"I'm sorry that you're not happy about that," Kris said gently.
"I just don't see why she has to marry all those guys," he continued, warming to his topic. "By now, it's obvious she can't stay in a relationship. Why keep getting married? Why not just live with them then move on when she's done? Oh, that's right. She's a bit of a gold-digger."
Kris reached out to touch his hand that was tightly gripping a glass of water.
Her touch snapped him out of his angry bubble. "I'm sorry, babe," he said, putting the glass out of the way to hold her hand properly. "Let's not talk about my mother. She's not my favourite topic."
"You look close to your sister," she mused.
He smiled. "Yes. Rebecca and I are close. She's still a bit annoyed with me for leaving her alone with Mum for the rest of that afternoon."
The first of their orders arrived, making him realise he'd been unconsciously caressing Kris' hand with his thumb. Reluctantly, he let go of her so the server could place their dishes on the table.
"Well, at least you still have your mother," Kris said wistfully after the server left.
His mouth dropped open. He felt all shades of foolish. How inconsiderate of him to talk badly about his mum when here was a woman who was missing hers.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, grasping her hand again.
She smiled at him. "Hey, no need to be. I lost my mum two and a half years ago, and I just still miss her. We were very close. One thing she taught me was that sometimes, other people would never know or understand why we make the decisions we make." She gazed in his eyes before continuing. "Whatever your mum's reasons for not wanting to stay in her relationships, at least she's still there for you."
He inhaled deeply and looked down at his plate. He didn't know how to respond to that.
"I'm sorry," Kris said, shaking her head in self-censure. "It wasn't my place to say things like that."
"Hey, it's okay," he assured her. "But let's move on to another topic, shall we? Tell me what you think of the food."
For the rest of the dinner, they tried to keep their conversation light, but for some reason, they kept straying to the deep and meaningful.
Trey couldn't remember the last time he'd divulged so much about himself to a woman.
*******
Trey opened his apartment door and was not surprised when Kris made a beeline for his floor-to-ceiling glass window.
"You know that you can see this view from the bedroom window, too," he murmured in her ear, snaking his arms around her waist.
She leaned back against him and he nuzzled her neck. "But it's from a different angle. I like this angle better," she said.
He chuckled. "You want to stay out here again? I guess the sofa is comfortable enough."
Kris twisted so she was facing him. "Where would you want to have your lap dance?" she asked huskily, her arms curving around his neck.
He ran his hands down her back until they rested on her butt. He gave those firm cheeks a gentle squeeze and pulled her flush against him. "How about right here?"
"While you're standing?"
"Well, I could sit in there," he said, pointing to the tub chair close to him.
Kris looked out the window. "I know the next building is far away, but do you think somebody could be spying on other people through a telescope?" she asked worriedly.
He laughed out loud. "If there was somebody doing that, we would already have given them a great show last night."
"I remember this TV program I watched one time, and this man and woman who lived in neighbouring buildings were communicating to each other through gestures while they peeked through the telescope," she said with a rather nervous laugh.
"If I switched off the lights in here, we would still be able to see from the lights outside and I doubt anyone would be able to make out what we're doing," he suggested, willing her to relax, and at the same time wanting her to have her favourite vista while they made love.
"Good idea. Why don't you sit down?" Kris gently pushed him onto the tub chair, then went to put on some music. She smiled at him and started swaying to the beat—doing that slow, seductive dance that made every single cell of his body focus on her alone.
She made her way to the light switch, flicking it off. The room went dark, but not dark enough that they couldn't see. As his eyes adjusted, Kris was slowly making her way back to him, her fingers working on the buttons and zipper of her dress. In the next second, she was just in sheer, lacy bra and sexy G-string.
Fuck.
He was already getting painfully hard just watching her. He reached for his shirt buttons, his fingers fumbling.
"I want to undress you," she whispered, moving his fingers away so she could take over.