Hornet's Nest (17 page)

Scroll.

Please, Katherine.

Scroll.

Fair warning… I’ll be over in the morning.

As soon as I read that, there was a knock on the door. I jumped, letting out a startled gasp. I walked slowly to the door as the pounding continued. I let out a shaky breath as I reached for the knob, opening the door to Lance.

“What the hell, Katherine?” He leaned his hands on the door frame. I didn’t even remember texting him. What was I supposed to say? His face sagged. “What’s wrong?”

“Hey, beautiful.”

I cringed as Josh came walking down the hall. Josh pushed his way past Lance, and Lance yanked him back into the hall. Josh started to laugh as Lance shoved his finger in Josh’s face and said, “You stay away from her.”

Josh laughed even harder, and said, “Boy, why don’t you run back to the country? The lady obviously doesn’t want you. That’s why she came running to me.”

Lance shot his eyes back to mine as they were begging me to not do this. I tried to shake my head so Josh wouldn’t see. “Just go, Lance. Please go.”

He just stood there as Josh pushed past him again and kicked the door shut on his face. I brought my hands to his chest and pushed him with all of my might. He began to laugh and said, “Aw, sweetheart. Is that any way to treat your boyfriend?”

God, I hated him.

• • •

Josh and I finally arrived at my parents’ house, the sound of a football game played in the background. My parents both met us in the foyer. My dad had come in from the living room as my mom came in from the kitchen.

“Mom, Dad,” I said as I began this dreadful task, “I would like you to meet Joshua Black. Josh, these are my parents Geoffrey and Diana Klein.”

“Good Afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Klein. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He extended his hand as I awaited the correction of the formal greeting. I glanced at my parents. They wore the fakest smiles and neither one of them corrected Josh as they shook his hand. This would be easier than I thought. My mother ushered us toward the dining room as she said, “Lunch is nearly ready. Katherine, would you help me in the kitchen?”

I nodded and followed my mother into the kitchen as my father offered Josh a drink. I walked to the granite island and leaned against the cool countertop. I watched my mother as she pulled a covered pot from the oven, placed it on the stove, and threw the oven mitt forcefully in my direction. It smacked me in the face as she quietly growled, “What the hell is going on?”

I looked at the oven mitt on the floor, picked it up, and tossed it back at her. “What are you talking about?”

She moved around the center island and stood about a foot away. “What happened to Lance?”

The mere sound of his name made me want to break down. “It’s over with Lance.”

She narrowed her glare, totally not believing me. “Okay, we’ll go with the notion that it’s over, but who the hell is this guy?”

“What does it look like he is?”

She continued to glare at me and said, “I know when you’re lying to me because your left eye twitches.”

I groaned again because I knew it did.

“I’m going to find out, Katherine,” she said as she retrieved her oven mitts, grabbed the pot, and left the kitchen for the dining room. I let myself have one moment of peace and then pushed my way through the door into the dining room with a fake smile on my face.

After the madness that was lunch, the pompous ass dropped me off at my apartment. He had continuously interrogated me the whole ride back. I had told him that I would do my best in presenting him to my father, and I thought I had. My mother and father could tell something was up, but to Josh, everything seemed fine.

I dragged myself down the hall toward my apartment. As I neared my door, Lance sat with his head hanging. The biggest bouquet of flowers lay in between his legs. I crouched down next to him. His eyes were shut and puffy. I dragged a finger across his forehead brushing his floppy hair out of the way. He looked up and our eyes met. Not a word was said between us as he wrapped his hand around my neck and pulled my lips toward his. I melted under his touch. I loved this man with all my soul.

“Get in the apartment now.”

He leaped up as we both went inside. He placed the flowers on my table as he began to ask, “Katherine, can you please tell me what’s go—”

I pulled his face down to mine so I could capture his lips again. He wrapped his arms around my waist as I practically clawed up his body. I didn’t care what happened. No one would come between Lance and me ever again… including ourselves.

OUR LIPS PARTED as Lance coddled my face. We stood together for what seemed to be an eternity as he stared into my eyes. He threaded his hand through my hair as he pulled me to his chest. Wrapping his other arm around my waist, he held me so close I could feel his heart beating.

“Katherine, I don’t know what is going on, but I don’t care. I need you in my life, and I’m not letting you walk away from me.” He leaned down, brushing his lips sweetly across mine. He looked back into my eyes as his chest rose and fell.

“Katherine, I love you.”

My heart stopped. My whole world stopped. Karma stopped.

“I don’t care if you can’t say it back, and I don’t care if you think it’s too soon. I’ve been in love with you for over a year. I fell in love with you in the backseat of my Jeep and over and over again at The Inn.”

His eyes filled up with tears. He placed his hand gently on my stomach as he whispered, “You were the mother of my child.”

Tears streamed down my face as I covered my gaping mouth.

“And one day, I hope you can be that again. I love you so much, baby.”

He pulled me tight into his chest as I wept. With a throat full of tears, he whispered, “I can’t lose you again. I can’t. When I’m with you, my world feels complete, and when we’re apart, I’m miserable. Today, I was in agony without you. Please let me have the time to find a place in your heart. Please don’t push me away.”

I reached up to his lips and kissed him with everything I had. His arms wrapped around me, grabbing my shirt with his clenched fists, holding me as tight as possible. I tilted my head to deepen the kiss as our tongues danced the familiar beat they knew so well. I pulled out of the kiss as I rested my forehead on his chest, allowing my breathing to return. After a moment, I tilted my head back to look into his hesitant eyes. The happiest of tears continued to roll down my face.

“I love you, too.”

A tear rolled down his face and he exhaled like he couldn’t believe I could actually say it back. I wiped his lone tear away with my thumb and brought his lips down to mine. Our kisses became more passionate and full of love than ever before. He pulled away for the briefest second to scoop me up into his arms. His lips returned to mine as he carried me into my bedroom. He placed me gently on my bed and laid himself on top of me. He pulled away from my lips as he frantically kissed down my neck and across my chest.

I sat up and reached for his shirt. As I pulled the shirt away, love and lust reflected in his eyes. He was all mine. This unbelievable man was all mine, and he loved me. Lance
loved
me.

He grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head. I lay back on the bed as he resumed his exploration of my neck and chest. I ran my fingers through his hair, holding him close to me. He trailed his way to that spot in the crook of my neck, and I let out an uncontrollable moan. He kissed up my neck and he whispered in my ear, “Promise me.”

“Anything, baby.”

He pulled back as both of our chests heaved for breath. He lovingly looked into my eyes as he said, “Promise me we’ll never be apart again.”

I nodded, pulling his lips back down to mine. Without breaking, I flipped us over so I was on top, straddling his hips as I devoured his neck and his chest. I kissed and nipped my way up to his ear as I whispered, “I promise I’ll love you forever.”

He stared into my eyes as he sat up, pushing me back. He brushed his fingers across my face and he caressed my cheeks. I melted into his touch. His fingers slid down my neck, traced along the fabric of my bra to gently caress my breasts. He wrapped his arms around me, undoing the clasp of my bra, and ever so slowly slipped the straps down my shoulders exposing me to him.

He never took his eyes away from mine as his hands traced my curves. He gripped my waist, pushing me up. I stood over him with my feet planted on either side of his legs. He unbuttoned my skirt and then slowly pulled down the zipper, gently tugged until my skirt grazed down my hips. I stared into his dark green eyes as he peeled away my panties. I stood before him wearing nothing as he lovingly looked up my body with pure lust. I breathed heavier just watching his actions. When his eyes met my core, he leaned in as I moaned out in passion. My fingers laced through his hair as hands kneaded my thighs, pulling me closer to his tongue. His hand wrapped around my foot, and I followed his lead as he placed it on his shoulder, opening up to him even more. My eyes rolled in the back of my head and my knees weakened. He lowered me, spreading my legs apart. His tongue continued and I screamed out. I clawed at his shoulders.

“Take your pants off.”

He kissed down my thigh and asked, “What did you say, love?”

The smile was pronounced in his voice. He was playing dirty.

“I said take off your pants!”

He breathed against me, causing my walls to clench. “Mmm… nope.”

He darted his tongue inside me again. I screamed out.

“Lance, take off your fucking pants!”

He shot up my body with that shit eating grin of his. “I love you when you’re feisty.”

He propped himself up just long enough to push his jeans and briefs from his hips, kicking his legs out of them. His lips met mine, and I moaned into his mouth as he entered me. I gave him everything. He had my heart, my soul, my whole being. He pulled out of the kiss as he stared into my eyes.

“I love you, Katherine.”

“God, I love you so much.”

He kissed down my neck, across my jaw, and caressed my lips again. He lifted my hips, pressing deeper. “You are so beautiful. I love you. I’ll never stop. Never.”

He held the back of my head, bringing my nose almost to his. His eyes bore into mine as I clenched tight around him. I gripped his shoulders, trying to pull him even closer. My skin pressed against his, but it wasn’t close enough. I wrapped my arms around his back. He groaned out a breath as mine hitched. We shook together as I screamed out. He wrapped his arms around me and pumped steadily until we both recovered from the mind explosion.

He kissed my chest and turned his head to the side, resting it against me. My breathing evened as Lance began to tap my thigh that still hung over his hip.

Tap, tap.

Tap, tap.

Tap, tap.

I lifted my head and watched his finger tap. “What are you doing?”

“Memorizing the way your heart beats for me.”

Not a second past and the taps followed closer together.

Tap, tap. Tap, tap.

Tap, tap. Tap, tap.

Tap, tap. Tap, tap.

His face twitched on my chest as he lifted his head and hovered over me.

“Your heart says it loves me.”

He pressed his lips to mine as I laid my hand to his chest. I moved it around and pulled out of our kiss.

“I can’t feel your heart. I think you died.”

“It’s beating faster than the sense of touch. That’s how much it loves you.”

I rolled my eyes not bothering to hide my grin. I was the happiest girl in the world. I would never stop smiling. He scooted beside me and pulled my chest toward him, holding me like he would never let me go. As I wrapped my arms around his waist, my head came to rest on his arm. He caressed my cheek with his other hand as the emotions between us sparked with nothing but undying love.

“I’m going to need you to tell me what happened, baby.”

I closed my eyes and nodded. I didn’t know if this was going to work. I looked back up into his eyes and whispered, “Please promise me you’ll love me and won’t ever leave.”

Karma. Karma. Karma.

He shook his head with wide truthful eyes as he promised, “I love you forever, Katherine. I can’t ever leave you. It’s not possible.”

I gently kissed his lips, allowing them to linger as he returned the favor. I pulled away and settled into his chest.

“Can we just be in this moment for a little longer?” I asked as my eyes began to drift close.

He kissed the top of my head. “We can be in this moment forever.”

I woke up roughly an hour later with Lance’s arms around me. His arms tightened as I snuggled closer to his chest, inhaling the familiar scent of Lance. The man I loved. The man I would love for the rest of my life. He brushed his lips against my forehead.

“Hey, beautiful.”

I glanced up at him. “Hey, my love.”

His beautiful smile graced his face as he said, “I think I like being called that more than baby.”

My lips found his. I looked back into his eyes as I intertwined our fingers and said, “Let’s order some take out before the game, and we can talk about all the shit that’s going on.”

His face became serious as he nodded. I pushed myself up, but was pulled back down on top of him. He wrapped his hand around my neck, smashing his lips against mine. After a few moments of getting lost in each other, we breathlessly pulled out of the kiss. “You’re mine, and no matter what happens, you’ll always be mine.”

I nodded as my lips searched for his again. He wrapped his arms around me, rolling us as he hovered over me. He began to settle himself in between my legs when my stomach growled annoyingly loud.

He pulled out of the kiss as he chuckled. “Come on, beautiful. Let’s order some food.”

He grabbed my hand, helping me off the bed. I dressed in my panties and his t-shirt as he pulled on his briefs and jeans. He stared at me and smirked, coming toward me. He wrapped his arms around me and said, “You look good in my shirt.”

I rubbed my hand down his chest and I said, “And you look good with no shirt.”

His head tipped back in laughter. I didn’t know why it was so funny really. He was freaking hot.

We ordered pizza and settled in with a few beers for the Panthers game. In between bites, Lance said, “Okay, since we’re now somewhat clothed, can you tell me what happened?”

I nodded as I put my plate of pizza on the coffee table. I grabbed my bottle of beer and nestled back into the sofa. “Apparently, I’m being blackmailed.”

Lance’s expression tensed with anger just before he said, “What the hell is he blackmailing you with?”

“Your job.” I let out a sigh. His eyes shifted from me as I continued, “He’s threatening to go to HR with pictures of our date at The Melting Pot.”

“I don’t understand,” he said and glanced back at me. “Why would that matter?”

“I don’t think it really would be a big deal, but since it’s Josh, they’d probably listen to all of his demands. He said he would have you fired if I didn’t break up with you and act as his girlfriend toward my parents.” I lifted my beer and downed half of it. Just the thought of it made my skin crawl.

“Okay, this is where I’m really confused,” he said, looking into my eyes. “What exactly does your father do, Katherine?”

I glanced at the man that I loved and who loved me. I wanted to be with him forever. I wanted our forever. I had to trust him enough to be with me for me and not my father’s money. “He’s the CFO at Bank of America.”

Lance’s whole demeanor sagged as his eyes widened. He cranked his neck forward as his eyebrow wrinkled. “Did you say CFO?”

“Yep.”

“CFO of Bank of America.”

I nodded. “Yep.”

“The Chief Financial—”

“Officer. Yep. That’s the one.”