Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Vince’s hands actually shook as he drove home, which was something he couldn’t ever remember happening. Not with any previous dates or hook-ups. Not even when deployed with his SEAL team.
There was just something about the anticipation of having sex with this woman he loved, that was shaking him to the core.
He wanted to make it good for her. Extra special.
But he wasn’t quite sure what the rules might be. Would Lace want him to touch her breasts? Her nipples? Or would she be self-conscious, and want his entire focus on her lower regions?
Not that pussy and ass time would be a hardship. Not at all. But there was something to be said for mixing up one’s erogenous-zone-play to keep things interesting.
A little of this, a little of that… It always made for an experience that not only kept a partner guessing, but had their toes curling.
Which begged the question, should he ask?
Vince glanced over at Lace, whose body was practically humming with anticipation.
That made him feel about ten feet tall. She was trusting him to navigate them through this first encounter since her diagnosis. But he lacked intel.
After a few more minutes of thought, Vince finally admitted to himself that he needed some help.
“Uh, Lace?”
His voice must have sounded unsure, because as she turned, her face fell, morphing into a mask of uncertainty.
“Yeah?” she responded hesitantly.
Damn. Ambiguity was the last thing he wanted.
Reassurances. That’s what Lace needed. Sexy ones.
“I’m really looking forward to getting naked with you,” he said lustily. “I can’t wait to touch you; taste you,” he briefed her with fire in his eyes.
She blushed red. “I…kind of got that picture, earlier, when your, um, little clown looked eager to play.” Her eyes then narrowed cannily despite her obvious trepidation. “So then, what’s the problem?”
Vince approached things cautiously.
“I wouldn’t say problem, so much as conundrum.”
She huffed. “I’m not that big a puzzle, Vince,” Lace chuckled a bit uncomfortably. “I’ve already told you I’m all in.”
“Right,” he agreed. “But I need to know if you have any…boundaries I’m not aware of,” he managed, hoping she’d take his meaning.
Her brows shot up. “You mean like…safe-word stuff?” she eeped.
Vince couldn’t help the laugh that shot out of him.
He regarded her flushed skin, and didn’t know whether to reassure her or not, because… Yeah. She looked…interested, and he’d certainly enjoyed some of that type of play in the past. Vince would absolutely not be opposed to exploring that darker side with Lace.
But…
“At some later date, if you’re up for it,” he returned cautiously, “I wouldn’t mind a little bondage, a little light spanking, or some…anal play,” he admitted cheekily.
Before she could respond, he quickly went on. “That, however, is for a future discussion. Right now, I’m…” He fortified himself with a deep breath. “I’m wondering whether certain parts of your body are off limits.”
Her blush intensified.
“I’ll look forward to that discussion about…alternative kinds of bed-sport,” she revealed, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “And I’m thinking that conversation will be a lot more fun than the one you’re instigating right now.”
“Probably.”
Vincent’s gut clenched, waiting for her verdict.
“So, to answer your question,” she sniffed, “I’m going to be equally as honest as you’ve been, and tell you that… I don’t know.”
“You don’t know,” he repeated, a little dumbfounded.
“Nope.” Her face took on an anguished bent. “I’ve pretty much had my breasts in brain-jail since the whole cancer diagnosis, so…”
Ahh. Vince nodded his understanding. “Okay. I get it. I’ll—”
She rushed to stop him. “But when you did your big peel-down back there at the golf course,” she cut him off, “my, um, nipples actually got involved.”
Vince gave Lace a little nod of encouragement. “You mean they were interested in what you saw?”
She dipped her chin. “Interested and tingly,” she admitted, her breath coming faster. “Like now. Talking about it, they actually…ache. In a good way.”
Vince raised a hand, which he hoped he’d scrubbed clean, and placed it, palm first, an inch in front of her left breast. “Can I…?”
Lace swallowed visibly, then yanked his hand up against her chest, reacting with an indrawn hiss.
“Shit,” Vince responded, attempting to pull away. “Am I hurting you?”
“No,” she replied tightly but with a chuckle. “Just the opposite. I think you’ve actually…fixed my faulty wiring.”
Her small nipple beaded up under his hand, and he rubbed across it, gently.
“I never asked,” he managed, while the towel across his lap began to rock and roll. “Which breast has the cancer?”
“The one you’re touching,” she managed breathlessly. “And despite its troubles, it’s still responding.”
She seemed awed by that, and if Vince were honest, so was he.
“Just wait until I have you in the shower,” he gruffed. “I’m going to worship both of them. With my fingers. With my mouth. We’ll make sure they no longer feel like outliers.”
The base of his spine tingled. Yeah. That would be no hardship.
Lace grabbed his wrist and dragged his fingers to her right breast, where he found another interested party.
This one, he gave a pinch through her clothing, and she responded with a moan.
“I’m such an idiot,” she said on her exhale.
“Why?” Luckily, Vince was having no trouble at all massaging her little nub and driving at the same time. Thank god his…little clown wasn’t trapped inside a pair of jeans for the trip. It would have been a huge impedance. Emphasis on huge.
Free-range was certainly the way to go.
Lace continued. “Because I’ve been convincing myself that my breasts are bad, and when I’ve actually felt the urge to use my…”
Her color, if possible, deepened to crimson.
“Your what?” he prodded amusedly, because he knew exactly what she was going to say.
“Okay. Fine. My vibrator,” she confessed and sped on. “When I’ve used it, it’s only been between my legs, whereas before, my nipples might have gotten in on the action.”
“Good to know,” Vince grinned. “I’ll try and live up to your device’s notability.”
Lace giggled, then did something else unexpected. She removed his hand again, this time to thread it up under her shirt.
Vince groaned as the shape of her bra-clad breast fit into his hold, perfectly.
“Damn, Lace. Give a guy a break. I’m driving as fast as I can.” He gave one last, gentle squeeze, then put both hands back on the wheel. An accident would be damned inconvenient right now.
Once the house appeared, Vince wasted no time. He didn’t think about securing the towel around his hips as he hustled out of the truck, he wasn’t concerned that this time of night any neighbors would see his bare ass, and he’d stopped worrying about being smelly with pond-scum.
He dashed to Lace’s side of the truck, opened her door, then tossed her his keys before pulling her out. Cradling her in his arms, he walked, buck-naked up the porch steps.
Lace snorted with laughter. “Hey. I’m really liking this change of plan.” She reached a hand down and pinched one muscled cheek. “But what happened to you getting a five-minute head start in the shower?”
“To hell with that. We’ll get clean together,” he growled, then added, “Key.”
He tipped her to within reach of the knob, where she inserted it and opened the door.
He walked them inside and kicked the portal closed behind them.
When Lace went in for a kiss, Vince grunted and pulled his head back.
“Nope. Hold that thought,” he revolted. “I may be willing to sacrifice your clothes to the slime-gods, but my mouth will be clean before I use it for…anything.” He waggled his brows suggestively, which got another giggle.
“Well, hurry up,” she ordered, not for the first time.
Vince picked up his pace and Lace squealed, hanging on for dear life.
As if he’d ever drop her.
He fit them both easily through her ensuite door before letting her feet drop to the tiles. “I’m going to brush my teeth, and—”
“—I’m going to lose my clothes,” she finished raspily, her hands already moving to the hem of her shirt.
“I… Dammit,” he swore. “My toothbrush is in the half bath.”
Lace didn’t hesitate. “Use mine,” she said, whipping her t-shirt over her head.
Vince’s eyes grew wide.
Her bra—plain, white cotton, through which he could clearly see her nipples—had him harder than some of the lacy concoctions he’d encountered in the past.
He also noticed her port, and when he did, Lace covered it with her hand.
“It’s ugly,” she groaned. “Don’t look.”
To hell with that.
“I’m not only going to look, I’m going to kiss the damned thing, and maybe even worship it. Do you know why?”
“No. Why?” she questioned, drawing her brows together.
“Because it’s keeping you alive.”
Lace’s mouth fell open, and she blinked.
Maybe she’d never quite thought of it in those terms, although she’d said something similar to Inez earlier.
Lace recovered quickly, though, undoing the snap on her jeans and dropping them to the floor.
Blue panties. Long, slim legs. Grabbable hips. The hint of her aroused scent in the air…
Vince faced the mirror and fumbled, picking up Lace’s toothbrush.
“My brain’s about to short-circuit,” he warned her with a plea in his voice. “Let me at least brush my teeth before you show me any more.”
He applied toothpaste to the brush.
Lace gave him a provocative smirk as he began scrubbing, then leaned into the shower to turn it on, bending slightly and giving a wiggle which, if Vince wasn’t mistaken, was on purpose.
He groaned. “Stop. I can see you in the mirror,” he grumbled around the foam in his mouth.
“I know,” she responded sassily, giving another hip-thrust.
Vince spit, rinsed, stood up, and turned around.
God, she was beautiful.
He couldn’t wait to—
“Shit,” he spat out.
“What?’ she asked, her brazenness fading a bit.
“No. No. Nothing is wrong with you,” he sought to assure her. “It’s just… I don’t have any condoms.”