“Stay right here. I’ll be right back.”
“You’re joking, right?”
He chuckles and kisses my cheek. “Just stay here. I’m only going to be a dozen feet away.”
I frown and hope he feels my displeasure.
Also, I feel foolish. Standing here with a sleep mask on. Obviously inside, somewhere where there are presumably people. People who see me standing here like a weirdo with a sleep mask on in public!
I jump when Etna takes my hand again. “Another minute. Promise.”
Sighing, I follow as he leads me. Our shoes tap on the concrete. We don’t make many turns, and I can tell by the cool air that we remain inside. The sounds of our footfalls distinctly change into echoes as we step into a much larger space. Is it empty?
And we’re back outside as the sun hits my face. Now there’s a different sound.Phhhhhtt. Phhht. Pht. Phhht.
“Okay,” Etna says. “You can take it off.”
“I’m not sure I want to.” That’s a lie. I’m dying to. I reach up and swipe it down so it’s hanging around my neck. My eyes follow it up. Up, up, up. My jaw drops. “Hot-air balloon,” I murmur.
Etna’s grinning. “It’s a heart, but we’re too close to see it. There’s a guy on the roof who will take pictures of us when we leave and return. It’s a big red heart, which was a little cliché, but it’s our first Valentine’s Day together, so I thought I’d go a little cliché.”
“Cliché?” I look at him incredulously. “I’m willing to bet the vast majority of people will never ride in a hot-air balloon intheir life. So, I’m not sure this is cliché. You need to look up that word.”
He laughs. “I meant the heart. Not the balloon. But noted.”
“How did you even think of this?” I ask as he pulls me toward the balloon.
“I saw an ad on ShareIt. Say what you want about the annoyance of ads, but they work. Sold me.”
We climb into the basket. The operator introduces himself as Sherman and tells us to enjoy the ride. He’s not here unless we need something.
“It’s a two-hour ride,” Etna says as he joins me at the edge. His hands cover mine as he stands behind me, pressing his chest to my back, and kissing my neck. “Just enough time to romance you before we head home for the night.”
Tonight is the night. That’s why this morning happened the way it did. That’s why the hand up my ass and the epic orgasm. One was to stretch, and one was to hold me over, so I don’t lose it as soon as he starts fucking me.
I think I might anyway.
I’m distracted once we get into the air at least. I’ve seen Arizona from the sky too many times to count since we flya lot.But this is different. We don’t keep ascending until everything is more abstract than not. We hover at a distance where everything is… beautiful.
Etna’s arms wrap around me, and his chin rests on my shoulder as we stare at the city below us. The balloon slowly turns so we don’t have to move at all to get a panoramic view of Arizona. The desert, the mountains of stone, the city. It’s all… remarkable.
Just as I’m relaxing, Etna’s hand slides into my pants. My breath catches. Oh fuck, he’s not really going to do this right here, is he? I don’t want to go home with a load in my pants.That doesn’t mean I stop him from wrapping his hand around my dick.
As I harden in his hold, my grip on the edge of the basket gets tighter and I try not to make it obvious that my man is touching me.
He seems to be exploring more than trying to get me off. Just touching me. Gently stroking me. Messing with my crown. Dropping further down to cup my balls. Making and keeping me hard right until we land back on the ground.
I glare at him when he backs away to face the… driver? Operator? Pilot? I don’t know what they’re called. The people who fly us around in the hot-air balloon. Etna tips him, thanking him for the ride.
He climbs over the side, landing on the step another man placed at the base. Then he turns to look at me, a big, proud smile on his face as he waits for me to climb over the side.
Glaring, I sigh as I make my way out, trying to adjust myself on the way as inconspicuously as possible. When I follow him out, holding his hand firmly in front of me, I do so this time, not because I need him to lead me around, but so I can use his body as a shield to my throbbing erection.
Etna’s still smiling smugly as we climb into the car. “Did you enjoy the ride?”
“Fucker,” I mutter, adjusting myself.
He looks at me and I can’t catch my breath. The heat in his eyes touches me like the furnace of the torch engine thing in the hot-air balloon. “I’ll take care of that as soon as we get home.”
