Looking Inside

“Look at all the Christmas lights decorating the riverside. You never see them from the sidewalk or street,” she said in a hushed tone as she untied her scarf.

“Yeah. It’s a whole new world down here.”

She looked into his face, thinking he’d put it exactly right. Funny, how being with him made the whole world seem like it was unfolding second by second, just for them.

Really, Eleanor? Stop being such a romantic idiot.

She really needed to watch it. It was dangerous, feeling so fanciful. So happy. But she couldn’t help herself. The moment was magical.

Maybe he was.

“Do you like Christmas?” he asked her.

She nodded. She didn’t want to ruin the moment by telling him that for the first time in her life, she was dreading Christmas this year. “Do you?”

“It’s always been a pretty big deal at the Riordan farm,” he said. “Mom goes nuts with the indoor decorations, and Dad goes crazy with the outdoor lights. I think their electric bill for December must be about equivalent to all of the other eleven months of the year.”

They shared a smile.

“Thanks for coming on the water taxi with me. I don’t know why I never took it before,” she confessed, staring wistfully out the window. “I’ve lived in the city for ten years now, and never taken it.”

“That’s how it is sometimes, living in the city. You walk by so many things, and you hear of so many amazing events, but you don’t get to most of them. Life gets in the way, and you never seem to take advantage like you should.”

“Exactly.” She sounded a little breathless, and realized it was because of the way he was watching her mouth narrowly. “But you sound like you’ve taken the water taxi before.”

“I have.” He set down his hot chocolate cup on the seat next to him. He reached for her cup and took it from her. “But I’ve never taken it with you.”

Her breath caught at that. He calmly turned toward her and grasped her upper arms. “Come here,” he urged.

She gasped in surprise, but soon divined what he wanted. She came down over his lap, her knees on the bench, facing him. Before she could question what he intended, he grabbed the ends of her scarf and pulled her to hi

m. His mouth seized hers.

There was something about Trey’s kiss. It was all or nothing. He ravished her with his mouth. There was no way for her to respond but wholesale.

She moaned shakily, melting against him. His lips were cold and firm, but his mouth was hot and tasted of sweet chocolate. His hands slid along the sides of her legs and up under her coat. He cupped her hips and then her ass. She felt her body quicken and heat. He urged her and she slid closer on his hard thighs, her arms encircling his neck, their kiss deepening. She flexed her hips, pressing her sex against his, eager for the sensation of him. He groaned roughly and squeezed her ass, bringing her closer yet.

His hands shifted between them and she realized he was unbuttoning her coat. She broke their kiss, her forehead pressed against his.

“What are you doing?” she whispered near his mouth.

“Being original.”

“What?” she asked when his nudging hands pushed her back slightly. He grabbed for the hem of her sweater and lifted it over her breasts.

“I’ve never fooled around on a water taxi. You’ve never been on the water taxi.” He brushed his fingertips over the top swells of her breasts. His expression turned serious. City lights reflected in his eyes as he watched himself touch her. His fingers slipped beneath the edge of her bra and pushed it down beneath her nipples. “By all logic, then, this is an original moment for both of us,” he said before he leaned forward and sucked a nipple into his mouth.

Eleanor gasped at the shock of pleasure. She stared blankly out the window behind him as the nighttime landscape of the city rolled slowly by her vision. He tugged on her gently with a firm suction. She felt that pulling sensation all the way to her sex via some invisible cord. She wriggled in his lap, needy for pressure. Her fingers dug into his thick hair. She held him to her as he lashed at her nipple with a warm, deft tongue.

“Trey,” she called plaintively, pressing her sex against the lengthening column of his cock.

He loosened his taut suction on the tip of her breast.

“I like the way you say my name,” he said hoarsely, his breath rushing across her damp nipple.

“How do I say it?” she whispered.

“Kind of shaky. A little surprised . . . like you really mean it. That’s what I like to think, anyway.”