Travis (7 page)

♀♂

Kylie
was still shaking from the adrenaline rush that had roared like lava through
her bloodstream since the second her lips touched Gage’s. What just happened
between them was a long time coming, and despite her anger, she couldn’t bring
herself to regret one second of it. Well, maybe that was a little lie. She was
suddenly wishing it wasn’t over. Just the thought of having him inside her body
made her wet. Again.

And
she kept that thought in mind because she absolutely refused to feel anything
else.

“Kylie,”
Gage began, but Kylie cut him off as she stood, grabbing her clothes along the
way.

“Don’t
ruin it with words, Gage,” she said over her shoulder as she strolled naked out
of her kitchen. She tried for indifference, wanting him to believe she hadn’t
felt anything outside of intense physical pleasure. Never would he know that at
a moment in time, her heart had screamed for him, begged and pleaded for him to
give her any indication that what they’d indulged in had meant something more
to him too.

No
such luck. Sure, she’d made him come, but aside from the brilliant flecks of
gold lit like fire from his desire, she’d seen nothing else in his eyes.

She
fought the need to cover herself, to hide from him because she wanted to appear
unaffected as she gave him her back.

Little
did Gage know, but she hadn’t done anything like that, well, probably ever. No,
she wasn’t a virgin – Travis made sure of that – and she hadn’t been celibate for
the last ten years either, but her experience was admittedly limited. Having
had only three sexual partners in her entire life, Travis included, Kylie knew
she wasn’t as adept at pleasing a man as Gage was probably used to.

She
didn’t stop walking until she made it to her bedroom, shutting the door behind
her with a gentle click. She didn’t twist the lock because she didn’t expect
Gage to follow her anyway. After all, the man had gotten what he came for. She
was a conquest for him to dangle in front of Travis for whatever reason.

The
thought made her stomach churn and her heart to ache just a teeny tiny bit. If
an ache the size of Mount Everest could be considered teeny tiny.

Forcing
her weary body to keep going, she headed to the bed. When her knees hit the
mattress, she turned and flopped down on her butt, holding her rumpled clothing
against her nakedness. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there like that, but
she didn’t move until the bedroom door opened and in walked Gage.

Unwilling
to look him in the eye, she continued staring at the floor before speaking.
“You’re free to go. I’m not the cuddling type, so I don’t need you to hang
around.” God, she hoped her voice sounded as stern as she’d meant it to.

Gage
didn’t respond, but she felt his eyes on her. When his boots moved into her
field of vision, she felt the heat from his body against her skin even with a
foot or so between them.

The
clothes she held protectively against her breasts were pulled from her hand as
Gage moved in front of her, lowering himself to his knees until they were
almost face to face. Kylie fully expected him to apologize or say something
that would somehow make sense of what they just did. He didn’t.

Gage
cupped her face in his big hands and tilted her head up so she met his eyes.
What she saw there mirrored what she felt on the inside. Confusion. Desire.
Need. It was a churning sea of tumultuous emotions that had led to the sexiest
thing she could’ve imagined. They hadn’t had actual intercourse, but aside from
her body yearning to know what it would be like to have him inside of her, she
wouldn’t have known it. Her mind was awhirl with thoughts that she knew were
better left alone.

“Lie
back,” Gage instructed and Kylie stiffened. What was he doing?

“Gage,
I think you should go,” she forced the words past trembling lips.

“Not
a chance,” he whispered and Kylie’s heart danced at the thought of him staying.
For some reason, she expected him to run out the door as quickly as he’d come
in.

That
wasn’t what was happening.

“Lie
back,” he repeated gently and Kylie slowly leaned back onto her elbows, as he
crawled closer, spreading her thighs as he did. Watching him as he knelt
between her legs was so damn hot, she fully expected her comforter to catch
fire.

“I
need to taste you again. Your pussy’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever had on my
tongue.”

Chills
ran over her skin, making her shiver as the words sank in. This was entirely foreign
to Kylie. Aside from the exceptional sex she’d encountered with Travis back
when she was too young to appreciate all that he’d made her feel, Kylie had
only ever known plain vanilla. Her past sexual relationships had been boring at
best, and she’d thought it was her fault.

Gage
lowered his head, his fingers separating the folds of her sex as the warmth of
his breath tickled the heated flesh. Another shiver raced through her as his
mouth hovered just out of reach, teasing her with every breath he took.

Kylie
was focused on him, the way he stared up at her, his eyes meeting hers as he
slid his tongue slowly through her slit, gently lapping at her until she was
ready to beg him to finish her off. Just when she thought he was going to let
her come, he stopped. Realizing that she’d closed her eyes, Kylie opened them,
only to see another expression on Gage’s face that she hadn’t expected. There
was no grin, no arrogant, cocky smirk to show her that he knew just what he did
to her.

She
didn’t look away as he stood, toeing off his boots and then removing his jeans.
He continued to watch her, and Kylie got the impression he was waiting for her
to send him away. It wasn’t that she didn’t know right from wrong – and this
was so very wrong in more ways than one – but she wasn’t willing to let him
walk out that door just yet.

Kylie
knew without a doubt that this was nothing more than pleasure brought on by
heightened emotions that neither of them could control. And she was ok with
that.

Liar.

When
Gage retrieved a condom from his wallet before tossing the leather billfold
onto the floor with the rest of their discarded clothes, Kylie held her breath.
She watched as he sheathed his long, heavy erection with slow, practiced
movements.

The
intensity was still just as significant, however, the level had reduced
tenfold, taking on a sweeter, gentler feel. They knew what was to come. And if
Kylie was right, sex with Gage was going to blow her mind and ruin her forever,
but she couldn’t seem to make him go away. Her heart had waged an all-out war
with her common sense and had won by a mile.

Gage’s
warm weight pressed down on her as he knelt on the bed between her thighs. Just
when she expected him to thrust inside of her, he surprised her by easing over
to his back, pulling her along with him. With their positions reversed, Kylie
was left straddling him on her bed. The warm column of his erection pressed
between her thighs and she gasped, wanting to feel him inside of her more now
than before.

“Please,”
Kylie whispered, begging as she met his eyes, watching as he seemed to be
thinking this through. She was both nervous and anxious, desperately hoping she
didn’t ruin this for him. Or her.

“I’m
right here, Kylie. Right here.” Gage’s words were like a flame to the kindling
that was still smoldering deep in her core. The tenor of his voice was pitched
low, the rhythmic cadence both soothing and tender. For a second, she was at a
loss, the battle with her emotions waning fast.

With
unsure movements, Kylie adjusted their positions until she had the head of his
penis pressing against her entrance. He was huge, and she wasn’t sure she’d be
able to take him inside of her completely, but she was certainly going to try.
Lowering herself gently, Kylie took Gage inside of her, inch by inch. The expression
on his face was one of wonder and pain.

“God,
baby. You’re so tight.” The rough gravel of his tone eased her fears, letting
her know he was right there with her.

Kylie
had to ease down onto him slowly, his unyielding erection penetrating her,
stretching her even more as her body fought to adjust to his size.

“Come
here.”

Kylie
leaned forward, letting Gage wrap his muscled arms around her as she pressed
her hands flat against his chiseled chest. She didn’t take her eyes off of his
face as she let the warmth of him consume her. She was quickly losing herself
to this man, unsure how she ever thought she could keep this about pleasure and
nothing more.

“Kiss
me,” he told her.

Kylie
did as he asked, pressing her lips to his, tasting herself as she licked the
outer swell of his bottom lip repeatedly. She was so engrossed in tasting him,
teasing him with her tongue that she barely registered when he was fully inside
of her.

Gage,
although filling her perfectly, didn’t try to move and he didn’t rush her, so
Kylie took it slow, trying to burn this moment into her memory because this
would be the first and last time she offered herself up to this man. Despite
her confused state at the moment, she knew she would come to her senses at some
point. Although she feared it was going to be too late by then. Hell, it was
probably too late already.

As
their tongues slid over one another, Kylie began to move, lifting and lowering
her hips, keeping a steady, gentle pace as she took him even deeper, nerve
endings she didn’t know she had begging for attention, urging her to increase
the friction, basking in glorious sensation. She desperately tried for slow,
but it became too much as her body struggled, reaching for a release she felt
looming over her.

Gage
gripped her hips, lifting her gently as he began thrusting up inside of her,
going deeper than she thought possible, hitting that sweet spot that ignited
the tingles in her core. Her orgasm consumed her, and she couldn’t even cry out
because her body was so overwhelmed by the sensation, the only thing she could
do was feel.

Gage’s
body tensed, his chest muscles flexing beneath her hands, his hips pushing up
off the bed as he too gave himself over to his release as silently as she had,
the only sound was the rough, strangled growl that sounded as though he were
trying to keep it inside.

Yep,
there was absolutely no doubt about it. Kylie was officially ruined.

♂♀

Gage
held Kylie against him, staring up at the ceiling a short while after he went
and did the unthinkable. Making love to Kylie, watching as she rode him with a leisurely
passion had moved him in ways he wasn’t sure he had ever felt before.

With
his arms wrapped around her, he didn’t think she was asleep, but she was
breathing slow and steady, her head perched on his shoulder, one arm draped
across his chest. He wished she’d touch him, maybe run circles over his chest,
use her fingernails to scrape sensually over his skin. Anything to let him know
she was awake and not envisioning a hundred different ways to castrate him.

Coming
over here earlier, Gage had expected a number of things to happen, conjured up
a series of scenarios in his head. The two of them ending up naked in her bed
wasn’t one of them, although he was ready for a repeat whenever she was.

He
didn’t think that was going to happen.

Kylie
shifted, but before she could pull away, Gage held her closer, refusing to let
go just yet. He knew it was coming and knew she was going to send him packing.
Not that he could blame her. After what he did, he was surprised she hadn’t
called the cops when he made his way through her front door earlier.

The
cold chill of the iced tea had been a nice touch though, he had to admit. He’d
seen the desperate swirls of anger churning in her beautiful blue eyes and had
suspected it was coming. He deserved much worse than that, he knew. It wasn’t
like he didn’t expect her to be riled up the moment she saw his face. Hell, he wouldn’t
have blamed her if she had hauled off and slapped him halfway across Texas. It
wasn’t like she’d be able to make him feel any lower than he did right then and
there.

Even
now. As he reveled in the memory of what it felt like to slide deep into her
warmth, to get lost in the wonder of having her wrapped around him, her pussy
milking him until he barely knew his own name. It was payback of the worst
kind. Gage wasn’t going to walk away from her unscathed. He wondered if she
knew that.

As
he held her soft, pliant body against his, he tried to remember why he’d come
up with the plan to hurt Travis in the first place. Not only did he hurt her,
he also got all of the Walker clan riled up, including Kaleb – who wasn’t
speaking to him at the moment. Not that he could blame him either.

What
made it even worse was that not even for one fraction of a second did Gage feel
as though vindication was served. No. He felt exactly the opposite, in fact.
Between the hurt and anger he saw on Kylie’s pretty face and the storm clouds
that brewed in Travis’ penetrating gaze, Gage had felt lower than low.

Hoping
that everyone would have some time to cool off, Gage had taken off for a little
while. Well, that was partly true. His disappearance was a little more selfish
than that, but he hadn’t known what to do with himself. He could’ve added the
anger and resentment that both Travis and Kylie felt for him, multiplied it by
infinity and still not come up with even half of his own self-hatred for what
he’d done.

He’d
resorted to dousing his pain with alcohol, trying desperately to erase the last
few months, praying that he’d wake up from the nightmare to find he hadn’t done
the worst possible thing he could think of. At one point, he’d even ended up
shit faced drunk, sicker than a dog in an apartment at Club Destiny, and he had
no idea how he’d gotten there or who had come to his rescue. The only thing he
remembered was seeing Travis’ handsome face somewhere in his drunken stupor,
wishing and hoping he’d finally gotten the chance to apologize, to show him
just how he felt. But no, that had only been a dream. One that continued to torture
him every night since.

That’s
when he knew he was going the wrong direction.

Giving
himself a couple of days to sober up had been the only solution, and that’s
when he decided it was time to make amends. He had so many people to apologize
to, but first on his list was Kylie. Not that he expected her to hear him out,
much less forgive him, but he had to try. He needed to try and relieve some of
the guilt that was weighing on him because if he didn’t, he might just drown
himself in a bottle of Jack and call it a day. Hell, he might do that anyway.

Never
in his life had Gage intentionally set out to hurt anyone the way he had
managed to hurt the angel lying naked beside him. The sweet, little spitfire
he’d come to know had evidently disappeared, and in her place was a woman ready
to light him up like a bonfire. And she had. In ways he would never forget.

For
all the time they’d spent together, getting to know one another, it had all
been in vain because even after this, he knew she wasn’t going to give him the
time of day. The worst part about it all, he still wanted to get to know her
even though he didn’t deserve it.

Every
curious bone in his body still wanted to know what happened between her and
Travis all those years ago that would send them away from one another, yet
never severing that one tie that held them together indefinitely. Even after
Beau Bennett had swept Kylie away that day, and Gage had called Travis to the
carpet right there in front of all of his brothers, the man hadn’t told him a thing.
When his brothers chimed in, trying to get to the bottom of what happened,
Travis had closed up altogether and stormed out of Kaleb’s house leaving more
questions than answers.

Rather
than stay and face the music, which Gage knew he should’ve done, he took the
easy way out. That was until his conscience ate at him to the point he thought
he would go insane. That and the downward spiral of booze that was getting too
far out of control. That’s what led him to Kylie’s front porch, and ultimately
to her bed.

Thrusting
his free hand through his hair, Gage closed his eyes and took a deep breath. If
he weren’t lying down, he’d be pacing back and forth in order to burn off some
of the restless energy that still fueled his mind to work overtime. He couldn’t
seem to stop thinking about Kylie, or Travis for that matter, but it didn’t
seem to matter how many miles he might walk back and forth, he didn’t know how
to fix this.

Inhaling
sharply, Gage knew he had to face the music once and for all. As much as he
wanted to roll over and slide into the heavenly warmth of Kylie’s body again,
he suspected that she was already beginning to overthink what had happened
between them.

“Will
you reconsider restoring my house?” The moment the words were out, he felt
Kylie flinch.
Damn it
. That didn’t come out right. And his timing
sucked.

“Is
that why you’re here? For my services?” Kylie pulled away, taking the sheet
with her and leaving Gage totally exposed – in more ways than one.

Sitting
up and twisting to the edge of the mattress, Gage dropped his feet to the
floor, his head hanging low. No matter what he said or did, this wasn’t going
to turn out well.

“You
know that’s not it,” he grumbled, making his way to his feet and retrieving his
jeans from the floor before pulling them on.

“No?”

The
reverence he thought he’d heard in her voice earlier was no longer there. The
sweet, uninhibited woman was long gone, and in her place was the devastated
girl who probably couldn’t even see him through the red haze of her own anger.

Deciding
to try one last time, Gage grabbed his socks and his boots and sat on the edge
of the bed to slip them on as he glanced up at her. “Will you at least take the
job?”

“Why
would I do that?” she asked.

“Because
I want you to.”

“Not
good enough.” Kylie turned and stormed out of the room, still clad in only the sheet
and Gage gritted his teeth to keep from going after her. Her passion stirred
something inside of him, which explained how they ended up ravishing one
another in her kitchen earlier.

He
gave her a minute before he followed her out of the bedroom, grabbing his shirt
from the floor and pulling it on as he went. She was in the kitchen, staring
out the window when he made his way behind her. Her narrow shoulders and slender
arms were smooth and seemed to beg for his touch, but he knew better. It was
all in his mind. She was ready to be rid of him, and he had a feeling that he
could drop to his knees and beg for her forgiveness, but she wasn’t going to give
in.

“Look,
Gage,” Kylie began with a weighted sigh and Gage steeled himself.

Before
she could give him the old heave ho, he interrupted her. “Restore my house.
I’ll pay whatever you want. Give me another chance.” Ok, so maybe he wasn’t past
begging, but he wasn’t going to drop to his knees.

“Look,”
Kylie said, sounding serious and so terribly sad. “As much as I’d like to take
the job, I can’t.” She followed her statement with another heavy sigh, and Gage
waited for her to continue. “Travis and I shared a history together, and I’m
not willing to intrude on his space. I wouldn’t want him doing the same to me,
which means I won’t be able to work in the same town he lives in.”

Gage
understood her reasoning. Really, he did. She just wasn’t telling him what he
wanted to hear. “I’ll make sure you and Travis stay far away from each other.
Hell, I won’t even tell him you’re there.”

“Right.
And after what you did, I should believe you? Not on your life.” Kylie paused,
and Gage knew she was gearing up to throw him out on his ass. “I don’t know
what your motive is, but I don’t appreciate being used in this vendetta of
yours. I saw Travis’ shock just as much as he saw mine. Our past is
our
past,
and I don’t plan to relive it again. Not with him and certainly not with you.”

He
couldn’t come up with the words to argue. He wanted to ask her whether what
they just did meant anything to her, but he knew better. It had. He’d seen it
in the way she regarded him while they made love. He had felt the exact same
way. But Kylie was hurt, and he knew she was more stubborn than he gave her
credit for.

Gage
had fucked up royally. Trust was something that had to be earned and even if he
started out at zero originally, he knew he had a long way to climb before she
ever even attempted to believe him again, yet he was willing to give it a shot.
There was something about this woman. Something about her that would not allow
him to walk away, no matter how hard she kicked him toward the curb.

When
Kylie turned to walk away from him again, Gage found himself moving closer.
When she pivoted abruptly to face him, he had put so little distance between
them that they collided. Reaching out to steady her, Gage found himself unable
to let go.

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.