by Penny Henry
Temple played the recording over. She played it again while she was indignant. Then she played it out of curiosity that she had heard it right. She listened again with her ear close to the machine to try to work out any emotion or inflections in his voice. Finally she played it while she loudly and graphically told the mellow tones of Travis Campbell exactly what he could do with his birthday invitation. Temple was finished with the painful games that Travis played with her heart. She was done with the lies and deception that had torn her apart. She had begun the torturous task of putting herself back together. She didn't need the hand of friendship offered on her climb to sanity for it to be snatched away and send her tumbling back to the rock-lined abyss below. How dare Travis imagine that a honey-coated invitation to his birthday dinner would put Temple in a spin and send her running back for more of his hurtful charm.
Chapter Seventeen
By eight o'clock Temple could see the lights of Travis' house. She had been unable to resist. Why should she hide herself away while her enemies partied through the night and congratulated each other on the triumph of their hateful plans? She might be the victim of their devious scheming but she would not be going anywhere quietly. She wondered about the guest list for the victory celebration. No doubt Elliot would be first to offer his oily sympathy. He would be full of bluster and apologies while inwardly planning how to spend the millions he would receive from Pegasus for the Buchanan land. Maybe he would bring Trinity Ford to share in his moment of glory. She would certainly be interested in Elliot's plans for his newly acquired wealth. It probably wouldn’t include staying upright for too long either, thought Temple cattily. Andrew Denham might even condescend to put in an appearance now that his goal of securing two prime sites for Pegasus hotels in the world's premier tourist destination was in sight. Temple relished the prospect of confronting the unscrupulous businessman with the details of Elliot's underhand methods. She had gone beyond needing the simple matter of proof to support her allegations. Temple was building herself up for a fight and she didn't care what damage she might inflict in the process.
The wind was abruptly spilled from her sails as she cruised into the driveway to find it empty. Temple checked her watch. It was the right time. Perhaps the others on her imaginary list had stopped off somewhere on the way. Oh, my lawd! Had she checked the machine yesterday? She couldn’t remember. Had Ben’s machine been flashing for twenty-four hours before she listened to Travis' message? It was the wrong day! No, it couldn't be. She had used Ben's office last night. She sat in the car trying to make up her mind when the door to the house opened and Travis stepped out. He strolled across the driveway with Belle shuffling behind his long legs. He was dressed for dinner. Temple breathed a sigh of relief before her breath became difficult to catch. The rollercoaster in her chest had been wheeled out. The creaky carriage was beginning its slow climb to the apex of the gut wrenching ride that she knew would plunge her into the same head-spinning whirl of confusion that turned her into a weak-kneed teenager. He was wearing a lightweight, black dinner jacket with a red bow tie and a crisp white shirt. Temple couldn't help but think that if he ever gave up meddling in other people's lives, Travis had a great career as a model in front of him.
"Temple," called Travis. "I'm so happy you made it." He pulled back the door of her car to allow her to swing her legs round and complete a graceful exit.
Temple wasn't dressed for gymnastics. She had dressed to show Travis what he had thrown away. She wore a strapless, gold snakeprint dress, gold sandals and nothing else other than the Chanel perfume that drifted round her shoulders like a gossamer promise. Her shining hair was flicked into a wispy cloud that framed the face of an angel.
"Thank you," Temple acknowledged his gentlemanly action. She bent forward to ruffle the folds of Belle's neck. It was as good a way as any to hide her nerves. "Hello, old girl. You're getting fat," she reprimanded the snuffling dog. Then Temple straightened and turned to Travis. "It looks like I'm early. Or is everyone else late?"
"Looks like," said Travis. "Let's go inside." He led the way to the house, gallantly holding the door for Temple to precede him. The cool of the air-conditioned interior was a welcome respite from the humid evening. Travis escorted Temple through to the living area and guided her to the facing armchairs in front of the ornate Spanish fireplace.
Julio appeared as if from nowhere. "Welcome back, Senorita." He greeted Temple with a beaming smile that creased his face into cracked parchment. "May I get you both a drink?"
"Orange juice please, Julio. Make it long and very cold. I have some driving to do later." Her message to Travis was clumsy and ill-concealed but should prove to be none the less effective.
"I will personally strangle each orange myself, Senorita," Julio informed Temple with great seriousness. "And for you, Senor?"
"Bourbon, straight up please, Julio. I think I'm gonna need it." He spoke just loud enough for Temple to hear as he glanced past Julio to take in her cold features. Julio went about his task and Travis contemplated Temple's defensive posture. She was sitting at the edge of the deep armchair with her slender legs primly crossed. "You look even more beautiful when you're angry," he said in a worn-out attempt at ice breaking.
"Thank you for inviting me," said Temple coolly. She ignored his lame attempt to involve her in his humorous banter. "But I couldn't help notice there are only two places set at the table. Do you have something to tell me, Travis?"
Travis pulled a gritty smile. "I didn't actually say there would be anyone else, did I?"
"No, you didn't," Temple was forced to agree. "But I assumed a birthday dinner meant a celebration. You know; people, friends, that kind of thing. You do have friends, don't you, Travis?"
Travis was not to be drawn. "I'm extremely choosy whom I invite into my home," he partly explained. "I value my privacy too much."
"Then maybe I should allow you to have it?" said Temple in a veiled threat that sparked alarm in Travis’ eyes.
"No, please don't go, Temple. I want to explain. Give me the chance to try. I can't bear the thought that you might hate me. At least let’s try to be friends. Please, Temple…"
Temple considered his argument against leaving. Travis wanted them to be friends. The thought in itself was too painful to even contemplate. She didn't think that she would be able to be Travis' friend. She couldn't stand to think that one day she might be expected to pass the time in polite conversation when he was in the company of another woman. The thought that she could be invited to exchange civilized small talk when all she wanted was to be in his arms cut her to the quick. No, she could not, would not, be Travis' friend.
"I can't be your friend, Travis. You should have known better than to ask me that. But I will stay. If only to ensure that Julio hasn't gone to a whole lot of trouble for nothing."
The look on Travis' face was enough to tear out her heart. He wanted to say something but his eyes were suddenly glassy and his Adam's apple was bobbing up and down as he gulped on his words. It was as if for one more time in his life he had been told the last thing that he wanted to hear. In the end he managed to release a strained, "Thank you."
Julio arrived with their drinks and announced that dinner would shortly be served. Tonight they would dine á la Francais. It was time to take their places at the beautifully set table. The silver cutlery vied with the brilliant crystal glass to be first to attract the eye. Julio had quite obviously put in a huge effort to make sure that everything was perfect for Travis and his favored guest. Temple and Travis made a supreme attempt to be civilized. They seated themselves at the table and Travis pushed the floral arrangement to one side as he had on their previous dinner not so very long ago. A subdued Julio skillfully served the mouth-watering dishes. He had soon picked up on the strained atmosphere and made his best attempt to be invisible. They started with Consommé Royale. The savory egg custard garnish was smooth and tender making the consommé a hard act to follow. But the Coq au Vin was equal to the task. Julio had
gleaned that chicken was Temple's favorite meat and excelled himself with painstaking preparation of the dish. Temple and Travis were again lulled into a sense of relaxation by Julio’s discreet attention. Not to mention the liberal quantity of wine that Julio had used in the recipe for the Coq au Vin and the 1998 Georges Dubœuf Fleurie Beaujolais that they were tempted into trying. They were enjoying light conversation by the time the thin pancakes arrived. Except that they were not thin pancakes - as Julio scolded the insensitive pair. He had served them with Crêpes Normande. Temple and Travis apologized profusely then set upon the apple-filled Crêpes with enthusiasm. They carried their coffees to the leather armchairs and returned Julio's goodnight. He looked forward to the pleasure of Temple's company in the house again soon. Temple had difficulty in not jumping up and hugging him.
With Julio gone there was again an awkward silence. Temple resolved to make an attempt to clear the air. She leaned forward to engage Travis in a peaceful tone. "You’ve got to respect my position, Travis. I'm not like you. I can’t separate business and pleasure in the same way that you seem able to do. We work as a close team at Hart Leisure. No one is a faceless employee. We’re a family, and everything that affects the business or me affects all of us. It was the way my father built up the business and the way that Ben carried it on. Even our clients are concerned for the future of the company. They see themselves as we see them, something more than just paying customers. It's not a cold business like Real Estate with a one-off hit and then move on to the next deal. We have a good relationship with everyone involved in the business. If you hurt me you hurt every one of us. You’re taking that from us, Travis, can't you see that?" That was as much as Temple wanted to say and she had said it without once raising her voice. She had vowed not to beg for his help. But she could try to make him understand the scale of her problems and the crushing sense of her disappointment then she might achieve some sense of satisfaction.
Travis' face fell. He put his coffee cup down on a side table before rubbing the heels of his palms into his eyes and slumping in his armchair. "We've been over this so many times, Temple. Believe me, I am painfully aware of what this is doing to our relationship. Don't you know that I am hurting too? If there were anything within the law that I could do to change things, don't you think I would have done it by now?"
"I know," said Temple, resigned to Travis' predictable line of defense. "It’s your precious code of honor." She couldn't resist a dig at the huge financial spoils involved. "Or could the threat of punitive damages from Pegasus Hotels possibly have any influence on you decision to see this deal through to the bitter end and damn the consequences?"
"That's out of line, Temple. I can handle Andrew Denham. I could even handle risking my share of the Company. But I have a sworn duty to our shareholders. I cannot take this kind of gamble on their behalf. A legal battle with Pegasus would send the share value plummeting. How could I justify tossing away a lucrative contract without legal cause? You have your responsibilities and I have mine. You have to understand that, Temple. I don't want to lose you over this."
Temple frowned. Travis had a point. She just couldn’t ignore her belief that Elliot had somehow presented the contract forged with Ben's name. That would make it worthless in every sense of the word. But without the evidence to substantiate her theory there was nothing she could say to convince Travis that was the case. She would achieve nothing by raising the issue except to guarantee another argument.
"Okay, Travis. I’m really trying here. It looks as if we must agree to differ." She followed him by placing her cup and saucer on a mat that sat on the polished table. “I have my pride too. I’ve lost everything that Ben and my father built. And I’ve lost Ben. Can you imagine what that feels like?" Temple knew she had said the wrong thing but it was too late to take it back.
Travis rose to his feet and paced to the fireplace. "Yes, Temple," he said quietly. "I know what it's like to lose someone you love." He looked at her imploringly. "Do I have to go through it all again?"
A heatwave of emotion melted Temple's resistance. She lifted from her seat and walked to him, taking his hands and gazing up at him. "You have to let go of the past, Travis. Melanie has gone forever. You can’t bring her back." She squeezed his hands in hers.
"You don't understand, Temple. Yes, of course, I do miss Melanie. But I know she wasn't driving the car. She had been drinking and she would never have taken the wheel. She wasn’t that stupid. I’m absolutely sure that someone else was driving, and one day I'll prove it."
“Then you know how I feel,” she said softly. “I know Ben wouldn’t have willingly signed over the lease just as surely as you know that Melanie wasn’t driving.”
In his moment of agony, Temple had glimpsed what really drove Travis in his apparent obsession with his daughter. It wasn’t simply that she had died. Though heaven knew that had been hard enough for him to take. It was that she had died accused of causing her own death by drunk driving. She had been under the influence of alcohol and taken her own life as surely as pointing a gun to her head.
"Oh, Travis, Travis." Temple's words were meant to soothe. "Let it go, please." There was a deep sadness in his eyes that touched her heart. She reached behind his neck and pulled his face down to her own. "Happy birthday," she whispered.
Their mouths brushed against each other before coming together in a glorious head-spinning madness. The kiss was the opening of the cauldron of passion that simmered beneath their cool exteriors. A fierce heat flared in Temple's loins and she pressed herself against Travis' rampant erection. He pulled his head away from the air-burning kiss and bent to pick up Temple in his arms. He gathered her to his chest and carried her easily as he strode from the room. Temple fleetingly registered that Travis hesitated in front of another bedroom before walking past it to kick open the door of the yellow room. He lowered Temple to her feet and kissed her neck and shoulders. Temple was at the same time disturbed and pleased that Travis had carried her to the room that had once been Melanie's bedroom. Maybe they had created the opportunity for Travis to lay his ghosts. Then she was lost to the hedonistic pleasure of the moment as he peeled the snakeprint dress from her body and covered her skin with kisses in its place. When she was naked Temple returned the pleasure, undressing him slowly, tempting him with her tongue and lips and tracing trails of hunger on his skin. Then with his torso stripped she dropped to her knees and loosened his belt before sliding his trousers down his legs. His lower body was soon as bare as his chest and her mouth began its sinful work. She moved upon his maleness, teasing the underside of his erection with the tip of her tongue before closing her mouth over the head and sucking hard. Travis stifled a groan as Temple took his length into her throat and began a sliding rhythm that threatened to end in an unplanned explosion. She felt his legs stiffen and the rock hardness that came before the climax and lifted her head away. For a minute she knelt without touching him as he fought for control. He smiled down on her and reached out to pull her to her feet. His pulsing member had settled down and he was ready to share his pleasure. Temple tugged him towards the bed and they fell onto it, sharing a kiss that reached into their souls and took a little of each other. Travis stretched Temple on the bed and moved his mouth over her golden skin, raising her nipples to thickened stubs. She squirmed beneath him and opened her legs. She was sopping wet and aching with longing. She reached down to part her engorged lips with her fingers as he knelt between her thighs and lowered his head. His sucked on her juices as his tongue danced over the slippery flesh before he did that thing with his lips rolled over his teeth and nibbled on her clitoris. One hand flew to the back of his head to keep him there forever. Her head rocked madly as she came against his tormenting tongue a second or was it a third time before he lifted his head and smiled at her. They locked eyes and Temple had one thought in mind.
“Fuck me,” she grated out. “Fuck me hard.”
Travis grinned and rested the head of his erection between her shiny lab
ia. He hooked his arms under her knees and pulled her towards him, entering her in an unstoppable thrust that filled her with his girth. Then they moved against each other in a smooth tempo that matched their passion and quickened with the heat that enveloped them. Temple forced her hips upwards and nipped his shoulder with her sharp white teeth as he drove inside her. Her fingernails raked his back as they joined together in a bruising fervor. It was a thrashing madness that carried them to the brink of insanity before they hurtled over the edge locked in each other’s arms.
They rested like that. Travis stayed inside her for as long as he was physically able to. Then they fell apart exhausted and satisfied. They rolled against each other and entwined in the embrace of lovers that followed naturally into a sleep of blissful completeness. Occasionally they stirred and exchanged sleepy kisses but mostly they slept a dreamless sleep.
Temple was the first to wake disturbed by the morning sun. She could barely contain the happiness that flooded over her as she surveyed the sleeping man next to her. She slid out of the bed and carried her clothes to the bathroom. She could find her way to the kitchen and planned to wake Travis with a regenerating breakfast before helping him to expend his freshly acquired energy. She dressed quietly in case Julio was around and slipped from the room. It was then that Temple remembered the bedroom door that Travis had passed up in favor of the yellow room. She imagined that it was his own bedroom and that he had left it particularly untidy. Or had he, as she hoped, deliberately chosen to confront his ghosts in the room that had once been his daughter's bedroom? Travis was sleeping and Temple reasoned that it wouldn't hurt to take a peek.