“No, you’re not. What’s going on in your head?” He moved his hands to her shoulders, sliding them to the base of her neck and tilting her head back so their gazes met again. His thumbs against her jaw rubbed small, light circles there, igniting sparks she was pretty sure they should stomp out.
What was going on in her head? That maybe in a different time,in a different life,they could’ve fallen into bed together and had amazing sex without any consequences at all. But this was now,and this was her life,and she had responsibilities,and no number of Travis’s kisses was going to change that.
“Inside is good,” she said.
That got her a magical Travis smile. “Okay, then.”
“Okay,” she said, the word coming from her mouth sounding much more uncertain than his version.
With the hand behind her back,she turned the knob and pushed open the door.She took three steps in. Paused. Looked over her shoulder. Took three deep breaths.
Travis studied her the whole time, like she was one of the puppies and he thought she might bolt. Finally, he pressed the solid wood of the door closed, holding the handle so it wouldn’t make a sound as it latched, which was silly,since they were the only two people in the house.
Except maybe the housekeeper or the chef. Evelyn had a chef come in and fix dinner every night. Rachel hadn’t made it to the kitchen recently, so she couldn’t really say if the chef had arrived yet or not.
Then Travis locked the door.
He locked it because she had children who might come home early and search for her.
Children who could not find her in a clinch with their uncle because then she’d have so much explaining to do. And she was definitely going to be making out with their uncle.
The thick curtains were closed in the bedroom,with only a sliver of sunlight peeking through the middle where they came together.
Darker was better when it came to stretch marks. Maybe they could just keep the lights off, and she could keep her shirt on. That was the best idea.
Sex post-children was such a complicated maze.
She toed off her shoes, her toes sinking into the warm carpet, and closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, Travis was right there. His brown eyes soft, his perfectly symmetrical face held a totally gentle smile. Yes, this man was captivating, and sex in pressed slacks.
He moved his hands to her shoulders. “You’re tense.”
Well, wasn’t that just the understatement of the century?
“I don’t think we can do this the way you want,” she said, her words as soft as the look in his eyes.
She meant the feelings and the bedroom activities and the kisses…those amazing kisses.
“We’re already doing this the way I want,” he replied, stilling only a moment before he started working a knot where her shoulders met her arm. That knot that always seemed to be there, but that she forgot about most days. “How do you want to do this?”
He moved away, just a little. Just enough for her to feel the emptiness he’d filled before by being so close.
“We don’thaveto do this, Rach.” His eyes were pure heat. His words sincere.
“I know.” She swallowed. She wanted to do it. But there were reasons, a lot of reasons she’d carefully laid out in her mind,as to why they needed to press the brakes on whatever this was between them.
“Can we talk?” she asked.
“We can always talk.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead,his hands still working their wonderful, delicious magic.
“Let’s start with my kids.” She crossed her arms under her breasts.
“Rach.” With an abundance of care, he unwound her arms, wrapping his own around her waist, holding her up so she didn’t have to do it all alone. “I love your boys,” he whispered. “But I don’t want to talk aboutthemright now.”
She gripped the soft cotton of his button-up shirt. Apparently, he owned two. This one was blue. “If we do this, we’ll wreck everything for them.”
“What we’re doing right now has absolutely nothing to do with them.” He tilted her chin up, running his hands over the curve of her hips. “Just us. It’s just us here.”
