Travis Read online

  “Baby, you are the reason my eyes glaze over. You are so fucking beautiful and I can’t believe you are here with me.”

  Needing to feel her lips, I cover her mouth with mine. Our kisses are hard and fast, full of passion, want, and need.

  “I’m all yours,” she moans into my mouth.

  Sweet Jesus, that was hot as hell. I push her backwards, towards her bedroom, my mouth never leaving hers as we walk along the hallway.

  “What are you doing?” she asks between kisses.

  “I’m gonna make you scream out my name and then, tomorrow, I’m taking you out on a date,” I tell her.

  “That’s a little backwards, don’t ya think?” she asks with a giggle.

  “I’m not exactly a traditional guy.” I pull back slightly as we enter her room. “If you don’t want this, if you’re not ready, you need to tell me right now.”

  Without hesitating, Gracie reaches down, grabs the hem of her shirt and pulls it over her head, exposing her lace-covered breasts. She doesn’t take her eyes off of me as she drops her shirt on the floor, her pants joining them a moment later. I suck in a breath at the sight of her perfect body. My fingers slide along her skin, from her stomach around to her back, reaching up to flick the clasp of her bra open, removing it from her and tossing it aside. My hands move to cup her breasts, my palms gently rubbing circles over her hard nipples. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” I mutter again.

  Gracie bites her lower lip, smiling coyly at me. She moves out of my grasp, turning to walk towards her bed. My eyes zero in on her ass, watching the way her hips roll as she walks, like I am in a trance or something. She turns once she reaches her bed, sitting down on the edge and scooting herself back until she is in the middle of the mattress. She curls her legs underneath her, so that she is sitting on her knees, her legs slightly spread apart. She holds her arm out in front of her, motioning for me to come to her with two fingers.

  I walk towards her, pulling off my shirt and unzipping my jeans as I do. I come to a stop at the edge of her bed to push my jeans down my legs and step out of them. My arms circle around her tiny waist as I join her on the bed. She reaches one of her hands out towards me, tracing over the letters of swirling black scroll on my chest that reads “fight through the darkness”.

  “It was part of the letter Liam wrote when my family staged their intervention,” I whisper, answering the question that she didn’t actually ask.

  Gracie flashes a small smile as she nods her head. She leans forward, pressing her lips against my inked skin ever so lightly. I close my eyes and groan at the gentleness in her touch. I’ve never met a woman like her before. She scares me and drives me wild at the same time.

  Her lips move softly across my chest, up towards my neck where she sucks lightly on my skin. I grab a hold of her thighs, pulling her legs out from under her as she falls backwards on the bed. Climbing in between her legs, I let my fingertips move light as a feather over the tanned skin of her inner thighs, parting them as far as I can. My hands slide underneath her, cupping her ass as I lean forward and glide my tongue along the center of her silky black panties.

  “Jesus, Travis,” she moans out, her hips bucking every time I lick her.

  I love the way she responds to my touch, from the way she moves her body to the way she calls out my name. My lips move along the delicate material, trailing kisses until I reach the waistband, taking it in between my teeth. Lifting her ass off of the mattress, I pull her panties down slowly, my fingertips trailing along her warm skin. Pulling them off her legs one at I time, I toss them onto the floor next to the bed.

  My teeth sink into my lower lip as I take in the sight of the gorgeous woman lying naked on the bed in front of me. She stares up at me, her blue eyes clouded with lust and want. My hands slide back up her thighs, my fingers slipping inside her warm, wet opening, pumping in and out as I lean down to taste her.

  I tease her clit with my tongue before sucking it slowly into my mouth, tugging it gently as her body writhes beneath mine. Her fingers twist in my hair, pulling it hard in a way that feels insanely sensual. We fall into a bit of a pattern. I give her clit a tug, her breath hitches, my finger dips inside of her, her hips lift off of the bed and then we start all over again. Just when I think she is about to come, she leans forward and grabs my arms, pulling me up.

  “I need you to fuck me right now,” she says. Her voice is so low and sexy, she could get me to do just about anything she wanted right now.

  I quickly jump off of the bed, grabbing my jeans to pull a condom out of my wallet. I have never been more thankful than I am at this moment that I have one in there. I rip the foil packet open, roll it over my throbbing cock and jump back on top of her, moving faster than I have in my entire life. Gracie grabs my arms again, pulling me down, my lips crashing against hers as my dick slides inside of her with one quick thrust.

  “God, Gracie you’re so fucking tight.”

  She wraps her legs around my waist, allowing me to sink even farther inside of her. She feels so unbelievably good, better than any woman I have been with before. I grab a hold of her hands, my fingers entwining tightly with hers as I move her arms above her head. She moans out loud, her head dipping back into the pillow beneath her.

  “Travis…so good…s-so good,” she pants out.

  I press my lips against her throat, kissing, licking, and grazing my teeth along her exposed flesh. Her hands squeeze mine hard, encouraging me to continue. Her body moves below mine, grinding against me with slow, sensual movements. I thought this was going to be fucking - hot and fast, but it is anything but that. Fucking seems to be too cheap of a term for what we are doing. Her body seems so soft, the way her breasts graze against my chest, the way her hips roll against mine, the way we are holding onto each other like we desperately need each other, which, I guess in a way we do.

  I pull my head back slightly, so that I can see the look of pleasure on her face. My eyes zero in on her soft, petal pink lips. I need to feel them pressed against mine again. I need to taste her. My mouth captures hers, pressing down hard before her lips part and my tongue snakes inside.

  Letting go of Gracie’s hands, I cradle her face in my hands as my mouth continues moving against hers. She wraps her arms around my back, the palms of her hands resting on my shoulder blades.

  “Travis,” she moans breathily against my lips.

  Quiet noises escape her lips as I nibble along her jawline. Our pace quickens, our bodies writhing against each other as we near our climax. I want to slow down and relish this moment for as long as I can but my dick doesn’t care. She feels amazing. I thrust into her, my body coming to a crippling halt as my orgasm crashes through me like a euphoric wave. Seconds later, Gracie’s head dips back into the pillow as she cries out in ecstasy.

  We lie there for a moment, panting against each other before I pull out, moving off of her. Pulling off the condom, I walk out of the room, down the hall towards the bathroom. Tossing the condom into the trash can, I grab a towel from the shelf and carry it back to her room, wiping myself off as I go.

  I awkwardly hand Gracie the towel.

  “Thanks,” she mutters.

  I’m not quite sure what to do right now, because I typically leave after sex, but this isn’t my typical sex and she isn’t some casual hook-up.

  Gracie glances up at me and smiles shyly. “Lay with me?” she asks, patting the bed next to her.

  I nod, taking a deep breath as I climb into the bed next to her. I wasn’t exactly planning on staying the night with her when I dropped her off, but her body feels good snuggled up to mine, and I’m not exactly looking forward to putting my wet clothes back on.

  Lying down, I wrap my arms around her, pulling her tightly against me. Within moments, we are both fast asleep.

  Chapter Twelve

  Gracie

  “I have to admit something to you,” Travis says as we pull our clothes on the following afternoon.

  “Travis, if you are goin
g to tell me that what happened last night was a mistake, I swear-” I threaten.

  Travis cuts me off with a laugh. “Trust me. Nothing about what we did was a mistake. I was just going to say that I don’t really know much about taking girls out on dates.”

  “You’re telling me you’ve never had a girlfriend before?” I step into the bathroom to apply some makeup. Travis walks in behind me, securing his hands on my hips as he leans in to brush his lips against the nape of my neck. I close my eyes and sigh at the feeling of his soft lips against my warm skin.

  “No, I’ve had girlfriends, but those relationships were…different. We stayed in, did drugs, got drunk and fucked and if we did go out, it was to score more drugs or go to a bar. We didn’t go out to restaurants or go bowling or whatever the fuck it is I am supposed to do with you.”

  I snort out a laugh at his choice in words. What he is supposed to do with me? Is he kidding? I always knew Travis was blunt and to the point, but does he seriously have no idea as to how a man is supposed to talk to a woman he is interested in?

  He grimaces at my reaction. “That sounded bad didn’t it?”

  “Just a little bit,” I admit.

  He drops his hands and sighs. “Let me try that again. I don’t really know how to be romantic. Am I supposed to open doors for you? Buy you flowers every time we go out? Text you in the middle of the day just to tell you how pretty you are? I have no idea because I have never had a relationship like that before.”

  After brushing on my loose powder, I set my makeup down on the counter and turn around to face him. Reaching up, I clasp my arms around his neck. His hand moves to rest on my bottom. “You’re over-thinking this. It doesn’t have to be difficult and I’m not expecting you to turn into a refined gentleman overnight. Just do whatever feels right to you. We could just do something low key. Think of something laid-back you could see yourself doing.”

  Travis stares into my eyes. His eyes are as dark gray as ever, but the brooding look in them that he wore a little over twenty-four hours ago has been replaced with something else – happiness, maybe? He takes a deep breath and licks his lips nervously. “We could drive into town and get something to eat. Then, maybe we could go back to my place. I could show you my studio and we could watch a movie or something.”

  “There, now that sounds perfect,” I say, flashing him a smile.

  It does sound perfect too. I am curious to see where Travis lives and I would love to see his artwork. I see bits and pieces of it in the sketchpad he carries with him, but he usually closes it whenever I come close to him. I don’t understand why. His work is stunning.

  “It’s the age I went to rehab and got clean,” Travis blurts out.

  I frown, my eyes knitting together. Did I miss something? “What are you talking about?”

  “My tattoo. You asked me about it and I told you it had no meaning behind it, but it does. I was twenty the year I went to rehab. I got it by my eye as a daily reminder of the moment I was reborn.”

  I smile shyly at him, happy that he is willing to share such an intimate detail about his past with me. Leaning in, I place a soft kiss against his lips. I know he probably doesn’t want to go any further into detail, so I don’t push him. “Are you ready to go?”

  Later that night, we are walking out of The Burger Shack with full bellies. Travis chuckles to himself as he falls into step next to me. He takes my hand in his, our fingers entwining together tightly.

  “What’s so funny?” I ask.

  His brows knit together, but a smile widens on his face. “It’s nothing, really. I just can’t believe I am out on a date with you.”

  “Trust me when I say that no one is more surprised than me. I was sure you hated every part of my existence.” I say honestly.

  “Yeah, sorry about that. I guess I owe you more of an explanation.” Travis glances over at me as we walk down the main strip in town. We are walking away from the car but it is such a nice evening, and to be honest, I really just want to enjoy his company. “The last time I had a girl that I was so insanely attracted to was before I went to rehab. She brought out a really bad side of me.”

  “Um…so are you telling me that I didn’t bring out a bad side of you?”

  Travis smiles again, sucking in his lower lip as he shakes his head. “That’s different. You weren’t bringing out a bad side of me, it was because I was trying so hard to keep you away from me.”

  “So what’s different now?”

  “You know about a lot of my past and you still want me, and I can’t stand the idea of you ending up with someone else when deep down I know that we would be amazing together.”

  “Gracie?”

  Travis and I turn around at the same time to see Evan walking towards us. He shoves his hands in his pockets as he comes to a stop. He glances back and forth between me and Travis a couple of times before a disgusted frown crosses his face. “Can I talk to you for a moment?” His eyes flick back to Travis. “Alone.”

  Travis narrows his eyes. He lets go of my hand, drapes his arm around my shoulders, and pulls me close to him. “Anything you need to say to my girl, you can say in front of me.”

  “Oh, she’s your girl is she?”

  “Yeah, she is.”

  “Funny, that’s not what she was saying when she was out with me the other night.”

  Travis pushes me behind him and moves closer to Evan so that they are practically standing chest to chest. “Oh, you mean when she hung out with you as a friend?”

  “Trust me, man, there was nothing friendly about the way we kissed when I dropped her off.”

  I touch the fingers of my free hand to my forehead and shake my head. This is absolutely ridiculous. They are acting like little boys fighting over a toy. I glance around to see if there is anyone that might possibly come to break these two up before things get out of hand, but the only people outside hurry across the street, clearly trying to avoid getting involved. I guess it’s going to be up to me since I don’t foresee either of them willingly backing down.

  Travis’s face twists with fury as his cheeks turn bright red. “Let’s get something straight, Evan, that was the first and last time you will put your lips on my girlfriend.”

  “Yeah, like you fucking scare me, Travis,” Evan sneers.

  “I should.”

  “Why? What are you going to do, hit me? Go ahead, I dare you.”

  “All right, enough!” I exclaim, pushing myself in between them. I turn towards Travis and place my hands against his chest. He doesn’t pay me any attention. Instead, he is glaring over my head at Evan, his nostrils flaring angrily. “You need to start walking towards your car. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Travis gives Evan another long, hard stare before turning to walk back down the street. I am surprised he walked away so quickly. I was sure he would either ignore me or put up a fight.

  I turn to Evan and throw my hands up in the air. “Why are you pushing him like that?”

  “Like what?” he shrugs, as if he has no idea what I am talking about.

  “You were clearly antagonizing him. What exactly are you trying to do? Are you trying to get him to take a swing at you?”

  “If that’s what it takes.”

  “To do what?”

  “To get you to see that he is unstable. I grew up with him. You have no idea what he is like, what he’s capable of. He’s not good enough for you.”

  This Evan is completely different from the one I went out to dinner with a few nights ago. That Evan was sweet and fun. This Evan is a smug bastard and it is taking everything I have to not smack the arrogant look right off of his face.

  “That isn’t for you to decide.” I turn to walk away. Travis is halfway down the street, watching the exchange between me and Evan.

  “I expected more from you, Gracie.” Evan calls out.

  His comment both angers me and stings my soul. I turn around, without even attempting to hide the hurt look on my face. “I could say the same th
ing about you.”

  Evan’s shoulders slump. He drops his head, giving it a shake. He glances at me one more time, without saying another word. Then, he turns around and disappears into the store behind him.

  “What did he say to you?” Travis asks me as I walk closer to him.

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  Travis’s eyes flash with anger. His mouth forms a straight line and his hands ball into fists at his side as he stares at the store Evan disappeared into.

  “Travis,” I say.

  He blinks a couple of times, unclenching his fists as his facial features soften.

  “Do you want me to just take you home?” he asks.

  “That depends.”

  “On?”

  “Do you plan on getting into any more pissing contests today?”

  Travis laughs out loud. “No.”

  “Good. Then take me back to your place.”

  Travis slips his arm around my waist, leading me towards the car. He lays a couple of sweet kisses along the side of my neck before I climb inside. After I am settled in my seat, Travis closes the door and jogs around to the driver’s side. He pauses briefly, staring back angrily at the store that Evan went into. For a moment, I think he might take off to finish what they started. Judging by the look of animosity on his face, I can tell he is at least thinking about it. My hands are on my seat belt, ready to undo it and go after him, when the driver side door opens and he climbs in next to me.

  ~*~

  I wasn’t sure what to expect from Travis’s house, but whatever it was, it surely wasn’t the house I am currently standing in. Travis lives in a one-story, ranch house decorated with stone and cream-colored vinyl siding. The front yard is immaculately kept with lush, green grass and there is an impressively sized vegetable garden on the side of the house.

  Inside, he has gorgeous, dark hardwood floors, the walls are painted in neutral colors and pictures of his family grace the walls. Everything is ridiculously clean. There is no mail cluttering tables, no pizza boxes strewn in between empty glasses, nor is there a single smudge on his entertainment center.