Page 36 of Daring Lance

Lance lowered his forehead to touch hers. “I called him three days ago to tell him that I wasn’t going to be able to oversee the Costa Rica operations because I needed to stay in Boca Raton with the woman I love. That we planned to buy a place, have a couple of kids, one to play with each of our dogs, and that maybe, and it was a very iffy maybe, we might consider an international project down the road but not for several years.”

Willow’s jaw fell open, and right as Lance prepared to cover her lips with his own, she beat him to it. He tugged her against his chest, their mouths fused together, tongues tangling wildly with one another. She gripped on to the front of his shirt, and he untucked her blouse from her jeans. He slid his hands under the silky material until they each cupped, a full, firm breast. He released her mouth and glided his lips across the column of her throat. “I take it you approve of the idea?”

Willow moaned into his ear. “I do, Lance, but I think I’m more in shock, and I’m feeling a bit guilty.”

Lance jerked his head back to look at her. “Guilty?”

She let out a deep breath, her chest rising and then falling into the cups of his palms. He absently slid the pads of his thumbs over the delicate lace of her bra. “You love to travel. It’s who you are, and I’m making you give it up.” She fluttered her eyes closed.

“Willow, look at me.” He waited until she opened her eyes until he spoke again. “I love you. Do I like to travel? To experience new places? Yes. I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t, but I love you more. Besides, we can travel together whenever we want, and I’ll still be able to consult on job sites, including here in Costa Rica, but it will be something that we decide together. So, please, don’t feel guilty. This is a decision that I wanted to make, and going forward, I want the rest of any decisions regarding where we live to be ones we make together. Willow, I realized over the last few days that I didn’t need to go in search of my next adventure anymore, because I had already found the ideal one for me. You.” He pressed a small kiss to the tip of her nose. “So, deal?”

Her smile was so beautiful that he knew that if he didn’t make haste and get their clothes off and move them each to the bed that they would be making love half-dressed against the dresser—which wasn’t a half bad idea once a few images popped into his head.

“Deal,” Willow whispered, breaking into his thoughts.

With one swift swoosh, he had Willow’s blouse over her head and falling into a puddle at their feet. “Holy hot damn! Is this one of Ms. Lily’s creations?”

Willow smiled coyly, and Lance’s breathing escalated to a pant. “Who knew they made black lace that could be that transparent? Are those rhinestones?”

Willow yanked his shirt from the waistband of his jeans, and he eagerly assisted her in lifting it over his head and tossing it to join her discarded blouse on the floor. “It’s a prototype from the Lancelot collection. I’m wearing the matching G-string—rhinestone G-string. Lily gave me the set as a going away gift.”

Lance shook his head. “Sweetheart, make no mistake, this gift is all mine.”

She giggled softly and the sound went straight to his heart. If he had thought he loved her before, his feelings for her now swelled inside of him, engulfing him entirely. He placed his hands on each side of her lower jaw. “Willow, you are my everything.”

“I love you, Lance. You, me, and the Scooby Doo gang of canines are going to be very happy.”

Lance slowly blinked, content to stare at her, in awe that she was here and in his arms. She immediately stiffened, and her jaw lowered, pressing into his palms. “What is it, Willow? What’s wrong?”

Her eyebrows raised high on her forehead. “I figured it out! I can’t believe it! Lance, this is hilarious.”

“What? What are you talking about?” He released his hands from the sides of her jaw and let his arms drop to his side. He had gone from wildly aroused to absurdly confused in a matter of seconds.

She waved her hand back and forth in front of her. “The slow blinking of your eyes. The seductive unbuttoning of your shirt sleeves when you know I’m watching you.”

Busted was the only word that came to Lance’s mind. “What? You must be imagining it. I don’t know what you are talking about.” He most certainly did but would be damned if he’d admit it, not when his embarrassment was threatening to overwhelm him.

She balanced a hand on each of her hips, obviously not as bothered as he was that from the waist up, she wore nothing but a black transparent lace bra. “Ryan Gold! FromHer Private Life. The Korean drama? You’re totally imitating the male lead character.” She threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, my gosh. I can’t believe it. This is hilarious.”

Lance was tempted to deny it but knew it was a lost cause because Willow was the queen of K-dramas. “I thought you liked that K-drama? You drew tiny hearts around it on your list.”

Willow sighed dramatically, her smile reflected in her eyes. “So, that’s how you knew. You saw my top K-dramas list on my desk.”

“Yeah,” he stared at a spot over her shoulder. Getting caught by Willow was a lot more embarrassing than he’d imagined it to be. “How could I miss it? Beside the tiny little hearts, you had lightning bolts next to the names of Ryan Gold and some other guy.”

“Kim Jae-wook.”

He shrugged although a wave of jealously flashed over him. “Whatever.”

Willow playfully ran her finger across his bare pectoral muscles. “He’s the actor, my favorite actor by the way, who played Ryan Gold in the drama. Kim Jae-wook was so hot in that role, and I’ve watched it three times.” To Lance’s annoyance, she sighed dramatically. “I think he’s yummy.”

It was Lance’s turn to raise his brows high on his forehead. “Did you just call another guy yummy?”

“Yup,” she shot back playfully.

“Yummier than me?”

She pretended to think about it, and Lance decided that he would help sway her decision in his favor. He undid the front clasp of her bra with one swift motion and lowered his head to the swell of her breast. Her startled gasp was the response he had hoped to get. He swirled his tongue over the tip of one of her nipples. “Still thinking?”

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