The Braddock Boys: Travis

by Kimberly Raye

Until now.

  He’d been with Susie that night at the bar and he’d seen the new improved Holly with his own two eyes. And obviously he’d liked what he’d seen.

  There was only one way to find out.

  Her mind made up, she packed up her things and headed home to change.

  18

  SHE WAS WEARING the dress.

  His gaze zeroed in on the woman currently boot-scootin’ her way across the dance floor.

  She wore the short, black spaghetti strap sequined number she’d been trying on that night at the dress shop. Add a pair of black stilettos that emphasized her long legs, and Holly Simms looked like the hottest ticket in Skull Creek.

  But it wasn’t just the skimpy clothes that made her so sexy. Her hair, slightly mussed from all the dancing, flowed down past her shoulders. Her skin was flushed and glowing. Her eyes sparkled with excitement and wonder, as if she couldn’t quite believe she was here and this was happening.

  Every man in town was falling all over her. She was on her fifth dance partner in as many songs and Travis could see at least two more guys sizing her up, wanting a turn.

  Initially, when she’d first presented her cockamamie idea, Travis had had his doubts that a little face time with him could dirty up her image. But damned if she hadn’t been right. The men in this town had eaten it up.

  Including the cowboy she was currently dancing with. He looked ready to take a great big bite out of her and damned if she didn’t seem to like it.

  Travis took a deep swig of Coors, but the liquid didn’t ease the tightening in his gut or sate the thirst that clawed at his throat. He needed to feed in the worst way.

  While he’d been communicating telepathically with Holly and they’d had some of the hottest sex ever, he hadn’t actually satisfied his hunger. Sure, he felt every moment and he’d enjoyed the experience. But to actually soak up her energy, he had to touch her with more than just his mind.

  Hunger gnawed at him and he forced his gaze away from her, to the multitude of women milling around him. There were plenty. All his for the taking. One glance and he could be in the nearest bathroom, getting it on with anyone who caught his fancy.

  He would.

  Just as soon as he finished his drink.

  He took another swig and watched as the cowboy holding Holly bent her backwards in a dip before pulling her back up and into his arms. He twirled her, then pulled her back against him.

  Travis downed another gulp and barely resisted the urge to cross the room and throw her over his shoulder. Hell, he’d taught her that last move, for Christ’s sake. And here she was, doing it with someone else. Where was the gratitude?

  That’s all he wanted—for her to be a little bit appreciative and remember how she got here. She ought to be throwing her arms around him and thanking him for all he’d done.

  Her arms looped around the guy’s neck instead. A smile curved her full lips and she stared up at the cowboy with smoldering eyes, as if he were the answer to her most erotic dreams.

  As if he’d been going to her every night, touching and stirring and tasting her, instead of Travis himself.

  Not that he cared.

  Hell, he didn’t give a rat’s ass. It was time to call it quits and move on. He knew that. This was too hard. Besides, he was leaving in a few days. What the hell difference did it make anyway? He could have any other woman in the world, so why worry over this one?

  Sure, she had a great smile and a nice laugh. And he actually liked talking to her. But so friggin’ what?

  Any woman would do.

  He forced his attention to a tall, leggy brunette and smiled. She smiled back and he knew in an instant that she would gladly abandon the schmuck sitting next to her. She turned, said a few words and excused herself. A split-second later, she slid onto the bar stool next to him.

  “My name’s Nicole.”

  He nodded. “Travis.”

  “So where are you from, Travis?” she asked, starting with small talk, licking her lips suggestively every now and then, her gaze hooded. She leaned into him with a comment or two and stayed there, her arm against his, her hand resting on his thigh. It was too easy.

  And everything with Holly was too damned hard.

  He was too hard.

  His groin twitched and his muscles tightened when he glanced at Holly again. Their gazes collided for a brief moment and excitement jerked through him. Followed by a rush of what the hell? when she didn’t so much as smile.

  There was no wave or nod of acknowledgment. Nothing. It was as if she wanted to forget him as much as he wanted to forget her.

  Fat chance.

  He could feel the steady thud of her heart, taste the excitement in her mouth, hear her breathless “Yes,” when the cowboy asked if she wanted to leave.

  The song ended and they headed for the nearest exit.

  Travis clamped his hand around his beer and tried to resist the urge to go after her. He damned well would NOT. She was a grown woman. If she wanted to sleep with every damned cowboy in the place, it was her business.

  What did he care?

  He didn’t.

  That’s what he tried to tell himself. At the same time, he stayed tuned into her. The crunch of gravel echoed in his ears as she followed the guy out to his truck. He felt the rush of uh-oh as the man reached for her and hauled her close.

  Wait a second.

  Uh-oh.

  That wasn’t the thought of a woman ready to jump into the sack.

  He focused and sure enough, she wasn’t half as anxious to get up close and personal with this guy as she should have been. Rather, she dodged his kiss and twisted away. He caught her arm and then—

  The connection shattered as a bolt of pain zapped Travis and shook his entire body. His gut tightened as fear rushed up his spine.

  And for the first time in his life, he didn’t try to tell himself that he was overreacting or that it was nothing or that he was certifiable because he suddenly knew—he knew—that something was wrong.

  He pushed to his feet and went after her. And he could only hope that this time he wasn’t too late.

  HOLLY CAUGHT HER breath against the incredible pain gripping her ankle. Her eyes watered and she blinked frantically. She wasn’t going to cry over a sprained ankle. Even if it was two days before the biggest event of her career.

  “Get your hands off of her.” The deep, familiar voice sounded a split second before she heard Cal’s surprised “What the fuck?” and a fierce thud as he landed on the ground beside her.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “He didn’t do anything. He tried, but I gave him a knee to the groin. When I went to turn, my heel broke and I twisted my ankle—” The words trailed off as her head snapped up and she saw Travis towering over Cal.

  His eyes blazed bright and intense and bloodred. A growl vibrated in her ears and his sensuous lips drew back, revealing a pair of lethal-looking fangs.

  Her heart pounded, echoing in her head, drowning out the music drifting from inside and the crrrunch of gravel as a car pulled into the parking lot. She blinked once, twice, but it didn’t erase what was right in front of her.

  What she’d known all along.

  Travis was a vampire.

  Her brain fought against the truth despite the memories that rifled through her head. The way his eyes had seemed to change colors and how he’d touched her without really touching her. And the dreams.

  “No,” she murmured, fighting against the truth.

  The one word seemed to yank him from the angry rage he’d been caught in and he turned toward her.

  Immediately, his eyes cooled into a dark, vibrant green and his fangs retracted. He was on his knees in that next instant, reaching for her, his touch gentle, possessive.

  “You’re mine.”

  His voice whispered through her head and she knew it wasn’t her imagination this time. The words were clear. Distinct. Undeniable.

  Shock jolted through her, followed by a wave of panic that
crashed over her, tugged her under and tried to suck the oxygen from her lungs. She scrambled to her feet and tried to move. To get away as fast as she could. Not from him, but from the crazy feelings whirling through her. Because despite the truth, she wanted him.

  As much as he wanted her.

  Mine.

  It was her own voice she heard this time. In her head. Her heart. She turned and tried to move. White hot pain ripped up her leg. Suddenly, it was all too much to take in. Her vision blurred and she stumbled. The ground seemed to shake and she pitched forward.

  And then she fell head first into a pit of nothingness.

  19

  ANOTHER DREAM.

  That’s what Holly told herself when she opened her eyes to find that she was snuggled deep in her own bed, her favorite T-shirt tangled at her waist. She tried to move, her ankle throbbed. And she knew in an instant that it had all been real.

  As real as the vampire stretched out in the chair beside her bed.

  He sat, his legs stretched out in front of him, his arms folded, his eyes closed. He looked like any other handsome, sexy man keeping watch over his woman. More so with the tiny crease in his brow, as if he wasn’t sleeping quite as good as he should have because she was hurt.

  A man, she told herself, trying to ignore the sudden rush of memories.

  She saw him that first night in the back parking lot of the honky tonk, his eyes gleaming a hot, bright purple as he’d loomed over her.

  The image faded into yet another and she saw him standing on her doorstep, insisting that she invite him in properly. The way he’d stood in the shower with her, touching and stirring. There one minute. Gone the next. Impossible.

  It would be if he was just a man.

  But he wasn’t.

  She closed her eyes, desperate to deny the truth niggling at her. There were no such things as vampires. Such creatures only existed in movies and books and the fantasies of millions of young, Twilight-loving teens. It was hype. Not reality.

  Still, the memories kept nagging at her. The eyes. The way he seemed to read her thoughts—

  “It’s part of what I am.” His deep voice jarred her from the mental examination and she opened her eyes to find him staring at her. “When I look into a person’s eyes, I can tell what they’re thinking. I can also levitate and move faster than the average human. I can even lift an SUV if I feel like it. I can see myself in a mirror just like anyone else. But I am allergic to sunlight. Stakes are bad, too, if they’re through the heart. Otherwise, I’m pretty invincible. Garlic and crosses don’t bother me. Holy water, either.”

  “But you work with horses. Aren’t animals afraid of vampires?”

  “I had a knack for horses before I turned. Once I became a vampire, those characteristics became magnified. Horses spook a little at first, but they sense more friend in me than foe. My brother Brent was good with a gun before and now he’s unbeatable. Likewise for Cody. He always could hang on for the full eight seconds. And his balance and endurance only magnified once he turned.” He stared at her and she knew he saw the multitude of questions swimming in her brain. “I sleep during the day,” he added, “which means I work horses at night.”

  “Isn’t that hard to explain to a rancher?”

  “Not really. Really good horse trainers have almost a mystical connection to the animals. Ranchers just think it’s a quirk in my personality.”

  She tried to focus on his words, letting everything he said sink in. But every answer drew another question. “Do you really drink blood?”

  He nodded. “But vampires don’t just feed off of blood. We also crave energy. Sexual energy. The more lusty the woman, the better.”

  “That’s why you followed me into that closet at the wedding?”

  He nodded and a grin hinted at his lips, easing the frantic beating of her heart. “That and I liked the way you filled out that black skirt.”

  A warmth stole through her and she stiffened. So what if he liked the way she looked? She didn’t care. She shouldn’t care.

  His grin faded as he regarded her. “I usually like sex and blood at the same time. You’re the first woman I haven’t bitten.”

  “Lucky me.” It was a sarcastic remark, but she couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, it did make her lucky. Like maybe there was something different about her. Special. “Why didn’t you bite me?”

  “I meant to, but then you rushed out of the closet so fast that I lost the chance. I still can’t believe you walked away from me. Usually I’m the one walking away and it’s the women who are begging me to stay.” He ran a hand through his hair and stared at her as if he’d yet to figure her out.

  Crazy, she knew. He could read her thoughts. She was practically an open book.

  At the same time, she had the distinct feeling that she wasn’t nearly as transparent as she should have been, and that he didn’t like it one bit.

  “When I look into a woman’s eyes, she’s powerless,” Travis continued. “She’ll do whatever I say, whenever I say it. But not you. You’ve got a stubborn streak that I can’t touch.”

  “So no reading my thoughts?”

  “Oh, I can read your thoughts. Right now you’re not half as afraid of me as you are of yourself. You’re afraid because you’re not afraid. You’re still madly attracted to me.”

  She wanted to deny it, but then he looked at her, into her, and lust stirred, fierce and quick and far more powerful than the throb of fear keeping time with her frantic heartbeat.

  “Stop doing that.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Influencing me.”

  “That’s the trouble, sugar. I can’t influence you. I’ve been trying for days and damned if I can do it.”

  She shouldn’t believe him. It would be so easy to write off her aching body as a reaction to his vamp charm. Yet, there was just something about the frustrated look in his eyes that hinted he was telling the truth. He couldn’t influence her at will and it bothered the hell out of him.

  Ah, but he could influence her other ways.

  His scent—raw and male and oh, so intoxicating—filled her nostrils and created the most damning thoughts of two bodies tangled together, touching and twisting and kissing. Sex at its most primitive level, but even more savage.

  An image of him, fangs bared, popped into her head. And where she should have been afraid, she found herself wondering what they would feel like.

  “It doesn’t hurt,” he said, reading her thoughts. “In fact, it’s a pretty incredible sensation. Better than sex. It’ll definitely make you forget your sprained ankle.”

  But other than a dull throb, she’d already forgotten about it. She was too focused on him. Her body trembled, urging her to turn, to reach out, to touch him and see for herself.

  She wanted to.

  She’d been denying herself for so long and suddenly playing it safe and keeping her distance didn’t seem nearly as important as reaching out and seizing this one moment.

  This one memory to add to all the others.

  Because vampire or not, Travis Braddock was still temporary with a great big capital T. Their time together was running out. It was already after midnight, which meant Friday had officially arrived. He was leaving tomorrow. He’d said it himself.

  Which meant she could either make the most of their time together or run the other way and live with the regret.

  She shoved back the covers and struggled to the side of the bed, ignoring her throbbing ankle.

  “What are you doing?”

  “What I should have done a long time ago.” She pushed to her feet and then she reached for the hem of her T-shirt.

  TRAVIS WATCHED AS the soft cotton slid over her head. She wasn’t wearing a bra and the first whisper of air against her nipples brought them to throbbing awareness. She hooked her fingers in the waistband of her panties and shimmied them down her legs. She stood there, naked and beautiful, offering herself to him. But it wasn’t enough. He wanted to be sure.
He needed it.

  “I want you,” she murmured as if reading his thoughts.

  A sense of urgency rushed through him and he was on his feet in a split-second. He grasped the hem of his shirt and pulled it up and over his head before he reached for her.

  He lifted her, taking the pressure off her ankle as he held her close, dipped his head and drew one sensitive nipple into his mouth. She tasted every bit as good as he remembered and he couldn’t seem to get enough. He suckled her, holding her tight against his growing erection, cradling her, loving her.

  The thought struck and damned if he could push it away. Even though he knew the feelings he had for her wouldn’t last. They never did.

  Still, he couldn’t help himself. He held tight to the emotion rushing inside of him, pressed her down into the mattress and then proceeded to make love to a woman for the first time since he’d turned vampire.

  His woman.

  For now anyhow.

  20

  HOLLY CLOSED HER eyes to the wonderful pull of Travis’s mouth on her breast. He sucked her so hard and so thoroughly that she moaned. Wetness flooded the sensitive flesh between her legs and she trembled. He drew on her harder, his jaw creating a powerful tug that she felt clear to her womb. An echoing throb started deep inside, more intense with every rasp of his tongue, every nibble of his teeth…

  His fangs.

  There was no mistaking the razor-like sharpness against her hyper-sensitive flesh. She stiffened.

  His muscles tightened and he stopped his delicious assault on her breast.

  She opened her eyes and found him staring back at her, his face only inches away. He looked at her, into her, his eyes hot and vivid, his fangs fully visible. He looked as if he’d like nothing more than to throw her down and sink himself and his fangs into her body, but he didn’t move.

  Instead, he waited, his hold on her firm and secure, his muscles stretched taut.

  Are you sure?

  His thought echoed through her head, sending a rush of amazement through her. The connection was so fierce between them. So intimate. So special.

  She cupped his face, felt the rasp of his stubble against her palms and smiled. And then she leaned forward and touched her lips to his.