Travis (17 page)

Her
immediate thought was to tell him to go to hell and follow just to prove that
she wouldn’t take orders from him. But she didn’t get out of the truck. No, her
shirt and bra were still askew, so she hurriedly put them back in place, redoing
the buttons she’d released just minutes ago. Once she was presentable again,
Kylie satisfied herself by turning in her seat and watching as Gage’s looming form
climbed out of his truck, the two men meeting just a few feet away from the big
white four-door Chevy. She took advantage of the few minutes to try and get
herself together mentally now that she was physically in order once more.

God,
she just had an orgasm.
By dry humping Travis.
Her face flushed from
embarrassment. The last time she had done that, she had been a teenager. The
irony was that it was with the same man now as it had been then.

She
wasn’t sure she was going to be able to get out of the truck. Facing one of
them was almost impossible, facing them both at the same time was going to be
hell.

Distraction
came by way of watching their interaction. From what she could tell, this
wasn’t a happy reunion, and she wondered what had happened the night before
when she left the two of them at Moonshiners.

Based
on the expression on Gage’s too handsome face, he looked like he was ready to
defend himself if it came down to it. She couldn’t see Travis’ face because he
was turned away from her, but she could tell by the hard line of his powerful body
that he was strung as tight as a bow.

Considering
the last time she saw the two men together, they’d been confronting her after
she witnessed them kissing in a dark hallway. The memory came flooding back,
and Kylie suddenly felt ashamed.

Had
Travis and Gage…? She let the thought trail off. It was clear they wanted each
other. How did that work? How did they want one another and her too? She knew
based on what she felt in recent days, months even, that they were feeling
something when they were with her. They were. She hadn’t imagined it.

Surely
they weren’t playing her to piss off each other.

Were
they?

God,
she hoped not.

Beads
of water began running faster down the glass as the heavens split open, but
neither man made a move to seek shelter from the downpour. A sudden desire to
hear what they were saying had her sliding closer to the door, prepared to get
out of the truck, but a bright flash of lightning, followed by a booming crash
of thunder had her pausing.

As
though the storm’s fury was the signal, the two men suddenly collided, although
she never saw Gage move. He didn’t seem to be pushing back, but Travis had Gage
pinned against the door of his truck within seconds. Their cowboy hats hid
their faces, but she could see the strain in Travis’ shoulders through the
black t-shirt that was plastered against his skin, soaked completely through.

Whatever
they were saying to one another, it appeared to be fueled by frustration, and
when Travis grabbed Gage by the shirt collar, she couldn’t sit passively by any
longer. Rushing out of the truck, Kylie closed the distance between her and
them, another bolt of lightning flashing brightly. She could taste the electricity
in the air. Her scalp tingled, and the hair on her arms stood on end from how
close the strike was.

When
her eyes met Gage’s for a brief second, she could see the same confusion she’d
seen last night when he realized she was standing in the bar.

Was
there something between these two men? Something more than some passionate
kisses that would make Gage deceive them both? Or was he merely dealing with
Travis’ anger the same way he’d dealt with hers? He deserved every ounce of
their outrage after what he’d done: forcing their paths to cross once again
when they both knew that their distance was for the best.

As
she stood a few feet away, Kylie couldn’t help but remember what Travis had
told her in the truck. He was bisexual. His words echoed inside her head:
And
what would you have told me, Kylie? Would you have put your arms around me and
said that it was all right for me to feel like that? That you’d be willing to
share me? Share yourself with another man?

“You’re
a bastard, you know that?” Travis barked.

“Why?
Because I’m not willing to let her go either? You said it yourself, if she’s
gonna be in my bed, you’re gonna be right there with us, remember?”

She
watched just as one would watch a train wreck, trying to determine the exact
moment the fireball was going to engulf the wreckage while categorizing
everything that was happening as it did. They were talking about her, and it
sounded like they’d tried to plan this whole thing out. If anyone should be
pissed, it should be her.

“That’s
exactly what I fucking said. So what?” Travis took a step closer although they
were almost nose to nose. “Did you think bringing her back into my life would
change what this is between us? Well, it worked. You managed to fuck my life up
beyond repair. And it didn’t fucking help!”

“Didn’t
help
what
?” Gage asked, his voice low and menacing. He seemed to move
closer to Travis, eliminating the breath of air that still remained between
them. Their cowboy hats were the only thing keeping them from getting any
closer.

“It
didn’t make me want you any less,” Travis growled, letting go of Gage’s shirt
and taking a step back. “But you did accomplish one thing, Gage.”

“What’s
that?”

“Now
I want her just as much as I want you. Are you fucking happy now?” Travis spun
around and lifted his face to the sky and roared, “Goddammit!”

Kylie’s
mouth hung open as she stared in disbelief. Travis’ words answered every single
question she had. She knew she should walk away, give them a little space
because clearly tempers were getting out of control, but she couldn’t seem to move.
The rain was coming down in sheets, drenching them all, the sound of the wind
making it difficult to hear anything except for her own heartbeat.

Except,
she had heard Travis’ words.

Clearly.

Now
I want her just as much as I want you.

Travis
turned to look at her, not an ounce of the compassion she’d seen earlier
lingering in his gaze. His smoke-blue eyes swirled with anger and something
else. Lust? Desire? Longing?

“Did
you tell her?” Gage’s question had them both turning to look at him.

“Tell
her what?”

“Did
you tell Kylie why you ran like a chicken shit ten years ago? Did you tell her
what you’re running from?”

“Fuck
you,” Travis barked, taking a step closer to Gage.

“Yeah,
well, I’m sure we’re getting to that point,” Gage growled and Kylie stared at
him. “If you can’t even be honest with yourself, how in the hell do you ever
expect anyone to want something from you?” Gage asked, but Kylie wasn’t sure he
was looking for an answer.

If
someone would have told her that she’d be standing in the middle of the pouring
rain with two men who had managed to turn her life upside down at some point,
she wouldn’t have believed them. For years, Kylie’s life had been too normal.
Too mundane. This wasn’t supposed to happen to her, yet here she was listening
to a drama unfold between two men she’d developed feelings for, yet they seemed
more interested in one another than her.

Thunder
boomed, and she jumped, suddenly acutely aware of the storm still surging
around them. They needed to get out of the rain. And soon.

“I
told her,” Travis said. “I laid my heart out there, is that what you want to
hear? You want me to grovel? To drop to my knees and beg her forgiveness
because I’ve never found anyone who could even remotely satisfy me the way she
did? Huh? That what you want?”

Gage’s
eyes widened, and he seemed just as stunned as she was. Kylie wasn’t sure she
was even breathing. Travis’ words ripped through her heart, penetrating the
anger and desperation that had been building there ever since she saw him
again.

Travis’
back straightened as he continued, “Is that what you wanted me to do? You think
you haven’t done enough damage yet?” Travis took another step closer, only this
time, Gage retaliated as he moved in, their chests touching, their hands
fisting in one another’s shirts.

“But
did you tell her the rest? Did you tell her how you kissed me? Or how about how
you led me on, made me want you when you had no intention of following
through,” Gage’s voice grew louder, suddenly booming over the rolling thunder,
“You kissed me, goddammit!”

“In
case you didn’t know, I had every intention of following through. You’re the
one who ran, you’re the one who disappeared for months. And let’s be real
fucking clear here, you fucking kissed me back!” Travis yelled.

Hearing
the words were like an arrow straight through her heart. It didn’t matter that
Gage was a man, or that she hadn’t seen Travis in ten years until recently. The
jealousy raged a war inside of her and tears threatened from the anger that was
building. Kylie didn’t even think it was possible, but suddenly her heart was
breaking all over again. Right in her chest, the anguish that consumed her nearly
had her knees giving out. But this time, it was breaking right in half, and
there were
two
men responsible. Not just one. She was somehow stuck in
the middle.

“You’re
damn right I did,” Gage said, his temper cooling significantly. His voice lowered
even more before he continued, “I’d do it again too.”

His
confession made Kylie’s blood run cold. Here she was, in the middle of a
pissing contest between two men who clearly had a thing for one another. Yet it
didn’t explain what happened between her and Gage, or what just happened not
five minutes before between her and Travis.

Nor
did it help to clear up what she was feeling for either one of these men
because she knew from grade school math that one plus one did not equal three.
She’d been dragged into this for what? So Gage could get his point across to
Travis? So he could declare his feelings for the man?

Hell,
she wasn’t even sure whether she cared anymore. Glancing around, Kylie tried to
remember the way that Travis had come in. It might take her all day to walk
back to town, or hell, maybe a week, but at this point, she was willing to walk
if it meant she could get away from them. While the two of them continued to
stare one another down, Kylie turned and started walking.

“Where
the hell are you going?” Travis growled, falling into step beside her. She
didn’t bother looking at him.

“I
don’t want to interrupt your little love fest. I’ll just find my way back to
town on my own, thank you very much.” It took everything in her not to let the
dam break and tears to rush forth. She kept moving, but was quickly pulled up
short by Travis’ hand on her arm. He wasn’t gentle as he turned her to look at
him.

She
found herself staring up into pools of blue, dark and cloudy, just like the
storm brewing around them. His mood resembled the weather as a matter of fact, evident
in the eerie blue swirls in his eyes. Kylie had no idea what to say to him, but
she knew she couldn’t be near him. They were too close as it was, and for a
second she actually thought he might kiss her again.

“Let
me go,” she pleaded. “Just let me walk away, Travis. I can’t do this anymore. I
don’t know why the two of you had to pull me into this. It’s clear that you
both want each other.” Kylie paused, forcing her wet hair away from her face. A
small part of her wanted him to deny it, to tell her to her face what he’d said
to Gage moments ago. “I only want one thing from you,” she finally said, her
voice quivering from the pain ricocheting like a stray bullet in the center of
her chest.

“What’s
that?” he asked, pinning her with a glare.

“A
divorce.” The words escaped on a sob, but Kylie couldn’t hide how much pain she
was in. She’d have thought ten years would’ve healed some of the damage this
one man had caused, but her heart felt like an open, throbbing wound all over
again.

Travis
didn’t stop staring at her and Kylie felt the urge to grab him by his shirt and
crush her mouth to his. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two
together. Gage was the other half of what Travis had been missing when they got
married. He could give Travis what he needed and without her, they’d find
someone else. A woman who could handle two men.

Acknowledging
the truth didn’t make it any easier to swallow, in fact, she felt as though she
might just throw up.

“Not
happening,” Travis growled before letting go of her arm and stomping back to
his truck.

Kylie
could only stare after him. “What’s not happening?” she yelled over the crash
of thunder from the heavens.

“The
divorce.” Travis turned momentarily, staring back at her. “It’s not fucking
happening.”

With
that, he climbed in his truck, started the engine and then tore out of the
parking space, throwing up mud and water with his exit, leaving Kylie standing
there with Gage.

Both
of them too stunned to speak.