Only Love

by Wisdom, Linda

  “You’ll be busy doing your work, and I’ll just feel like a fifth wheel among your crew,” she argued.

  He smiled and shook his head. “There will be no crew save you carrying my case if it would make you feel better to help out. These will not be studio shots that are carefully posed and backlit. I prefer natural light and natural poses. I’m talking about people here, not models in a fancy magazine.”

  But Kali still felt uneasy. If she hadn’t left L.A. years ago, perhaps she wouldn’t be undergoing these self-made fears now. And as Travis had told her, he would have been on her doorstep as soon as it was humanly possible. Would she have allowed him inside her home and, ultimately, her heart? Probably, but not without the same kind of fight she was putting up now.

  “Is it that important to you that I come?” Her question was scarcely audible.

  “I want you to see how I work, Kali, and I want you to be with me. Haven’t I made that plain enough before?”

  She nodded. “Give me a few minutes.” She turned away and walked back to the bedroom.

  It was twenty minutes before Kali appeared in a pair of jeans and a cornflower-blue silk shirt.

  “I don’t have any citified clothes left,” she explained, gesturing to herself.

  Travis looked down at his own well-worn jeans, scuffed boots, and plaid shirt. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about, but if you’d feel better, we can always go shopping later today or tomorrow,” he suggested.

  Kali managed a weak smile. “Can we take it one day at a time?” she requested.

  “Anything.”

  Travis had told Kali little about the woman he was going to photograph other than that she had been in Paris during the German Occupation and had been part of the French Underground. The woman had lost her husband and three sons during that time but still managed to do a great deal to fight for her country. She had moved to the United States when her daughter married an American serviceman, and it was only recently that her story had been told in a women’s magazine. Travis wanted her in his book and had contacted her immediately. He also wanted Kali to see how he worked in hopes that she might feel more receptive about posing for him.

  The house they arrived at looked more like a tiny country cottage in San Pedro, with its neatly clipped front lawn and colorful flower beds framing the walkway and around the house.

  Helene Dumont was another surprise. Kali assumed she had to be in her late sixties or early seventies, but she looked much younger, with silver-streaked hair and a virtually unlined face considering the hard, and many times dangerous, life she had led. Over the years her outward beauty had diminished, but she had an inner beauty that would never fade.

  “I am pleased to meet you both.” The older woman greeted them with a warm smile, her accent still heavy, even after all the years of residing in the United States. She studied Travis with a sharp eye. “So you are the man who wants to put my picture in a book. You shouldn’t be taking pictures of me when you have someone so lovely to focus your camera on.” She gestured toward Kali.

  He smiled back. “Perhaps I look for more than a pretty face.”

  Helene offered them coffee and light-as-air pastries before seating herself in an old-fashioned arm chair. “We have discussed your book on the phone, but I would like to talk about it now where I can see your face while you speak of it.”

  Travis inclined his head in agreement. “All right.” From there he went into a thorough outline of what he wanted to show in his book. “People suffer for many reasons and reveal that suffering in many ways,” he finished. “I want to show that it doesn’t mean the end of one’s life, but perhaps the beginning.”

  Kali sat through the exchange with a sense of wonder. Was this truly what he meant when he had first talked about his photo book with her? All she had thought about were the many books published about various countries, exotic tropical fish, and other subjects, but nothing like this. Had she underestimated him that much?

  For the rest of the day Kali learned even more about Travis and his work. He was unfailingly patient with Helene as he urged her to remain seated in the overstuffed chair and merely rearranged the curtains by way of controlling the lighting. As he shot roll after roll of film he urged her to talk about her days in occupied Paris, and that was how he caught the facial expressions he was looking for. Kali remained in the background, watching him work with an incredible amount of patience that she never would have credited to a photographer.

  “I enjoyed listening to your stories, Madame,” Travis told Helene several hours later after he had packed up his equipment. “I only wish I had the gift of words to write them down. They should be told, and not just in a magazine article.”

  “Perhaps one day I will find someone I can work with,” she replied before turning to Kali. “I still believe, my dear, that you should be the one before the camera.”

  “I used to be,” Kali admitted a bit shyly. “I was a model until a few years ago.”

  Helene studied Kali carefully, then the truth dawned on her. “Ah, yes, now I remember.” She grasped Kali’s hand with her two warm palms and held it tightly. “I’m sure everything will turn out all right for you. It is not a good way for someone to gain inner strength, but it will make you better able to fight when the time comes. You are always welcome in my home.” She scanned both to indicate that the invitation was for each of them.

  “Well?” Travis glanced at Kali after they had left the house.

  She shrugged self-consciously. “All right, it wasn’t what I expected. Does that make you happy?”

  “Not as happy as I’d feel if I could take you out to dinner tonight.”

  “All right.” The two words came out in a rush before she could lose her courage.

  Travis showed no signs of victory from her capitulation, although inside he was shouting for joy. He turned at the next corner.

  “In the mood for seafood?” he asked casually.

  “That sounds good.”

  “Fine, let’s go over to Ports O’Call. Afterward you can drag me into all the shops.”

  When they first arrived at the seaport doubling as a shopping arcade with several restaurants, Kali felt apprehensive. Without feeling egotistical, she convinced herself someone would recognize her and her time of anonymity would be over. By now she had realized that running away had only intensified the problem when she should have stayed and worked out her problems. She could have quit modeling without resorting to fleeing the state. She could have gone back to Virginia for a few months, then returned here. But she hadn’t, and her emotions were paying the price.

  In time she was able to relax, with Travis’s help. Who couldn’t relax and have fun with such a personable escort? He was the perfect dinner companion, alert to her every need, and every wish was granted before it was even aired. She couldn’t have asked for more. After dinner they wandered through most of the shops, Kali enchanted with many of the gift and clothing items she found. Smiling self-consciously, she bought a knit dress of a deep sea blue, then declared that they’d better leave before she succumbed to more than just one dress.

  “Saying ‘Charge it’ was much easier than you thought, wasn’t it?” he said teasingly, hugging her against his side.

  “Much too easy,” she agreed ruefully, circling his waist with her arm. “I haven’t done any frivolous shopping in so long, I forgot how fun it can be.”

  “Does that mean we’ll be hitting the shopping mall tomorrow?” He unlocked the passenger door to the Corvette and helped her inside.

  “I think so.” Kali’s expression was pure mischief. “I have a lot of time to make up for.”

  Once Travis had seated himself, he leaned over and caught Kali in his arms. “We both have a lot of time to make up for,” he whispered, possessing her mouth in a bone-melting kiss and pulling back only with extreme reluctance.

  Kali guessed the direction of his thoughts and wholeheartedly agreed. “Then I suggest we go someplace where we can discu
ss this at great length,” she murmured, placing her hand on his thigh and feeling the muscles jump under her touch.

  “Great idea.” He winced when he put the car in gear without engaging the clutch. “Next time around, I buy a car with an automatic gearshift. Saves time.” After making sure there weren’t any police cars lurking about, he took off with the speed of light. It was another night where their clothes were scattered on the floor from the kitchen into the bedroom. How they got that far was a miracle.

  The next day Travis kept his promise and took Kali shopping after they consumed a late breakfast. She knew this shopping trip would be a true test of her newfound, and still very delicate, courage.

  “What I am doing to myself is so egotistical,” she told Travis as they drove to a nearby mall. “After all, I haven’t been in the business for several years, and Blayne and I are old news by now. What makes me think I’d be recognized? I have been acting very foolish, haven’t I?”

  “Do you mind if I don’t answer that question?”

  “Oh!” She punched him in the shoulder. “You know very well what I mean.”

  “Sure I do, and I’ve thought the very same thing.”

  “That I’m egotistical?”

  “No, that you’re old news, but I figured you wouldn’t want to hear that, either.”

  Kali grimaced. “You’re right.”

  When they reached the mall, Kali made sure her charge cards were in her wallet. She couldn’t wait to purchase a wardrobe of new clothes—she’d fallen so behind in the fashions lately. She also planned to find herself some very sexy lingerie to entice Travis with. She just hoped she could escape from him long enough to do some of her very special shopping.

  “You don’t have to tag along, you know,” she told him as they entered the first store. “It may be hard for you to believe, but I’ve been shopping for years and know what to do.”

  He looked down at her, that sexy half grin of his sending very erotic thoughts through her suddenly overcharged brain.

  “You mean, I don’t get to watch?”

  “No.”

  “I’d be happy to accompany you into the dressing room to zip up zippers and button buttons, you know.”

  “I think I can do that on my own.”

  “Yeah, but I’ll bet I can do a better job.”

  She couldn’t resist saying, “Only if you’re unzipping or unbuttoning.”

  Now Travis had erotic thoughts. He considered picking Kali up and carrying her back to the truck and driving back to the house at top speed, but he wasn’t going to cause her to miss out on this day.

  Kali felt like a kid let loose in a candy store. She wandered from department to department, fingering fabrics, picking up various items of clothing and standing in front of a mirror holding them up in front of her. Travis refused to leave her side, preferring to nod yes or shake his head no on each item.

  “It’s terrible that you have such good taste,” she grumbled, putting one blouse back on the rack after Travis gave it a thumbs-down.

  “Do you want me to leave you alone?” he asked, finally taking pity on her.

  “Yes,” she replied without hesitation.

  Travis’s fingers traced the delicate lines of her jaw. “All right, I’ll give you two hours. We can meet in that little French cafe downstairs. Fair?”

  “Fair.” Her mind was already concentrated on the racks of clothing around her.

  While Kali had fun going through clothes, she didn’t linger. A few times she had the uneasy sense that someone was watching her, and even looked around but saw nothing amiss. After a while she knew exactly what she wanted and wandered through several stores picking up dresses, casual clothing, and lots of beautiful silk and lace lingerie. When she finished, she had to check most of her packages before meeting Travis at the cafe.

  She found him sitting at a small table in the rear of the cafe, drinking a cup of coffee.

  “Are you trying to tell me you only bought two items in all this time?” He looked suspiciously at the packages she held.

  “You have to be joking.” She dropped into the chair across from him. “Right now my feet are killing me.”

  “They should be. You’re only an hour late.”

  Kali’s eyes flew to her watch. Where had the time gone? “I’m sorry,” she apologized, feeling guilty he had waited for her all this time. “I guess I lost track of time.”

  “I figured you would. That’s why I got here forty-five minutes late.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t let me grovel very long,” she grumbled, setting the bags at her feet. “Wait until you see all the packages I had to check! What a wonderful idea that is! It saves walking out to the car all the time. And this way I’ll have an extra pair of hands to help me.” She picked up the menu and scanned the offerings. “Um, everything looks so good.”

  Travis made a disparaging sound. “More like a nibble for most of us. I never was one for quiche or a fancy salad.”

  Kali hid her smile. She was all too used to Travis’s large appetite, for food and other things.

  “I’ll have a bowl of the onion soup and the roast beef sandwich,” he told the waitress after Kali had requested the spinach quiche and a salad. “And coffee.”

  Needing to talk about something that had been bothering her lately, Kali leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, her fingers laced together. ‘Travis, I appreciate your doing all this for me, but I have a pretty good idea I’ve kept you from pursuing some of your regular activities.”

  “Like what?”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “Well, hobbies.”

  “Don’t have any other than working on my truck or riding my horses, which I’ve done even with you here.”

  “Answering your telephone calls.” She didn’t look pleased at the number of women who called Travis, although as far as she knew, he hadn’t returned one call.

  His dark eyes revealed nothing of his thoughts as he looked at her. “I only return the important phone calls. As for anything else, they’ll soon get the idea that I’m not interested and go on to someone else.”

  Kali looked down at her food as it was set in front of her and couldn’t help smiling. How wonderful it felt to hear those words!

  Travis found out soon afterward that Kali wasn’t exaggerating when they picked up her many packages.

  “Are you sure you left anything for the other shoppers?” he grumbled as they loaded up the back of the truck. “Good thing I brought this instead of the “Vette. On second thought, maybe I should go out and rent a moving van to get all of this back to the house.”

  “It isn’t that bad,” she protested, handing him the last of the bags and boxes.

  “No? Then why is the truck suddenly sitting lower to the ground?” He couldn’t resist teasing her.

  “I won’t even dignify that with an answer.” With her nose held high, Kali climbed into the truck, but her haughty manner lost its bearing when she tripped and almost fell onto the seat. Travis thought it safer not to comment on her klutzy retreat.

  “I spent too much money,” Kali said with a moan as they carried the bags into the bedroom and tossed them on the bed and a nearby chair. “I can’t believe I went this crazy. When I said I was making up for lost time, I wasn’t kidding.”

  “Now you think of it.” He dropped the bags on the floor and circled her waist from behind, placing a kiss on her neck. “You mean, we’re going to have to go back and return most of this stuff?”

  Kali sighed, thinking of the many items and why she’d bought them. “No, I want you to see me in more than a pair of grubby jeans and a beat-up sweater.”

  “Actually”—one hand snaked under that same beat-up sweater and traced the edge of her bra—“I like you best in nothing at all, so if you want to get technical about it, you wasted your time and money buying all those clothes.”

  She closed her eyes, losing herself in the magic of his touch. She leaned back, resting her hands on his arm, feeling the muscles
contract under her fingertips. “It isn’t fair,” she whimpered when the abrasive pad of his thumb rubbed over her responsive nipple. “All you have to do is touch me and I melt.”

  “You don’t even have to touch me to get me rarin’ to go.” He pulled her back against him to indicate the hard arousal straining the front of his jeans.

  Kali tried to turn around, but Travis refused to loosen his embrace. “Look at us,” he ordered. “Look in the mirror.”

  Her head lifted slowly, as if in slow motion, watching their reflection in the mirror along one wall. It wasn’t difficult to guess how strongly they both were aroused. Kali’s face was flushed a deep rose color, her eyes soft and dreamy while Travis’s features had sharpened, his black eyes bright with the knowledge of what he was doing to her. He kept his hand under her sweater, rubbing his thumb back and forth over her nipple, then transferring it to the other breast for the same careful attention.

  “I once wanted to photograph you like this.” His voice was harsh with desire. “But then I was afraid someone else might see the pictures, and I didn’t want anyone to see you this way. I’m selfish because I don’t want anyone else to know how beautiful you are when you’re aroused.”

  Kali’s breath caught in her throat. She couldn’t stop staring at their reflection in the mirror. There was something erotic about the way they were both dressed while Travis caressed her breasts and traced the shadows of her neck with his mouth and tongue. She wanted to turn around and return the favor, but she couldn’t move. She stood there and savored his expression as he murmured all the loving things he wanted to do to her. A hazy light surrounded her while she swayed in his arms.