YOURS TRULY

by Bella Grant

  “Thank you,” she said quietly, feeling as if speaking at a normal volume was entirely too loud. Travis sat across from her and winked, and her coiled nerves relaxed as she watched him speak to the waiter who had suddenly appeared.

  “Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Hodges. I’ll be yo—”

  “We aren’t married,” Diana automatically interrupted, correcting his assumption.

  Startled by the interruption, he inclined his head. “My apologies. I’ll be your server tonight. My name is Charles. Would you like to hear the specials?”

  “If you don’t mind, we’d like to peruse the menu before hearing the specials. Everything here is so good, we need time to make up our minds,” Travis told him smoothly, though Diana had seen the look he’d shot her when she’d interrupted.

  “Of course. A bottle of wine, perhaps?”

  “Ah, yes. What is your recommendation?” Travis asked, sitting back to listen as Charles spouted off the top reds and whites.

  Diana let her mind and eyes wander. She didn’t know five-dollar wine from five-hundred-dollar wine, though she’d had fifty-dollar wine once. Two glasses had nearly knocked her on her ass. She couldn’t imagine what the most expensive wine would do to her, so she made a deal with herself to have only one glass, water, and maybe one more after she’d eaten.

  Once Travis had selected a wine, the waiter hurried away, and she caught Travis staring at her. “What?”

  Hurt was clear in his eyes. “So, um, did you change your name back to Brooks?”

  Diana tilted her head, confused by his pain. “Well, yes, I did,” she said slowly, deciding it was best to defend her decision. “We were divorced, Travis. Most of the time, that means forever. We didn’t have children, so there was no reason for me to continue as Diana Hodges.”

  “I see.” Travis looked everywhere but at her, so she reached across the table and took his hand.

  “I’m sorry if that hurts your feelings, but please try to understand. That part of my life was over, or so I thought.” With the next sentence, she wanted to cry, and her voice cracked a little. “I couldn’t have the reminder of your last name every time I introduced myself. My heart was broken.”

  Travis blinked, looked away, and returned his gaze to hers. He turned his hand over and clasped hers tightly as if he couldn’t stand the thought of letting her go. “My heart was broken too. I do understand why you changed your name. I just wish you hadn’t had a reason to.”

  A single tear slipped down her cheek as she reached for his other hand. They sat quietly, holding hands, until he glanced down and let his mouth fall open. When he looked at her again, his face was filled with astonished glee. “Is that the sapphire ring I bought you?”

  Diana’s laugh was a half sob as she pulled her right hand away and held it up so it the ring faced him. She wiggled her fingers. “I decided tonight was the perfect night for this ring to come out of hiding.”

  “You’ve never worn it?”

  “I couldn’t,” Diana answered with a shrug. “Another reminder of you. I’m so sorry our marriage was such a hot mess.” Another quiet sob escaped, and tears ran down her cheeks as she watched him. She remembered her promise and decided to tell that part of her mind to shut the hell up.

  “I’m sorry.” Travis rose and walked around to kneel. He reached up and touched her face, wiping her tears away with his thumb. “We were both so fucking stupid.” Diana nodded, unable to speak. “I really want to try again. Put the past behind us. What do you say?”

  Diana nodded again, fast, her tears spilling with happiness as hidden love swelled in her. “Yes. I want to try again with you. No mistakes this time.”

  “That’s exactly right,” Travis agreed as he rose and returned quickly to his seat after glancing around them.

  Diana also looked at the tables closest to them, and several of the diners were staring at them as if waiting for some announcement. Her eyes shifted back to Travis, who was fighting hard not to laugh. “What’s so funny?”

  “The irony!” he exclaimed through stifled laugh.

  “What the hell?” she asked, her tears dry as she looked around again. An older woman met her eyes, and smiled hugely, nodding her head. Her husband lifted his glass towards her in a silent toast. Frowning, she looked at Travis again, who was no longer attempting to hide the guffaws. “What is so damn funny?”

  “They thi—” He stopped to laugh. “They think I was proposing!”

  Diana gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. “Oh, shit!”

  “Is everything all right, Mr. Hodges?” Charles asked as he returned at that moment. His eyes shifted to Diana. “Miss?”

  “I’m Diana, and everything is fine. We’re just insane,” Diana said as she giggled. Travis’ laughter was renewed, and the waiter stared between them, smiling at their merriment.

  “Well, I’m glad the pair of you are enjoying yourselves,” Charles said, his eyes shining with suppressed laughter. “Sir, would you like to sample the wine?”

  “Oh, yes,” Travis answered, wiping his eyes free of laugh tears. Charles poured a small amount into the glass, and Travis, eyeing Diana as he did so, swirled it around in the glass, sniffed, and sipped. Diana choked and pretended to cough so she wouldn’t erupt into laughter again. “Perfect. Please pour the lady a glass.”

  “And may I have some water as well?” Diana asked after Charles had finished pouring for both of them.

  “Of course. Have you had a chance to glance at the menus?”

  “Oh, no, sorry. Too much fun to be had at this table,” Travis joked as he picked up the menu. “We’ll look now and have our meals decided when you return. I do know we’d like an appetizer.”

  “We do have some of the best appetizers in New Orleans, sir,” Charles boasted. “Have you eaten here before?”

  “I have, and luckily, I know this lovely woman and her taste buds well.” He smirked at Diana as he ordered in perfect French. “Chair de Crabe au Gratin, as well as Crevettes Remoulade.”

  “Excellent choices, sir. Two of my personal favorites,” Charles said, his smile perfect. “I’ll take this order to the kitchen to give you a few more minutes before deciding on entrees.”

  “Thank you,” Travis said, watching Diana. “Surprised?”

  “Do you actually know French, or just enough to order so you can impress your dates?” Diana asked, impressed but trying hard not to show it.

  “I had to pick it up when Michael and I were working with a French couple who wanted to invest in several stand-alone ERs in Texas.”

  “Ok, so that is impressive,” Diana conceded, waving her hand at him.

  “Thank you. The two of them knew some English, so when I learned some French, we managed to get the job done to their satisfaction and ours,” Travis said with a smarmy smile. “We made a pretty penny.”

  “I bet.” Diana loved seeing him so happy with his success. “I’m so proud of you, Travis.”

  “I am too, though I hate that my success cost us our marriage,” he admitted sheepishly.

  “I caused problems too, don’t forget,” she reminded him, then waved her hand again, dismissing the ugliness. “But that’s the past, and we’re putting it behind us.”

  Travis lifted his glass, his hair and eyes shimmering in the ambient lighting of the restaurant. “To a new beginning.”

  “And a happily ever after,” Diana added, her heart blooming as she felt hope for a future with the man she never stopped loving.

  Chapter 10

  An hour later, with full bellies and big smiles, Travis and Diana walked along the French Quarter as they had when they’d dated and during their early marriage. After checking that his car could remain in the valet parking while they explored, Travis handed the guy a twenty to be sure. He held Diana’s hand in his, enjoying the feel of normalcy she brought to his life in the short time she’d been back in it. Talking to her, walking with her, made him feel as if they had never parted, and he wanted to capture this feeling and hold
onto it for the rest of his life.

  His thoughts scaring him, he asked her what she would like to do. She tilted her head as if listening and said, “Do you hear that?”

  Travis tilted his head as well, wondering why people did that when it really didn’t help them hear any better. “I just hear the cars and people talking.”

  “No, there’s music,” Diana told him, smiling up at him. “Sounds like a jazz band in the square.”

  “How can you hear that over all this noise?” he asked, astounded as he gestured to the cab honking and the two men yelling as they carried a sofa into a building across the street.

  Diana shrugged. “Well, I read once that while men have better eyesight, women can hear better. Though I’ve always wondered if that’s because women are actually listening, and men are too busy staring at something.”

  Travis chuckled and said, “What?” hoping to get a rise out of her. She narrowed her eyes at him and growled. He lifted his hands defensively. “Sorry, sorry.”

  “Whatever,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

  “So, do you want to go listen?” Travis asked, wanting to make her happy.

  “Of course I do! And maybe we can do a little dancing,” she hinted, dancing a little jig that included a shake of her ass that made Travis’ mouth water.

  “If you do that again, I’ll do whatever you ask me to do,” Travis promised, staring pointedly at her ass when she looked at him over her shoulder. He lifted his eyes to her face and felt his heart kick start and beat at a rapid pace. When she turned to admonish him, her smile so brilliant his eyes widened, he yanked her into his arms and kissed her solidly on the mouth.

  She was resistant at first, mostly from surprise, he thought, but as his tongue probed her lips gently, she opened them and allowed him entrance. She tasted of wine and the mint chocolate cake they had shared for dessert at Antonio’s, but her natural flavor attacked his senses and caused him to clasp her tighter to him. He couldn’t let go of her, and he couldn’t stop kissing her.

  And lucky for him, she seemed to be experiencing a similar reaction to his. Her hands were on his chest, and as he tilted his head to deepen the kiss, her arms slithered up and around his neck. Her hands found his hair and slipped under the curtain of it, and he loved the way her hands tightened and released, tightened and released as they kissed on the streets of New Orleans.

  Only when wolf whistles from a passing group of frat boys erupted close by them did they disengage to stare into each other’s eyes. Travis knew his eyes were screaming his desire for her, and he could do nothing to stop himself. He lowered his head again and kissed her softly, just a brush of the lips, and felt the same thrill of desire he’d felt when their tongues had played together. He wanted to ask her to come home with him, but he wasn’t sure if she was ready for that.

  When they separated again, he was certain Diana’s eyes matched his lustful expression. They were half-closed as she looked at him with searing desire. “Travis, take me home.”

  Elated, he jerked around, dragging her behind him as he nearly ran back to the restaurant to get his car. He tapped his toe impatiently as they waited, his hand on her hip and hers in his back pocket, a stance they’d adopted while married. Amazingly, to him, they had slipped into the stance without thought, another indication this budding relationship was a good idea.

  He jerked the car door open for her and closed it too quickly, almost catching her hair, which had been caught by the wind. “Sorry,” he said hurriedly and let her close the door herself. He practically ran around the front of his car and leapt in, thanking the valet so fast the man probably thought he was speaking a different language.

  He glanced at Diana as he stepped on the gas, and her seductive stare forced him to push the pedal a little closer to the floor. He heard her seatbelt unclick, and he jerked his head around to see what she was doing. Her hands were caressing her body, touching her breasts and slithering down to her crotch, rubbing briefly before rising to cup her breasts again.

  “Holy shit,” he breathed, trying to concentrate on the road while looking at her every few seconds. When her right hand slipped inside the waistband of her jeans and her left hand snuck over to his crotch, he nearly crashed into the median.

  “Too much?” she purred as she rubbed him, removing her hand from her pants to play with his hair.

  Travis cleared his throat. “You always were forward when you were horny.”

  “If it’s too much I can stop,” she suggested, smiling at him as she leaned forward so her head was in his lap.

  When he felt her hot breath sneak through the cloth of his jeans, he nearly crashed again. “Please don’t stop.”

  Her laugh was like a hot brand on his desire, and when she sat up and continued her over-the-clothes hand job, he hardened to painful proportions. She hummed deep in her throat, a noise that had always turned him on as she wrapped her hand around his cock as best she could through his pants.

  “Isn’t your place closer than mine?” she whispered in his ear before sucking his earlobe into her mouth.

  Abruptly, he jerked the wheel and crossed two lanes of traffic to turn right and head to his mansion. She let out a little squeak of surprise, then a laugh as he took the turn at twice the speed than was safe.

  “Travis, I want to fuck you, not die with you,” Diana chided playfully as she resumed her ministrations. Her mouth teased his jawline as her hand pressed against his erection.

  A laugh erupted from him that sounded more like a bark, a sound he’d never heard himself make, and he cleared his throat again as her lips moved closer to his. She nipped the corner of his mouth and followed his jawline back to his ear. Travis forced himself to keep his eyes focused on the road, and he squirmed as she nipped his earlobe until he almost felt pain.

  “How far to your house?” she whispered before slipping her tongue into his ear.

  “I’ll stop at the next hotel if you want me to,” he ground out, his teeth clenched as he concentrated on not killing them.

  She chuckled and shook her head, her hair teasing the skin on his upper arm. “No, I can wait. If you can.”

  “I don’t know that I can,” he hissed, glancing at her. She kissed him quickly, grabbed his chin, and forced his face towards the windshield.

  “I’ll stop, but believe me, when we get to your house, it’ll be like nothing we’ve ever done before,” Diana promised, her voice deep with desire.

  Travis looked at her again as she put her seatbelt back on, adjusting her body as if she were on fire like he was. “I can’t wait to touch you. You’ll be dripping.”

  “I already am,” she replied, brushing her hair out of her face.

  The wine. It has to be the wine, she told herself as she shifted in her seat. Her pussy was so wet she feared her jeans would be soaked. Don’t lie, she grumbled internally when he put his hand on her thigh. Only his hand and she was ready to strip in his car, tell him to pull over, and climb on him to ride his cock like she hadn’t had sex in a decade. Near him, she felt as if no one had ever been able to arouse her the way he did, not even him when they were younger.

  They drove for another ten minutes in silence, the groping continuing. She touched his cock, and he let his hand slide up her thigh until he was nearly touching her jeans-clad pussy. It was nearly worse than if he was rubbing her. The anticipation was overwhelming, and she squirmed again as they turned into a driveway that led to a huge house.

  “Wow…is this your house?” she asked, amazed by the sight of the huge home in front of her.

  “It is.”

  “Oh, Travis, I’m so happy for you,” she exclaimed, turning to face him. “It’s just like the house you always said you wanted.”

  “Well, it’s actually a fixer-upper, but I’ve been fixing it up since I bought it,” Travis told her. As they pulled into the garage and climbed out, he led her around to the front. He gestured to it and asked, “What do you think?”

  “It’s beautiful, and I b
et it needs christening,” she said, surprising herself again with her brazen behavior.

  He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close so their pelvises touched. “I love this Diana. Where did you come from?”

  “I’ve always been forward, just not this forward.” She shrugged. “I just had some growing up to do,” she told him as she wiggled her hips. She instantly felt his cock hardening again. She ran her hand down his chest and grasped it through his jeans. “I want this, and I want it soon.”

  “I’m happy to oblige,” he replied, wrapping his arms more securely around her and lifting her feet off the ground.

  Diana laughed and threw her arms around his neck. He kissed her soundly and set her down, and before she could turn to walk back to the garage, he grabbed her ass and picked her up again. She squealed and laughed, wrapping her arms and legs around him. He had always been able to carry her as if she weighed nothing, and as she pressed her body against his, she felt muscles he hadn’t had when he was younger. She couldn’t wait to see him without his clothes on.

  “Put me down so we can move faster,” she ordered against his lips. “I need you more than I’ve ever needed anything.”

  “I want you so badly,” he agreed, setting her down so they could rush through the garage to the door. He hit the button to close the garage door, closed the connecting door behind them after pushing her through, then grabbed her and trapped her against the wall. “My God, Diana, what is this craziness?”

  “I don’t know. Just kiss me,” she breathed. She grabbed his head in her hands, holding on to chunks of his hair, and pulled him to her.

  Their mouths attacked, their tongues in a war to get inside the other’s mouth. They kissed, and Diana felt every feeling she’d been fighting boil to the surface and become a part of the kiss. She didn’t just want to fuck him, she wanted to be with him. As if he read her mind, he lifted his head and stared into her eyes. Neither spoke words, but they understood they were both feeling the same connection, or reconnection, and that it was stronger than any they’d had in the past.