Green Broke Woman (11 page)

He got her an orange from the fridge and some
string cheese. “How is that?”

“Perfect. Thank you.”

He tidied up in the kitchen while she ate.

“So where are Jake and Keith? Do they not
live here anymore?”

“Nah, they moved into town a few years ago.
They run the club.”

“Oh yeah?”
Her pulse turned jittery. The word club
reminded her of Master Hugh, even though he'd never taken her to one. “What
kind of club?”

“A BDSM club.”

Hadn't Master Hugh once been a Dom at a club
in Lexington? “What's it called?”

“The Black Dragon.”

Her mouth fell open, and her lips
involuntarily curled with fond memories of her Master. “Oh wow. That's
amazing.”

Travis glanced over at her, seeming
enthralled by her. “What's that?”

“I actually used to know someone who worked
as a Dom there.”

He smiled.
“Oh yeah?
What's his name?”

She waved him off. “Oh, I doubt you'd know
him. It was years ago. You and your brothers were probably kids or teenagers
when he worked there.”

“Yeah, it's been around for a while.”

“Does your sister still live here?”

“No. Miranda met a couple of
Doms
online and took a trip with Keith down to New Orleans
to meet them. She must have liked them a lot, 'cause she never came back. We've
got to move her stuff down to her.
Been meaning to do that.
She asked us to ship it to her, but I'm thinking I'll just drive it down and
pay her a visit.” Travis pulled out a chair and sat with her. “It's so good to
see you, Kayla.”

Kayla couldn't hide the enthusiasm behind her
smile this time. “It's great to see you, too. I feel so blessed to be sitting
here right now with you.”

“I feel the same way. It's been way too
damned long.”

“It has.”

Her eyes stung, but she crowded out all
negativity from her troubled mind. She wouldn't let herself think about the
future. She wanted to focus on the here and now with the cowboy she loved.
Well, one of the cowboys she loved.

He gave her a heartwarming smile. “You've got
a West Coast accent now.”

“Nu-uh, I'm not the one with the accent. You
are.”

Travis shook his head with a crooked grin.
“No, girl, you're in the Midwest. You're the one talking with an accent.”

Kayla smiled, letting her eyes drop demurely
when she felt the subtle warmth infiltrating her cheeks. She had so much
experience now she shouldn't be blushing. Seeing a man she'd known since she
was a little girl shouldn't make her shy and vulnerable. But it was a good kind
of helplessness. The kind that made her
want
to
surrender and see where it led, not the terrifying, degrading sense of
defenselessness that left her feeling ashamed and weak.

“I should probably just shower at home,” she
said reluctantly. “I've got to go see how my daddy's doing. That's going to be
awkward.”

Travis's expression became downcast. “About
that, I don't know how to tell you this.”

A chilling sensation sprang up on the back of
her neck, and
goosebumps
emerged on her arms. “What
is it?”

He looked like he really didn't want to be
having this conversation with her. “Your daddy's dead, Kayla.”

She stared at him, feeling numb with shock.
The news didn't trigger the tears she would have expected, merely a surreal
sense of disbelief.

Travis continued, looking sympathetic and
uncomfortable. “He was helping
a neighbor
harvest hay
last summer. The bales weren't small. They were those great big Twinkie-looking
ones. Anyway, one of them fell off the truck and … it landed on him.”

The numbness persisted. Only the awful
tingling on her scalp and nape offered any feeling to the unreal moment.

Travis grappled for her hand, looking
concerned as hell about her. “He died instantly. They said with the way it all
happened it's most likely that he didn't feel any pain.”

Her chest felt heavy and her eyes watered,
but the tears and pain didn't come. The numbing sensation fought the natural
reactions of mourning away.

“Are you okay?” He squeezed her hand,
appearing even more worried.

“I'm fine,” she said quietly. “Thank you for
telling me.”

She tried to process the horrific information
in the deafening silence. She couldn't, but she needed to be alone. She knew
that much. “May I use your shower please?”

A look of surprise crossed his face before he
resumed composure and nodded. “Sure. I'll wash your dress and under-things for
you and see if we can find you something to wear in the meantime.”

****

Travis went into the guestroom where Kayla
was getting ready for bed. His breath caught, and she stole another little
piece of his heart with her precious smile and the baby-blue satin pajama
shorts and tank top she wore. It looked like something a woman would buy at
Victoria's Secret.

Then the thought occurred to him that she had
probably worn it in bed with other men. He had to mentally tell himself to calm
the hell down when he realized his fists were clenched.

“All settled in?” he asked.

She plumped her pillow before getting into
bed. The act made her breasts jiggle a little, driving him crazy.

“Yep.
I appreciate you letting me stay here.”

He smiled, wishing they could cuddle in bed
together all night long. “It's my pleasure. You can stay as long as you need
to. I'm sorry we sold your daddy's ranch. It was what he wanted. We placed all
the money from it into an account for you. We never touched it. That money's
all yours.”

She gave him a meek smile, seeming grateful
but weary. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“I would do anything for you, Kayla.”

She met his ardent stare and her lips
twitched, but her eyes lowered in sadness. “I believe you would.”

“Let me know if you need anything.”

“I will.”

He started to leave and hit the light, but
her voice stopped him.

“Leave the light on, please.”

The worried expression on her face surprised
and intrigued him.
“If you like.
Sweet dreams,
darlin
'.”

“You, too.”

He left the light on and shut the door behind
him on his way out.

****

Travis woke up with a start when he heard a
shrill scream followed by wailing. He pretty much leaped out of bed and burst
into Kayla's room. Her light was still on, but it looked like she had just
woken up from a nightmare.

“What is it, Kayla?” He sat down on the bed
with her and pulled her into his arms.

She shrieked and struggled, seeming half out
of it before the light came on in her head. “Travis.”

She appeared relieved and fell into his arms,
weeping aloud softly.

“Did you have a bad dream?”

She nodded against him and sniffled. “Yeah,
but I'm okay.”

“Do you want to talk about it?

She pulled away from him suddenly and shook
her head rapidly, sobbing more audibly. “Can you please take me to the doctor
tomorrow? Please. I made an appointment earlier. I'll pay for it. I need to go
first thing in the morning.”

Her voice broke and shook with emotion, and
she cried harder once she finished her sentence.

Lord Almighty, what was wrong with the poor
thing? That must have been some nightmare.
“Sure,
darlin
'.
Whatever you want.”

“I'm so screwed up. You deserve better than
me,” she wailed. “My daddy's gone. I never got to make him proud of me. He
wanted a horse-loving girl, but I just wanted to be free and make something of
myself. Oh God, what have I done?”

She bawled into her hands, and Travis brought
her back into his arms to cry on his shoulder. He rubbed her back, thrilling at
the uncovered skin of her upper back and shoulder blades. It felt smooth and
sensual. Her tears soaked through his T-shirt, and it broke his heart that she
was so shaken up.

“You have nothing to be ashamed of, Kayla.”
He would have thought those to be comforting words, but they only resulted in
his shirt getting wetter.

“I do. I'm such a bad girl.”

He shifted his weight so she wouldn't feel
the sudden interest his cock had taken in her self-degrading reference. He knew
a few solutions for curing a bad girl, or making use of her waywardness.

“You're a good girl, Kayla, a good woman.”

She shook her head frantically and tried to
pull away from him again, sobbing like crazy when he wouldn't let her go. “I'm
not. I've done things. Horrible things I never meant to. You don't know me.”

He gripped her arms tighter, and she
shuddered, swallowing hard and breathing unevenly when she saw his firm grasp
on her. Her eyes elevated to his, and she seemed to relax some when she gazed
at him in despair.

“What do I have to do to fix this?” he asked
with urgency. “Tell me, Kayla. I'll do anything to make you feel better.”

Her features darkened with seriousness and
something else as she glanced down into his lap and placed her palm over his
semi-erect penis.

His dick lifted to meet her warm touch,
wanting to get better acquainted with her skin on skin. “Kayla—”

She lightly touched a finger to his lips and
tugged the waistband of his boxers just enough to get his riled organ out.
Slowly and without words she worked the swollen flesh up and down in a gentle,
soothing rhythm that would surely be his undoing.

“Lord
Almighty
,
girl. That feels wonderful.” He flashed
her an
intimate grin and reached for her shorts, surprised by the way her eyes widened
and she slapped his hand away.

“I want this to be about you.” She looked
nervous, but that was an understatement. She acted downright scared.

“Kayla, I can't just take pleasure like a
selfish jackass and not give you any in return. Seriously, now, just let me—”

“If you touch me, everything stops.” She
released his shaft and glowered at him. “I want to make you come, Travis. I just
want to please you and serve you. I don't want an orgasm.”

He blinked at her like she was a quirky hippo
grazing among cattle. Not want an orgasm? What woman was opposed to climaxing?
Kayla handled his goods like she'd fondled other men's junk, but she seemed
dead serious about not wanting any kind of release for herself.

“Why not?”

Her countenance shadowed with numerous
emotions and thoughts that were unfortunately concealed from him. “Just let me
do this for you. It'll make me feel better.”

He sighed. “Well, all right. If that's really
what you want to do.”

Her hand fisted his tingling length and
gently coaxed him to swell and harden even more. The orgasmic awareness growing
in his engorged genitals made him wild with passion.

Her neutral facial expression confused and
grieved him. He wanted her to be a part of this, but apparently she didn't want
to be. Why? She jerked his turgid cock faster and harder, ensuring his
wandering mind must focus on his impending finale.

“You're so good at this, cricket,” he choked
out, wishing he sounded more like a man when she behaved so calm and collected.
Why was she?

Seven years ago she'd pretty much thrown
herself at him and been ready to give him her purity. Now here they were
experiencing their first intimacy together and she was cool as a cucumber. It
made him awkward, hurt, and annoyed. But mostly it summoned the Dom in him to
take control and make her feel as much as he did.

“I can't stand this, Kayla. I've got to touch
you, girl.”

Kayla lost her breath and let go of his shaft
when he yanked her head and plastered his mouth on hers. His libido went into
overdrive when he heard her soft little moan and felt her tiny hands rest
against his chest. She sucked in a violent breath of air when he groped her
breasts and rolled them rhythmically in his hands.

Her sudden loss of control shattered what was
left of his, if any. He nudged her back onto the mattress and stuck his hand
down her shorts. His balls solidified when he felt the fleshy smoothness of her
waxed cunt. Oh
lord,
she really was perfect for him,
wasn't she?

Her scream excited him, and the way she
pushed against his chest as if in feigned protest was equally arousing. He
pinned her arms down enjoying the submissive position she was in as he prepared
to tug on her shorts. When she thrashed like a shark in a feeding frenzy and
tried to knee his groin, he broke the kiss, startled by the wide-eyed terror
etched all over her pretty face.