Travis (35 page)

♂♂

By
the time Gage managed to get all of the insurance details hashed out, he was
ready to pull his fucking hair out. He was fairly certain his ears were
beginning to bleed thanks to having to listen to crappy ass hold music for the
last two hours, too.

Sure,
there was no doubt about it, having insurance was a good thing. Especially when
there was something like a one in two hundred eighty thousand chance the house
you live in will be struck by lightning. Yep, he’d looked that shit up, and
he’d come to one conclusion: he had shitty odds and wouldn’t be betting his
life savings in Vegas anytime soon. And since he couldn’t look forward to
doubling his net worth at the Blackjack table, he was just going to have to be
patient and wait for the insurance check.

According
to the woman he’d just gotten off the phone with – the one who sounded like she
was watching her “stories” on the tube and putting him on hold during the good
parts – it was a damn good thing since his house went up in a flash and his
shit was now crispy. He doubted anything with her was urgent (or real), unless
it meant getting to the grocery store to pick up her weekly copy of Soap Opera
Digest.

Ok,
yes, he was being a dick.

Probably
hadn’t helped that she continued to explain how so-and-so on her favorite show
was also a cop. Just like Gage was. Yes, he certainly could relate to the time
Mr. So-and-So got shot down on the boat docks by the mob boss who was sleeping
with a waitress and her sister – who wasn’t really her sister, actually just
one of her multiple personalities.
Sigh.

 It
was obvious, there was no reason for him to hurry up and wait, so he’d come up
with a solution. While he was waiting for a daytime drama commercial break, he
would just use what he had in savings to front Kylie the money for the work she
was going to be doing.

Just
that morning, before she left to go back to Killeen to pack more things for her
lengthy stay, they had walked through the plans, laying out room by room what
she still needed and what she’d already managed to get. To his relief, she’d put
him to work. At least he had
something
to do, even if it was hiring
subcontractors since he knew the area better. Someone had to do it.

After
talking with Travis, they were going to ask the rest of the Walker clan if
they’d be willing to help in order to save a little money. Gage still wasn’t
sure how he was ever going to be able to repay them for all that they had done
for him already. It was thanks to them that the house was livable, enough furniture
to make it comfortable to stay there.

The
only thing that would make it better would be for Kylie and Travis to stay with
him. And yes, he was starting to think he’d lost his mind, thank you very much.

Although
he had an excuse with Kylie, – she’d be staying at the farmhouse while she was
working on it – he hadn’t figured out a way to talk to Travis. He tried to
imply it a time or two, but he’d been too chicken shit to say it out loud.

It
would be amusing if it weren’t so terribly sad, but Gage found himself thinking
more about Travis and Kylie than the fact that his life had literally just
burned to the ground – phone conversation with the soap opera queen notwithstanding.
His priorities had shifted somewhere along the way, and he found he cared more
about being with them than anything else. If there was ever any intention of
keeping himself detached, then he had failed miserably.

And
he was trying to be ok with that. Although doubts still plagued him from time
to time, he was trying to take things one day at a time. He’d spent years
wishing for what they had found with each other, and he was afraid to do
anything to risk losing it all.

And
the sex… Well, let’s just say he was functioning on little sleep. And he didn’t
mind one fucking iota. If they weren’t together coming up with creative ways to
get naked, then Gage was spending more than enough time remembering the little
details – like being buried to the hilt inside of Kylie at the same time Travis
was. He’d gone stir crazy remembering how beautiful Kylie had looked as she
rode him, her breasts smashed against his chest, her sweet moans of pleasure
echoing in the room as Travis thrust over and over from behind her.

Of
course, his life wouldn’t be complete without the overwhelming memories of what
it felt like when he had been balls deep inside of Travis the first time they
were together. Even now his cock swelled. If he were smart, he’d yank out his
dick and massage some of the stress away just so he could get his mind on other
things.

Like
sleep.

Not
that a quick hand job was going to keep him from thinking about the two of
them. Or how he wanted to see Kylie sandwiched between him and Travis, taking
them both at the same time again.

A
groan rumbled up from his chest.

This
was so not helping.

Being
alone in the big house wasn’t nearly as exciting as he expected it to be. He
must’ve gotten used to having company so the random creaks and groans of the
old house had him looking around, wishing like hell Kylie was walking down the
stairs to come sit with him, or maybe Travis was heading up to take a shower.
Those mundane, normal things that he’d wanted for so long.

A
faint knock on the front door caught his attention, although he barely heard it
from the far side of the house. Pushing himself up off of the gigantic leather
sectional that had replaced the ratty loveseat, he made his way to the front
door. Glancing down, he realized he was only wearing jeans, and wasn’t dressed
for company, but then again he hadn’t been expecting any.

Pulling
open the heavy wooden door, Gage came face to face with none other than the man
who’d been plaguing his thoughts for the better part of the last few days.

“Hey,
you all right?” Gage leaned one arm on the edge of the open door as he stood staring
at Travis.

“That’s
the question I was going to ask you,” he replied as he eased past him into the house.
“You haven’t heard?”

“Heard
what?”

“There’s
a grass fire less than a mile from here. Right now the fire department thinks
they’ll get it contained shortly, but it’s getting closer.”

“Shit.”
Gage didn’t even want to think about what might happen if the thing got out of
control. There was no way he could handle going through it again. No fucking
way.

Gage
shut the front door and followed Travis back into the living room, secretly happy
that Travis seemed comfortable in his house. Despite his unflappable indifference,
Gage felt an underlying energy radiating off of the man.

“Where’s
Kylie?” Travis asked, turning abruptly when he stepped into the living room
where Gage had been sitting, staring at the cracked plaster peeling off the
wall.

“Home.
She left earlier today to pack some things. I offered to drive her and bring
her back, but she insisted she go alone.”

“She’s
not coming back tonight is she?”

“No.
I talked to her a little while ago, and she said she was going to ride out the
storm at home and come back in the morning.”

“Why
aren’t you answering your phone?”

Gage
instinctively glanced over at the couch, seeing his cell phone lying in the
same place he’d dropped it after he hung up with Kylie. The battery had died
and rather than charging it in his truck because he couldn’t find the house
charger, he’d opted to ignore the damn thing altogether.

“It’s
dead.”

Travis
nodded as though the explanation was one he expected.

“So,
what?” Gage asked, driving his thumbs into his pockets as he stood up straight.
“You worried about me?”

Travis’
brows arched down, his blue eyes growing darker as he stared him down. “That a
problem for you?”

What
prompted Gage to question Travis, he had no idea, but he truthfully hadn’t
expected that answer. Something more aggressive or innately sexual would’ve
made more sense coming from Travis. He wasn’t quite sure what to do with the
knowledge that this man was concerned about his well-being. Before he could say
a word, he found himself backing up against the wall, Travis’ looming form directly
in front of him.

Ok,
now this was familiar.

The
heat in the blue-gray eyes peering back at him had turned to an inferno within
the last few seconds, and Gage had to inhale deeply.

Mistake
.

Travis’
enticing, musky scent filled his nostrils and made his body harden. Every
single time they had touched each other flooded his memory bank in a quick flash
of images, reminding him of the way Travis had all but consumed him with a
passion he, quite frankly, hadn’t expected from the man.

“Does
it bother you that I was worried?” Travis asked again, apparently expecting an
answer.

Gage
was not the man to back down from anyone, let alone in a situation such as
this. But, holy fucking hell, he wanted to. Right there in the dim light of the
living room, surrounded by peeling plaster and hardwood that had seen at least
one hundred years of abuse.

When
there was only a breath between the two of them, Gage focused on the heat of
Travis’ chest, anticipating every rise and fall from every breath he took because
it brought them that much closer.

Travis’
palm flattened against the side of his neck, his thumb gliding back and forth
over his jaw while his fingers dug lightly into the back of his neck. There
wasn’t an ounce of aggression in the move, and Gage found himself locked and
loaded, ready to beg.

“You’re
thinking about me kissing you, aren’t you?” Travis goaded.

“Fuck
you,” Gage groaned, not an ounce of heat in the words and he didn’t try to pull
away.

“That’s
exactly what I’m thinking,” Travis whispered as he leaned in closer, their
mouths merely a hairsbreadth away from one another. Gage had to fight the urge
to pull him closer, wanting to savor what was happening between them.

“So
what are you waiting for?” Gage locked eyes with Travis, a war of sensations
going on around them while they were rooted to the floor. Their breaths
mingled, their bodies barely grazed one another, and the heat between them was
rapidly escalating to something more powerful than even their combined strength.

The
passion between them was omnipotent. Something rare for Gage. Something he
found he craved. A low rumble rent the air, and at first Gage thought it was thunder,
then he realized it was coming from Travis. The man’s body was subtly vibrating.

“I
can’t stay away from you,” Travis whispered, the words laced with gravel. “No
matter how hard I’ve tried, I can’t fucking do it.”

“Not
asking you to,” Gage said, breathless.

That’s
all it took. Despite how close they were, there was a soul shattering collision
the instant their bodies touched.

Travis
kept his hand firmly against Gage's neck, and Gage took the opportunity to grip
the back of Travis’ head, pulling him close and dislodging Travis’ hat in the
process. An eruption of animalistic growls flooded the otherwise silent room as
their mouths crashed together, a tangle of lips and tongues and desperation. Gage
was taking exactly what he’d denied himself for so long while Travis wasn’t
holding back either.

Lust
overrode everything else as they devoured one another. Gage explored Travis’
mouth with his tongue, seeking, tasting, practically begging with his kiss. His
brain was misfiring from the overload of sensation, the magnificent taste of
Travis’ passion mixed with his own.

Gage
had never felt anything like this, and he had been down this road before, but
never like this.

Never
like this.

♂♂

Travis
couldn’t suppress the hunger, could no longer deny himself the pleasure of
Gage’s kiss. The storm surging on the outside of the house paled in comparison
to the heat building between the two of them as their mouths searched, sought. Their
breaths mingled, their chests heaved from exertion, although neither of them
were moving.

Travis’
blood pounded in his ears, his body humming with a desperation he’d become all
too familiar with when it came to Gage. Despite the questions that still
lingered between them, Travis knew without a doubt that Gage felt the same surge
of electricity that arced between them whenever they were close. He’d felt it
the night Gage had taken him with such gentleness, he’d been hard pressed not
to shatter. The more they were together, the closer they seemed to get. And
Travis wasn’t just thinking in the physical sense.

Their
guards were slowly dropping and what was left between them was hedonistic.
Desire, need. Emotions swirled in the stagnant air until Travis found it hard to
breathe, but that life sustaining activity was overrated anyway. He refused to pull
away. He’d waited too long for this. Too long to touch Gage, to feel the flex
of his powerful body beneath him, to taste the sweet, exotic flavor of his
kiss, wanting more even now.