Chapter 18
RACHEL
Shit.
She was naked. Travis was there.
Sex. There had been sex. Really good sex. Then she took a nap.
She never took a nap.
Naps were for those who had time to take them. She was not that person.
Travis’s warm breath came in small puffs against her neck as his body cradled hers.
Apparently, he’d fallen asleep, too. He’d gotten dressed first, though.
A sliver of light still shone through the curtains, but barely.
“Trav.” She rolled so they were face-to-face, and shook his shoulder. “Travis.”
He pinched open an eyelid. Then, even half awake, he turned on the magnetism and gave her a grin that would’ve had her dropping her panties—if she’d been wearing any.
“We fell asleep,” she said, already peeling herself from his arms and searching the bedding for her clothes.
“You were really tired.” He smiled. “Seemed like you needed to catch some sleep.” The just-awake timbre of his voice was so inviting, she nearly found herself jumping him again.
Her stomach soured. The kids could be home any minute.
“You had a conference call.” She rubbed her hands over her face, pinching at her cheeks to wake herself up. “I have clients.”
“I rescheduled.” He moved his hand to hold hers. “Your clients can survive a couple of hours without you.” He squeezed her hand.
“You have no idea what my clients can survive.” She started to get out of bed, but Travis’s arm snaked around her waist.
His spoke against her bare neck. “Even you get to take a nap sometimes.”
“We don’t all get to pick and choose what work we do.” Okay, so that came out way harsher than she meant.
He clenched his jaw, tight.
“What I mean is we need a plan,” Rachel said because, first of all, they needed a plan. Second of all, they couldn’t continue without some kind of direction.
“Rach—”
“I have kids,” she continued.
“I know you have kids. We’ve talked about your kids. I love your kids.”
“I can’t confuse them.” Blurgh. She hoped her tone transmitted the sincerity of those words and how desperate she was to ensure that she didn’t mess up her boys. Finding Mom in bed with Uncle Travis was not something she wanted to try to explain.
“No one needs to know anything yet.” Travis rolled and sat, the sheet bunching at his waist. She’d grown really fond that afternoon of what lay under his clothes.
And him. And his dimples. And his humor. And his voice.
“Everyone’s going to find out.” She fidgeted with the bedspread. “I am horrible at keeping secrets.”
“Who is going to find out?” he asked. “Mama? Dad? Gavin?”
“Brady, Kellan,” she continued listing in the same tone he had.
“Then don’t make it a secret.” He moved his palms to her face, stroking her neck. “In your head, while we figure things out, don’t make it a secret. It’s just somethin’ we’re not ready to share. There’s a difference.”
“Your mom is going to be so mad,” she said against his lips because, dammit, his lips were right there.
“My mother has no say in this.”
“Your mom has a say in everything,” Rachel whispered. “She’s the Puffle Yum Momster.”
“No.” Travis shifted, not even bothering to realize that she was still totally naked. Apparently, he was cool with naked. Good to know.
“Mama thinks she has a say in everything. The only two people this involves are you and me.” He paused, looking lost in a moment of thought. “Eventually, it’ll involve your kids, because they’re a huge part of who you are.”
His fingers met her chin, holding her face up to his. He pressed a kiss to her lips, gentle, with a soft quality that wrapped around her and reassured that everything was going to be fine.
She let out a long breath.
“Are you with me on this?” he asked.
Not like she really had a choice. If they went around announcing what they were doing, she’d get tossed out, and the boys would be confused. “Next time I fall asleep like that, wake me up.”
“No.” He seemed firm on this, which meant she’d never get to fall asleep in the afternoon again.
“While you were asleep, Dad checked in with me. They’re staying in Confluence for dinner, and they’ll be back late.
He worried when they couldn’t reach you.
I told them you were taking a nap, and I’d let you know when you woke up.
” He moved closer to her like a predator and she was his prey. “This is me, letting you know.”
Since his lips were right there and her lips were right there, she kissed him. Hard, long, and with some tongue action.
He pulled away from her mouth, adjusting the bedding so it didn’t cover any of her.
She resisted the urge to cover her stretch marks with her hand.
“For the record, I haven’t worried what my mother thinks about any woman in my bed since I was sixteen,” Travis said, nibbling along her neck.
Rachel stilled. “Sixteen?”
“You’re thinking again, sunshine.” He kissed her, the same way that she’d kissed him. “Don’t dig too deep. That’s where we keep the skeletons.”
She looked up at him and saw the heat of his gaze, felt reassurance in his touch. “What if we mess everything up?”
“You’re giving us too much power.” He rolled her onto her back, settling between her thighs.
This felt…this felt natural. Like it was always supposed to be this way. Rachel and Travis.
It made no sense, and in that nonsensical way, it made all the sense in the world.
“I really like you,” she said as he pressed kisses along the column of her throat.
He didn’t stop kissing her, continuing along her collarbone to her shoulder until he said, “Good to know.”
Then it was hands and mouths and so much groping.
He was hard, she was ready, and he took everything she gave.
There wasn’t a lot of preamble this time, the foreplay made up only of his touches and her groans. He got undressed, donned a condom lickety-split, spread her thighs, and drove home.
She gasped, wrapping her legs around his waist and letting him ride her. She panted, he moaned, the world blurred.
This was new.
This time he didn’t make eye contact. He shoved his face into her neck and made feral sounds rivaling her own.
This was…this was something different than before. The feelings coiling inside her were just as arousing, but this time they weren’t foggy. It seemed like she’d put her glasses on and the world had refocused.
He gripped her hips, pressing into her with the hard length of him and, suddenly, she realized what this was.
This was his claiming of her body. Making it his. Owning her.
She’d never given her body over like this before.
“Trav,” she said on a gasp.
He didn’t stop. His name on her lips seemed to spur him further, push him more. With each thrust, she unraveled a little until she became genuinely worried there wouldn’t be anything left when it ended.
Except, as he thrust harder, he lifted his gaze so it held hers, and in that moment he was someone she’d never known. This man she was with was making a point that she was pretty sure neither of them understood.
Everything inside her tightened to the point that it was ready to unleash. She pressed her lips together to cover the sounds she was pretty sure were coming from her.
The release took over. She bit into his shoulder to stop herself from crying out. As soon as her muscles clenched around the solid length pressed inside her, he followed. The thrusting slowed. His breaths came jagged, but more evenly spaced.
“To be totally clear. If you want a plan? You are now,” he said with a final thrust. “My plan.”
She rode the aftershocks of their lovemaking. He didn’t withdraw.
Still joined, he kissed her.
“I mean it,” he continued. “You’re my plan. Your smile is my goal. Whatever I need to do to make it happen, I’m going to do it.”
Well…huh. On that note, she couldn’t smile, because she pressed her lips against his instead.