Hearts in Darkness – Laura Kaye

Makenna James thinks her day can’t get any worse, until she finds herself stuck in a pitch-black elevator with a complete stranger. Distracted by a phone call and juggling too much stuff, the pin-striped accountant caught only a glimpse of a dragon tattoo on his hand before the lights went out.

To fight fear, they must both reach out and open up. With no preconceived notions based on looks to hold them back, they discover just how much they have in common. In the warming darkness, attraction grows and sparks fly, but will they feel the same when the lights come back on?

What would you do if you had a completely shitty day and had it end with you being trapped in an elevator with a total stranger?  This is the situation in Hearts in Darkness.


Makenna James has had the worse day and it continues it’s shittiness streak when she drops her cell phone while entering an elevator in her office building.  She’s completely preoccupied with her cell phone and the fact that the battery fell off during it’s dive to the floor when she got onto the elevator, that she’s oblivious to the good Samaritan on the elevator with her.  If she were asked to describe the man, the only thing she could remember was the dragon tattoo on his hand.  But when the lights go off that’s the one thing she can cling to.


Caden Grayson watched with amusement when Makenna came stumbling into the elevator.  He didn’t get to see much of her other than her red hair, but she made him smile and given where he was going, that was a plus in his book.  But when the lights went off and he was throw into a panic attack, it was Makenna who helped him cling to the here and now.


Makenna and Caden spend the next few hours keeping each other company in the darkness of the elevator.  During those hours, they are able to get to know each other without the trappings of what one looks like and get to see the person inside.  


I loved both characters in this story.  Caden totally went against the type cast, because despite all his tattoos and piercings he was really the most sensitive, caring person Makenna has met.  That is he was worried about how Makenna would see him once the lights came on made you love him that much more.


Makenna was a strong, intuitive woman who was able to “see” Caden.  Despite the dark, she was able to understand immediately what he needed and give him the support he seemed to lack for most of his teen and adult life.  She was his lifeline.

I truly enjoyed this one and was glad I happened across Laura Kaye’s web site to find it.