Looking down into her pale blue eyes, he held his breath unknowingly as he waited for her to speak. Her breath hitched, similar to the way his had, and he leaned in closer, unable to stop himself. He craved this woman’s kiss like a drug. For weeks, he’d thought about kissing her, holding her, burying himself deep inside of her body and begging for something more, something he hadn’t been able to give her because he’d been so eaten up with guilt.
Although he had given in to the desire that pulsed around them, he still felt the guilt, but he didn’t want to pull away this time. He found himself craving more of her kisses, wanting to taste her again, breathe in the scent of lavender and vanilla that he found himself dreaming about. No matter what had happened between them, or how much he had fucked up, neither one of them could deny the attraction. It was even more potent now than it had been when he first met her.
Kylie’s soft hand pressed against his chest, and Gage expected her to push him away, but she didn’t. She just touched him, the warmth of her fingers seeping in through the cotton of his shirt. If only his clothes weren’t in the way.
“Kylie,” Gage whispered as he slid his hand beneath her hair, cupping her head and letting the fine, silky strands slip between his fingers.
“Don’t do this.” Kylie’s words came out tortured, and Gage’s heart constricted. “Please don’t do this.”
Gage heard the words, and he knew he should stop, but he just wanted to taste her again. “Do what?” Not that he needed her to tell him. He knew that the best thing for her would be for him to walk away and not look back, but he couldn’t. It wasn’t the best thing for him, and he knew it.
There was something drawing him to her, and Gage didn’t want to walk away. He wanted to right his wrong, and the only way he could do that was to prove to her that he could be trusted.
He was being incredibly selfish, but he couldn’t convince himself to walk away.
“You’ve already hurt me once,” she whispered, his mouth hovering inches from hers. “And I can’t resist you. I’ve tried. I really have. But I deserve better, Gage. I deserve so much better.”
Gage’s chest pounded with the rhythm of his heart. He wasn’t holding his breath any longer because it had all been stolen right out of his chest. She was right. She deserved so much better. So why couldn’t he just walk away? Why couldn’t he give her the space she deserved?
Without thinking, Gage continued to lean in closer, using one hand to tilt her chin up so her eyes met his. Even through the sheen of tears in her eyes, he still recognized the longing. The same thing that pulled him to her was reflecting back, and for the life of him, he couldn’t resist. He wanted to convince her.
He just wanted one more chance.
When she licked her lips, he lost what little control he’d brought with him. He was as gentle as he could possibly be considering his body was aflame with something distinctly foreign to him. Lust was a familiar emotion that he had a fond relationship with, but this was something more than that. Sure, when her lips touched his, his entire body stood up and took notice. His muscles tightened, the hair on his scalp tingled strangely, and his stomach did that odd clenching thing that it had done the first time she kissed him. The same as it had when Travis...
No, he wasn’t going there. He wanted to be here with her. Kylie. Only her. There was no room in his life for even the consideration of what Travis was trying to tempt him with. Gage didn’t have it in him to let Travis string him along for however long it appeased him. Unlike Travis, Gage would end up getting hurt. He wasn’t nearly as emotionally adrift as Travis, and quite frankly, he wanted something more. Something everlasting.
Gage forced himself to pay attention to the sweet, soft mouth pressed against his, the firm, curvy body now moving closer as Kylie gave in to him as much as he was giving in to her. This was inevitable. Ever since their first kiss, he’d known there was something more with this woman.
Gage tilted her head back slightly, changing the angle of the kiss, delving into her mouth until she was damn near climbing him again. He was doing everything he could not to push her up against the nearest wall and reach for the slick warmth he knew he would find between her legs.
“Kylie,” he breathed against her mouth, his tongue licking her lower lip, his fingers still threaded through her silken hair. “I can’t stop this.” He didn’t want to stop it, although he knew he should, but he’d proven how weak she made him once before, and it was quickly happening again.
“I need you to go,” she said, sounding sad. There wasn’t a trace of anger in her voice and Gage was somewhat surprised, but the tone also tore his heart apart.
She was stronger than he was, and if he cared for her the way he was convinced he did, Gage knew it was best if he walked away.
He nodded his head, knowing she was right. He needed to go. Unfortunately, he didn’t think she was just asking him to leave for the night. Kylie was telling him to leave and never come back. He wanted to beg her to change her mind. Beg her to take the job because he’d never find anyone who would be able to do as good of a job as she would do. It was his grandmother’s house and he cherished it, but that was just an excuse; an excuse to keep her in his life for just a little while so he could prove to her that he wasn’t an asshole that went around hurting people.
It wouldn’t matter, he knew. She wasn’t going to listen and quite frankly, it was his own fucking fault.
Without another word, Gage grabbed his hat from the floor where it had fallen earlier and walked back out the way he had originally come in. He didn’t look back because he wasn’t sure he would be able to keep going if he did.
And the last thing he wanted was for Kylie to see that his heart was breaking, the way his chest heaved as he swallowed the painful lump in his throat was proof.
Chapter Nine
♂♀
Two months later… June
“Fucking hell, Travis. Shit! I told you, he’ll be back today. That’s what Gage said when I talked to him this morning,” Kaleb exclaimed, clearly frustrated.
Well, it was gratifying to know he was back to his old self, getting his brothers riled up with minimal effort. Yes, he was enjoying the hell out of it at the moment too. Travis had perfected the art of being a royal pain in the fucking ass, but in his defense, they expected it from him.
He was just trying to be consistent.
Hell, Kaleb should be praising him as it was. Sitting in the small construction office of Walker Demolition with his brother, Travis had managed to bottle the question for the last hour. Never mind that it was the second time he’d asked since Kaleb walked in the door.
Ok, so yes, he was being a dick. Getting Kaleb pissed off by pestering him about Gage’s whereabouts was too easy. And a little amusing. Which only helped to take Travis’ mind off of some of his questions. Like why no one had heard anything from Gage. Not since the man passed out at the club, sleeping off a bender on the couch in Travis’ rented apartment.
Since he walked out the door after Gage began to stir in the early morning hours, Travis hadn’t seen or heard from him. Not that he expected to because he was pretty sure Gage didn’t remember a thing. And he was almost certain he didn’t realize it was Travis’ apartment he was passed out in. It wasn’t like Travis had any personal items there that would give him away. He liked his anonymity, and since the apartment was little more than a recreation room when he was in town, he didn’t feel the need to clutter it up with personal shit.
Despite Kaleb’s steadfast denial, Travis was pretty sure he kept in touch with Gage regularly. Ever since the mishap at Kaleb’s when Gage showed up with Travis’ wife in tow, Kaleb was keeping his distance from Gage, but he knew he wasn’t shunning him entirely. Not that Travis had shared any information with his brother, but loyalty was loyalty. As it should be.
Over the course of two months, Travis had managed to retain some of his sanity. After the first time he drove by Kylie’s house on a stakeout mission to see whether Gage
was there or not, he hadn’t been back. Of course, his stupid ass still wanted to go see how she was doing, but somehow he’d manage to argue himself out of that epic mistake waiting to happen.
Finding Gage at her house would’ve been the worst thing that could’ve happened, but much to his surprise, he had found no evidence to support Gage was staying with her. He’d been a happy mother fucker after that little revelation.
Didn’t mean he wasn’t interested in going back, but Travis had focused on getting his life back to normal. There was no sense in throwing any additional chaos into Kylie’s perfect life. Gage had seemed to handle that splendidly, and Travis saw where that got him.
Missing. That’s where.
Not that Travis expected her to embrace Gage with open arms, but if he knew anything at all, it was how painfully difficult it was to let a woman like Kylie slip out of his hands. He didn’t think Gage was immune to her sweet charm either, even if he’d pulled the most dumbass move anyone could possibly come up with.
Travis had gone rounds with his own conscience ever since, wondering whether Kylie would even give Gage the time of day after that incident. Surely not, but then again, Travis had never expected her to waltz back into his world one day and blow his resolve clear to hell and back.
Now that he knew exactly where she lived, it had been even more difficult to refrain from going to see her. She was a temptation he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to walk away from the second time, and Kylie Prescott deserved so much better than him. And that was the only valid reason he was keeping his distance.
He was having a hard enough time keeping his attention from straying places it shouldn’t in the first damn place. If his reaction to her after seeing her for less than five minutes was any indication, Travis knew that showing up on her doorstep would only make things worse for him.
And her.
“What time?” he asked Kaleb, doing his best to piss him off even more because he didn’t have anything better to do.
“Not doing it today, Trav. You can take your pissy attitude somewhere else. I’ve got work to do.” Kaleb didn’t bother looking up from his computer, and Travis knew he wouldn’t get anything more out of his brother.
Mission accomplished.
Truthfully, he was so fucking frustrated with the entire situation that irritating the shit out of his brothers, and anyone else who stepped in his way, had become his sole focus. He’d much rather turn his aggravation on Gage, but again, the man was MIA.
Travis still wasn’t entirely sure what prompted Gage to react the way he did. Hell, they had shared a couple of kisses. Granted, they would’ve shared much, much more had they ever had the opportunity in the form of just a little more privacy. And since the timing was never right, Gage couldn’t pretend to be the scorned lover.
Standing, he decided he would go check to see what other sort of trouble he could get mixed up with. He hadn’t been by the resort yet today, so maybe he’d start there. They’d come a long way in recent months. Much farther than Travis expected anyway. He figured his contractors were well aware of his temper and considering he was riding their ass day in and day out, he had expected some serious progress. Just not this much.
They would be thrilled to see him.
Grabbing his hard hat off of the small table in the miniscule kitchen area, Travis took off out the door. He could’ve sworn he heard Kaleb sigh in relief as he stepped out into the oppressive, Texas heat. The thought made him smile.
Travis rounded the front of his truck and was just about to climb in when he noticed an unfamiliar truck pulling down the dirt driveway that led to the construction office. Glancing down at his watch, he checked the time and tried to remember if he was expecting anyone. He didn’t think he had any meetings, so he waited for the stranger to park.
The windows were tinted and the bright, morning sun was reflecting off of the glass so he couldn’t see who was in the four door red Chevy pickup. He knew it wasn’t one of his contractors because one, their trucks didn’t look that clean and shiny – or new – and two, they wouldn’t bring that fancy shit on the property. Hell, Sawyer was even keeping his prized possessions locked up these days thanks to all of the construction going on around them.
The driver’s door finally opened, and Travis watched as a woman got out. Long, golden brown hair was all he could see because she was facing away from him, but he knew at once who the silky hair belonged to. His body had a strange reaction to the sight of her, and he was tempted to jump in his truck like he never even noticed her. He realized it was too late for that when Kylie turned and faced him, their eyes connecting over the hood of her shiny red truck.
So maybe there was a tiny amount of hope that swelled up from one of the dark, dusty corners in his chest, but when Kylie didn’t greet him with either a smile or words, he forced himself to think rationally. Why in the world would she have come to see him? Whatever it was, he knew it wouldn’t be good. As she approached, Travis tried to find words but came up bone fucking dry. He didn’t even know how to greet her.
Tucking his hands into the pockets of his jeans, his attempt at appearing cool and collected, Travis watched intently as she opened the passenger door and leaned in to grab something. Without contemplating the results of his actions, Travis let his eyes linger on her stunning ass encased in a pair of tight denim shorts as she leaned into the truck, her toned thigh muscles stretching beautifully.
Ok, shit. Now something else was stretching. Fuck.
He must’ve been admiring the view for a little too long because when he looked up, Kylie was glancing back at him over her shoulder and she didn’t look happy about being visually molested.
But hell, it made him feel better.
“Hey,” he said, finally finding his voice.
“Hey.” Kylie shut the door with a little more force than was necessary and then closed some of the distance between them.
Just like the first day he laid eyes on her almost eleven years ago, the woman stole his breath right out of his lungs without a please or thank you. Not only was she stunningly gorgeous, remarkably little had changed about her appearance over the last decade. Her eyes were still a sparkling baby blue, her hair still long and silky, her lithe body still just as curvy and sexy as hell in those faded blue jean shorts and… boots.
Awww, fucking hell.
She was country from head to toe and, truthfully, it wouldn’t matter what she was wearing, she still managed to give him a damned hard on just by breathing.
“I brought you these,” Kylie said, interrupting his perusal of her sinfully tempting body. Her sweet voice and sexy country drawl brought back an influx of memories, and all of them a reminder of exactly how stupid he was.
How the hell had he ever walked away from her all those years ago? Looks aside, Kylie had been sweet and innocent, and so damned good to him, his heart still hurt with the memories that flooded his brain.
Travis glanced down at her hands, noticing for the first time the manila envelope she was holding out to him.
“What’s this?” He couldn’t imagine what she could possibly have for him.
There was a brief pause as she glanced down and then back up while he reached out to take the proffered envelope. “Divorce papers,” she said sternly and Travis’ eyes flew up to meet hers.
He didn’t move to open the envelope, but he managed to keep his fingers clasped on the edge, fighting the urge to squeeze.
“This should be relatively simple,” she explained without an ounce of emotion. “I found a lawyer, and he’s reasonable when it comes to uncontested divorces. The only thing you need to do is sign. After you read them, of course. If you have objections to anything, let me know. It’s cut and dried. No property, no children...”
Travis watched her mouth move, his heart pounding unusually hard in his chest, but he barely heard a word she was saying.
He’d never considered this day actually coming, and he didn’t know why. Not that he expected them to be
married forever, but in reality, Travis had never envisioned himself divorced. Then again, he never pictured he’d have the balls to walk away from this woman either. He’d been a coward, pure and simple, and he’d regretted his decision for so many years. But as each day passed and the pain eased marginally, he knew it was too late.
Nodding his understanding, he looked back into her eyes, noticing the sweet innocence he had once seen was no longer there. In its place, there was a void of some sort. As though she had steeled herself for heartache and didn’t expect anything else.
“My phone number is on the last page, so if you want to call me when you’ve signed them, I’ll come back and pick them up.”
Travis couldn’t speak. There was a lump in his throat the size of a fucking beach ball and he could barely swallow around it, much less talk.
“Well, I guess I’ll be seeing you,” Kylie said quickly and turned to head back to her truck.
Before she could get too far, Travis reached out and grabbed her arm as gently as he possibly could, his body working on instinct. When she turned to look at him, staring up at him with wide eyes, he couldn’t do anything more than peer into a sea of brilliant blue. He was searching for something, but he wasn’t sure what. Something to tell him that, for the last ten years, she had thought about him as much as he thought about her.
Nothing. Travis saw absolutely no emotion in her eyes. It was almost like she was a passerby and was shocked that he had stopped her in the first place.
Another nod and he let her go, his fingers gripping the envelope tighter, barely refraining from crushing it in his hand. He watched as Kylie rushed back to her gleaming fire engine red truck, never blinking until she disappeared inside and then he watched until the tail lights faded down the dirt road.
Divorce papers.
Of all the places Travis thought he would be in life, this certainly wasn’t one of them. Now the question was what he was supposed to do next.
Travis - An Alluring Indulgence Novel Page 8