'd ever heard sounded out from my beautiful girl.

"Do you like that, Bella?" I whispered into her ear.

"Yes. Yes." She breathed out before she tilted her head back to expose more of her neck to me. Her hands ran through my hair, and she gripped tightly when my tongue ran over her sensitive spot again. I was practically purring in satisfaction from the sensation of her hands in my hair. My nose trailed along her jaw-line, and I returned to sucking and licking the spots that produced her moans, which sent jolts right to my groin.

"Oh, Edward," she cried out as she more forcefully grabbed my hair and aligned my face back with hers. She attacked my mouth with enthusiasm. I moved one hand from her hip to run my fingers along the outside of her thigh. I trailed up very slowly and gently moved my fingers across her leg to her inner thigh.

My fingers glided up and down her inner thigh, getting closer and closer to the promised land with every lap. Finally, I very gently grazed her core and could feel the wetness of her excitement coming through her tiny shorts. She bucked her hips into me as she felt my fingers at her center. I couldn't help moaning into her mouth, knowing she was as excited as I was.

"Do you like me touching you here?" I asked against her lips. Her only response was a groan into my mouth as she continued deepening her kisses. My other hand moved from her hip and started to ascend up her back underneath her t-shirt. I rubbed across her smooth back, then around her waist to the front, feeling her perfect, flat abdomen.

I continued my tactile exploration higher, until I felt the underside of her breast. Damn bras. I wanted the offending material out of my way as soon as possible. Yeah, as a red-blooded male, I appreciated the way sexy lingerie looked on a woman, but at that moment, it only served as a barrier to what my body was in desperate need to feel. My other hand continued its ministrations on the outside of her shorts, giving my girl the small amount of the friction she seemed to be begging for with her breathy moans.

Just as I had found the clasp of her bra, I heard the intercom crackling.

"Hello, sir? Are you there?"

Huh?

What?

I couldn't even remember my name at that point, let alone come up with a coherent sentence. I dropped my hands from my girl's body and shook my head to try and clear my brain.

"Yeah, umm…yeah, we're here," I croaked out, trying to compose myself within the lust-filled bubble we had managed to create. My eyes swept from the intercom back to my Bella, and the sight of her hooded lids and swollen lips caused me to moan and put my hands right back on her deliciously curved hips.

"Are you both alright?" the voice interrupted as my fingers rubbed lightly on the exposed skin between her shorts and shirt. She looked into my eyes, gently continued her rocking motion which sent my cock extremely close to come-in-my-pants territory and made me pant with the need to claim her.

"Yeah…..yes," I blurted out in exasperation of the interruption.

What was this fool doing interrupting my time with my beautiful girl?

Cockblocking asshole.

Wait.

No, he wasn't an asshole. We needed to get off the damn elevator so I could get my Bella into a bed, preferably with me in it too.

"We are in contact with the power company and believe that the power will be restored at any moment. When the power returns, you will feel a bit of a shudder as the elevator starts moving again. It should move normally and take you to your intended floor. Make sure when the power returns that your floor button is pushed." I heard about every third word of the asshole's statement because Bella had begun kissing and licking my neck. The feel of her hot, sweet breath was intoxicating.

"Oh, yeah. Okay. Good…so good." I wasn't sure whether I was talking to the intercom or to Bella.

"Uh…well, push the emergency button again if you have any problems when the power returns, sir."

I glared at the intercom. The asshole had better not been listening to my Bella's moans, or mine either, for that matter. I was suspicious of his nervous sounding tone. Bella's moans were just for me to hear and nobody else.

Mine.

Hmm.

"Sure, sure," I said, in what I hoped to be an end to the conversation that was distracting me from my desire to devour the beauty that was sucking and lightly biting my neck like a vampire. Her hands rubbed paths from my hair down to my shoulders. My hands returned to the hem of her shirt, getting ready to lift it off of her body.

Suddenly the power came back on, and I blinked in response to the harsh lights shining down from the ceiling. I didn't know whether to be disappointed that our elevator tryst was coming to an end or to be excited that we would be getting off on our floor soon.

Then, I almost started shaking in despair.

What happened if my angel exited the elevator, went straight to her room, and I never saw her again? Was this just a way for her to pass the time in the power outage? Did she really feel this connection to me that I felt so deeply to her?

I felt a sharp pain in my heart at even the thought that she might leave my side.

What do I say to her to make her stay?

Please, please stay.

Would it scare her to ask her to my room? Would I scare her more to follow her to her room?

The elevator moved again, and I began breathing shakily, realizing my time was running out. I looked wildly at the number panel to see that our floor button was still illuminated, which meant we would be at our destination in only a few seconds. I needed to add a defibrillator to my medical bag because someone was going to have to shock my dead heart when Bella left me. As I was nearing code orange panic level, I looked down at my angel and saw her watching me with watery eyes.

"Please tell me this isn't over," she whimpered.

Was it possible?

I looked deep into her eyes.

Did this perfect girl share my feelings of despair at the thought that our time together could be over?

Her eyes told me she did. I sighed in relief as I crushed her to me in a hug, her face nuzzling under my chin.

"No, baby girl, this isn't over," I whispered in her ear.

It's just the beginning.

AN: Let me know what you think about that elevator ride!

(11/16/11) This chapter has been edited from the original posting. Thank you for the wonderful beta help from Perry (Perry Maxwell, Unrequited) and Jen (mamabean, Speaking in Code). Check out their awesome stories!