Page 43 of Most Likely to Deny Love (Yearbook #2)

“I’m just making sure you’re properly dressed for dinner,” I murmured, my fingers finding the delicate lace of her panties. “Lift your foot.”

Her eyes widened, but she obeyed, first one foot, then the other, letting me slide the scrap of blue lace down her legs. I folded the panties carefully before tucking them into my inside jacket pocket, right over my heart.

“You’re not getting those back,” I informed her, rising to my feet. “Consider them a souvenir.”

“But I’ll be...” Her voice trailed off as the implication hit her.

“Exactly.” I pressed a light kiss to her neck, just below her ear. “Accessible.”

Her breath hitched, pupils dilating as she stared up at me. “We’re going to be in public.”

“Yes, we are.” I traced the curve of her lower lip with my thumb. “A private table on a dinner cruise along the Seine. Just us, good food, and the lights of Paris.”

She swallowed hard, and I watched the conflicting emotions play across her face. Desire. Nervousness. Excitement. “What if someone sees?”

“No one will see.” I kept my voice low, intimate. “Unless you want them to.”

Her sharp intake of breath told me everything I needed to know about how that idea affected her. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Sullivan.”

“Only if you want to play too, Harris.” I stepped back, giving her space to decide. “Your call. I can always give these back,” I patted my pocket, “if you’re too chicken shit to play.”

She held my gaze for a long moment, then a slow smile spread across her face, wicked and wonderful. “Keep them. I like knowing you have something of mine.”

“Good girl.” I offered her my arm. “Shall we?”

The dinner cruise was everything I’d hoped it would be and more.

Our table was at the far end of the boat, partially secluded from the other diners by a decorative screen.

The glass walls and ceiling offered an unobstructed view of Paris sliding by, Notre Dame illuminated against the night sky, the Louvre’s distinctive architecture, bridges arching gracefully over the dark waters of the Seine.

Mia was enchanted, her attention constantly drawn to the window as new sights appeared. The way her face lit up with each discovery made something tighten in my chest.

“This is incredible,” she said for perhaps the tenth time as we finished our main course. “I can’t believe we’re actually here.”

“I’m glad you like it.” I reached across the table to take her hand, running my thumb across her knuckles. “There’s more to come.”

Her eyes darkened at the double meaning in my words.

Throughout dinner, I’d been careful not to touch her except in the most innocent ways, letting the anticipation build.

Knowing she was bare beneath her dress had me half-hard already, and from the flush on her cheeks and the way she occasionally shifted in her seat, she was feeling the same slow burn of desire.

I glanced out the window. “The Eiffel Tower should be coming up soon. It’s best viewed from the stern. Would you like to step outside?”

She nodded, a mix of excitement and nervous anticipation in her eyes. “Yes, please.”

I helped her from her chair, deliberately letting my hand linger just above her ass, as we made our way through the restaurant section toward the outdoor viewing area.

Mia moved to the railing, finding a small space between two other couples. She gasped as the Eiffel Tower came into view, illuminated against the night sky with thousands of twinkling lights.

“It’s magical,” she breathed, her face bathed in the distant golden light. “Like something from a dream.”

I stepped behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her back against my chest. She relaxed into me, her head tipping back to rest on my shoulder as we watched the tower grow larger in our view.

To anyone watching, we were just another couple enjoying the romantic sight, exactly as intended.

“Cold?” I asked, my lips against her ear.

“A little,” she admitted, though I could feel the heat of her body even through our clothes.

“I can fix that.” My hands slid around to her hips, gathering the material of her dress slowly upward, my body shielding her from view. I shifted my long coat to wrap around us both, creating a private cocoon despite the people nearby.

Her breath caught. “Jack,” she hissed, her voice barely audible over the chatter of nearby tourists. “There are people everywhere.”

“No one’s looking at us,” I assured her. “They’re all watching the tower.”

She glanced around, noting that the couples on either side of us were indeed focused on the view, taking selfies and pointing out landmarks to each other. When she turned back to the view, there was surrender in the way her body yielded against mine, though tension still hummed through her.

I continued gathering her dress, careful to keep her covered from behind while exposing her to the cool night air. She shivered, but not from cold, as my fingertips traced the curve of her ass, the backs of her thighs.

“So beautiful,” I murmured, pressing my lips to her neck. “Hold the railing and don’t make a sound.”

She obeyed, gripping the metal bar with both hands as I freed myself from my trousers. A woman laughed loudly just a few feet away, making Mia tense in my arms.

I positioned myself at her entrance, teasing her with just the tip, gratified to find her already slick with want despite, or perhaps because of, the risk. “Ready?”

“Jack,” she whispered, half warning, half plea, as a couple moved slightly closer to our position.

“They can’t see,” I reassured her, my lips at her ear. “But they might hear if you’re not very, very quiet. Say yes, Mia. Tell me you want this.”

“Yes. I want this.”

With one smooth thrust, I buried myself inside her, feeling her whole body tense as she fought to remain silent.

I wrapped my arms around her, one hand splayed across her stomach, the other moving up to rest just below her breasts, appearing to anyone glancing our way as nothing more than an embrace from behind.

“I keep you warm,” I murmured against her ear as I began to move inside her, slow, controlled thrusts that made her breath hitch. “You keep me warm.”

She turned her head, seeking my mouth in a desperate kiss as we moved together, the Eiffel Tower glittering before us, the boat rocking beneath us, creating a rhythm all our own.

My hand slid lower, hidden between our bodies, finding the spot where she needed me most, circling in time with my thrusts.

A waiter appeared on deck, offering champagne to the group nearby. Mia froze in my arms, muscles clenching around me in a way that nearly made me lose control. I stilled, holding her firmly against me as the waiter passed within ten feet of us, trays held high.

“Steady,” I breathed against her ear, feeling her trembling with the effort of maintaining composure. When the waiter moved away, I resumed my movements, slower now, more deliberate. “That’s it. Not a sound.”

“Jack,” she gasped, the word barely audible even to me. “Oh god.”

“Look at the tower,” I instructed, feeling her begin to tighten around me. “I want you to remember this every time you see it. How it felt to have me inside you with all of Paris around us, no one knowing what’s happening right in front of them.”

Her body shuddered at my words, and I felt her begin to come apart in my arms, her inner muscles clenching around me in waves.

She bit her lip hard, the smallest whimper escaping as she fought to remain silent through her release.

I held her tightly, my own orgasm following moments later, muffling my groan against her shoulder as I emptied myself inside her.

For several long moments, we remained locked together, catching our breath, her back pressed to my chest as we stared at the glittering tower, now fully in view. I placed gentle kisses along her neck, her shoulder, anywhere I could reach, while still remaining buried inside her.

The couple to our right moved away, heading back inside as a cool breeze picked up. Another group arrived on deck, exclaiming loudly at the view, and I felt Mia tense again.

“Easy,” I whispered, carefully pulling out and setting her dress back in place before fixing my own clothing, my coat still wrapped around us both. I turned her in my arms, needing to see her face.

The look in her eyes took my breath away. Sated, yes, but also exhilarated, a flush high on her cheeks, pupils dilated with the lingering rush of adrenaline. I leaned down, pressing my forehead to hers.

She let out a soft sigh. “I never imagined this could happen to me.”

“Paris is pretty spectacular,” I agreed, my arms tightening around her waist.

She lifted her head. “No. I mean the sex.” Her eyes met mine, vulnerable and honest. “I never thought I would meet someone who...”

“Who what?” I prompted when she trailed off, suddenly desperate to know how she saw me, what I was to her.

She smiled, a small, private thing that did strange things to my heart rate. “Who makes me feel hot. And desirable. And… seen.”

Something shifted inside me at her words, something fundamental that I wasn’t ready to examine too closely. Instead, I pulled her closer, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“You’re impossible to miss, Mia,” I said, the words feeling inadequate for what I was trying to express. “Impossible to ignore.”

She sighed, a sound of pure contentment that resonated in some deep part of me. “We should go back to our table. Dessert’s coming.”

“Yes,” I agreed, though I would have been content to stay on that deck with her in my arms for the rest of the night. “I believe crème br?lée was mentioned.”

As we made our way back inside, my hand at the small of her back again, I found myself memorizing this moment. The lights of Paris reflecting off the water, the soft smile on Mia’s face, the way she leaned into my touch as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Whatever was happening between us was far beyond the parameters of our original arrangement. And for the first time in my life, I had no desire to analyze, categorize, or control it. I just wanted to let it unfold, to see where it might lead.

For tonight, that was enough.