Travis (24 page)

♂♀♂

Kylie’s
entire body was humming. And not some gentle vibration either. No, this was
more of a tremor or a quake. Yes, definitely a quake. One that would challenge
the measuring limitations of the Richter Scale.

She
wasn’t sure her skin was going to contain the need that throbbed from the
center of her body and radiated outward in seismic waves that had her knees
shaking. Even after two of the most explosive orgasms she’d ever experienced,
Kylie was ready for more.

Unfortunately,
they had a couple of issues that she didn’t see them being able to overcome.
One being there wasn’t any furniture and as anxious as she was, Kylie wasn’t
sure she wanted to test the comfort level of the floor. Since standing was no
longer an option because her thigh muscles were beginning to ache as it was,
she didn’t know how they’d overcome that one.

And
two, if she wasn’t just imagining it, then Gage and Travis managed to reduce
the heat on the rapid boil. Things were simmering down, which wasn’t
necessarily a bad thing. Sure, she wanted to tell them to throw caution to the
wind, but the practical part of her brain was flashing bright red lights repeatedly
and throwing down the guardrail that would ultimately protect her from getting
in any deeper than she already was.

For
the time being anyway.

That
didn’t mean she hadn’t enjoyed the sweet, loving way they’d taken care of her
after Travis sent her into orbit with just his fingers. Kylie didn’t think she
could handle an orgasm more powerful than the last one, especially not right
now. Now that she was clean, thanks to the tender ministrations by both men,
using the body wash Gage had supplied her with earlier – which she loved
because now her skin smelled like him – her hands were beginning to prune and
her knees were a minute or two away from knocking together. A bed sounded so good,
but again, they were limited on furniture which meant sleep wasn’t scheduled
for the near future.

So,
Kylie found herself taking a cue from both of them, turning down the dial on
her internal thermostat for the time being. This was her first rodeo so to
speak, and she had no idea what to expect next, so she wanted to be prepared.

Now
that they were on dry land once again, Kylie was beginning to shiver from the
chill in the air. A couple of times, she thought they were going to lose
electricity, and the logical part of her brain told her they needed to get out
of the shower because that was the last place they should be in an electrical
storm, but she had barely been able to remember her own name, much less
something as trivial as safety during a storm.

“Here,
use my shirt to dry off. It’s mostly dry now. Then put Gage’s on,” Travis
instructed, handing her the shirt he had removed earlier, while Gage grabbed
something from the duffel bag he’d brought upstairs. Two more shirts appeared
and Gage handed a spare to Travis.

Kylie
didn’t argue. She wasn’t so sure she’d be able to speak if she tried.
Especially now that she was staring at a gloriously naked Gage and Travis
standing in the small bathroom, not two feet away. She let her eyes feast on
one, then the other, not caring whether they caught her ogling them.

It
was hard to ignore all of the powerful muscles and golden brown skin that made
up the most striking male bodies she’d ever had the pleasure of laying her eyes
on. Times like this, she wished she had a photographic memory – or even a
camera would do – so that she could have something to refer to later. Not that
either man would approve of her snapping a pic of them naked.

Glancing
over at Travis, Kylie bit her lower lip as she visually molested him. His whole
body was hard, including a part of him that she was eager to get her hands on again,
although he had thwarted that attempt once already. Until she could get some strength
back in her limbs, she wasn’t going to try either, although she was pretty sure
touching him would be enough to revive her.

The
ringing of what sounded like a cell phone drew their attention to the pile of stuff
on the floor. As Gage reached down, retrieving the phone from his jeans, he
looked back at her and then Travis as though seeking their permission to take
the call.

“It’s
fine. I could use a couple of minutes alone anyway,” Kylie told him and then
glanced over at Travis.

She
wasn’t lying. She could use a few minutes alone to get her brain cells
realigned.

Gage
nodded his head, flung his duffel bag over his shoulder as he hit a button on
the phone and put it to his ear. Without haste, he disappeared out of the
bathroom buck naked. An equally naked Travis wasn’t far behind him. Kylie
fought the urge to follow them around the corner just to watch their perfectly
shaped asses as they walked away. She bit her tongue instead and shut the
bathroom door.

After
she snuck one more peek.

Once
she was alone, the walls seemed to close in on her. “What have you done? What
have you done?”

The
woman staring back in the mirror did not look even remotely familiar. Her skin
was flush, her eyes entirely too bright, her lips were swollen and was that…
Yes. It most certainly was. Right there on her neck was a hickey. She stared at
the mark as she giggled. Was it odd that she liked the idea of Travis or Gage marking
her like that?

Kylie
proceeded to wipe the water from her arms and legs using the t-shirt Travis had
supplied her with. When she was drying her neck and shoulders, Travis’ distinct
smell wafted to her nose and she paused, pressing her face into the shirt. It
smelled like him. Never having stolen anything in her life, she suddenly wanted
to stash the shirt somewhere so she could take it with her later.

She
was pretty sure it was safe to say that Travis still had a firm grip on her
heart. Even just the small distance between them now – he downstairs, her up –
she wanted to find her way right back into his arms. She wanted to run down the
stairs and tackle him right in the middle of the living room.

With
so many years making the memories of the intimate moments she’d shared with
Travis hazy, Kylie was hoping to make up for lost time. The man had a body to
die for and a tongue that could make her see stars and Kylie wasn’t opposed to
overindulging for a little while. She felt like she’d spent a decade denying
herself chocolate to suddenly be dipped into a vat of it and told to restrain
herself. Right. Like that was ever going to happen.

And
if Travis was chocolate, then Gage was… donuts. Yes, sweet, flaky donuts. And
the only thing better than donuts and chocolate was… well, donuts
covered
in chocolate.

Kylie
sighed, glimpsing the woman in the mirror once again. She was smiling. From ear
to ear.

By
the time she was finally dry, Kylie realized her clothes weren’t in the
bathroom. She turned in a full circle as though they might just magically
appear, but they didn’t. She retrieved the shirt Gage had left behind for her
and pulled it on over her head. Another sexy masculine scent soothed her, this
one coming from Gage’s shirt.

The
sudden pounding on the door startled her. She shrieked and had to take a second
to kick start her heart once again. When the dizzy feeling subsided, she pulled
the door open and smiled up at Gage.

Only
he wasn’t smiling back.

“Is
everything ok?”

“Probably
not. I’ve got to go, and I’ve got to go right now. Either you’re coming with
me, or you can sit tight until I get back.”

As
much as she would love to be stranded in his magnificent house, having
unlimited time to explore the beautiful details, Kylie didn’t want to be there
without him. There was no furniture, probably no food in the refrigerator, so… Definitely
an easy decision.

“I’m
coming with. Give me one minute to get dressed.”

When
he turned to go, Kylie snuck over and grabbed her clothes from the middle of
the bedroom floor and then disappeared back inside. Panties and shorts came on,
but her bra was still in Gage’s truck – she hoped – so she had to settle for
feeling relatively naked. Considering his shirt hung almost to her knees, she
looked as underdressed as she felt.

Remembering
that her boots were downstairs by the front door where she had dropped them
when they came in, Kylie hurried down the stairs to the sound of male voices
along with the squeak of footsteps across the linoleum floor. She only made it
one step into the kitchen before Gage was grabbing her hand and hauling her
toward the front door with Travis not far behind.

“Wait!
My boots,” she called as Gage pulled her right out the front door.

“I
got ‘em,” Travis said as he pulled the door shut behind him.

“What’s
wrong? Where are we going?” If she didn’t know better, Kylie would think that
Gage was running away from something.

“My
house,” he informed her, never slowing.

Once
again the rain pelted them from all angles as soon as they stepped off of the
porch. She shrieked when Gage let go of her hand and Travis came up behind her,
lifting her in his arms, carrying her to the rear passenger door of the truck. The
roar of the wind made it impossible to hear, so she refrained from asking more
questions.

Travis
helped her in and even waited for her to get situated, although it prolonged
his time in the rain. Once she was inside, she pulled on her seatbelt and sat
patiently as Travis and Gage climbed in the front.

Without
preamble, Gage started the truck and backed out of the driveway, barely
glancing left or right to see if there was any traffic coming. There were so
many questions running through her head, but Kylie was scared to ask them
because she didn’t know what was wrong with Gage. On top of that, Travis wasn’t
speaking either which… well, that didn’t seem unusual for him. Since Gage
wasn’t talking and was probably lost in thought, Kylie feared that whatever the
problem was didn’t fare well for him.

After
what felt like an hour drive, – the silence making it seem unbearably long –
but was actually only ten minutes, they slowed as they turned onto a
residential street and that’s when Kylie noticed all of the commotion.

Two
fire trucks, an ambulance, several standard pickup trucks with flashing lights
in their windows were lined down both sides of the street blocking anyone from
trying to get close to…

Fire.

“Oh.
God.” Her words were but a whisper, but realization finally dawned on her.
Gage’s house.
Oh God.
Gage’s house was on fire.

“Stay
here,” Gage barked the words as he scrambled to get out of the truck.

“You
can’t go –” She was quickly cut off as Travis turned to face her from the seat
in front of her.

“Stay
here, Kylie. Don’t move. We’ll be back in a minute.” Although he wasn’t making
a request, Travis was unusually polite with his order.

Kylie
clamped her mouth shut and nodded as she watched Travis exit the vehicle,
returning her attention to the flames that were leaping above the tree tops.
The downpour didn’t seem to be helping, but she couldn’t see much from where
Gage had parked the truck.

Glancing
around, she tried to see if anyone else was around, but there weren’t any other
civilians hanging out in the rain. Why would they be? It was pouring, and the
lightning storm hadn’t let up either. She sat as still as possible, trying to
catch a glimpse of what was going on, biting her lip as she did.

Travis.

Gage.

Fire.

Her
heart began pounding like a bass drum right in the center of her chest, and for
a minute, she worried that she wasn’t going to be able to breathe. Did it burn
to the ground? Did anyone get hurt? Did he have any pets? The questions began
running together, and Kylie realized she had tears forming in her eyes.

He
could lose everything. Probably had already from the looks of it.

And
yet, she could do nothing but sit there in the damn truck like an obedient
little girl because they told her to. But what else was she going to do? It
wasn’t like she knew how to put out a fire and the last thing she would want to
do would be to get in the way.

Leaning
her head back against the headrest, she took a deep breath, held it, let it
out. After repeating that process several times, she began to feel better.
Given the circumstances anyway.

Now
if she could only figure out how she might be able to help Gage, she might just
be in business.

♂♀

Gage
stood on the curb and stared at the flames as they engulfed his house and
everything in it. Not that he had much, and he’d never been more thankful that
he didn’t have any pets because there wasn’t going to be anything left when the
fire department was through flooding his house with water. Not even the rain
was helping to slow down the roaring flames. No, Gage’s only hope was that the
fire would eventually burn itself out.

Damn,
this sucked.

He
wasn’t a materialistic man, but there were a few things inside that he would’ve
liked to salvage if at all possible. Like, oh, say, his
stuff
.
Thankfully, he’d thought ahead, and most of his valuables – which weren’t much,
and consisted of a few pieces of jewelry he’d inherited from his grandmother,
some random paperwork, pictures – were in a safe deposit box. He was grateful
that last year he’d had the foresight to put the most sentimental of items that
he had from his parents there as well. Since he was rarely home, Gage figured
that would be the safest place in the event some jackass decided to be stupid
and break in while he was out of town. Which was more often than not these
days.

Gage
glanced over to see Travis talking to Chase Jameson – better known as CJ. Gage
knew CJ well because he was a cousin to Kaleb and close to their age. They’d
grown up together, but since they graduated high school, they hadn’t talked
much. At least not until tonight when CJ had been nominated as the lucky
bastard who had to give him the grim news. They couldn’t salvage anything. The
fire was out of control when they got there. He’d gone on to say other things,
but Gage had tuned him out at that point. He didn’t need a play by play, he
could pretty well see for himself.

According
to two of his neighbors, lightning had struck the house, and the next thing
they knew, it was consumed by flames. By the time the fire department arrived,
it was pretty much a goner they’d said. At the moment, Gage was too numb to
care. Even the repeated “I’m sorry, man” that he got from random people, he
could only stare as his entire world burned down in front of him.

They’d
understand if he wasn’t much for talking. Trying to accept what he was seeing
without feeling as though it were happening to someone else required all of the
energy he had left.

“No,
man. He’s got a place to stay, but thanks.” Gage didn’t turn his head when he
heard Travis waving someone else off. There’d been numerous offers, which
wasn’t surprising in the small town. Even Charles and Myrna Talbott – his
landlords – had offered him a room at their house for the night. He’d politely
declined.

He
had a place to go, that wasn’t the problem. And even if he didn’t have the
farmhouse, he knew Kaleb would offer up his couch.

The
only saving grace was the fact that he wasn’t alone. Surprisingly, Travis wasn’t
putting too much distance between them. And of course, Kylie was in the truck.
Until Gage felt it was safe enough for her to be closer to the scene, he was
hoping she’d stay there too.

A
strong hand came down on his shoulder and Gage turned his head slightly to see who
it was.

“You
doing all right? Considering?” Curtis Walker’s deep, gruff voice had him
turning away from the fire.

“I’m
in one piece. That’s all that matters,” he replied.

“You’re
right on that one, son.” Curtis stepped around to face him. “I’m not going to
stand here and coddle you because I know all too well how space is all you’re
looking for right now, but if you need anything, I expect you to come to me or
Lorrie. Understand?”

Gage
had always been close to Kaleb’s parents, having grown up around them. After
losing his own parents, they’d welcomed him into their home and treated him
just like one of their sons whenever he was there. Staring at one of the most
influential men from his childhood, he simply nodded. Not that he would ask for
anything from them, but Gage knew better than to argue with Curtis.

Curtis
squeezed his shoulder. “If you don’t want to come to us, just let Kaleb or
Travis know what you need, and I’ll ensure you get it.”

Gage
hid his surprise. Kaleb he understood, but why would Curtis assume Gage would go
to Travis for anything?

“Hey,”
Travis interrupted as he stepped closer and Gage looked over to see CJ walking
away.

Ok,
maybe this was just a little awkward.

“Boy,”
Curtis greeted. “You take care of him. Let me know if he needs anything at
all.” With that, Curtis walked off as though he hadn’t just given the most
profound order of his entire life.

As
Travis stood before him, the connection Gage had felt between them earlier in
the evening came back full throttle. To this point, Travis hadn’t shut himself
down emotionally the way Gage would’ve expected. Travis had perfected the art
of pushing people away, but tonight he wasn’t. At least not yet anyway.

For
the last couple of months, Gage had thought of little else besides Kylie and
Travis and the miserable life he was living, wishing like hell he had a chance
with one of them. Thinking he stood a chance with both was just plain absurd,
but that didn’t stop him from thinking it might just be possible. He wanted
them both, thought about them both. For different reasons and some of the same.
And tonight, he was more than grateful to have them. Gage was used to being
alone, but tonight, he wasn’t sure he would have been able to handle it.

He
could sense that Travis was worried, and Gage wanted to reassure him that he’d
be fine, but he didn’t. Rather than making Travis feel as though he were
blowing him off, Gage was willing to accept whatever Travis had to offer.

As
Gage watched the firemen get the fire under control, he let himself think about
another blaze. One that happened just a short while ago. Ironically, that one
had been in the shower and the water hadn’t done anything to keep the flames at
bay there either. A sudden longing to be wrapped in the arms of a caramel
haired angel with big blue eyes and a body to die for nearly leveled him flat.

“Hey.”

Gage
turned to see Kaleb standing beside him, and he wondered how long he had been
there. Travis was nowhere in sight, which Gage pretended didn’t bother him just
a little.

Gage
muttered, “Hey.”

“You
all right?” Kaleb asked, sounding both worried and curious.

“Just
fucking perfect. You?” His growl didn’t faze Kaleb in the least, but he hadn’t
expected it to either.

“You
want to come stay with Zoey and me tonight? We’ve got plenty of room. I’ll come
back with you tomorrow so we can see if anything can be salvaged.”

“Nah.
I’m good. I’ve got my grandmother’s place.”

“You
sure?”

Gage
turned to face Kaleb, looking his best friend in the eye. He wasn’t sure if he
was just imagining it or not, but he felt as though Kaleb wanted to ask
questions. One’s that didn’t have anything to do with fire or ashes or
salvageable items. Was it obvious that something had happened between him and
Kylie and Travis? If so, did everyone notice or just Kaleb?

Part
of him hoped that Kaleb knew what was happening between Gage and Travis, only
because it would make it so much easier to do what he needed to do. Since
they’d always known their threesomes wouldn’t last forever, and truly, they
were in it for Zoey’s pleasure, which she could find in the arms of her
husband, it seemed only natural for them to expect the interactions to come to
an end. Gage just hadn’t expected to be the one to put an end to them. And
especially not because he’d found someone – in his case, two people – to focus
all of his energy on.

Even
if he couldn’t define what was happening between him and Kylie and Travis as a
relationship, Gage knew he owed it to himself to at least find out where it was
headed before he reinserted himself in someone else’s love life.

“I’m
sure.” Not that he was sure about much of anything at this point, but he was certain
that he wouldn’t need a place to sleep tonight.

Kaleb
nodded, then glanced over Gage’s shoulder as though someone was standing behind
him.

“Thanks
for the offer, man. I’ll let you know if I need anything.”

“You
do that.” Kaleb clapped Gage on the shoulder. “I’m really sorry.”

Gage
didn’t know what to say, so he just tipped his head in acknowledgement. The
rain and the fact Gage was once again soaked to the bone wasn’t nearly as
disrupting as knowing Travis was standing behind him, so Gage politely
dismissed Kaleb, hoping he’d go back home to his warm bed and his even warmer wife.

When
Kaleb was out of earshot, Travis came up next to him. “Need anything?” That was
Travis, abrupt and to the point. The answer to that question could’ve been a
million different things, but Gage didn’t say a word. “Look man,” Travis began
and Gage thought he heard the beginnings of another woeful “I’m sorry”, except
Travis wasn’t known for such awkward expressions of emotion, so he opted to halt
him midsentence.

“Don’t.
Just… don’t.” Gage didn’t want to hear anyone else ask him if he needed
anything or if he had a place to stay or… Shit, Gage didn’t want any more
questions tonight period.

The
two of them stood in silence for a few minutes, watching as the last embers
burned, the shell of his house the only thing remaining, but even those were
bowed and threatening to crumble to the earth. Charcoal black and water logged
was how it was all going to go down tonight.

“Let’s
get a beer,” Travis stated firmly, glancing over at Gage.

He
couldn’t help it, he cocked his eyebrow, surprise written on his face. “A
beer?”

“Yeah.
This sucks, but it is what it is. Let’s head over to Moonshiners.”

“I’d
rather go back to my grandmother’s house and get some sleep.”

“We
can do that, too,” Travis added, but before Gage could retort, he was quickly
cut off by more words. “You can try and push me away all night, Matthews. It
ain’t happenin’. I’m not leaving you tonight, and before you go getting all
righteous and shit, I’m not looking for anything.”

No?
Well, Gage was. He was looking for a fight because his life was suddenly a pile
of rubble. Literally.

“I
need to get back to Kylie,” Gage stated firmly.

“She’s
waiting for us in the truck,” Travis explained as though he’d already talked to
her. Which he probably had.

Damn
it.

“Keep
pushing, Gage.” Travis’ words were low but nonthreatening as he took one step
closer. “I can take anything you come up with. And in case you forgot, I was
right there in that shower with you both, I know exactly what happened between
us. The same thing that’s going to happen again.”

The
fight immediately drained out of him and Gage dropped his head, staring down at
the ground. He didn’t have anything left, not an ounce of anger to dish out. In
fact, he figured he was about ten seconds away from collapsing.

“Come
on,” Travis urged and nudged Gage with his shoulder.

Gage
gave in and allowed Travis to lead him back to his truck. They were stopped a couple
of times by more sorrowful neighbors as well as some volunteer firefighters and
Gage forced himself to keep it together.

As
soon as he laid eyes on Kylie still sitting in the back seat of his truck, he
felt a relief he hadn’t expected.

“I’m
driving,” Travis said as he took the lead, heading around to the driver’s side,
leaving Gage with only one other place to go. Figuring it wouldn’t do him much good
to argue, he headed to the passenger side, giving in to riding shotgun in his
own damn truck.

“Hey,”
Kylie greeted, her voice soft and concerned as she leaned up against the front
seats when Gage climbed in. Her arms wrapped around him, pulling him backward.
She was hugging him and damn it if he didn’t want to just lose himself in her
arms for a little while.

Bless
her, she didn’t ask him if he was ok and she didn’t let him go either. It took
everything in him not to break down.