There wasn’t a lot of preamble this time, the foreplay made up only of his touches and her groans. He got undressed, donned a condom lickety-split, spread her thighs, and drove home.
She gasped, wrapping her legs around his waist and letting him ride her. She panted, he moaned, the world blurred.
This was new.
This time he didn’t make eye contact. He shoved his face into her neck and made feral sounds rivaling her own.
This was…this was something different than before. The feelings coiling inside her were just as arousing, but this time they weren’t foggy. It seemed like she’d put her glasses on and the world had refocused.
He gripped her hips, pressing into her with the hard length of him and, suddenly, she realized what this was.
This was his claiming of her body. Making it his. Owning her.
She’d never given her body over like this before.
“Trav,” she said on a gasp.
He didn’t stop. His name on her lips seemed to spur him further, push him more. With each thrust, she unraveled a little until she became genuinely worried there wouldn’t be anything left when it ended.
Except, as he thrust harder, he lifted his gaze so it held hers, and in that moment he was someone she’d never known. This man she was with was making a point that she was pretty sure neither of them understood.
Everything inside her tightened to the point that it was ready to unleash. She pressed her lips together to cover the sounds she was pretty sure were coming from her.
The release took over. She bit into his shoulder to stop herself from crying out. As soon as her muscles clenched around the solid length pressed inside her, he followed. The thrusting slowed. His breaths came jagged, but more evenly spaced.
“To be totally clear. If you want a plan? You are now,” he said with a final thrust. “My plan.”
She rode the aftershocks of their lovemaking. He didn’t withdraw.
Still joined, he kissed her.
“I mean it,” he continued. “You’re my plan. Your smile is my goal. Whatever I need to do to make it happen, I’m going to do it.”
Well…huh. On that note, she couldn’t smile, because she pressed her lips against his instead.
CHAPTER 19
RACHEL
The past week, her mind had been a muddle of lust-filled moments with Travis and spending time swimming at the lake—with and without her kids.
Travis made her feel everything, the water brought peace, and the slow pace of summer at Twin Lakes lulled her into a false sense of serenity.
Because then…Rachel missed another deadline.
Well, sort of. She’d missed a deadline that the client had last-minute emailed her about. The deadline had been of the tight variety and, generally, this was not an issue due to the attentiveness Rachel prided herself in providing with her service.
The first deadline she missed happened because she’d taken a Travis nap. That one hadn’t been a huge deal.
This one she’d missed because she was doing…other things with Travis. It was a massive deal.
“I’m so sorry,” Rachel gushed into the phone, really glad this wasn’t a video call because she felt like a total wreck, and she was pretty sure her cheeks were flushing. That weird red rash thing was probably going on around her neck—the one that seemed to show up only when she was really and truly flustered.
“I’m not sure what happened,” she said, deflated.
“This is really unlike you,” Cassie said on the other end of the line. She seemed more than a little distracted, given the way she covered and uncovered her mouthpiece. Other conversations were happening simultaneously, Rachel could tell. Everyone on that end of the line was rushing, trying to figure out how to fix the error of the orders arriving with the wrong coupon code.
“Are you sure everything’s okay?” Cassie asked. “I’m worried about you.”
