Page 31 of Soaring and Saucy

Poor Stephanie looked like she was about to eject her eyeballs from their sockets as she strangled to get the word out of her. He was trying so hard not to laugh at her reaction, doubling down.

“I’m not big into slapping, but…”

“I’m feeling the urge to slap someone right now,” she balked.

“You’re in the mood now? Well, let me turn off the oven, and I’ll be happy to accommodate you. I heard pregnant women got turned on easily, but I’ve never experienced it. This will be a thrill,” he grinned at the disbelief on her face.

“You’re not touching me.”

So, Lance extended a finger and touched the tip of her little pointy nose.

“Touch…” he drawled deliberately – and sure enough, she slapped his hand away. “Is it ‘Go Time,’ babe?”

“No – and don’t call me that.”

“What sort of nickname do you prefer?”

“None.”

“Pumpkin, Ladybug, sweet cheeks?”

“Don’t call me anything because I know you don’t mean a word of it.”

“And if I did… princess?”

He whispered the endearment tenderly, taking a step toward her – only for her to bump into the counter behind her. Good, she was pinned, he thought silently, advancing closer.

There was something so magical about her that it called to him. Yeah, she wasn’t the normal girl he went for, but then, again, that was a good thing. He could see introducing her to his family, standing proudly beside her, because she oozed class – and frankly, his taste in women had been distinctly ‘class-less’ before her.

Nope. He was a changed man deep down inside, a little further than any of them realized. Was he still a cad – sure – but this was his wife, his road to walk. A part of him was still a little nervous, but only because he didn’t want to let her down anymore. He was bringing his ‘A’ game and just hoped it was good enough or soon enough to win her over.

“Where’s our marriage license, princess?”

“Quit calling me that…”

“Why? I’m your Prince Charming…”

“Oh, heaven help me…”

“Princess, don’t call on heaven because you never know what you’re gonna get. Just remember, even Lucifer was an angel—once. You can call on me instead,” he whispered seductively, making the moves on his wife.

“I’m not calling on you,” she breathed, trying to crane her neck away from him as he took a step closer, standing directly between her feet. Yeah, attraction to Stephanie had never been a problem – and it wasn’t now. His body was on fire with the simple idea of unfastening her robe and getting rid of those cotton pajamas.

“Why not? You’ve screamed my name before, and if you say the word, I’ll make you do it again,” he murmured against the skin of her cheek, hearing her sharp intake of breath. “Where’s our license, princess?”

“Stop it,” she pleaded – and he did. He didn’t want to push her too hard, but he did want her to know he was interested in being a part of this despite his initial reactions. The idea of being with someone, seriously, was very intimidating.

“Just tell me what you want, and I’ll make it happen,” he promised gently, touching her hand and backing away as she requested. “Where is it? Is it in a folder or a file somewhere? Framed?”

“It’s in my car, above the visor.”

“Then I’ll grab it and handle everything,” he replied in a matter-of-fact voice. “We are married. This is just a matter of paperwork being filed with the state.”

“You can’t bully your way into this.”

“Well, I’m not willing to let go either,” he retorted, grabbing her keys off the table and taking off into the parking lot. As he slipped into the car, he folded the visor down and saw the paper. It had been folded several times, and there were circular watermarks in places where she had cried, he thought horrified, looking up at the apartment door where she stood watching him in the distance.

It wasn’t just his ‘A’ game he needed to bring to the table. He wasn’t just a player in a convenient moment or okay with fumbling through this all as a joke – because it wasn’t one, and he was realizing it now.

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