"Son of a bitch," Travis muttered the breathy curse as he slipped out of her body. Not exactly the words she was longing to hear, she thought as a small shiver trickled down her body as she watched him leave that part of her and tried to catch her breath.
Another round of banging echoed into the bathroom from her bedroom door.
"Is everything alright in there?" Cade's annoyed voice followed close on the heels of the relentless pounding.
Harley sighed, watching Travis tuck himself back into his pants and zip them up. Muttering under his breath something she didn't catch, he wrapped one of them gently around her, careful not to bump her sore shoulder. A grim look set in stone on his handsome features which only a moment before, had been filled with love, need and devotion.
"Everything is fine, Cade," she hollered towards her bedroom door, which, fortunately, must have been still locked. Otherwise, she grimaced slightly, there would be no doubt he would have burst in on what they had been doing only seconds before. A closed door meant nothing when it came to her family.
"His timing sucks," Travis mumbled, giving her a swift kiss before briskly covering her head with the second towel and roughly drying it.
"Okay then," Cade answered. "Bo sent me up here to tell you we've thrown some steaks on the grill and supper."
"Fine," she said, her voice muffled under the towel as Travis continued to dry her hair like a man on a mission. She would be lucky to have any still attached to her scalp when he was done.
"And FYI, these walls are made out of toilet paper...so...yeah...you might keep that in mind. I'm going back outside...traumatized for the rest of my life."
Travis's hands came to a quick stop. The sound was the faint stomp of Cade's boots disappearing down the hallway. A rush of warmth flooded Harley's face and she was grateful she was still hidden under the towel.
"Son of a bitch," Travis repeated his earlier exclamation as his hands fell away from her head.
Taking a peek out from under the towel, she saw him standing there with his chin tucked to his chest and his eyes tightly closed. His lips were drawn into a thin line. The hands that had been busily scrubbing her bald, were clenched into tight fists at his sides.
Her heart went out to him. Dealing with her family wasn't easy, she knew that. They had put Travis through the wringer today and then she made it worse by wrecking her bike and causing him to worry. Any sane mane would probably get good and gone by now after a day like today. And frankly, she wouldn't be able to blame him. There were days she wanted to leave...and they were her family.
An uncomfortable twinge formed in her throat at the thought of him actually walking out of her life. There would be no way she would survive it. The pain would certainly kill her if only the thought of it could make her ache the way she was now. There would be no way she would be able to handle it happening for real.
Reaching up, she ran her hand down the soft scruff of his cheek. "I'm so sorry," she whispered.
His blue eyes popped open, blinking at her. The anger dissipating into a warm glow. Capturing her hand, he brought it to his lips and kissed the underside of her wrist.
"You don't have anything to apologize for, sunshine."
"Yes, I do." She exhaled a long breath and pulled her hand away from him. "Nothing is going the way I imagined it would." Putting her hands in her lap, she fiddled with the edges of the towel.
"How did you imagine it would go?"
She shrugged a shoulder, not wanting to look at him.
"When I dreamed of finding the right guy, I just thought my family would be happy for me." Throwing her head back, she looked up at the ceiling. "Never once did I think there would be fighting...," she waved a hand around, "any of this." Biting down on her lip to keep it from trembling, she braved a look at him. "I wanted a happily ever after like I've read about in my books. Instead I got a nightmare that would make any man run for the hills."
Travis chuckled and she yelped when he scooped her up into his arms. Carrying her over to the bed, he sat down and snuggled her into his lap. When his arms wrapped tightly around her, she placed her cheek against the warmth of his broad chest.
"I'm not going anywhere, sunshine," he said, placing a kiss on the top of her head.
"Are you sure?" she asked, even though she feared the answer. "I don't see things getting any easier. Especially now that they've got an earful of...," she trailed off. Too embarrassed to finish her sentence. Of all the things for them to overhear...it would have to be that. She felt her face start to flush hotly.
"What? So they overheard us making love." Travis put his finger under her chin and tilted her head up to face his tender gaze. "I'm not ashamed of what we were doing, baby." He gave her a libidinous grin. "Granted, I'm not used to having an audience, but I will never back down or turn away from what I feel for you. What I'm more concerned about is you. Are you going to be okay?"
A smile eased its way across her lips as his words chased away her worry.
"I will be if you are."
"I'm just fine. In fact, I'm better than fine." He nuzzled his nose against hers. "I couldn't be happier. I found the one I've always dreamed about."
"I bet you never dreamed I would come with six annoying, overprotective cowboys who suffer from not being able to mind their own business and won't hesitate to hook certain parts of your body to a three point hitch."
He laughed. "The one thing about love, is it doesn't run and I am sure as hell not going to hide it from anyone. And that goes double for your family." He pulled away from her slightly, his expression turning serious. "No matter how complicated it gets, Harley, I will always be right her," he said, giving her a tight squeeze. "Right beside you."
Those words which echoed the same ones her father had spoken to her made her heart swell and tears threaten to fall.
"I love you," she breathed.
"I love you too, sunshine." Bending down, he sealed her lips with his own and she fell into his kiss with a sigh.
He tasted of mint, coffee and something that was wholly Travis...exotic and arousing. He dominated the kiss with an experience which should have alarmed her, but...it didn't. How could it when he didn't just kiss, but made love with his mouth the same way she did a chocolate ice cream cone?
From the first lick of his tongue to each swirl that followed, sent her into a sensual pleasure of frothy desire and only added to her hunger for him. Spirals of need began to stroke along Harley's inner thighs while Travis made a delightful dessert of her mouth. Each swipe of his tongue drove her higher and higher until she whimpered against him.
The towel fell away from her body and pooled around her waist as she raised her arms and dove her hands into his thick hair. Travis's big, searching palms found her breasts. His callouses brushing her erect nipples and making her moan. Harley arched into his touch, his hands warm and roaming on her cooling skin sent waves of shivers through her system. Who needed a robe when he was around, she thought as one of his hands moved from her breast to the small of her back, pressing her flat against his hot body.
Though she had just had two exquisite orgasms, her body trembled with an onslaught of yearning as she worshipped his mouth in a zeal she'd never knew she possessed until Travis Montgomery stepped into her life.
"Harley, we have to stop," he moaned, his voice a jarring distraction to the growing pleasure surrounding them.
"Stop?" she asked, her mind a jumble as she tried to grasp the definition of the word.
He sighed against her ear, his hot breath making a tremor run down her spine and the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Gently, he pulled away from her and she frowned at the loss of his fevered skin touching hers.
Chuckling, Travis slid his hands up her shoulders and gave her a small shake and she blinked up at him.
"As much as I love kissing you senseless, sunshine...we need to get dressed for dinner before they come searching for us again."
Food? Who could think of food when her hands were busy traveling over the hard plains of his chest?
"I'm not hungry," she said with a little seductive smirk. "For food," she added with a whisper. Tugging his hair she leaned closer to him in hopes he would devour her lips again.
"Don't look at me like that," he groaned, reaching up and untangling her fingers from his hair. "I don't want to stir up any more trouble with your family." He kissed the tips of her fingers to lessen the bite of rejection. "I think we have already pushed the limit for today, don't you think?"
Sighing heavily like a petulant child denied her treat, Harley nodded her head in agreement.
"I guess so," she muttered, seriously wondering why she had ever missed her family to begin with. How could she have forgotten what a bunch of meddling pain in the asses they were?
"That's my girl." Travis smiled and gave her a quick kiss. One not intended to go any further than a peck. Gently, he lifted her off his lap and wrapped the towel back over her nakedness. The only thing that made it the least bit bearable was the look of reluctance which mirrored what she felt reflecting back at her in his cobalt eyes. "You got get dressed." With a soft tap on her bottom, he sent her off in the direction of her closet while he disappeared into the bathroom.
She couldn't help watching the way his ass swaggered away from her. Images of that firm butt under her fingers, had her curling them into her palms. It was so soft as a new born peach. A genuine work of art you just wanted to touch. The sound of the shower starting up jolted her out of her reverie and began a new one. One with him naked in the shower and her being naughty with a loofah.
Shaking her head, she sighed again and headed for the closet. Yanking out a soft fleece she pulled it on and jerked up the zipper. Not bothering with a bra. Now that she was no longer distracted by Adonis's touch, the very real pain of her injuries came back with a vengeance. Woo-boy. There was no way she was going to even attempt it with the way her shoulder was throbbing.
Stomping over to her dresser, she pulled out a comfortable pair of cotton undies and hissed when they ran over her hip. Yeah...jeans were going to be out of the question too. Deciding on a cozy pair of loose fitting sweats, she tenderly drew them up.
One glance in the mirror made her cringe. She was a far cry from being a sex goddess in the getup with zero makeup and her damp hair hanging limply down her back. Though, she had to admit, she did have a certain shine. Smiling from knowing she was sporting an orgasmic glow, she slipped her feet into her favorite bunny slippers and headed out to the back porch, following the smell of charring meat.
After being mother henned within an inch of her life, she found herself sitting on one of the bench seat gliders with an ice cold glass of sweet tea in her hands watching Tanner and Niko argue about the proper way to grill steaks while Diego supervised. Niko was adamantly against flipping and Tanner was pro playing with it as much as humanly possible. And Diego...he kept them more fired up than the grill.
Shaking her head, she held in a giggle as she watched Tanner turning two steaks while Niko's and Diego's backs were turned. Taking a sip of her tea, she chanced a glance over at Bo who seemed to be lost in thought.
"Where's Cade and Aden?" she asked him. The silent treatment she had been getting from him since coming outside was driving her nuts. Bo and she had always had an easy going relationship, but she had a bad feeling this time...they were going to butt heads when it came to Travis.
"They're out feeding and watering the stock." His eyes never left the beer bottle he held and is fingers continued to pick at the label. "Where's Montgomery?"
"Shower," she muttered, scowling at her tea. Why was this so hard? It's not like she was some young girl dating for the first time. Hell, she was pushing 30. She shouldn't be feeling as if she had done something wrong. Somehow they were going to have to come to some kind of truce. Taking another drink of tea, she wondered exactly where to start.
"Are you using contraception?"
The softly growled question had her eyes popping wide in shock and spewing tea across the porch.
"What?" Harley gulped, hoping she had only misunderstood him. Certainly he didn't just ask her that question.
"I said, are you using contraception, Harley. As in being careful to avoid getting pregnant." His eyes narrowed at her and his heavy brows dropped to a frown. "I know you aren't on birth control...or you weren't. Fuck only knows what the hell you've been up to these last few months."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Harley sat up straighter, ignoring the pinch of pain in her hip. Her anger and embarrassment was enough to keep any discomfort she might be feeling at bay.
"It means you've changed," he snapped. "Since moving here, everything about you is changing and I don't like it."
"What has changed Bo?" Harley folded her arms across her stomach and glared at him.
"Well, for one thing you've started lying to me. How about we start with that."
"I...I haven't lied you," she stuttered.
"Bullshit and you're still doing it." He took an angry drink of his beer and turned away from her.
Harley could feel the tears burning her eyes and making her throat ache. Tucking her chin to her chest, she took a couple of deep breaths to keep them from falling. He was right, she had been lying.
"I'm sorry, Bo. I didn't lie on purpose." He gave her a sharp look and she recanted her word. "Okay, I did lie, but it was only because I didn't want to worry you and I wanted to prove to you that I could do this on my own."
He blinked at her a few times before turning away and staring out into the distance. The silence looming between them like a dark shadow.
"Is it really that horrible I found someone who makes me happy? That I am finally starting my life?" She leaned forward and softened her voice. "I am still me, Bo. I'm still the same girl you knew in Colorado." Reaching out she placed her hand on his knee. "I will always need you." A small sob broke past her lips and a tear escaped down her cheek despite trying to hold them in. "I love you. All of you, but I love him too." Turning towards her, she watched as his face softened and she continued. "Didn't daddy always say there's always enough room in our hearts for one more?"
"Come here, baby girl," Bo rumbled, putting his beer bottle down and holding out his arms.
With a relieved cry, she went into his strong embrace. Cuddling into his lap like she did when she was little, she placed her head on his massive chest as he stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head.
"I just worry about you, that's all." His deep voice vibrated in her ear and Harley's face rose and fell with his deep inhale and exhale. "It's not such a bad thing," he gruffly admitted. "I suppose I could learn to live with Montgomery hanging around here all the time." He tucked his hand under her chin and lifted her face to his. "As long as you promise me to be careful. I don't want to see you getting hurt."
"I promise," she said. Holding out her pinky, she waited for him to wrap his huge one around her little one.
With a chuckle of his own, Bo wrapped his finger around hers and finished the pinky swear. "I'm going to hold you to that, baby girl."
Author's Note:
Hello my darlings!
I hope you enjoyed the latest installment of When Roses Collide and if you liked it, you will consider giving it a vote. I also love hearing from you and comments are always appreciated.
The next scheduled update will be June 21st
If you don't see any updates here, feel free to check out my other works Bending Steele, Steal You Away and FANGED. Also, don't forget to follow me on Facebook at K. M. Halandras for update info and fun!
As always, thank you for reading.
Sincerely,
K