Trade It All(23)

Willa tried on what looked like a simple blue dress. It was sleeveless and from the front it had a classic, demure neckline. Her eyes popped, however, when she spun and caught a glimpse of the back of the dress in the mirror. The material clung to her curves and the hemline was short, but not indecent. She frowned. The dip in the back of the dress, however, made underwear tricky. She stripped it off and tossed it on Lexi’s bed.

She chose a cream skirt and peach blouse next. The skirt fit her well, but the blouse showed too much cleavage and made Willa want to safety pin it closed. It certainly wasn’t appropriate for a work setting.

It would certainly get Lance’s attention.

Shaking her head, Willa took it off. I don’t want that.

Do I?

Her body tingled with the memory of how he’d looked at her the night before. She remembered that look—that hunger. A much younger Lance had looked at her the same way, and she’d spent years trying to forget where it had led.

Memories flooded back. She was eighteen again, standing before a mirror indecisively. She’d spent the most amazing day with Lance. He’d taken her out on his jet ski then stayed with her most of the day. They’d played volleyball, sat next to each other during lunch, and taken a long walk together. Willa remembered the first time he reached for her hand. A light exploded within her—a joy beyond what words could express.

Still in their bathing suits, they walked to the end of the beach and found themselves temporarily away from the others. For what felt like an eternity they simply stared into each other’s eyes. Desire clearly burned in Lance’s eyes, but something held him back.

“Are you seeing anyone?” Willa asked and held her breath while waiting for his answer.

“No, you?”

“No one.” She didn’t think being that happy was possible—at least not for her. The man she’d spent two years dreaming about was looking down at her as if he felt the same about her.

He cupped her face between his hands. “You’re so beautiful.”

In that moment Willa felt beautiful. She was also beyond choosing her words carefully. “You, too.”

His chuckle was the sexiest thing she’d ever heard. His expression turned serious. “We shouldn’t do this. I told myself I wouldn’t. I’m a junior in college, Willa. You’re barely out of high school.”

Do what? Hold hands? Date? Be seen together? His comment stung. She pulled away from him. “If you don’t want to be with me, then don’t be with me.”

His expression turned tormented, and he pulled her into his arms. Their first kiss. It blew away anything she’d experienced before. It was bold, sexual, and an expression of his hunger for her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, arched against him, and gave herself over to how good kissing him felt. His hands ran over her, as demanding as his kiss and just as pleasurable. His bare chest was heaven beneath her hands. She’d dated boys in high school. A few of them had gotten overly excited from kissing, and she found their lack of control scary.

It wasn’t like that with Lance. Her brain spun as every nerve ending in her body was overwhelmed and pulsed a request for more—more Lance. She didn’t feel like a virgin. She felt like a woman drowning beneath wave after wave of her own desire. Kissing him felt as essential as air.

When he pulled back, she felt the loss with confusing intensity. She stood there, with one hand on her mouth, simply staring up at him as they both fought to catch their breath.

“I want to be with you,” he said, his voice husky and deep. “Too much.” He let out a long, shaky breath and looked around. “I forgot that we’re not alone. You’re dangerous.”

Dangerous? Willa had never been described that way. She was the careful one, the quiet one, the one people overlooked. She didn’t care who was watching or what they were thinking. She wanted to be the woman she saw in Lance’s eyes. “I want to be with you, too.”

Lance shuddered. Willa thought he’d pull her back into his arms, but instead he took her hand again. “We need to walk.”

Willa fell into step beside him. She tried to figure out what was holding him back. “I may be young, but I’ve been on my own for years. I’m not a child.”

He’d stopped and pinned her down with those incredible dark eyes of his. “Are you a virgin?”

“Yes,” she admitted, unable to lie to him.

“Fuck,” he said and started walking again.

Offended, Willa said, “It’s not a disease, you know.”

He frowned as they walked hand in hand down the beach in the direction of his family’s house. “You’re Kenzi’s best friend. I can’t do this.”