“I thought you didn’t … if I wasn’t with you, I wasn’t going to need them.”
“You’re kidding me!” I said, letting my head fall against the headboard.
His forehead fell against my chest. “Consider yourself the opposite of a foregone conclusion.”
I smiled and kissed him. “You’ve never been with anyone without one?”
He shook his head. “Never.” I looked around for a moment, lost in thought. He laughed once at my expression. “What are you doing?
“Ssh, I’m counting.” Travis watched me for a moment and then leaned down to kiss my neck. “I can’t concentrate while you’re doing tha …” I sighed, “the twenty-fifth and two days … ,” I breathed.
Travis chuckled. “What the hell are you talkin’ about?”
“We’re good,” I said, sliding down so I was directly beneath him.
He pressed his chest against mine, and kissed me tenderly. “Are you sure?”
I let my hands glide from his shoulders to his backside and pulled him against me. He closed his eyes, and let out a long, deep groan.
“Oh my God, Abby,” he breathed. He rocked into me again, another hum emanating from his throat. “Holy shit, you feel amazing.”
“Is it different?”
He looked into my eyes. “It’s different with you, anyway, but,” he took in a deep breath and tensed again, closing his eyes for a moment, “I’m never going to be the same after this.”
His lips searched every inch of my neck, and when he found his way to my mouth, I sunk my fingertips into the muscles of his shoulders, losing myself in the intensity of the kiss.
Travis brought my hands above my head and intertwined his fingers with mine, squeezing my hands with each thrust. His movements became a bit rougher, and I dug my nails into his hands, my insides tensing with incredible force.
I cried out, biting my lip and clenching my eyes shut.
“Abby,” he whispered, sounding conflicted, “I need a … I need to … ,”
“Don’t stop,” I begged.
He rocked into me again, groaning so loudly that I covered his mouth. After a few labored breaths, he looked into my eyes and then kissed me over and over. His hands cupped each side of my face and then he kissed me again, slower, more tender. He touched his lips to mine, and then my cheeks, my forehead, my nose, and then finally returned to my lips.
I smiled and sighed, exhaustion setting in. Travis pulled me next to him, situating the covers over us. I rested my cheek against his chest, and he kissed my forehead once more, locking his fingers together behind me.
“Don’t leave this time, okay? I wanna wake up just like this in the morning.”
I kissed his chest, feeling guilty that he had to ask. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Chapte
r Eleven
JEALOUSY
I awoke on my stomach, naked and tangled in Travis Maddox’s sheets. I kept my eyes closed, feeling his fingers caressing my arm and back.
He exhaled with a deep, contented sigh, speaking in a hushed voice. “I love you, Abby. I’m going to make you happy, I swear it.”
The bed concaved as he shifted, and then his lips were on my back in slow, small kisses. I remained still, and just as he had made his way up to the skin just below my ear, he left me to walk across the room. His footsteps leisurely plodded down the hall, and the pipes whined with the water pressure of the shower.
I opened my eyes and sat up, stretching. Every muscle in my body ached, muscles that I never knew I had. I held the sheet to my chest, looking out the window, watching the yellow and red leaves spiral from their branches to the ground.
His cell phone vibrated somewhere on the floor, and after clumsily searching the crumpled clothes on the floor, I found it in his jeans pocket. The display was lit with only a number, no name.