The Braddock Boys: Travis

by Kimberly Raye

  Travis knew now that he couldn’t forget again. Not unless he spent the anger inside of him and dealt it out to the real murderer. Then he could move on again. He would move on. And forget.

  His gaze shifted to the woman standing several feet away, herding people back to the reception tent. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes bright. A few tendrils of hair had come loose from her ponytail. His fingertips tingled and he had the crazy urge to cross the lawn, tug her hair loose and run his fingers through the long, blond silk.

  He stiffened. He wasn’t here for sex, despite the past half hour. He was here for information.

  For vengeance.

  Just as soon as Cody returned and Colton arrived and the Braddock boys were back together once again.

  “So what about it? You gonna help me out?”

  Travis shook his head. “I can’t.”

  “Can’t or won’t?”

  “Does it matter?”

  Brent looked as if he wanted to say something, but then thought better of it. “If you change your mind, my place is just a few miles north of here. I could use you.” And then he turned and headed toward the petite brunette.

  She smiled and Brent smiled and for a split second, Travis had the crazy thought that his brother had found the real deal. One man. One woman. Love.

  If there’d been such a thing.

  But Travis knew better. There was no such thing for their kind. Sooner or later, the hunger would get the best of Brent and he’d grab the first woman that crossed his path.

  That’s what had happened to Travis tonight. He’d gotten hungry. Holly had been handy. And bam, he’d satisfied that hunger in the storage closet.

  He watched her gather up a group of seniors and steer them toward the dessert table, and the familiar pang hit him hard and fast. Hunger. Because he’d only partially fed.

  He’d drank in her sweet energy, but for Travis it wasn’t enough. He’d grown accustomed to taking sex and blood. While most vamps leaned more toward one or the other, Travis was a fan of both. It made him feel more alive. More in control. More in touch with his senses. For a vamp who made his living by being in tune with each of the five senses, a double whammy was essential.

  But he hadn’t bitten her.

  He wasn’t sure why. He’d wanted to more badly than anything else. At the same time, he’d felt a moment’s hesitation, as if drinking her in would make it impossible to get rid of her. She’d be under his skin. In his head. His heart.

  Crazy.

  While drinking and having sex with the same woman often created a bond for most vampires, that wasn’t the case for Travis. He was too much of a hard-ass. That, and he kept moving. The distance weakened the connection until, eventually, it snapped altogether and there was nothing. He’d learned that early on with Amelia. She’d been his girl before he’d gone off to war and she’d been more than eager to rekindle the fire in the weeks after his return.

  But the night of his return had changed him. He’d been hardened by the war and devastation at the ranch. Insatiable thanks to the beast that lived and breathed inside of him. The hunger had been all-consuming and he’d quickly learned that he could never go back to being just a man.

  And one woman would never be nearly enough.

  The hunger had driven him into the arms of another and Amelia had been devastated. Thanks to the sex and blood they’d shared, he’d been completely in tune to her feelings. He’d hurt the way she’d hurt. But then he’d left town and the farther he’d gotten from her, the less he’d felt her sorrow and angst. No hitch in his chest. No knife twisting his gut. No piercing white hot pain when she’d finally ended it all and pulled the trigger. Rather, the news of her death had caught up to him months later in the form of a letter from her parents.

  We just thought you should know…

  But he hadn’t known. Not even a clue. Because he hadn’t felt a thing. He was a vampire now and incapable of feeling anything other than lust.

  He knew that. He’d accepted it.

  Which is why he should have bitten Holly and gotten it over with. The attraction would have ended, and he wouldn’t be standing here at the entrance to the tent, as hot and horny as a cowpoke about to crawl into bed with his first saloon girl.

  That was the only reason.

  Damn straight it was.

  And if he downed enough Jack Daniels over the next few hours, Travis might actually start to believe it.

  IF TRAVIS BRADDOCK looked at her one more time, Holly was going to dunk her head under the nearest champagne fountain.

  She forced her gaze from the man standing at the bar and busied herself replenishing the dessert table for the remaining guests. The newlyweds had departed, but the party was still in high gear. The band cranked out a lively Kenny Chesney tune and a sea of Stetsons bobbed across the dance floor. Waiters moved here and there, passing out glasses of the newly discovered champagne. The sweet smell of cake infused the air.

  “Methinketh this is one more fabulous set of event pics for our Facebook page.” Evan’s voice sounded behind her. “I think the worst is over.”

  She turned to see her assistant balancing a platter of chocolate covered cheesecakes. “Don’t count your chickens yet. The DJ doesn’t wrap up until midnight.”

  “By then people will be too drunk to even notice if something goes wrong. As long as the champagne is flowing, everyone’s happy. You can lose the worried look.”

  “I don’t look worried.”

  “You look flushed, which means you’re in panic mode, which means you’re worried and headed straight for a Prozac prescription if you don’t lighten up. Girlfriend, you need to slow down and enjoy the moment. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Carpe diem and all that.”

  If he only knew.

  But he didn’t and she wasn’t about to broadcast to the world that she’d spent the last fifteen minutes seizing not only the day, but one ultra hot cowboy. Not that she cared if everyone knew that Holly Simms had had her first of many one-night stands. She would welcome a little notoriety. Maybe then available bachelors would stop treating her like she had some deadly disease.

  At the same time, she was on the clock, and more than an active sex life, she valued a good work reputation.

  “Take a load off and enjoy.” Evan handed her a plate of chocolate ganache cheesecake and a fork. “I’ll make sure the rest of the desserts get put out.” He handed her another piece of cake.

  “What? One for each hip?”

  He wiggled his eyebrows and stared past her. “That one’s for the hot cowboy checking you out at three o’clock.”

  She chanced a glance at Travis. Her gaze met his and heat rippled through her body, from the soles of her feet, to the top of her head. Time pulled her back and suddenly she felt his strong arms around her, his hands on her back, his body pushing into hers.

  The urge to grab his hand and haul him back into the storage closet hit her hard and fast. Her nipples tingled and her hands trembled and she stiffened.

  Hello?

  She had a mortgage to pay and a gluttonous St. Bernard to feed, and that meant controlling her impulses.

  For now.

  “I think he likes you. Why don’t you walk over and offer him a dessert. You’ll sit down and the two of you will stare longingly into each other’s eyes over bites of decadent cheesecake. One thing will lead to another and bam, I’m planning the event of the century and you’re playing the difficult bride.”

  “You’ve been watching too much Oxygen.”

  “Actually, it’s the Soap Opera Channel. Mitchell just proposed to Loren on The Sands of Time.” He let out a deep sigh. “He gave her a ring on top of a piece of cheesecake. Do you think Bob might do that?”

  “I think you need to ditch the cable TV.”

  “Don’t be such a hater.”

  But she wasn’t a hater. She was an official Love Buster and she had the t-shirt and screen saver to prove it. Holly was through setting herself up for heartache. From here on out, it
was all about busting the myth and having fun.

  But not with Travis Braddock.

  The entire point of what had happened was that it wasn’t supposed to happen again. That’s why they called it a one-night stand, even if they hadn’t technically had a full night together. It was the principle of the thing.

  She didn’t want more.

  Okay, so she wanted more, but she wasn’t giving in to it.

  She forced her attention back to the buffet table and the all important fact that the clock was ticking. Two hours to go and she would be home free.

  Travis free.

  She set aside the duo of cheesecakes in her hands and reached for Evan’s platter. “Maybe you could worry about refilling the coffee urn while I finish setting out the desserts?”

  “Fine.” Evan turned to stomp off. “But don’t blame yours truly if you never get the opportunity to register for his and her tray tables.”

  5

  THERE WASN’T MUCH that surprised Travis Braddock. He was a vampire, after all, with super charged senses. He could feel the moisture in the air before the first raindrop fell. He could smell the lightning when it struck clear into the next county. And he could hear a clap of thunder from fifty miles away.

  Honestly, though, he had to admit he was damned surprised when Holly Simms walked into the Iron Horseshoe bar later that night after the wedding.

  After several hours of watching her rush around and worry over everything from desserts to punch to a guest who’d misplaced her purse, he’d called it a night and headed for the most crowded bar he could find and some real sustenance. A warm woman, a quick bite and he could quench his thirst and forget a certain wedding planner with silky blond hair and big blue eyes.

  At least that had been the plan.

  But here she was, screwing things up and surprising the hell out of him.

  Despite her lush body and long legs and full lips, she wasn’t the last call type. She was the sort of woman who headed home after a hard day’s work, to a hot bath, a steaming cup of tea and a good man.

  But Holly Simms didn’t want a good man. She wanted a good time.

  At least that’s what she was telling herself.

  Mission accomplished and now it was over. She didn’t do seconds any more than he did.

  And truthfully, he wouldn’t have considered a round two if he’d finished what he’d started in the first place. But he’d only had sex with her. No sinking his teeth into her sweet neck and drinking in her delicious heat. No feeling the rush of energy and the swell of satisfaction.

  He’d missed his shot, but here she was, ready to give him another opportunity.

  Obviously she wasn’t as immune to him as he’d first thought.

  To think he’d actually entertained the notion that she was different from all the other women he’d met over the years. She was one and the same. She’d gotten a taste of the beast and she couldn’t help herself. She wanted more.

  He saw it the moment her gaze locked with his. Heat swept through her, firebombing several key targets along the way—the backs of her knees, the insides of her thighs, her nipples. Her breath caught. Her heartbeat revved several frantic beats. Desire flooded between her legs and filled the air with a sharp, sweet, succulent scent that stirred his hunger even more.

  A vision rushed through her head—of him dragging her into the nearest restroom, lifting her up onto the counter and plunging into her over and over while his fangs sank so deliciously deep.

  Bring it on, baby.

  He sent out the thought and expected the usual. Her eyes to glaze. Her lips to part. Her chest to heave.

  She stiffened and he heard the words echo in her head.

  Love’s a bitch.

  I’m not falling for this guy,

  I’m keeping my head and avoiding the lie.

  Love’s a bitch.

  I’m not falling for this guy.

  I’m keeping my head and—

  “Hey there, cowboy.” The voice pulled him out of Holly’s thoughts and back to the neon lights, the crowded bar and the Lady Antebellum song playing on the juke box. “Can I get you anything else?”

  Travis turned his attention to the waitress who set a beer on the table in front of him. She looked like all the other women packed into Skull Creek’s only hotspot. Big hair. Big boobs. Too much eye makeup. Too little clothes.

  Her tongue swept her bottom lip and her heavily-rimmed eyes flashed suggestively. “Some salt? A lime?” Me?

  Okay, now this made sense.

  Women wanted him. All women. He had mucho sex appeal. A by-product for any vampire. Add a dose of Texas charm and semi-decent looks and the females were powerless to resist.

  A grin crooked his lips as he held up the beer he’d been nursing. “I’m good right now.”

  “You sure? It’s no trouble. I’m here to serve.” He shook his head and disappointment chased across her expression. She shrugged. “The name’s Amy. Holler if you need anything.” She smiled and lust shimmered in her eyes. “Anything at all.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” He tipped his hat and she reluctantly turned away. He turned back toward the door and caught Holly staring at him as if she were about to jump into the deep end of a swimming pool and all she could do was dog paddle.

  He winked and she stiffened, and he knew then, beyond a doubt, that she hadn’t come begging for seconds. She seemed to gather her courage as her gaze went past him, to the adjoining room overflowing with people and pool tables. The clack of balls split the air. Holly squared her shoulders and started forward as if she were power walking her way through a marathon.

  He didn’t mean to reach out. If she could bolt past him as if he hadn’t just loved her within an inch of her life, he could certainly do the same. Hell, that’s what he did best. Move on. To the next town. The next woman.

  He didn’t do the territorial thing.

  At the same time, Travis Braddock didn’t do half-ass either. He never left things unfinished, and he sure as hell didn’t sleep with a woman without biting her.

  He reached out and caught her warm hand in his.

  “WHERE’S THE FIRE, sugar?” came the deep, familiar voice.

  Right here.

  The notion struck before Holly had a chance to think. She was too deep in sensory overload with Travis Braddock so close. His strong fingers held hers. The intoxicating aroma of leather and fresh air and a touch of wildness filled her nostrils. Her gaze collided with his. Eyes the color of lush green grass stared back at her and her breath caught.

  For a split-second, she was mesmerized before the thump of a cue ball hitting its pocket jarred her from the sudden daze. “No fire,” she finally managed to stammer, determined to keep her perspective. “I’m meeting someone.”

  “It’s a little late for a date.”

  But not for a booty call.

  That’s what she should have told him. Make him think the worst. That’s what she wanted in the first place, wasn’t it? For everyone and their Chihuahua to believe that Holly Simms had gone from being the proverbial good girl to becoming Skull Creek’s biggest good time girl?

  And how.

  But Travis wasn’t everyone. He was a total stranger from out of town and so it didn’t really matter if he considered her the latter. That and there was just something about the sudden flash of jealousy in his gaze that warmed her heart and made her open her mouth and tell him the truth. “I’m meeting my aunt.”

  A grin tugged the corner of his mouth, but it didn’t quite touch his eyes. “And here I thought you might be following me.”

  “Oh, I would never do something like that,” she blurted. She’d followed Chad home from work one night with a picnic basket stocked with all his favorite foods. Meat loaf. Mashed potatoes. Fried pickles. Sweet potato pie. The goal had been a romantic picnic under the stars in his backyard. But Chad hadn’t gone home that night. He’d driven to the next county to meet with one of his ex girlfriends.

  Nothing.
/>   That’s what the rendezvous had meant, or so he’d told Holly when she’d confronted him in the parking lot. He’d had a long relationship with his ex and he’d wanted to break the news to her that he was getting married before she heard it through the grapevine. End of story.

  Obviously, though, instead of letting his old girlfriend down, he’d decided to patch things up. A week later he’d left Holly at the altar and taken off with the ex.

  Holly had learned her lesson then and there. No following a man home. No cooking him dinner. No putting herself out there. No falling in love.

  Never again.

  The minute the thought struck, Travis’s gaze flickered and his lips thinned even more. If she hadn’t known better she would have sworn he was disappointed.

  But she knew better. Boy, did she ever. Her own wishful thinking had turned her into a three-time loser in the first place, a die-hard romantic that kept reading more into each and every situation, firing her hope, urging her to fall for men who didn’t fall back.

  She stiffened and the clack of pool balls echoed in her head. Her gaze shifted to the next room and through the crowd she caught a glimpse of a snow white beehive, bright pink lipstick and silver blue eye shadow. Another clack of pool balls, a familiar shriek of “Hot damn,” and Holly knew there was a room full of truck drivers getting their butts kicked at that moment. “My great Aunt Tootie plays pool here every Friday night and I’m her designated driver.”

  “Too many Cosmos?”

  “Too many fender benders.” When he arched an eyebrow, she added, “She’s had ten in the past six months and is now sitting at the top of the DMV’s Most Wanted list. The doctor gave her a prescription for glasses, but she says they make her look old, so she refuses to wear them.”

  “Contacts?”

  “Her vision is so bad she can’t see well enough to put them in.”

  “That’s nice of you to help her out.”

  “I owe her.” She wasn’t sure why she told him. She shouldn’t have. But when he stared at her so intently—as if he actually cared about what she had to say—the words seemed to come on their own. “My mom was always MIA with whichever cowboy paid her the most attention and so I spent a lot of time with Aunt Tootie. She was more of a mother to me than my own mom, though she’ll be the first to deny it.” She shook off the sudden sadness that niggled at her and forced a smile. “She likes to think of herself as the older, wiser, hotter sister.”