Trapped

Naomi Harris worked in the newest, tallest office tower in the city. Her offices were in the top ten floors of the huge building and going up and down in the elevator during the first week the building had been open left her feeling vaguely nauseous. The one hundred floors whipped by at an alarming rate and her stomach did flip flops as she was hurled either skyward or back toward the earth.

Naomi wasn't afraid of heights or claustrophobic, but she did feel a certain uneasiness given the newness of the building and the speed at which the elevators moved.

Naomi was a lawyer, and a good one. She had worked hard to get where she was, one of the top litigators in her company, and she wasn't going to let a little nervousness about these elevators get to her. Facing down a tough prosecutor was far worse.

Yet on the night she worked late in the new building for the first time she felt herself getting spooked as she sat hunched at her desk in the new office. The noises seemed somehow more sinister, more... personal.

Calling Craig, her husband, she told him about working late.

"I figure I should be done in an hour. I can't wait to get out of here."

"Is something wrong?"

"I don't know. I feel creeped out or some reason. "

"Is anyone else there?"

"Not on my floor. I'm sure someone is around, but not where I am."

"Is that what's bugging you?"

"Not as such."

"What is it?"

Naomi sighed. "I feel childish, but I don't want to ride the elevator alone."

"Ah." Craig said it in a tone that Naomi recognized as his patient indulgence of something he thought foolish. He wasn't a mean spirited person, and she rarely gave him reason to feel indulgent toward her, but she recognized it after ten years together. Craig would be hurt if she pointed it out to him, he really prided himself on being a modern man with all the appropriate sensitivities toward the plight of women, but down underneath he was still a man and he didn't get her all the time.

"It's nothing. I said I feel childish. I'm a big girl I can handle an elevator ride."

Just then her phone beeped indicating a low battery. "Whoops gotta go, my phone is dying. I'll see you in an hour. "

"Bye. I'll keep some supper warm."

"Thanks. I love you."

"I'll let my cooking say I love you back."

"Sounds great."

They said final goodbyes and hung up.

After an hour of work Naomi's feeling of anxiety had more or less abated, the ins and outs of dense legal documents had clogged her brain with other thoughts. She even forgot that her phone was dying and didn't charge it.

As she packed up her briefcase and made her way to the elevator she began to feel uneasy once more.

Waiting for the little metal box to ascend to her she began to feel an overwhelming sense of doom. She felt far more vulnerable about getting inside that steel box than ever before in her life. Was she developing claustrophobia with age? Could that happen?

Naomi was thirty five, fit and healthy. At no point in her life had she ever experienced any phobias or even prolonged health conditions, the very idea of having one felt impossible. And yet when the elevator finally arrived and opened for her she hesitated long enough that she had to thrust out a hand to stop the door from closing before she dared get on.

Stepping onto the elevator she felt her breath grow shallow and actual fear curl in her belly. What was going on? She pressed the button for her garage level and willed herself to calm down.

Ten floors later the elevator slowed and her tension mounted. Why was it stopping?

The door opened and a man stepped on and all her anxiety washed away. Just seeing another person made her so much more comfortable that she beamed up at him. Naomi was not short, at five foot seven she was taller than average, but this guy was somewhere over six feet, handsome and well built. She had never seen him before and, after her immense relief at his arrival, she felt a strange stirring of lust replace it.

Naomi had a healthy sexual appetite, one that Craig equaled so she had never seriously considered an affair, but this guy was rather sexy and somehow her fear had been replaced with desire for a man she had never met.

It all happened in a moment, the elevator had only just begun to descend once more when she felt her body respond to his presence. He smiled back at her wide grin and she felt a flutter in her stomach. She saw him appraise her the same way she was assessing him.

Naomi was very fit; she jogged and did Pilates and yoga most every day. She had been a volley-ball player in high school and college and prided herself on losing none of her energy and youthfulness as she grew more mature.

Her hair was naturally blonde, and had highlights from being out and about in the unusually hot summer they had been having. She wore it long and straight. Usually she wore shorter skirts to show off her lean legs, and today was no exception. Silk stockings were a must. Her face was tanned from a lot of golf and her big blue eyes made larger with mascara and eye shadow.

As the stranger looked her over quickly she felt confident that he liked what he saw. He appeared to be a bit younger, but she doubted he knew that. Enjoying the hint of sexual tension going on Naomi forgot all about her anxiety of the moment before.

Until the elevator began to make a grinding noise, lurched, and tilted alarmingly. Then it dropped a few feet and jerked to a halt.

Naomi was ashamed of her screams, but it was terrifying how the elevator tossed the two occupants around, bashing them into each other and throwing them both to the floor.

A horrifying creaking of stressed metal moaned throughout the enclosed space and the two of them lay still, afraid to move least they send the whole elevator plummeting to the bottom of the shaft, killing them both.

A seeming infinity of silence was finally broken, mere seconds later, when the man asked. "Are you hurt?"

He whispered, as if the elevator might hear that they were still alive and try to kill them again.

"I don't think so." Naomi whispered as well, matching his tone.

"I'm going to try and move and call for help, okay?"

Naomi nodded, terrified that they might begin to fall once more, but unwilling to just sit and do nothing.

The man eased into a sitting position along the opposite wall from her. Their legs were tangled and as he moved she pulled hers into herself, curling in a ball on the floor of the car. As he eased slowly toward the little door that held an emergency phone the elevator moved again swaying dramatically and the lights went out.

Naomi screamed once more, hating herself for doing so even as she did it. Then immediately after her scream a dim emergency light went on giving them a low light with which to see.

"Okay so no phone call right now."

"Jesus Christ." Naomi hissed, her fear filling every fibre of her being as they dangled inside a swaying elevator car seventy stories up.

Abruptly the car shifted again and the grinding noise and stressed metal screamed at them as the car fell another few feet and slammed to a stop further down the shaft. This time Naomi managed not to scream but she did moan horribly.

As the car settled it felt less loose and more secure. A moment passed and the man spoke again.

"I think the locking thing might have finally kicked in."

"The what?"

"There is supposed to be a mechanism that locks the car if it starts to fall. I think that kicked in. I think we might be okay now."

Naomi gave him a sharp look not trusting her voice.

"I know. I'm not saying I'm sure, just that I think so."

They sat in silence for a moment and then the emergency phone rang and made her scream once more. Naomi was closer to the phone and it took all her will power to reach for it. Sitting up and shifting her weight felt like the most risky thing she had ever done.

"Hello?" she said.

"Dammit." A voice grated on the line. "Hello. I was really hoping no-one was in that car. How are you?"

"Jesus Christ what happened?"

"I have no idea. I'm just the security guard. An alarm went off and I had to look it up in the manual. It said it was an elevator malfunction. What do you think happened?"

"This motherfucking elevator just fell and nearly killed us! I want the fuck out!"

"Are you alone?"

"No."

"Um, well I guess that's' good. How many of you are there"

"Two."

"Okay. Um... I gotta call somebody." His voice became firm as he tried to sound convincing. "I'm on this, okay. I'll do everything I can. Hold on."

The line went dead and Naomi felt hollow and empty inside.

She told the man everything the guard had said and they sat stunned for a few moments.

Then she noticed how hot it was getting. She had sweat running all down her ribs, and her face was beaded with moisture. She dared to move and take off her outside jacket. The car didn't budge.

"It really is hot isn't it?" the man said.

"I'm burning up." Naomi replied. She took off her suit jacket too. Her silk blouse clung to her. Naomi rarely wore a bra, her breasts were small and firm enough that she needn't bother. On most days at work she wore a camisole under her blouses and today was no exception. As her sweat soaked through her clothes she began to feel more exposed as her body's outline was revealed.

"Maybe it's just nerves." The man said as he wiped sweat from his brow. "I'm freaking out over here. Hi I'm Dylan by the way."

"Naomi."

Dylan took off his coat and jacket as well and Naomi was shocked at herself for checking out his body as he moved. He was fit and well built, his shoulders quite appealing in his pale blue dress shirt. He took off his tie and undid the top button of his shirt.

What was wrong with her? She was seriously checking this guy out even though they had both just nearly died.

Then the phone rang again pulling her from her ogling.

Reaching for the phone she found herself begging the Universe for good news.

"Hello?"

"Hi again. This is Josh, the security guard. How are you holding up?'

"We are scared Josh. And it is really getting hot in here."

"Okay. Here's what I can tell you so far. Something obviously failed in your car. It blew out a bunch of power on the floors between fifty and seventy. I called the fire department and they are on the way. I called the building manager and he is coming down with the designer and they have called the elevator installation company. That is it so far. The heat is because the air conditioning is off, nothing more serious than that I suspect. Does that help at all?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah I guess so. Thanks Josh. I'm sorry I was a bitch before."

"Don't mention it. I would be losing my mind up there if I were you. You sound great. You're doing great. What is your name, and the other person. "

"I'm Naomi Harris and Dylan..." she paused and looked at him, and Dylan supplied "Wallis."

"Dylan Wallis."

"Okay, great. We are going to do whatever we can to get you out of there alright Ms. Harris?"

"Okay Josh. Hurry. Please."

"I'm going to go look around for the fire department and bring them inside. Talk to you soon."

"Bye." The line went dead once more leaving Naomi feeling isolated and vulnerable. She began to shake, her body reacting to the stress and fear.

"Good God this is awful." She squeezed out of her tight throat.

"Hey. We're going to be fine. I'm sure of it." Dylan reached for her hand and Naomi leaned forward to take it without hesitating. They held hands across the space between them. Dylan's hand was warm and moist and so was hers. She felt embarrassed by the slippery contact but wasn't about to lose connection with another human at this point. She scooched closer along the wall she leaned against and Dylan did the same so that their hands could rest on the floor between them.

Again her mind began to slip into admiring his body. His hand was strong and big, hers small and enveloped by his. Naomi studied his hand and the way it held her own. She felt infinitely safer being held like that.

"Would you mind terribly hugging me? I feel really nervous." She asked.

"Of course."

He slid along the floor to her and she moved closer to him and then they were holding each other in the corner of the elevator their arms around each other, thighs pressed together and his head rested on top of hers. She felt coddled like a child and it eased much of her tension, but not all.

"I don't know why I'm being such a baby, but thanks for indulging me."

"Don't even worry about it. I feel exactly the same way. That was terrifying."

"It really was." She snuggled into his chest more, loving the muscularity of him. "I have been having weird feelings about these elevators all week. I don't know why. But this is like waking up to find out your nightmares are real."

Without speaking Dylan simply squeezed her and she felt even more tension slipping away.

Then, inexorably, as she was held by him Naomi felt herself growing aroused. His smell filled her nostrils and their sweat began to mingle in the hot close quarters. With his arm over her shoulder and another holding her hand she couldn't help feeling sexual desire stirring inside.

Rather than feeling awkward about it she felt pleased to feel him relaxing and molding himself to her body. As his muscles loosened and he fitted himself closer to her she could tell he was aware of a difference in the state of things as well. It was subtle, but she suspected he too was feeling a certain level of arousal.

Almost of their own accord her thighs parted and her left pressed to his right. Between her legs she felt the tingling of her clitoris as her body began to insist she do something about how she was feeling. Naomi hadn't felt this specific type of passion in years. This was more like when she was a teenager and had less control over her lusts.

Then the phone rang.

Untangling herself she got up on hands and knees to reach for the phone. She still couldn't bring herself to stand in the dangerous elevator.

"Hello?'

"Hi Ms. Harris. Josh again. I let the fire department in and the guys are on the way up. They have to use the stairs so it might take a while. We can't be sure where exactly your car is. So they will have to search for it. Can you tell me what floor you were last on and maybe how far you fell?"

"Jeez. Hold on."

Turning to Dylan she caught him staring at her ass. She was thrusting it out at him in her awkward position and her skirt was riding up pretty high. "They want to know what floor you got on at and maybe how far we fell. The fire department has to climb up the stairs and search for us."

Dylan tore his gaze from her rump guiltily and she smiled to ease the tension.

"Uh. I got on at seventy three. I have no idea when things went wrong, a few floors later. I couldn't even begin to guess how far we fell. We fell twice right?"

"Yeah, I think so. Josh, Dylan got on at seventy three and we fell twice, maybe three or four floors each time. So we are in the sixties someplace I would guess."

"Okay, I'll tell the fire department and they can radio their guys who are climbing now. They tell me it might take as long as an hour to make up to you. How does the car feel? Is it moving?"

"Jesus. An hour? "

"It is a really long climb Ms. Harris. And they have a lot of stuff with them."

"Ah shit. "

She knelt down on her haunches. Looking back at Dylan she saw him accept the wait stoically. His strength relaxed her. "Um, no the car isn't moving anymore. We are trying not to move. But it is really hot in here. "

"I'm sorry about that. The heat from all those floors below you is coming right up that elevator shaft. With no air conditioning, after all the heat today... it is all rising right up past you."

"Shit."

"The guys will be bringing water to you. Just call if anything changes, okay?"

"Yeah." She hung up the phone and sat on her knees looking at nothing.

"An hour?" Dylan asked.

"Yeah. They have to climb all the way up here and search for us. The heat is all the hot air rising from the building warming up all day."

"It was scorching outside."

"Do you have a water bottle? Just thinking about waiting an hour to drink is making me thirsty."

"I do." Dylan began to crawl to his bag lying in the opposite corner. When he moved Naomi went still, her whole body reacting to him making the elevator car tremble with his weight shifting. He didn't seem to notice and he made it to his computer bag and opened a side pouch and pulled out a metal water bottle.

Then Naomi did what he had been doing to her. She checked out his bum as he stuck it in the air while crawling. Dylan had a great ass. It was full and firm looking as he moved backwards toward her.

Handing her the water bottle Dylan settled in next to her once more. Naomi took a sip from the bottle, which was about two thirds full, and she handed it to him. She wanted more water, but she wouldn't give in to drinking all of it. Self-preservation made her save some for later.

Watching Dylan take a drink, also a small sip, she enjoyed the way his neck moved as he swallowed. This guy was really getting her hot and bothered, and she liked it.

With her thirst partially quenched Naomi felt marginally better, but she was still way too hot, and she continued to feel real terror every time the elevator made any noise what-so-ever.

"I apologize, but I just have to do this. I'm way too hot for layers." Naomi unbuttoned her blouse and took it off, leaving her in her pale, bone-white camisole that clung to her breasts and belly like a second skin.

It felt cooler, but so much more intimate to be close to naked with a stranger. This felt more revealing than a bikini for some reason. But she clamped down on her shame and used her damp shirt to mop up the streaming sweat running along her skin.

"No need to apologize." Dylan said in a noticeably huskier voice. "I feel the same way." He unbuttoned his shirt revealing a tank-top undershirt . When he pulled off his dress shirt Naomi saw that he was a very well sculpted man. Dylan clearly spent time in the gym shaping his body. Or he had once been a lumberjack or something.

His shoulders were big and rigid with lines of muscle. His biceps and triceps were sizable and hard looking, and his forearms were manly and veined nicely.

His chest had a light coating of well-trimmed hair over deep swells of pectoral muscle. Naomi felt her body grow loose and languid looking at him.

Then she noticed him watching her look at him. He was smiling openly.

Naomi was so horny right then, and still so terrified that she didn't even stop to think, she merely leaned over and kissed Dylan on the mouth, needing to touch him.

When he began to kiss back a floodgate of passion opened and Naomi began to pull his tank top off and kiss his face and mouth over and over hungrily. Desire and lust replaced her fear and she dove in eagerly, happy to push all that fright away.

Dylan's hands found her small breasts and kneaded them possessively. His palms pressed her aching nipples and the slip and slide of her damp camisole made them tingle with electricity.

When she opened her mouth to moan, releasing his tongue which had been exploring her own, Dylan took the opportunity to begin kissing her neck. Naomi loved having her neck kissed. Having his mouth caress the long lines of muscle made her body tremble with passion.

Tangling her hands in his hair Naomi's fingers clenched open and closed in his sweaty locks. Dylan suckled, nibbled and kissed her throat, dipping lower and lower until he was kissing along her collar bones and pushing the thin strap of her camisole off her shoulders.

Breathing quickly, almost panting, Naomi allowed Dylan to pull her camisole down revealing her breasts to his gaze. He took one achingly hard nipple into his mouth and bolts of pure delight ran along her nerves into her brain, making her whimper with pleasure.