Travis slowly sat back down. “My c**k is hurting. Do you want to touch it?” he asked coarsely, but the look in his eyes was teasing and devilish.
Ally’s whole face turned red, Travis’s blunt words leaving her speechless for a moment. “You have a dirty mind,” she chastised him lightly. “And I’m truly worried about you hurting.”
“I am hurting. And that’s the worse ache I have,” Travis told her bluntly as he eyed her hungrily.
His predatory gaze made her even redder. Hell, she hadn’t blushed like this since she was in high school. Travis had shown her another side of himself, and she liked it, liked him right now. But his feral gaze unnerved her in ways that had her almost panting to touch him. “You’re bruised up and you can still think about that?”
“Alison, I’d have to be dead to not want you to touch me,” Travis answered gravely.
Ally shivered, her core flooding with heat, her ni**les going as hard as pebbles from the intensity of his stare. Problem was, she felt exactly the same way. She looked away from him, unable to bear the heat in his eyes. One second longer, and she’d be begging him to let her touch him. “No touching,” she told him much more adamantly than she felt right at that moment. “You need to heal.” Ally got up and put her empty mug in the sink, cradling her precious gift from Travis in her hand.
“I was afraid you’d say that,” Travis answered unhappily, rising to put his own cup in the sink.
“Thank you for this,” Ally whispered, gesturing toward the necklace. “It’s the most incredible gift I’ve ever received. It means a lot to me.” It wasn’t the monetary value, but the significance of the actual symbol, a sign of Travis’s belief in her writing.
Ally wandered toward the entry to the kitchen, heading off to the shower.
“Ally?” Travis’s voice sounded hesitantly from where she’d left him by the sink.
“Yeah?” She turned her head.
“Thanks for not betraying me,” he said hoarsely.
“You don’t need to thank me for that, Travis. You’ve always had my loyalty.” And he had. He might infuriate her, but there was never a time she had doubted Travis’s integrity or his love for his family.
He nodded abruptly and turned away, leaving Ally wondering what had just happened between them. Their relationship had shifted, leaving her wondering if it were actually possible for her and Travis to become…friends.
Travis melted her with just one glance, set her on fire with his sultry voice and his naughty comments. But she had to ignore both, wait until he found another love interest. Being anything else to Travis except his employee and friend was dangerous. She’d already been devastated when she’d thought he’d betrayed her trust by getting her fired from Sully’s, almost running in front of a moving truck because she was so distraught. Ally could only imagine how bad things would be if she actually allowed herself to become more intimate than she’d already been with him. Travis left her raw and vulnerable, elated but terrified. Getting too close to him would be a mistake, and there would be no turning back once she allowed him in. His intensity would overwhelm her, and she’d be left to pick up the pieces of the devastation after the affair was over.
“Don’t fall for him, Ally. Keep him at a distance,” she told herself forcefully as she went up the stairs.
Her sense of self-preservation back in place, she went to take a shower, hoping she could manage to keep her resolve.
Chapter 8
Travis stayed the entire weekend, never once leaving Ally’s house except to get something he was absolutely certain she needed. He’d left reluctantly on Monday morning, after Ally had insisted she would be fine without him. That weekend had been a revelation for her, showing her more and more just what an incredible person Travis could be in a different atmosphere away from the office. They’d watched movies for hours, played several games of chess, a game that Ally had always thought she’d excelled at…until she’d played a master like Travis. He’d trounced her every single time. And they’d talked. Sometimes they’d discussed inconsequential things, but he’d opened up a little about what his childhood had been like, being raised with a volatile and insane father. And she’d shared some of her own memories of being raised by an alcoholic and how isolated and out of control she’d felt when she was younger. By the time he’d left on Monday…she actually missed him almost as soon as he’d walked out the door. The house felt strangely quiet, and she hated having her coffee alone in the morning, not having anyone to talk to when she had something to say.
Tuesday and Wednesday, Ally was too busy receiving deliveries to really think about her loneliness. The doorbell rang almost nonstop, bringing so many deliveries that her living room was stacked with boxes, most of them containing items for a brand new wardrobe that Travis had provided. Of course, she’d called him to protest, and Travis told her to refer to her new employment contract, which apparently had a clause about him providing work attire.
Ally looked around the living room and rolled her eyes. Work attire? The room contained more clothing than an actual high-end boutique, everything from lingerie to ball gowns. And every single item fit perfectly, even the shoes and boots. How the hell had he known exactly what size to buy?
“Because he’s Travis Harrison and he doesn’t do anything without paying attention to every detail,” she whispered to herself, sitting down on the small space of her couch that was still available. “I can’t take all this stuff. There isn’t a thing in this lot that isn’t designer-made and horribly expensive.”
Ally started lifting boxes, finally locating her cell phone under some sinful lingerie.
I’m sending this stuff back. You only promised to get me a dress for Colorado. That’s more than enough.
She sent the text, determined to decide on one item for the ball in Colorado that she had to attend with Travis.
He responded moments later:
Can’t. It was all on sale and non-returnable. Don’t you like it?
Ally sighed, laughing out loud at the reference to a sale. Not very creative or believable coming from Travis. She texted him back.
It’s too much. One dress is good enough.
She was startled when her phone rang, already knowing it was Travis.
“Beautiful women should have beautiful clothes,” Travis said huskily in her ear before she could even say anything. “I do get to provide your clothing for you. Read your contract.”