Jesse insisted I stay inside to keep warm while he fired up the yacht and slowly – very, very slowly – started to guide Carpathia out of the marina. We had to wait on three other yachts, one entering and two leaving, before we could move.

When the engine roared to life, a gentle hum fell across the whole vessel. We idled a while, waiting our turn, and then I felt a soft resistance as the yacht started to move through the water. I looked out the portholes as Carpathia gradually gained speed, leaving the yacht club behind. Soon, an awe-inspiring panorama of the skyline came into view. The One World Trade tower was front and center. I could see the reflection of the clouds in the tower's windows. It stood tall and proud like the Statue of Liberty. Ellis Island was coming into view on the opposite side, followed by the iconic Statue.

I waited until we were about even with Lady Liberty before I ascended the short staircase up to the main deck where Jesse was guiding the yacht. He wore a look of deep concentration as he steered and adjusted settings on the control board. The wind had picked up a bit and his usually neat hair was blowing every which way, along with the sides of his unzipped leather jacket.

I made my way over to where he stood, tugging my jacket tighter around my body and thanking my lucky stars that I'd had the common sense to wear boots instead of heels for a change. It was too cold for that bullshit.

"Aren't you freezing?" I gestured to Jesse's jacket.

Leather was never a good choice in cold weather. It damn sure did look good on him, though.

He shrugged with a laugh. "I'll be alright. How 'bout you, love?"

Before I could answer, he took one hand off the wheel and pulled me into a comforting hug, sliding his hand up and down my upper arm. It was soothing and instantly warmed me up a little.

"How fast does this thing go?" I asked him, nestling closer to his chest.

"Max speed is twelve knots."

I was already lost. "Can you tell me that in English?"

Jesse chuckled and turned the wheel more to the left. "It's about thirteen to fourteen miles per hour. We're not going that fast, though. We'll cruise at about ten knots, or eleven miles per hour."

"That's not very fast." I scrunched up my nose in confusion.

I'd expected a yacht to travel much faster. Then again, I didn't know squat about watercraft.

Jesse laughed again. "It'll get us where we're going. Trust me."

I watched, very impressed, as he continued shifting controls and steering the yacht in a southeast direction. He kept a confident look on his face, making captaining Carpathia look almost too easy. Everything he did was with ease and skill. We were passing Governors Island in half the time I'd expected.

Maybe those ten knots actually were faster than I'd thought. Of course, I had to remember that we were on the Hudson where the only traffic consisted of two other yachts, a sailboat, and a few jet skis. There were no stoplights and basically nothing slowing us down. Whereas, I couldn't get across midtown at the same time of day over five miles an hour. We were probably sailing faster than the backed up cars were driving on the FDR.

"This is beautiful," I said, taking in the view of downtown and the river. "I've never seen it like this before."

When we'd taken the ferry to see the Christmas lights, we'd traveled north up the river. This was the first time I was getting to see Manhattan from the water on the south side, and it was one of the most incredible views I'd ever had of the city.

Jesse smiled down at me and kissed my forehead, his lips lingering a few seconds. "You're more beautiful, Kate."

The blush that quickly spread through my entire body did a better job of warming me up than my jacket had since I'd emerged from the cabin.

I started to wonder how on earth I'd gotten so lucky to have met this man. He had more good qualities than all my exes combined. Not to mention, he was better in bed than all of them combined!

"You just keep getting more interesting," I told Jesse, resting my head against his chest. "How long have you been sailing?"

He didn't look at me. His eyes were focused ahead as we continued to move further away from New York City. But I didn't miss the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth when I mentioned how interesting he was.

"Not too long. A couple years," he said. "This is Jeff's yacht. He's had it for about four years, I think. He took our family out after he proposed to Lillian. We spent three days on this thing up around Nantucket. That's where he had it originally. Jeff's the one who taught me how to sail. Now he lets me take her out whenever I want."

"Judging by how good you are at it, I guess he doesn't worry about you wrecking the thing," I laughed.

"Nah." He shook his head. "It's the wild parties I throw on it that really tick him off."

I flashed him a funny look and he started laughing, shaking his head again.

"I'm joking. I'm not the party type," he clarified. "But no, he doesn't worry about that. Honestly, I'm not sure he'd care too much if I did wreck it, though, seeing as he's got three other ones."

If I'd had a drink, I would've spit it out at his words. As it was, I almost choked on my own saliva.

"Jeff has four yachts?" I unintentionally shouted the question. "Holy shit."

Jesse chuckled again and turned the wheel some more. "Before he and Lillian got together, Jeff was a big time insurance guy alongside his father up in Boston. They made a fortune together. I think, between the two of them, they've got six vacation homes and seven yachts."

"Damn..."

I stood there, wide-eyed, as we glided south passed Staten Island into the lower bay. Neither of us spoke for several minutes, just taking in the scenery and enjoying each other's company. The wind seemed to be dying down, thankfully, but the temperature wasn't improving. Soon enough, Jesse was turning the wheel to sail east around the south side of Long Island.

"Turn around," he whispered in my ear, pressing a sweet kiss to my neck.

I did as he said and came face-to-face with a glorious view of the sunset. The sky wasn't overcast yet and the clouds had arranged themselves in a way that made for a spectacular array of colors. Reds, oranges, yellows, and pinks danced across the sky and reflected on the water. It was every photographer's dream shot. It was absolutely stunning.

"Wow..." I breathed, stepping away from Jesse and closer to the lounging spot at the back of the yacht.

The wind whipped the flag back and forth. I watched the way the water fizzed up behind us as Carpathia cut a trail eastward. As the clouds moved along, the sunset's colors shifted to a darker reddish purple.

I continued to stand there, watching the beauty of my surroundings, until I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Jesse whispered in my ear, kissing my cheek softly. "Sunrise and sunset are my favorite times to be out here. You get away from all the noise and traffic and just... be."

I turned around in his arms and pulled him in for a long, slow kiss. My fingertips toyed with the back of his hair while his hands slid further down my frame. I snaked my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, moaning against his lips. He gave a soft grunt when I pressed my body harder against his.

He eventually pulled back, breaking our kiss, and we stood there, arms wrapped around each other, getting lost in each other's eyes. His lips curved into a sweet smile and he kissed the tip of my nose.

Then I realized he wasn't paying attention to the steering anymore.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the wheel?" I reminded him.

He shook his head, that silly, sweet smile still playing across his lips. "It's on auto. She'll cruise herself for a while. That way I get to spend more time with my beautiful date."

"You spoil me, Captain Reese," I giggled and kissed him again.

He flashed me that confident, sexy smirk that I loved so much. "Mmm... You should call me that more often, Miss Crawford. I like it."

I liked the sound of it, too. Maybe I'd call him Captain Reese next time he took me to bed.

We started to get lost in each other again, making out on the back of the yacht, when an obnoxiously loud horn made us both jump. I fell backwards, landing on the padded lounge in a heap while Jesse was laughing so hard, he almost couldn't breathe. He was slumped over with his hands on his knees, howling.

"Oh, you think this is funny?" I started laughing, too, despite my attempts at sounding serious.

I threw a pillow at him, but it only made him laugh harder.

"Step away from the girl," came a male voice over the speaker of the boat that had blared its horn.

Jesse finally straightened up his posture and put his hands on his hips, grinning in amusement as the boat passed by us.

I, on the other hand, was no longer enjoying the spectacle. Who was talking to Jesse on that speaker? Was something wrong?

"What's going on?" I asked him. "Who is that?"

Then I saw the letters painted in bright blue on the side of the boat: N.Y.P.D.

"It's just my friend, Mark," Jesse chuckled and waved at the passing craft. "He likes to fuck with me."

My blood pressure calmed down once I heard that it was a joke. For a second, I'd been seriously concerned.

The boat sounded off again, its' horn nearly ear-piercing.

"Use protection!" shouted Mark over the speaker with a cackle.

A minute later, the boat had gone and we were left shaking our heads and laughing.

"You have some interesting friends," I said to Jesse, climbing off of the lounge pad. "I thought we were going to get arrested or something."

He shook his head, still grinning, and pulled me into his arms again. "If I ever get arrested, I'd prefer it be for something much more scandalous than making out on a yacht."

The rest of our evening was spent enjoying what was left of the sunset, and of course, enjoying each other. Once we'd reached a certain point off the coast of Long Island, Jesse decided it was time to idle the vessel there, and we'd retreated down to the privacy of one of the staterooms for two rounds of champagne-infused lust. It was a very satisfying way to pass the time.

Around seven-thirty, Jesse turned us around and started Carpathia on the path back to the marina. It didn't seem to take as long going back as it had getting out there, but the view was different coming into the upper bay now that the sun had gone down.

The shimmering colors of the city sparkled along either side of the water as Jesse sailed us back up the Hudson. In the dark, the water looked black, yet still beautiful.

By the time we pulled back into the marina and Jesse anchored Carpathia to the dock, I was starving. Jesse suggested I follow him back to his place and spend the night there. I happily accepted his offer and he made me another impressive dinner before we kissed our way to the bedroom again for dessert. Only this time, there actually was dessert involved. Let's just say he taught me a few new ways to enjoy cheesecake!