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“Cut him some slack, Nova. Your dad’s company is the reason you can stay in a nice home and have nice things. He works hard for you, and we need to support him, not be difficult.” He needs to appreciate that everything Lance does is for him, and that life isn’t always fun. It can be hard too. “He loves you so much, and when he comes home tired, he needs love from you. Not nonsense.”
“He’s going to say no,” Nova sighs. “He hates people, especially parents. You are like the only grown up he smiles at. I just know he will say no. Can we still go if he says no?” he asks me and I am not willing to do that. I wasn’t invited as me and Nova. It was an invitation to the three of us.
“He might surprise you and say yes,” I have a feeling he is right. “Let me talk to him about it first.”
He nods, and reluctantly says, “Okay.” Nova stirs the pasta sauce, and I can see he’s down. This is a big deal for him. He has really connected with the boys. And to him, being invited is a big deal. It means he is accepted. We joke around while cooking, and I try to take his mind off the big question, but it hasn’t worked and when Lance gets home, he gives me a pleading look. I may have to resort to foul play to make his father say yes—and if it means he gets to be happy, I will.
Nova scoffs his dinner down and says, “I am going to shower.” With a wink, leaving me alone with Lance, who has been avoiding me like I have lice this week. Lance is still eating his dinner, so he can’t exactly run away yet, so I take the chance.
“Nova has become really close with the boys from downstairs. They get on so well. Today at the pool their parents invited you and him to join them for a weekend away at Lake Mead.” I spit it out while his mouth is full so he has to listen. “I said I would ask you. I can go with you to help with Nova. It’s no problem. You could use a break, and he is so excited to have been included.”
“No.” He mumbles the moment he swallows his food. “I am not going glamping with strangers. If he wants a holiday, we can visit the Bahamas.” I sigh. He’s missed the point of this.
“His friends are not in the Bahamas, Lance. You may not like people very much, or now want to camp. But your son has friends for the first time ever, real ones. So, all I am going to say is that you can tell him you’re not going and why.” I am mad at him, not just over this—it’s like the seal on my emotions has been broken, and everything is about to come pouring out if I don’t stop it fast. I shut my mouth real fast, remembering he is my boss, and I could still get fired.
“Sienna, you don’t understand.” I don’t but he hasn’t made an effort to help me, or his son understand why social interactions are so awful for him. I have seen him schmoozing his work people. So, it isn’t all people, just ones that involve him meeting other kids’ parents.
“No, I guess I don’t,” I say softly, reining in my anger and frustration. “But neither does he.” I think it’s time I put some distance between my emotions and him and Nova. Because I care too much, and they’re going to leave. “He’s a kid, Lance.”
“He was a kid when his mother used baby-gym as a cover for her affair. He was a kid when a mom at his kindergarten hit on me, and when I said no, she lied and told her husband we were having an affair. He was just a kid when one of his teachers tried to blackmail me saying she would tell the papers I had sexually assaulted her. So, yeah, he is just a kid, and I don’t have to expose him to stuff like that.” Lance spills his tea, and I see another side to him. He’s been hurt, more than once.
“Lance, these people are not like that, their kids are home schooled full time. Their parents are so in love it’s actually hard to watch. Not everyone is going to do bad things, and you can’t isolate him forever.” He has no idea the parental shitshow he is going to find at New York prep schools. He hasn’t seen anything like an upper east side mom gang. “He’s lonely, and desperate for attention. Yours, mine, anyone’s, and that isn’t healthy. He needs friends his age. Playmates, and fun days out. Weekends away, and it is not camping, by the way—I asked.” I knew that was a nonstarter.
“Sienna,” he growls. “Drop it. I am not going away with strangers.” He is hardheaded.
“They’re only strangers to you, Nova and I have gotten to know them really well. He loves them.” I should stop arguing. This is not my place. But I have fallen for this kid, and I feel like I have to stick up for him. I start cleaning to try and regain control of myself.
“Tell me how you really feel,” he says sarcastically. Obviously he had a bad day, but it is a trigger for me, and I snap. Because I have feelings, real ones that I have been bottling up inside, and if he wants to know—I will tell him.
“How I really feel?” I turn around and walk to his side of the island, so I am standing right next to the bar chair he’s sitting on. We are even like this. I can look him straight in those disarming blue eyes, which only makes me feel more. “If I tell you how I feel, Lance, you won’t like it. But you asked.” He just looks at me, horrified I would actually take his comment so literally. He says nothing, so I do. “I feel like you are avoiding me, that you’re afraid to be near me. Because we can’t hide from the fact that there is some insane chemistry between us.” He blinks, and I take a breath so I can keep going. “I feel hurt, and pushed aside that we couldn’t even have a conversation about it after you kissed me. You just hide away like a coward. So, I have plenty of feelings Lance, for you and your son, but I cannot do a damn thing about them. Even if I wanted to, I would get fired.” I am so close to him, looking him dead in the eye, my chest heaving up and down with everything I just allowed to explode out of me. “I have feelings for you, Lance, and I am trying so hard to hide them away. You kissed me, you flirted first—and you touched me behind the sofa. So why don’t you tell me how you feel instead of questioning me about my emotions.”
His eyes are dark, and I can see the muscle in his jaw tick. I wait to see what he says, but he doesn’t utter a word. He pulls me between his legs so that I am even closer to him, so damn close I can smell him. He always smells so fucking good. It’s not right. Lance looks at me, not blinking. Holding me there between his legs so that I can feel his body heat. Stumbling slightly, I steady myself, putting my hands on his shoulders. The contact is like an electric shock shooting through me.
My heart is pounding as I stand between Lance's legs, the tension between us electric. We just had a heated argument about our feelings, albeit one sided, and now we're both silent, lost in thought. Suddenly, Lance reaches out and grips my butt in his hands, making me gasp. I don't know what to expect, but before I can even think, his lips crash onto mine in a scorching kiss. I moan in surprise, but soon melt into the sensation of his mouth on mine, his tongue exploring every inch of me.
I wrap my arms around his neck, my body pressing into his as we deepen the kiss. This feels so wrong, but it's so good, and I can't stop myself. My mind is a blur, and all I can focus on is the feel of his lips on mine, the taste of him on my tongue.
Finally, we break apart, both gasping for air, and I look into his eyes, seeing the same desire I feel reflected back at me.
But even as I feel the heat and the passion coursing through my veins, I know that this is a very dangerous temptation.
I can't believe what just happened. Lance just kissed me like that, and it felt so good. My heart is still racing as we pull apart, and I can see the desire in his eyes.
"Sienna," he says, his voice low and gravelly. "I've been wanting to do more than just kiss you for a long time now. You drive me crazy, and I can't stop thinking about you."
His words make my heart skip a beat, and I feel a rush of heat flood my body. I can't believe he feels the same way I do. The words do more than heat my skin. I can feel my knickers soaking wet after his kiss and the thought of more.
"I want you so badly," he continues, his voice getting even huskier. "I want to feel your body against mine, to taste every inch of you."
I bite my lip, feeling myself getting hotter and hotter under his gaze. "Lance," I say softly. "I want that too. I want you."
And then he's kissing me again, his mouth hot and hungry, his hands roaming over my body. I can feel myself losing control, giving in to the passion and the heat. “Lance, stop.” I have to stop him, “Nova is still up, and he’s going to be back in here any second.”
“We can go on the damn trip,” he says, and I feel slightly guilty that the kissing has changed his mind. But also, so happy for Nova. “Thisconversationisn’t over. Sienna, I meant what I said. All I think about is you.” I think about him like that too, and that scares the fucking life out of me. Because what on earth would a man like him want with a woman like me?
“We can talk about it later, after he is in bed,” I say, and then want to kick my own ass, because what the hell am I doing? I am going to get fired. Part of me believes that Lance would be worth losing my job over.
After Lance gets Nova to bed, he finds me on my way to bed. He stops me, takes my hand and quietly, we make our way to his bedroom, kissing and touching each other the entire way. I can feel his desire for me growing stronger with every passing moment, and I know that mine is just as intense. His touches become more desperate and deliberate. We don’t speak, just kisses and touches.
