Travis rose up even further and used one hand to grasp my hips. Hard. His fingers dug into my flesh. The phrase that’s gonna leave a mark flashed through my brain, and to my surprise, it caused a powerful flash of arousal to course through my veins. Wow. I really liked the thought of being marked by Travis. Of being branded.
It wasn’t so much the idea of the physical marks on our bodies that excited me—although, yeah, that was hot, too—but it was more the idea of belonging to each other. Of there being physical proof of being his and him being mine. I’d never thought I was the kind of girl that would get off on stuff like that, but with Travis, I was learning something new about myself every single day.
And now, I thought, we’ll both be marked. Like a matching pair.
I raised my head and looked down the length of my belly, focusing in between my legs, and the place where our bodies met. I liked to watch him thrusting into me, exerting all of that effort. When I was around him—anytime I was around him, as a matter of fact—it felt like I was virtually swimming in testosterone. But when he was worked up like this, that musk of manliness was dialed up to eleven. That was another thing that I was learning about myself—as much as I like to be in charge, the consummate director, I really liked to relax and let Travis take control, as well. There was a definite turn on factor to letting his alpha-male side dominate me.
In and out, again and again. That was it. That was what put me over the edge. It was like watching porn, except it was happening in real time. And it was happening to me. The sight of his thick, hard flesh thrusting in and out, shiny with my juices—it was too much. It pushed me over the cliff.
My inner walls clenched tight as my orgasm rocketed through me, and I planted my heels hard on the bed so that I could thrust my hips up hard as I came. My hands flew over my head and I grabbed fistfuls of the pillowcase. I didn’t even know what I was doing. I was just flailing for a foothold onto reality as my mind went spinning off into outer space. I heard myself babbling, but I couldn’t understand the words.
Travis’ arms came around me and he pulled me to him as he rolled back onto the bed. He held me tightly to him as our orgasms rushed through us with the power of white water rapids until they finally dwindled to a calm stream. He stroked my hair as we both came down from that incredible high. He kissed my forehead. He couldn’t have been sweeter and more caring. He was a dream come true.
“How do you feel, baby?” His voice was low and intimate.
I was feeling overwhelmed with emotions I didn’t know how to process. So I didn’t process. I avoided.
I propped up on an elbow and gave him a sassy grin. “Hungry. Someone interrupted the dinner I was cooking.”
He smiled and gave me a playful smack on the ass. “Well, woman, I guess you better get in there and finish it, then.”
I laughed as I climbed off of him and picked up my clothes and tried to get dressed on the way to the kitchen. He was right behind me, stealing kisses and making the process practically impossible. I was laughing as I pulled my bra straps up but my joy was short lived.
My phone was ringing and it stopped before I could reach it. When I picked it up I saw that I had fifteen texts. I didn’t need to read them to know that there was no way I’d be making dinner tonight.
I turned, phone in hand. “I’m so sorry. I have to go.”
“Nothing to be sorry about.” Travis leaned down and kissed my forehead tenderly. “Just make sure you don’t forget to eat, I worry about you.”
Tears formed in my eyes as I nodded. Then hoping he didn’t see them I scrambled to get dressed and rushed out. The dichotomy between his alpha dominance and sweet caring side was almost too much to handle.
When Tad and I met, I’d gotten swept off my feet. I ignored things that bothered me, because I was so wrapped up in the romance.
With Travis it was the opposite. I’d gone into this not looking for romance. I was trying to ignore the fact that I was getting swept off my feet. I knew there were no perfect men, but Travis Briggs was pretty darn close.
Chapter 20
Travis
“Well, ain’t she a sight for sore eyes?”
~ Walker Briggs
I scanned the crowd at The Tipsy Cow and immediately spotted her. This place provided the only nightlife for a good thirty mile radius, so on a Friday night it was packed to the gills. Beside the entrance, the oak bar ran along the entire length of the right side of the building and there wasn’t an open barstool. There was a dance floor in the center and booths and tables in a U-shape around it, all filled to capacity.
Mia was seated at a back booth in the left corner with Tad and Alexandria. My heart swelled at the sight of her. I never knew that it was possible to miss someone this much, especially since I’d just seen her two days ago. I’d always heard that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and there might be some truth to it.
I’d dropped dinner off at her room last night because I was worried she wasn’t eating. From the look of gratitude and appreciation on her beautiful face when she’d opened the door to her surprise meal delivery, I’d say that I’d been right to be worried. Since she was on the phone she’d given me a quick kiss and mouthed thank you. I hadn’t stayed because she was so busy.
That brief interaction had not been nearly enough to quench the thirst that I had to be with her. Not just in a sexual way, although that was better than my wildest imagination, and I had quite an imagination. No, I just wanted to be close to her, to see her smile, to hear her laugh, to be able to reach out and touch her soft skin.
It had been the longest forty-eight hours of my life.
Mia hadn’t seen me come in yet; her attention was focused on the table. She was listening to Tad and Alexandria talk, which wasn’t surprising. I’d never met anyone that loved the sound of their own voice as much as those two. They would often speak at the same time. I sometimes found my eyes going back and forth like I was watching a tennis match.
I’d never been the knight-in-shining-armor type, but I felt the need to rescue her from the tediousness of the conversation I knew she was suffering through. As I made my way through the crowded dance floor, I felt like a hero going to save my princess locked in the Boredom Tower.
I hadn’t even made it halfway to my destination when I felt a large hand grab my shoulder. A quick glance behind me confirmed whose hand it was. My oldest brother Sawyer stared down at me. There were not that many people that I had to tilt my head to make eye contact with. He was one of them. At six foot six, he towered over most people and also happened to be built like a tank.
Dropping his hand, he motioned to the bar. “I want to talk to you.” He spoke in a normal volume but somehow I had no problem hearing him.
I, on the other hand, had to raise my voice to be heard as I explained, “I’m actually meeting someone.”
“I want to talk to you,” he repeated before starting off the dance floor.
Sawyer was the polar opposite of Tad and Alexandria. He rarely spoke, so when he did, people listened. I followed along behind him and the only consolation to this delay was that I knew it would be short.
Before we reached the bar two people got up, vacating seats. Things always worked out like that for my big brother. The seas parted when he walked. It was like every living thing made room for him.
We sat down and with one wave of Sawyer’s hand, there were two beers in front of us.
“What’s up?” I asked, knowing full well that there was no rushing my brother.
“Do you know what you’re doing?” he responded looking straight ahead.
“Yeah,” I answered confidently even though I wasn’t completely sure I knew what he was referring to. My guess would be Mia, since that was the only thing that had changed in my life.
Turning his head, he leveled me with a stare that would make most men shit their pants, but since I’d grown up with it, I’d built up an immunity. The death stare portion of our “talk” lasted about thirty seconds before he
asked, “You sure about that?”
“Yeah,” this time my response didn’t come with as much conviction as the first.
He didn’t look convinced, but ended the big brother talk with an, “A’ight then.”
Maybe most people would view that conversation as nothing more than small talk that didn’t break the surface of any emotional depths, but for Sawyer Briggs that was a heart to heart. He never stuck his nose in other people’s business and him taking me aside to check in, as short and to the point as it was, meant he cared. And I appreciated it.
I stood, slapping him on his shoulder. “Good talk.”
He lifted his beer and returned to staring straight ahead.
Back on my rescue mission, I pushed through the crowd. I was stopped several times by tipsy girls throwing their arms around my neck and gyrating against me. After the fifth unprovoked dance attack, I was regretting my decision to cut a straight path across the dance floor instead of going around.
By the time I finally arrived at Mia’s side I felt like I’d made it through a minefield of unwanted advances.
“Hi.” The sweet voice carried above the music and chatter as she smiled at me. Her blue eyes twinkled like diamonds reflecting the lights that were strung up around the bar.
I slid into the booth beside Mia. Not wasting any time, showing how much I’d missed her and getting rid of all traces of any female that had just tried to put their scent on me. I reached down and cupped her beautiful face in my hands and kissed her. I was marking her territory for her.
I’d barely touched my lips to hers when I heard a familiar voice yell, “Get a room!”
My sister thought she was a regular comedian.
Mia giggled and pulled away from me. I greeted both Tad and Alexandria and introduced them to Harmony who now stood beside our table.
“You look so familiar.” Harmony searched Alexandria’s face. “I know I’ve seen you before.”
“You may have seen me on Vogue—”
“Vogue!” Harmony pointed at her. “Yes, that’s it. You were on the cover like…”
“Four times,” Alexandria finished.
“Wow.” Harmony looked genuinely impressed.
My sister had always dreamed of a big city life and she’d had a subscription to Vogue and Cosmo for as long as I could remember. Her dreams were different now that she was engaged. She’d figured out this was the life she wanted. I glanced over at Mia and wondered if she might have the same change of heart.
“You are actually prettier in real life,” Harmony enthused.
“I’m a house.” She rubbed her tiny bump.
Someone from across the room called out Harmony’s name. She held up her finger towards the front of the bar indicating she’d only be a minute, then directed her attention to Mia. “I just came by to make sure that you were coming to dinner on Sunday.”
“Oh…um…” Beside me, Mia shifted in her seat uncomfortably as she looked between me, Tad and Alexandria. “Work has been crazy, but I’ll try.”
“Okay, but I’m telling you, you don’t want to miss Dolly Briggs’s cooking,” Harmony insisted then said her goodbyes to the table.
It took less than ten seconds of my sister walking away for the conversation to turn to Alexandria’s modeling career with some detours to Tad’s promotions, real estate holdings and investments.
Earlier, when Mia had messaged me to see if I wanted to come out tonight, she’d said that it was Tad and Alexandria’s last night in town. Part of me couldn’t be happier that this was the last time I’d have to sit through the excruciatingly painful experience of listening to these two toot their own horns. But a bigger part of me wasn’t so thrilled to see them go because I had no idea what that would mean for Mia and me.
I wanted to believe that she knew there was something between us. That what we had was special. That we could figure out the rest, but I wasn’t so sure she was looking for what I had to offer.
There was only one way to find out. And I planned to. Tonight.
Chapter 21
Mia
“That boy gets hit on more than a prize fighter.”
~ Walker Briggs
What was I thinking?
From the beginning, I knew that this whole thing with Travis and I wasn’t going anywhere and it would have to end, but this wasn’t how I’d imagined it happening. I kept thinking there would be more time. But time was up.
My thumb tapped on the steering wheel as the headlights of Travis’ truck were shining through my windshield. He was following me to the Come On Inn. He’d tried to convince me to leave my car and drive with him, but I’d insisted on driving it myself.
These past few days had passed in a blur. I hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep, I’d just been taking catnaps when I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Even with everything that I was juggling, my brain had still found time to think (obsess) about Travis. It was like he was seared into my sub-conscious. I would try to concentrate on whatever task was at hand, and I was able to keep those things at the forefront, but he was always in the background.
I wondered what he was doing. If he was thinking of me. When I would hear from or see him next. Those questions were on a constant loop and I wasn’t sure how to silence them.
And it wasn’t just questions. I entertained fantasies of Travis and I being together. For real. Of being boyfriend and girlfriend. Even more than that. Getting married.
Delirious. I was delirious. That had to be why my mind had started envisioning a life with Travis. I’d actually thought that there might be a chance that what we had was something more than just a casual hook-up. But after seeing Travis get accosted by half the female population of Wishing Well tonight, I knew that I was delusional.
I was slapped in the face with a harsh reality before Travis even made it to our table. He wasn’t the guy you got a happily ever after with, he was the love ’em and leave ’em guy. I’d watched the crushed faces of the girls that had tried to get his attention tonight on the dance floor. He’d left quite a wake in his path.
That wasn’t the kind of guy that you built a life with. That was the kind of guy you had fun with and then moved on with your life.
The gravel churned beneath my tires as I pulled into the parking lot of the motel. Tad and Alexandria had decided to stay out longer, but I’d excused myself when I couldn’t take one more second of Travis’ touches. The brush of his arm. His thigh pressed against mine. And my personal favorite, his arm around me and his thumb rubbing in circles on my shoulder. It was so gentle, so possessive and so sensual.
I loved it.
Sitting in that booth, beside a man that made me feel things that felt so real, but I knew weren’t, was more than I could handle. He made me feel safe, protected, supported and adored. So, I did what any rational person would do in that situation. I got the heck out of there. I’d shot up like an airbag had deployed beneath me and excused myself, claiming exhaustion.
Travis had been right behind me and on the way out he asked if I had time to talk to him tonight. I’d wanted to say no. To claim that there was no way I could possibly fit that in, but that would be a lie. I also knew that it was time for this to be over.
I wasn’t sure what he wanted to talk about. Maybe the fact that I still owed him two dinners and a massage. Technically two massages, but he was pretty adamant about the one he gave me counting against the tally. I would fulfill my end of the bargain, just as he had his. But nothing more.
If I had any hope of walking away from this thing with even a small part of my heart intact, I had to stop playing pretend with Travis. My head might know that it wasn’t real, but my heart and hormones were picking out wedding dresses.
Thankfully, no one would ever have to know that my emotions had taken a wrong turn. Not even the man inspiring them to do so. Travis might be a ladies’ man, but he had a huge heart. He’d brought me dinner last night because he’d been worried that I wouldn’t remember to eat. I didn’t want him to feel ba
d for me, or worse, sorry for me.
I didn’t need his sympathy or empathy. I just needed to get my life back on track. I might not know exactly where it was headed long term. But for the next four weeks, I needed to be totally committed to one thing and one thing only: the show.
Travis parked his truck beside me and we made our way into the room in silence.
“Is everything okay?” he asked before I’d even shut the door.
“Yep.” I forced myself to smile. “Everything’s great.”
My little pep talk in the car was one thing, actually facing the man that had stolen my heart in a matter of days, whose smile made the world lighter, and whose arms were the only place I felt at home, was a much different animal.
I had no idea how to start or what to say, and as I looked into the depths of Travis’ honeyed gaze I wasn’t sure I remembered any of the reasons why I needed to have this conversation. I was experiencing lust amnesia.
Concern clouded his features as he took a step towards me. “Is this about my sister inviting you to dinner? I didn’t know anything about that.”
I moved around him, if I stayed where I was I’d be cornered and there was no way I could stay strong if he actually touched me. I’d be putty in his hands.
Taking a seat at the table, I hoped he would follow my lead and sit across from me. The wood separating us was my Obi-Wan Kenobi, it was my only hope. When he did exactly that, I was relieved and disappointed. A part of me wanted him to pull me into his arms and kiss me, but I shut that part down.
I swallowed the large knot that was in my throat and sat up a little straighter. “Actually, your mom is the one who invited me. I ran into your sister the other night in the grocery store. She introduced herself and said that your mom wanted me to come to dinner on Sunday.”
“What else did she say?” His eyes narrowed.
Taming Travis (Wishing Well, Texas Book 4) Page 14