Lance, page 18
Always so smug.
“I’m just not used to seeing a man in a suit.” She reached up to smooth one lapel. “That’s all.”
“I don’t think that’s it.” Lance skimmed his hand over her hip and up the center of her belly where the deep V of her dress ended, leaving a sizeable portion of the space between her breasts covered only by the necklaces Vanessa was twisting between her fingers. His eyes focused on his fingers as they dipped under the neckline.
Kari looked down at the amount of skin showing. “Is it too revealing?”
Lance looked up. His eyes were dark and filled with a mix of desire and careful control. “You look perfect.”
“But—”
A deep rumble cut between them.
Lance’s eyes moved back down her front.
“I can go change.” Kari set Vanessa down but didn’t even get the chance to turn around before she was crushed against his chest.
“No.” Lance’s jaw was tight and his nostrils flared. “You have to bear with me Pet.” One hand came up to gently stroke her cheek while the other held her so tightly to him she could barely breathe. “This is a whole new experience for me.”
“How’s that?” As she waited for an answer his eyes moved over her face. His thumb slid across her bottom lip.
“I want to lock you away Kari.” The deep blue of his eyes focused on her mouth. “Where no other man can look at you. Think about touching you.”
Her breath caught. “Why would you want to do that?”
She was fishing. On purpose.
But he was leaving. She wanted anything she could have to hold onto while he was gone.
“Because you’re mine.”
Kari stopped breathing. Saying something during sex was one thing.
This was another.
Lance leaned down to nip at the skin under her ear. “Say it Pet. I need to hear it.”
She shivered as his teeth raked across the lobe of her ear. “Say what?”
That same low growl that shot straight to her core. His lips moved against her ear. “Say you’re mine.” His hand slid from her cheek, down her neck to cover one breast, his thumb rubbing over the nipple.
She sucked in her first breath in who knows how long as he pinched the tip.
“Say it now.”
“I’m yours.”
“Good girl.” There was a smile in his voice. “Now go get in the car.” He turned her and directed her toward the door. “I’ll get Vanessa and be out in a minute.”
Kari grabbed her purse and went to the porch, sucking a lungful of the warm early summer air. It did nothing to soothe the ache between her thighs.
That damn man and his suit. And hands. And lips.
Bastard.
She climbed into the front seat of his car and pulled the door shut. Kari started to put on her seatbelt but something caught her eye.
No.
Everything caught her eye.
In Greenlea everything was within walking distance. No reason to drive from the B&B to her house. When they went to Sulphur Springs her car was the closest so they’d taken it. This was the first time she’d been inside this thing. This thing that might just have cost more than her house.
Slowly turning in her seat, she looked around Lance’s car.
Car was the wrong word.
Luxury vehicle was more appropriate. She wiggled her butt in the buttery soft leather seat as she touched the frame of tortoise trim surrounding the dash. The thing was gorgeous.
Lance opened the door behind her and sat Vanessa in her car seat, buckled her in, and handed her a tablet playing cartoons. Kari watched in the side mirror as he straightened, re-buttoning the front of his jacket one handed and shutting the door with the other. He turned and walked around the back of the car, giving her a nice look at his backside as he walked away.
The man looked fucking fantastic in a suit.
Was that what he wore when he went to New York to work?
Probably.
Lance slid into the seat beside her. “Ready?”
“Yup.” Kari pressed her lips together to stop herself from asking questions. Questions that made her sound jealous and insecure. Questions like ‘Do you work with a lot of women?’ and ‘Do they drool over you too?’ and most importantly, ‘If I went to prison for murdering them would you come visit me?’.
She wasn’t insecure.
Maybe the other thing though.
Lance pulled onto the main road and headed toward the small two-lane highway, driving his gorgeous car, wearing his gorgeous suit. “She’s going to love you Kari.” He reached across the console separating their seats. “Don’t worry.”
Kari gave him a forced smile. “I won’t.”
Lie. Bit. Fat. Lie.
Sort of.
It was the truth, technically.
She wasn’t so worried about his mother anymore.
16
Lance saw his mother before she saw him. It would never occur to her that he would be the man standing with a woman and a baby at his side.
Like a family.
He’d never included a woman in his life outside of the tiny one in his arms. The only proof his mother had, outside the stories she’d heard, that he fraternized with the opposite sex was Vanessa. She’d never met anyone he’d dated. Never knew their names. Never knew of their existence.
His private life was just that.
Private.
But not Kari.
She was quickly becoming his whole life.
She and Vanessa, in their matching dresses, at his side and in his arms was more than he ever thought he wanted. Until Vanessa, Lance was a businessman.
Only a businessman.
Business came first. Always.
But not so much anymore.
His mother’s brown eyes finally landed on his. She beamed at him and picked up the pace, her sensible heels clicking across the tile floor as she waved at Vanessa. Slowly Renee Stafford’s eyes moved to the woman at his side, tucked under his arm.
Kari glanced up at him before turning back to his mother and smiling hesitantly. He squeezed her hip. She was never hesitant. Never unsure.
But she was now.
Because this mattered to her.
He mattered to her.
Lance leaned into her ear. “She will love you Pet.” He kissed her temple. “And you will love her. I promise.”
His mother stopped in front of them, not even trying to hide the shock on her face.
Or unable to.
“Mother, this is Kari Wolffsen.” He paused. “She’s my—”
The next word caught in his throat. Kari wasn’t a girlfriend. He’d had many of those. Categorizing her with the group of women he tended to chose because of his own desires to keep that side of his life simple was not something Lance was willing to do. She was nothing like the women in his past who were after his money or his status.
“She’s mine.”
It made him sound like a kid claiming a toy.
He didn’t care.
It’s what she was.
His.
His mother’s eyes widened. “She’s not an object Lance.” Renee turned to Kari. “I swear I taught him how to share as a child.” She smiled warmly and held out her hand. “I’m Renee. It’s lovely to meet you Kari.”
Kari took his mother’s hand and her stiff smile relaxed. “How was your flight?”
His mother grabbed the handle of her rolling carry-on. “Short and uneventful.”
Lance took the bag from her hand and shifted Vanessa into his mother’s arms. “How about we trade?” Vanessa patted her grandmother’s face with both hands as Renee smoothed down the pale pink of her dress.
“Your daddy has certainly upped his fashion game hasn’t he Little Cub?” She touched the tip of Vanessa’s nose. “I have missed your face so much.”
Lance pulled up the carry-on’s handle and tipped it onto its wheels. He rested his other hand on Kari’s back, easing her toward the exit. “Are you hungry?”
His mother settled Vanessa in her arms. “Starving.”
“Fantastic.” Lance led the three most important women in his life out of the airport and into the parking garage, loading them into the car. His mother insisted on riding in the back with Vanessa, leaving him with Kari at his side.
He reached across the console and wrapped his hand around hers, letting his thumb brush across her knuckles as they drove to the highest-end restaurant he could find near the airport. This was a special occasion.
For many reasons.
It was time to get some answers. For Vanessa.
For himself.
By the time they were seated in the most secluded corner of the restaurant, Lance couldn’t wait any longer. He reached across the table and held his mother’s hands in his, hoping to soften the blow of his next words. “Who is my father?”
He kept his tone gentle. Unaccusing. He wasn’t upset. Not even a little.
Had it not been for Vanessa he would never have asked. It didn’t matter. The man who raised him was his dad. Always would be.
His mother didn’t even flinch at the question. “A man I met in Washington on a retreat.”
Kari sat at his side, all her attention focused on Vanessa. She was pretending not to even notice the conversation happening at the table.
He knew better.
His mother got a faraway look in her eyes. “He was so different from anyone I’d ever met before.” Renee shook her head and her eyes cleared. She looked at him. “I didn’t know your dad wasn’t your dad until you were a teenager.”
Lance gave her a smile. “Me either.”
Renee gazed at her son. “You look so much like he did.”
“He’s dead?” Lance wasn’t sure why the idea sat the way it did. He had a father. One he loved. One he worked hard to make proud.
This wasn’t about finding a dad.
It was about the man who contributed to his genetics. Who made him what he was.
His mother’s eyes fell. “Could be. I honestly don’t know.”
“Do you remember his name?”
It shouldn’t matter what the man’s name was. He didn’t plan to find him.
Not before this moment.
But then he saw the way his mother changed when she spoke of him.
She glanced at Kari who was diligently giving them as much privacy as she could, playing with Vanessa, making his daughter giggle and squeal with delight. His mother’s eyes moved to him. “I remember everything about him.”
“I know someone who can find him.” Lance let the offer hang in the air between them for a few seconds before going on. “A private investigator. I can introduce you to him while you’re here if you would like.”
His mother stared at him silently. Finally she let out a long breath.
“Can I think about it?”
He smiled. “Of course.”
She opened her mouth but clamped it shut before saying anything.
Renee rubbed her lips together then opened her mouth again. “Do you hate me?”
“What?” Lance laughed. “Of course not.”
“I should have told you.” She pulled her hands from his and fidgeted with the bracelet on her wrist. “I just didn’t want to make you feel differently about your dad.”
“I’ve known since I was thirteen.” Lance used one of his now free hands to reach for Kari. “It didn’t matter until I had Vanessa.”
Nothing really did.
Fatherhood changed him in a fundamental way. “I want her to know where she came from.” He found Kari’s hand and laced his fingers with hers. “Who she is.” He looked at the woman beside him. Even if he never found the man who was genetically linked to him he had everything Vanessa would ever need.
He had Kari.
Together they could help her understand what she was.
“I should have given you that.” His mother’s eyes pinked. “I’m so sorry.”
He waited as their drinks arrived, watching as the waiter’s eyes lingered on Kari. His custom suit suddenly fit less like a glove and more like a straitjacket.
Kari’s hand slid across his thigh. She pinched the inside of his leg.
Hard.
Hard enough to stop the beast threatening to out him over an appreciating look thrown at the woman he loved. The women who belonged to him.
To them.
She smiled sweetly as his head turned her way.
Then she pinched him again.
Lance dropped one arm around her shoulders. “Mother, I’m in love with Kari.”
His mother didn’t even look up. She snapped open her napkin and spread it across her lap. “No shit.”
His head snapped her way. “Did you just say no shit?”
Renee took a long sip of her wine. “I did.” She set the glass on the table and lifted her brows at him. “She’s the first woman I’ve ever met.” Her gaze moved to Kari. “Ever.”
“Really.” Kari’s eyes darted from his mother to him. Her face lost a little of its color. “That’s interesting.” She grabbed her own glass of wine.
Lance shot his mother a look of warning, hoping she would back off. Kari knew of his past. She knew he didn’t used to be the kind of man who wanted to settle down. He’d told her himself.
But that’s not who he was anymore.
Kari was quiet for the rest of dinner, picking and poking at her food, giving most of what was eaten to Vanessa. She told his mother about Greenlea on the way home, giving Renee most of her attention, agitating the beast she’d wrangled in the restaurant until he was simmering just below the surface.
By the time his mother was settled in at the B&B and Vanessa was tucked into her crib Kari’s silence was eating him alive. She stepped quietly from Vanessa’s room, pulling the door most of the way closed behind her.
“What’s the matter Pet?” Lance stood in the center of the living room, waiting for her to come to him. He needed the reassurance. He needed to know she wanted him still.
In spite of the man he once was.
“I think your mother loved him.” She swept her hair to one side and reached behind her neck.
“Is that why you’ve been quiet?” It wasn’t. He was sure of that. Lance forced his feet to stay put and shoved his hands in his pockets as he waited for her explanation.
“I think I was nervous is all.” She tipped her head to one side as her elbows lifted higher. “Being the first woman to meet your mother is a lot of pressure to put on a girl.” She scoffed and dropped her arms to her sides. “Can you help me with this?”
It wasn’t his past that Kari was worried about.
It was their future.
“Come here.” All he wanted was to rush to her side. But he needed her to come to him. Still.
Kari’s long dress billowed around her legs as she walked to him, turning slowly, using one hand to pull her hair off her neck.
Lance leaned down as his fingers worked the clasp of her ornate necklace, breathing in her soft floral scent. “You’re the only woman who’s ever mattered to me Kari.” He unhooked the two sides of the chain and held both ends in one hand, laying it on the table beside them.
“But what if I’m not everything you hope I am?” Her head was down, barely turned toward one shoulder. “What then?”
“I don’t expect you to be perfect Kari.” He slid one hand across her belly, splaying it over her middle, holding her body against his. “I just want you to be you.” He nuzzled her neck, letting the softness of her skin skate under his lips. “That’s all I want is you. Exactly as you are.”
She didn’t relax.
Lance turned her to face him. “Look at me Kari.”
She lifted her chin but not her eyes.
Perfectly stubborn woman.
He smiled, using one finger to lift her chin higher and higher until Kari’s eyes finally came to his. “I didn’t come all this way, buy a house, and uproot my daughter on a whim Pet.” Lance tapped her chin as her eyes started to wander, pulling them back to his. “I did it because I knew you were mine from almost the first time I saw you.”
She started to open her mouth. He cut her off.
“I know, I left.” He let his eyes drift down the center of her chest over the wide V of skin the necklace he just removed only partially obscured. “I left because I had to. And I have to leave again next week.”
The thought of being away from her brought him physical pain. Not even the tiniest bit of him wanted to go.
“But I will come back for the same reason I came back before.” Lance ran his thumb over her lower lip. “For you Kari. You. Are. Mine.”
“You said that already.”
“And I will keep saying it.” He yanked on the tie of her dress. As far as he could tell it was all that was keeping the damn thing on her body all fucking night. The front of the dress gaped open confirming his suspicions. “You know if this came undone I’d have had to kill people.”
“You can’t just go around killing people.” Kari shivered under his gaze, her nipples pulling up tight, dragging a groan from him.
“I would. I want to kill any man who looks at you Pet.” He traced the crease under her breast with one finger.
“You can’t kill men for looking at me.” She dropped her shoulders, letting the dress slide off her body and pool on the floor at her feet.
Lance lifted his gaze. “I didn’t, did I?”
Her hands went to the buttons of his jacket, working them free. “I think you scared the shit out of that poor waiter.”
“Good.”
She opened the front and slid it over his shoulders, catching the neck with one hand and tossing it to the couch. “Does your mother know about you?” Kari’s eyes fixed on her fingers as she unbuttoned his shirt.
“You mean about the beast.”
She tugged the shirt from the waistband of his pants. “Of course I mean the beast.”
Lance caught her hands as she started to undo his pants. He held them in his until she looked up at him. When she finally did he shook his head. “Only you.”
Kari paled for the second time tonight.
He didn’t like it. Something was bothering her. Something she didn’t want to share with him.
