Page 12 of Soaring and Saucy

“Those two from the bar?”

“Yes.”

“They’re not coming back here this evening,” he chuckled knowingly. “We’ll set the deadbolt, and they can find somewhere else to go.”

“They won’t be mad?”

“Trust me,” he smiled softly. “Neither of us will care shortly.”

“Oh.”

Lance took her hand holding the hotel room key – and moved it before the lock, causing it to blink green. He opened the door and waited like some dark angel tempting her.

Is this what Eve felt like in the Garden?

“Lance…” she said suddenly, turning to look at him. “This is not some joke, right? This is real. The marriage was real. You aren’t about to turn into some psycho killer or hurt me, right?”

He closed the door slowly behind them, his eyes holding hers.

“I’m no angel,” he admitted quietly. “I’m not the best guy, but I can tell you right now that this is not a joke. I’m not going to hurt you, and Pasteur is really a pastor. I’m no killer, but I’m no saint either. I’ve made a lot of mistakes and some things I would rather not revisit because I’m not proud of them, but you are safe.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I just wanted to make sure.”

“Would you rather not move forward,” he asked gently. “I mean, if you’ve changed your mind – I really need to know now. If we make love, I don’t want you freaking out on me or crying foul later.”

“I… ah, haven’t changed my mind,” she whispered. “We’re married now, for better or for worse, remember? Your ‘worse’ is now in your past. This is day one of a new life, a new world together.”

“Sure,” he chuckled softly, smiling knowingly… and began unbuttoning his shirt as he walked across the room toward her. “Shall I show you my very best?”

Stephanie wasn’t sure she was breathing anymore. The look in his eyes, the tenderness of his smile, and that swagger, as he moved closer, was devastating.

He’d unbuttoned his shirt; maybe she was supposed to do the same? As her hands nervously moved to unfasten the first little pearl at the bottom of her blouse, he stopped her. Her eyes shot to his as he lowered his dark head toward her.

“Don’t do that,” he breathed against her lips.

“I thought that you…” and her voice failed her as her hands immediately dropped, trembling.

“I do,” he began, filling the space between them as he slowly dropped a kiss at the corner of her lips, along the bridge of her nose, and then caressed her cheek with his nose, breathing deeply and sighing. “I love that smell… but you aren’t supposed to unbutton your shirt yet.”

“Why?”

“You are my ‘gift’ to unwrap…” he whispered against her lips before kissing her deeply.

Stephanie melted.

5

TROPHY

“Oh gosh…”

Lance groaned, covering his eyes as he lay there trying to discern where he was and who was using a jackhammer on his head – only to feel a hand on his chest, and he froze.

Craaaaap!

First rule of being single: never stay overnight. Girls got weird ideas in their heads and started talking about relationships or worse. He never stayed, always told them he had to get back to the ship, and should have done the same thing unless… oh, nooooo, he thought wildly as a flash of memories slammed into him.

Her smile.

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