Page 18 of The Soul of Archer
He and Alora fell into a comfortable silence as she drove. He was impressed with how she handled his truck. It was his pride and joy. It was fully restored '42 Ford pickup. The exterior was black with red and yellow flames over the hood and along the driver and passenger side doors. On the tailgate he had the EGA on the driver's side and the emblem for MARSOC on the passenger. He loved his truck.
“You handle my truck well." He commented.
"I should think so. My grandpa taught me to drive on his. It was '42 just like this." She shot back with a smirk, turning onto Lance's street.
"He still got it?"
"No. I do. It's not in Austin right now. My garage isn't big enough for it plus my Outback. It stays at Jacquie and Ryan's for now. In a year or so I'm thinking of either trying to expand the garage or just buying a new place with a bigger garage, so I can bring it up here." She explained pulling up next to her Outback in his drive.
***
Alora stood at the stove working on breakfast. The second they walked into the house, she shooed Lance upstairs for a shower. The cocky man gave her a salute before heading up, making her laugh. Now she stood in his kitchen, at his stove, making them breakfast. When was the last time she had cooked for a man? Or rather a man she was interested in.
She couldn't recall ever cooking for Sam, nor any of her other boyfriends come to think of it. But here she was cooking for a man she barely knew. If she were honest with herself though, it seemed there was a part of her that knew Lance Archer on a deep visceral level. How does that happen? Movies and books, oh sure it was completely feasible, but in reality? Things like that didn't happen, or so she thought till she met Lance at Blackout.
"God damn that smells like heaven." The man in question groaned as he walked into the kitchen.
"Glad you're nose approves. Sit down, take those four Aleve and drink your juice. Then I'll give you some coffee." She ordered without looking away from the frying pan.
"You remind me of my Corpsman in Iraq. So bossy." Lance mumbled.
"Since you're still here I'll take that as a compliment. You obviously had a Corpsman who knew his stuff. Now take your pills and drink your juice like a good boy." Alora laughed.
"I ought to turn you over my knee." He said, popping the little pills and washing them down with the juice.
Alora shivered at the threat he promised, her body beginning a slow boil as her mind pictured the scene. Worrying her bottom lip, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Lance had done as she ordered.
Removing the ham steak from the pan, she put the bacon on then turned for the coffeepot. "How do you take your coffee?"
"Four spoonfuls of sugar." He answered.
"Ah, a man after my own heart there. My friends tease me saying I drink coffee with my sugar."
"My mama tells me the same thing." He smiled.
Alora fixed his mug and carried it to him. When she sat it on the island, Lance reached out and slid an arm around her waist. She licked her lips, her eyes glued to his. He leaned in and softly kissed her. Her whole body melted, leaning into him. Her hands came to rest on his shoulders as he continued to keep the kiss soft and slow.
"Thank you. For taking care of me. For...being here." He whispered.
"Y... you’re welcome, Lance." She breathed.
Reluctantly, she pulled away from him to finish up their meal before the bacon burned. Her legs felt like jelly and her nipples throbbed. God this man packed a sensual punch. But she liked it.
Chapter 9
Lance was laying stretched out on the couch watching TV when Alora walked in. He glanced over at her and saw on her face something was up. "What is it?"
"Lance, I think we need to talk." She answered moving toward him.
When he started to sit up, she lifted her hand to stop him. Instead, she came closer, cupped his head, lifted it then replaced it on her lap as she sat down. Lance looked up at her as he clicked off the TV. "What did you want to talk about then?"
"Us."
Lance sighed, "Yeah, we do need to talk about that. Look, the other night I think you got the wrong idea when I told you I had never crossed the line with a client. No," he stopped her as she started to speak. "Let me elaborate on that. Me and the guys agreed when we started Blackout to not mix business and pleasure. We've seen enough of that to know it brings trouble.
"Yes, Ethan crossed that line with Krista last year, but they had a past that was left unresolved when he joined up. So, while yes, he crossed that line, their situation was one of those extenuating circumstances. I always held firm to that rule. Then I met you."
Alora frowned, "What do you mean?"
