Fire Me Up

by Rachael Johns

  Travis chuckled and Billie couldn’t help glowing inside and out.

  “It’s okay. I’m not going to display it. This is just for me. I don’t want to share it with anyone.”

  “I’m glad.” He kissed her on the lips firmly but quickly. “But promise me something?”

  “What?” Her mouth went dry thinking about what he could possibly want. The way she felt right now, she’d say yes to just about anything he asked.

  Moving his hand lower so it rested on the small of her naked back, he said, “Do more of this. It’s as good as, if not better than, everything else out there hanging on those walls and you could make some good money from it—a name for yourself.”

  She flinched a little at the mention of money, which reminded her of her ex. “Not everything’s about money, Travis.”

  “Maybe not.” He didn’t sound like he believed that. “But having money sure helps make life easier. Why not make some from doing something you love? Tell you what—I’ll commission you to draw something for me. You reckon you could do my bike in charcoal?”

  “Your motorbike?”

  “No, my tricycle.”

  She rolled her eyes at his obvious sarcasm and leaned toward him, nudging him with her elbow. “I didn’t think you liked art.”

  He dipped his head so his breath tickled her neck as he spoke. “I like your art. I think it’s only fair that you start my collection.”

  “Okay then.” She bit her lower lip to stop a massive grin from exploding across her face. Whatever happened between them in the end, at least if she did this, she’d know he’d always have a part of her. Something that reminded him of her every time he looked up at his wall.

  “How well do you know Lorna?” he asked, surprising her. She’d wanted to talk to him about this but had never imagined he’d be the one to bring it up.

  “Not that well,” she admitted. “I met her a few weeks after I opened the gallery through one of the other artists. We chat when she brings in her paintings, but that’s about the extent of it.” It wasn’t a blatant lie—they’d met outside the gallery only a couple of times. Lorna had been welcoming when they’d first met, had made an effort to make Billie feel at home in the French Quarter.

  She waited for Travis to respond, but he was deathly silent. Finally she couldn’t be patient a moment longer. “I’m guessing you were surprised to see her yesterday?”

  He snorted loudly at that and looked at her like she was a comedian. “Biggest understatement of the century.”

  “You want to tell me why you have such hard feelings against her?”

  She didn’t actually expect him to answer, so she was shocked when he stretched back on the bed, sighed and then started talking.

  “Mom was a teenager, already abusing drugs and alcohol by the time I came along. I know you know Lorna used to be an addict and I’d be damn surprised if she’s clean now.”

  Billie bit her tongue, not jumping to Lorna’s defense, not wanting Travis to know she’d already heard this from his mother.

  “I gave her so many chances, tried to believe there was good in her for so many years when I was growing up,” he said. “Even when we didn’t have food on the table because she was high, even when she took me into the houses of drug dealers or men she slept with for a hit, I still wanted to protect her because she was my mom. I fantasized that one day when I was old enough, I’d make her get clean. Do whatever it took to give her and me a better life.”

  Billie held her breath, already knowing what was coming.

  “Then when I was seventeen, I came home from school to find her sprawled on the couch, a big, ugly man on top of her and her screaming for him to stop.” He sucked in a breath and his features darkened. “He was raping her and hell, she may have been a slut, but that didn’t mean I was going to stand by and let some motherfucker abuse her. I ripped him off her and threw my fist into his face. Until then, I didn’t know that I could even throw a punch like that but instinct and rage, concern for my mom, took over. I beat that man until his face was unrecognizable and Mom begged me to stop. And then she fucking helped him. She tended to him like he was a baby, and I realized then that she would never love me as much as her habit.”

  “What happened then?” Billie asked, already knowing the answer, but wanting him to open up completely to her.

  Travis swallowed; she saw his Adam’s apple move up and down his throat. “He left, and I vowed never again to defend her. She told me he wouldn’t call the police because of who he was, but she was wrong. He did. They found me and they threw me in jail. I told them my reasons for the attack, but even as I gave them my statement, I knew it wouldn’t matter. I guessed she wouldn’t corroborate my story, and I was right. Yesterday was the first time I’d seen her in fifteen years.”

  Oh Travis. She wanted to pull him into her arms and wrap herself around him, but she guessed he would close up if she attempted sympathy. She didn’t know why he’d told her, but she knew it wasn’t because he wanted her to feel sorry for him. Maybe it was because he wanted her to see Lorna for who he thought she really was. Still, whatever the reason, she couldn’t help the happiness that bloomed within her at the fact that he’d opened up.

  “And that’s when you met Priest, in prison?”

  He shook his head. “I met one of the other Deacons—he was inside for a bar brawl that had put some guy in a coma—and for some reason we clicked. When I got out and didn’t have anywhere to go, he invited me to stay with him. The rest, as they say, is history.”

  “What was it like being in a g…I mean club?”

  He laughed. “Were you ever in Girl Scouts?”

  She hit him with a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me look. “You’re not going to tell me your club was all about doing good deeds, singing songs around the campfire and earning badges for cooking and sewing?”

  “Well…maybe not exactly, but there are some similarities.”

  She couldn’t help laughing. She loved his sense of humor, even if he rarely let it out to play. “You want to explain some of those similarities?”

  His forehead crinkled a little as if he was deep in thought, but then he shook his head again. “Nope. I’ve got a much better idea.”

  He carefully took the sketch pad and charcoal out of her grasp and laid them on the floor and then turned back to her, pushing her gently down onto the mattress. They were both already naked, so they didn’t need to waste time and got straight down to business instead. Billie appeared to be in a permanent state of arousal around this man, so she was more than ready and willing for all that he had in mind.

  —

  Travis held Billie tightly, reluctant to let her go after a night of the best fucking of his life.

  “What are you going to do today?” she asked, endeavoring to distract him with words as she tried to sneak out of his grip.

  He tightened his hold on her and whispered into her ear, “You. Over and over and over again.”

  She laughed, a beautiful sound that swam right through him. “Isn’t that what we’ve been doing all night and half the morning?”

  “And I still haven’t had enough.” He pressed his lips against the nape of her neck, grinning when she shivered in his arms. His words and the truth behind them surprised him, as he rarely wanted to spend more than one night with a woman. Something about Billie made him want to hold on a little longer—she made him feel as if there really was good in the world. He pushed this worrying thought aside, deciding to make the most of the moment as he licked his way down to her breasts. Man, had anyone ever tasted better?

  She moaned, a beautiful sound that he couldn’t get enough of, and he wondered if they’d ever get around to crawling out of bed. He had other things to focus on, but right now he only wanted to focus on her.

  “Travis! You need to stop.” Billie giggled as she grabbed hold of his ears and tried to tug him off her.

  “Why?” He twirled his tongue around one nipple and then sucked it right into his mouth.


  She let out a gasp and thrust her hips up off the bed toward him. The hot vee between her legs pressed against his cock and it hardened instantly. It would be so easy and so good to thrust up inside her.

  “Because.” Her voice was more forceful this time and she pushed her hands against his chest. “Because I need to get up and go to work.”

  Baxter sprang up from his comatose state on the floor next to the bed and barked.

  Billie laughed. “And the pup needs to be let out for a pit stop. If he pees on the floor, I’ll make you clean it up.”

  That was almost worth the risk to have Billie writhing beneath or on top of him again, but as he weighed his options she took the chance to make her escape. He groaned as she all but skipped across the room, tugged on some underwear and then covered up with a long, floaty floral skirt and a black fitted top. She threw some bright, chunky beads around her neck.

  “What time does the gallery close?” he asked, already fantasizing about that night. Already imagining ridding her of that sweet little outfit and losing himself inside her.

  She smiled knowingly as she brushed her fingers through her hair. “I close up early on Mondays, actually.”

  “Best news I’ve heard all day.” He stretched out and then linked his hands behind his head.

  “But,” she said as she started out of the room, “I told my boss at the tour company I’d fill in for someone who’s sick, so I’ve got a ghost tour on tonight.”

  “Dammit. You’re going to stand me up for ghosts?”

  She shrugged in the doorway. “Sorry. I can’t afford to turn down paid work at the moment, not with the uncertainty of the gallery and all, but I’m sure you’ll find something to keep yourself occupied.”

  As Billie headed down the hallway, Baxter following closely at her heels, Travis rolled over and put the pillow over his head. Yes, he had plenty to keep him occupied, but he’d much rather stay in bed and gather his energies for later.

  A few moments later the aroma of coffee lured him out. He headed down the corridor and into the kitchen to find Billie cracking eggs into a bowl. She glanced over and smiled at him. “Want some breakfast?”

  He paused a moment, trying to recall a time in his past when he’d ever hung around long enough to have bacon and eggs with a conquest, and came up blank. Breakfast seemed a little cozy; then again, he had worked up quite an appetite overnight. “Sure.”

  Billie turned back to focus on whatever she was doing with the eggs and Travis crossed to the whiz-bang coffee machine, trying to ignore the fact that this scenario was alien to him. Just because he was about to share a meal didn’t mean it was serious. And she knew that. He’d been clear. Hadn’t he? The moment he’d finished helping Ajax and Blue he was out of here. No looking back.

  “Are you thinking about Priest?”

  At Billie’s question, he looked up to find her staring at him. “What?”

  Her lips twisted at the edges. “You looked like you had the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

  He sighed and focused on the coffee machine. “Yeah,” he lied. “I’ve also got some of my own business to attend to.”

  “It’s lucky you work for yourself, or I guess it’d be harder to stick around here,” she said as she poured the eggs into a pan. It sizzled, and she began stirring the eggs with a wooden spoon.

  “I guess so. Although Ajax and Blue don’t really care about shit like that. They’d expect me here anyway.”

  She frowned, and little creases appeared on her forehead. He guessed she was about to make a comment on that, but instead she asked, “When do you want me to start drawing your bike?”

  He shrugged as he laid two mugs of steaming coffee down on the table and pulled out a chair to sit. “As soon as possible, I guess.” Unspoken again was the fact that his days here were numbered.

  “Today? You can bring it into the courtyard and I can draw while I work. People will love it.”

  “I don’t want anyone touching my machine,” he growled, and then took a slug of coffee.

  She smirked. “Don’t worry, baby, I won’t let anyone touch your toys.”

  “Are you mocking me?” He raised an eyebrow, amused. And if he were honest, turned on. Again. Usually girls fawned in his presence; rarely did they poke fun at him, but Billie doing so only made him hot and hard.

  She grinned back and then lifted one shoulder. Her shirt slipped down in the process, giving him a glimpse of the bare, tanned skin of her shoulder, and he forgot all about being teased. Thought about tasting her instead.

  “Are you sure you have to open the gallery today?” He unashamedly looked his fill down her body.

  “Travis!” she scolded. “Do you think about anything else?”

  “Not much,” he admitted. Although the truth was until he’d met her, he’d been in a bit of a dry spell, more focused on his work than women or sex. But now that he’d broken the drought, he couldn’t get enough.

  Shaking her head, she put a plate down on the table in front of him and his nostrils flared at the aromas coming from the simple dish. She’d thrown some chopped tomatoes, cheese and something green into the scrambled eggs and it looked far healthier than anything he usually digested. Still, it smelled amazing, and when he forked a bit up into his mouth, he almost moaned as the flavors melted on his tongue.

  Billie sat down across from him, a smaller plate of eggs in front of her. “You like?”

  He nodded, too busy eating to speak. He liked the eggs, he liked her and he liked the normalcy of sitting down to eat with someone more than he cared to admit. Was this what being in a relationship would be like? He could imagine what his brothers would think if they were flies on the wall right now. They’d think he’d gone soft in the head, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Billie was good company—in and out of bed. He should stop acting like a woman, stop thinking so much and just damn well enjoy what was on offer.

  They ate in comfortable silence until Baxter came back inside and starting nosing around Billie’s feet. “No walk today, sorry,” she said, glancing down at the sad-looking pup.

  “How often do you walk him?” Travis asked.

  “I try to take him out most mornings, but it’s more because he doesn’t have a garden to run around in and to give me some exercise. He likes the outing, sure, but he’s not the kind of dog that needs too much exercise.”

  As if to prove the point, Baxter slumped down onto the floor next to the table, rested his head on his front paws and then promptly fell asleep. Travis found himself reaching down and ruffling the dog’s head.

  Billie smiled, then stood and reached out to grab his empty plate.

  “I’ll get this,” he said, gesturing to the table. “You go open the gallery. I’ll clean up here, check my email and then bring the bike around.”

  “You sure?”

  He nodded and then stood to join her, unable to resist pulling her in for a quick smooch. She tasted delicious, even better than her cooking, and if her eggs were anything to go by, that was saying something. Her mouth opened for him and she sighed as he slipped a hand around her back and cupped her perfect ass. If he tried hard enough he reckoned he’d be able to convince her not to open the gallery today, but common sense landed at the last moment. Quite aside from the whole Priest issue, this wasn’t a holiday and he still had his own business to keep afloat, so he reluctantly let her go. But he couldn’t help slapping her on the ass as she turned toward the door.

  Her laugh wafted over him in her wake and he grinned down at the slumbering mutt. Baxter roused as Travis cleared the table, looking up at him with those big, sad eyes as if he were the reason Billie hadn’t taken him out walking. Realizing that was likely the case, Travis felt sorry for him and found him some bacon in the fridge. He tossed it down on the floor and while Baxter ate, he went to fetch his laptop and then set up office on Billie’s kitchen table.

  For a couple of hours he dealt with emails from clients and focused on his real job, but by lunc
htime he was ready for a break. He found Billie in the gallery busy with a couple of potential buyers, so he snuck past and out onto Bourbon Street. His stomach rumbled and he grabbed a couple of burgers from his favorite fast-food joint, before heading back to The Priory to collect his bike.

  Ajax was sitting by the bar when he arrived. He nodded toward the paper food bag in Travis’s hand. “You brought me lunch? How thoughtful.”

  “Get your own burger,” he said, giving the other man the finger as he stalked past.

  Ajax chuckled. “Guess you got lucky after all.”

  Travis grinned at the accurate observation, knowing that as long as he was on board with hunting Priest’s murderer, Ajax couldn’t care less who he was fucking. He nodded at Sophie as he passed the office on his way out the back, then climbed on his bike and rode the short distance around the corner to the gallery, before disembarking to roll it into the courtyard. Billie still had customers, so he parked the bike in the space they’d agreed on, dropped her burger on the desk and then went back inside, where he shared his own lunch with Baxter.

  “Don’t tell Billie,” he whispered, as he dropped a chunk of his beef patty on the floor. “Don’t want her thinking I’m soft.”

  Chapter 12

  Billie knew she was living a fantasy that probably wouldn’t go on forever, but she decided she might as well enjoy it while it lasted and worry about her broken heart when it ended. Over the last week, she’d felt like she’d become closer to Travis than she’d ever been to anyone in her life. She worked in the gallery, chatting with customers and scribbling with her charcoal during the day while he spent long hours at his computer, doing his legitimate work and also the not-so-legitimate stuff he needed to do in the hunt for who murdered Priest, but at night they couldn’t get enough of each other. It wasn’t simply physical—although yes, there was a lot of that as well—he also confided in her about his mission. He confessed his task was to hack into the computer records of everyone associated with the Ministry, and he told her more about the Deacons and the animosity between the two clubs than she guessed he was supposed to.