“Okay,” I said as I nodded my head. “I’ll stay.”
Twenty- One
Ava
I woke up the next morning with my limbs tightly wrapped around Travis. I breathed in his scent, allowing it to wrap around my body. I loved waking up to the feel of him. His musky morning scent sent my body buzzing, ready for more as my nipples puckered against his skin. He shifted, his lips allowing a small groan to slip from between them. I grinned as I snuggled against his skin, thinking about our activities from the night before.
I fell in and out of sleep numerous times before I woke up to his eyes staring back at mine. I smiled at him, stretching my legs as his thighs flexed around one of them. I giggled and place
d a kiss on the tip of his nose, watching him lazily smile at me as my vision focused. He was the carved statue of a god, with his chiseled muscles and his perfect little grin.
“Morning,” he said.
“Morning to you, too,” I said.
“How’d you sleep?”
“Great,” I said. “I hope you slept well?”
“I seem to do that a lot when you’re around.”
“Glad I could be of service,” I said.
“I know you have to head back today…”
“I do,” I said. “There’s just… still a lot that has to happen. Things with my father are nowhere near settled and I’m worried about the amount of time I’m spending away from home. I don’t want his anger needlessly backlashing on my brothers. That isn’t fair to them.”
“But it shouldn’t be backlashing onto you, either,” he said. “You aren’t the focus of his anger. His own self-righteousness is.”
“But he doesn’t know that yet. And until then, I have to be. I want to be an adult. To make my own decisions and be seen as an equal. That means I can’t run from stuff like this. I know what’s happening, I know how my father will react, and I have to protect my brothers from it. They have supported me and my needs for years. What would it look like if I wasn’t there to provide this for them?”
“I’m worried about you. That’s all,” he said.
“I’ll be okay. The next time I can get out to see you, I’ll come over. I promise.”
“Will you at least let me make you breakfast?”
“Oh, I wasn’t going anywhere before food. I need sustenance after last night.”
The grin that peeled across his face was positively devious.
“One big breakfast coming up,” he said.
We rolled ourselves from bed and I made my way to the bathroom to clean up. I took a shower, allowing the hot water to flood the room and permeate my skin. I washed our crusted adventures from my thighs, feeling a twinge of disappointment. I enjoyed being marked by him. I enjoyed evidence of his body on mine. I washed my hair with a bit of his shampoo and conditioned it well, then I dried myself off as the smells of breakfast wafted around my head.
My stomach growled at the scents. Bacon and ham, eggs with cheese and buttered toast. I smelled jams and peanut butter, coffee was brewing and orange juice was fluttering above it all. I quickly pulled my clothes on and strode for the kitchen, gawking at the sight of the massive breakfast Travis had cooked for us.
For me.
“Hope you’re hungry,” he said.
His back was bare to me, flexing with his movements at the stove as I licked my lips
“Oh yes,” I said. “Very hungry.”
“Then sit. I’ve got some vegetables I’m frying up to add to the eggs, then I’ll grab the pot of coffee.”
“Want me to do anything?” I asked.