by Marie Force
“How awesome would it be if one of our stalker photographers led us to the vandals? That would make all the aggravation worth it.”
He kissed the end of her nose. “And we’d have you and your celebrity to thank for it.”
“I hope he got something the cops can use.”
“God, all I can smell is smoke.”
She took his hands, pulled him up from the sofa, and led him into his bedroom. Turning to him, she lifted his dirty North Point polo shirt over his head and let it drop to the floor.
“I like Liana the nurse,” he said with a sad smile as he unbuttoned her blouse.
Liana watched his face as they undressed each other. The frenzy of passion from earlier was gone. In its place was something infinitely more tender.
He gathered the pile of smoke-infested clothes and brought them with him to the bathroom where he tossed them into the washing machine with a healthy dose of detergent while Liana turned on the shower.
She let the warm water wash away the smoke and the strain of the last few hours.
Travis stepped in behind her, wrapped his arms around her, and rested his head on her shoulder.
She turned to him. “How are you doing?”
“Hanging in there.”
“Your voice seems to be recovering.”
“My throat hurts.”
Liana held him close for a long time before she reached for a bottle of shampoo and washed his hair.
After she was done, he took the bottle from her. “My turn.”
Liana relaxed against him as he worked the shampoo through her hair.
When he turned her to rinse the shampoo, he bent his head and captured her mouth in a long, lingering kiss.
Liana wound her arms around his neck, and with his hands on her hips he brought her close to him.
As he eased her back and lifted her, she gasped from the chill of the tile wall. Tearing her lips free of his, she held him back. “Travis, no. Not without protection.”
He pressed his lips to her neck. “Just for a second.”
“No.” She pushed him away. “No.”
He seemed stunned by what he’d wanted to do. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I wasn’t thinking.”
“It’s all right,” she said, even as her heart pounded with unfulfilled desire. She ducked under the water to rinse off the last of the shampoo.
Travis got out ahead of her and waited with a towel when she stepped out. He wrapped it around her and hugged her. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She wrapped her hair in a second towel. “Your mind is elsewhere tonight.”
“That’s no excuse for being careless with you.” He kissed her bare shoulder, and his eyes met hers in the mirror. “Would it really be so awful?”
“What?”
“If you got pregnant.”
Liana’s eyes widened. “Yes! It would be awful.”
“Oh, yeah, I forgot your body is your meal ticket.”
A surge of anger cut through Liana, and she turned to face him. “That’s not it.”
“Is it the idea of having my baby that’s so repulsive to you?”
“There’s a right way to bring a baby into the world, and this isn’t it,” she shot back, incredulous. She pushed by him, went into the closet where her bag was, and pulled on a pair of shorts and a loose-fitting T-shirt. When she came out, Travis waited for her, still wearing a towel and still appearing to be making a supreme effort to remain calm.
“Do you care to explain that?” he asked.
“We’re halfway through a two-week fling. We said no emotion, no strings. Where do you see a baby fitting into that?”
“What did you think would happen if you got pregnant during this non-emotional affair of ours? Condoms have been known to break, you know.”
His fierce expression unnerved Liana, who suddenly found it hard to look at him. He solved that problem for her when he raised her chin and forced her to make eye contact.
“What did you think I would do if you got pregnant?”
“I never considered it.”
He laughed but there was a harsh edge to it. Liana wasn’t sure if that was because of the subject matter or his injured throat.
“Like hell you didn’t. You knew you’d be able to count on me no matter what or you never would’ve gone to bed with me in the first place.”
Liana couldn’t think of a thing to say to that. How well he knows me . . .
“Well, I guess that leads us back to vanity.”
“You’re being a jerk.”
His smile was almost a sneer. “Did I hit a nerve?”
Her eyes filled. “No! Not at all! Whether you choose to believe it or not, it’s not about vanity. It’s about morals. Remember them? Just because I was willing to have a fling with you doesn’t mean I’m interested in having a baby out of wedlock. If I ever have a baby, Travis, I’ll be married to a man I love and who loves me—not a man I’m having a two-week fling with. Does that clear things up for you?”
His face was a study in sadness. “Yeah. I get it.” He went into the closet and dressed in old jeans and a shirt.
“Where are you going?” she asked when he reemerged carrying a flashlight.
“To look for Dash on the beach.”
When she was alone, Liana braced her arms on the countertop and too several deep breaths to calm her racing heart. I should’ve told him. I should’ve said that nothing would make me happier than to have his baby—a handsome, dark-haired boy with his daddy’s devastating grin and those dark, searching eyes. Maybe I would’ve told him if he hadn’t seemed so intent on provoking me. She raised her head and looked into the mirror. “I love you, Travis,” she whispered, wishing she could bring herself to say it to him. “I love you so much.”
Travis stalked off the elevator into the garage and used the flashlight to check under the cars for Dash. “Why did you have to do that?” Just because you don’t have the balls to tell her how you feel doesn’t mean you should back her into a corner like a freaking lunatic. And what makes you think a woman like Liana McDermott would want to be saddled with your kid?
He ached when he imagined a little princess with her mother’s shiny dark hair and bright violet eyes. Why didn’t you just tell her that you want to be the guy who loves her and marries her and gives her babies—and anything else she wants or needs? Why didn’t you just say it? Because you know that’s not what she wants. She made that clear again just now. She’s in it for the sex, and she has been from the beginning. Yeah, well, I’ve delivered on that, haven’t I? But if that’s all it is to her then why did she take such loving care of me after the fire?
She’d gotten him tea. Even his own mother had never made him feel so cared for. Not like Liana had. If that wasn’t love then maybe he didn’t know love. But damn! It had felt like love to him, and he’d liked it. A lot.
Chapter Seventeen
Creeping along in the truck, Beck took one last trip around the perimeter of the property, shining his flashlight into the bushes and calling for Dash until he was almost as hoarse as Travis. Beck felt utterly defeated. He hadn’t kept the vandals off the property, a man had been gravely injured, a million-dollar home reduced to rubble, and Travis’s beloved dog was missing.
When Travis first proposed the security chief job, Beck saw it as a bullshit post at a posh resort. He’d scoffed at the freefall his career had taken, from FBI special agent to babysitter of the rich and pampered. But once he saw what Travis was doing here, he wanted to be part of it. Apparently, though, he couldn’t even do a bullshit job right.
Unable to think of anywhere else to look for Dash, he pulled into his parking space at the clubhouse and got out of the truck.
“Peter!”
At the sound of Jessie’s voice, he turned to her, remembering for the first time in hours what they had been on the verge of doing when she spotted the flames.
“Are you all right?” she asked, breathless from her jog across the parking lot.
“Yeah,” he croaked.
“Oh you sound awful!” She tucked the flashlight under her arm and reached out to him.
He took a step back. “I’m filthy.”
“I don’t care about that! I was so worried. It’d be just like you to run into a fire if someone needed you.”
“I had to tackle Travis to keep him out of there. We think Dash. . .”
“I know,” she said, caressing his face. “I heard. Is there anything I can do?”
He shook his head.
“Why are you blaming yourself for what someone else did?”
“Because! If I’d been here instead of frolicking at the beach with you this might not have happened.” He expected that to anger her, to force her to step back from him, but instead she looped her arms around his neck and held on tighter.
“You’re not allowed to take any time off?”
“That’s not the point,” he said, trying to shake her loose, but she wouldn’t budge.
“Come with me. Take a shower at my place, have something to eat.”
“I have stuff I need to do.”
“There’s nothing more you can do tonight, and you know it.” Her hands slid down over his arms to capture his hands. Walking backward, she led him to The Tower. He stopped her so he could grab a bag from the cab of his truck.
They were quiet as they rode the elevator to her apartment. Once there, she steered him in the direction of the bathroom and got out a towel for him.
“Take your time,” she said, reaching up to brush some dirt from his face.
“Thanks.”
In the shower, Beck hung his head under the spray, wishing it could wash away the shame and disgust that had plagued him since the vandals began targeting North Point. When he thought about the man they’d found in the house, that someone could have been killed on his watch . . . Beck shuddered and forced the thought from his mind.
Tomorrow they would start all over. They’d rework the patrol schedules, shake things up, and find the bastards who were doing this. One way or another, he would find them and make them pay for causing Travis a minute of unease. That was the part that bothered Beck the most—seeing Travis so upset. He had poured his heart and soul into this place, not to mention millions of dollars. And to see him weeping over his lost dog. . .
Beck dried off and pulled on the shorts and T-shirt he kept in the truck for emergencies. Was this an emergency? It sure felt that way. Jessie was waiting for him, but after what he said to her he wouldn’t blame her if she wanted nothing more to do with him. That thought made him sadder than all the others put together as he prepared himself to face her.
While she was alone in Travis’s apartment, Liana called her mother.
“Hi, honey,” Agnes said.
“Did I wake you?”
“I wish. I’m studying.”
Liana chuckled. “That still sounds funny coming from you.”
“I’m glad you’re amused.”
Liana told her mother about the fire and how Dash was missing.
“Oh, honey, his beautiful dog!” Agnes cried. “He loves her so much.”
“I know,” Liana sighed. “He’s heartbroken. He’s out looking for her now.”
“Please tell him I’ll say a prayer for Dash tonight.”
“He’ll appreciate that. Were you out with David earlier?”
“Just for a quick dinner, and then I sent him home so I could study.”
“I’ll bet he can’t wait until you’re done. I wouldn’t be surprised if he asked you to marry him now that you’re out of the closet.”
“He asked me quite some time ago, actually.”
“Well, now you can say yes.”
“Can I?”
“Of course you can. I told you I want you to be happy, Mom. If David makes you happy then marry him.”
“Thank you, honey. Your support means everything to me.”
“I like knowing you have someone taking care of you when I can’t.”
“And I like having you right across town and in the same time zone as me.”
“Speaking of across town, Travis offered me a job coordinating weddings at North Point.”
“Did he now? What did you say?”
“Nothing yet. He asked me to think about it, but I don’t know.”
“What don’t you know?”
“If I’m ready to give up modeling, if I could handle planning a bunch of weddings all at once, if I could handle being with him every day.”
“I’d think that would be the easy part.”
“He didn’t say anything about us when he mentioned the job. It was strictly a business discussion.”
Agnes laughed. “Get real, Liana. He wants to keep you in his life, or he never would’ve offered you the job. He’s competing against the pull of your glamorous world with the only thing he’s got—his business and the life he’s building there.”
“I don’t think it has anything to do with us as a couple.”
“I saw the way he looks at you, Liana. Maybe you’re so used to men looking at you that you can’t see the difference in how he looks at you.”
Liana thought about the way he’d looked at her during the meeting with Justine and Tom. She had wondered then if what she saw in his eyes was love. Could that be what her mother had seen, too? “If he loves me why doesn’t he just say so?”
“Because he thinks you don’t want it, honey. You told him you’re going back to work next Sunday, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then he’s got to protect himself from getting hurt. If he tells you he loves you and you still leave, what’s he going to do?”
“I don’t know,” Liana said in a small voice.
“If you want him to love you, Liana, then make room in your life for him.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready to do that.”
“Until you figure it out, don’t expect him to throw himself at your feet and beg. He’s not that kind of man. If he was you wouldn’t be interested in him, and you certainly wouldn’t love him.”
“When did you get so smart? Is it all that college?”
Agnes laughed. “It’s called life, honey. It’s what you pick up along the way. Why don’t you just tell him how you feel?”
“I can’t,” Liana said with a sigh. “Not when I was the one who insisted on no strings.”
“Rules were made to be broken. Think about it.”
“I like knowing you’re right up the street, too, Mom.”
“Good luck with the wedding tomorrow. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.”
“Keep them crossed for Justine, the bride. She’s got an inexperienced wedding coordinator overseeing the biggest day of her life.”
“You’ll be great,” Agnes assured her. “Travis wouldn’t let you do it if he didn’t think you could handle it.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence. Let’s do something on Sunday, okay?”
“It’s a date.”
Liana hung up and hugged the phone to her chest. She pulled her feet up under her and rested her head against the back of the sofa. If you want him to love you then make room for him. Her mother’s words of wisdom echoed through her mind while she waited for Travis to come back. She hurt for him as she imagined him out in the dark searching for his beloved dog.
He had been gone for more than an hour when Liana heard the elevator chime to announce his return. She held her breath, hoping he would have Dash with him.
But the doors opened, and Travis walked into the apartment by himself, his head hung with despair.
Liana got up and went to him. “No sign of her?”
He fell into her embrace. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said those things to you.”
She kissed his cheek, his forehead, his lips. “You’re worried about Dash. I understand.”
“I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
Cradling his face in her hands, she kissed away his apology. “You were right about som
ething.”
“I was?”
“Uh huh,” she said as she kissed him again. “I knew you’d be there for me if we got more than we bargained for out of our fling.”
“I would be,” he insisted.
“I know, Travis,” She buried her fingers in his hair. “I know that.”
He held her tight for a long, quiet moment.
“How would you feel about helping me out with another new experience?” she asked with a coy smile.
“What’s that?”
She tugged on the button to his jeans. “Make-up sex.”
“Oh,” he said with one of those grins she loved even if his eyes were still sad. “That’s the best kind.”
“So I’ve heard.”
He scooped her up and carried her to bed.
An hour later, Liana lay facing him. “Travis?”
He didn’t open his eyes when he said, “Hmm?”
“Can we fight again tomorrow?”
He laughed, reached for her hand, and held it to his chest. “I’m sure we’ll have words during the wedding.”
“I hope so,” Liana said with a yawn.
“So I guess this means you like make-up sex.”
“Oh yeah. I’ve definitely been missing out.”
“Thanks for taking care of me tonight and for putting up with me.”
“You’re pretty tough to put up with.” She tugged her hand free of his so she could caress his tired face. “My mother wanted me to tell you she’s going to say a prayer for Dash tonight.”
“That’s good. Make sure you thank her for me.”
“I will.”
“You’re too far away over there.”
Liana moved into his arms and sighed with contentment as a light bay breeze drifted in though the open bedroom windows. She rubbed his back and his breathing grew heavy with sleep. Liana fought to stay awake, wanting to watch him sleep and enjoy being held by him. Soon enough she would be sleeping alone again, and she’d be left with only memories of moments such as this.
Even in sleep he was so handsome she couldn’t resist skimming her hand lightly over his face. If I were going to make room for anyone it would be you. I just don’t know if I’m ready. If only we had more time and everything didn’t feel so urgent. I’m so busy trying to decide what to do about you I’m afraid I’ll stop enjoying you. I can’t let that happen. I need to live in the present and stop worrying about the future. After all, the future will take care of itself. At least I hope so. She smoothed the hair off his forehead and touched her lips to his.
