She managed a wan smile. “I’m trying to tell myself that, but it’s difficult. I’m not the kind of woman to go to bed with just anyone.” The image flashed before her of their entwined bodies in that cabana years ago. Her face whitened at the memory. “Or am I?”
Travis caught the look and suspected what she was thinking. “You were looking for revenge that night. I think if it had come down to it, you wouldn’t have gone to bed with a man just for revenge. Even though alcohol gave you the nerve to start something, I don’t think you would have had the courage to finish it.” He raised her hand and brushed his lips over the fingertips, keeping his eyes on her to gauge her reaction. The flaring in her eyes told him she was weakening. Weakening to him. Only to him, if he had anything to say about it. “Even then we were special.”
Her lips quivered. “Are you sure you’re not Irish with that case of blarney you carry around with you?” she asked weakly, feeling the heat of his stare beginning to melt her resistance.
Travis never looked so serious as he did then. “I want one thing clear: I’ll never lie to you and I’ll never knowingly hurt you, because hurting you is hurting me. I’ll do anything in my power to make sure you never suffer any kind of pain again, and I’ll stop anyone who would try to hurt you.”
Kali’s body trembled. Travis’s words were not idle. Deep down she knew that, but he wouldn’t be around much longer, and who would protect her then? She would be on her own again, and her time with him would merely be a collage of hours to be pressed away in her scrapbook of memories. She withdrew her hand from Travis’s and picked up her fork. She may not have been hungry, but she was going to force herself to eat every bite on her plate.
Travis worried about Kali over the next few hours. Something had changed drastically during dinner. She ate her supper, smiled at the appropriate times, and even initiated conversation, but her heart wasn’t in it. Was she still regretting their lovemaking? And what could he do to prove to her that he wasn’t like her ex-husband and never would treat her as he had?
Kali excused herself early, saying she wanted to relax in a hot bath. After the hours they’d spent together in bed, Travis wasn’t surprised. After all, it had been a long time since she had made love, and she needed to be soothed, body and soul. He remained in the living room listening to the roar of water pouring into the tub. When he heard the soft splash of a body immersing itself in the water, he imagined the bubbles caressing her breasts, floating over her abdomen and covering her arms. He groaned, wishing he were in there with her but knew he wouldn’t be invited. At least not tonight. He went back to the book he was reading, but science fiction wasn’t holding his attention. He didn’t want to read about lovers in another world; he wanted to think about lovers in this world, this country, this state, hell, this cabin! He shifted in his chair. His aroused body felt as if it hadn’t been sated in the past eight hours. Maybe it had all been a dream—that was it, he hadn’t made love to Kali at all. He had taken a nap and dreamed the whole thing. No, if he had dreamed it, he wouldn’t remember the deep pink of Kali’s nipples as he had tongued them to a pebble hardness, the sounds of her moans when he touched her, and the sounds of her happy cries when he possessed her. No, they weren’t part of a dream; they were a reality he was only too happy to repeat if she would allow him to.
The sound of a door closing roused Travis from his thoughts. He set his book down and rose from the chair to head down the hallway. The bathroom door was open, the scent of honey and almond floating in the steamy air. And the bedroom door was closed— Kali’s way of telling him she didn’t want his company tonight. He wondered if she was unnerved over what had happened so quickly between them; she might need time to herself. Travis was certain that was the last thing she should have, because that also gave her time for second thoughts.
Kali lay in bed listening to Travis’s footsteps. She closed her eyes, prepared to pretend to be asleep if he opened the bedroom door. Instead, she eventually heard him walking back to the living room. She exhaled. Whether it was a sigh of relief or regret, she didn’t know.
She was falling in love with Travis, as sure as the sun would come up in the morning. She was falling in love with a man determined to bring her back to the rat race that had hurt her so badly. But she couldn’t afford that kind of love, for it would destroy her in the end. She rolled over onto her side, staring at the stuffed animals on her dresser. She had to remember Cheryl, remember how important it was to find her daughter and bring her home where she would be safe. That was all that mattered right now.
Kali froze when she heard the door opening. A sliver of light flashed over her curled-up body, then disappeared when the door closed softly.
Travis was in the room. She couldn’t hear or see him, but she sensed him, swore she could smell him. There was no fear or anger in her body. She should have realized he wouldn’t allow her to escape him that easily. He certainly hadn’t given up before.
The whispery sounds of clothes dropping to the floor were all that she heard before a heavy weight pressed down the bed on the opposite side and covers were moved aside. Travis eased himself into bed and settled the blankets and quilt over him before turning on his side and gathering Kali into his arms, pressing her head against his shoulder.
“You can pretend you’re sleeping all you want, but I know different,” he said quietly, kissing her brow.
Kali didn’t say a word. She needn’t have worried, because Travis was asleep in moments. The relaxed posture of his body and his regular breathing told her that. In time she also slept, slept better than she had in years.
Kali didn’t want to wake up the next morning. She knew the floors would be cold, the air icy. The calendar might have said it was spring, but in the mountains the weather was at least a month behind. Here, under the covers, it was warm and cozy. Travis turned out to be better than an electric blanket. She moved her cold toes closer to his warm legs.
“I suggest you move those icicles you call feet or lose them,” Travis mumbled, keeping his eyes closed.
Kali stifled a giggle. She should be angry that he was in her bed, that he obstinately took up more than half the covers the night before, but how could she be angry with a man who climbed into bed and held her all night without expecting more?
“My feet are cold,” she complained, snuggling closer.
“Wear a pair of your crazy socks to bed.”
“But they’re cold now.”
“So get a pair out now.”
“But it’s cold outside.”
“Honey, you’re not telling me something I don’t already know.” Travis burrowed his head deeper into his pillow as one hand burrowed under Kali’s pajama top, finding her breast. He smiled when he found the nipple already peaked. “At least it isn’t cold where I am.”
“Weren’t you afraid of being thrown out last night?” Kali sighed, arching her back under his touch.
“You were asleep, remember?”
She wrinkled her nose. “You’re too smart for your own good, do you know that?”
“So I’ve been told,” he replied, looking smug. “Just remember, my mother said I’m the sexy one.”
Kali decided to do a little searching of her own. It didn’t take long for her to learn that Travis slept nude. “How come you aren’t freezing?” Her hand wandered over his bare hip and around to his buttocks.
“The Yates are hot-blooded.” He also checked out what her pajama bottoms covered, liking what he found.
Kali gasped when Travis’s hand swept over the soft brown curls and below. “Travis, I’m afraid.” Afraid of what’s happening to us, afraid of the future, afraid of you. It was all unspoken but sounded loud and clear in his mind.
He turned her over onto her back and stared down into her wide eyes. His own were black as night and unfathomable, yet warm and comforting as well.
“Three years ago we almost went to bed together, and if we had, it would have been a mistake,” he stated quietly, keeping hold of
her shoulders so she couldn’t move away from him. “It would have been a mistake because it would have been done for all the wrong reasons. You wanted to hurt your husband, and you were just a little bit drunk. I wanted you, wanted you badly, but I don’t think the feeling was as strong as it is now.”
“Then I would have been a pushover, wouldn’t I? So why didn’t you take advantage of me?” she demanded, looking miserable.
Travis took a deep breath. “Because while I wanted you, I didn’t want you as a one-night stand I wanted you without any ties, such as that present husband of yours. If you had stuck around L.A. long enough after the divorce, you would have found me camping on your doorstep, complete with candy and flowers and maybe even a poem or two. And then, when the time was right, I would have seduced you into my bed.”
“Just as the time was right yesterday?” She wanted to lash out. Why, she wasn’t sure.
Travis never looked less like a lover. “I was talking about three years ago, not what happened yesterday. Yesterday was due to the tension building up between us for the past ten days, and a physical attraction we haven’t been able to deny. You’d admit it if you weren’t so damn stubborn.” He looked as if he wanted to shake some sense into her.
“It’s all happened so fast!” she protested, wondering how they could have any kind of serious conversation when they were lying in bed, Travis naked and she nearly so.
“Has it? Or did we finally give in to something that has been building for a long time?”
Kali closed her eyes, but the picture of Travis’s dark face was clearly imprinted in her mind. He was frustrated with her. It showed in his voice, but there was nothing in his expression to back it up. His eyes showed concern for her.
“My hormones are all out of whack.” She sighed, slowly opening her eyes.
Travis’s lips creased in a slow smile. “You wanna talk about hormones, we’ll talk about hormones,” he drawled, rubbing his torso against hers, allowing her to feel his arousal.
Kali’s eyes answered his smile with one of her own.
How could she remain upset with this crazy man residing in her bed, showing her how much he wanted her? “That’s a pretty big hormone,” she commented nonchalantly.
“I wouldn’t worry. You’re more than woman enough to handle it.” He eased her pajama bottoms down and kicked them the rest of the way off. The top took a bit of her assistance, which she was only too willing to give.
Kali looped her arms around his neck. “How do you do it? Here I was feeling sorry for myself and mad at you, yet you easily tease me out of my mood?”
Travis bent down and nipped her neck. “It’s all those hormones,” he said, his voice rumbling, running his hands over her body, finding every sensitive spot with unerring accuracy. “And the fact that I’m learning I can’t sleep with you without wanting to make love to you. I may have behaved last night because I felt you needed the rest, but it’s morning now. You’ve had your eight hours’ sleep, and my behavior is ready to take a turn for the worse.”
Kali was turning to liquid under Travis’s touch. “If this is your behavior at its worst, I wonder what it would be like at its best,” she murmured, curling a leg around one of his muscular calves. She buried her face against the curve of his neck, inhaling the musky scent of his skin. She decided he smelled just as dark and dangerous as he tasted, and she wouldn’t have him any other way.
His mouth covered hers, his tongue plunging in to find the sweetness he knew he would find there. He invited Kali to participate in the love dance as their tongues curled around each other sensually. When Kali’s tongue darted into his mouth, he felt fiery stabs of desire overtake his body. He hadn’t been a monk —there had been more women than he cared to think about in his life—but none had ever affected him the way Kali did. All she had to do was smile at him and he wanted her.
“For a beat-up old model, you’ve got a very sexy body, lady,” he muttered, his mouth trailing across her cheek and up to her eyes. The eyelids fluttered shut as he scattered butterfly kisses across her skin. One hand covered her breast.
“Models aren’t known for having much in that department,” she managed to say despite the lack of air in her lungs.
“More than a handful is a waste.” He proved his theory by cupping the rounded globe and bringing it up to his lips. He covered every inch lovingly.
If Kali thought she had been cold when she first woke up, she wasn’t now. In fact, she was burning up. And it was all due to Travis. His mouth turned her blood to burning lava, and his hands brought her to the boiling point.
Her own hands were shy in their exploration. Blayne had never wanted her to participate in their lovemaking—if it could have been called that, now that she knew what the real thing was like. Travis encouraged her to touch him as openly as he touched her.
“Do you realize what you do to me when you touch me?” he asked in a husky voice, covering her hand with his as she tentatively stroked the silky shaft, showing her what he liked best.
Her eyes lowered. “I hope you feel the way I do.”
Travis rolled over onto his back and pulled Kali with him. She lay sprawled over him, her hair a silky curtain around her face. His finger traced her moist lower lip, swollen from his kisses, and pressed down lightly until her lips parted.
“With you I feel like the most potent, virile man in the world,” he said softly. “I feel as if I can take on the whole world and win. Kali, you’re so beautiful and sexy that I want to carry you off and keep you all to myself. I’m afraid someone else will find out just how wonderful you are and take you away from me.”
Kali shook her head. “That’s why this is all so scary,” she confessed. “The feelings are so strong, we don’t know where they will lead us—except to bed, of course,” she added wryly.
“Do you hear me complaining?” he asked, flashing her a wicked grin. His hands braced her waist and lifted her up to straddle his hips.
It’s not enough, Kali thought, but it was a beginning. She knew a lot about starting over and wasn’t afraid of the hard work that would be ahead. Travis kept his hands on her hips, helping her move in a rhythm most pleasing for both of them. She looked at his face, dark and taut with desire, the eyes glowing like coals. It was the expression of a man caught up in a maelstrom of passion.
“Flow with it, Kali,” Travis encouraged in his voice, watching her face flush and her eyelids lower. “Give in to what you’re doing.”
“I’m afraid,” she whispered, feeling almost overwhelmed by the incredible sensations she was experiencing.
“I’m here with you. There’s nothing to be afraid of,” he told her as his hand reached down between their two bodies and touched her intimately.
Kali moaned several times as her body quickened with each stroke. She was no longer frightened, because Travis was with her every step of the way. At the last moment her eyes flew open and she stared down into the dark face that held more than passion; if she had been fully aware of it, she would have seen the love shining in the black depths. Then, suddenly, she cried out and let herself fall against Travis. He held on to her tightly, absorbing the aftershocks that came for a short while.
“You never let me go halfway, do you?” she asked lazily, running her tongue across his jaw line.
“Hell, no, this was for me too,” he murmured, pulling the covers up around them so they wouldn’t catch a chill in the cool room.
The previous fears fluttered through Kali’s mind but disappeared just as quickly. How could she hold on to the darkness when the man beneath her banished it so easily?
“I wish I could entice you into getting up to fix a wonderful breakfast.” She sighed, enjoying the warmth of the covers, and especially Travis’s body warmth.
“You could, but it would be inedible.” He grinned.
Kali grimaced. “I guess I can be persuaded to cook, after all.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea. I’d like ham and eggs, hash browns, blueberry
muffins or corn bread, and plenty of coffee.”
Before Kali scrambled out of bed, she pinched Travis. He immediately retaliated with a swat on her bottom. She shrieked and spun around, prepared to fight back, but the sight of the naked male standing before her changed her mind.
“Just for that you can forget about any muffins or corn bread,” she declared with an injured sniff, reaching for her robe and wrapping herself up in the warm depths before leaving the room.
“All I ask is that you make enough for two,” Travis called after her as he got out of bed and hunted up his jeans.
Travis was happy to see warm blueberry muffins served with his bacon and eggs; Kali was determined that he wouldn’t have everything his way. The muffins had come from the freezer, but they still tasted wonderful, as he was only too happy to inform her along with a thank you kiss.
“I’d suggest you take me on some further exploration of the countryside, but what with having breakfast at lunchtime, I don’t think our going out so late in the day would be a good idea,” Travis said when they were through with their meal.
“I could take you up to Alf’s tomorrow. He lives over near Common Creek,” she replied.
“What’s so special about Alf?”
“That you have to see for yourself.” With that cryptic statement, she refused to say any more, no matter how hard Travis tried to find out.
After taking care of the horses, Kali took Travis on a walking tour of the property, pointing out the small creek near the back of the house and the many trails leading up to the mountain.
“There are still a great many people living up there with no idea of the newfangled inventions that have come to this world,” she said softly as they walked along a narrow trail. “Then there’s others where you see the television satellite dish right next to the outhouse. This part of the country has a great many contradictions, but I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.”
Only Love Page 11
