Travis (3 page)

Hoping
she made a good impression on these people, whoever they were, Kylie pasted on
a smile and fell into step beside Gage.

♂♀

Gage
Matthews wasn’t quite sure what prompted him to take Kylie’s hand in his as he
led her away from the safe haven of his truck and toward the house. But the
moment their palms touched he knew it was a mistake.

With
her soft, delicate fingers linked with his, he felt that spark he’d grown
accustomed to over the last couple of months. The one that ignited in his loins
and radiated out through the rest of his body, kick starting more than just his
libido. Somewhere along the way, this woman managed to cause hope to bloom in
the dark, cold corners of his soul.

Holding
Kylie’s small, cool hand in his, feeling the way she squeezed his fingers as
though he just might be able to ground her in this unknown situation made him
hate himself that much more.

He
knew he needed to cherish this feeling for as long as he could, because a few
minutes from now it was going to be stripped away from him, and he had no one
to blame but himself. His actions were about to have disastrous results on what
little of a relationship they had built to this point.

Ha!
Relationship.

As
if he could even classify what was going on between him and Kylie Prescott as a
relationship, but for the life of him, he hadn’t come up with a way to describe
it any other way. Only his version was more on the fucked up side of things
because lies and vendettas didn’t provide the necessary platform for a
relationship, but that’s exactly how Gage had started out constructing this –
whatever this was – with Kylie.

Lies.
Deceit.

God,
he was such an asshole.

Shit.

His
stomach churned painfully.

If
he had had anything to eat in the last twenty four hours, he might be worried
he would lose it right here and now. Except Gage couldn’t eat. He couldn’t
sleep either. No, he spent most of his time trying to figure out just what the
hell he’d gone and done.

He
wasn’t even sure at what point this had seemed like a good idea, but he knew he
was past the point of backing out now. His first mistake was obviously getting
so caught up with this enigmatic, funny, cute woman over the course of several
weeks. And the more time he spent in her company, the more he’d let himself get
carried away in some sort of selfish fantasy. One that he suspected would be
shattered right along with the rest of his hopes up to this point.

It
was true, when he walked up to her door that one fateful morning, he’d had an agenda.
Somewhere along the way, he had managed to convince himself that getting close
to her was his punishment for what he intended to do. How he ever thought she
wasn’t going to be hurt by his dubious actions, he still didn’t know.

Initially,
he intended to treat his interaction with Kylie as a business transaction. He
would wine her, dine her, convince her he needed her help to restore the house
his grandmother left him when she passed away two years ago. And from there he
would use her to cause an explosion of epic proportions right in the middle of
Travis’ life.

Yep,
walking away unscathed was also high on his list of things to do, but at this
point, the latter seemed like a pipedream.

Fuck.
Since when had he become such a bastard?

Gage
had learned more about himself in the past couple of months than he wanted to
acknowledge. The first of which being that he harbored an intense desire to
keep Kylie close although his actions said otherwise. Or at least they were
about to. The second was that he wanted to punish Travis Walker in ways he had
never imagined. The man managed to get under his skin and quite frankly, Gage
didn’t fucking like it.

Or
maybe he liked it too much.

Somewhere
along the way, a vindictive series of lies and underhanded deception had led
him to the path he was on this morning. The biggest lie of them all was that
Gage wasn’t affected one fucking iota by the way Travis had plastered him
against the wall and kissed him with an intensity that damn near blew a fucking
hole through the top of his head. Twice.

It
shouldn’t matter to him that he knew so little about a man who single handedly
brought the brick and mortar walls of his life crashing down around him at the
same time he effectively made the earth shift beneath his feet. A man that Gage
had known for most of his life because Travis was Kaleb’s brother.

What
mattered was that Gage had a ridiculously powerful attraction to the man. One
he absolutely wasn’t happy about. And on top of that, after what clearly was
leading to a tryst to rival all, Gage hadn’t heard a single thing from Travis.
Not that he’d attempted to make contact either, but he also hadn’t been the one
to initiate what was – no, make that what
had been
– happening between
them.

Yet,
none of it explained what he was doing here or how he somehow dragged the
seemingly innocent woman at his side right into the eye of the storm. For weeks,
he tried to tell himself that he needed to remain detached and he’d be fine.
His original plan hadn’t even taken into account what this would do to this
unsuspecting woman.

Sweet,
innocent, charming… Kylie was all of those things and he was about to risk
everything they’d established between them thus far. Her honesty was something
he had come to cherish, but none of it mattered the closer his feet carried him
to Kaleb’s front door.

This
was the beginning of the end.

And
to think it all started with a kiss and a need to get a rise out of Travis for
putting him in a position that he feared Travis would never follow through
with. Paying Travis back for the shit storm of emotions he managed to rain down
on him when he least expected it had morphed into something totally unexpected.

Regardless
of what Travis had done, Gage’s reaction left a bitter taste in his mouth, and
he was beginning to realize he didn’t much care for this side of himself. Unfortunately,
he hadn’t given much thought to the repercussions his actions would have on
innocent bystanders. Namely Kylie.

Too
late to think about it now, Matthews.

Admittedly,
when he showed up on Kylie’s doorstep, his rationale made absolutely no sense,
but he couldn’t get past his need to punish Travis for making him feel things
he didn’t want to feel. Not to mention for being arrogant enough to blow his
cover sky fucking high just because he felt like it.

Not
only had he learned that Travis was interested in men – the kiss they shared
was a dead giveaway – but he also learned that Travis was married.
Married
for fuck’s sake.
It was the biggest secret Gage could’ve possibly imagined
stumbling upon, so the instant he learned that Travis was still legally married
after ten years, he did what he did best: he investigated.

And
what he uncovered paved the road to Kylie.

Since
the first time he heard her sweet Texas twang and saw the sexy glint in her baby
blues, Gage had wondered what the hell she ever saw in a man like Travis. She
was the exact opposite of the type of woman Travis got mixed up with these days
– at least from the ones Gage had seen him with at Club Destiny.

Gage
wanted to know what the hell had happened between the two of them. Was Travis
the way he was because of her? From what he had learned during the time he
spent with Kylie in recent months, he couldn’t imagine she had the ability to freeze
any man’s heart the way Travis’ obviously was. And if Travis had a woman like
Kylie waiting at home for him at some point in his life, what the hell was he
thinking letting her go.

At
first, Gage thought maybe Travis was leading a double life, spending time with
Kylie when he was supposedly out of town. Clearly, that wasn’t the case. Not
once had she mentioned his name. Hell, she didn’t even use Travis’ last name as
her own, so why the hell were they married?

A
question Gage wanted an answer to.

Or
at least he had wanted to find out when he first climbed onboard this emotional
roller coaster. Now, Gage wasn’t so sure he wanted to do anything except turn
around and hide away with Kylie for a few months, keeping her all to himself.

He
was Fucked Up
. With a capital FU.

At
thirty-two years old, it sucked like fucking hell to find out that what you
thought you wanted out of life might be a complete and total lie. It didn’t
help that Gage was adding more lies to the running list as each day passed. And
his self-hatred had morphed into something tangible. The only way he found to
relieve some of the pressure was to push Travis as far as he could. Away from
him.

He
hadn’t been able to think of much else after Travis blindsided him with a kiss
that rocked his fucking world off its axis. The tension between them was
palpable and, damn it all to hell, Gage wanted more. Since that was a major
problem for him, – mainly because Travis was virtually untouchable – he figured
the easiest way to ensure that he didn’t want what he couldn’t have, he had
opted for revenge.

Glancing
down at Kylie, Gage realized he hadn’t thought things all the way through. Although
he was about to deliver his very own brand of payback right at Travis’ feet, he
hadn’t taken into account that he might just get a little too caught up in the
woman he’d sought out to find and use as punishment. His anger at Travis, mixed
with the desire he felt for the man and now this woman, had twisted into
something ugly, yet he didn’t seem to be turning back.

Without
a doubt, Gage knew he had found something to hurt Travis with. He had a feeling
his plan was going to work even better than he expected. Walking into a room
full of Walker men, putting on display someone Travis apparently thought he’d
buried in his past was bound to get him the reaction he had been looking for.
Key words being
had been
.

Mother
fucking hell.

“What
was that?” Kylie’s sweet voice pulled Gage from his thoughts as they made their
way past the U-Haul truck backed up in the front yard.

“Nothing.”
He didn’t even realize he’d said anything out loud, but that said a lot about
his mental status. If he was going to back out now, it would be the perfect
time. The only person he’d have to explain anything to would be Kylie.

His
feet didn’t stop moving forward, and the next thing he knew, he was pulling
open the freshly painted screen door, waiting while Kylie preceded him into the
house. The second he laid eyes on Travis, a slew of emotions bubbled up inside
of him. Anger, lust, and even a sliver of fear lingered in there somewhere.

Placing
his hand on the small of her back as he followed her inside, Gage had one last moment
of regret and then shrugged it off as his eyes tracked Travis across the room. The
second their gazes collided, Gage knew he was in deep shit.

“Sonuvabitch,”
Travis growled.

“Travis?”
Kylie questioned, her hand wrenching out of Gage’s grasp as her back went stone
still.

“Fuck.”
That was Travis’ only response.

Very
articulate he was.

Gage
stared blankly at Travis, ensuring his face remained impassive. The recognition
in the man’s eyes was exactly the response Gage had been going for when he made
the decision that morning to come back home to Coyote Ridge.

One
thing he prided himself on was his ability to do his job. Not only could he protect
those he cared about, he also had an uncanny ability to uncover dirt that other
people tried desperately to hide. Travis’ dirt had been hidden better than
most. In fact, it had taken Gage almost three months, but he’d finally
accomplished what he set out to do.

Gage
had finally found what Travis apparently didn’t want anyone else to know about.

There
was only one question left to be answered...

If
Travis had been looking to bury his past, why hadn’t the man ever gotten a
divorce?

♂♀♂

There
was only one person to blame for these recent urges to do serious bodily harm.
Unfortunately, the only person Travis wanted to get his hands on was Gage
Matthews and the son of a bitch had disappeared altogether. The murderous rage
continued to escalate as each hour ticked by, and it was a damn good thing Gage
had the brains to flee. If he hadn’t, Travis would’ve hunted him down, and at
this point, he couldn’t ensure that Gage would walk away unscathed.

Not
after what he’d done.

Apparently,
Travis’ brother Kaleb knew what Travis was capable of because no matter how
hard he had tried – just short of begging, which Travis would never resort to –
his brother wouldn’t give him any information. Not even Gage’s phone number.
Then again, since the beginning he hadn’t been able to get Gage’s number from
Kaleb. Since Kaleb had been too curious for his own good, Travis had given up
on asking after the first time. So now, just short of hiring a private
investigator to find Gage, Travis was at a loss on where the man could be.

Each
morning, Travis woke up wondering if he would have the pleasure of wrapping his
hands around Gage’s neck. And as each night cloaked their small town, he
realized the opportunity had slipped by again. He had some serious connections,
but despite his repeated attempts, he could not find Gage.

And
Travis had doubled his efforts ever since he realized Gage had managed to skip
town shortly after the fiasco that ensued at Kaleb’s house. The very day Gage
had the fucking balls to dangle the one woman Travis never expected to see ever
again right in front of his face.

Brass.
No, make that steel. The man had balls of fucking steel, and he had proven it
by waltzing Kylie Prescott – although she was technically still Kylie Walker –
in through the front door without even a hint of warning.

Ever
since that day, Travis hadn’t been able to sleep or eat. Hell, he could barely
stand to be around himself which he knew wasn’t faring well for his brothers.

He
was beginning to worry about the tension that was pulling at him these days.
Part of him wanted to attribute his desire to self-destruct to what Gage had
done, but he knew it was more than that. The insurmountable stress he put
himself under was beginning to take its toll and Gage’s little scene was just
the icing on the cake.

The
bastard.

Ten
years.

Ten
long, fucking years, damn it.

All
for nothing. The suffering and pain he’d put himself through trying to get over
her was all for nothing because the second he laid eyes on Kylie, every damn
thing he’d ever felt for her came flooding back like a tsunami threatening to
take him under and drag him against jagged rocks that were a serious threat to
his wellbeing.

Memories.

Pain.

It
was all so intense, making him wish for things he knew he couldn’t have because
Travis was too fucked up to have something as sweet and pure as Kylie in his
life. It didn’t stop those devastating memories from overwhelming him,
threatening to level him flat when he least expected it.

Son
of a fucking bitch!

Just
seeing her once brought back a torrent of feelings that Travis hadn’t wanted to
lay claim to for a solid decade. If he had given himself any credit for being
over her, well, he undoubtedly learned his lesson that day.

Every
time he closed his eyes he saw big, cornflower blue eyes, pouty pink lips, the
satiny luster of creamy alabaster skin, long, glossy, honey-gold hair. She
looked the same, only prettier if that was even possible. The most sensually
beautiful woman Travis had ever laid his eyes on. And so fucking touchable, he
found himself wishing for a few more minutes with her.

But
that wasn’t going to happen.

No
matter what he did or didn’t do, Travis couldn’t have Kylie. She deserved
someone normal, not someone like him. She needed someone whose sole purpose in
life was to put her up on a pedestal and worship her with love and attention.
Not someone whose love was distorted and whose attention was divided at best.

The
fact that Gage had thrown her to the wolves, so to speak, spoke volumes about
how well Gage actually knew her. Kylie was so damn innocent, it made Travis’
heart break just thinking about the pained look on her face that day. When his
eyes raked over her, categorizing every luscious curve, every delectable inch
of her beautiful body, it was like a salve for some of those gaping wounds he’d
grown accustomed to over the years.

Now
that the old memories and feelings had been resurrected, there was no such hope
of putting her in his past where she belonged.

He
could still see the way her compelling blue eyes lit up like a gas flame the moment
she saw him. Forgiveness wasn’t an easy thing for a woman as reserved as Kylie,
and it was clear from her surprise that she hadn’t let him off the hook for
what he had done to her all those years ago.

The
moment her initial shock wore off, that unbridled anger she apparently never
released came spewing out of her. Only her ire hadn’t been directed at him as
he expected. With a deep, aching regret swirling in his soul, Travis had waited
for the tongue lashing he deserved, yet she had never given him.

That
never happened.

Having
always been the one to keep her emotions close to her chest, Kylie had sucked
in a deep breath, holding everything inside because heaven forbid she speak her
mind. Rather than lay into him, or even Gage, she had turned and simply walked
away.

 It
was a miracle that Travis and Gage were still in one piece after that one.
Between Kylie’s piercing death glare and Beau Bennett’s barely restrained anger
at seeing the woman so upset, they were both lucky to still be walking with
their nuts in the same shape as before she realized what was going on.

As
for Beau, well, Travis learned right-quick not to ask the man questions. He’d
grown quite fond of his own fucking head, thank you very much, and that
behemoth of a man looked ready to rip his right off of his body.

Surprise
wasn’t quite the word Travis could use to describe that day. If he hadn’t been
waylaid by the mere sight of the most beautiful woman to have ever graced his
life, he’d have beaten Gage to dust right then and there. Finding him since had
been impossible because Gage managed to run far and fast from Coyote Ridge.
Travis knew when it came down to it, he would have to go in search of him
rather than sit back and wait. Since he still didn’t know where he was, he’d
opted for a different approach.

If
only Travis would allow his emotions to control him, he would be on the road
heading straight to Kylie’s. He suspected that’s where Gage was and as much as
he longed to confront him, to ask him just what the fuck he was thinking, Travis
wasn’t willing to go back in time. He’d lived through it once, but he wasn’t
sure he’d ever be able to walk away from Kylie again.

So,
in true form, Travis had set out that morning for something much more expected
of him. He didn’t do emotion. He didn’t fall in love, and he damn sure didn’t hold
it all in. Rather than feeding his emotional needs, Travis was more interested
in fulfilling other urges that, no matter how hard or how often he tried,
couldn’t be sated. He would never stop trying because it sure beat the
alternative.

His
self-destructive tendencies were calling his name and the only way he could function
was to attempt to ease the physical ache. The emotional pain would never be
soothed, so he much preferred engaging in something that wouldn’t require him
to feel anything other than unique, exquisite, mind numbing pleasure.

Club
Destiny was calling his name.

For
the last three weeks, he’d been practically dancing with Tag and McKenna and
quite frankly, a rendezvous with them seemed more than appropriate. Considering
he’d been waiting a long time for this day to finally come, he somehow forced
himself to rebury all thoughts of Kylie, and toss those of Gage right alongside
them, in the colossal black hole in his chest.

The
day would come when that little situation would be rectified in one way or
another. Until then, Travis was on his way to Dallas.

▫▪▫▪▫▪

By
the time Travis reached Club Destiny, three hours north of his hometown of
Coyote Ridge, he had managed to work himself up over the events the day was
leading up to. A brief conversation with Tag during his drive had settled the
plans and to Travis’ surprise, the day was actually looking up.

He
was looking forward to a couple of hours of pleasure that would take his mind
off of things better left forgotten. That included Gage and the way the man had
kissed him back with a ferocity that threatened to burn them both to a crisp.
He might not expect that same intensity from what was to come with the twosome
he was about to engage with, but he knew it’d be explosive in its own right.

Sitting
at the bar inside of Club Destiny, waiting for Kane to pour his Southern
Comfort, Travis glanced around the large, airy bar, wondering where everyone
was. This time of the evening, the place was usually packed, but tonight seemed
fairly manageable.

As
he was looking around, his eyes landed on the fiery red hair of a woman that
had caught Travis’ eye ever since he first saw her. The big, burly man standing
next to her also caught his eye, but Travis had learned right away exactly how
uninterested Tag Murphy was. At least in him.

Originally,
Tag also hadn’t been interested in a tryst with a third person, but much to
Travis’ surprise, that had apparently changed. According to Tag, it was a one-time
only deal because his fiancé was clearly interested in being the object of two
men’s attention for one night. Not seeing a downside for any of them, Travis
had easily accepted the invitation.

After
the night when he witnessed the sexy reporter on her knees giving Tag a blow
job that damn near blew Travis’ mind, he’d been hoping this day would come.
Never having been the type to expect anything, Travis had seen a hint of interest
in Tag’s eyes that night. Tag might not have any desire for Travis to fuck his woman,
but he damn sure felt a spark from having an audience. Travis was at the point
where he didn’t give a damn which role he played. He just needed something to
take his mind off of more pressing things weighing him down.

At
the time of the little peep show, Travis had been more than interested in
getting in on that action, but he figured he was more likely to see pigs fly
than to get a personal invitation from the bald giant of a man who liked to rock
designer suits. The same guy heading up the stairs to the second floor suites
at the moment.

“I
figured you’d be going upstairs, too,” Kane said as he set a squat glass in front
of Travis.

“For?”
Travis was stunned by Kane’s forwardness. He couldn’t imagine that the guy knew
Tag had personally invited him there tonight.

“It’s
Tuesday night.”

It
took a second for Kane’s reference to sink in. Sure enough, it was Tuesday
night, and as of last week, Luke had reopened the private section of the club.
In previous weeks, only those with an apartment were allowed to linger and
interact, so the inclusion of all members was causing the playroom to see
increasingly more action these days.

Sliding
a twenty dollar tip in Kane’s direction, Travis grabbed his glass and headed up
the stairs, noticing that McKenna and Tag weren’t that far ahead of him. He
followed behind them, fully expecting them to go into Tag’s apartment, but when
they continued down the hall, his body came to life instantly.

Hanging
back a little, he waited until they made their way down the main hall and
disappeared into the playroom. Although he had been to one or two, Travis
didn’t usually attend the weekly orgies. Tag’s and McKenna’s appearance was
even more unlikely.

 It
would seem that the extremely reserved Tag Murphy was beginning to open up a
little. Travis couldn’t help but wonder whether that was mostly McKenna’s influence
or if the man had just managed to dislodge the stick from his ass. After Tag
had been fairly adamant that he wasn’t sharing McKenna with anyone, Travis was
a little surprised to see them going in because what they were moving toward
went way beyond sharing.

Curious
to how they would react once inside, Travis followed without hesitation,
remaining on the periphery of the room as he worked his way toward a section in
the back. Taking in the sight of sweaty, writhing bodies as he went, Travis
realized no one seemed to be wasting any time tonight.

Maybe
that was because they were eager to get to the good stuff, or because most of
the members had been relinquished of their contractual obligation. Or in
layman’s terms, they’d been thrown out on their asses. Which meant those that
remained were familiar with one another, at least on a first name basis, so
easing into the hardcore aspect of play might be slightly easier for some.

He
didn’t react to the group of people in one corner taking up every available spot
on one of the oversized couches. They were in a state of near nakedness at this
point and oblivious to anything around them. Nor did he let his eyes linger for
long on the sexy, raven haired woman currently strapped to the wall on a St.
Andrew’s cross, with an equally beautiful blonde woman on her knees with her
tongue buried deep in her pussy.