She put her hands on her hips, looking thoroughly annoyed. “For God’s sake, you’re not proposing, are you?”
“Ha!” He picked her up and ran with her, a rush of adrenaline giving him the strength of ten thousand men. “No, I’m not proposing, Eva, my love!”
She shrieked with laughter. “Thank God for that, my dearest darling!”
He put her down, grinning at amused pedestrians. They crossed the street, and he hailed a cab. The city was theirs tonight, the air mild, the night young. But all he wanted to do was get Eva home and show her how he felt about her.
You know, in a guy way.
A cab stopped, and they crawled in, still breathless. Ames gave his address to the cab driver, who grunted and pulled out into traffic.
He wrapped his arm around Eva’s shoulders. “You know, it never occurred to me how similar our businesses are until I heard you teaching those people a thing or two about tasting.”
“Those people?” she scoffed. “I taught them nothing. My sister or my dad could really blow their minds.”
He pulled her closer. “You were great.”
“Yeah?” She kissed him. “I can go back and put on my clown suits again now?”
“Only if they’re low cut and slit up to about—” he put his hand on her thigh, which was so warm and firm he decided it would be criminal not to keep touching it “—here.”
“You’d like that?”
“I would.” He held her gaze, sliding his hand up her black stockings, which he was extremely happy to discover when his fingers encountered soft skin, turned out to be thigh-highs. He kept his hand moving, loving the way her body grew tense, waiting, her eyes dark and expectant on his.
And then the joke was on him. And on everyone at the party who thought she was a proper and refined young woman.
She wasn’t wearing panties.
His cock hardened. He wanted to haul her onto his lap and thrust up into her, watching her get closer and closer to coming, steaming up the windows while the cab driver kept his eyes on the road and the city went on around them.
Eva gasped as his fingers explored her. She was soft, warm and wet. His erection grew painful.
“I think you’re going to kill me, Eva.”
“That would be unfortunate,” she whispered. “Because I really want you to keep touching me.”
He groaned. “Just try and stop—”
“Hey! Are youse gettin’ outta my cab or what?”
Ames jumped, whipping his hand back into his lap. Eva clapped her hand over her mouth and fumbled for the door, suppressed giggles escaping.
“Uh, yeah.” Ames pulled out his wallet and handed over some bills. “Sorry about that.”
“Jeez.” The driver handed back change, muttering something Ames was not even curious to hear.
He joined Eva on the sidewalk and took her hand. “See what you do to me? I have never in my life forgotten to get out of a cab.”
“Gosh, I feel so bad.” She rolled her eyes, making him smile. He loved that she kept him from taking himself—and his life—too seriously, that she could find the fun in any situation, no matter how embarrassing.
Inside the building, he was deeply disappointed to find someone else waiting for the elevator, since he’d just started a great fantasy involving Eva up against the wall on their way to his floor.
Though he’d probably forget to get off the elevator, too.
However, as soon as the doors opened, they were out, turning to each other, then stumbling down the empty hallway, kissing frantically, Ames struggling out of his jacket. Inside his apartment they left a path of clothes to his darkened bedroom.
Nearly to his bedroom. There was still that elevator fantasy in the back of his mind...
He stopped them at the door, flung off his last piece of clothing, and rolled on the condom he’d stashed in his tuxedo pants just in case. He lunged for Eva and lifted her delicious warm and naked body to his, cupping her bottom, pressing her against the door as she wrapped her strong legs around him and slid her arms around his neck, holding tight, taking some of her weight off his arms.
Totally hot.
After a few giggling tries—her giggles, his frustration—somehow he managed to push inside her.