Had Travis gotten her telegram? Would he be there to pick her up or would she find herself on her own? That was silly. If he hadn’t wanted her in L.A., wouldn’t he have let her know? He wouldn’t have let her come all this way to be humiliated, would he? Why not? She had done a number on him; why shouldn’t he be allowed some revenge? She looked down at her hands, lying tensely in her lap. She had tried reading a book, then several magazines, and even attempted to watch the movie but couldn’t concentrate on any one thing but the thought of seeing Travis again. She was so frightened. She had planned never to come back, but she hadn’t known Travis would be a part of her life then. After meeting him, she knew her future would never be the same. Her flight to L.A. was proof of it.
She made another trip to the small lavatory in the front of the jet but saw the same person in the mirror she had seen before. Pale face, large eyes, makeup long worn off; she had only put it on for moral support, anyway, her hair pulled back in a French braid, a raspberry wool sweater with a matching striped shirt beneath and jeans. She certainly didn’t look like anything to write home about. But Travis knew what she looked like. He had seen her looking even worse. She just wished the damn plane would land so her period of turmoil would be over. If she’d been smart, she would have drunk her way cross-country. Then she wouldn’t have cared whether Travis was there or not!
Travis spent the time wandering through the terminal, watching people, idly noting if a person looked like a good subject or not. It was a habit of his, and he always made sure never to stare at someone for too long that they became uncomfortable. He glanced at his watch again. They kept announcing that the flights were stacked up. When would they announce Kali’s flight? He wasn’t always the most patient of men, and right now he felt ready to chew his nails. He wanted to see her walk off the plane and into his arms. He needed to feel her, to taste her, to hear her voice. Then he would know everything was all right. Okay, maybe everything wouldn’t be all right, but if she was with him, that would be close enough for him after he took her to his home and made love to her. He needed to have her wrapped all around him, to feel himself buried deep inside her, to wake up next to her. Hell, he just plain needed her. His head lifted when he heard the dispassionate voice announcing the arrival of Kali’s flight and the gate number. He hurried over to the appropriate gate so he would be sure not to miss her when she stepped off the plane.
Finally! Kali gathered up her heavy jacket, nylon tote bag, and purse. She stood up, fully prepared to leave the plane as soon as possible. She passed a trembling hand over her hair, found a few loose strands, but nothing to worry about. She was glad she had spritzed on some cologne a little while ago, so she wouldn’t feel completely grubby.
She walked slowly behind the other passengers as they disembarked. The tunnel from the plane to the terminal never seemed so long. Was he there? She took several deep breaths to calm her ravaged nerves and wished she hadn’t turned down that last drink on the plane. Oh, well, she’d never been one for false courage.
Travis stood back a short distance and to the side. From that position he was able to see Kali before she saw him. She looked tired and very tense. He wanted nothing more than to run to her and enfold her in his arms, but he would wait for her to see him, to walk that final distance.
As if sensing his presence, Kali’s head swung around to face the dark, enigmatic gaze. She halted and stared long and hard at him before her feet moved slowly in his direction.
“My plane was late,” she explained unnecessarily, standing before him.
There was the faintest touch of a smile lurking in the corners of his lips. She looked so forlorn, she was irresistible.
“I’m glad you came,” he said finally, leaning down to press the lightest, but no less potent, of kisses on her lips.
The breath Kali had been holding for so long left her body in a silent rush. “I was afraid you wouldn’t be here,” she said honestly.
“I almost wasn’t.”
Her faint smile disappeared.
Travis relented. “I was out in the desert shooting some publicity photos for a friend of mine and just got back into town. Jenny cornered me the minute I got into the studio and gave me your telegram.” He draped an arm around her shoulders as they walked toward the escalator. “You needn’t have worried, Kali, I would have been here, come hell or high water.”
She ducked her head. “I don’t know why I came.” Her voice was muffled and sounded suspiciously tearful.
He hugged her more tightly against his side. “I don’t know why, either, but I’m glad you did.”
They walked slowly, since they knew it would take some time for the baggage to be unloaded.
“How was your flight?” Travis hated small talk, but everything else he wanted to say couldn’t be said in a public place.
Kali wrinkled her nose. “I’ve had better. I’m not a good flier to begin with.”
They entered the baggage area and located the carousel that would carry Kali’s flight. A few pieces had already been unloaded, but nothing that matched her nylon tote.
“There it is.” She pointed out the small bag coming their way.
Travis lifted an eyebrow and glanced at her sideways. “That’s it?”
“I don’t have much in the way of clothing for out here, so I figured if I need anything, I can do some shopping.”
Travis picked up the bag and led the way outside to the parking garage, Kali following.
She looked around the exterior of the new terminal, feeling very much like a hick coming to the big city for the first time. Much had changed and much had stayed the same. The terminal was new, and Travis mentioned that there was also a new international terminal, and the parking garages had been expanded. Kali was sensitive to the noise, the gas fumes, the cars honking, and loud voices speaking loudly in several languages. She could feel a headache coming on, and the knot in her chest tightening.
I shouldn’t have come back here! she cried out to herself, hurrying to cross the street with Travis. Why didn’t I stay where I felt safe? That was when she realized that she was more apprehensive about the noise and the people than the fears she thought she would have. The idea of her divorce and Cheryl’s kidnapping being brought up again, and other fears that only lurked in her mind. After all, why should she be afraid when Travis was there to protect her? If she could keep a tight hold on that thought, she’d be all right.
Travis noted Kali’s unease and correctly interpreted it. He glanced around the empty garage and stopped a few paces from his parking space near the elevator. He grabbed Kali’s hand, pulled her into a dark corner, and backed her up against the wall.
“And now for the appropriate welcome back,” he murmured, lowering his head and capturing her mouth with hungry ease, a hunger Kali was feeling as well. Soft moans welled up in her throat as she dropped her bag and slid her arms around his neck, arching her body up against his warmth.
Travis’s tongue thrust roughly into her receptive mouth and foraged every sweet corner. He hadn’t forgotten the taste of her; he just wanted to reinforce it. His hands fumbled with her heavy jacket, lowering the zipper so his hands could reinforce the feel of her breasts, already swollen with their need. As swollen as his own need.
“You little witch, I should strangle you for making me wait so long for you,” he muttered, rubbing his torso against hers. Her nipples puckered under his slightest touch, which only served to drive him crazier. He knew if he didn’t draw back now, he would be taking her against this wall, and he wanted all the privacy he could get for their reunion. He pulled back reluctantly. “I think we’d better get going before we give any unexpected visitors a show.” He led her toward his Corvette.
“Not what I expected.” Kali couldn’t help but admire the classic fire-engine-red racing machine.
“Not expected of me?”
She nodded. “I guess I thought you would have something rougher.” She felt apologetic.
Travis grinned. “Don�
��t worry, I have a truck with four wheel drive if that will make you feel better.” He placed her inside the low-slung car and walked around to the driver’s side. Within seconds they were racing down the ramp to the exit.
Kali looked around as they drove down Century Boulevard. The heavy traffic, even that late at night, was a shock to her system.
“I feel so out of it,” she confessed, turning back around in the bucket seat to face him. “A traffic jam in Newton’s Gap usually consists of two cars wanting to make the same turn. I’ve been gone so long, this is a shock to me.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
Would she? She wasn’t so sure.
“Where are we going?” She noticed Travis took the south on ramp to the freeway.
“My house.” He shot a quick glance in her direction. “Any problem with that?”
Was there? At least he wasn’t taking her to a hotel. Kali knew she didn’t want to be alone tonight, and she also knew she needed Travis more than she had ever needed him before.
“No, none at all.”
Chapter 13
Even for the late hour, the freeway was busy. Kali looked around at the cars racing past them, even though Travis was driving at a little over sixty-five miles per hour.
“Whatever happened to the fifty-five-miles-per-hour speed limit?” she murmured, forgetting she hadn’t kept to the speed limit since the first day she’d started driving.
He flashed her a wide grin. “That’s only for when the California Highway Patrol is sneaking around.” He changed lanes and took the next off ramp.
“Where exactly do you live?” She stared straight ahead. I shouldn’t have come. In time I would have gotten over him. She noticed that even the side roads seemed crowded.
“Rolling Hills.” Why is she so stiff? Is she that afraid of something happening? What will it take for her to realize I’m not going to let anything happen to her, that I’d protect her with my life?
Kali repressed a shiver. The party where she had first met Travis had been in Rolling Hills, an exclusive community that was zoned for horses and not far from Palos Verdes, another exclusive residential area that overlooked the sea.
“I usually don’t attend parties given by neighbors, but I’m glad I made that exception,” he told her, aware of her unease. “They got a divorce a year ago and sold the house. A very strange lady who collects cats lives there now.” He reached over to grasp her hand and squeezed it tightly. “Why don’t you close your eyes. I can imagine you’re dead on your feet, and a little bit of rest wouldn’t hurt. We’ll be there soon.”
Closing her eyes sounded like a good idea, but Kali was afraid of falling asleep. She wanted to see the place where Travis lived, to see if it matched his rough-edged personality.
She wasn’t disappointed. The house was set high up in the hills, amid enough acreage that it appeared to be entirely secluded. She caught a glimpse of the barn, lit up by the headlights when Travis drove around to the rear of the sprawling ranch-style house.
“We don’t stand on ceremony here.” Travis helped her out of the car before pulling her bags out of the trunk. “Through there.” He used her tote bag to point the way under a covered walkway to a door with a floodlight overhead that lit up the area leading to the detached garage.
They entered a kitchen that was sparkling clean with modern appliances and absolutely no personality. Kali looked over the room, noticed the absence of any usual clutter and gauged it was used for little other than making coffee and keeping the beer cold in the refrigerator.
“Actually I’m surprised there isn’t six inches of dust on the counters,” she said dryly, shrugging off her heavy jacket in deference to the heat flowing through the vents.
Travis grimaced. “Jenny sent the cleaning lady in so the place wouldn’t scare you off.”
Kali spun around, revealing a wariness in her eyes. “Jenny knows about us?”
“She did a lot of guessing. I didn’t tell her if she was right or wrong.” Travis watched her closely, thinking she probably should have kept her coat on. Then he wouldn’t be so interested in the rise and fall of her breasts, remembering how they looked when they were pink and moist from his kisses. “If the idea of you staying here bothers you so much, I can still take you to a hotel. Jenny made a reservation for you.”
She shook her head almost violently, her eyes wide and dark. “Please, Travis, I don’t want to stay somewhere impersonal. I won’t be any trouble, I promise.”
He stifled a groan. Trouble, her? He steered her into the den and, before turning on any lights, dropped her bags and pulled her into his arms with one easy motion. His mouth covered hers just as hungrily as it had in the airport parking garage, if not more. Here there was no fear of interruption. Kali’s arms looped around his neck to provide easier access as her sweater was jerked upward and her shirt ripped open. His hands were cool on her bare breasts at first, but warmed rapidly.
“You sure took your time getting here.” Travis’s voice was a deep rumble in his chest as he pressed hungry kisses all over her face.
“I missed you so much, it almost seemed sinful.” She sighed, arching up under his caresses.
“I can’t remember the last time I’ve been able to eat a decent meal what with thinking about you.”
“You probably haven’t eaten a decent meal unless someone has cooked one for you.” She shivered with delight when his tongue teased the curved whorls of her ear.
“If you’re asking in a roundabout way if there’s been any other woman cooking for me, you can be rest assured the only women who’ve cooked a meal for me worked in a fast-food restaurant.” His breathing grew raspy with desire.
Buttons were undone by swift fingers, zippers nimbly released, sensual explorations made by curious hands. Sighs echoed in die empty room as they fell slowly to the carpet, first kneeling as they continued running their hands over each other’s bodies to reacquaint themselves with the hard planes and soft curves, and then lying on their sides, their bodies lightly touching as if afraid to part for the shortest time.
“The bed seemed so large after you left.”
“Mine was cold without you in it.”
“J. C. called me a coward for not coming after you sooner.”
“No, not a coward, just stubborn. Good thing I love stubborn women.” His mustache brushed erotically over the nipple, already puckered from the cool air and the long wait for the warm possession of his mouth.
“I am a coward.”
“Cowards don’t make love the way you do.”
“Your skin feels so warm.”
“If you think my chest is warm, you should try a tad south. There’s a regular heat wave down there.”
“Mmm, you’re right about the temperature of the southern hemisphere. I wonder if there’s a foolproof method for cooling it off.”
“Not the way you’re doing the job.” He gasped as her hand encircled the part of him pulsing with life and desire for her.
“I need you so badly.”
“I second the motion.”
“Um, this motion?”
“That will do for a start.”
“And then?”
“And then this.” Travis showed her by thrusting deeply into her waiting sheath. Their caresses had been hurried in an attempt to make up for lost time, and their lovemaking was now frenzied, hot, and hard. He had made only a few deep thrusts before Kali arched upward with a cry, her body convulsing around his. She wrapped herself around him as her skin flamed with fires hotter than a volcano, fires that Travis felt just as strongly. This was no leisurely coupling; they needed each other’s possession to feel whole again. Before long, Travis’s body also convulsed, and he cried her name in the heat of desire. They remained locked together, their breathing erratic as they slowly returned to the present.
After a while the air in the room began to feel cold. Travis stood up, swept her up into his arms, and carried her to the rear of the house to his bedroom, where he made s
ure the covers were piled around her before he climbed into bed next to her. It wasn’t long before they were reaching for each other again. A long night of loving lay in store.
Kali was too comfortable to wake up fully. The covers around her were warm, as was the body lying next to her. Her eyes were still closed against the morning sun, her lips curved in a smile. All in all, she hadn’t felt so good in a long time, not since the last time she and Travis had shared a bed. She half turned when a hand stole across her abdomen and began rubbing a warm caress across her soft skin.
“Do you always look so happy when you wake up?” Travis’s whiskey-rough voice was music to her ears.
“It depends on who I wake up with,” she couldn’t resist saying.
Travis took the bait very nicely. He rolled her over the rest of the way until she had no choice but to look up at his scowling features.
“I suggest you amend that statement to ‘when you wake up with me,’ ” he advised darkly, lowering his body over her so she could feel his potent desire burning her skin. He framed her head between his hands and looked deep into her eyes, seeing the smile echoed on her lips.
Her eyes sparkled, her smile tinged with feminine provocation. “Make me,” her voice almost purred with invitation.
“Darlin’, I thought you’d never ask.” He lowered his head, his lips brushing across hers before slanting more fully over them and taking her breath away with incredible ease.
After their hurried lovemaking the night before, they should have wanted to take all the time in the world, but it wasn’t possible. They still needed each other too much to wait. Kali’s fingers encircled Travis with love, urging him to join with her, an invitation he was loath to refuse.
“Why did you have to wait so damn long before coming to me?” he said raspily, sliding easily into her.
She smiled through a mist of happy tears. “Because I’m stubborn, just as you said.” She wrapped her arms around his back and held him tightly against her.
As before, they loved furiously. Kali was positive she had died and gone to heaven, with Travis’s arms around her and his tongue thrusting into her mouth in loving imitation of their bodies.
Only Love Page 17
