Leaning against the frame of my bedroom door, Travis is a welcome sight. Aside from his obvious good looks, sexy smile, his soul-penetrating eyes, and his bad-boy tattoos, he has a heart of gold.
“Hey,” he says softly.
“Hey,” I reply. “What’s up?”
“We need to talk.”
That’s never a good start to a conversation.
“Sure. Have a seat,” I say, my anxiety immediately catapulting to the moon.
He sits facing me and takes my hands in his. “Stop wringing these poor fingers. They haven’t done anything to you to deserve that torture,” he grins.
“I can’t help it. Saying we need to talk always means something’s wrong.”
Nodding, he looks back down at our clasped hands and says, “There is, but not in the way you’re thinking.” Looking up at me from under his long, black eyelashes, his eyes darken and drift over every inch of my face. “Andi, I’ve tried to keep my distance, give you time to heal, and be a good friend to you.”
I nod. And swallow hard. Oh God.
“I can’t be your friend any longer. I don’t know how to say this, Andi.”
Just like that, I can’t breathe. My heart has stopped beating, but it still hurts like hell. I can’t believe Travis is telling me he can’t be my friend anymore.
“Why, Travis? What did I do wrong?” I plead. I can’t help it. I can’t lose him, too.
His hands cup my face and panic flies across his face. “No, Andi, that’s not what I meant. I’m fucking this up. I can’t be just your friend anymore.”
He stands and paces back and forth in the small area beside the bed. “Travis, you’re scaring me and your pacing is making me nervous. Sit down,” I command.
He stops and kneels down on the floor in front of me instead. His eyes search mine. He’s asking silent questions and hoping for an answer. His eyes float down to my mouth and settle on my lips. My tongue involuntarily darts out, wetting my lips as his eyes watch and darken even more with desire.
“Fuck it,” he exhales harshly before his mouth covers mine.
The force of his kiss leaves no room for doubt. He is claiming me, marking his territory, and staking his claim. The passion behind it is consuming, drawing me into him, and making me moan at the slightest contact of his velvety smooth tongue. His fingers thread through my hair before he clenches them into fists, and then he tilts my head to deepen his access.
As he devours me like a starved man, my body quickly heats from his touch. Moving closer, he presses our bodies together as he pulls me closer to the edge of the bed. He’s on his knees between my legs. His hands slide down my sides, across my hips, and down my legs. Wrapping them around his waist, he moves his hands back up to my backside and pulls me even closer to him.
The proof of his arousal is now seated at my core as he pushes his hips forward, rubbing against my sex. It’s been so long since I’ve felt this pleasure and pain. I’m about to come undone just from this close contact. His tongue is doing wonderful things to my senses, his groans of desire are like music to my ears, and his body pressed against mine heightens my desire for him even more.
“Andi, I need to know you want me as much as I want you,” he pants against my lips. “Me, Andi. Not just my body. Not just an escape. I don’t want you to regret it later. Just tell me you wantme.”
Before giving me time to answer, his lips are on mine again. His tongue slides into my mouth and wraps around mine in the most sensual dance. His passion drives him and it’s contagious, pulling me in and making me feel drunk on all that is Travis.
Do I want him—Travis, the man? Not Travis, the entertainer. Not Travis, the distraction from my broken heart. There’s no doubt about what he does to me physically. There’s no question that I love him as a friend. But am I ready to start a new relationship just two months after ending the last one?
Slowing the kiss and pulling back to look him in the eye, I have to make sure he understands my response. The last thing I want to do is hurt him—now or ever.
“Travis, I’m scared to jump into another relationship so soon. It’s not because I don’t want you or that I don’t have feelings for you. It’s because I do want you and I do have feelings for you. It hurts me to think that anyone would say I’m with you on the rebound.
“I’m still reeling from what happened with Luke, but it’s getting better each day. I guess I just need you to understand that from the start. You’re my friend first, and I don’t want to lose that.” I try my best to explain.
I expect to see disappointment, but instead there’s relief and understanding in his eyes. His smile slowly spreads across his face as he lovingly strokes my cheek with his knuckles.
“Always looking out for everyone else, huh? You’re too giving, Andi. But, in this case, I should warn you that I’m going to take full advantage of it. I’ll make you fall so totally and completely in love with me, in every way possible, that you’ll forget that any other man even exists.
“He never knew what he had in you, baby, and he never deserved you. I will do everything to earn your trust and your love. You’ll always be the center of my world, and no one will ever come before you,” Travis promises.
“Don’t doubt that I do want you, Travis,” I assure him. “But I need to take this a little slower than you’re probably used to.”
