When Roses Collide

Chapter Thirty-Three

Suddenly, he didn't feel so worried about his mistake. Reaching up, he gently tucked her hair behind her ear as she slept. Carefully, he moved his hand down to lightly graze her stomach, imagining it swollen with his child. It was too early to be thinking the way he was, but...he also knew there wouldn't be any other women for him except for the one he held in his arms. Any babies they would make, would be beyond welcomed and loved. He swallowed a lump that formed in his throat, by both of them.

"I love you too, Harley," he murmured, winding his arms protectively around her as he felt himself drift. Images of a giggling little girl with beautiful eyes running into his arms filled his dreams.

Travis woke up feeling like his face was in a sauna. A hot, steaming...rather stinky...sauna. Cracking one eye open, he came face to black shiny nose with King. The big dog was sitting beside the bed with his head resting on the mattress, his face only centimeters away from Travis's. Those big brown eyes watching and assessing him, but for once, he at least wasn't growling.

Easing a hand out slowly, Travis patted him gently on the head. "Good boy. Your breath stinks...really, really quite terrible," he muttered under his breath, giving his ear a scratch, "but, thank you for not chewing my face off while I slept."

Giving the dog one last pat, he turned and stretched languidly. According to the clock on the night stand, it was just past dawn. A smile eased its way across his face as he rolled over and found Harley still sound asleep next to him. She was sleeping on her belly, her face turned away from him and the covers had fallen down past her waist giving him a full view of her naked back to just the crest of her amazing ass.

Easing up on his elbow, he looked down as the morning light bathed her lovely body. A frown quickly replaced his smile. Leaning forward, he saw a long scar partially hidden under a tattoo of two roses. Their delicate, beautiful blooms started on either side of the scar between her shoulder blades and the thorny, leaved stems wove and intertwined all the way down, ending at the small of her back. The phrase, Our Scars Are Proof We Have Lived, was elegantly scripted at the bottom. Where most women wore a tramp stamp...she wore evidence of her strength.

Not able to help himself, he gently ran a fingertip down the length of it. The answer to how severely she had been injured laid before him. It had been bad. Real bad. Fear gripped his insides. Whoever had cut the cinches on that saddle could have easily killed her.

"Admiring my artwork?" Harley sleepily asked, turning her head to face him.

"How bad was it?" His voice sounding hoarse. The frown he wore on his face deepening the more he traced her tattoo.

Feeling self-conscious, she moved to roll over on her back, intending to pull the covers up with her, but his hand shot out and stopped her, shoving her back onto her belly.

"Oof..." The air puffed out of her chest as her face was buried back into the pillow. What the hell? Raising up on her elbows, she angrily tossed her hair to the side and rolled her eyes. "Well, good morning to you too, cowboy."

"How bad?" he asked again, his eyes never leaving the rose tattoo.

She stared at him. His handsome face was locked in a pinched grimace. His lips thinning out until they were nothing but bands of flesh and his blue eyes flashed in anger. Of course, she assumed he wasn't angry at her...or at least she hoped so. Because, if he was, then Mr. Asshole was about to meet Miss Bitch.

"It was a long time ago." Leaning up on one elbow, she put her hand out and touched his arm, drawing his gaze from her back to her face. She shivered at the rage simmering in the icy depths. "It was just an old accident, but as you can see," she smiled up at him, "I've completely recovered." This time when she rolled her back away from him, he allowed it and she turned to face him. "How about a good morning kiss?" she coaxed, running her hand up his muscular bicep to his shoulder and she tried to tug him down to her mouth.