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 blonde ness 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 hyper ventilating 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 Wolfs 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 nicked 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.