Beach Reads Boxed Set

by Marie Force

  When Travis emerged from the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist, her face was still buried in the pillow. He kissed his way up the bare slope of her back, causing her to shiver. “Why are you hiding in that pillow?”

  Her cheeks burning, she didn’t answer him.

  “Liana,” he sang. “Show your face.”

  “Can’t.”

  He laughed as he trailed a finger over her ribs. “I have ways of getting you out of there,” he said as he tickled her.

  She squealed and turned away from his tickling hand.

  He brushed the hair back from her face. “Are you embarrassed, sweetheart?”

  She bit her lip and nodded but still didn’t look at him.

  Travis bent his head to trail kisses over her neck. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

  She winced. “If you say so.”

  He took her chin and forced her to meet his eyes. “You’re a beautiful, sexy woman, Liana. Don’t be ashamed of enjoying yourself in bed.”

  She lowered her eyes again when her cheeks burned.

  “Liana,” he said with a sigh as he kissed her blush. “Last night was the most incredible night, and I hate that I have to go to work, but I have a bunch of stuff going on today.” He opened his hand and keys dangled from his finger.

  “What’ve you got there?”

  “Keys to my car and to this place. You’ve seen me use the key in the elevator, right?”

  She nodded.

  “Come and go as you please. Take the car. Go have lunch with your mother, and then bring her back with you to have dinner at the club tonight, okay?”

  “Won’t you need your car today?”

  “I’m in meetings most of the day, and if I have to go anywhere, I can use one of the trucks. You do have a driver’s license, don’t you?”

  She smiled. “I haven’t driven in a while, but yes, I have a license. I don’t want to take your car, though.”

  “It’s insured.”

  She laughed and reached for his freshly shaven face. “Thank you,” she said, kissing him softly.

  “You aren’t going to die of shame today, are you?”

  “I might,” she confessed.

  “Don’t.” He nudged the sheet aside and drew her sore nipple gently into his mouth. “Because I want to do it all over again tonight.”

  She trembled as her body responded to his touch.

  He pulled back with what seemed to be great reluctance. “I have to go,” he said with another sigh. “Next week I’m taking some time off so we can stay in bed all day.”

  “You’re going to kill me.”

  He reached for the box of condoms on the bedside table and shook it. The few that were left rattled inside. “I should’ve gotten the bigger box.”

  Liana went back into the pillow. “Stop,” she said in a muffled voice.

  “I had no idea you’d be so insatiable.”

  That got her out from her hiding place. “Me?”

  He laughed and got up to dress in a dark olive summer suit.

  As Liana watched him move around the room, she decided he was the sexiest man she’d ever known—and she’d known plenty of sexy men. But none of them possessed his unique combination of stunning good looks, sensitivity, and humor. Not to mention sexual prowess. Yes, don’t forget about that, she thought with a little giggle.

  “What are you laughing at?” he asked with a smile as he adjusted his tie and turned to her.

  “Nothing.”

  He shocked her when he flopped down on top of her. “Tell me.”

  She was hit with a fit of the giggles, which he encouraged when he tickled her ribs again. “Travis! Stop!”

  “Tell me what you were laughing at.”

  “Okay, okay,” she said, trying to catch her breath. “I was making a mental list of all the things I like about you.”

  “This I need to hear.”

  As her hands sought out his back under his suit coat, she decided to indulge him. “You’re very, very, very good looking, but I’m sure you know that.”

  “Yes, it’s something I think about quite a lot.”

  With a smile, she said, “You’re funny and fun and sensitive.”

  He groaned. “You had to throw that in there, didn’t you?”

  “It’s true,” she insisted.

  He made a face at the compliment. “So which of my so-called attributes did you find humorous?”

  She blushed again. “The sexual prowess part.”

  His grin was smug. “Prowess, huh? I like that one.” “I figured you would.”

  He rewarded her with a lingering kiss, and Liana was startled to realize he was aroused again.

  “You’d better go,” she said, running her fingers through his still-damp hair.

  “I don’t want to.”

  “You have meetings.”

  “I have the sexiest woman in the world in my bed. Suddenly, my meetings don’t seem so important.”

  She gave him a little push. “Travis . . .”

  With a rumbling groan, he rolled over and sat up. He looked back at her over his shoulder. “Don’t retreat from me today, Liana.”

  The concern on his face moved her as she reached for his hand. “I won’t.”

  He kissed her hand and then her lips. “Dinner at seven?”

  “We’ll be there.”

  “I’ll think of you today,” he said. “Will you think of me?”

  “I think it’s safe to assume you’ll cross my mind.”

  He smiled. “Good.”

  Chapter Ten

  Travis whistled as he walked with Dash across the lawn to his office in the country club. The sun had chased away the rain, the bay sparkled, and the air was filled with the scent of jasmine. A perfect day after a perfect night. How am I ever going to wait until tonight to see her again? How am I ever going to let her go in eleven short days?

  He told her he’d never married because he hadn’t found anyone he could imagine spending that much time with. After one night with her he had little doubt he could spend forever with her and be totally content. But she’d made it clear she was leaving at the end of her two-week vacation, so it didn’t do him any good to indulge in fantasies about something that could never happen.

  “Trav!”

  He stopped and turned to see Beck jogging to catch up with him.

  “Morning,” Beck said.

  “Hey.” Travis gave his friend a quick once over. “What’s with the scruffy look today?”

  “Never made it home last night.” And right before Travis North’s astounded eyes, Peter Beck blushed.

  “You and Jessica Stone?”

  “It’s not what you think.”

  “Oh no?” Travis asked, enjoying Beck’s embarrassment. “Then what is it?”

  “She was kind of stirred up about the stalker and everything, so I stayed to keep her company, and we ended up falling asleep on the sofa.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Totally platonic. I swear.”

  “If you say so. What’s she like?”

  “Adorable. It’s hard to believe the sexy vixen in the pictures is really her. She wants to meet you to thank you for having her.”

  “I’ll check on her later, and I’m sure Liana will, too.”

  “She’d like that.”

  “Any sign of reporters?”

  “Afraid so,” Beck said. “I got a call from the gate that there’s about twenty of them camped outside.”

  “Shit,” Travis hissed. “What about Liana’s mother’s house?”

  “Ten more over there.”

  “Goddamn it!” Travis kicked at the gravel walkway with frustration. “All she wants is a little peace and quiet. Is that too much to ask?”

  “Not if she stays on the property. We can keep them out of here, but once she leaves here, there’s not much I can do.”

  “I just gave her my car keys. She’s going to meet her mother for lunch.”

  “Why don’t you h
ave her mom come here instead?”

  “She’s not going to want to be locked up here like a prisoner.” Frustrated, Travis ran a hand through his hair. “What are my other choices?”

  “I could assign a couple of guys to tail her to make sure no one hassles her.”

  As he tried to decide what to do, Travis glanced up at The Tower.

  “Trav?”

  He thought about what Liana had said about crossing a line and letting them win. But his worries about her being pursued, bothered, taunted, or even possibly harmed in some way took precedence. “Do it.”

  Beck studied him for a moment. “Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, sure. I’m fine.”

  “You and Liana McDermott.” Beck shook his head with amusement. “Didn’t see that one coming.”

  “Don’t get all excited. It’s temporary.”

  “Is that right?”

  “She’s leaving a week from Sunday to go back to work.”

  Beck rubbed at his chin as he nodded.

  Travis sighed. “What? I can tell you’re just dying to say something.”

  “I’ve known you a long time, and there’s something different about you the last couple of days. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to wonder if maybe Liana McDermott is the reason.”

  “She’s an amazing woman, Beck.”

  Beck chuckled at the understatement.

  “I’m not just talking about how she looks. Once you get to know her, really know her, how she looks becomes almost secondary.”

  “Ah, yeah, okay,” Beck said with a snicker.

  “Seriously,” Travis insisted. “Oh, never mind.” He started to walk away, but Beck stopped him with a hand on his arm.

  “Hey, I’m only razzing you, man. Just be careful.”

  “Of what?”

  “I don’t want to see you get hurt. If she means it when she says she’s leaving, be careful.”

  Ready to change a subject that was getting far too close for comfort, Travis asked, “Did you find out who sold the picture to the rags?”

  “We’re all but certain it was the wedding photographer. I told him you wanted to see him at ten about a big commission.”

  “Good. Maybe you’d better be there, too—to keep me from kicking his ass.”

  Beck snorted. “I’d stand back and watch.”

  Liana decided to take a bath in Travis’s big tub. The hot water eased away aches in places she’d never ached before. She rested her head against the tub, completely relaxed for the first time in longer than she could remember.

  No one was waiting impatiently to do her hair and makeup, no wardrobe people were yelling at her to hurry up, no insufferable photographers were waiting to twist her into inhuman positions and then tell her to hold them for hours. Even the anxiety she’d felt only yesterday about when Travis would decide the time was right to make love to her was gone now. Only mindless relaxation remained, something she rarely experienced in her regular life.

  She sighed and crossed her legs against the tingle that developed between them when she relived the night she’d spent with Travis. He’d been a passionate lover, but then, she had known he would be. Her cheeks burned when she remembered crying out from the almost painful pleasure he brought her. For all his big talk about one orgasm after another, he had definitely delivered. And even though it was embarrassing to think about it, she wished he hadn’t left so they could do it again right now.

  Soon enough, she thought, as she got out of the tub to get dressed in the same clothes she’d had on yesterday—minus the panties she couldn’t find anywhere. She smiled when she realized he had hidden them from her. This fling was the best idea I’ve ever had—or I should say, the best idea Enid’s ever had. Liana snickered when she thought of her cousin. She’d be proud of me today.

  Half an hour later, she took the elevator to the parking garage. It stopped on the fifth floor, and when the doors opened Liana was surprised to find Jessica Stone waiting for the elevator. She had almost forgotten the other woman was coming to stay. “Hi, Jessie,” Liana said, holding the door open for her.

  “Hey, Liana. Thank you so much for arranging all this. I had no idea Artie was going to dump my troubles on you.”

  “It’s no problem, and Travis is the one who arranged everything.”

  “I’d like to meet him to thank him, too.”

  “He’ll be around later. He has meetings this morning.”

  “Is he an old friend of yours? I seem to remember you being from up this way.”

  “I’m from here,” Liana said, her cheeks blazing with embarrassment when memories of her night with Travis resurfaced. “But I only recently met him.”

  “Oh.”

  “We’re having a fling.” The moment the words rushed out of her mouth Liana wished she could take them back.

  Jessie stared at her, shocked. “Oh.”

  “I’ve never done anything like this before. I don’t want you to think—”

  Jessie patted her arm. “You shouldn’t worry about what anyone else thinks.”

  “No?”

  “Of course not. You need to relax and enjoy your vacation.”

  “Yes, you’re right.” With a sly smile, Liana added, “I am enjoying it. What about you? Are you all right? Artie didn’t say much about what’s been going on.”

  “I’ve got this freak making my life hell,” Jessie said in her cute Southern accent as they stepped off the elevator in the garage. “He’s been bothering me for months, but lately it’s gotten totally out of hand. I was about to have a breakdown, so Artie suggested I get out of town while the cops try to track him down. I feel bad that Artie sucked you into this. I didn’t know he was going to ask you.”

  “I don’t mind. This is the ideal place to hide out, but we might have some trouble with the press. There was a bunch of crap in the rags about me yesterday.”

  Jessie winced. “I heard. I’m sorry.”

  “I’d hate for them to figure out that you’re here, too.”

  “They don’t usually recognize me.”

  “Enjoy that while it lasts,” Liana said with a sigh. “Well, I’m going to head to my mother’s. Do you have everything you need?”

  “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

  “You should try to relax while you’re here. It’s a great place to be stuck.”

  “It’s beautiful. I’m going to go check out the beach.”

  Liana reached out to give the younger woman a quick hug. “I’ll see you later.” She walked across the garage, and with a look of trepidation for the gleaming burgundy Jaguar and a deep breath for courage, she opened the door. Driving slower than an old lady she left the garage and turned toward the main gate. “Oh, no,” she groaned when she saw the gaggle of reporters and photographers gathered just outside the gate.

  Reaching for the Red Sox cap she had left in the car the day before, she put it on and pulled it down over her eyes as she gunned the car through the gate and up the hill. A glance in the rearview mirror told her she had succeeded in escaping without drawing notice from the paparazzi. They aren’t expecting one of the world’s top models to be driving herself, Liana thought with a burst of giggles. How good it felt to win a round with the relentless media!

  Liana turned up the radio and rolled down the window. Singing her way through Portsmouth, she reveled in the music, the warm summer breeze, and the powerful car. “I need to drive more often,” she said. “I’d forgotten how much I like it.”

  She pulled onto McCorrie Lane and slowed to a crawl when she saw children playing in the street. Navigating the last bend before her mother’s house, Liana gasped when she saw more reporters and photographers waiting for her. “Damn it!”

  Maybe if I talk to them for a minute they’ll leave me alone. She pulled into her mother’s driveway, took off the hat, and ran a hand through her hair.

  “Liana!” they yelled the moment she stepped out of the car. Three men in North Point polo shirts attempted to keep them o
ff her mother’s lawn.

  “Liana! What’s going on with you and Travis North?”

  “How did you meet North?”

  “Is there any truth to rumors of an engagement?”

  Where do they get this stuff? Liana made her way across the lawn to talk to them for a minute. Travis’s three big men held them back as fast-action cameras clicked and flash bulbs burst.

  “Did you know he gave up a chance to play in the NFL?”

  “What do you have to say about the pictures on the Internet?”

  That stopped her cold. “What pictures?”

  “You and Travis North,” one of them replied with a dirty grin.

  Liana turned on her heel and went into the house while they renewed their efforts to get her to talk to them. Inside she went straight to her mother’s bedroom. Liana had bought her mother a laptop and taught her how to use it so they could send each other e-mails when Liana was overseas. She opened the browser and called up one of the more salacious entertainment Web sites.

  “Liana’s New Lover Once Spurned the NFL,” the headline said. “Oh my God,” she moaned as she watched time-progression photos of Travis taking her hands and leading her inside the night before. Since Travis’s apartment was the highest place in town, the photos must have been taken from an airplane. Liana’s mind raced as she watched the clip again.

  I didn’t even hear an airplane. I was too wrapped up in him to hear anything. The site included a link to coverage of Travis turning down the offer from the Arizona Cardinals. Liana clicked on the story and read it. The photo that accompanied it was of a much younger Travis. Another headline caught her eye: “North Supports Brother with Downs.”

  Liana’s eyes filled when she opened the link to find a Special Olympics photo of Travis running alongside a boy who would have looked just like him except for the telltale Down’s Syndrome features. Putting her head down on the desk, she was filled with dismay at the invasion of his privacy that she had caused.