by Mandy Baxter
Maybe it was a testament to his rebel attitude that all he could think of was defiling the woman who’d been hired to keep him in line. That, or he really was as self-destructive as everyone thought he was. Either way, Travis didn’t care. The risks he took were what made life worth living. Pushing his luck with Reily was certainly playing with fire, but Travis had always liked the heat. That wasn’t ever going to change, no matter how everyone tried to “fix” him.
“Carter and his family are staying here while his house is being remodeled,” Travis said. “But after tonight, I’m thinking they’ll be living out of his truck until the work’s done.”
“I don’t want to live in the truck!” Jane exclaimed.
“Me either!” Jenny chimed in. “Don’t make us live in the truck!”
“Okay,” Travis teased. “You two can stay. And maybe Tess. But your dad has to go.”
“Dad, you have to sleep in the truck!” Jenny laughed.
“Yeah, Dad, better be nice to Uncle Travis.”
“Hear that, dude?” Travis called back toward the house. “Even your own kids are abandoning you!”
Carter’s answering laughter sounded from inside the house.
“Those drowned rats over there are Jenny,” Travis pointed to his left, and then his right, “and Jane.”
“Hi,” Reily said with a wide smile and a wave. “I’m Reily.”
“Uncle Travis says you’ll be mad at him if he gets wet,” Jane said.
“He’ll be in big trouble,” Reily agreed with a wry grin.
“Are you really his babysitter?”
Travis cast a narrow-eyed gaze Jenny’s way and she returned the look with a smile that showcased the gap of her newly lost tooth.
“I’m not his babysitter,” Reily replied.
“You’re not his girlfriend, either?”
Travis turned his attention to Reily. He raised a sardonic brow in question and the corner of his mouth hitched. Just as he expected, a flush crept to Reily’s cheeks and she averted her gaze. He was going to have to slip Jane a twenty for that one. He loved to see Reily’s feathers ruffled. It made his gut tighten up and his breath catch. Not to mention what it did to his cock. That horny bastard was more than ready to get into one of Reily’s prim suits. He’d never thought flustered could be sexy but on Reily, it absolutely was.
“Oh…” She fiddled with her glasses and Travis wondered if it was an involuntary act. “No. I’m not his girlfriend. We work together.”
“Are you his boss?”
Travis cocked a challenging brow. “Yeah, Reily, are you my boss?”
She pursed her lips with disapproval. God, he loved that almost prissy expression. It made him want to tear down the walls of her uptight control and see what she looked like completely undone.
“I’m not his boss,” she said after a moment.
“What do you do, then?”
Jenny and Jane were little gold mines of questions for Reily to field. Travis’s smile grew as he waited to see how she’d handle his rambunctious nieces. Screw the money, if they kept it up, he’d buy them each a pony.
“Well, last week, I took him out to buy nice clothes for work and made him get a haircut,” Reily said. “Yesterday, I went to lunch with him and his team. Tonight, I’m taking him to a charity event so that he can talk to sports reporters and people who are interested in hockey.”
“Sounds like a babysitter to me,” Jane said to her sister, who giggled in response.
Smart Aleck. Travis was going to have rethink that pony.
“Travis doesn’t need a babysitter,” Reily said. “I’m like an assistant. You know how boys don’t know anything about clothes or how to look good or how to act in public?”
The girls nodded in unison. Traitors.
“Well, it’s my job to make sure he doesn’t act like such a boy when he’s at work.”
“Boys are gross,” Jane remarked offhand.
“They have cooties,” Jenny agreed.
“They do.” Reily flashed a mischievous smile. “That’s why I don’t stand too close to your uncle. I don’t want to catch them.”
The girls erupted into laughter. They were definitely sleeping in the truck with their dad tonight. Travis was revoking their refugee status. “All right, let’s get out of here. My ego can’t take much more of this. There is way too much estrogen around here!” he called toward the house.
“You’ve got that right!” Carter called back.
“You two, out of the pool,” Travis pointed his finger at Jenny and Jane. “I need to leave and you can’t swim unless your dad or Tess is out here watching you.”
The girls groused but made their way out of the pool. The slap of their little feet on the wet tiles paired with their pouty expressions coaxed a grin to Travis’s face. You’d think they’d have gills as much as they liked to swim.
“Dad! Come watch us!” Jenny shouted. “Uncle Travis is leaving!”
Carter poked his head out of the patio door. “It’s almost time for dinner so you two need to dry off and take a break anyway.” He turned his attention to Travis and smirked. “Have fun tonight.”
Travis waited until the girls’ attention was diverted and threw up his middle finger. He was sure that his good-as-gold brother was eating this up with a spoon. The last thing Travis wanted to be doing tonight was showcasing his new-and-improved image to the press. His gaze wandered to Reily, totally put together and not a hair out of place. At least the night wouldn’t be a total wash. He had a few good hours ahead of him and he planned to use each and every one of them to rattle her chain.
He turned to Riley and graced her with his most flirtatious smile. “Ready?”
Her brow furrowed with suspicion. “Yeah. The car’s out front and we’re going to be late.”
“The new and improved Travis Christensen is never late!” he exclaimed with dramatic flair.
“That’s right,” Reily said, all business. “He isn’t. So get a move on.”
Yep. The night was definitely looking up.
Five
Reily had seen another side of Travis tonight. One that the media never portrayed. One that threw her completely off her game. From the moment she’d stepped foot in his backyard, she’d been floored by how down-to-earth he was. Travis had been so sweet with his nieces, playing with them, and then making sure that they were safely out of the pool when no one was around to watch them. She’d known he had a playful side, but with his family, he showed sincerity that she’d never noticed before. It was obvious that his family meant a lot to him. She admired that.
Unfortunately, it was that other side of him that also made Reily want to get to know him much, much better, and that could never happen. She needed to keep their relationship impersonal. This was business, not pleasure. But oh, wow, what would it feel like to be pleasured by Travis Christensen?
“So what’s the plan for tonight?”
Travis sat beside her, close enough to touch. Reily’s fingers twitched at her side and she grasped her hands in her lap to keep from doing something she’d surely regret. She turned to face Travis and tried not to stare. God, he looked good enough to eat in the gray slacks, deep burgundy dress shirt, and gray vest that Patrice had picked out. The outfit hugged every powerful curve and hard line of his body, only accentuating his powerful build. Travis was larger than life.
“First of all, you’ll walk the red carpet. Smile for the cameras, answer as few questions as possible, and be your natural charming self.”
“I knew you thought I was charming,” Travis remarked with a boyish grin that Reily was pretty sure managed to incinerate her underwear. “Say it again.”
“I think you already know all of your attributes and don’t need an ego stroking from me.”
Travis’s hazel eyes lit with mischief. “My ego might not need stroking, but I can think of something that could use your attention.”
Reily’s breath left her lungs in a rush. “That’s not what I meant. I wa
s trying to say that … what I mean is … Oh, good lord, Travis! You can’t talk to me like that.”
His gaze heated and Riley became so flustered by the intensity of it that she could barely take a breath. “Why not?”
“You know why not.”
His brow furrowed. “No. I don’t.”
The car pulled up to the Omni Dallas Hotel and Reily let out a relieved breath. She wanted to tell Travis that it wasn’t fair—or nice—of him to flirt and act as though his interest in her was anything other than another ploy to get a rise out of her. She wasn’t even close to his type. And besides, he was her client. It would be career suicide to get involved with him. Reily swallowed down a snort. Hell would freeze over before that would ever happen. Not even in a parallel universe would someone like Travis truly be interested in someone like her.
“Okay, remember what I said.” Reily waited for their driver to get Travis’s door while she coached him. “Smile, be charismatic, but dial it down a notch. You’re not coming on to the press, you’re just flirting with them. Got it?”
His lips thinned for the barest moment. “I know how to behave.”
“I know that,” Reily said. It wouldn’t do her any good to alienate him. “I just want you to want to behave.”
“I want a lot of things,” Travis murmured close to her ear. A zing of delicious heat raced through Reily’s veins and she sucked in a breath. “Ask me what I want most and I’ll tell you.”
Reily opened her mouth but she couldn’t push the words past her lips. Holy crap, did she ever want to know. The promise in his tone suffused her with warmth and caused her sex to clench. Travis was just pushing her buttons. But not for the first time, she wished that his playful flirtations truly meant something more.
Even if it did mean the end of her career before it ever got off the ground.
Dear lord. Was this what it felt like to have a self-destructive tendency? Definitely foreign territory for someone who lived her life without breaking any rules.
The driver interrupted the moment when he opened Travis’s door to the flash of cameras. Reily took a deep breath and said a silent prayer that tonight would go off without a hitch and that she could keep her lust under control. The second he stepped out of the car, Travis was on. A wide, friendly smile curved his lips and he held up his hand in greeting to familiar faces as he made his way to the red carpet.
All but forgotten, Reily let herself out of the car. No one snapped any pictures of her as she rounded the fringe of paparazzi and fans assembled to get a glimpse of their favorite sports stars. She hung back—but not too far back—like a professional handler should, and watched as Travis posed for pictures, signed autographs, and chatted with fans and reporters alike. It was no wonder the world was fascinated with even the smallest detail of his life. His charisma was undeniable. Anyone caught in the orbit of his presence was helpless to pull away. Reily included.
“Travis, what’s up with the new look?”
“Who are you wearing?”
“Is it true that you’re seeing Alex Morgan from the U.S. Women’s soccer team?”
“You ready to face the Devils in the Stanley Cup? Rumors are swirling that all of the partying is going to make you lose your edge.”
The questions rolled in, one after the other. Travis handled them in the way that they’d discussed. He charmed the reporters without giving them any ammo against him.
“I thought it was time for a makeover. Even you guys gotta admit it’s a step up.”
“I have no idea who I’m wearing.” His good-natured laughter caused a riot of butterflies to take flight in Reily’s stomach. He turned around and bent down to the reporter’s height. “You can check the tags if you want.”
Okay, so that was a little forward, but just flirty enough to put a smile on the E! News correspondent’s face. Reily could live with that.
“I’m not dating Alex Morgan but she’s one hell of a soccer player. Anyone want to hook me up?”
The reporters laughed at that one and Reily couldn’t blame them. Travis’s humor and personality was magnetic. It was a shame that he’d chosen to live his life on the wild side for the press and everyone else to see. It was only when faced with the question about his performance on the ice that Travis’s expression darkened and his jaw squared.
Reily took several quick steps forward. It was in both of their best interests to redirect him and usher him past the media and into the building. She hustled behind the line of athletes, celebrities, and their staff to where Travis stared down the reporter from ESPN.
“Travis, I think we’d better get inside.” Even in heels, she had to go up on her tiptoes to get close to his ear. She turned her attention to the guy who smirked while he held his microphone up to Travis’s face. “If you’ll excuse us,” Reily said to the press at large, “Travis is needed inside. I’m sure there’ll be time for questions later if you’ll—”
“Hang on, Reily.” Travis’s dead serious tone sent a shiver of dread down her spine. “I’ve got this.”
Oh crap. From the stern set of Travis’s jaw, she had a feeling that she might be bailing him out of jail before he finished up with the smart-ass from ESPN. She might as well kiss her career, shopping, any hopes of a vacation, or even paying her rent goodbye. Damn. She’d been getting used to the idea of being able to buy nice things again.
* * *
Travis noticed the anxious terror in Reily’s clear blue eyes from fifty feet away. He’d been watching her—watching him—from the corner of his eye while he played the part of the good-natured guy and toed the line with the media’s questions. Then, that asshat from ESPN had opened his mouth. It didn’t matter what Travis did. How he behaved. He could do a complete one-eighty and still no one would care about anything but the crazy shit he’d done before. He opened his mouth to tell that son of a bitch to take his microphone and stick it right up his nosy ass, but then his gaze met Reily’s and he snapped his jaw shut.
“I’m more than ready for the Cup,” Travis replied with a pleasant smile. “As for any late nights I might have had, I don’t have any intention of spending my time any other way than training and practicing and getting in the right head space. Hockey and the Stars are my priority right now. Nothing else. It’s a privilege to be on the ice with the guys on the team.”
He cast a sidelong glance Reily’s way. Her lips parted in a wide smile as her stiff posture relaxed. Good God, when she smiled like that, she took his breath away. Pride swelled in Travis’s chest that he’d done something to please her. It felt so damned good that he wanted to do it again and again.
“It was great to talk to everyone but I need to get moving. I’ll see you all inside. Have a great evening.” With a wave in parting, Travis grabbed Reily’s hand and hooked it in the crook of his arm. “How’d I do?” he asked.
“You were fantastic.” Reily’s eyes glittered like sapphires. Travis fought the urge to reach out and ease her glasses from her face. That stuffy librarian look revved his engine more than he wanted to admit, but he longed to see her eyes without the frames. They were beautiful and fathomless and it didn’t take much for him to lose himself in the blue depths.
“You thought I was going to choke,” he teased.
Her shocked expression caused laughter to bubble in his chest. “No I didn’t.”
“You absolutely did,” he said with a chuckle. “You should have seen the look on your face! I thought you were going to swallow your tongue.”
“Okay, fine. For a second you looked like you were going to beat that guy over the head with his microphone. I might have been a little concerned.”
“Concerned?” Travis replied. “I was surprised you didn’t fly in a drone to airlift me out of there.”
Reily laughed and the sound tingled on his skin like cool rain. Did he want her simply because he couldn’t have her? Or was there more to it? Either way, Travis was bound and determined to test the waters. He might have agreed to behave himself in front o
f the cameras, but once they were alone, all bets were off.
Travis was nothing if not a risk taker. And tonight he planned to take a huge one.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of America charity event boasted a host of professional athletes and celebrities alike. Travis had wanted to cut a check and blow off the event like Carter had, but both Bob and Reily had agreed that Travis needed to show off his new, more responsible image to the press. He wasn’t here tonight only to give to a good cause, but to show his support for the Stars organization. As though the goals he saved time and again weren’t enough proof of his support and commitment to the team.
The champagne flowed and the food was top-notch, as was the company. Travis met and mingled, laughed and ribbed his friends and teammates. But as the night progressed, his mood soured. Reily hadn’t stayed close. Instead, she’d opted to fall back, observing as though Travis were some sort of science experiment she’d be writing a report on later. Some imaginary line divided the night’s draw—the celebrities—from their staff, handlers, and less important friends. He’d never noticed it before. He’d always been so wrapped up in himself. Or drunk. Or chasing tail. All three, really.
But while he mixed and mingled, answered questions and schmoozed the press, Reily sat at a table, now by herself, and studied something on her phone as she scrolled across the screen with her fingertip.
“Hey man,” Travis said to Ryan Wright, one of the team captains. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
