Travis (49 page)

“Where
did this come from?” she asked, glancing over at Gage and giving Travis a minute
to try and rein himself in. She knew how much he hated this much emotion.

“The
ruby came from my grandmother’s ring,” he explained. “We had it cut down and
placed in the center band. It represents that you are our heart. The outer
rings of diamonds represent us, protecting you forever. We knew you didn’t want
big stones because they would get in the way when you were working, so we opted
for something smaller.” His smile grew bigger. “Only because we’re not going to
allow you to take it off. Ever.”

“Well,
you don’t have to worry about that,” she told him as she brushed her fingers
over the three bands of stones inset in the ring that wrapped around her finger.
Three bands of stones, the inside ring of rubies were for her and the outer
rings of diamonds protecting the precious stones on the inside were for Travis
and Gage. The ring was absolutely perfect.

She
peered up at Travis and then over to Gage. She gave him a grin that only he
would know why. And on cue, Gage leaned over and pulled open the drawer in his
nightstand, retrieving the small black box that she knew was in there.

Although
he had managed to keep her ring a complete secret from her, she had been
involved in the design and purchase of another ring. Or rather set of rings. He
moved back onto the bed with the box in hand and the gentle click of the velvet
top snapping open, Travis looked over at him.

“I
know you think you’ll always be the one to get the last word in,” Gage said to
Travis, both of them focused intently on him. “But we have a question for you
too.”

Travis
didn’t speak, but his eyebrow cocked in question.

“Will
you marry us?” Kylie asked, effectively throwing him off course.

“Are
you…”

“Before
you finish that question, yes, we’re serious,” Gage said, pulling one of the
two rings from the box and handing it to Kylie as he resumed his place on the
bed beside her, laying on his side and pressing up along her side.

She
took Travis’ left hand and slid the platinum band over his finger. Once it was
firmly in place, she took the other ring from the box and proceeded to slip
that one on Gage’s finger. As they both stared down at them, she smiled.

“Is
that…?” Travis didn’t finish the question, but Gage obviously knew what it was.

“Yes,
those stones came from my grandmother’s ruby as well.”

Kylie
knew Travis was moments away from falling apart and as much as she wanted to hold
him together if that did happen, she knew he’d be crushed if they saw exactly
how vulnerable he was. Pulling him down on top of her, Kylie pressed her lips
to his.

“I
love you, Travis. I’ve loved you since the day I met you. It killed me that you
walked away, but it was the right thing to do. We weren’t ready,” Kylie said as
she slipped her other hand over to Gage’s face, sliding her fingers down his
cheek, she pulled him closer. “We weren’t ready because we weren’t complete. We
needed to wait for Gage to find us.” She smiled, trying to hold the tears at
bay long enough to get the words out. “I love you, Gage.”

Both
of her men leaned forward, their mouths coming together above hers and she held
them. And she didn’t care how long they had to lay there. Kylie was prepared to
hold them forever. If that’s what it took.

♂♀♂

January…

“How
many invitations did y’all send out?” Zane asked as three of Travis’ six
brothers stood beside him in the reception area of Alluring Indulgence. They’d
taken to watching as more guests arrived at the front doors and made their way
to the counters to be checked in.

The
driveway outside was lined with expensive cars, sleek black town cars and more
than a handful of limousines all shuffling to the front doors as soon as
another spot opened. The valets – all six of them – were working double time
trying to move vehicles while the bellhops were standing at the ready,
retrieving luggage and helping the guests inside.

“We
filled the place up,” Sawyer answered, making Travis smile.

That
they did. All of the guest rooms in the hotel were full, as well as the
bungalows. Those had actually gone first, and they had a waiting list already
for future stays.

“You
sent out two hundred invitations?” Kaleb peered over at Travis as he asked the
question.

The
guest list was quite extensive, and the first go round, they made sure to
include those who would get the word out once their stay was over. Word of
mouth was the best marketing tool they could have. After all, they weren’t
letting a single reporter through the door for obvious reasons – well, there
was one exception, but McKenna promised she’d hold her story until Travis gave
her the go ahead.

“You
know the saying,” Travis said. “Go big or go home.”

“Holy
shit,” Zane whispered, watching as women and men of all types made their way
inside.

Travis,
Sawyer, Kaleb, and Zane stood to the side, out of the way while everyone around
them moved at a casual pace. It was still hard to believe that the resort was
open. After tying up all loose ends, they’d managed to open on time too. Their
goal to open early had been eliminated with some unexpected bad weather in
December, but Travis took it in stride. It was open now and that was what
mattered. Ever since they unlocked the doors that morning, people had been
arriving. And not only were they registering, the rest of the place was reaping
the benefits of the guests.

“Well,
if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to check on my wife,” Kaleb said as he turned to
face them.

“How’s
she doing?” Travis knew that Zoey was in her last trimester, and as each day
passed, they were all counting down the days until the newest member of the
Walker family came into the world. Initially, Zoey and Kaleb hadn’t wanted to know
the sex of the baby, but somewhere along the way one of them clearly caved
because now they had a nursery all set up in their house, and it was painted
blue. Neither of them were saying which one gave in first.

“She’s
doing well. We don’t plan to stay too long tonight, but she insisted on being
here for the opening.”

“Well,
tell her I’m glad she came,” Travis told Kaleb as he watched another couple
arrive.

“Will
do. Oh, and Trav? Congrats. This place is truly amazing. Sometimes it’s hard to
believe one person could dream up a place like this. But it’s not hard to
believe that you made it come true the way you did.”

Travis
couldn’t find the words to respond to his brother. In the last few months,
things had been coming together. Not just the resort, but for their family as
well.

They
were still waiting for Zane and V to get married, but at least there was a date
set. Provided all went well, and Zoey delivered the baby on time, there would
be another Walker wedding in March.

Brendon
and Braydon were still seeing Jessie, which they all figured had to be some
sort of record. She was permanently rooted in Coyote Ridge for the time being,
although she wasn’t staying at a hotel anymore. She had recently moved into
Travis’ house, ever since he’d moved into Gage’s. Kylie didn’t like the idea of
her sister continuing to stay at a hotel, so Travis figured the house was
empty, might as well put it to good use.

As
for Ethan, well, the man was still a workaholic. From what Travis knew, E was
still seeing Blake – although he was not admitting as much. They seemed to have
a sort of love/hate thing going on. Not that Travis expected their relationship
to be serious, but he wasn’t sure how much longer those two were going to be
able to keep it up.

“I
second that. Thanks for letting us be a part of it, bro,” Sawyer said, clapping
Travis on the back as he grinned. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I see a group of
ladies who have white glove service in their future.”

“Thanks.
You know I couldn’t have done it without you,” Travis told them all before they
left. And it was the truth. AI might’ve been his brain child, but he wasn’t
capable of pulling it off by himself. Nor did he want to. This was his dream,
but it wouldn’t be worth it if he didn’t have his family and his friends there
to share it with.

A
few more slaps on the back and then Travis watched as Kaleb disappeared into
the area beyond the reception doors and Sawyer strolled off in the direction of
a handful of women. Actually, to be accurate, there were four and as soon as
they noticed Sawyer coming their way, all of them perked up. Not that they
needed much help because from where Travis stood, they looked pretty damn perky
as it was.

“Is
he going to…? Never mind. I don’t even want to know.” Zane laughed. “If he’s
got enough stamina for that, more power to him.”

Travis
didn’t answer Zane, and it wasn’t because he’d waived off the original question
either. He didn’t know what Sawyer was up to these days, but he had a feeling
there was one woman responsible for his recent actions. It wasn’t a secret that
Sawyer was rebellious. He had been since they were kids. And if ever there were
something Sawyer wanted, and he couldn’t have it, he became a man on a mission.
Only this time, he seemed to have resorted to some kind of fucked up back
-ass-
ward
attempt. Instead of chasing the woman he wanted, he was purposely trying to get
under her skin.

Then
again, Kennedy Endsley had made it abundantly clear that she had absolutely no
intention of going out with Sawyer. She’d been dodging his every attempt for
months. Hell, maybe years. But despite her reluctance, everyone in Coyote Ridge
knew there was some serious chemistry between those two. In the hottest months,
the fire department put out a fire warning whenever the two of them were seen
anywhere in close proximity to one another.

“Hey,
Zane. How’s it going?” Gage asked as he approached, coming to stand beside
Travis.

“Damn,
dude. You clean up nice.”

“Fuck.
Off,” Gage whispered with a chuckle.

It
was the truth. Gage Matthews in a tuxedo made Travis’ mouth water. As it was,
Travis was having a hard time keeping his hands off the man because up until
this point, they had both been working. Since Gage had taken the position of
Head of Security for AI, the man had been busy. And this morning, as soon as
the doors opened, he’d stepped right into the role without looking back. In
fact, Travis was surprised to see him standing there.

“Something
wrong?”

Gage
glanced sideways at Travis and then turned his attention back to Sawyer, who
was already getting fairly intimate with the group of women.

“Not
at all.”

“Well,
I’m gonna leave you two alone,” Zane said with a huge grin on his face. “It’s
time I go find my woman. Check with y’all later.”

Travis
and Gage nodded at Zane as he strolled off in the same direction Kaleb had.

Turning
his attention to Gage fully, Travis tried to read him. “You sure everything’s
all right?”

Gage
leaned in slightly and grinned. “Only way it would be better is if I had you on
the other side of that wall. Naked.” Gage paused as he glanced down at Travis’
mouth. “And beneath me.”

Travis’
cock stirred, but then again, it had been doing that quite a bit these days.
Gage had made sure of it. As well as Kylie. It was almost as though they were
awaiting this grand opening as much as he had been.

“What’s
stopping you?” Travis retorted, cocking an eyebrow in invitation.

“Be
careful what you wish for,” Gage warned, his tone low and intensely sexy.

Travis
leaned in, right against Gage’s ear. “I can take whatever you’ve got.”

“I
sure hope you boys aren’t getting anything started without me,” Kylie said
sweetly as she approached, coming right up in front of them both.

Travis
had already gotten a good look at her in that sexy black dress that molded to
every one of her luscious curves and those hot fucking black boots, but seeing
her now, his body pretended it was getting its first glimpse.

“Hey,
baby,” Travis greeted Kylie as he admired her.

“You
know her?” Gage asked, redirecting Travis’ attention to a woman strolling their
way, looking to be on a mission of her own. Kylie took a step back and moved in
close to Travis’ side while Gage remained on the other.

“I
do,” he grinned and waited for the woman to approach.

“Travis
Walker,” she greeted as she stopped a few feet away.

“Oh.
My. God.” Kylie’s stunned voice had all three of them turning to look at her.
“You’re… Oh my God. You’re…”

Travis
laughed and then proceeded to introduce them. “Cheyenne Montgomery, this is my
wife, Kylie Walker Matthews. And this is my husband, Gage Matthews.”

He
had to give her credit. If she was at all surprised by his introduction, she didn’t
show it. Then again, Travis had known Cheyenne for a long time, and his
personal preferences had been something she learned early on. They’d been
friends and nothing more since the day he met her, and the fact that she didn’t
judge him was one of the reasons they’d remained friends all these years.

“Nice
to meet you, Kylie. Gage,” Cheyenne said with that thick southern drawl.

“You’re
Cheyenne Montgomery. The… The country singer,” Kylie stuttered, causing them
all to laugh.

“That’s
what they tell me.”

“Glad
you could visit,” Travis told her, putting his arm around Kylie and pulling her
against his side because he was beginning to worry she might just faint.

“I’m
glad you invited me. I’ve been wondering if I’d get a chance to check this
place out.”

“Well,
stay as long as you like. And if you need anything, just let the front desk
know, and we’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

“Thanks.”
Her smile lit up her face as she took a step back. “Well, I hope to see y’all
around. If you’ve got any free time this weekend, I’d love to catch up. It’d be
cool to talk to the two people who were brave enough to put up with you
permanently.” With a wink and a wave, Cheyenne sauntered toward the elevators
on the opposite end of the reception area, and Travis glanced down to see Kylie
staring after her.

“You
know her?” she asked, not looking back at him.

“We’re
friends,” Travis explained. “She’s got a crazy streak, that one. I think you’ll
like her. I take it you’re a fan?”

Kylie
glanced up at him as though she was seeing him for the first time. “She’s
amazing.”

“See,
that’s what I was thinking about
you
,” he said as he leaned down and
pressed his lips to hers.

“See,
I was thinking that you look fucking hot,” Gage added as he moved closer to
Kylie. “I’m still not sure why we agreed to let you in here tonight.”

“Well,
I do,” she said with a sexy smirk on her red lips.

Gage
was right, Kylie looked entirely too fuckable tonight. And as much as Travis
wanted the three of them to join the party, this was Kylie’s first time in a
place like this, and he wasn’t sure how she was going to handle what she would
see on the other side of that wall.

“Why’s
that?” Travis had to ask. She was tempting them on purpose, and if the woman
said “go”, he was going to fucking
go
. Ten rounds.

She
reached for their ties, pulling them closer to her. In those four inch heels,
she didn’t have to pull them as far as she usually did. “Because I think you
want to test out some of that furniture on the other side of that door.”

“Baby,
I’m ready anytime you are,” Travis told her, brushing his lips over the outer
shell of her ear. “Tell me when and where, and I’ll have your skirt pushed up
to your waist, and my tongue buried in your sweet pussy before you can say
please.”

Standing
back to his full height, Travis looked down at her and tried his damnedest to
pretend that his cock wasn’t straining against the front of his pants.
Thankfully he had a jacket to hide the evidence because if not, he’d probably scare
a shitload of people right now.

“Shall
we?” Kylie asked.

Travis
looked over at Gage and said, “Don’t care to keep the lady waiting. How about
you?”

“Like
I said before, I’m all in. Just lead the way.”

♀♂♂

Maybe
it was the dress, or the fuck-me boots, or perhaps just the atmosphere. Or
maybe because she continued to meet famous people, like Cheyenne Montgomery,
and one of her favorite actors, Trent Ramsey, who she’d been introduced to that
morning. Whatever it was, Kylie was excited. Ever since they arrived at the resort
that morning, staying in one of the big suites in the hotel, she’d been ready for
this night.