by Dawson, Zoe
She gasped when I gripped her wrists and pulled them behind her back, pinning her as she writhed over me. “You feel so good with nothing between us. So hot, so silky, soft, and so damned tight.”
She closed her eyes and moaned while I thrust into her—long, slow strokes that increased the building pressure, the incredible, delicious friction. I brushed my mouth over hers. I kissed her lips, chased her tongue with mine and arched my hips high and hard, forcing her to rock against me again and again.
Nothing.
Ever.
Felt.
This.
Good.
I felt her heart beating against mine.
“Can you feel that?” I whispered against her mouth.
“What?”
I lifted my head to capture her eyes as I slowly slid in then out again.
“Our hearts are beating together.”
I watched her absorb my words, watched the tears gather in her eyes. “Yes,” she said in an aching, wistful voice, as vulnerable as I was, so open and raw in her arms.
Then I pushed into her hard, over and over, slipping my hand between us and stimulating her. Her breath hitched with each thrust, her hips meeting mine. “Come for me, Minnie.”
And she did, dropped over the edge, her eyes glazing over, her eyelids fluttering closed, her powerful contractions pulling me over with her into that sweet, violent firefight.
With me every inch of the way.
#
Emmie
“Emmie?”
“Travis, please, this is hard enough.”
“I’m just going to say my piece then I’ll leave you alone. I promise.”
Tears pressed on the backs of my eyes, and I was in the habit of never letting anyone see emotion on my face. But Travis had seen the real me…he just didn’t know the real me. It had been a week since I’d seen Deke. I was so miserable.
“I get the impression there’s something in your past that you don’t want to talk about. Something you feel uncomfortable about sharing with me. I just want to say that whatever it is, I would never judge you. I…shoot, Emmie, I’m falling for you.
Those tears spilled over. I couldn’t stop them. “Travis, please.”
“I don’t want to lose what we’ve started to build. Trust me like you did when we were riding. I won’t let you down. I would never let you down. I promise. That’s all I have to say.”
He wiped at my tears with his thumbs, then kissed me so softly, so sweetly, I welled up all over again. I clutched his shirt, and the scent of him, the feel of him, made my throat sore and tight.
He pulled away slowly, but I held onto his shirt. He set his hands on his hips and dropped his head, his voice breaking. “Letting you go is the hardest thing I have ever done. But I want you to be happy. Most important thing in the world to me is for you to be happy.”
He reached back and removed an envelope from his back pocket and held it out to me.
“What—”
“Don’t open this now. Open it after I’m gone. If you decide to give us a chance and are ready to tell me everything you’re holding back, use it. Otherwise, I will take it to mean we’re over. And, Emmie, please don’t use it if you’re not going to come clean. I don’t want half of you. I want all of you. It is all or nothing. Trust is too important.”
He retreated a step, but I couldn’t let go. “Travis,” I sobbed and he reached up and covered my hand. I took a deep breath, my heart beating hard against my chest. He curled his hand around mine and squeezed, then loosely held it. His aching blue eyes told me that everything would be all right and…I trusted him. I trusted him with all of me.
“You are so beautiful, Emmie. If you remember nothing else about me, remember that I think you are the most beautiful woman I will ever meet. You will always be my measuring stick.”
As soon as he disappeared, I looked down at the envelope, and with a sob ripped it open. I gaped down at the airline ticket and the words: Come home with me for Thanksgiving, Beautiful.
I stared at it, and everything that I had been, everything dark and ugly that I had always felt about myself, dissipated like smoke. My past no longer had a hold over me. Travis might be falling for me, but I was already there. I was in love with him.
Did I have the courage to take him up on his offer? Was I brave enough to offer him my complete and deep-seated trust when no one, not one soul I had trusted in my past, had been there for me?
He’d had the courage to free me to make my own decision. He’d trusted me enough to make the right decision for me. Regardless of how it would affect him.
His selflessness humbled me.
There was only one course of action.
#
Deke
“Minnie,” I called as she walked towards the limo. She stopped and turned toward me, her red curls bouncing in the wind whipping through the high rises.
I stood there, my world about to crash around me, with three dahlias in my hand.
She looked at the flowers, then at me. “Deke, not in public.”
“Yes, in public,” I said. “I need to talk to you.”
She closed her eyes, and panic sank its claws into my gut and wouldn’t let go.
She breathed out and pressed her fingers to her eyes, and just when I thought she was going to refuse, get in the limo and leave...
“Miss Tattersall—”
She held up her finger indicating she needed a minute, cutting him off.
She took the few steps toward me, getting close. “Talk, Deke.”
“These are for you. I grew them myself.”
Her expression went painful, but she accepted them.
It was now or never. I took a deep breath and went for it. “I don’t want to sneak around anymore. If you can’t have me as your man everywhere, then I don’t want to be your closed door secret.”
“Deke, I’ve got a function to go to tonight. Don’t do this now. Please. We’ll talk afterwards.”
Everything in me seized, and I realized that was my answer.
“No more talking, Minnie. It’s not going to do any good. You should be on my arm and I should be going with you to this thing. Out in the open.”
She bowed her head.
“You’re shaking, and I hope it’s because you realize that you’re giving up something amazing and feeling terrible about it—because you are—or because you have feelings for me and are trying to keep your shit together, or it’s because you know I’m fucking right.”
She pressed her hand over my heart and I clasped the back of her neck, dislodging her elegant hairdo.
“Or…” I said. “All of the above.”
“Ms. Tattersall?”
“You’d better go. I hope you achieve everything you want,” I whispered.
I hadn’t let go of her, and she didn’t try to pull away.
I pulled her fiercely against me and kissed her, and with a soft sob she kissed me back.
With my forehead against hers, I said, “Think of me, Minnie, because I will never forget you.”
I kissed her again, a lingering kiss, and then stepped back. “Goodbye, shug.”
Without another word, I turned and left her standing in the street with my heart, my pride, and three beautiful dahlias.
#
Travis
I stood at the gate. They were going to be boarding in fifteen minutes, and Emmie wasn’t here. I had hoped so hard that she would give me that last piece of herself. The thing she was so afraid to tell me.
“In a few moments we will be boarding American Airlines flight 1790 to Dallas, Texas, through gate D12.”
I stood up and looked around, but there was still no sign of her. My heart squeezed so tight in my chest that I thought it would explode. I picked up my carryon and headed toward the gate.
“We would like to invite passengers with disabilities to board at this time.”
I looked down at my first class ticket and stubbornly looked around again.
“We
would like to invite our military personal to board at this time.”
I moved toward the gate, my steps slow and heavy, standing there waiting until the flight attendant had invited all passengers to board.
Suddenly I heard, “Paging passenger Emily Harp, last call.”
I stood there dumbly like a statue.
“Sir, are you on this flight?”
“Yes, I’m waitin’—”
“For Emily Harp.”
I spun. “Emmie!” I cupped her face and stared down into her wonderful brown eyes.
“I love you, Travis. I’ll tell you everything.”
“Let’s board before they leave without us, and then I want to hear everything.”
We settled into first class, and she eyed me, but took her seat. After we fastened our seat belts, she said, “I’m getting the feeling that you’re not some down-on-his-luck rancher’s son.”
“We’re not talking about me right now. We’re talking about you.”
“Travis, my past is pretty awful.”
“Yeah, I got that. Start at the beginning.” I curled my hand around hers. “Tell me, darlin’”
She took a deep breath and let it out. “My parents died when I was three. I don’t even remember them very well. Because I had no family, no relatives, I was put into the foster care system. I was taken by a couple who weren’t exactly nice. My foster father tried to…have relations with me.’
“That bastard. How old were you?”
“Twelve. I ran away and lived on the street for a few years.”
She closed her eyes and tears slid down her cheek. I reached out and rubbed her arm.
She smiled gratefully and continued, “I did some illegal things, Travis. I…oh, God…sold my body to get enough money to buy a computer and a small room. I swear, it’s the only time I did it. I cried all the way through, but the guy still paid me. After I had my computer, I never did it again. I had nothing, but I was always good at computer stuff, so I hired myself out as a hacker and accepted every job I could find. I’m sure some of the things I did were illegal, but I did them anyway.”
“How did you go to school, get into Columbia?”
“I hacked into the school records and built myself a name and a background as a transfer student, then I showed up like I belonged there. I created parents, and no one questioned it.”
“Tell me you didn’t cheat…”
“No, I studied hard, joined the debate team, was class president, and even went to my prom. My SATs, my grades, and my school activities got me a scholarship to Columbia. I have a full ride like Deke.”
“Geezus, Em. I can’t believe you were so resourceful at such a young age. I’m in awe.”
“You don’t think less of me, Travis?” she asked, tears in her voice as she clutched my shirt.
“No, darlin’, I think you’re pretty damned cool. My parents, sister and brother are going to love you.”
“You don’t want to know my real name?”
“No. I don’t need to know.”
She laid her head on my shoulder, and about fifteen minutes into the flight, she fell asleep. I held her until we landed in Dallas. After deplaning, we headed for the security gate and the street with our carry-ons.
My dad waved to us and then jumped out of his Bronco to help Emmie with her luggage. Emmie leaned over and whispered, “My God, Travis, you’re the spitting image of your father.”
“Yeah, I get that all the time.”
“It’s where he got his good looks, little lady.”
Emmie smiled. “Dad, this is Emily Harp, Emmie.”
My dad shook her hand, then sent a sideways glance at me. “Welcome! You know your mother is going to want to fatten her up.”
“Dad…”
“Just saying,” he said, chuckling as he opened the front passenger door for her while I settled in the back.
While we drove, Emmie told my father all about our trip out to Wild Horse Ranch on Long Island, and about how much she loved my horse Chico.
“He’s a fine animal. One of our best stock. Didn’t want him out of my sight, but that damn horse would have pined away if he wasn’t close to Travis.”
“I think he’s taken a shine to Emmie, Dad.”
“Ah, I see he knows class when he sees it.”
“Thank you, Mr. Blackwell.”
“Call me Josh. Mr. Blackwell is much too formal for me.”
“Okay.”
As we approached home Emmie gasped and turned shining eyes to me. “Dad, could you stop here?” My dad complied, and I pulled her out of the vehicle so she could really see the Double Bar X Ranch spread out before us.
“Oh, my God, this isn’t a ranch, this is a spread.”
“We own three thousand acres, eight hundred head of cattle, seven stud bulls, twenty-five horses, and three dogs. My dad pays my tuition and all my expenses to live in New York City, along with spending money. I have never wanted for anything, Emmie, but my parents taught me that what’s important is the people in your life, not what you possess. That’s all my trappins’. This will be mine someday, as well as my brother’s and my sister’s. It’s our legacy, and I will take good care of it, because I love ranchin’, ropin’, and ridin’ more than anything.”
“I don’t care if you’re rich. I still care for you anyway.”
I turned to her and cupped her face and—in front of my father and my wonderful home—I kissed her, slow and easy. Then I smiled and said, “I am rich now. I’ve got what I’ve been missing.”
I was really beginning to like the way she clutched my shirt. Back in the vehicle it took no time at all to get to the ranch house.
As I helped her out of the Bronco, my brother, sister and mom piled out of the house, bringing with them three barking dogs. It was utter chaos while I raised my voice and introduced her. I was hugged, kissed, and punched in the arm by my brother, who gave me a way-to-go look. My mom took one look at her, slung her arm around Emmie’s shoulders, and said, “Oh, Travis, what a beauty, but she’s a bit on the skinny side.” She looked down at Emmie, “We’ll have to fatten you up.”
My father and I chuckled as the family, a shell-shocked Emmie, and three noisy dogs went into the house.
#
Minnie
I got out of my car, my heart in my throat. All I had been thinking about was our last encounter. I’d gone on to that stupid function and halfway through it, I simply bolted for the door. But, I didn’t make it out fast enough before a reporter caught me. She asked me if the rumors about me dating one of my models was true. She also asked me if it was true that he was only eighteen.
I told her yes and that he was everything to me.
Then, I went home, walked in the door to find my da and mum cuddled up in front of the fire. They looked so guilty when I just stared at them. It seems Angela—mum—had been so in love with my da all these years that all those young men had been about getting back at him for not being able to handle her being in the limelight. She was giving it all up. It seemed they connected again when they had been handling a business matter for the vineyard.
It drove home to me that I wasn’t going to abandon Deke for the same damn reason. There would be some fences to mend with my mum, but I learned from Deke that all things were possible.
And now I didn’t have anything to do but think and stew and lose my mind. Deke had been right about everything. It wasn’t our age that made me shut him out, close down my emotions, try not to reveal too much. It was my fear.
Angela’s outrageous behavior had dictated my life, had screwed me up when I was young, and I still had the scars. I had taken my anger and buried heartbreak out on Deke because he dared to make me care for him. Make me fall in love with him.
I had so much pride in his integrity. I just needed to find him. Tell him I had been wrong and pray he would forgive me.
I tried to reach Deke, but he didn’t pick up his phone. So I called Verity, and she checked with his family to find out that Dek
e had taken a side trip to some unknown destination.
It’s when I knew where to go.
The White Cliffs of Dover.
I shielded my eyes and looked across the expanse, but it wasn’t France I focused on. It was the tall, well-built, beautiful man with flowing, wind-blown, wheat-colored hair, and the most gorgeous, heartbreaking ocean-blue eyes on the planet.
The man who had given up modeling, fame, and fortune because he wasn’t interested, but supported me in everything I did, even knew the name of my biggest competitors and ways to run circles around them. He was intelligent, funny, melted my heart and my panties, and was drop-dead gorgeous. He had his heart set on being a game designer, and that meant finishing his degree at Columbia.
The pride I felt for him filled me up. He was a unique, grounded, very cheeky devil.
I walked toward him, but he didn’t hear me, didn’t turn around.
I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my face into his back. “I hear that Thanksgiving is quite important to Americans. You know, with all that pilgrim stuff. It’s a day where they sit around and stuff themselves with turkey and all the trimmings until they roll themselves to the living room to watch football. And I don’t mean soccer.”
He stiffened and I heard his breath rush out. “You forgot to mention that we give thanks.”
“Oh, I didn’t forget.”
He turned around and said, “Looks like I know what I’m going to say I’m thankful for when we go around the table.”
“You actually do that?”
“We do.”
He slipped his index finger under my chin and tilted my head up. “I have a feeling you didn’t end up at the White Cliffs to take in the scenery.”
I closed my eyes and said, “No. I came here to make another bargain with a cheeky devil.”
“Oh, even though you already own his soul?”
“Quite right.”
“What’s your proposition?”
“Forgiveness.”