The noise was unbearable. Commuting from the city centre to the outskirts of London during rush hour every day was a nightmare at the best of times. Elbowing your way onto the train in a fight to get one of the last seats remaining and, if you were one of the lucky few who managed this small victory, you were always left sitting next to the heavy-set guy who took up his own space and half of yours, or the asshole who had made himself comfortable when he had got on at the station before and no matter how much you glared, or 'accidentally' stamped on his feet, he refused to sit up properly and allow other passengers to sit in more comfort themselves.
This time however, Lucy was late leaving work and had had to run for the train, jumping on at the last minute and narrowly missing the doors as they slid smoothly to a close behind her.
The carriage was busy, but being one of the front cars made it quieter than the middle of the train where she could well imagine the commuters were packed in so tight that an unlucky few even had their faces squashed up against the glass in the doors. As it was, although forced to stand by a door, Lucy was one of only three people who did not get a seat.
But as for the noise, well that was just horrific. Ever since the invention of the 'Walkman Phone' hundreds of teenage idiots across the country had decided that rather than using headphones and just entertaining themselves with their 'music', they would much prefer to introduce anyone within earshot to whatever dreadful wailing crap was currently a favourite among pubescents without taste. And so, Lucy and approximately fifty to sixty other weary city workers were currently being treated to a very loud, very obnoxious Eminem-wannabe (probably some poor-little-rich-boy from Notting Hill) desperately attempting to rap through the tiny speakers of a mobile phone.
But, being the polite Brit that we are all known to be, and despite sighs of frustration and the odd person rolling their eyes and glancing in the general direction of the spotty little git, no one said a word.
Lucy closed her eyes for a moment and laid her head on the cool glass of the train door. Winter was coming on fast and although it was only a little after six in the evening, already it was dark outside. She was so tired of fighting every day to stay alive in her job that even though it was only Wednesday, she could already feel the exhaustion of a long week washing over her body.
The train slowed down and she opened her eyes to see the lights of the next station move past the window. Glancing at her reflection, Lucy grimaced at herself. Her eyes, so big that an artist friend used to say they belonged on a Manga character, used to sparkle when she smiled, but now they seemed to have lost all of their life and staring back at her all she could see was dull blue. Her shoulder length blonde hair was hanging limp around her and her clothes seemed to hang off her frame as if they wanted to run from her and be on someone who deserved to own such garments.
As the train slowed to a stop, Lucy moved aside to let passengers off the train and bent at the waist to pull on her knee-length boots. An absolute necessity when wearing a skirt in cold weather, she had discovered. She stood back up to full height again and immediately had to lean against the wall of the carriage in shock when she came face to face with the Adonis who had just embarked.
The train doors closed and Lucy, who was self-confessed, possibly the shyest person on the planet, immediately looked down and away from this beautiful man. As they pulled away from the station she turned and began studying the map on the wall in an attempt to find absolutely anything that would stop her from looking at him again.
But her body betrayed her. And as the world outside was once again plunged into the darkness of the night, her eyes drifted once more to the windows in the door of the carriage and she found herself staring again.
The man himself was currently engrossed in sending a text message on his mobile phone so Lucy took the opportunity to give him the once-over. At six-foot tall, and a medium build, he was really quite stunning. She took time to admire his mousy brown hair, still messy from the wind outside, and clean shaven face. Lucy never did like facial hair anyway.
His suit was simple, but elegant. At thirty-one, Lucy didn't really know much about fashion but she guessed it was tailored because it fit him perfectly.
Her eyes wandered back to his face. It was hard to tell his age through the darkened image of the glass, but placed him at no older than her -- possibly even a little younger. A trader maybe, she mused, or a banker. Something in the financial sector. And his nice brown eyes were looking back at her.
He was looking at her. Shit.
Quickly, and with absolutely no sense of decorum whatsoever, she tore her eyes away and stared fixedly at the ground, embarrassment only slightly besting the overwhelming sensation of arousal she felt in the pit of her stomach. She could still feel his grin at catching her out and her cheeks reddened as the train entered a tunnel, but then everything went black.
The train ground to a sudden halt and everything went eerily quiet. Even the irritating thud of the teenager's music ceased as everyone sat in the darkness, waiting for something to be done. At any moment Lucy fully expected panic and rioting as the passengers realized they were stuck in the dark, in a tunnel, but surprisingly, there was nothing but stillness. Then a crackly voice over the tannoy:
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I apologize for the disruption to your service this evening. It seems there's a broken down train on the tracks ahead of us and we're going to be sat here for a little while until they get it moving." There was a pause for a moment, and then: "And for all passengers in the first four coaches, to make things even more interesting for you, I'm afraid there's some sort of power fault at your end. Once we get to the next station I'll ask you all to make your way to the rear eight carriages where we have light, but for health and safety reasons, I think it's best if you all stay where you are for now. I'll keep you all appraised of any developments. Sorry again." And with another crackle, they were left alone in the dark.
Lucy could hear a general murmuring begin amongst the passengers, which quickly became a lot louder as more people began conversations with one another. It amused her that even in the dark, complete strangers would converse in a crisis.
Lucy remained silent, choosing to occupy her time wondering idly what the man in the doorway was doing, when suddenly she felt a presence close behind her. She turned her head in the darkness and could feel breath on her neck. Her pulse increased rapidly as she fought to try and remember who, aside from the man himself, had been in the doorway with her when the lights went out. Her question was answered for her.
"There's no one but us." A disembodied voice whispered in her ear as she felt arms sliding around her waist and a very male, very aroused body pressed up against her back.
She should step away, she knew that's what she should do, but Lucy couldn't bring herself to move. Her body craved this attention so badly and after three years of nothing but a battery-powered companion to satisfy the need, she could finally have what her libido was crying out for. She'd never done anything like this before in her life but for once she really, desperately wanted to throw caution to the wind and just go with the moment.
And so, despite all of the warnings screaming through her mind, she did.
With a deep breath, Lucy pressed back against the man and laid her head on his shoulder, exposing her throat. She could feel his hands untying the knot on her trench coat and pulling it open. Her hands reached back to grasp his trousers, confirming in her mind that it was indeed the man in the suit touching her as he slid his hands over her silk shirt, running his palms over her stomach and up over her breasts, hushing her quickly when the action elicited a groan.
