6. Lance
six
Lance
Past
Fucking hell, she’s gorgeous.
Disarmingly so. Gwen is the Greek witchy goddess Circe come to life, brewing some sort of magic that has me revealing my deepest, darkest secrets.
Unsure of where to look now that I’ve shared something so personal, I stare into the distance.
“I like flowers,” she whispers.
I face the woman beside me, and our gazes collide. Once again, she strikes me with her beauty like an unsuspecting punch to the gut.
Gwen has the most exquisite aqua eyes I’ve ever seen. I don’t know how, but even in the dark they sparkle like stars.
The wind picks up and sends her tendrils whirling, proving that she does in fact like flowers. A powdery floral aroma fills my nose, making me dizzy and my mouth water. I don’t know where the scent is coming from; it could be her perfume or her shampoo, but whatever it is, it’s intoxicating.
Reminiscent of home and simultaneously evocative of sex.
She shudders, and damn, I wish I had my coat on for her to wear. The idea of her wearing my jacket makes my chest uncomfortably tight.
She’s wearing a sexy, short, black leather miniskirt, black tights, black leather boots that go to her knees, and a light-colored sweater that hangs off her shoulder and exposes a sliver of her midriff. Not very warm for a November night, but I won’t complain.
My cock jerks in agreement.
I should probably take her inside, but the greedy monster in me prefers to stay put and extend our moment alone. “We were onto things we hate, right?”
Gwen smiles, and my heart pinches, making my breath hitch. “Right.”
She easily lists five things she hates. Snakes, spiders, books that don’t have happy endings, when the bad guy gets away, and the board game Monopoly.
When it’s my turn, I surprise myself and spout off five things without thinking. Cockroaches, forgetting my pillow at home when I travel, running, when trees get cut down, and wildfires.
“Okay, now to make our friendship official, we need to tell each other one thing no one else knows. I’ll go first.” Gwen inhales sharply and looks around, making sure we are still out of view.
“I have a box full of candles I never use because I don’t have the heart to tell my brother I don’t like them. ”
Gwen says she hates candles, but what I really hear is that she doesn’t like hurting other people’s feelings, even at the expense of her own.
“I don’t own a TV,” I admit.
Gwen mock gasps. “You heathen. How can you not own a TV?”
Again, I burst out laughing. She’s definitely cast some freaky spell on me. I haven’t been this open and honest with anyone in ages. Not even my closest friends.
“It’s not my fault. The screen got cracked during a move, and I just never replaced it.”
“How long ago did you move?” she asks.
“Two years ago.” At my answer, Gwen throws her head back and laughs, and I swear it sounds like the chime of tinkling bells.
It’s fucking magical.
There’s something about her that makes me feel comfortable and seen.
“I was talking to my mom,” I blurt.
Her laughter dies and is replaced with confusion. “What?”
“Earlier. When I was on the phone. I was talking to my mom. She called to congratulate me.” Talking with my mother is never easy. Not because we don’t have a great relationship, but because of my father.
She tilts her head to the side, as if she’s trying to dig her claws into my soul and read the contents. Her eyes bounce between mine, searching. “Why would that make you sad?”
“I wasn’t sad she called to congratulate me.”
Finally, my word well dries up. With anyone else, this would be the time I’d bolt. I don’t like to share my past or anything personal. But something keeps me rooted and connected to Gwen. The words are on the tip of my tongue.
“It’s okay; you don’t have to tell me.” She lays her palm on the back of my hand that’s resting on my thigh. The skin-to-skin contact lights me up like a damn firework stand caught on fire on the Fourth of July.
I sandwich her delicate hand between my large palms. “Are you sure you want to hear this? It’s kind of a long story.”
Gwen curves her fingers around mine and squeezes. “If you’re up for it, I’ve got all night.”
My blood rushes south, thinking about a hundred different things I could show her if we had all night.
Mind out of the gutter, buddy.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“I think I can take it.”
She really needs to stop saying shit that makes my brain fizzle and my dick hard. I need to hurry and spit this out before the little witch sidetracks me again.
“My dad won’t talk to me because I accepted a full ride to play college baseball instead of going to Stony Point Military Academy, like he did. Like my grandfather and brother did.”
“But you wanted to forge your own path. Not follow in their footsteps,” she says, nodding along in understanding.
I’ve only just met her, and yet she already understands me better than my father.
“Yes. And no,” I croak, the rest of my reason getting stuck in my throat.
As if she can feel me pulling away, Gwen threads her fingers through mine, giving me the strength to tell someone the whole story. Aside from telling Cam, I haven’t spoken about this in years.
“When I was in high school, my older brother died in action while he was serving in the Army. He was twenty-six. I looked up to him in every way, and losing him was hard on me and my family. But after he was gone, I knew I couldn’t follow in his footsteps.
I’m incredibly proud of my brother, of my family. But …”
“You wanted a different life,” she interjects.
I shake my head. As much as I would love for her reason to be the truth, that’s not it. “No. I’m not as brave as he was.”
Her mouth turns down in sadness, but it’s her words that cut me at the knees. “I think you’re incredibly brave for choosing yourself and following your dreams.”
No one has ever called me brave.
Especially not me. I feel like a coward.
Like I let my entire family down. But hearing her call me brave fills me with hope, and the invisible band around my chest loosens, making it easier for me to breathe.
“I don’t know about that. Most days, I feel like I let my family down.
My dad doesn’t even talk to me anymore.”
“I’m sorry. I know how it feels when you have a father who doesn’t see you.”
I hate hearing that she’s experienced a similar feeling. Wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, let alone the kind woman beside me. “I’m sorry to hear you have a tough dad.”
She scoffs. “Tough? If only. My dad sees me as a child. But what’s worse is he sees my brothers as grown men capable of working for the family business. I have more work experience for the role I want than the three of those bozos have combined, and still, I get nothing.”
Anger bubbles in my chest. What kind of fucked-up dad does that to their daughter? We need a subject change. This got heavy fast.
I squeeze her hand. “Thank you.”
“For?” Gwen nibbles her bottom lip as the skin between her eyebrows creases and her eyes dance with curiosity.
“For sharing and listening.”
“I’d listen to anything you have to say.” Her cheeks flush bright pink at her admission.
While I don’t necessarily feel better after talking about my family, I do feel accepted, and that’s something I haven’t felt in a long time. And it’s all because of this woman sitting beside me.
“I’d tell you anything if you asked.” It’s strange to say, but it’s true.
Silence falls, and the distance between us shortens.
Gwen sucks in a sharp breath as I cup her face in my palm, running my thumb over her cheek.
She has me feeling some type of way, and it has nothing to do with the monumental achievement I made tonight with my teammates. I couldn’t give a damn about what my friends are up to or that I should be with them celebrating our win.
Right now, the only person I want to celebrate with is her.
The rest of the world disappears as we sit side by side, staring at one another. My eyes follow her tongue as she swipes it across her lips. Shiny and inviting. Begging me to kiss them.
“Gwen?”
“Yeah?”
I lean forward. “Unless you push me away, I’m going to kiss you now.”
Gwen’s breaths gain speed, giving away her answer before she whispers, “I won’t push you away.”
My heart rams against my ribs as I tilt her chin back with my thumb. As much as I want to devour her mouth, taste her on my tongue, a soft voice inside my head tells me to go slow. To savor this moment. To savor her.
Closing my eyes, I press our lips together. Sparks snap at the slightest touch, and a wave of euphoria washes over me.
Gwen gasps, parting her lips enough for me to capitalize on the invitation to drink her in. I dip my tongue into her mouth and slide it against hers. She tastes of alcohol, lime, and something uniquely hers. Something heady and sweet.
I tilt her head to the side, deepening the kiss. Our tongues tangle in a slow, seductive dance. The need to pull her closer, to eradicate any space between us, has me gripping her waist with one hand and the back of her neck with the other, dragging her body to mine.
Gwen places her hands on my chest for balance as she straddles my right thigh, allowing me to kiss her harder, deeper.
She moans and digs her nails into my chest as our lips mold to each other in an embrace so sweet and sensual it makes my blood boil with desire. My cock swells behind my zipper, angrily pleading for more, as she sucks on my tongue.
Lust rages beneath the surface of my skin, yearning for more.
There’s no way I’m leaving this club without her. I won’t. I can’t let this kiss be the only one.
I break away from her addictive lips, pressing my forehead to hers. “Come home with me.”
“What?” Gwen rears back, wide-eyed and unsure. Her lips are swollen and puffy, and fuck if I don’t want to kiss them again.
All night long.
“Come home with me. Well, not home home, because I don’t actually live here, but I have a hotel room.
” I know I sound crazy asking her to leave with me, and the request could backfire spectacularly.
But I know to my bones that I’d regret it if I didn’t take a chance and ask.
“I really hope I’m not fucking this up so let me start over.
I want to get the hell out of here, and I want you to come with me.
Doesn’t have to be my hotel. Let’s see where the night takes us. ”
“Are you serious?” she sputters, looking at me as if another head has instantaneously sprouted from my neck.
I drag my hand from her nape down the ridges of her spine to ease the apprehension tightening her muscles. “So fucking serious.”
Her eyes search mine. I wish she could read my mind and see the truth of my intentions.
Would I like to take Gwen to my hotel and fuck her into oblivion? Hell yes.
But tonight doesn’t have to be about that. It can be about two people getting to know one another. Two people leaning into the unknown, into this wild and intense attraction.
“What do you say? Want to run off with me?”
Gwen must find what she’s searching for because her lips curl into a wide smile and she nods. “Yes, I want to run off with you.”
Music to my ears.