Lance, page 17
“Oh my gosh. Is that your baby?” Spirit rushed to the break in the bar and hurried to his side. “She is just as pretty as Kari said she was.” Spirit was a tiny woman and her diminutive stature meant she was on eye level with Vanessa. She smiled at his daughter then turned to Kari. “She does look just like her daddy.”
Someone was talking about him.
And his daughter.
It satisfied Lance on a deep level, just like everything with Kari did. A side he didn’t even know he had before coming to Greenlea.
“Can I hold her?” Spirit’s wide eyes glanced his way before moving back to Vanessa. “If it’s okay with her.”
Vanessa gave Spirit a wide grin and Spirit’s tiny hands went to her heart. “Oh my gosh you are so sweet.” She pulled her hands from her chest and held them out to Vanessa. His daughter immediately leaned toward them, falling into Spirit’s arms.
Kari’s tiny friend took off, walking around the room with Vanessa, bouncing gently as she spoke quietly to her.
Lance walked toward the bar and the woman who was still standing cross-armed, glaring.
“You brought your daughter to a bar?”
“She missed you.” Vanessa was an easy fall guy. Girl.
Kari shook her head and uncrossed her arms to lean them on the bar between them. “It wasn’t Vanessa who missed me or she’d be the one with me now.”
Lance reached out to stroke along her hand, running his thumb across the bare third finger of her left hand. “Maybe I missed you too.”
He’d never missed a woman before, including his mother. Why did he miss this one after less than an hour? Why did being apart from her make him feel agitated and irritable?
More importantly, why in the hell was he confessing it?
The door to the bar opened and sunlight from outside poured in. Jerrik stepped one foot in, his eyes immediately landing on Spirit and Vanessa.
“Oh hell.” He turned and walked back out, the door slamming behind him.
Kari glared at the door. “I swear to God.” Her eyes went to Spirit who stood frozen in the middle of the bar. “Ignore him.”
Spirit’s eyes were fixed on the door. “I’m trying.”
Kari grabbed a rag from the sink and strangled the water out of it. “If he causes problems for her I will fucking kill him.”
Lance lifted a brow. He’d seen the look on Jerrik’s face before.
In the mirror.
He chuckled as Kari started scrubbing the counter with abandon.
“I don’t think he’s the one causing the problems.”
15
“How long will you be gone?” Kari tried to sound indifferent.
He was leaving again.
At least this time he was telling her.
Lance was propped up on her bed with a computer on his lap, wearing a pair of plaid flannel pants.
Just a pair of plaid flannel pants.
He waited up for her every night she worked. As Kari walked home the front left window glowed into the darkness like a beacon.
He was there.
In her bed. Waiting for her to get home before he would go to sleep.
Which was absurd. She wouldn’t do it for him. Mostly because he would be the one to suffer for it in the morning. She wasn’t the kind of person who could run on no sleep.
But he ran on basically nothing. Just like her brothers.
Lance closed his computer and slid it onto the glass-top nightstand, giving her a completely unobstructed view of his chest. “I will have to stay the week.” He slid off the bed and crossed the few feet of wood floor between them. “I don’t want to go but I have to.” One pointer finger pressed under her chin, pushing her face toward his. “I will come home as fast as I can Pet.”
Kari rolled her eyes at him. “Don’t be ridiculous.” She yanked her chin off his finger and turned to the bathroom. “I could use a little alone time anyway.”
She felt him stiffen behind her.
“Is that really how you feel?”
Kari stopped in the doorway to the bathroom, one hand on the molding. She blinked.
Was she crying?
What in the hell was wrong with her? Lance was going to work for Christ’s sake. It wasn’t like he was taking a vacation, or moving back to Virginia.
Ouch.
One hand went to her chest to rub at the strange sensation manifesting there, brought on by the thought of Lance and Vanessa moving back to Virginia. It didn’t feel good.
It felt like shit actually.
“I don’t want you to go.” It was just a whisper. An admission that was easy and difficult at the same time.
Lance’s arms wrapped around her waist as his warm, naked chest pressed into her back. “I don’t want to go.” He leaned down and kissed her shoulder. “I put it off as long as I could.”
“Why?” She’d given him something. A confession of the way she felt.
Kari wanted one back.
“I didn’t want to leave until I knew you would still have me when I came back.” He nuzzled her ear. “I would have let the whole fucking company crumble before I left you without knowing you’d be here when I came back.”
“I live here.” She let her head fall to one side as he reached up to pull down the neckline of her shirt, exposing more of her skin to his lips.
“You know what I mean.” Lance nipped at the column of her neck. “I had to know you would be here for me. For us.”
That reminded her. Kari turned to look into the living room. “Where’s Vanessa?”
“She’s in her room.” Lance’s words were barely a murmur against her skin as he continued to run soft kisses along her throat. “Asleep.” His hands slid over her hips and to her thighs, working up the hem of her dress. “Come to bed.”
Vanessa was in her room.
A room that was in Kari’s house.
And Lance stayed here at the risk of his own business, waiting.
The pain in her chest eased, replaced with a tightness she never expected to feel. “I need to take a shower.”
Kari needed time to process. She’d watched it all unfold. Lance bought a house. Offered to invest in the town. Helped at the bar. And she pretended it was all a casual thing.
She tried to ignore what it really meant.
Because Kari didn’t want to be hopeful. Didn’t want to really think it could be true.
But it was.
Lance used his body to push hers into the bathroom and flipped on the light, closing the door softly behind them. He reached behind the shower curtain to twist on the water. “I want to take care of you Kari. Don’t try to convince yourself this isn’t real.” He stepped close. “It is.” Lance grasped the hem of her dress and lifted it up and over her head. “I mean every word I say to you.” He pulled her against him as he reached behind her back to unclasp her bra. “Always have.”
She swallowed, trying to ease the tightness in her throat.
It was a spot she’d never been in before. Being with a man and having nothing in between them. No secrets. No well-intentioned lies.
Nothing.
Well. Not nothing.
Lance thought she could help Vanessa. That she and Vanessa were the same.
They were.
They were also the same as everyone else in the world.
And she hadn’t told him any differently.
Because maybe that was one of the reasons he wanted her.
What if that reason was no longer there? Would he leave? Would Lance take Vanessa from her knowing any woman would be the same as she was?
Somehow Kari let herself become attached to him. To the idea that he could give her everything she never thought she’d have.
He thought the same thing.
She was the only one who was right.
And Kari still couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth. Because she wanted Lance to come back to her and if he knew the truth...
He might not.
Lance hooked his fingers under the waistband of her panties and skimmed them to the floor. “I can give you everything Pet. Anything you want.” He pushed his pajama pants to the ground and cupped her face with both hands, forcing her to look at him. “Promise you’ll be here. I won’t leave if you don’t swear you’ll let me back in.”
She should tell him now. Confess what she was.
Wasn’t.
“I promise.”
Or she could wait.
Enjoy just a little more of this. Of him.
Lance’s eyes were dark, like the ocean when the floor drops. “I love you Kari.”
Well, fuck.
Kari took a breath. Now she had to tell him.
He pressed one finger to her lips and shook his head. “I’ll wait.”
Lance replaced his finger with his lips as he yanked the curtain to one side and stepped into the shower, pulling her in with him. He eased her under the spray of water as his hands moved up to her hair, gently pushing it back off her face as the water soaked to her scalp. He pulled away long enough to squeeze a bit of shampoo in to his hand and then his lips were back on hers, his tongue stroking inside her mouth as his fingers worked their way through her hair, massaging her head and neck as they went.
An involuntary moan slipped out as he kneaded along her shoulders.
He smiled against her lips. “You like that Pet?”
Of course she liked it. What woman in her right mind wouldn’t like a tall, blonde, handsome man rubbing all over her? “I think you know I like it.”
“Hmm.” He pulled her hair softly, tipping her head back into the stream of water. “What kind of woman won’t ever admit she likes being taken care of?”
Kari closed her eyes as he carefully wiped the soap from her hairline, relaxing into the heat of the water. “A stubborn one probably.”
“That is a gross understatement.” Lance filled one hand with a dose of peony scented body wash. As soon as it hit the air the floral scent filled the shower. He took a long deep breath. “This explains a lot.”
“I like peonies.” Kari watched as he rubbed his hands together. Where would he put them first?
Lance smiled a slow smile at her. “Me too.”
His eyes moved down her body for the first time since he’d taken her clothes off, dragging slowly until he reached her toes then they eased back up, stopping at her shoulders.
Which is where his hands went first.
Bummer.
He smoothed the wash over her neck and down her arms, gliding back up over her soapy skin, then down her back to her waist, stopping just above the cleft of her ass. His hands circled her waist then pushed up, over her ribs, moving forward as they went until he cupped both her breasts, using his thumbs to stroke across her nipples. He spent more time there than the rest of her body so far, teasing her puckered tips until her pussy was throbbing for attention. It wasn’t until she felt the bob of his dick against her belly that Kari remembered she should probably be participating instead of just standing there.
She reached out to circle it with her hand. The water made his skin slippery against her palm, making it easy to stroke him hard and fast. Lance groaned as she worked her fist down his length. One of his hands left her breast and slipped between her legs to find her clit, rubbing over it a few times before pushing inside her.
“Fuck.” Lance slid his finger back out. He twisted off the water and flung the curtain open, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her body and lifting her fireman style. He silently opened the bathroom door with the hand cradling her legs and carried her across the hall, shutting the bedroom door before setting her down and yanking off her towel.
Kari shivered as the air-conditioned air hit her skin, making her nipples tighten until they almost ached.
“Christ.” Lance knocked the basket of condoms off her nightstand as he grabbed one, then pushed her up against the wall. “What are you doing to me?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer, covering her mouth with his as he used one hand to roll on the condom. The instant it was on, he lifted her leg and rubbed his thick cock along her slit. “I can’t get enough of you. It’s going to be hell to be away from you Pet.” He shoved inside her with one strong, fast stroke, growling in her ear as he did.
His body pinned hers in place. Thank God it did, or her knees would have buckled as he started to fuck her hard and fast. Kari wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held on, letting her head fall back against the wall. “I don’t want you to go.”
He moaned. “Say it again.”
“I don’t want you to go.” She gasped as his hand found her nipple and rolled it between his fingers, pushing her to the edge, leaving her barely hanging on.
“Say you’ll be here when I come home.” His voice was a coarse growl in her ear. “Swear to me.”
Kari grabbed the hair at the back of his head with one hand, fisting her fingers tight in the short strands as she held on for dear life. Her lips were against his ear as she made the promise he asked her for.
“I swear.”
Lance’s fingers dug into her thigh as his body continued to fill hers over and over, rubbing against her clit with each stroke until she came, gasping as her vision clouded and her head spun. Kari clung to him. Relying on him to support her as her useless legs refused to hold her weight.
When Kari finally blinked away the last of the climax-induced haze making her blind and stupid Lance was lining her neck with tender kisses. His mouth moved to just below her ear. “I love you Pet.”
A finger pressed to her lips as he kissed his way to her mouth, keeping her from giving him any sort of reply.
Not that she had one for him.
Lance leaned back, lowering her leg to the ground as his softening dick slid free. He urged her to the bed, covered her up then disappeared into the bathroom for a second before climbing into bed behind her, his body curling around hers just like it had every night for the last week, his warmth sinking into her. His smell surrounding her.
She would have to sleep without him soon.
That might suck.
Kari listened to his breathing, debating. Finally she gave in.
“Promise you’ll come back?”
The question sounded more hesitant than she wanted to be. She was always sure. Always confident.
Always strong.
But in this moment she felt weak. Uncertain.
A little scared.
Lance’s arms tightened around her.
“I will always come back for you Kari.” He kissed the back of her neck. “Now go to sleep. We have a big day tomorrow.”
“Do we?”
“You’re meeting my mother tomorrow.” There was a smile in his voice and it put a smile on her face.
She was meeting his mother.
“Okay.”
The fear burrowing in her gut lost a little of its footing and Kari closed her eyes, relaxed back into the man she might love back, and fell asleep.
****
Last night this seemed like a fantastic thing.
Today, it might make her puke.
“What will I do if she hates me?” Kari sat back on her butt and stared into the blue eyes gazing at her. “What happens if she thinks I’m some Appalachian high-mountain girl out for money?”
She didn’t get an answer.
Kari pinched at Vanessa’s chubby tummy giving the little girl a smile. “You were supposed to make me feel better stinker.”
Sighing, she stood up in her newly completed upstairs closet room and walked to the rack of dresses in Vanessa’s size, pulling out a few for closer inspection before landing on the one. She turned around and held up the pale pink eyelet shift. “What do you think?”
In the few seconds it took to select the dress, Vanessa managed to pull a long dress from its hanger and wrap it around herself like a toga. A wad of the turquoise fabric was clutched in one hand as she spun in a slow circle, trying to figure out how to get herself untangled. Kari draped the dress she chose for Vanessa across the white bench and dropped to her knees, working the garment free of the little girl.
Once the two were separated Kari held the wrap maxi dress up in consideration. It was made of a beautiful, lightweight floral print with the tiniest bit of pink. “You think I should wear this?”
Still no answer from her assistant, but Kari didn’t need one. The dress was beautiful and wouldn’t be too hot.
“Let’s get dressed then Little Cub.” She wrestled Vanessa out of her play clothes and into the dress and matching bloomers before quickly tying on her own dress and slipping her feet into a pair of open-toed camel-colored booties and a lacing on group of delicate gold necklaces that would keep Vanessa occupied during dinner.
Dinner with Lance’s mother.
The nerves eating Kari’s stomach lining picked up their pace, turning the twisting she’d been feeling all day into a nauseating roll. She picked Vanessa up and slung her onto one hip. “If I barf on your Nana you better have my back.”
By the time she and Vanessa made it downstairs, they were five minutes late. Kari rushed down the hallway but the sight of Lance stopped her dead in her tracks.
His back was to her as he walked across the small stretch of available floor in her living room, the indented print of his footsteps joining one-hundred others in the pale carpet.
He’d been pacing.
In a fucking suit.
He turned and her breath caught.
She’d never gone out with a man in a suit before.
Holy shit. Maybe she was an Appalachian high-mountain girl.
Lance tucked both hands into the pockets of his perfectly cut pants as his lips tugged into a smile and his eyes moved over her.
Should her mouth be watering?
Kari swallowed. “Sorry. That took a little longer than I expected.”
“Well worth the wait.” Lance pulled his hands free and stepped toward them. He rested one hand on Vanessa’s back and the other on hers, using it to press her closer. “You look beautiful.”
Kari gazed up at him. “So do you.”
Wait. What? She blinked a few times hoping to work up the gumption to look away from his face. It didn’t work so well. “I mean you look handsome.”
One thick brow lifted. “If I didn’t know better I’d think you were a little tongue-tied Pet.”
