He collapsed on top of me, drawing in ragged breaths. I could feel his heart beating as wildly as mine. Keeping our connection, he rolled us on our sides and gathered me close.
Lying in post coital bliss, I sighed with contentment. I was thankful Travis was home. The last forty-eight hours waiting for the fallout from my threats to Ashton were like waiting for a coiled snake to strike. You know it's going to happen, but you don't know when and it shocks the shit out of you when it does.
To make matters worse, I heard nothing from Kayla since she left the apartment the day before. I found myself constantly wondering if she had read the journal and learned the sordid truth about my past relationship with Ashton. Every high and every low in vivid detail, right down to the soul crushing pain of having the abortion on a fold out table in Ashton's mother's penthouse condo. I often imagined what the botoxed face of the sixty-something Hollywood Starlet would look like if she ever discovered what happened in her home that day.
"I missed you too," I finally returned his sentiment from earlier, now that I wasn't overcome with emotions.
"What happened while I was gone? Anything?" Travis asked.
For a brief second I considered telling him about the war I inevitably started, but I didn't have the heart to worry him. Deciding to wait until Ashton finally did strike, I opted to discuss lighter topics.
"Elizabeth's having a boy," I informed him. I looked up into his eyes with a huge smile on my face.
He chuckled lightly. "Grant has to be over the moon. He loves being right."
"Ugh. I'm aware," I said with faux disgust.
"You okay?" He asked the vague question, but the meaning behind it was not lost on me. Travis was worried about how heavily it weighed on me that we were having so many issues getting pregnant. I loved that he cared enough to ask. It was the little things that meant so much to me, like the fact that he recognized how hard my friend being pregnant might be on me.
"I'm good," I assured him. And surprisingly, I was. I was thrilled for my friend and believed that if I stayed positive enough it would all work out for Travis and me in the end.
"When do we find out if there's a bun in this oven?" He pressed his palm to my bare stomach and visions of us doing the same thing every night for the next nine months flashed in my mind and warmed me right through to my core.
I gave him a watery smile. "Any day now. I'm trying not to fixate on it, but it's kind of hard not to. Keeping myself busy is the only thing that seems to do the trick."
"It will all work out. And, hey, if you ever need help keeping yourself busy, I have something you could pay extra special attention to."
"Oh yeah. What's that?" I asked coyly.
His hip flexed, alerting me to what needed attention. I felt him starting to harden again inside me.
"Whoa there, Casanova. There's plenty time for that later." I pushed lightly on his chest, but he pushed back, rolling onto me. He kissed down my neck, nipping at my breasts on his way down my body. Succumbing to his attentions, I rolled my head to the side and bit my lip when his fingers found the perfect spot.
"Harder," I moaned. That was when the doorbell rang. Travis lifted his head from my stomach. I grabbed his hair and forced him to look at me. "Ignore it."
He smirked and went back to working magic between my legs. Ignoring the random doorbell was easy seeing as how all I could do was focus on how good he was making me feel. My breath became labored and I panted with the need to come, when the doorbell started going off in quick, short successions. Whoever was there, wasn't going to be deterred.
Travis cursed and lifted himself off me. Throwing on a pair of silk pajama pants, he padded out of the closet to see who was interrupting our "get reacquainted" time.
I threw on a robe and followed, cursing at how turned on I was with no sign of relief in the future. I got to the foyer just as the door swung open and a red-faced Kayla stormed past Travis, brushing his shoulder on her way in.
"Nice to see you too," he muttered. His eyes questioned me as to what was going on, but all I could do was give him a light shrug and prepare myself for the worst.
Kayla slammed the journal into my chest so hard I stumbled back a step.
"What the fuck?" I heard Travis ask right before he pulled her away from me. I gripped the journal tightly in disbelief. Pure, undiluted anger radiated off my sister and I was shocked to see that emotion aimed directly at me.
"You're a liar!" She yelled at me. "Those things did not happen. They didn't!" She ended on a screech.
Travis looked between Kayla and me before his eyes dropped to the book that I clutched so hard my fingers were becoming numb.
"What's going on here?" He asked us both.
"Like you don't know the trash your wife has been feeding me," she spat.
"What did you do?" He asked me, quickly deciphering that Kayla now knew something she shouldn't. It wasn't as if he had never seen my box full of journals before, and Travis was far from dumb. It wouldn't take much for him to put two and two together.
I stood there dumbfounded. I had never once considered that my sister would turn on me after she read about my torment. I was so unprepared for this and Travis' anger only made it worse.
"Tell him!" Kayla yelled. "Tell him what a liar and a bitch you are!"
Something inside me snapped with those words. I was a lot of things, but I was not a liar. "Every single one of those words is true!" I yelled back.
"Shit," Travis cursed and held tighter to Kayla when she struggled to come after me again.
"Ashton would never do that," she denied.
"Funny, because he already did," I said dryly.
"How am I supposed to believe you? You're nothing but a jilted ex-lover who he left on your ass. You don't want to see him happy even if you hurt me in the process. You're just jealous," she continued.
"You're delusional if you think I would be jealous of the two of you. Or that I would ever try to hurt you deliberately. Open your fucking eyes, Kayla. Ashton is using you and manipulating you."
"Enough," Travis barked causing us both to jump slightly. He pulled Kayla the few feet to the door and opened it. "You need to leave," he told her. "I don't want to see you back here again until you're ready to talk to your sister calmly. I have no idea why you came into possession of that book. All I know is, Maya would never lie to you. Take some time and think on that."
As soon as Kayla cleared the threshold, he slammed the door in her face and stalked towards me with an angry look on his face. "I can't even fathom why you would open up a can of worms by doing what you did. This is the last thing I would have expected from you."
"I had to do it." My voice was as thin as a reed. I was drained from Kayla's hateful words and now from Travis being mad at me. Breaking down into tears was the only thing I could muster up the energy to do.
"Your tears aren't going to help you. There is this whole other side to you that I don't even know and I'm sick and fucking tired of it. The Maya I know wouldn't recklessly give out sensitive information, especially without consulting me on it first. What the fuck happened to this being our life and what we do affecting each other? Right now I feel like I'm living in the Maya show where you get to dictate all the fucking moves."
"Screw you, Travis. You don't know why I told her what I did. I don't have to run every little thing by you. You don't control me just because we are married."
He let out a disbelieving laugh. "Control you? That's rich. And yeah you do need to consider me when it comes to making decisions. Especially potentially life altering ones. That's what a marriage is about Maya. It's about two people becoming one. Two people choosing to leave their selfishness aside and always consider the other—their wants, their desires and their feelings. Now that you've opened your mouth, Ashton will want retribution. You think that doesn't affect me? You're my wife for Christ's sake."
His words deflated me and my anger swept away as fast as it came. "You're right. I'm sorry."
; "I think you need to fill me in on what happened while I was away and why it is you decided to tell your sister after you insisted we don't," he finally spoke after pacing and running angry fingers through his hair repeatedly.
I nodded and proceeded to tell him everything. When I was done he had an incredulous look on his face. "That asshole said that to you?"
"Yes."
"Then game on fucker." The malice in his eyes and the hardness of his voice had me concerned. I had never seen Travis look that way. It sent chills down my spine.
"Travis—" I began.
"No." He stopped me.
"But—"
"I said no, Maya. You don't threaten a man's wife. Not unless you have a death wish. End of discussion.” He stalked down the hall and slammed the bathroom door. I watched with my mouth wide open. What the hell had I done?
Chapter Ten
Two days later I stood at the sink in the master bathroom, trying not to stare at the white and purple stick, all the while my heart was in my throat.
Instead of focusing on what was in front of me, I let my mind wander to Travis, who was in his study across the hall where I could faintly hear him barking in the phone about Ashton. For the last two days I had tried to convince him that playing into Ashton's sick and twisted game would only make matters worse. It was wasted breath as far as he was concerned. He was adamant on defending my honor. If I wasn't scared out of my mind, I would have found it sweet and sexy that he wanted to protect me. Instead, I found it utterly terrifying.
I chanced a glance at the timer on my cell phone and blew out a breath. This could be it. I could actually have Travis' baby inside me. My stomach fluttered in both anticipation and joy. I placed my hand over it and squeezed my eyes shut, sending all my positive thoughts into the atmosphere in hopes that it would come back to me tenfold.
Please, please, please have this be it.
When the timer dinged, I jumped. Popping my eyes open, they darted down to the stick to take in my future—whether it be happy or disappointing. As soon as the two lines came into view, my breath halted.
"Travis," I called out but my voice was croaky and not very loud thanks to the shock I was experiencing. I cleared my throat and tried again. This time my voice sounded almost desperate and I suppose it was.
"What is it?" I heard him say from the bedroom, his footsteps coming closer. I didn't move nor did my eyes leave the pregnancy test sitting on the counter. His heat covered my back as he positioned himself behind me. His chin shifted my hair over my shoulder and rested there. I patiently waited as he looked down at the same fascinating spot I was gazing at. "No shit?"
"No shit."
His hands snaked around my middle, splaying out against my stomach. "My baby's in there?" He asked with wonder in his voice.
"Yes," I replied on a broken sob.
"Fuck. I love you so much. You've made me so damn happy." He picked me up and swung me around in a circle. When I was back on my feet, I spun around and took his face in my hands. Staring into his elated eyes, I couldn't contain my excitement. I did this. I made Travis this happy. With the help of this little miracle inside me of course.
If I could, I would have run through the streets telling anyone and everyone that I was carrying his baby. That I was going to be a mommy and Travis was going to be a daddy.
"I love you too," I murmured, and then brought my lips to his. He quickly took over the kiss, slipping his tongue past my lips and delving into the deepest recesses of my mouth. We put all our hopes, longing and passion into that kiss. It was the best way to express so many different emotions bubbling under the surface. Words weren't necessary then. It was just him, me and our love for one another.
Backing me into the bedroom, Travis' hands went to the hem of my shirt, pulling it up and over my head. "We need to celebrate."
"God, yes." I couldn't wait to experience Travis' celebration—deep inside me. My hand traveled down his torso and rubbed his extremely hard erection through his pants, eliciting a groan from him. Wanting more and needing skin on skin, I slid my hand inside his pants, finding him hot and ready for me. "I want you so far inside of me¸ I'll remember it for days."
"Fuck," he bit out on a tortured groan when my hand began to work him up and down. The back of my knees hit the bed and we toppled back on top of one another.
Travis massaged my breasts through the lacy material of my bra, eventually stopping to take a taut peak into his mouth and torturing me with his tongue. My hands gripped onto the strands of his hair, holding him to me. His fingers hooked in my yoga pants and tore them down my legs along with my panties. When his finger slipped inside, my head fell back, and I moaned.
"More," I begged and was rewarded when he added a second finger, simultaneously stretching me and filling me. Eventually it wasn't enough and I was pleading with him for even more.
Travis easily slipped between my thighs, his one hand propping him up while the other worked feverishly on the button of his pants. Pushing his now open pants down his thighs, his erection sprang free and I licked my lips. It was a gorgeous sight—thick, long, hard and heavily veined. I knew how good it felt in me and I wanted it with a deep rooted hunger that only he could sate.
My hand reached down and wrapped around his cock, pumping furiously along with the beat of my wild heart.
"Maya... Maya..." he chanted before gripping my hand and pulling it away. Before I had time to mourn the loss, he had my knees hiked and he was thrusting into me. The carnal sound that escaped him as he buried himself inside me was enough to send electric shocks throughout my body.
This wasn't slow, methodical lovemaking. No, this was wild, abandoned and out of control. Our bodies rolled across the mattress. The headboard banged into the wall. I bit his lip. He gripped my hips hard enough to leave a bruise. We had never been this animalistic before. We were mating. Answering the call our bodies held for one another in the most primal and basic form.
Travis was claiming me.
My toes curled when he hit an exceptionally good spot deep inside me. I felt the telltale signs of my orgasm rippling through me. Locking eyes with Travis, I let go and welcomed the waves of my release as they sucked me under. I was drowning in him, and I didn't care if it was the last thing I ever did.
When he finally let go, his forehead rested on mine. His eyes were pinched shut and his teeth sunk into his bottom lip. He thrust savagely into me as he emptied himself. I had never seen him look more beautiful than in that moment when pleasure and bliss took hold of his features. I was in awe of him and couldn't look away.
Travis sagged against me and I eagerly took his weight, loving how safe and cherished I felt in those vulnerable and tender moments after we made love. His mouth moved softly against my neck while his hands roamed my still feverish skin. It was the perfect way to come down from our high.
"That was... incredible." His breath panted across my skin with each word.
"Beyond incredible," I concurred.
Travis rolled off me, repositioning us so that my head was on his chest, and his fingers were tangled in my hair.
"Thank you," he whispered several minutes later.
I couldn't answer. I should be the one thanking him for giving me the greatest gift and making me happier than I had ever been before. Not even the looming threat from Ashton or the chaos of the outside world could intrude upon our little bubble right then. Too bad I knew it eventually would.
* * *
Dragging myself off the elevator three weeks later, I was so glad to be home. It had been a long day filled with drama from every angle.
It started with E's early morning phone call to tell me she and Grant got into a fight about the final renovations to their new house. In her overly hormonal state, she said things she regretted and needed a shoulder to cry on. I gladly obliged her and met her for breakfast at a cafe around the corner from her house.
After I had her settled and off to apologize to her husband in his office—wink, wink—I rec
eived a frantic phone call from one of my clients that I needed to rush over to her place because her dog walker wasn't answering her phone and she was worried about her pooch. Now, dealing with dogs is so not my job, but I humored her anyway. That's when I walked in on her husband screwing the dog walker. He had her bent over the kitchen table while the little dog yipped at their ankles. Surprisingly, they were so caught up in the moment, they completely ignored both the dog and me taking the dog away. No wonder they didn't answer the phone. As the apartment door shut behind me, I heard high pitched squeals that I assumed signaled her crescendo. Gross.
Having the pleasure of witnessing something so disturbing, it was even worse when I had to relay what happened to the utterly clueless wife when I delivered her dog to her while she was at the hairdressers. I think stabbing my eye repeatedly with an ice pick would have been more fun.
The rest of the morning passed by in a blur. I foolishly considered the worst of the day as being behind me. That was until I witnessed an attempted mugging and had to wait with the victim while the cops came and took her and my statement. She was grateful that I had chosen to stay and help describe the vile man that had attacked her. If it wasn't for a can of mace in her coat pocket, he probably would have been successful. I was more than happy to help her, but it backed up all my afternoon appointments.
To make matters worse, I was exhausted. I found I was hitting a brick wall each day around two o'clock in the afternoon. Today was no exception and being behind left no wiggle room for my fatigue, which meant the day dragged on.
On my cab ride home, Travis called to tell me that he had to stay at the office late. Telling him I'd heat him up a plate of whatever I made when I got home, I decided the first thing I was going to do was take a nice long, hot bath to relieve the tension in my body. It was the only thing keeping me going as I exited the elevator and fumbled for my keys on the way to the door.
Forever Your Concierge Page 9