"Is he outside?" Travis asked as he ripped the front door open. "Where's his car?"
"What are you talking about?"
Travis stomped back into the cabin and slammed the door shut. I felt my stomach drop out when he flipped the lock on it. It was both menacing and another big turn on. I'd seen Travis get hot tempered before, but I'd never been the target of it. I knew in my gut that he would never hurt me though.
But that didn't stop me from stepping backwards when he approached me. My back hit the wall, leaving me nowhere to go as Travis came to a stop within inches of me. He looked haggard, like he hadn't slept in a while. I actually found myself reaching up to touch his face as I whispered, "Travis?"
He grabbed my hand before it could make contact with his cheek. But he didn't release it or push it away. All he did was hang onto my fingers and despite his anger, his touch was surprisingly gentle. My skin burned where he was touching me, but it was the best kind of burn.
"That fucker from the hardware store. Tell me he's not here, Jackson," Travis demanded, his voice soft but full of something that didn't quite sound like anger.
His actual words registered a second later. How the hell did he know about Hal? "What?" I choked out.
Travis’s head dipped a little so that our faces were just inches apart. My stomach began doing somersaults. I wasn't sure if it was because Travis had somehow figured out my secret or if it was the fact that he was so close that all I would have to do was turn my head a little and I could finally get a taste of him.
"Tell me he's not here," Travis whispered. "Tell me that it's just you here. Tell me you left that bar without letting anyone touch you."
I couldn't make sense of what he was saying. Part of it may have been the fact that his thumb was rubbing over mine, causing flares of sensation to pop beneath my skin.
"What is this?" I asked, because it was beyond cruel. "Travis, what is this—"
"I deleted your ad."
This time I was sure I'd heard him wrong. I began shaking my head, but before I could say anything, Travis added, "I know I'm supposed to be sorry about that. I was… I was sorry. For maybe five minutes. But now I'm glad I did it because you deserve better than some piece of shit who picks you up in a goddamn hardware store. What does he really know about you? It's taken me years to see all the little things that make you so fucking special, Jackson. Sure, maybe he saw a smile, but if he hasn’t seen you when you smile at your kid, then he hasn't seen anything. And maybe he was lucky enough to feel your touch, but he doesn’t know the way you are with a new calf or foal and their mamas. He hasn't seen how you give your attention to whoever you're with one hundred percent. He can’t know that you make them feel like they're the most important person in the world. He doesn't know what you sound like when you're nervous or tired, or happy. He has no fucking clue how you give every bit of yourself to your kid and your work and… me. So no, I'm not sorry I did it. If he'd wanted you badly enough, he never would've let you walk away without getting your number. If he'd known how perfect you are, he would've had his ass planted in front of this cabin every day, all day, since the moment you two met."
There were a million things going through my mind all at once, but I couldn't really process any of them. Travis was here and he was saying things to me that he shouldn't be saying unless…
I shook my head because that was one thing I wouldn't allow myself to believe. I pulled my hand free of his and put it on his chest because I was pissed. Pissed and just so fucking hurt.
"You are such a selfish asshole!" I snapped as I let my fingers bite into him. "I'm not one of your toys! You don't get to play with my feelings for you—"
That was all I got out before his mouth crashed down on mine. To say I hadn't been expecting the move was the understatement of the decade. Travis's fingers came up to clasp my face as he swallowed my gasp of surprise and then slipped his tongue into my mouth. All I could do was let out this painful whimper that felt like it had been lodged in my gut my entire life. I barely even got to enjoy the kiss because I began to cry. It was like that brief contact of his mouth on mine had lanced some kind of wound deep in my soul and all the rejection and denial and fear and helplessness I'd felt for most of my life began to bleed out of me.