by Mandy Baxter
Good lord, the woman was infuriating!
“A mistake, huh.” The word burned in Travis’s gut like a cinder. “That’s what you thought that was?”
“We work together.” The excuse held as much water as a rusted out bucket.
“So what?” Travis did nothing to hide the annoyance seeping into his tone.
Reily turned away again and Travis swallowed down a growl of frustration. The car came to a stop and he looked out the window, only now paying any attention to their surroundings. A row of neat little townhouses stared back at him, their illuminated windows so much like the eyes of the public that seemed never to wander too far from him. Travis took a deep breath and held it in his lungs until they ached. The driver got out to open the door for Reily. She was going to leave? Just like that? Without resolving a damned thing?
“I’ll let you know how it goes with Bob tomorrow,” she said before climbing out of the car. “Good night, Travis.”
The door closed, shutting Travis in a bubble of silence. He watched as she hustled in front of the headlights and then sprinted up the sidewalk to her townhouse. The driver climbed back inside and Travis punched his fist down into the plush leather upholstery beneath him.
“Stop,” he said before the driver could pull out into the street. He reached for the door handle, his jaw clenched tight. He’d be damned if he let Reily walk away like that. Not when there was so much more that needed to be said.
Seven
Reily let her back collapse against the door as she shut it behind her. Her breath came in quick pants and her heart thrummed wildly in her chest. It had taken every bit of composure she had not to throw herself at Travis in the car. To beg him to do whatever wicked thing to her that he wanted as long as he put his mouth on hers one more time.
Pathetic.
Reily was angrier with herself than she was with Travis. The man was drop-dead gorgeous with the body of a god. He was intelligent, talented, wealthy, and successful. And the media seemed more impressed with his libido than Travis did himself. He ate up every ounce of it, too. Pushed the boundaries as far as he could manage. Which is what he’d done when he kissed her tonight.
She brushed her fingertips along her bottom lip. Her skin still tingled there and the memory of his mouth on hers sent a thrill through her bloodstream. Reily knew that the moment hadn’t meant anything to Travis. She was simply a way for him to rattle the chains of his perceived bondage. It didn’t mean anything to her, either. It didn’t. Travis’s gentle kisses hadn’t made her feel more important, more beautiful, more worthy of his attention. It hadn’t made her feel special.
Oh, who in the hell are you kidding?
Behind her, the sound of someone pounding on the door sent her heart up into her throat and Reily jumped away as though someone might bash the damn thing down and charge into her living room. She choked down the startled shout that built in her throat and leaned forward to look through the peephole as though there was any doubt who was on the other side.
Travis stood on her front stoop, one palm braced on the door jamb while the other slammed against her door. His head was bowed so Reily couldn’t see his expression, but from the way he repeatedly smacked her door, she had a feeling he was a little pissed.
Why? What did he have to be angry about? It’s not like she’d used him tonight. Made him feel as though no one in the world mattered but him, kissed him for all she was worth in an effort to sink his career as well as his image.
“Go home, Travis!” she called through the planks. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“I’m not leaving until you open this door!” he called back. “And if you thought the scene earlier tonight was bad, you haven’t seen anything yet.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” Reily peeked through the peephole once again.
Travis’s head came up and he peered directly into the little glass bubble. “Try me.”
“Damn it,” Riley cursed under her breath. Her hand moved down to the deadbolt and she paused. Would Travis really jeopardize his position on the team just to prove a point? That one was a no brainer. She turned the lock and opened the door. “I told you, we’ll talk tomorrow.”
He barged right into the townhouse without preamble and took Reily in his arms. His mouth descended on hers, demanding, hungry, and so full of heat that she thought she might burst into flames.
“I want you so fucking bad, Reily,” Travis whispered against her mouth. He nipped at her bottom lip before flicking out with his tongue. “It’s all I’ve thought about all night. I want you naked. I want my mouth on you. I want to taste every inch of you.”
He kissed her again more deeply, thrusting his tongue into her mouth. Reily responded in kind and the wet slippery tangle caused a ribbon of heat to unfurl low in her belly. “Travis.” She pulled away, panting. “This can’t happen.”
“It’s going to happen.” His husky tone made her clit throb. “Tell me you don’t want me. That you haven’t thought about it every day since we met.”
Denying it would be a lie. Of course she’d thought about it! Who wouldn’t? Travis was gorgeous, charismatic, and the sexiest man she’d ever met. “You’re just scratching an itch.” She didn’t think it would hurt so badly to say the words out loud. But she knew that Travis didn’t truly want anything other than a quick romp. Something to take the edge off while he was busy behaving himself.
“That’s not an answer.” He kissed her again, before moving to the corner of her mouth, her jaw, and down the slim column of her throat. “Tell me to leave if you don’t want this, and I’ll go.”
His tongue grazed the delicate skin below her ear and Reily shuddered. God, she wanted him. More than she wanted to admit. Her entire life had been about control. Crossing every T and dotting every i. She’d never been in trouble. Never took a risk. Always the designated driver. Always the one who stood by and watched while her friends made rash decisions that somehow they never regretted. What would it hurt to give in this once? To allow herself to be the type of person who didn’t care about the consequences of her actions. There were no cameras here. No prying eyes. No wagging tongues. No Bob Spencer to answer to.
“I don’t want you to leave,” she breathed.
Travis smiled against her neck. “Thank God.”
He pulled away. Reily’s breath caught at the intensity of his bright hazel eyes. He reached up and plucked her glasses from her face. “Don’t like my glasses?” His comment about her being a librarian had stuck with her. “Too stuffy?”
“Are you kidding?” Travis asked with a sinful grin that turned Reily’s blood to smoke. “I fucking love them. I only said you looked stuffy because I wanted to get a rise out of you.” He kissed below her ear again and Reily shivered. “I want to see your eyes. You have beautiful eyes.”
Emotion swelled in Reily’s chest. No one had called her beautiful before. Demanding, sure. Cute, once or twice. Bossy, more times than she wanted to admit. But never beautiful. And never with such unabashed honesty.
“This isn’t a good idea, Travis.” The last shred of common sense left in Reily’s brain held on for dear life.
“No,” he agreed. “It probably isn’t. Which makes it that much better.”
Travis was all about taking risks, wasn’t he? Living on the edge, doing what he wanted no matter what anyone thought about it. He lived his life on his terms and told the rest of the world right where they could stick it. It went against every deeply ingrained instinct in Reily’s body to throw caution to the wind. But that’s what made it so perfect. For once, she actually wanted to let go.
“What about the car?” she murmured against his mouth.
“Sent him packing,” Travis replied.
“So I guess you’re stuck here.” He kissed her. Slow and soft.
“I guess I am.”
A slow smile curved her lips. Too late to turn back now.
* * *
Travis was rarely afraid. He went balls out and never thought about th
e consequences. But knocking on Reily’s door tonight, knowing full well that she might reject him, had scared the everloving shit out of him. Reily shattered his confidence, made him feel as though he were lacking for the first time in his life. He needed her to see past his public image and know that he was a better man than everyone thought he was.
He wanted Reily with an intensity that left him shaken.
A slow, gentle seduction would have been what Reily deserved, but the urgency he felt wouldn’t allow for it. He wanted it hot and hard. Raw. He wanted to glut himself on Reily until the desperate ache in the pit of his stomach went away. He needed to fuck her until he was too goddamned exhausted to worry about whether or not she truly wanted him or if she was simply caught up in the heat of the moment.
He’d take what he could get. Even if it was only for tonight.
For days, Travis had imagined what it would be like to peel back the layers of Reily’s tight-laced façade. He could have torn her clothes off in a rush, but where was the fun in that? The build-up was what made it so hot. Travis wanted a slow build that would leave them both feeling as thought they’d die if they didn’t fuck.
He needed Reily desperate and mindless. Too far gone with passion to overthink her actions. They could be so great together, if she’d quit worrying about stupid things like reputations and give them a chance.
Reily let out a slow sigh as he kissed the corner of her mouth, her throat, down the column of her throat. He reached between them and unbuttoned the first three buttons of her blouse to reveal the swell of her breasts. The tantalizing sight made Travis’s cock throb and strain against his fly. A slow build might be harder than he thought if he was already wound so tight. He kissed across her collarbone before venturing lower. Reily’s breath came in quick little pants and when he lashed out with his tongue at one generous swell, she let out a low moan that drove him fucking wild with want.
He kissed the other breast, traced the delicate hill with his tongue before dipping into her cleavage. Reily melted in his embrace as her back arched and she pressed her breasts against his mouth.
“Oh my God, Travis. That feels good.”
Her fingers dove into his hair. Chills broke out over his skin followed by a pleasant shudder. The reality of her touch was so much better than anything his imagination could have conjured and Travis only wanted more. His arms went around her narrow waist and he eased her down onto the couch. If she thought a few innocent kisses felt good, he was about to rock her motherfuckin’ world.
He’d make sure she never thought of another man without first comparing him to Travis. “Honey, I’m going to make you feel so good that you won’t know which way is up.”
Her nervous laughter sent a rush of adrenaline through his bloodstream. “You always rise to the challenge, don’t you?”
He dragged his mouth up the length of her throat. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
Travis shifted so that he sat on the couch and Reily straddled him. Her billowy skirt worked its way up her thighs, exposing the petal-soft flesh to his wandering hands. He caressed a path along her outer thighs, up her narrow torso and worked the rest of the buttons on her blouse free. Reily’s head fell back on her shoulders as he parted the silky fabric and took in the sight of her perfect breasts held high by a sexy little pushup bra that made Travis’s mouth water.
“Jesus Christ, Reily. If I’d known this was what you were hiding under those tight button-ups, I would have stripped you bare a week ago.”
She pressed against him. Her mouth met his temple, his cheek, just below his ear, and then his throat. Her teeth grazed his skin and Travis swallowed a groan as she bit down just hard enough for him to feel it. “Do that again.”
He felt her smile against his throat before she bit down once more. Travis’s cock throbbed as she flicked out with her tongue as though to sooth the sting. He wanted her mouth on his cock, her full soft lips wrapped tight around his shaft.
There were too damned many clothes between them. Travis eased Reily’s shirt over her shoulders and she shrugged out of the sleeves. He discarded the garment somewhere behind her as he reached for the clasp of her bra and pulled it free. If he’d thought her breasts were beautiful held perfectly in place by the satiny pink bra, it was nothing compared to their unfettered glory. Sweet Jesus. Travis blew out a gust of breath.
Reily pulled back to meet his gaze, her brow furrowed. “What?”
Travis cupped her breasts in his palms and her gaze went liquid. “These,” he brushed his thumbs across the tight points of her nipples, “are fucking perfect.”
Her lips parted on a breath. Travis massaged the supple flesh in his palms, teased her nipples with his thumbs while he gauged her reaction. Reily arched into his touch, her breath hitched, and low, whimpering moans gathered in her throat. He could watch her for hours. Just keep her right here in his lap and enjoy the sweeping expressions that crossed her face while he pleasured her.
Travis had always gotten what he wanted out of his many hookups and he assumed that most of his partners had, too. At least, none of them had ever complained. But he’d never paid attention to a woman’s pleasure before tonight. Had never let himself enjoy it. Had he been too disconnected to ever notice, or was it Reily that made the difference?
For the first time, his needs seemed inconsequential in comparison to hers.
Reiley went up on her knees and Travis reached to the small of her back to unzip her skirt. His hands dove beneath the fabric to cup her ass and an appreciative groan gathered in his throat as his palms met bare flesh. A push up bra and thong beneath her conservative business wear. It was like Christmas, New Year’s, and his birthday all wrapped up into one.
Her skin was silk. Her breath warm as it feathered over his ear. The heat of her body soaked through his clothes and Travis was consumed with a desperation to feel every naked inch of her on his bare skin. There was so damned much he wanted to do to her. So much he wanted to see and taste and feel, that Travis didn’t know where to start. Never a problem he’d faced before. He chuckled at the thought and Reily met his gaze once again, one dark brow arched curiously over her bright blue eye.
“You’re like an all-you-can-eat-buffet,” Travis said. “And I’m fucking starving.”
Eight
Reily’s stomach did a triple backflip before floating down on a cloud of lust. Travis’s wanton words, his hands and mouth on her skin, the way he looked at her with so much heat and longing. He made it so easy for her to believe that he could actually want her. That in his eyes, she was just as desirable as the lithe, blond, supermodel types the media loved to see him with.
It was dangerous to feel this wanted.
They could only have tonight. Reily wasn’t so foolish as to think that a serious relationship would bloom between them. They’d been working closely together for the past week. Tensions were bound to develop. This was about blowing off steam and nothing else. At least, that’s what Reily tried to tell herself when Travis’s mouth found the tight point of her nipple.
She bucked in his grip as he sucked her into his mouth. His tongue swirled over the pearled peak before he nibbled the sensitive flesh. A jolt of sensation shot through Reily’s center and settled at her clit. It throbbed in time with every pull of his mouth and her thighs grew wet with arousal. When she didn’t think she could take another second of pleasure, he attended her other breast with the same fervor. By the time he pulled away, Reily was panting and writhing in his arms. She didn’t know how much more she could take.
“I’m going to devour your pussy just like that,” he murmured against her throat. “Lick, suck, and bite until you scream my name.”
She’d scream his name right now if he wanted.
“Do you want me to do that, Reily? Do you want my lips on your clit?”
The word escaped her lips on a breath, “Yes.”
* * *
Travis stood and took Reily with him. He spun and settled her atop the arm of the couch
. He went to his knees on the cushions and she braced her hands on the armrest as she lifted her ass to allow him to slide the skirt off of her. His eyes dipped to the satin pink thong that barely covered her before he stripped that away as well. He didn’t want to be teased with what he couldn’t see. He needed her bare.
“It’s hardly fair that I’m naked and you’re not.” Reily’s quiet, seductive tone slithered over Travis’s senses like a caress. She wanted him naked? No problem.
Travis guided her legs to open for him. The delicate pink flesh of her pussy glistened with her arousal. The surrounding lips flared slightly out around the tiny bud of her clit. “Damn, Reily.” He scrubbed a hand over his mouth. “You’re fucking beautiful.”
Rose colored her cheeks and she averted her gaze. Her breasts quivered with her racing breath, the nipples he’d just sucked straining toward him as though they missed his attention. “I’m average,” she whispered.
Was she fucking kidding? Travis guided her face back to his. “Honey, you’re anything but average.”
He kissed her once, slowly, before pulling away. He shucked his vest, his tie, the crisp, stuffy dress shirt, and slacks. Reily’s eyes widened as he let them fall to the floor. “You went commando?” she asked with a laugh. “You can’t help but be defiant, can you?”
He gave her a broad smile. “Nope.”
“Your body’s a work of art.” She glanced away again as though embarrassed by her words. “If you want to know what beautiful really looks like, go check out a mirror.”
Travis had always been a confident person. But hearing Reily say the words—seeing the appreciation in her eyes—filled him with a sense of pride. He didn’t give a shit what anyone in this world thought about him. Except her.
The realization left him shaken. He cared what Reily thought. How she saw him. Felt about him. She mattered. He admired her, respected her opinion. He wanted to impress her. He wanted her to see past his reputation and looks and appreciate the man he was on the inside as well as the outside. He wanted to share everything he was with her and likewise, he wanted her to trust him enough to share everything about herself with him.