Chapter 16
“Iwould have been fine, you know,” she grumbled as Travis drove them to his place.
Damn it, there he went changing gears again.
She licked her lips. Gorgeous.
“You okay there?” he asked.
Oh bollocks!
Had he noticed her staring? How was she going to explain that?
“Sorry, zoned out a bit.”
“Yeah? Maybe you do need a doctor.”
“I really don’t. I was just . . . daydreaming.”
“While staring at my hands?” he asked. “What were you daydreaming about?”
“Well, I was wondering how I found myself in this position. You can be as stubborn as a bull when you want something, can’t you?”
“I’m used to getting what I want.”
No kidding.
“And you can’t stay by yourself while you’re dizzy.”
Damn it. She’d stood up too quickly at her apartment and nearly collapsed. That had been all the ammunition Travis had needed to sweep her up and bring her back to his apartment.
“So, no, you wouldn’t have been all right,” he added.
She leaned back in the seat tiredly. “I’m only staying one night.”
“We’ll see.”
“Travis,” she warned. “One night. That’s it.”
Stubborn man likely thought he could talk her into more but that wasn’t happening. He turned into the entrance for an underground parking lot. After putting in a code, the door rose. Then they drove in and he parked by the elevator.
“This is the building you own?” she asked in shock. There had to be at least thirty car parks in here.
“Yep. Wait there.”
He climbed out and grabbed her suitcase. She’d had to put in some clean clothes. No way was she wearing the same things again. She just couldn’t do it. In fact, she kind of felt twitchy about leaving dirty clothes in the hamper without washing them.
You can wash them as soon as you get home tomorrow.
It’s not a big deal.
You’re not dirty.
He opened her door, holding out his hand for her to take.
“Thanks,” she said. “But I’m all right to get in and out of your truck. I don’t feel dizzy or anything.”
Just completely exhausted.
Which is probably how he managed to convince her to come home with him.
She was too tired to argue.
And admit it, you wanted to go home with him. You like spending time with him and you wanted to see where he lives.
“Better safe than sorry. And a man should always help a woman in and out of his vehicle. That’s just good manners.”
Wow.
“I haven’t met many men like you.”
“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” he asked with a grin as he kept hold of her hand, leading her to the elevator. He had to use a code to get into the elevator and then to get it moving once they were inside.
“Hmm, jury is still out on that,” she teased him.
He let out a low laugh which sent a wave of arousal through her.
Stop it, body.
You cannot be attracted to this man. He’s a friend.
They rode the elevator up to the top level and when they stepped out there was a small foyer with just three doors leading off it. “Where are the rest of the doors?”
“Rest of the doors?” he asked as he unlocked the door in front of them. It looked like a really solid door. An alarm started beeping and it actually took a scan of his face before it shut down.
Wow.
He hadn’t been exaggerating about how good the security was for this building.
“You know, for the other apartments on this floor. Or are there only three?”
“There’s only three. But no one else lives in the other two.”
Bloody hell. Was he saying he was the only person living on this level?
She stepped into the large apartment, her mouth open as she looked around.
“You have the whole top floor to yourself?”
“Yeah. I didn’t need all of the room up here but I also didn’t want anyone living next to me permanently. So I had a couple of small apartments built on this floor. I’ve had some clients stay in them when they needed the extra security.”
“Wow. Am I staying in one of those units?” she asked as she looked around. They were standing in a generous entrance with high ceilings. She let him take her coat and hang it up in a coat cupboard.
“No,” he said. Taking hold of her hand again, he led her further into the apartment.
They ended up in an enormous living room with floor-to-ceiling windows. The view out to the Manhattan skyline was utterly spectacular.
“Wow. I can’t believe you live here. Do you wake up every morning and just want to pinch yourself?”
“Something like that.”
She wandered around, taking it all in. The huge U-shaped lounge suite and large, mounted TV. The marble floors. The state-of-the-art kitchen.
It was all amazing, like something out of a magazine. She was both used to luxury and she was used to living it rough. Yet, neither felt all that comfortable to her.
This place was far grander than she’d thought he would live in. But at the same time, there was a lived-in feel to it. A sweater was thrown over one of the dining chairs. The lounge suite looked comfortable and slightly worn and there was an empty coffee cup left on the wooden coffee table.
It wasn’t messy but it wasn’t unbearably perfect either. It was kind of inviting, actually.
Still, she’d make sure that she didn’t leave any of her stuff lying around. She’d be a very quiet, respectful houseguest. The last thing she wanted was to create any work for Travis.
“Feel free to help yourself to anything,” he said, coming up behind her.
She jumped slightly, making her head throb.
“Your head hurts.” He glanced at his watch. “Unfortunately, you can’t have any painkillers for a while.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“You don’t have to pretend with me, Caren. I can take the bad with the good.”
Holy moly.
She didn’t think he realized what those words meant to her. She cleared her throat. “Thanks. But I think I can last a few hours more.”
“Hmm. You should stay quiet. Rest. Let me show you where your bedroom is and you can lie down.”
“Um, thanks. That would be great.”
She didn’t really think the appropriate response would be to tell him that the very last thing she wanted or needed was to be alone.
She followed him down a corridor. There were pieces of art on the walls. They were rather generic, bland pieces that she couldn’t really see him picking.
“Did you buy all this art yourself?”
“Nah. I wouldn’t know where to start. This whole place was put together by a designer. Right down to what sheets I own.”
Ahh. That made much more sense.
He opened a door. “This will be your bedroom. Mine is next door so if you need anything in the middle of the night, I’ll hear you.”
She couldn’t imagine what she might need in the middle of the night that she couldn’t get herself.
Was he expecting a booty call?
The idea of it actually made her blush. If only she had the guts to try that.
She stepped past him into the room. It was pleasantly decorated. The bedside tables and bed frame were a matching pale wood. And the bed was covered in a spearmint green duvet. There were cushions on the bed and a throw across the end of it.
Suddenly, a door off to the right opened, making her jump, and a muscular, completely naked man stepped into the room.
He held a towel to his hair and was scrubbing it dry. He paused as he saw her standing there. Then a huge smile crossed his face.
“Hey Caren! I didn’t expect to see you here. How are you doing?”
Her mouth opened and shut as she stared at him. She’d seen plenty of naked men. Both in her bed and at the club. However, this was very unexpected. And his complete disregard for his lack of clothing kind of shocked her.
Also. Just. Wow.
“What the fuck! Tyler!” Travis snapped as he placed a large hand over her eyes.
What was he doing? He was getting in the way of her view.
“What?” Tyler asked. “What’s the problem?”
“You’re fucking naked is the problem. Will you put your dick away? Caren is supposed to be staying quiet, and not getting any shocks. Pretty sure it’s a shock to see a naked man walk into her bedroom with his cock flinging around.”
“Aww, bro, thanks for the compliment,” Tyler replied.
“What compliment you idiot?” Travis snarled.
“You just said that my dick is big enough to be flung around. Didn’t know that you’d paid that much attention.”
“Keep your eyes closed, Caren,” Travis told her. “I’m going to pick you up.”
Oh but she wasn’t sure she wanted to do that.
“Hey! Caren might want another look!” Tyler protested.
“She does not,” Travis said.
Uh oh, he sounded so stressed that she thought she better not tell him that she wouldn’t mind another peek.
She felt herself being lifted and carried out of the room.
“You can open your eyes now,” Travis told her as he carried her into the living room. “I can’t believe that guy! What the fuck does he think he’s doing?”
“Um, you can set me down,” she told him as he started to pace back and forth with her in his arms. He didn’t seem to hear her, though, as he continued to walk while holding her. “And I think he was probably having a shower.”
“In my apartment! He has his own apartment. In this damn building! So why is he here showering in my spare bedroom? Now I’m going to have to fumigate before you can use the bathroom.”
“I haven’t got fleas, brother,” Tyler said as he walked out dressed in just a pair of jeans.
“You also seem to be allergic to wearing clothes,” Travis snapped at him.
“What? You said to put my dick away and I did!” Tyler walked over with a smile on his face and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.
An actual growl came from Travis. What was his problem? He was acting crazy right now.
Tyler didn’t seem bothered by his brother’s behavior, though. He straightened and winked at her.
“What’s up, Caren? Well, other than you. You going to let her down, brother? Or just carry her everywhere?”
“What? Oh, right. Sorry,” Travis muttered, carrying her over to the sofa and setting her down in the corner part so her legs lay out in front of her. “I’ll find you a blanket. Stay there. Don’t move.”
She let out a sigh. He was crazy. But he was also sweet.
Tyler moved to the kitchen. “Want a beer, Caren?”
“God, yes. Thank you.”
Tyler grinned at her as he returned with two beers.