Lance: A Hitman Romance (Santa Espera #2) (14 page)

“Revenge,” he says, and the word sends a shiver down my spine.

“Revenge?” I repeat, and he nods, popping some more fries in his mouth. I wager for a moment, and then … “Was it for Danny?”

“Look, are you going to eat that burger?” he snaps. “Because I don’t want you wasting it..”

“No, no, I’ll eat it,” I say, and as though to prove my point I take another bite, a big one, too big as I struggle to chew it all. Lance watches me for a moment before dropping his stare, and it takes me a minute to work through the mass of meat and cheese and bread in my mouth, having to swallow it in chunks before I finally get it all down.

Once it’s gone, I reach over and pick up my drink, sucking up some of the sweet, bubbly Coke and washing down that massive bite. Putting down the cup, I decide to switch gears.

“So after that first time with the bomb, is that when you decided that this is what you wanted to do?”

For a moment it seems like Lance isn’t going to answer, his eyes looking down in front of him. But then he shakes his head.

“No. I didn’t consider it. Honestly, it was just a one-time thing to me. But one of the other head of family found out and they came after me one day when I was finishing up school. They said they wanted to hire me to do things like that. Maybe not killing people, but since I was a kid and I already seemed to know stuff, they said I would be the perfect person to fuck with things. You know, because nobody would suspect a kid.

“So I did little jobs for them, setting up booby traps and getting people hurt, sending a message, that kind of thing. It came easy to me, and I got paid a lot of money, so I didn’t ask too many questions. After a while I started to like these guys. And I knew the guys I was hurting were bad people, so it was okay by me. They were just like the boss I killed.”

“Did you do this all on your own?”

He shakes his head again.

“No, I have a friend, Willy, who I’ve known since I was nine. I told him what was going on and he was interested, so he started getting into it. Not doing what I do, really, but helping me out in other ways. Smooth talking people and getting them distracted. Or else getting information from them.”

“What did your parents think about you doing all of this?”

Another shake of the head.

“They didn’t. Not for the first few years, at least. Willy and me kept things pretty quiet, and we weren’t idiots about spending our money.

“Of course, word eventually got around and I remember this one night I had a big fight with my dad when he heard what I did from one of the neighbors. I got so mad I left the house and went to be with one of the girls I was seeing at the time … Julianne. I went to her house and snuck in through the window, stayed the night. When I went back home the next day my dad didn’t say anything, but I could tell there was this divide between us already. We fought a couple more times, and then they kicked me out not long after that.”

“Wow.” I can’t imagine my parents ever threatening to kick me out of the house, let alone actually doing it.

“That’s when I shacked up with Samantha,” he says. “I was there for six months, and I didn’t do any dirty work the entire time I was there. I only just helped her out at the shop, got the place set up now that she was doing it all on her own. But we had our problems, as kids do, so eventually I left and met up with Willy again, who by that time was working for a boss full-time. I joined up with him, we went through a number of bosses together, and now here we are.”

“Wow,” I say again. “And your current boss …”

Lance breathes out an annoyed sigh.

“I need to talk to him,” he says. “Sort this whole thing out. I’ll try to think of a way of getting to him that won’t get the both of us killed. And after I’ve done that … then I think I’m going to find someone else to work for.”

Lance pops the last bite of burger into his mouth and washes it down with a sip of Coke. I take another bite of my burger and chew it in silence. Lance sucks his drink dry and puts down the empty cup as he says, “Well, I’m going to have a shower.” And without another word, he gets up from the table and walks away, my eyes on his retreating back as he disappears into the bathroom and closes the door behind him.

I swallow the food in my mouth and take another bite. Lance’s life sounds so … dramatic. I had no idea he was going to open up to me like that. Of course, when I asked about Danny he wasn’t so willing … maybe he’s not ready to let me know about everything.

But what does any of that matter? Didn’t you already say you’re not going to treat him anymore?

I swallow and take another bite of cheeseburger. The shower turns on and my eyes dart over to the bathroom before returning back.

That’s right, I’m done with him,
I think.
Lance is an arrogant jerk and I don’t need somebody like that in my life. Once we’re done here I’m through with him, and this will be the last I see of him.

But even just as I think that my stomach drops. Once all this is over, what kind of life will I be going back to? Will I just get my office cleaned up and become a therapist again? Go home every night to my lonely apartment? Read books and watch Netflix and try to ignore that gnaw of desperate need that plagues me night after night, no matter how much I try to deny it, no matter how much I insist that I can make it on my own?

Well I
can
make it on my own, I’ve already shown that to the world. But a fulfilling career doesn’t keep me warm at night, or hold me when I want to be held. I mean, it’s not like Lance would do any of those things, it’s just … maybe it’s time for things to change in my life. And if that’s the case, then I know that I’m the only one who can change them.

I eat the last bite of my burger and crumple up the wrapper, taking Lance’s with mine. There are still some French fries left, but maybe I’ll have them later. Throwing out the garbage I stand up and stretch, feeling full and sleepy. Crawling onto the bed, I sprawl out and flip over so I’m on my back, laying my head down on the pillow. I can still hear the sound of the shower and my mind wanders to Lance, naked in there, washing himself. He made some comment about coming to join me in my shower … how would he feel if I joined him?

Katie! What are you thinking?

I shake my head, honestly surprised I’d even thought that. But even as I settle back down again, I can’t seem to rid myself of thoughts of Lance.

I mean, we’ve already slept together once. And let’s face it: Lance is hot as hell. A swirling down in my belly makes me close my eyes as I keep listening to the rush of water, thinking about what it would be like to pull back that shower curtain and see him standing there, tall and strong and naked. Hot water is pouring all over him, down his shoulders and muscles and his big, thick cock. And all I need to do is get up … just go and get it …

The pipes squeak as the water turns off. I open my eyes, my heart pounding in my chest. I realize with a shock that my hand has inched down my stomach almost to my crotch. I blush and sit up, smoothing out my hair. Beyond the silence of the room I hear the shower curtain being pulled back and vague noises as Lance gets out of the shower.

Okay. It’s time I set up some ground rules,
I think, before my mind can go anywhere else.
I’ll tell him he can sleep on the floor. The bathtub is another option, but it will be all wet from the shower. Of course, maybe he could lie across the end of the bed? I could even do the same, at the top of the bed. That way there would be distance between us. Or maybe we could-

The bathroom door opens and I look up to see Lance step out. He’s naked, and wet, and the only thing covering him is the white towel he’s holding in front of him, conveniently covering the space between his legs.

My heart does a flip in my chest. Lance stops and sees me staring at him. Covering his broad chest and shoulders, all down his bulging arms and over the rippling landscape that is his stomach, are tattoos, etching of different patterns, images and words, some in English, and some in Latin. They go down past his waist, some disappearing behind the splay of the towel, some visible on the sides of his muscular legs.

As I lift my eyes back up I realize too late that my mouth is open. I close it with a snap but Lance doesn’t say anything. He only looks at me for a moment, his intense blue eyes burning into mine, before he lets the towel drop and I can’t stop from looking, my eyes landing on his thick, hard cock standing out from his body, his balls hanging below, his purple head swollen and throbbing.

Lance takes steps towards me and I lift my eyes again to meet with his. He reaches the bed and crawls onto it, his body moving like a snake, his cock pointing at me from underneath him. As he reaches me I slowly lean back, lying down. He follows me and my heart beats hard in my chest, my legs opening for him, his body nestling down onto mine.

I feel Lance’s hard cock press up between my thighs and his lips drop down, kissing me. My eyes close and I take him in. Wrapping my arms around him I’m met with hot, wet skin, hard muscles hidden there just underneath. Lance’s body moves against mine, his cock pushing into the thin sheet of fabric that covers my sex. I feel myself ache for him, crying to him, calling him into me. I want him so badly, and I didn’t realize it until right now.

One of his hands finds the bottom of my t-shirt and I arch my back as he slides it up my body. My nipples, hard and sensitive, become uncovered as Lance forces the shirt over them. He pulls away from our kiss just long enough for him to strip the shirt over my head, and then he drops back down, my bare breasts pressing into his chest, hot pleasure moving through me.

Lance’s mouth returns to mine as his hand slides up and down my side. He begins kissing down, below my lips to my neck, and I suck in breath as he latches himself onto me. His tongue coats my thin skin, hard muscles rub over my breasts, my nipples poking up and into him. His hips begin grinding forward and I do the same, our movements pushing us together, his cock pressing right into my pussy. I reach down and slip a hand between us, grabbing onto his thickness. Lance utters a groan as I stroke him. Cool, wet precum spreads over my inner thigh as I slide my hand up and down.

Lance continues kissing down, moving past my neck to my collarbone now. As he moves his cock slides out of my grip but I still feel him gyrate, his body moving up against me. He stops when his head is at my breasts and I look down to see him staring at me, drinking me in. A flutter goes through my heart.

He drops his head down and takes one of my nipples into his mouth. I suck in breath as I drop my head back down on the pillow. His hand grabs onto my other breast and he massages both, one with his fingers, the other with his lips and tongue. I moan as hot lava flows down from his touch to the space between my legs. It fills me, making me writhe and buck on the bed. All I want is for Lance to fuck me. My body aches to feel him inside.

Putting his weight onto his legs, Lance slides his second hand down my bare stomach and I feel him slip his fingers beneath the waistband of my shorts. Lifting my hips up, I let him peel the clothing off of me, the fabric clinging to my wet pussy. I help to slide them down my legs and off and then I’m naked, we’re both naked. I open my legs again and Lance is between them, but instead of filling me with his hardness, he keeps moving down, keeping one hand on my breast as he kisses his way down to my torso and waist.

My stomach fills with butterflies as I feel his warm breath move closer and closer to my aching sex. He kisses me, reaching that place, his lips brushing against my inner thigh. My breath comes through in shudders, and I lift myself to him, throbbing. But he moves at his own pace and I make a soft sound in my throat, wordlessly begging him to give me what I want. He kisses me again, slowly still, and with every kiss he gets closer, and closer …

Finally he reaches me and I suck in a deep breath into my lungs. Lance’s warm, wet lips plant themselves right onto my clit and I let out a low moan. His tongue slides down, covering me, licking up my juices and making me tremble. I try moving but he still has a hand on my breast, his other one holding onto my hip now.

Lance keeps me in place as he buries his head between my thighs. He begins licking me up, making me cry out with delicious ecstasy. I try bucking up to meet him but he holds me down with ease. I try lifting my chest but that’s pinned to the bed. Then I feel his lips wrap around my clit and I gasp again. I try writhing and can only get so far.

Faster now, he seems to know exactly where to go. Lance sucks on my clit and licks me, moving up and down, dipping himself in and tasting the essence of me. But always he goes back to my clit, and when he wraps his lips around it again I cry out now, loudly.

All rational thought slips out of my mind. I try pushing up to meet Lance but he keeps holding me down. His entire mouth opens and I feel him cover all of me and I groan, a deep, heady sound. He moves up to my clit and suddenly I’m thrashing. His tongue circles around it, flicking, hitting, pulsing deep waves down my entire body. I shudder, shake, and cry out with every hit that he gives me. Lance flattens his tongue over me and slides it slowly up, toying with my lips, finding my clit again as I moan, louder now, louder than I ever have before.

As Lance keeps licking me, as he wraps his lips around my hard clit and sends me into a frenzy, I feel myself tightening inside. My muscles clench together and I feel that ball of energy moving up through me, making me quiver, making me shake uncontrollably.