CHAPTER TWENTY
TRAVIS
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It was only a matter of time. I haven’t seen my father for almost two decades, but I remember the control freak he was. Watching his legal team tear Brook to pieces filled me with fury. Lie after fucking lie poured from their mouths.
Torn between wanting to defend her, violently, and crushing my father, it was the final comment that caught my attention.
Family.
Aside from me, after Mom died, he has no one.
His own parents had died the year before Mom, and he had no siblings. I think there might have been a distance cousin, but that’s grasping at straws even for his legal team.
I am not his family any longer after legally emancipating myself from him when I was a teenager.
Now that my name has changed, he won’t find me. Unless I want him to. Even then, I could deny he is who he claims.
But he’s clearly worried that his dark secret is being exposed. It is.
And I’m going to ensure the worst of it is told publicly.
Loudly.
Seeing his legal threat—because it was a threat—to Brook played out triggered something inside me. A deep and almost vicious need to protect her. This time it’s less about keeping other men away, and more about protecting what is mine.
She belongs to me.
These uninvited feelings are throwing a wrench in the works. But I can’t ignore them. Not wanting another man near her, lying on the damn snow laughing, sliding her onto my cock, and wishing the world would disappear so I could live in a hut in Switzerland with her.
It would be a nice hut, just for the record.
Ten bedrooms, four baths.
I digress.
As we sit opposite each other over dinner and the candle flickers between us, I curse silently and accept what’s happening.
I’m falling in love.
Goddamn it.
It could be over in a week. I’ve never loved a woman before, and it could be like an itch. You know, like the need to have an ice-cold Coca-Cola. Once you’ve quenched your thirst, you’re done.
Once Brooklyn returns my feelings, I’ll lose interest.
The past is a predictor of the future after all. So, if in the past thirty-something years I’ve never fallen in love, the chances of it happening are slim to none.
I’ve compiled a list of why I think it might be false love: her pussy, her sexy, smart brain, and the fact that I can’t— technically—have her.
All those delicious and forbidden ingredients stirred up in one stunningly beautiful package...I mean, I’m a red-blooded man. It was highly predictable in hindsight.
Yes.
This will pass.
I suppose I never put a risk assessment plan in place, but if I had, it would’ve listed my cock as being a weakness... and the mitigation for it would have been? Lots of masturbation.
Or sending someone else to do the job.
The thought has me lifting my whisky and taking a large gulp to stop the growl escaping my throat.
Nobody else is fucking my woman.
“You okay?” Brook asks, taking a mouthful of her thinly sliced smoked salmon.
“Yes. I am fine. But for someone who was just threatened by one of the most famous men on the planet and his powerful legal team, you are very calm.”
She lifts a shoulder and, with her mouth full, says, “Comes with the job.”
“But it’s not a job. It’s your business. I assume you don’t have millions of dollars tucked away for a lawsuit.” I snap.
Brook swallows this time and smiles. “No, but I have this billionaire friend...”
I take another smaller sip this time. “That’s your plan?”
She lowers her fork. “Relax, Travis. Of course, he was going to get his lawyers onto me. It’s called intimidation. I do have a legal budget, you know. I’m a journalist, so I have a clear understanding of the law and what I can and can’t say. We haven’t crossed any lines.”
My father doesn’t abide by the law. He doesn’t give a shit about lines and boundaries. He’s narcissistic and likely a psychopath—trust me, I’ve studied the personalities—and will do everything he can to silence Brook.
However, she is right about one thing: she has a billionaire on her side.
“Also, I’m not your friend.” I grunt out, irritated by the label.
“Well, that’s nice to know. You did offer.” She slides in another mouthful looking completely unperturbed.
I know why.
She doesn’t intend to take me up on the offer.
“I’m...your lover. Or whatever.” I wave out, drop my glass and start eating.
When she’s quiet, I glance up and find her staring out the window into the dark. It’s been snowing for a few hours. The candlelight flickers over her soft, feminine features, and all I want to do is get back up to the room so I can get her naked.
I don’t necessarily even want to fuck her.
I just want her to myself, for the world to disappear and have all her attention.
While I taste her pussy. I haven’t suddenly become a choirboy now I’m potentially in love.
Reminding myself she’s not a woman I can keep, I shovel another mouthful of the salmon and pear salad into my mouth and continue watching her.
When Brook faces me again, I point my fork at her. “You’re right. You do have my backing. So, if you aren’t going to run scared, then it’s time to up the ante.”
“I’m not running,” she predictably responds.
Bingo.
I know exactly how to manipulate people, and playing Brook like a fiddle is why she is here.
Not falling in damn love.
Leo Taylor’s time has come, and he’s not taking Brook down with him. I’ll make sure of that. It won’t make me a saint, but once all this chaos is over, I’ll ensure her reputation is intact and then walk away.
That is what loving someone is truly about.
After lying to her, it’s the least she deserves from me.
“So what’s the plan?” I ask, settling back in my seat.
“I’ll share his letter on the show and leak it to fellow podcasters the night before. His bully tactics will go viral—because of him, not me—and it won’t be seen as anything more than a sign of guilt. Mostly.”
I nod, encouraging her to continue.
“Those who love him will start talking. Those who don’t will make horrible memes. You know the drill.”
I do.
Good, because another story will come along in forty-eight hours, and if this one doesn’t keep escalating, it will be forgotten. His little media stunt could backfire on him.
“What if I come on your show as an anonymous source?”
Brook blinks.
“You’d do that?”
“Yes, anonymously.” I shrug, forcing back my own shock at what I just offered. “I’d call in. It’s important I’m not identified. That includes your team.”
She studies me for a long moment.
“Understandable,” she says, lifting her wineglass. “Let me think about it.”
Brook is starting to question everything. I may have gone too far, too quickly. One minute I won’t give her any details, the next I’m offering to do a tell-all. Unfortunately, time is not on our side.
Technically, nothing I’ve said is a lie. If you break it down. I do know Terrance. I don’t know where he is. We were never introduced. I’ve been careful, maybe to justify it to myself. Or maybe I don’t want to lie to her.
I’ve just left off information that she could connect the dots and work out who I truly am.
Thing is, I am not that broken little boy anymore.
“If it helps and protects you, then I’ll do it,” I add, and her expression softens.
I grab the server’s attention.
“Yes, sir,” he says when he reaches the table.
“We’ll take dessert in our room.”
“Of course, we’ll have it delivered in the next fifteen minutes.”
“Thank you.” My gaze returns to Brook, who has lifted her brows.
“Will we?”
I lean a little forward. “Yes. I think we should go practice the interview. Naked. While I eat my chocolate sauce from your breasts.”
When her cheeks turn deep pink, I stand and pull her to her feet, and with both hands around her neck, I lower my mouth to hers. “And explore that virginal hole.”
Her mouth parts, and I grin, taking her hand and leading her to the suite.