Wild Weekend (16 page)

“Why are you apologizing to her?” Travis asked. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“And I’m sorry you got caught up in this,” Bonnie said as she took a few more steps away from them as if she couldn’t wait to get away.

“I’ll see you on Monday.” Christine gave a wave to Bonnie. “Business as usual.”

“Thank you,” Bonnie said with relief. She hurriedly turned around and sped down the sidewalk as if she was being pursued.

Travis waited until Bonnie turned the corner before he looked at Christine. “Why did you let her off the hook?”

“I went with my instincts,” she said as she walked back to the porch door. “She tried to protect her mother but made a mistake. I don’t think she’s going to repeat it.”

“See what happens when you take a risk?” he asked with a smile.

She groaned. “That was horrible! I was so nervous I thought was going to pass out. We are so lucky that Bonnie’s guilt was eating away at her.”

“Horrible?” he asked as he followed her. “You did great. You figured out why she did it and when. You bluff very well.”

“Thanks, I think.”

“Bluffing is a very important life skill,” he said as they stepped onto the porch. “Especially when you’re in Vegas.”

Vegas.
Travis bent his head as he remembered the other problem he had to fix. He had to leave Christine and he wasn’t ready.

She looked disappointed and was trying to hide it. “You need to go help your friend.”

“I’m coming back,” he promised. “Once I find the emerald, nothing is going to keep me away.”

“You don’t have to convince me,” she said with a wobbly smile. “I believe you. You’ve never lied to me or had an ulterior motive.”

Travis kept silent. She didn’t know that he’d suspected she had taken the emerald.
And she never will.

“If you say you’re going to return, you’re going to return,” she said confidently. “And I’ll be here when you get back.”

16

A
N
HOUR
LATER
, Travis walked into the small kitchen as he pulled on his T-shirt. Christine almost sighed with disappointment as the soft cotton covered his well-defined chest and hid the way his jeans rode low on his hips.

He frowned when he noticed Christine was still in her bathrobe. “Shouldn’t you get ready for work?”

“I called in sick a couple of minutes ago,” she said. “I told Laurie it was a twenty-four-hour bug.”

“You did? And she believed you?”

She smiled. “No.” She didn’t care what her coworkers thought. She didn’t know how long Travis would be gone and she wanted to make the most of the time they had together.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” he asked as he set his hands on his hips. “You just had a three-day weekend and people still think you had something to do with Faye’s missing bracelet.”

“The police called me while you were in the shower. Guess what?” she asked in a hushed, confident whisper. “The bracelet was found in the Lamb residence.”

“Imagine that.”

She rested her hip against the kitchen table. “I updated Laurie when I called in sick. She is so relieved.”

“And the rest of Cedar Valley will find out in the next ten minutes,” he predicted.

“But I can’t celebrate the good news with my coworkers,” she said as she flattened her hand against his chest. “I am staying in bed for the day.”

His eyebrow rose. “
All
day?”

“That’s right.” Anticipation beat hard against her chest. “But before I go back to bed, there’s something I need to know.”

Travis swiped his tongue along his lips as he stared at her mouth. “Okay, what?”

“What’s on
your
bucket list for sex?”

Something wicked flashed in his eyes. “I don’t have one.”

She gave him a look of disbelief. “I’m sure you have some fantasies.”

“I do,” he said in a drawl as his intense gaze made her blush.

Why wasn’t he telling her a few of them? Did he think she wasn’t ready for them? Was he worried that he’d shock her? “Are there any you want to share with me?”

“Yes.”

Her skin stung as her pulse skipped hard. “Name one thing on your bucket list.”

“You.”

She gave him a wide smile and brushed a light kiss on his mouth. “Good answer. But what’s on your list?”

“You,” he repeated as he placed his hands on her hips. “You are my list.”

She must have misheard. “I don’t understand.”

“I want to make love to you outdoors. Have sex in the shower with you. Under the stars and when I first wake up. I want to make love to you slow, and I want it hard and fast. I want you and only you,” he confessed gruffly. “You are my list.”

“Oh,” she said weakly.

“I will never get enough of you.”

She believed him. His words were like a pledge. A vow.

“Tell me more,” she said. “No, better yet, show me.”

Christine perched on the edge of the kitchen table and parted her legs, drawing him closer. Travis cupped her face with his large hands and tilted her head up to receive his mouth. He caressed her lips with the sweetest kisses. She opened her mouth and drew him in.

Christine dipped her hands under his shirt and her fingers skimmed his washboard abs. She flattened her palm against his chest and felt his steady heartbeat under her touch.

She loved this man. Christine knew it was too soon, too fast, but she couldn’t deny it any longer. The knowledge didn’t scare her. She was ready to risk anything to protect this feeling, to make it grow stronger.

And she didn’t want to hide her feelings from Travis. There was no longer a need. She wanted him to know how she felt about him. That she trusted him with her life, her body and her heart.

“Did your bucket list include stolen moments in the kitchen?” she asked against his mouth as she teased his flat nipple.

“Yes,” he growled, and his fingers found her hips. “My imagination about you is limitless.”

She reached for her belt and untied the loose knot. She broke the kiss and met Travis’s gaze as she peeled the thick cotton robe from her shoulders. The cool air wafted against her bare skin. She shivered as she watched Travis’s jaw clench.

She wasn’t nervous about baring herself to him. With the way he looked at her, she felt beautiful. Strong and feminine. The glint in his eyes encouraged her to be brazen.

“Touch me,” she said softly, encouraging him.

He rubbed his thumb against her lips before kissing her lightly and planting more kisses on her chin and along her neck. Christine hummed her approval as he touched her everywhere, stoking her desire. It felt hypnotic; seemed otherworldly.

Christine saw his face soften as he noticed her heartbeat. It was too loud, too fast. But this was how he made her feel. Bold and daring. She wanted to love with a roar instead of a whisper.

His hand dipped farther and Christine’s breathing became choppy. He claimed her breast and she closed her eyes and bit her lip. Her tight nipple rasped against his palm. She sensed his gaze on her face and thrust her breast deeper into his hold. Christine smiled as his fingers caressed her flesh.

She lay down on the table, her fluffy bathrobe bunched up beneath her. Christine slowly opened her eyes and focused on Travis’s face. Lust, raw and unapologetic, was reflected in his eyes, She heard the moan rumble in his chest.

Christine stretched her arms above her and rolled her hips. “I want your hands all over me,” she murmured as she tousled her long hair with her fingers.

Travis flattened his hands on the table and leaned into her. She lifted and met him halfway for a sizzling kiss. She grasped the back of his head and dipped her tongue into his mouth. She tasted his need and his excitement. She was surrounded by his body heat and his masculine scent.

The tips of her breasts rubbed against his shirt and she grumbled with impatience. Christine reached for the hem of his shirt and struggled to remove it from him. Travis reluctantly pulled his mouth away from hers to shed the shirt before he reclaimed her with a thorough kiss.

Christine explored his body, raking her hands over his shoulders, down his broad back. He was so strong. He then dipped his head and licked her stiff nipple with the tip of his tongue.

She gasped as a delicious heat coiled deep within her. “More,” she said hoarsely.

Christine felt his smile against her skin as he continued to tease her with the flick of his tongue and the edge of his teeth. She rocked under him as the wild sensations flashed through her.

Travis fondled her breasts as he kissed a path down her stomach. The tension built inside her as her skin tingled. She never wanted this feeling to end.

He parted her thighs, stroked her and covered her sex with the palm of his hand. Christine moaned as he caressed her. When his mouth replaced his fingers, Christine climaxed hard.

Sweat coated her skin as the blinding heat swept through her. Everything went silent for a moment before all her senses were reeling. “Travis!”

He continued to pleasure her as the sensations pulsed through her body. Satisfaction was hers as her fingers slackened and her legs went limp. She murmured a few words to him but her voice was weak.

Travis rose and leaned down to press his mouth against her ear. Christine shuddered when his hot breath wafted against her skin.

“What did you say?” he asked. “More?”

She swallowed roughly. “I love you,” she whispered.

Christine felt the surprise course through his body. An emotion she couldn’t define glowed in his dark eyes. She couldn’t tell if he was going to pounce or back away.

Her muscles burned and shook as she wrapped her legs around his waist. “Don’t overthink it,” she said. “Go with your instincts.”

Travis hesitated for a moment before he captured her mouth with his. His kiss was fierce. Emotional. Complete. And she wanted it. She wanted it all.

She encouraged him to do more. A sigh of relief staggered from her throat as he teased and massaged her body.

He broke the kiss and reached for his jeans. She saw how his hands shook as he impatiently fumbled with the foil package and then put on the condom.

Travis drew her closer to the edge of the table. Her gaze met his and it seemed she saw everything in his eyes. The hope, the fears and the need. He was holding nothing back.

He tilted her hips and said her name when he entered her. She held on to Travis as he closed his eyes and withdrew slightly before he sank back into her heat. It was as if his body couldn’t deny hers.

His rhythm was strong but unpredictable. Christine stretched out her arms and grasped the edges of the table as she met his thrusts with the roll of her hips. She lay before him, open and naked for his pleasure, but she felt powerful as Travis fought for control.

He placed his hand where they were joined and pressed against her swollen nub. Christine arched her spine as the pleasure forked like lightning. She cried out as the climax roared through her body.

She stopped moving, trying to savor the moment, and Travis went still. She felt his shudder before he thrust into her one more time. She watched his face as he found his release. It was a beautiful sight. Powerful and masculine.

Travis’s groan echoed in the small kitchen. As he rested on top of her, she welcomed him into her arms. He didn’t say anything as he rested his head against her breast.

She loved him, Christine thought as she closed her eyes. The timing wasn’t perfect but she wanted Travis to know before he left. From now on, there was no holding back.

* * *

C
HRISTINE
PARKED
HER
car in downtown Cedar Valley. The storm clouds were rolling in, hiding the sun. A mist of rain coated the car windows as she stepped into a puddle on the sidewalk. “You’re going to miss all this when you’re in Vegas,” she teased Travis.

“I will,” he said seriously.

She smiled and kept her thoughts to herself. She had a sinking feeling that once Travis left, he would get caught up in the rhythm of Vegas, and the memory of Cedar Valley would fade under the bright lights of Sin City.

“I’m going to get a few things for my trip,” he said as he walked in the direction of the general store. “Do you want anything?”

“No, but I should pick up my laundry from Jill’s. I’ll meet you at the car.”

He raked a hand through his damp hair. “I’ll be right back.”

Christine watched him walk away. Travis Cain stood out in his leather jacket, jeans and boots. There was an edge to him that didn’t match the cobblestone streets and Victorian houses. This town needed someone like him, but did he need a place like Cedar Valley?

Christine walked through the green double doors of Jill’s Dry Cleaning. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear the chime of the bell or Jill’s footsteps. Christine leaned against the old-fashioned counter and jerked in surprise when Jill waved her hand in front of her eyes.

“Are you okay?” Jill asked as she peered into Christine’s face. “I heard you called in sick. I thought you were faking it so you could have one of your sex marathons with Travis. Not that I’m judging. I’m actually quite envious. Maybe I should go to Vegas and find myself a Travis.”

“He’s leaving today,” Christine said. “I’ll tell him to pick you up a guy as a souvenir.”

Jill leaned on the counter. “Why is he leaving?”

“He has to go help a friend. He doesn’t know how long he’ll be gone.”

“Huh, no time frame?” Jill asked with a frown. “I guess he stayed while you were having trouble with the missing bracelet. I heard Bonnie found it this morning. And now Travis is going.”

“He’ll be back,” Christine insisted.

“I’m sure he will,” she murmured.

She didn’t like how unconvinced Jill sounded. It made that seed of doubt in her own mind grow a little stronger. Christine straightened and flipped her damp hair over her shoulders. “Travis is in the general store right now picking up a few things. I was wondering if my laundry was done.”

“Yeah.” She slapped her hands on the counter and reached for a laundry basket filled with folded, colorful clothes. “I was going to call you about that.”

“Is there a problem?”

She dropped the basket on the counter. “When did you start wearing men’s clothes?” her friend asked.

“What are you talking about?” Christine said with a laugh. “Did you get my clothes mixed up with another customer’s?”

Jill lifted a shirt from the basket. “Look familiar?”

“Oh, that’s Travis’s shirt.” Christine bit down on her bottom lip as she remembered ripping it from his body on their last day together in Vegas. “I must have scooped it up when I grabbed my clothes on the floor.”

“I think you picked up something else of his.”

“Like what?”

Jill reached in the bottom of the basket and pulled out a small plastic bag. She held the edge with her fingertips. “Like this.”

Christine blinked as she stared at the small green stone. The emerald caught the beam of the overhead light and twinkled. Her mouth fell open as the shock washed over her. It had to be what Travis was searching for.

“Do you think it’s real?” Jill asked as she tilted her head and studied the stone.

“Yes,” Christine whispered. She didn’t want to think about what this meant, but the implications came crashing down on her. “Yes, it is.”

“Cool!” Jill looked at her and her smile dimmed. “Isn’t it?”

Christine felt hot and then cold. She squeezed her eyes shut to ward off the tears. She was such a fool. “Not really.”

“Christine, what’s going on?” She set down the bag. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”

She brushed her fingers along the emerald. “He’s been looking for this.”

“I would imagine.”

The pain flared hot and bright inside her. “He didn’t follow me to Cedar Valley because he was attracted to me,” she said, struggling to get the words out. “He didn’t stay because he was falling for me. All this time he was looking for this.”

Jill’s eyes widened in horror. “No...”

“He pretended to like me so he could get the emerald back.” Christine pulled her gaze up and stared at Jill. “He didn’t want me. He wanted this. It was all fake.”