Forbidden Promises

by Synithia Williams

  Would she be here that long? Did she need clothes once he came out of the bathroom? Maybe the robe was all that would be required. No, she would need clothes if Travis had his own doubts about this. What if he didn’t want her to stay long?

  It’s not like he hasn’t changed his mind before.

  The water in the bathroom stopped and the door opened before those thoughts could take root like a vine and wrap her mind in doubt. India clutched the robe’s lapels and gaped.

  Travis stood in the door wearing nothing but a pair of crisp white boxer briefs. Steam from the bathroom billowed out around him. He looked at the bed, then up at her. The corners of his lips tipped up slightly as if unsure if his smile should come out and play.

  “You’re up. Sorry, I wasn’t trying to wake you.”

  India snapped her mouth closed and dragged her eyes off the damp skin of his chiseled chest. Though meeting his dark eyes across a bedroom didn’t reduce her racing heart.

  “You’re fine. I don’t usually sleep in anyway.”

  They stood staring for several moments. His eyes, intent and sexy, were locked with hers. Each passing second made breathing harder. A wild rush of excitement infused her bloodstream. The softness of the robe brushed her skin with every short breath she took, and she wished Travis’s hands brushed her arms, legs and breasts instead.

  “Did you need to get in here?” He pointed over his shoulder toward the bathroom.

  Her brain cleared instantly. She looked not quite hungover, but more I-drank-too-much-and-need-a-shower sloppy. India clutched the boxers and T-shirt in her hand and hurried across the room. “Yes, actually, I do.”

  Travis stepped to the side. Her shoulder brushed his chest as she rushed into the bathroom with her head tucked low. There was no chance in hell she would give him a close-up look of her unwashed, first-thing-in-the-morning face. His fingers brushed her hip through the thick layer of the robe. The robe might as well have burst into flames from the sparks ignited by his touch.

  “You okay?”

  “Yep, I’m good,” she answered without looking up and rushed into the bathroom. She slammed the door quickly behind her, then leaned heavily against it. She was being a tad ridiculous, but she wasn’t prepared. What happened next? Were they taking things slow, talking about their next steps, immediately jumping into bed together? Option three made her wet, and she shook her head. Talk first. Then worry about next steps.

  She got in the shower and hoped the mundane routine would calm her. It didn’t. The warm water on her skin was like a silky caress. Made her yearn for Travis’s hands on her body. As her hands slid across her breasts, stomach and legs, desire grew and stretched inside her until she thought she’d explode. Another round of shouldn’t-she-feel-bad-for-salivating-to-ride-Travis-like-a-cowboy-at-a-rodeo hit her as she shut off the water.

  Travis knocked on the door after she turned off the shower. India wrapped the towel around her and cracked open the door. He held up the toothbrush and other items she’d called down for.

  “Oh, thanks!” India held out her hand.

  Travis didn’t hand her the items. His gaze followed the drop of water trailing down her neck to the tops of her breasts. He swallowed hard. His eyes flared like a torch.

  Sweet tingles spread from her breasts to the junction of her thighs. She tightened the muscles of her sex as that cowboy part of her that wanted to jump him whooped in anticipation.

  India snatched the toothbrush out of his hand and stepped back. Travis blinked several times. She bit the corner of her lip to stop her grin. “I’ll be out in a second.”

  He nodded as if only half hearing what she said. His eyes were once again following the path of another drop of water as it meandered down her chest.

  India closed the door and quickly dried off. She brushed her teeth and put on the clean pair of boxers and T-shirt she’d taken from his suitcase. She focused on the talking points of what would happen next if they proceeded with this relationship. Anything to not focus on the look on his face that said he was just as ready to have her in his arms as she was.

  What if he waited on the other side of the door? What if, when she finally came out, he pulled her into his embrace and kissed her before tossing her on the bed and giving her everything that last hot look promised and more?

  She checked her reflection in the mirror one more time and ran her fingers through her hair until there was a messy order to the curling strands. Her heart hammered as she wrapped her hand around the bathroom doorknob. She swung open the door, but Travis wasn’t waiting on the other side.

  India sighed and closed her eyes. She was completely ridiculous. Of course, he wasn’t pacing on the other side ready to pounce on her. They were adults. There was a lot to think through and discuss.

  “Hey, India,” Travis called from the other room in the suite. “I’m ordering breakfast. What do you want?”

  Her anticipation dropped even more. So much for the fantasy of Travis being tight with anticipation after seeing her in only a towel. “Give me a second and I’ll look at the menu,” she said loudly, bending over to pick up her pants.

  “What?” he called back.

  She tried to slip one leg into the pants and hopped to the bedroom door. “I said, give—” Her words were cut short as she stumbled forward.

  She reached for the doorframe to stop her fall. A strong hand gripped her waist. Her fall was broken by Travis’s broad—still naked—chest. One hand slapped against the muscles of his torso, the other gripped the biceps of the arm that slipped around her waist, catching her.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

  The light in Travis’s eyes turned her knees to putty. “I’m not.” His voice was low and thick.

  Travis captured her mouth in a searing kiss. India’s body caught fire. The feelings storming her made her feel like they hadn’t just kissed the day before. The press of his body and the taste of his lips were as hot and potent as she remembered. India’s fingers snaked down his firm chest and abdomen. The muscles beneath her fingertips flexed and tensed with her touch. His fingers dug into her hair and he kissed her with an urgency that made her pulse pound.

  The waistband of his shorts blocked her exploration. She hesitated a beat before slipping her hands past the barrier and wrapping her fingers around the hard length of his erection.

  Travis gasped. His mouth broke apart from hers. Dark eyes burned into hers before he pulled her head back and placed hot kisses across her neck. His other hand engulfed her breast, kneading and squeezing until her nipples were hard, aching peaks.

  He pulled back, jerked her hand from its greedy exploration of his thick length, and yanked the T-shirt up and off her body. When she reached for him, he shook his head. He took her hands in his and spread her arms until each hand was braced by the frame of the door. With a wicked smile on his face, he lowered to his knees and eased the boxers down her legs. Long fingers pressed against the insides of her thighs until she parted her legs.

  Travis stood and watched her. Her body spread open for his review and approval. Her heart pounded an erratic beat. The scandalous look in his eye was kerosene on the flames rushing through her veins.

  He ran his hands down her sides, then slowly back up until he cupped her breasts. Gently lifting them, Travis lowered his mouth and took one tight tip between his lips. India felt the pull all the way in her toes. Her chest arched forward, begging for more. He savored one plump mound before gliding his decadent lips across to the other.

  Her body quivered and pulsed. Every time her hand dropped to touch him, he slowly placed it back against the doorjamb.

  “Let me savor you,” he said in a low growl against her breast.

  India moaned deep and loud. “Please do.”

  She heard the plea in her voice and didn’t give a single fuck. She’d wanted Travis for too
long. Dreamed of his hands, lips and body near hers like this. As much as she wanted him on top of her, inside of her, she also didn’t want to rush. Savor was the perfect word, because she wanted to drown in the feelings he’d awakened.

  Travis slowly lowered to his knees in front of her. Hot hands gripped her waist, the tips of his fingers digging into her skin as if she were a lifeline. Boldly, she tilted her hips forward. Through slitted lids, she watched to see his reaction to her decadent request.

  His mouth lifted in a sexy smile that would make fallen angels beg for more. He leaned forward. India sucked in a breath. Her mouth fell open and the tip of her tongue touched the corner of her mouth. Travis kissed her inner thigh. She groaned and shuddered.

  “Don’t play with me,” she said in a breathless voice.

  His answering chuckle told her he planned to play with her even more. He kissed her thighs. His hand ran up and down her legs, squeezing her thighs, tickling the back of her knees and rising up to squeeze her ass. Trembles racked her body. She was so wet and swollen, she would be embarrassed if she didn’t want to kill him for teasing her like this. She was about to grab the back of his head and show him exactly where she wanted him when he finally slid a long finger between her wet folds and pulled it back with a drawn-out, firm stroke. Her knees nearly buckled. She gripped the door just to keep from falling over.

  “Now you’re ready,” he murmured. Using this thumb and forefinger, he spread her open, exposing her swollen clit before his perfect lips closed over her in the sexiest of kisses.

  India’s hand fell and cupped the back of his head. Travis pushed one finger deep into her while his lips and tongue made her his. The deep, pleasurable moans he made as he took her to the edges of the universe were nearly as loud as hers. He didn’t seem to notice her nails digging into the back of his head. And when her leg lifted to give him a better angle, he took it and placed it over his shoulder.

  The orgasm tore through her like buckshot through wet paper, ripping her inside and out. She was falling, but Travis was up and caught her. As her body trembled and aftershocks racked her from head to toe, he carried her to the bed and laid her there. Travis got a condom out of his bag, and quickly covered himself before joining her on the bed. When his mouth covered hers, she wrapped her arms around his body and pulled him closer. His knee slipped between her legs, and India opened them wide to let him settle heavily between them. His hips shifted back, then forward and he filled her.

  “Travis...” His name was a prayer on her lips.

  His hand gripped her hip. “India...damn baby... I can’t...”

  Her nails dug into his firm butt. Urging him to keep moving. If he stopped, she’d kill him. He didn’t stop. He branded her with hard, deep strokes. His forehead rested against hers. His eyes barely open, but wide enough for her to see the claim in them. The vow that this wasn’t the end. The fierce promise to take her to these heights again and again.

  India’s heart squeezed, and love flooded her system. Tomorrow didn’t matter. This was right. The feelings between them weren’t wrong and now that she was here, she couldn’t imagine trying to go back.

  His mouth claimed hers in a hard, demanding kiss. Then his body tensed, and he jerked as a climax took over. Her body squeezed around him and then she crashed over the edge again. She rode the wave, savored the moment and let everything wash away except for her and Travis in this one perfect moment.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  “I NEED TO understand why you married Elaina.”

  The cocoon of contentment Travis had surrounded himself in since making love to India that morning split wide open with those eight words. He shifted next to India on the blanket they’d laid out in one of the relatively secluded areas off the Deer Park Trail on the Biltmore Estate. After the best morning of his life, they’d decided to tour the famous estate once home to the Vanderbilts and explore the grounds. Everything had been perfect, but he’d known this was coming. Not only was the conversation as overdue as milk four weeks past expiration, but she deserved to hear the truth.

  India pulled away from where she’d leaned on his arm. She looked at him with a direct stare. Was she bracing herself for bad news?

  “The real reason,” she said her voice firm. “After the night we shared. That night was so much more than just us drinking and kissing. I thought you felt something. Before we move forward, I need to know why you went through with marrying her.”

  Travis searched for the words. The confession he’d wanted to give for years. How many times had he imagined calling her and telling her what happened? Felt the urge to explain he hadn’t casually tossed her aside as if she were a used piece of dental floss? Now all the reasons felt inadequate. He never should have left her.

  “I thought I had no other choice.”

  Her brows drew together. “So it’s true. My dad forced you?”

  “Not entirely.”

  She raised a brow. “What does that mean?”

  He thought back to that time and the choice he’d believed was the honorable one to make. “I don’t know how he found out, but Grant knew what happened the night of your birthday. He confronted me about it. Accused me of taking advantage of you when I was still...involved with your sister.”

  Grant’s words were cruder than what Travis told India. He’d called Travis a dog who was unfit for either of his daughters. Charged Travis with not only treating his daughters like whores he could use at his whim but thinking Grant’s mentorship would protect him.

  “He knows what happened?” India’s eyes widened. She pressed both hands over her face. “I mean... I suspected but I didn’t know for sure.” She dragged her hands down her face.

  “Sorry to be the one to confirm this for you.”

  “Did he say you had to marry Elaina because you and she were...” She rolled her hand in a you know movement.

  He shook his head. “No. That wasn’t the reason. Elaina found out she was pregnant. She told me a few days after your birthday.”

  India gasped and her back straightened. “She was pregnant?”

  Travis nodded slowly. He’d assumed she’d known this already, but from the surprise on her face, he guessed Grant meant what he said about keeping the pregnancy hush-hush. He wasn’t surprised Elaina hadn’t told India. She wasn’t one to confide in others.

  “My dad made it sound like it happened after you got married.”

  His mind went back to that time in his life. “When he found out about the baby, he said if I didn’t do the right thing, I’d ruin Elaina’s reputation. When he said I’d ruin her...he said it as if I were some type of disease. I’d never felt like trailer trash until that day.”

  India placed a hand on his knee and squeezed. “You are not trash.”

  Her touch washed away the leftover bitterness of that day. Bitterness that never quite went away. Despite all Grant had done for him, Travis could never forget his mentor’s harsh words. He’d deserved them for kissing India so soon after he and Elaina stopped fooling around, but being called a dog was hard to forget.

  Again he wondered if Grant had ever cared about him. He may have insisted Travis marry Elaina, but that didn’t mean he’d done so because he wanted Travis in the family. Before his uncle’s confession, Travis would have believed Grant wasn’t happy about the circumstances, but he’d been okay having Travis as a son-in-law. Now he feared he’d just been a huge kink in Grant’s feud with his family.

  “I know I’m not trash,” he said. “I knew even as he tore into my ass, but I still felt dirty. Disrespectful. I’d never thought of fooling around with one of Grant’s daughters, but when Elaina showed interest, I didn’t think long-term. She was so far out of my league and so much like your dad and not at all approachable. Hormones took over. I didn’t think it would last as long or become anything serious.”

  “Neither did she,” India said.

 
“How do you know?”

  “I overheard her talking to one of her friends. She bragged about sleeping with you. I think she slept with you to make our dad angry. It’s why I didn’t feel guilty about kissing you after I overheard her say she was moving on to better things.”

  Travis studied his hands. He’d known what they had wasn’t going to last forever, but India’s words hit an insecurity he’d tried to hide. “I think we both knew our time was coming to an end.”

  “You seemed upset the day she said she was through with you.”

  “Mostly because I found out she was seeing someone else.”

  India frowned. “Was the baby...?”

  He shook his head. “She wasn’t sleeping with the other guy. She liked him and had something with him that she didn’t have with me, but I trust her. She wouldn’t have lied about that. The baby was mine. We were just having fun for a while. The pregnancy surprised both of us.”

  Whenever he and Elaina had hooked up, there had never been promises of tomorrow or whispers of love, but they’d agreed to not sleep around. When she wanted him, she summoned him. When she didn’t want to be bothered with him, she didn’t hide that either. He enjoyed the no-strings setup and never considered the consequences.

  “I’m sorry about the baby,” she said quietly.

  His throat tightened. The pain of what had happened searing him. “I didn’t realize how much I wanted a kid until then. Elaina... She was so angry, but I could see she was hurt, too. She asked me if I wanted out afterward. I couldn’t leave her alone. Not when she was hurting like that.”

  They were quiet for several seconds. India staring off at the trees in the distance. He processed the words spoken. Maybe he should have told her the truth years ago, but it wouldn’t have changed much. He still would have been tied to Elaina. Grant still would have insisted on a marriage. Things happened that didn’t always make sense. He couldn’t get lost in what could have been. Instead, he would focus on today. What could happen with India now.