Stacked Up: Worth the Fight Series (4 page)

“Travis thinks having kids is contagious,” Slade revealed.

“Hell yeah. I’m staying the hell away from those two.”

“Oh, hush. Once your nieces or nephews are born, you’ll be putty in their hands—you’ll see,” Violet admonished him.

“Dunno. Maybe.” Travis downed a shot. “I just got my head above water with the advance from the TV show. Life’s fucking fantastic. I want to travel, buy shit, come and go as I please, you know? Kids just tie you down.”

Penny shook her head and looked down at her glass of water.

“Oh, damn. Sorry, Penny. My filter sucks. I know that women are into rainbows, butterflies, babies, ’n shit.”

“Are you saying that all women are that superficial?” Penny asked.

“No. I’m saying that this is not good first-date conversation,” he clarified, and Penny rolled her eyes.

“Oh! I love this song. Come on, babe, dance with me,” Jessica squealed, pulling Slade to the dance floor. The other couples followed suit.

“You mad?”

“No,” she said, but he knew enough about women to know that no meant yes.

“I take it you want kids at some point?”

She snorted.

“Okay, dumb question. Every woman wants kids.”

“But not men, huh?”

“Yeah, I’m sure some men do. It’s not that I never want kids. It’s just not something I’ve really put a lot of thought into. Listen, I know JL’s told you that our mom was completely whacked. Fucked our childhood up. I don’t want to do that to a kid, you know?”

“You wouldn’t have to. You could choose to give a child a great life. Kids aren’t burdens. They’re special and bring joy to your life. You’ll fall in love with JL’s kids.”

“Yes, but mostly because I can visit them and then leave. No commitment. Anyway, this isn’t something I want to think about tonight. Right now kids just seem like more of a bother than a blessing. I’m sure they’re cute and all, but they shit all over the place and cost a fortune. Not to mention they’ll fuck up my plans. I want to see the world. That’s my dream. One day—many, many years from now—maybe I’ll be up for kids.”

She shook her head as if trying to understand what he was saying.

“I mean, come on. Tell me it wouldn’t be nice if I called you next weekend and whisked you away to the Caribbean to soak up some sun by the beach. That’s what life’s about. Can’t do that shit with a kid.”

She didn’t respond, and he sensed that he needed to lighten the mood immediately. “I mean, I can’t think of a better view than you in a little bikini lying next to me on the beach, all shiny from the sun. Although, darlin’, I can’t imagine what you would do to me if you smelled like salt and sun. I think I’d have to take you right there on the beach.”

Her gasp reminded him that she was sheltered and probably not used to his forwardness.

He pulled her close again. Damn, she smelled so good—and she felt even better in his arms. His dick sprang to attention. She definitely wasn’t drunk, but she was a lot looser then he’d ever seen her.

He ran his nose along her neck and right below her ear. “Wish we didn’t have company.”

“You do?” she said, surprisingly breathless.

He ran a finger down her neck to her collarbone. “Yes. I want to do things to you, sugar.”

She swallowed, her brown eyes wide.

“Fuck,” he growled against her neck. “That Goody Two-shoes thing you have going on gets me so hot. Dunno why, but it does. I can’t be the only one feelin’ like this.”

The truth was, she wanted him too. She knew it wasn’t the time to let loose. It wasn’t the time to have a one-night stand. It wasn’t the time to be irresponsible. But for the first time in her life, it was the one thing she wanted. She deserved to be a twenty-one-year-old woman. She had desires, desires she never acted on.

And that was what made the scale tip. She had desires! She didn’t know when she’d have an evening without Belle again or be on a date with a man who wanted her. A hot man who wanted her. A hot man she wanted just as badly. Plus, for some reason, she felt safe with him. He would be gentle if she needed him to be gentle. Once she made that decision, she felt butterflies take flight in her stomach.

His arms were still wrapped around her, and his eyes were fixed on hers. She threw her arms around his neck, got on the tips of her toes, and pressed her lips against his. For a split second he didn’t respond. He must’ve been as surprised by her move as she was. Unsure how to proceed, she froze—until he pulled her in even closer and coaxed her mouth open with his tongue. Her hands somehow ended up fisted in his hair, pushing his cowboy hat off his head. As the kiss intensified, his hand wrapped around the back of her neck and the other slipped under her shirt, touching the skin right next to her spine.

“Get a room!” someone catcalled.

Embarrassed, Penny tried to push back, but he wouldn’t let her go. He rested his forehead against hers. “Damn it, sugar. That was all on you,” he said, his breath labored.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not.” He kissed her forehead first, and then the tip of her nose. “It needed to be you. I’ve been doin’ all the work for the last year. Even though you started the kiss the other night, you pushed me away at the end. You needed to come to me. And now you have, and I want to take you back to my place. You ready for that?”

“You talk too much,” she said with a smile. “Take me to your place before I change my mind, cowboy.”

“Well, hell, darlin’, don’t want you to feel obligated. There’s no pressure. We can just stay and play pool.” He said it without even a hint of disappointment.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. I want it. I want you to take me home and make love to me,” she confessed bravely.

“I think I like the idea of that.” He tipped his glass and finished up his drink, then took out some money and left it on the table, all with one arm still wrapped around Penny’s waist, as if she’d escape if he let her go even for a moment. “But I need to say something first.”

“Didn’t I already say you talk too much?”

“I know, but before we do this, I want to tell you that I want to spend time with you, but I can’t promise you forever. I don’t want you regretting anything in the morning. You need to know that before I take you home.”

“You’re really a good guy, Travis. Most men probably would take advantage and worry about the repercussions later. I have a lot going on right now.”
And you don’t like kids,
she almost added. “I can’t do forever either. Not right now. So no, I won’t regret it in the morning,” she said confidently.

“I like you, but don’t take that to mean that I’m a nice guy. I’m not. Fair warning.”

“Why would you say that?”

“I don’t have the best past and I probably should stay the hell away from someone as sweet and innocent as you, but I’m not.” He took her hand. “Let’s get the hell outta here, sugar.”

While Travis said his goodbyes, Penny sent a quick text to JL to make sure Belle was okay. JL replied almost immediately that Belle was already asleep and that everything was fine.

Travis couldn’t believe he had Penny in his car and that they were on the way to his house. And he also couldn’t believe how excited he was about it. He chuckled out loud.

“What’s so funny?”

He reached for her hand and kissed the inside of her wrist. “Nothing. Just didn’t see this evening playing out this way, is all.”

“You didn’t? I kind of thought this was a normal kind of thing.”

“What?”

“Two people drinking at a bar, then making love,” she said, just as he was arriving at his house.

He turned around and looked at her, really looked at her. Was she fucking with him?

“Okay, darlin’, you need to tell me at least a little something about yourself so that I don’t feel like I’m completely taking advantage of you, because I don’t even know how to begin to address that crazy-ass sentence. Where’d you grow up, in a convent or something?” he laughed.

She gave him a grimace.

“No shit? You grew up in a convent?”

“No! It wasn’t a convent,” she corrected him. “But my stepfather’s a preacher and I grew up very sheltered. Very!”

“Guess that makes more sense. So, you’re like, what, religious?” That’s probably why he always felt judged by her, he thought.

“Well, I believe in God. I have a lot of faith, and it’s what gets me through the bad times. But I wouldn’t say I’m a fanatic or anything. Before moving to Tarpon Springs I thought I had a clear understanding of what’s right and wrong, but over the past year I’ve learned that I didn’t really know anything about the real world. I haven’t gone to church in over a year, but I pray every day, and it does make me feel that if I put my trust in God I can conquer anything. How about you?”

“Wow. That’s pretty serious stuff. Do I believe in God?” He shifted his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. “The best way I can put it is that I do not
not
believe in God. I lived with our grandma for a few months when I was little, one of the times when my mom disappeared, and she would to take us to church on Sundays. It was…” He thought about those days. “Nice. It was nice.”

She looked at him in a way that made him feel exposed. He needed to change the subject. “So in response to your crazy question, two people who just met in a bar and have been drinking and decide to go home together wouldn’t be making love. They’d fuck. But two people can go out and have drinks and not do anything except plan a second date. That is still an option, Penny. I never expected you to come home with me tonight; that’s why I said that this evening has been a surprise.”

“I want to. Really, I do. It’s been a stressful year and all I’ve done is work. I haven’t really had any fun. I need fun. You’re fun, right?”

He laughed. “Oh, darlin’, that I am.” Sometimes he felt that
fun
was all that he was.

“I need to be someone else tonight. Help me be wild, cowboy.”

“I can help you be wild, but I’m sure as fuck not helping you be someone else, Penny. I like who you are too much.” He looked over at her and saw that her eyes were once again on him. Assessing him. “What?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. It’s just that you curse a lot.”

“Sorry. Is that a problem?”

“No. I’m just not used to it yet. I mean, I was taught that cursing was a sin, but I’ve found out that there are good people who curse, so I’m not judging. It’s just still a little shocking to hear.”

He stepped out of the truck and went around to open her door and help her out.

“I’ve never done anything like this before,” she admitted.

“I know.” He pulled her close and kissed her gently. “Thank you for letting it be me you experiment with.”

“Smells like paint,” Penny said as soon as she walked into his house.

“I just moved in and had it painted. I still don’t have much furniture.”

“Wow, it’s beautiful, Travis.” She walked ahead of him, her hands fumbling with her pearls as she looked around. “So, that night that we…uh…you know, kissed…that lady, the show…you really are getting a lot of publicity?”

“I am. It’s been surreal. I never expected to be anything other than a pro fighter, and now I keep getting calls for interviews. And every now and again I’ll even see photographers outside the Academy.”

She stopped and looked around as if she expected paparazzi to come out of the woodwork.

“Not in here—relax.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m not exactly famous. But Francesca seems to think this is just the beginning of big publicity.”

“But outside? You think people saw us?”

“Nah. I don’t think anyone knows where I live just yet. Plus, I have that big gate out front.”

“Oh, okay.” She seemed to relax a little. “I don’t like being photographed.”

“Care to elaborate?” he said, reaching up to take off her headband and toss it aside.

“No. Not really.” Her voice trembled. “But you have to promise that you’ll respect that. I don’t want to be on the news or television or anything. Okay?”

“Sure. I promise,” he agreed with a shrug. “You have the best skin I’ve ever seen,” he went on, tracing a finger down her jawbone. “It gets pink when you’re nervous.”

“It’s embarrassing,” she said, looking down.

He pinched her chin gently and lifted her head. “I don’t want you to be shy tonight, okay? The night we kissed, you bit me.”

“I know. I don’t know what got into me. I’m sorry, I—”

“Don’t be sorry. It was the sexiest thing I’ve ever experienced. To the world, you wear your pearls and headband, but to me, at least tonight, I want you wild. You said you wanted wild, Penny.”

“I do. I just don’t think I—”

“Don’t think.” He wrapped his hand around her neck, softly so as not to scare her, and pulled her forward. “I think you secretly have a big wild side in you. Show it to me.”

He wasn’t sure what she was going to do, but he wanted her to take the lead. Not completely, but enough so that she felt comfortable—and also so that he could gauge how crazy she wanted to get, how rough she wanted it.

For some reason he expected her to kiss him again or maybe ask him to lead them to the bedroom; what he didn’t expect was for her to reach for the hem of her T-shirt, pull the shirt off, and toss it to the side. She swallowed, then toed off her shoes, unzipped her pants, and slid them down her body. It wasn’t sexy the way she did it. She wasn’t trying to be flirty. But because she was so shy and clearly inexperienced, watching her undress made him feel like a voyeur in an erotic fantasy. With her long chestnut-colored hair over her shoulders, almost covering her breasts, she stood there in a plain white bra and matching panties. Now it was his turn to swallow. He felt like it was his first time.

He felt nervous—that’s how she made him feel. As if she was too delicate, too special; like one wrong touch and he’d fuck it all up. He couldn’t stop staring. She was gorgeous. Right above the swell of her small breasts she had a spray of freckles. There were two small moles just under her right breast, almost like a vampire bite. And her legs went on forever.

“You’re staring.”

“Can’t help it. You’re breathtaking. I mean, I knew you were beautiful, but you’re even more than my wildest dreams.”

“Your turn, cowboy.” The way she fidgeted with her pearls and her voice shook slightly, it seemed like she was trying to be brave. Clearly she was fighting through her nerves. It made him that much more excited that she was willing to be brave with him.

“I like that, darlin’. That sass.” He winked.

He took off his hat and threw it on the couch, then unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it aside. Her eyes roamed his body.

He was unbuckling his belt when she said, “Wow. You have a lot of tattoos.”

He stopped and looked down at his chest. “Is that a problem?” He continued to undo his belt.

“No. I just haven’t seen so many tattoos before. Except your sister’s, of course.”

He pushed his jeans down and kicked them away, then reached for her forearm and pulled her toward him abruptly. “C’mere.” Her hands automatically went to his pecs so as to not fall. “I’m gonna kiss you now.”

He pulled her by the back of the neck toward his mouth and gently touched her lips with his tongue, tasting her slowly. But then the little minx bit his lip and he lost his self-control.

The sweet, God-fearing woman in front of him who didn’t curse had a naughty side to her. He picked her up, and she instinctively wrapped those long slender legs around him. With his hands underneath her ass and her face nuzzled in his neck, he walked them into his bedroom.

“God, you feel good.”

She was nibbling on his earlobe. “Don’t use the Lord’s name in vain.”

“You’re practically on my cock, sugar. I think using the Lord’s name in vain should be way down on your list of shit you’ve got to make right with God, no?” Hastily he laid her on his bed and followed. He didn’t want her to change her mind, but he had to ask one last time. “You sure you want to keep going? We can stop at any time.”

“I’m sure. I’m sure.” She lifted her hips and pulled her panties off and tossed them aside, making him laugh.

“Okay, guess you’re sure.” He reached behind her to undo her bra and helped her get that off as well. Then she reached for his briefs. “Slow down. What’s the hurry?”

“I just…I…”

Travis slid his hand down her body and smacked her ass—not hard. Her eyes widened. “Stop squirming,” he demanded. “I’m goin’ to touch you now, Penny, and I’m going to take my time, because you took your sweet ass time letting me take you out. So relax, because we’re goin’ to be a while.”

She bobbed her head.

His hand moved closer to her pussy; he could feel the heat. She liked it when he got rough and in charge—that much was obvious.

He slapped her ass again, this time a little harder. “Glad we’re on the same fuckin’ page for once,” he said, and then he was there. Her folds were slick with desire and he slid a finger up and down, making her even wetter. He pressed a little more firmly, and as soon as his finger touched her clit she almost jumped off the bed.

Ms. Prim and Proper was about to get fucked hard and dirty, just the way she’d never known she wanted it.

Her legs spread wide for him, her head dropped back, and then he was inside of her, first with one finger and then with a second. Her moan was the most erotic thing he’d ever heard. He ran his other hand up her body all the way to her neck. Her eyes were open now, and she was looking at him. “You like this, Penny? I want to see you lose control.”

She nodded, and he squeezed her throat a little, his thumb on one pulse point and his forefinger right by her windpipe. He wondered if she was going to push him away, but she didn’t take her eyes off his. A moment later she fell apart in his hands—her pussy squeezed, her back arched, and she screamed—but her eyes never once wavered from his.

She was pink and bare for him on his bed, her dark hair all over his pillow, his fingers still wet from her.

“I have to tell you that was the hottest thing I’ve ever felt, heard, or seen.” He reached into his nightstand, ripped open a condom, and had it on in record time. “I need to be inside of you right the fuck now. Look at me—I’ve never been this fuckin’ hard in my life.” He pushed her knees open with his own and guided his cock into her, pushing all the way in. She was so goddamn tight that it would take one, maybe two strokes to make him blow. So he didn’t move for a moment.

He pushed his thumb into her mouth and demanded, “Suck.”

She complied, and a moment later he pulled his thumb out of her mouth and used it to rub her clit.

“Oh! I…oh…Travis…” she moaned, and he continued to rub. “Please, move,” she begged.

“Can’t. Too tight. If I move, I’ll come.”

Her eyes rolled back, and she moaned again, sending vibrations all the way to his balls. “I thought that was the point,” she said, her eyes shut tightly in ecstasy.

“No. Want to come together.” He began to rub harder, his other hand holding her thighs open. He didn’t even try to be gentle. His fingers dug into her skin. “You want it rough, sugar?” He didn’t give her the opportunity to think about it, much less answer, because instead of rubbing, he pinched her clit hard. He let go of her thigh and reached down to her tits and cupped one roughly. “I’m going to bite that nipple.”

“Do it!” she goaded him, her eyes closed tight, her skin flushed and sticky from their sweat. Her uncharacteristic remark set him off; it was as if he had unleashed a beast in her.

Or was it the other way around? Because holding her open to him, doing whatever he wanted to her body, he felt like a goddamn madman. A lion ready to unleash everything on her.

He released a low, feral growl from deep within as he bent down, sucking her nipple into his mouth and then biting down, not enough to draw blood, but enough to cause her pussy to constrict hard around his cock.

He had to move. Fuck it. He had to.

“I’m going to come, Travis. Don’t stop,” she yelled. “Harder. Harder.”

He slammed hard; the bed moved and screeched with each thrust and her tits bounced up and down, his palm wrapped hard around one breast. Surely she’d be bruised tomorrow from his rough handling. He’d definitely marked her, and somehow that turned him on even more.

“Fuck baby, fuuuuck!” he grunted, and when her pussy gripped his cock hard, both of them exploded together in an orgy of sensations.

“Woman,” he groaned once he’d caught his breath and rolled over onto his back, “you destroyed my cock. Jesus Christ.”

She wrinkled her nose and sat up, covering herself with the sheet.

He was officially in trouble, he thought as he ran his hand down his face. Fuck that—
she
was officially in trouble, because he wanted her secret wild side to come out to play again and often. He wanted to test those limits and find out each and every way he could make her scream his name.

After dealing with the condom, he turned onto his side to see one long milky white leg exposed, while the navy blue sheet covered the rest of her body. She breathed in and out, still trying to catch her breath.

“So it was okay, right?” she asked shyly.

He brushed some of the hair off her face. “Was what okay, darlin’?”

“The…you know…the sex?”

He snorted at the absurd question. Then a realization hit him like a ton of bricks, and he sat up abruptly. He knew she was inexperienced—that part was obvious—but it had never occurred to him how inexperienced she really was. “Wait! You weren’t…I mean, I know you’re younger than I am, but are you—were you…Penny, you’re not a virgin, right?”

“Oh goodness, no,” she said, and he blew out a relieved breath and lay back down. “But before this, I’d only done it one other time.”

“What?” He didn’t mean to yell, but he couldn’t help it. “How is that even possible? How old are you, sugar? Twenty-three, twenty-four?”

“Last month I turned twenty-one.”

“Fuck.” He ran his hand through his hair.

“Is that a problem? How old are you?”

“Thirty-one.”

“Oh.” She tucked the sheet around her more tightly.

He had to ask her the same question she’d just asked him: “Is that a problem for you?”

“Um…” She shrugged, causing the sheet to fall a little. “No. I guess not.”

He pulled the sheet away from her and moved her naked body onto his. “Probably shoulda had this conversation before we slept together. But it’s cool, okay? Let’s not make this awkward. I like you. The sex was fantastic, sugar. Nothin’ to worry about. I am surprised someone as pretty as yourself has only had sex one other time, but I’m finding it a turn-on—and a privilege that you chose me to do it with.”

She smiled brightly at him and inched close to his neck. “You’re sweet, cowboy.”

“You know my nickname is Texas, right? My friends, and now the general viewing audience, all call me Texas,” he corrected her.

“I know. But when I first saw you, you reminded me so much of the cowboys back home. It felt kind of familiar. Something about you makes me feel like I’m back home on my big ranch with my horses. That’s why I call you cowboy. Do you remember the first time you met me?”

His hand stroked up and down her soft stomach. “Of course I do. It was your first day at the Pier. What, a year or so ago?”

“Almost thirteen months ago, and it was my first job ever.”

“Ever?”

“Yep. I’d never worked a day in my life, and I was scared out of my mind.”

“You had just broken a glass and were picking it up off the floor.”

“No, that’s not it, exactly. You walked in, and I got distracted and dropped the glass. You took the blame and helped me clean up.”

“So I distracted you, huh?”

She chuckled. “You certainly did. You walked in with that silly cowboy hat and it made me think of home, and then you smiled and I saw those dimples.”

“Well, if it makes you feel better, I was drawn to you from the moment I walked in. You looked so fresh-faced and sweet with that long brown hair and those big eyes.”

“Really?”

“Nah, it was mostly those long legs of yours. I couldn’t keep my eyes off.” He winked as he rolled out of bed. “Going to grab some food. Don’t move.”

She laughed. The man had just eaten. Where did he fit all that food? She flipped onto her stomach, tucked her hands under one of his pillows, and closed her eyes for just a second, basking in the way her body ached deliciously.

A dip on the bed startled her. “So where’s this home of yours that has all the cowboys?” he said with a plate of sandwiches on his lap. She yawned and sat up—evidently she had fallen asleep. It was clear that she badly needed a break. The fast pace of her life was exhausting. Luckily, things were changing, and soon she’d be home more with Belle.

“Oklahoma.”

“You’re a long way from home,” he said, offering her a bite of one of the sandwiches, which she declined.