by Hart, Lea
She walked across the parking lot and over to the motel, and he watched go into her room. Well, he’d officially screwed that up, pissed her off and hurt her feelings. Damn, he was good with women. It was good to know he hadn’t lost his touch. He made his way over to his truck, grabbed his bag and headed for his room.
CHAPTER THREE
Cary woke up with a massive headache. She rolled over, took a slug of water and tried to look at the clock. Her head started to pound with the effort, so she put it back down on the pillow and tried to go back to sleep. She was just about to nod off when she heard knocking. That was strange…her head was knocking instead of pounding. She pulled the covers over her head and hoped it would stop soon. She finally realized it was the door, so she stumbled out of bed and opened the door and was immediately hit with sun directly in her eyes. Her head was starting to pound again, and she was beginning to feel sick. She finally managed to open one eye and saw that it was the arch-angel of doom. She tried to close the door, but he was already half-way in. “I think it’s too early for you to ruin my day.”
Travis looked at Cary and felt his heart skip a beat. He admired her curly hair sticking out in every direction and her mascara-smudged eyes. He’d never seen anything sexier in his life. He was rewarded with a glimpse of pretty lace underwear as she lifted her arm. “Good morning sunshine-I brought you coffee and donuts.”
“Why are you shouting? Stop shouting.” Her head was pounding furiously, and she felt her stomach start to heave up. She made a dash for the bathroom and managed to slam the door shut before she started throwing up into the toilet. She leaned over and lost last night’s dinner and all the margaritas she’d drunk. It took longer than she would’ve liked before she felt the nausea slowly subside. Managing to sit up, she leaned herself against the cool tile wall as she prayed for death. It somehow seemed appropriate since the arch-angel of doom was right outside the door. Maybe he’d left. Certainly hearing someone throw up would tarnish the shine on even the prettiest penny. She heard the front door open and close and said a silent prayer of thanks. Next time she wanted to get rid of a man, she would just drink too much and throw up-something to keep in mind for the future. She finally felt a little better and was able to get into the shower. She stood under the spray for a long time and almost fell asleep. The water had cooled, and she finally roused herself and got out. As she was drying off, she noticed a large soda on the sink. How did that get there? She took a sip and discovered it was Diet Coke, her favorite. She combed her hair, washed her face and took four aspirin while enjoying her cold soda. She opened the door slightly. “Can you hand me my robe and some underwear? It’s there in my suitcase.” She reached her hand out and felt the robe and underwear drop into her hand. “Thank you.”
She wrapped herself up and slowly opened the door. She’d hoped that he’d left, but luck wasn’t on her side. He sat in the chair drinking his coffee and reading the paper, looking totally relaxed and gorgeous.
He looked at her and tried to determine how bad off she was. “How do you feel?”
“Why are you talking so loudly? Talk in a normal voice, please.”
“I’m not speaking loudly. You’re just hung-over. Drink your soda and eat this Egg McMuffin. You’ll feel better.”
He handed her a bag from McDonald’s, and she almost felt like kissing him. Maybe he wasn’t the arch-angel of doom after all. “I’m mentally taking back half of the nasty things I’ve thought about you in the last twenty-four hours. You’ve redeemed yourself with this food.” She opened the bag and quickly devoured the hash browns and then started on her Egg McMuffin.
“Only half of the things?” He leaned over and kissed her head and smelled freesia again. It must be her shampoo. “I’m glad to know that you’re a forgiving person and easily bought off.” As she ate her sandwich, she smiled at him.
After she was done, she lay back in bed and finished her soda. “Thanks for the save, Travis. Have a nice life.” She felt her eyelids grow heavy and let herself drift off. She figured he would leave as soon as he realized that she wasn’t going to die. Maybe she would see him again, but probably not. She couldn’t get her brain to determine if that was a bad thing or a good thing. He sure was handsome, but he seemed like a lot of work.
Travis watched Cary fall asleep and noticed she looked peaceful and sweet something he hadn’t seen when she was awake. He wasn’t sure what was happening to him and didn’t understand why this fearless, smart-mouthed kindergarten teacher was captivating him.
He decided to hang out and make sure she was going to be OK. Who knew what kind of trouble she could get into? He also had to consider that Snake wanted him to watch out for her. She probably didn’t even realize that she needed him around.
He felt the exhaustion start to seep into his bones. His lack of sleep over the last several months was finally catching up with him. Maybe he would just lie down next to Cary and take a little nap. He slipped off his boots, loosened his shirt, and went to the other side of the bed and lay down next to her. As he took the sheet and put it over her shoulders, she moved a little and rolled right into him. Well, he couldn’t move now…he would wake her up. He wrapped his arm around her and fell asleep almost instantly. As he felt himself slip under, he realized how strange it was to drift off so quickly.
********
Travis opened one eye and noticed it was late afternoon. He opened the other eye and saw that he and Cary were wrapped around each other. He was tucked around her back, and she slept on his arm. He realized his hand was wrapped around her soft breast as he moved his thumb gently under the bottom of her bra. He took a moment to enjoy the weight of her generous breast against his hand and liked how her nipple tightened against his fingers. He recognized that she might not find this appropriate and slowly let her go. He felt her stir and knew that he was going to have to face the music, and it was probably going to be fairly loud music when it happened. She mumbled something, turned over, wrapped her arms around him, buried her face in his chest and fell back asleep.
He thought about singing hallelujah, but felt it might be premature. He wouldn’t have to admit to feeling her up, but the hard-on that was now pushing into her stomach was going to be hard to deny. He should’ve worn jeans and not these damn cargo pants. Well, nothing to do about it now. He would just do what he did best and bullshit his way through it. He relaxed a little, because somehow knowing you were going to get in trouble took the pressure off. He decided to allow himself to enjoy the feeling of having a sexy woman wrapped around him and let his hands roam around a little. He felt every single one of her soft curves, wrapped his arm around her a little tighter and dropped a quick kiss against her head.
He felt her stir again and start to wake up. He quickly relaxed all of his muscles and lay there like the dead. He was going to act as innocent as he could get away with. He felt her small hand against his chest, and her head lifted to look around.
“Oh my gosh….what happened? Why are we sleeping together? Did we have sex? Why am I wearing my robe?” She ran her hands over him, which just made his condition worse. “You have clothes on. That wouldn’t happen if we had sex.” She pushed at his shoulder. “Travis, wake up.”
He slowly opened his eyes and tried to appear to be waking up. It wasn’t easy because he really didn’t know how. He’d spent the last fifteen years waking up instantly, and it probably showed. He knew he wasn’t a good actor and was likely going to get caught. “Hi, sweetheart. What time is it?”
She pushed at him. “Quit acting. You have no talent for it. Why are we sleeping? The last thing I remember is that I ate McDonald’s and you were reading the paper.”
“I didn’t want to leave you alone, and I was feeling tired, so I lay down on the bed. It’s not my fault that you find me irresistible and wrapped yourself around me.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I understand it was inevitable.”
She pushed him away, followed his gaze and realized he was staring at her gaping robe
. “Stop staring. Every woman has them–it’s no big deal.” She opened her robe and flashed him her lavender bra. “See? Just like everyone else-no big deal.” She was about to get up, but he pulled her back down, wrapped her up in his arms and dropped his mouth to hers. She was so taken aback by his move that it took her a second to process what was happening. This man wasn’t kissing her…he was consuming her. She’d known not to underestimate him, and she was right. Men like him, went after what they wanted with little hesitation.
His lips were warm and surprisingly soft for such a hard man. He ran his tongue along the seam of her lips, and she slowly opened her mouth to him. He began to stroke her tongue with his, and her heart began pounding in response. He continued to move his mouth against hers, and she let go and gave into the kiss as the first rush of pleasure moved over her body. I have no interest in resisting him, so maybe I can blame him for my behavior. That was her last coherent thought as he slid his tongue inside her mouth. The way he held her face as he slanted his mouth over hers was making her forget any arguments about why this might not be a good idea. His kisses were warm and deep….a soft gliding of his mouth on hers. It was easy to lose herself in them, so she didn’t try to resist.
He had just meant to give her a quick kiss and show her she shouldn’t flash him without him taking action. He didn’t know that the moment he touched his lips to hers they were going to go up in a firestorm. He’d been celibate for six months, and this was the price he was going to pay. He sure hoped that he could slow it down when she gave him the signal to stop. I might as well enjoy myself as much as I can before I get in trouble.
As their mouths moved together and their bodies pressed into each other, Travis noticed that Cary was into this as much as he was. Her body arched into him as he deepened the kiss. He felt her skin heat under his hand as he moved it up the side of her body. The stop signal never came as he continued to make love to her mouth. This reminded him of high school, because that was the last time he’d enjoyed kissing a woman so much.
Feeling like a teenager, he felt his control start to slip away, and he reluctantly released her mouth. “Cary, we’d better slow down. It’s been a long time for me, and I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.” He felt her hands slide under his shirt as she pulled him closer and kissed him hard in reply. That wasn’t the response he was expecting. “Honey, that’s not slowing it down.”
She ran her hands over his massive chest and felt him shudder as she traced his sculpted muscles. He was the sexiest man she’d ever seen and felt, and she felt like taking advantage of her situation. Men always took advantage of theirs, and she wanted to take a page from their book. She made a quick decision to take a risk and go after what she was interested in, but first she needed to get his shirt off. She tried to lift it and wasn’t having any success. He started helping her and slipped it over his head. She finally had the opportunity to see how well-built he was. She found herself mesmerized as she ran her hand over his tight abdomen and up the wall of muscle on his chest. “Please tell me these are not prison muscles. Please tell me that I’m not about to have sex with an ex-convict.”
She looked at him with her eyes as big as saucers.
“I’m not an ex-convict. I’m an upstanding, respectable citizen. Why are you asking me about prison muscles?”
“I met you in a biker bar, and you’re friends with Snake, and I learned about prison muscles from Clay. It was very interesting discussion, in fact…”
Travis leaned down and framed her face with his big hands. “So we’re about to have sex-is this my go signal?”
She looked at his dazzling smile and leaned up to kiss him as she ran her hand through the crisp hair on his massive chest. “Yes, this is your go signal. Tell me your last name first. No, wait, don’t tell me. Only a boring person would want to know that.” She moved her mouth against his as her fingers traced the ridge of muscles on his stomach. She certainly didn’t feel bored or boring as she took pleasure in Travis’s amazing body. For the first time in her life, she felt desire, pure, unadulterated desire for a man. Usually she had to work herself up to it, but not this time. It felt like it was a part of her, like her breath or her heartbeat. This sort of thing might never happen again, and she didn’t want to miss the opportunity. Best to get at him while she could.
“My name is Travis Mathers, and I’m a retired navy SEAL lieutenant from Team One in San Diego. I was injured last year on an op, and I’m not going to be cleared for active duty again. Snake is a family friend, and I’m taking a road trip this summer before I go to work at a private firm in the fall.”
He watched her eyes fly open, and she was silent.
“Are you OK sweetheart? You look a little funny around the eyes.”
“This ruins everything! You’re not a dangerous wild man.” She sat up with her knees against her chest and felt disappointed. “Only a boring person would sleep with a naval war hero. I’m not boring!” No matter her feelings, she wasn’t going to do the same old thing. She needed to break out somehow. “I live in San Diego, too, and I can’t sleep with you if I think I might run into you again.”
Travis sat up and took her hand in his. “Sweetheart you know what you’re saying sounds crazy, right?” Usually being a SEAL worked in his favor, and living near a potential lover did, too. Apparently that wasn’t going to be the case with Cary.
“That’s rude….I’m not crazy. I think I’m going to claim false advertising. You look like a reprobate. You look dangerous and deadly.” He felt her hand run over his face and her fingers trace the lines around his eyes. “You look like a hard-ass alpha male with way too much testosterone. Why do you have to be a hero? It’s so disappointing.” She lay back on the bed, wrapped her robe up tight and took the sheet and pulled it up to her chin. “I need to shake up my life.”
Travis lay back on the bed next to her and didn’t know what to say. It looked like the possibility of sex was going away as quickly as it had come. He could see his chance circling the drain, and he didn’t know how to save it. He lifted her up and wrapped his arms around her. “OK, get it out. Tell me who mind-fucked you so badly that you’re trying to convince yourself and the world you’re not boring.”
“My ex-boyfriend. He mentioned one of the reasons he wanted to split was that our lives together had become boring, and in fact, that was true. I worked really hard to gain his approval, and in the process I wiped out all the interesting things about me. I allowed that to happen. As much as I would like to blame Eric for it, I can’t seem to. It was my own damn fault that I spent so much time with a critical jerk. I have no one to blame but myself. I allowed myself to become boring and let my relationship become boring and my life became boring. In fact, I don’t quite understand how you’re still here. Are you starting to feel bored?”
Travis let out a bark of laughter. This woman was a nut-in the best possible way, but she was a nut. “Tell me about yesterday and how you found yourself in that bar.”
“I don’t understand. You were there. You probably saw the whole thing. It’s not a mystery.”
“I don’t think you understand what could’ve happened to you yesterday. You could have been snatched off the highway and never seen again. Most people wouldn’t have walked into that bar without some trepidation. Snake could’ve easily decided you were a problem and kicked you out. Any man in there might’ve hassled you so badly that you wouldn’t have recovered. The tow truck driver could have taken you and attacked you.”
“Well, Mr. Doom and Gloom, that’s a very dark view of the world. I find that if you expect people to behave well, then they will. People rise to the highest expectation. If you see the good in people, you get good. I think you’re wrong about Snake and his friends-they were great fun. In fact, several of them are going to follow me on Instagram and Pinterest. I may stop in the bar on my way home if I have a chance.”
“The world is a dangerous place, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Maybe i
t’s dangerous for you, but it isn’t dangerous for me.”
“How does that make sense? I’m a highly decorated navy SEAL. There’s nothing that I’m afraid of, because I’ve been trained for almost any situation. You’re a kindergarten teacher who is beautiful, sweet and funny. You’re definitely the more vulnerable.”
“No, I’m not. You are. People know that you’re going to be a problem for them if they’re doing something wrong. The bad guys recognize you as a threat, and they react accordingly. Nobody looks at me like I’m a threat-most of the time I’m invisible. I operate on a totally different plane than you do. People see me as a nice person, and so they treat me that way. No offense, but people don’t see you as a nice person. They see you for what you are, a highly trained warrior, and that’s how they treat you. It’s all animal instinct. You can see it on the playground starting in first grade. Kids are already starting to work out the power structure.”
Travis thought about what she’d said and knew it had some value. “I think what you’re saying has merit and I’m going to take some time to think about it. Since sex is off the table….can I take you to dinner? All I had today was donuts.”
She rolled over him and kissed him on the cheek. “Sure. Let’s go eat.”
“That was easy. You haven’t agreed with anything I’ve said yet. Are you feeling all right?”
“I just slept the day away with you, and I’m not totally confident that I didn’t cop a feel during that time. At least, I hope I was smart enough to try it. I almost had sex with you, so it seems like bad form not to have a meal with you.”
“Well, there is that. I was hoping my charm was starting to work on you.”
“No offense, but you don’t have any charm. You’re terribly good-looking and a possible sex machine, but you should work on your charm.”
“Everyone you meet gets charming, sweet Cary. How come I never get that? I appreciate the whole sex machine comment, but you could’ve wrapped the rest up with a little sugar.”
