Unfortunately, he’d done exactly that. Still, she refused to fall victim to the man’s ample charms. She hadn’t come out here for a tumble in bed, although now her mind tortured her with images of what that might be like with both of them now older.
Before she let herself be sidetracked yet again, she said, “How could you promise Chelsea an expensive show horse without talking to me first?”
“You were listening?”
Busted. She drew a deep breath, not allowing him to put the heat on her. “I was on my way downstairs and happened to overhear you two.”
“Just how long were you listening?”
She cast her gaze to the floor. “That’s neither here nor there.”
He chuckled, which exasperated her even more, but he let that go. “What’s wrong with me giving her something she wants so badly?”
Not caring what state of dress—or undress—he was in, she pivoted around to see that he’d only put on his boxer briefs; his chest remained bare and wet.
Stop thinking about kissing away those droplets clinging to his chest hair, Kate.
Why was she letting him short-circuit her brain? Again, she had to force her gaze up to his face. “You don’t know the first thing about how much a good performance Saddlebred horse costs. For a good one, we’re talking many tens of thousands of dollars just to buy the horse. Then there’s feed, entry fees, veterinary bills, transportation to and from shows and—”
He shrugged. “I spent sixty-five thousand dollars on a boat I only take out once or twice a month anymore. I’d rather spend my hard-earned money on something that would get a lot more use than that. I want Chelsea to have the best.”
Was he implying that Kate couldn’t? Well, of course, I can’t. Don’t make me out to be the bad parent because I can’t lavish her with extravagant gifts. “You can’t buy her affection, Travis. You don’t need to anyway. She already adores you.”
“I don’t see what the problem is? She wants a show horse. I can afford one. Problem solved.”
“You can’t fix everything by throwing money at it.”
He shook his head and grinned, which only infuriated her more. “Maybe not, but it sure can smooth over a lot of crap.”
She wasn’t going to win a fight about money with him. Time to try something else.
“I started training Chelsea on fine horses over a year ago. She could have shown on one if she’d wanted to, but she lost interest.”
His eyelids narrowed. “Because as soon as she’d get attached, you’d let someone else come along and buy the horse out from under her.”
“I’m a breeder and trainer of horses. That’s how I make my living so I can keep a roof over our heads and food on the table.” She was so close to making it where she wouldn’t have to live worrying about every penny coming in or going out, but not if she gave her best horse to her daughter.
“And you’re doing a great job, but you need to let Chelsea show you what she’s got. Let her work with her own horse.”
“You think you know what’s best for my daughter after looking at photos of her and picking her up from camp?” Anger the likes of which Kate had never felt before surged through her.”
“What? I can’t believe we’re fighting about this. I thought you’d appreciate the offer to help out with expenses. I heard how frustrated you were when we talked about this earlier, even though, at the time, I had no clue my daughter was the student wanting to compete who couldn’t afford to.”
He remembered that offhand conversation? Of course. He was so like Chelsea. No detail escaped either one of them. Still, she simmered at the thought of him charging in on the white horse and making everything a fairy tale for Chelsea. Life didn’t work that way.
“With a decent horse of her own,” he continued, “you’ll be able to train Chelsea to a whole new level.”
“I already know she has the potential to be my best rider, but she also has to learn that we don’t always get what we want in life. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices.” Her voice sounded shrill as it echoed around the room.
Travis winced. “Don’t tell me about sacrifices, Katie Michaels.”
He’d misinterpreted her words, or perhaps she hadn’t chosen them carefully given her level of upset. “We aren’t talking about what you or your buddies went through, Travis. Play fair.”
“Neither am I. We’re talking about parenting our daughter. You never gave me a chance to be a father to my own kid. You stole that from me.”
She closed her eyes as her body absorbed his anger, which mixed with her own. She could never undo that. Kate counted to ten silently before meeting his gaze again. “I’m sorry, Travis. But please don’t set her up to believe she’s going to get everything she wants when she wants it, because the world doesn’t work that way.”
“Maybe not, but it happens a lot more when you don’t always push away the things—and people—you want. Try it sometime. You might find that life doesn’t have to be as dire as you always expect it to be, either.”
When did she become the focus of the conversation? This conversation had veered to the edge of a cliff, and if she wasn’t careful, she’d go over the side and have her heart crushed.
No matter how horrible she’d imagined this moment would be, she hadn’t expected his anger to be aimed anywhere but on the issue of Chelsea. “We aren’t talking about me here.”
“Fine, then let’s talk about what I want,” Travis said, advancing toward her a few steps. “I want to watch her ride and compete. I want to see her smile with a sense of accomplishment after succeeding at something she’s always wanted to do.”
She sagged with relief that he wasn’t continuing to pursue the tirade about her shortcomings. On safer footing once more, she said, “I think we both want to see Chelsea happy—”
“Tell me how much money you need for a good horse. I can post-date you a check tonight and move the money from savings tomorrow.”
But she still wasn’t going to concede this point. “What’s the rush?”
“She wants to perform in Murfreesboro this October.”
Why wouldn’t he listen to her? “She might be ready for that next year, after doing the Spring Fling in Murfreesboro before tackling their season’s finale. But Chelsea needs nothing from you other than your love. Stop trying to buy her affections.” For God’s sake, didn’t he see he already had the girl’s heart?
His nostrils flared, and he took another step toward her. “Look, I’m trying, but I don’t know the first thing about being a dad—yet. Cut me some slack. It’s not like I’ve had as much practice as you have.” He raked his hands through his hair. “Why are you all bent out of shape about me wanting to help make that girl’s dreams come true? Consider it long overdue child support, if that soothes your ego.”
Kate clenched her teeth to keep her jaw from dropping. “This isn’t about my ego.”
“Bullshit.” He moved closer yet, robbing her of the ability to breathe without smelling soap and…leather, although the latter might be because they were so close to the tack room. Still, she found the combination intoxicating.
Too intoxicating.
She needed to maintain her space. Poking her finger into his chest to stop him from advancing farther, but she quickly realized that wasn’t the smartest move. His pecs were so hard the impact actually hurt. She wondered what it would feel like to fan out her fingers and caress his skin, trailing down to…
Her gaze dipped to his bare chest again before she stared into his eyes. When had his pupils dilated? Okay, it was rather dark in here. The heat radiating from his body made her want him to wrap his arms around her and pull her against him, erasing all the years apart. Her breathing became shallower, and her gaze flitted to his lips a half-second before his mouth descended upon hers.
Kate didn’t fight it. Instead, she curled her arms around his neck a half-second before she molded her body against his. His erection hard against her abdomen ignited the flames inside her even more.<
br />
This is so wrong. But I don’t care.
She’d gone without having this man inside her way too long. A niggling voice in the back of her mind told her she was only going to create more problems by giving in to raging hormones like this, but she didn’t care.
Travis’s comment about her not allowing herself to have what she wanted out of life made her desire this all the more. She’d sacrificed plenty. He cupped her breast and his breath hitched. He’d probably expected to encounter a bra under her shirt.
She turned her head to break contact with his mouth. “I was in bed already when I decided to come out here. Didn’t bother putting on my bra.”
“Did you hear any complaints?”
He pinched her nipple and crushed her against the door. The pressure of her body sandwiched between the door and the hard planes of his chest made her core erupt in molten flames. She lowered her hands to his waistband to nudge his boxer briefs down. He opened some space between their lower bodies to allow the underwear to be shucked. His erect member sprang free. Her hand squeezed his hardness, imagining the moment when he would take her completely. Then he took both of her hands and placed them above her head against the wooden panel behind her.
“No touching,” he growled. “I want this to last more than a minute. I’m so damned hot for you right now, Katie…”
She kept her hands where he’d placed them, thinking he would lift her T-shirt over her head. He let it rest just above her breasts. His eyes grew steamy as he took in the sight of her bare chest. He didn’t look away as he fumbled with the button and zipper of her jeans. She kicked off her flip-flops seconds before he crouched and lowered the denim down her legs. Grabbing hold of his shoulders to keep from falling over, she stepped out of them. Instead of standing again as she expected him to do, he kissed her hip bones then her thighs. He hooked his thumbs between them to nudge them apart.
His fingers delved between her folds. He chuckled, grinning up at her. “You’re already wet.” One finger dipped inside her and then another.
“Oh, Travis!” She didn’t want to delay their coming together a second longer so she grasped him by the biceps to urge him upright. “Please! Don’t make me wait another minute. I need you inside me.”
In one swift motion, he stood, yanked her shirt off, and lifted her into his arms. He carried her to the double bed in the corner where he gently placed her on the quilt. She took in the sight of his nakedness as he did the same to her until her belly tingled under his scrutiny, and she splayed her hands to hide her stretch marks. “Could you turn off the light, please?”
Ignoring her request, he moved her hands over her head again before climbing onto the mattress beside her. His finger traced the ridges of the worst of the stretch marks, and she wanted to die of embarrassment.
“I wish I could have seen you delivering our baby girl.”
The sting of tears made her turn away, not wanting to be condemned yet again in this moment for cheating him out of something he should have been a part of.
Her brain kicked in, and she started to roll over to get up when his hand to her shoulder pressed her into the mattress again.
“I didn’t mean it that way. I only wish I’d been able to be a part of that moment when she gave her first cry.”
“She didn’t cry. Just opened her eyes and looked around.”
“Always the inquisitive one from the beginning, I see.”
Her heart ached at the thought of how different it would have been if he’d been with her, rather than Lidia.
His eyes smoldered as they bore into her half a second before he closed the gap and captured her lips with his.
His insistent tongue plunged inside her mouth and took her breath away. She should put an end to this before suffering the consequences, but she didn’t want to call a halt. They’d deal with the aftermath later. Chelsea wouldn’t find out, and tomorrow, they could go back to their separate corners. But for now, she had never wanted anything more in an extremely long time.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close in case he, too, suffered second thoughts.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Travis was afraid to pinch himself and find out he’d fallen asleep in the bathtub to dream yet again about having Katie lying naked beside him. If so, he didn’t want to wake up.
Her body was different than he remembered. New curves in all the right places and markings that gave proof—as if he needed it—that she’d carried a baby in her belly. His baby.
He trailed kisses down her neck to her chest and latched onto the peak of one breast, suckling as he grew harder himself. It had been a long time since he’d felt the urge to take himself in hand, let alone be with a woman. He didn’t expect to last long this first time, either, but didn’t want this moment to end.
His palm slid over her belly again before his middle finger slipped between her folds and spread her sweet honey up to the nubbin that caused her to gasp. She opened her legs wider.
Taking her nipple between his teeth, he stretched it away from her body until she met his gaze with a look that told him she wanted this as much as he did. Her pupils dilated. He released her, and her plump breast bounced back into place.
Her body said “yes, yes,” but he needed to be sure she wouldn’t have regrets later, fool that he was.
“Katie, tell me what you want.”
She swallowed hard, her brows furrowing in anguish. “You. I want you inside me,” she repeated.
He reached across her to the nightstand and opened the drawer to pull out the box of condoms he’d bought the other day, ripping it open and pulling out one of the foil packets. Handing it to her, he said, “Put this on me first.”
He’d give her every opportunity to come to her senses—to consciously act, not simply react. Expecting her to grab her discarded clothes and run for the door, she surprised the hell out of him when her mouth curved into a wicked smile. She knelt beside him on the mattress, tearing the foil packet open with her teeth.
Lord have mercy, take me now!
He fell onto his back and watched as she bent over his long-neglected member, astonishing him yet again when she wrapped her mouth around him and sucked. Hard. Her warm mouth cocooned him as she applied gentle pressure with her lips covering her teeth as she went down on him. Afraid to distract her, he remained still except for his throbbing hard-on and reveled in the sensations. Could tonight get any better?
Her head bobbed up and down several times at a faster pace as she took him deeper each time. When his groin pulsated to indicate he was close to coming, he placed his hand on the side of her head to stop her. She didn’t take her mouth off him. When their gazes met, he nearly lost it anyway.
“If you don’t quit now, this is going to be over before it starts. Put the condom on me. I need to be inside you. Now.”
She grinned as she slowly rolled it over his erection. Unable to wait for her to finish at this pace, he got the job done before tossing her onto her back on the mattress and covering her with his body. He kissed her swollen lips and reached down to lube the condom in her wetness, stroking her clit to hardness. Her smile faded as a look of intense need told him she was ready for him. She spread her legs wider, encouraging him to nestle deeper between them. With her ankles entwined above his ass, he dipped himself into the pool of her sex. Her heels dug into his back, spurring him onward. But he only teased her, entering her a little deeper each time before pulling out again.
“More. Don’t make me wait.”
“Are you sure you’re ready? You’re so tight.”
“Yes!”
Needing no further assurance, he buried himself to the hilt.
“Oh, God!” she shouted, gasping for air. “Yes! I’ve waited so long.”
He wondered how long, but all that mattered was this time, this moment. Bracing his hands on either side of her head, he pumped in and out slowly. So tight. As he increased his tempo, each thrust brought a grunt that sounded like pain from her
, but her face was filled with ecstasy.
No way did he want this to end for him, but she’d been known to enjoy more than one orgasm when they made love, so he lowered himself to one elbow to reach between their bodies again. As he stroked her sensitive nubbin, she made the cutest kitten-like sound with each upward thrust of her hips.
“Yes! Please! Don’t stop!”
“Wasn’t planning to,” he said, not realizing until then how short of breath he was. Man, he needed to start working out again so he could keep up with her next time.
Jeezus, let there be a next time. A thousand more next times.
He bent down to kiss her, cutting off her “Oh, yes!” just as her eyes squeezed tight. Forcing his tongue between her lips, he mimicked what his shaft was doing. When her vaginal muscles tightened around him, he nearly exploded, but raised his torso to watch her come. A primal look of pain crossed her face again as she screamed her release, but he kept stroking her until she begged him to stop.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she tried to recover. Then she opened her eyes and quirked her brow. “You didn’t come.”
“I don’t want this night to end. Don’t worry about me. How was your first orgasm of the night?”
She smiled dreamily. “Even better than I remembered.” She met his gaze and grew more serious. “Hold on. First? Does that mean what I think it does?”
“I’d say we still have plenty of time before I have to send you back to the house.”
“Good.” She smiled and sighed. “I waited thirteen years and two months for that one—way too long. I don’t want to wait for the next.”
That she’d not only been with no other man in all that time—and remembered to the month how long it had been—gutted him. How was he supposed to process that? When she squeezed his manhood with her internal muscles, teasing him, he shook his head and grinned. “That feels incredible. You always amazed me at how soon you could be ready. I held off coming so I could keep up with you and take you over the top one more time.”
Kate's Secret (Bluegrass Spirits Book 2) Page 27