Page 15 of Daring Lance

“Willow?” His fingertips traced the side of her cheek, down the column of her neck.

She glanced into his eyes and found them burning a deep-sea blue. “I admit it.”

Lance’s fingers stilled against her skin; his grin swiftly slipped away. “You admit it? Admit what?”

Willow braced her palms onto the top of his shoulders. “That I want you. You’re still not my type, but I wouldn’t mind enjoying each other’s company in a no-strings-attached kind of way. Although my brain is questioning my libido’s judgment right now.”

His smile was swift. “I plan to prove to your brain wrong because Iamyour type and this is anything but casual for me.” He dropped his mouth against hers, and soon their lips parted and their tongues entwined. The hand he held against her lower back tugged her body flush against him, crushing her breasts against the hard wall of his chest. Willow wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, her fingers toying with the hair at his nape, as they began to explore the passion closing around them.

“Why this sure beats Sunday mass, even with the free continental breakfast afterwards with Pastor George.”

“I agree, Bernadette, these young kids sure know how to heat things up! Who needs the Florida sun and the risk of skin cancer when we can stand right here in the parking lot and get all hot and bothered?” Lily’s distinctive giggle echoed in the air. Several hoots in various tones ensued.

Willow wasn’t sure if she froze first or if it was Lance, but they both had, which confirmed that her ears had definitely not deceived her. Lance released her lips, and she dared to dart a glance over the balcony railing and down the three stories to the parking lot. Sure enough, there stood a small gathering of residents below, each with her gaze fixated on Willow’s balcony, some even shading their eyes to get, she presumed, a better look.

Willow sucked her lower lip between her teeth, crushing her eyes closed before she bent her head to rest in the middle of Lance’s upper chest, below his chin. “Bernadette and at least six others are in the parking lot. It looks as if they might be returning from church.”

She felt a low rumble of laughter burst forth from Lance’s chest and immediately popped her head up to stare at him. “Lance? What could possibly be so funny about half of Regency Palm’s residents watching us making out on my balcony? I can’t believe it! I’m going to have to move.”

Lance threw his head back and laughed harder, before looking down at her, his fingertip trailing a path over her lips. “Making out? Your K-dramas don’t provide you with a more up-to-date expression than that—”

“Lance!” She had lowered her hands from around the back of his neck and used one of her fists to softly punch him in the gut.

Lance continued to laugh as he threw his palms up in surrender. “Okay, okay. But this isn’t a big deal.” Before she knew what he planned, he took hold of her hand, spun himself around, taking her with him so that they both faced the small crowd gathered in the parking lot. “Good morning,” he called. “You ladies are looking lovely for a Sunday morning.”

“Why thank you, young man! You’re looking pretty good yourself,” replied Bernadette, the rest of her small gang eagerly bobbing their heads up and down in agreement.

“The black lingerie set you ordered, Willow, must have done the trick. It’s my number one seller for a reason!” called out Lily.

Lance shot his gaze down toward Willow. “Are you wearing Lily’s black lingerie set right now?”

Willow rolled her eyes while she gave him a quick elbow to the ribs. “Don’t make this any worse than it already is, Lance.”

“Is that a ‘yes?’”

She glared at him from the corner of her eye, even though she had no one to blame but herself. “No, it is not a yes!” She exhaled a deep breath, curious whether her cheeks were as red as they felt, purposely trying to ignore Lance at her side. “We are working on your, er, project this morning, Ruby. We may need you to answer some questions this afternoon.”

Ruby waved her hand dramatically over head. “No need to rush if you have more important things to do. We have a bingo marathon with a potluck lunch in the grand salon today. You’re welcome to join!”

“The bingo marathon sounds fun,” Lance whispered next to her.

Willow elbowed him again, right before she took his hand from around her waist and guided it to the balcony railing. “That sounds amazing—”

“Amazing?”

“Shut up, Lance, or I’ll volunteer you to call the numbers this afternoon,” she hissed before calling out to the seniors again. “Sorry, but we can’t make it. We need to work on your project. Keep your phone on Ruby, and we will text you with questions.”

“Text me instead, dear. It’s hard for us to all view Ruby’s phone screen at once,” called out Courtney.

“Courtney has the new Samsung Fold. It’s practically the size of a tablet, and we set the font to sixty,” added Bernadette.

“I’d love to see your new phone, Ms. Courtney. I’ve been thinking about upgrading to that one myself.” Courtney held up her phone, and Lance provided her with a thumbs up that had Willow rolling her eyes again.

“Stop by my place anytime, dear, and I will be glad to show you all of the upgraded features.”

“You can bet she will, too!” added Ruby.

Bernadette thumped her cane on the asphalt. “Better replace your pacemaker battery first, Courtney!”

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