The traffic is typical LA chaos, cars jostling for position, brake lights flashing red in the late afternoon sun. Phoenix drives with one hand on the wheel, the other still holding mine, and I find myself staring at the way his forearm flexes with each turn, the veins visible beneath his skin.
I've missed touching him. Missed the warmth of his body, the smell of his skin, the way his presence makes me feel simultaneously safe and reckless.
Without really thinking about it, I release his hand and let my fingers drift to his thigh.
He glances at me, one eyebrow raised.
I don't say anything. I just let my hand slide higher, feeling the muscle tense beneath the denim. His jaw tightens, but he keeps his eyes on the road.
Higher still. My fingertips brush against him, and I feel him hard beneath my palm.
"Jade." His voice is strained. "We're on the freeway."
"I know." I trace the length of him through his jeans, watching his knuckles whiten on the steering wheel. "Keep driving."
He makes a sound low in his throat, something between a groan and a growl. His right hand leaves the wheel and findsmy knee, sliding up my thigh. The touch sends sparks shooting through my nervous system, and I shift in my seat, suddenly aware of how much I want him.
"Two can play that game," he murmurs.
His fingers reach the waistband of my jeans, then slip beneath my sweater to find bare skin. I gasp as his hand cups my breast, thumb circling my nipple through the thin fabric of my bra. He tugs at my neckline, pulling it down enough to expose me, and the cool air of the car makes me shiver.
"Phoenix, we're in traffic."
"I know." He mimics my earlier tone perfectly. "Keep your eyes forward."
His hand leaves my breast and travels lower, popping the button of my jeans with practiced ease. I lift my hips to help him, and his fingers slide beneath the waistband, beneath my underwear, finding the wet heat that's been building since I first saw him in the terminal.
I bite my lip to keep from crying out as he touches me exactly the way he knows I need. His eyes stay fixed on the road, his expression almost serene, while his fingers work me with devastating precision. The car next to us inches closer in traffic, and I can see the driver scrolling through his phone, oblivious to what's happening mere feet away.
The danger of it makes everything more intense.
"That's it," Phoenix murmurs, his voice low and rough. "Let go for me. Right here."
The tension builds impossibly fast, coiled tight in my belly, spreading outward like fire through my veins. I grip the armrest with one hand and his thigh with the other. My breathing is ragged, my whole body trembling.
"Come for me, Jade."
I shatter with his name on my lips, waves of pleasure crashing over me while traffic crawls forward and Phoenixdrives with one hand like nothing unusual is happening at all. He works me through it, prolonging every aftershock until I'm boneless and gasping in the passenger seat.
When I finally come back to myself, he's withdrawing his hand slowly, bringing his fingers to his lips and tasting me while his eyes flick briefly from the road.
"Your turn," I manage, still breathless.
He laughs softly. "Jade, I'm driving."
"You managed just fine a minute ago."
I don't give him a chance to argue. I unbuckle my seatbelt and lean across the console, my fingers working at his belt, his zipper, freeing him from the confines of his jeans. He's hard and hot in my hand, and the sound he makes when I wrap my fingers around him sends another pulse of desire through my already satisfied body.
"Fuck," he breathes. "We're still in traffic."
"Then you'd better focus."
I bend down and take him in my mouth.
The angle is awkward, my neck craned at an uncomfortable position, but none of that matters when I hear the groan that escapes him. His hand finds the back of my head, fingers threading through my hair, guiding me without pushing. I taste salt and skin and want, and I lose myself in the rhythm of it, in the sounds he's trying and failing to suppress.
The car swerves slightly, and Phoenix swears under his breath.
