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Icannot believe Chad followed me here. What a creep! Thank goodness my little cottage flooded. Who knows what would have happened if he found me out there alone?
Travis is on the phone with Ryder. I thought it could wait until morning, but he was insistent. He’s afraid the police might call him tonight. I’m pretty sure they won’t, but who knows? I can’t hear what Ryder is saying, but I can hear Travis trying to talk him down.
“I know, man. I can’t believe it.” Travis is pacing back and forth. “She’s safe…Good thing you sent her here…No, they’ve got him down at the station…Yeah, I gave them your info…No, she’s safe tonight…I’ve got her…I won’t let anything happen…yeah, here she is…” He hands the phone to me. “He wants to talk to you.”
“Ryder, it’s me,” I say. He’s talking a mile a minute before I can say more. “I’m fine. Ryder, I’m ok. RYDER!” I yelled to get his attention, and he finally let me talk. “I’m ok. I’m fine. The police have Chad. It’s ok. You don’t need to come here. Just try to sleep, and we can sort this out in the morning.” He’s really wound up. Eventually, I was able to talk him into going to bed. He may be overbearing, but he’s a really good big brother.
I give Travis his phone back, making sure to make contact with his hand during the exchange. I’m sure he feels the spark when we touch. It can’t be just me, right?
“Thanks. Why don’t you go lie down in bed. I’m going to tuck Mia in and make sure she’s okay. I’ll be right there.”
“Ok. Tell her I said good night.” I’m suddenly feeling very guilty for putting them through all this. I’m sure it was terrifying for Mia.
I go to the bathroom to freshen myself up for bed. I know it sounds silly, but when you’re in bed with a gorgeous half-naked man, you do silly things. I’m still hopeful for one more kiss.
I step out of the bathroom just as Travis steps into the bedroom. He closes the door behind him, turns, and stares at me. I stare back. His body is perfect. I just want to touch it.
I walk toward him without taking my eyes off of him. He doesn’t move. I grab his hand and look up at him. He stares down at me longingly. I take my chance. I get on my tippy toes and just barely brush his lips with mine. He bends down just a little so I can reach. He wraps his arms around me and pushes into the kiss.
The kiss keeps going. I’m not going to be the one to pull away this time.
“We shouldn’t—” he suddenly pulls away.
“Shhh—” I say and lean in for more. He meets my lips again.
“I can’t—” He pulls away again.
“Just for tonight. Just this kiss,” I whisper.
“Just this kiss,” he whispers back to me as he lies down next to me, pulls me closer, and kisses me again.
I woke up snuggled into Travis. My head was on his chest, his arm held me close, and our legs tangled together. The sun is beaming in the window.
What a magical end to such a terrifying night. I’m not one to kiss and tell, but all we did was kiss last night, which was perfect. I was lying when I said just for tonight. I hope he was, too, but I’m afraid to ask.
I’m going to pretend to be asleep for as long as I can so we can keep lying like this. I’ve never felt so safe and comfortable in a man’s arms. I never want this to end. My heart sinks when he starts to stir.
“Morning, beautiful,” he says groggily, pulling me closer. That is a good sign.
“Morning.” I run my hand over his chest, afraid to look up at him. I don’t want this to end.
“How’d you sleep?” he asks.
“Great. How about you?”
“Great. Best in a long time.” Another good sign. “Too bad it has to end.” Bad.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Just this kiss, just for last night. You know we can’t continue this. It’s a conflict of interest for your story. Not to mention, your brother will kill me.”
“Ryder is not in charge of me, you know?”
“I know. But he’s my best friend. He pulled me out of some really bad stuff when I lost Lilian. I can’t do this to him. He’s always made it very clear that you are off limits.”
“But it’s not his choice who I date!”
“It’s not his choice. It’s mine.” He gets up and goes into the bathroom.
