Tawny Weber - Sunsets & Seduction

“You mean, like getting to third base, or sliding into home?” she asked suggestively.

He felt the vibration of her chest against his as she chuckled, and he had to smile, too. It felt good—better than good—to be so turned on, to be laughing.

To be with Tessa.

“Yeah, something like that.”

He was actually enjoying himself. In spite of his wet clothes and achingly hard cock, he felt more alive than he had in weeks. Suddenly, Tessa froze, and a collective gasp and sounds of unhappy surprise filled the car as it ground to a standstill, breaks screeching as everyone in the car lurched with the momentum of the train.

“What? What happened?” he asked.

“Power’s out. It’s pitch-black in here except for a few emergency lights,” she said as people started grumbling and shouting around them.

A baby cried from the far end of the car, and the mood changed markedly as tension rose. A tremble worked its way through Tessa’s body. He slipped his arms around her, holding her tighter against him.

“Stay next to me. It will be okay,” he said against her hair.

“I can’t see anything, ” she said in a hushed whisper, pressing even more tightly against him.

This wasn’t good. Even friendly, good-natured people could be dangerous in a crowded, panicked situation. He noticed that a guy behind him was breathing too hard, starting to push against everyone around him.

“I have to let go of you for a minute, okay? Hug the wall, right behind you,” he said to Tessa, turning to face the man while still protecting Tessa.

Reaching out, he found the man’s arm and grabbed it before the flailing man hurt someone. The guy was shaking, starting to mutter in panic.

Jonas kept his voice casual. “Hey, buddy, you okay? Let’s try to calm down.”

The man pushed at him, but Jonas held firm.

“Let go of me! Who are you? Don’t touch me! I have to get outta here, let me outta here,” the guy started to shout, pushing at everyone near him. Jonas heard a woman gasp in pain, the man’s other fist making contact, Jonas assumed.

People started shouting, and Jonas knew he had to do something before a potentially deadly scenario was set into motion. Sliding his arm up to the man’s neck, he looped it around and felt for the slamming pulse at the side of the guy’s throat. Tightening his grip as he slid his arm around front and pulled his forearm back, Jonas trapped the man in an armlock, trying to hold him still as he struggled to get free.

“Jonas? Jonas, what are you doing?” He heard Tessa’s breathless question.

“Stay put, Tessa,” he said loudly, fighting the man’s huge bulk as he applied pressure.

“Sorry, man, but you need to chill for a few minutes until they get us out of here,” he said, and increased the pressure until the man stopped shouting, the heavy weight of his form going slack.

Everything around them was eerily quiet.

“Someone help get this guy into a seat,” Jonas ordered, propping the man up the best he could, the slack weight almost pulling him down. “He passed out.”

“Yeah, with a little help, I bet,” another guy said approvingly, and Jonas felt the weight lifted as others took him off Jonas’s hands.

“Good job,” someone shouted, and Jonas felt a pat on his shoulder.

“Thank you so much,” someone else whispered in relief.

Slowly, conversation resumed and the tension resolved.

He turned back to Tessa, finding her hand with his and touching her face again to make sure she was okay. He found that she was smiling slightly, and he ran a finger over her lower lip.

“That was pretty cool,” she said.

The driver’s voice over the intercom told them they would be stopped for about twenty minutes, and to please stay calm as people were working on getting them on their way again.

“He was a big guy—couldn’t have him freaking out in here. People could get hurt.”

“I know. And no one else here could have done what you did,” she said, pressing a kiss into his neck. “Way to think on your feet, Berringer.”

Jonas’s heart beat hard in his chest, aware of her again, the two of them pressed tight.

“How dark is it in here, anyway?”

“Almost pitch-black, except for a few safety lights around the edges. I can barely see you, as close as we are,” she said.

Jonas realized that this was the first time since he’d lost his sight that he didn’t feel alone. Maybe because everyone around him was also blind, in a way, or maybe because he was here with Tessa.

“I hope they get us out of here soon. I don’t think people will stand being crammed in together for long.” She sounded nervous.

“I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I know,” she said softly.

He drew her to him, pressing his arousal close to her again.

“ That certainly takes my mind off things,” she said with a husky laugh.

“That was the idea.” He heard the anxiety in her tone dissolve into a gasp as his hand covered her breast, her nipple beading under his palm.

Leaning in, he found and nuzzled the throbbing pulse at the base of her neck, loving how it sped up every time he tweaked or rolled the sensitive nub between his fingers.

Her hand was pressed against the front of his pants, rubbing along the length of him. He shuddered at the touch, pressing in, biting the lobe of her ear a little more sharply before covering her lips in a hot kiss.

“Good thing no one can see,” he whispered.

“Yeah,” she agreed.

He maneuvered them more tightly into the corner, the people behind him caught up in their own conversations. Some guys had started singing, and others were laughing. More than enough noise to cover their own activities.

All he was aware of was Tessa’s scent, the honey-sweet taste of her kiss, and her nimble, satiny fingers as they slid his zipper down and then wrapped around his shaft.

“Tessa, I don’t think—”

“Yes, don’t think. Thinking is way overrated,” she murmured against his lips as she slid her tongue against his in a thrusting rhythm that matched the way she was stroking him.

Jonas was normally a highly private person, and he couldn’t believe he was letting her do this in a crowded subway car, but he was also too far gone to care. Too needy, too close to the edge.

If the lights came on, if anyone noticed, he thought, trying to find some way to stay in control. But that offered another surprise—the idea of being discovered increased the urgency and turned him on even more.

Her hands and lips were so soft, her grip just right, and his mind spun with the need to let go even as he still tried to resist. Creature of habit. As much as he wanted her, wanted this, he didn’t want to give in.

“Let go, Jonas,” Tessa whispered in his ear, her other hand sliding up inside his shirt and playing with a nipple, making him shudder and rock slightly into her hand.

“Yeah, like that,” she encouraged.

When she slipped her hand down to caress his sac as she continued to stroke, Jonas sucked in a sharp breath, coming hard and fast with an intensity that made him bite down to keep from shouting her name out loud.

Pressing her back against the wall, the release shook him from head to toe, and he all but collapsed against her as she withdrew her hand. He caught his breath as he sensed her fumbling in her purse for something as he zipped up.

It wasn’t the way he wanted to come with her, but it had been pretty fantastic, he thought, trying to get his composure back.

They righted themselves in the nick of time, as luck would have it; seconds later a cheer went up as the train rolled forward.

“The lights are on?” he asked, his voice still rough.