Hornet's Nest (14 page)

AFTER DRIVING THROUGH the streets of Charlotte for while, Lance pulled the car over on the side of the street. I glanced over at him and asked, “What are you doing?”

“This.” A devilish grin rose up his cheeks as he leaned closer to me. He gently pulled my lips toward his as he grazed his lips over mine. “I needed to kiss you again.”

The kiss became more passionate. I let out a moan as his hands ran through my hair, gripping it in between his fists, only making me want him more. His hands moved away from my hair as he fumbled for something in his pocket. His lips moved down to my jaw, then up to my neck. My lungs ached for the breath he had stolen.

“Do you trust me?”

I stared into his eyes, finding the trust I needed to give. I closed my lids and exhaled. I nodded. I did trust him; at least, I felt like I could. He never did anything wrong. Lance and I were the outcome of miserable circumstances.

A wisp of silk traced over my face as my eyes were covered with a blindfold. My heart thumped as he secured a knot behind my head. His hand grasped my chin and he captured my lips with his. His tongue swirled with mine, my body buzzing with an indescribable need. I just needed him. I would always need him.

He pulled away and said, “No peeking.”

His fingertips dragged down my face as I smirked and answered, “Yes, sir.”

His fingers stilled, bringing his lips close to mine, “What am I going to do with you, Katherine?”

“I guess we’ll find out later.”

He groaned and pecked my lips. His fingers left my face as the gears shifted into drive. I rested my head back on the seat and put trust in my boyfriend.
Boyfriend
. Lance Walton, the eternal womanizer, was my boyfriend. I could trust him. I knew that with all my heart. It was karma I didn’t trust. Karma wouldn’t let us be happy. I would give it my all tonight and hold my breath for a tomorrow.

A few moments later, the car turned and Lance clicked off the motor. He shifted in his seat. His lips brushed against mine again and it instantly turned heated. His fingers reached around to the knot on the blindfold and the silk glided off my face. As it fell away, I wrapped my arms around him, tilting my head to deepen the kiss. He groaned and then pulled away from the kiss. I opened my eyes to peer into his, heavy with lust. His lips quirked, and he whispered, “Surprise.”

I couldn’t quite tear myself away from his eyes or his lips, but I finally turned my head and gasped. “You’re taking me to The Melting Pot?”

“Did I do good?”

“Very good.” I grabbed his face and pulled his lips to mine. I didn’t think I would ever tire of his lips.

“Don’t move,” he said as he got out of the car and walked over to my door. Opening it, he offered his hand for assistance. He kept my hand inside his as we walked to the door of the restaurant. When we entered, Lance walked up to the hostess and said, “Lance Walton with a reservation for two.”

We followed her to a quiet booth in the corner out of sight from most diners. I scooted in the booth first as Lance slid in beside me. No menus were left behind for us to look over. I cocked my head as I looked at Lance.

“Everything is already taken care of,” he told me.

It was this moment when I decided: fuck karma. I would do everything possible to make sure I wouldn’t lose him. I rested my hand on his muscular thigh. He covered my hand with his, squeezing it tight.

“Are you really mine?” he whispered. My cheeks heated from his stare. He leaned to my ear and breathed against my neck. “You’re so sexy when you blush.”

His lips brushed my neck just as the waiter arrived with a bottle of wine. He poured some in Lance’s glass. Lance sipped it, nodded. The waiter proceeded to pour each of us a glass, placed the bottle in a bucket, and left our table. Lance held his out to mine and said, “To us.”

I raised my glass and smiled as we both took a sip. The sweetness tingled down the back of my throat as the tension eased from my body. He leaned over and sucked my bottom lip. A quiet moan echoed from the back of his throat. “I love wine, but it tastes so much sweeter on your lips.”

I pressed my legs together. He was going to kill me before dinner was through. The waiter brought our first course. I was thankful for the needed distraction. Since the man was now my boyfriend, I figured it was about time I learned something about him. I let myself relax, knowing that he wanted to be with me. He wasn’t playing with my heart.

“So, boyfriend, do you have any siblings?”

He gazed up at me and answered with a silent smile.

“What?” I asked.

“Are you trying to get to know me, beautiful?” I nodded, biting my lip as he continued, “I’m Lance Walton. I’m twenty-five. I am an only child and a momma’s boy.” He leaned over and whispered, “And I have the most beautiful girlfriend in the world.”

I moved my head back and eyed him. “A momma’s boy?”

He took a sip of wine and nodded.

I didn’t know why I focused on the momma’s boy part, was totally oblivious to the beautiful girlfriend part, and completely ignored the fact that it was close to the same line he used on me when we first met at Tom’s farm. He knew how to get in my pants now, so I figured it was time to move on to a more pressing subject… like momma’s boy. “Well, how do your parents feel about you being in the city.”

He put down his glass and said, “I’m not sure, really. The only thing I’ve heard over the past month is how my mother lost her baby boy.”

I cocked my eyebrow. “Baby boy?”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.”

I laughed at the pure adorableness that was Lance. He really did care what I thought of him. I grinned. If he only knew.

Once I finished my last bite of bread, Lance smiled and said, “You’ve got some on you.”

He wrapped his hand around my neck and slanted his mouth over mine. I moaned against his lips, but pulled away. Hurt crossed his eyes.

I rested my hand back on his thigh. “If you keep doing that to me, we won’t make it to the chocolate course.”

He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. I smiled, knowing what I was doing to him. At least I knew he wanted me as much as I wanted him. The waiter came one last time, moving us right to the chocolate course. Lance picked up a strawberry, dunked it in the velvety chocolate and presented it before my mouth. I darted out my tongue and licked a little chocolate off the tip. Lance sucked in a breath as our eyes were locked on each other. I parted my lips and licked the tip of the strawberry again. A growl echoed from the back of his throat as his eyes grew heavy with lust. I opened my mouth and took in the whole strawberry, closing my mouth around his finger. Lance’s lips parted and he panted two breaths. I sucked the chocolate from his finger and eased it out of my mouth.

I grabbed a strawberry for him and placed it out near his lips. As he leaned in to bite it, I pulled it back, making him come closer to my face. I held it out and pulled it back again, teasing him. I gave him a cocky smirk and he instantly clamped his lips over my fingers, taking the strawberry in his mouth and sucking the chocolate from the tips. My body was on fire.

He dunked his finger in the chocolate and smeared it on my neck. He hadn’t yet put his lips there and I was already panting. He dragged his tongue from the base of my neck to my ear, and then feathered kisses down the back of my neck. He pulled back and spoke in a husky voice, “That was the best thing I’ve tasted all night.” His hand dragged up my thigh as he whispered, “So far.”

My body twitched as he inched his hand higher between my legs. I brought my lips to his ear and whispered, “I think it’s time to get the hell out of here, baby.”

Lance motioned for the check. He proceeded to throw down some cash as he grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the booth. I kept up with him as we walked through the parking lot. When we reached his Jeep, he spun me around and pressed me up against the passenger door. He hooked my leg around his waist as he kissed me with a starving hunger. My heart boomed inside my chest. He gripped my ass and pressed me to him just as I squeezed my leg tighter around him, begging him to get closer. He thrust up against me, and I moaned into our kiss. He felt so good…
too
good. He buried his face in my hair as he pressed up against me again. I pushed him away with hands flat against his chest.

“You need to take me home
now
, country boy.”

He smirked at my persistence. “Yes, ma’am.”

When we finally made it to my apartment building, he gripped my hand tight as we waited for the elevator to arrive. The tension rolled from his body. When the doors opened, I walked in first and turned around to see him stalking toward me. As soon as the doors closed, he pressed me up against the wall and hooked both of my legs around his waist. I clawed at his back, trying to get closer as I rubbed against him. He released one of my legs and I squeezed them tighter around his back. His hand wedged in between us. He cupped me, moving his fingers around in a skilled pattern. I cried out between our kisses just as the elevator dinged. I eased down his body. He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward my apartment. Reaching the door, he wrapped his arms around me and kissed down my neck as I fumbled with my keys. I rolled my head back as I became immobilized. He eased the keys out of my shaking hands and unlocked the door for us.

The click of the door signaled that we were finally alone. I stared at this man who had just become my boyfriend. His hair was disheveled. His lips remained parted as he breathed, his chest rising and falling just as mine did. His eyes trailed down my body as I kicked my leg back and slipped off my heel. I took a step backward as I kicked off the other. He followed me slowly, staying a couple steps away, watching as I unzipped my dress. It grazed against my skin and dropped to the floor. His steps moved quicker as I led him into the bedroom. I stopped in the middle of the room and he met me there, halfway to the bed, I reached up for the top button of his shirt, unbuttoning each one slowly, leaving a trail of kisses behind. I slipped the shirt from his shoulders and brushed my fingers across his chest. He reached around my back and unsnapped my bra. He took a step back, viewing every curve before exhaling a pent up breath.

“I can’t believe I can call you mine.”

I bit my lip as I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around his neck. I stared at his lips and flickered to his eyes. He wrapped his arms around me, pressing his bare chest to mine, and my heart opened to him. “I’m yours for as long as you’ll have me.” 

He cupped my cheek as he searched my eyes. “I don’t know what you’re doing to me, Katherine. It scares the shit out of me.” He exhaled and rested his forehead against mine. “I ache for you.”

I pulled his lips down. Greed took over. I ached for him as badly as I knew he ached for me. I grabbed his belt and began to unbuckle it. He pulled slightly away from me and picked me up in his arms, laying me on the bed. I stared at him as he took off his pants, leaving him in his black boxer briefs. He knelt in between my legs and hovered over me. My legs instinctively wrapped around his waist, pulling him against me. Our eyes locked through the hair which hung in front of his face. He lowered himself over me and placed a gentle kiss against my lips. God, I loved this man.

My fingertips glided up his strong back. His lips lingered on my neck as I gripped onto his shoulders tight. His head moved to my chest, and my fingers laced through his hair. His mouth covered my nipple forcing my back to arch off the bed. My moan mixed with the rumble deep in his chest as his hand glided down my side, and his fingers slipped inside my panties. My nails scratched his back as he eased a finger into me, forcing me to cry out in undeniable ecstasy. He silenced me with his mouth. His kisses traveled across my stomach to tug my panties away from my hip, skimming them off one leg at a time. I lay in front of him, completely exposed. His eyes met mine as he knelt back on his heels.