We headed back toward my apartment. Travis was quiet during the car ride, but that was fine. I didn’t need to push him for more information.

Besides, I had my own worries. Travis was much more connected than I could have realized, and who knew what he was thinking about this Janey girl. He clearly had some unresolved issues with his brother and this town, and I was worried about how he’d react when he saw his brother’s old girlfriend.

Not to mention she was the girl who survived the accident. It must have been pretty hard for him to hear about this girl who walked away from the accident that took his brother’s life. From what I could tell, that accident really changed things for Travis. He went from just another criminal getting by in Knoxville’s underworld to the man I knew today, the intense and handsome SEAL.

I couldn’t begin to guess what that transformation meant. I couldn’t imagine how you went from just another poor boy living in the hills of Georgia to a Navy SEAL, respected and well trained.

I was having a hard time picturing Travis as anyone other than the ripped and cocky asshole sitting next to me. But he clearly had a past, and a deep one at that. He may have been a cocky jerk, but he’d earned his way through the world. He clearly came from nothing, but now he was definitely something.

At first, it was just his body that attracted me to him. I only saw a muscular and dangerous man all covered in tattoos. But now I was beginning to see much more of Travis, past the cocky attitude and into his past, into the man he once was. To really understand a person, you needed to understand where they came from.

The car ride felt short, and soon enough we were pulling up outside my apartment. Travis parked and we got out, heading inside. The dry cleaner downstairs was in full swing, which meant the building smelled like chemicals. Travis made a face as we walked up the steps.

“It’s always like this?” he asked.

I shrugged. “It’s not so bad. I got used to it.”

“Not sure I will.”

I paused outside my door. “What’s that now?”

“I thought we talked about this.”

“You’re really going to sleep on my couch?”

He laughed, shaking his head. “I wasn’t kidding. When I say I’m going to do something, I do it.”

I sighed and unlocked the door. “Okay then. Welcome home.”

He laughed as he followed me inside. “Aside from the smell, it’s pretty cozy.” He sat down at the kitchen table. “Though not exactly personalized.”

I shrugged and poured myself a glass of water. “I didn’t think I’d be staying here long.”

“Still. There’s nothing on the walls, no pictures or anything. It’s like a serial killer lives here.”

“It’s functional.”

“It’s creepy.”

I couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Not all of us carry around our high school yearbook.”

“You don’t need that, but maybe hang a picture or something, make this feel like less of a prison.”

I sighed and drank down my water. “Done criticizing the place where you’re living rent-free?”

“For now.”

I shook my head and headed toward the bedroom. I went inside and shut the door behind me, leaning up against it as it closed.

I’d been trying not to think about Travis staying over. I didn’t know what I was going to do with him sleeping on my couch all night long, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. I wished he wouldn’t stay with me, but I also knew that I had no other choice. If he thought this was the best thing for us, then I couldn’t exactly disagree. He was doing so much for me already. I wasn’t going to risk looking like a total jerk by kicking him out now.

Still, he was such a distraction. I couldn’t stop looking at him every time we were around each other. I hated it, but I kept wondering what he’d feel like, his hard body pressed against mine, my legs wrapped around his hips.

As I took some deep breaths to steady myself, I felt my phone starting to ring in my pocket. I fumbled with it and pulled it out.

“Hello?”

“Hi, honey.” My mom’s voice, singsong as always.

“Hi, Mom,” I said, still flustered. “How are you?”

“I’m fine. Just checking in with my favorite child.”

I smiled to myself. She said that to me and to every one of my three older brothers.

“You don’t need to check in,” I said. “I’m doing fine.”

“I know I don’t need to. I just like to hear your voice.”

“Dad driving you crazy?”

She sighed. “You know how that man can be, dear. It’s rougher when he’s your husband.”

I smiled to myself. I loved my parents dearly and thought they were perfect people, but ever since the farm went into bankruptcy and we took that loan, dad was more and more ornery. He didn’t lose his temper or anything like that, but he was always sullen and sulking around the farm, trying to keep himself busy so he didn’t have to think about our problems.

Meanwhile, my mom just kept moving forward. That was the kind of person she was. She couldn’t stop moving for anything, or else risk drowning where she stood. I understood that about my parents and could see some of it in me. I liked to always be on the move, always trying to keep myself busy to combat anything unpleasant.

That was how my father was, and the whole money situation only made him worse. He felt like he was a failure somehow, because he couldn’t keep his farm going in horrible economic conditions. That just brought strain onto the whole family.

And that was why I left. I thought I could solve things, like if I worked hard enough everything would just magically right itself. Instead, the mafia wanted to sell me into sex slavery and I had been almost raped.

“I understand. But you’re doing good?”

“I’m great, honey. How are things over there? Good?”

“Things are great. I love my job, I love my friends. I’m out practically every day. I can barely keep it all straight.”

“That’s so good to hear.”

I hated lying to my mom, but what was my alternative? If I told her now, she’d just come out here and try to drag me home, probably making everything worse. She was just as stubborn as I was, and that wouldn’t help this situation at all.

“What about the gang of three?”

“The boys are good. Reggie just got a little promotion at work, but he’s still coming around on weekends. And the other two are helping your dad out for a while, ever since he hurt his back.”

“Great. Really great.”

I hated feeling this way. I hated lying to my mom, making stupid small talk when I knew that everything around me was falling apart. I knew that I couldn’t fix or help it, and I just felt so incredibly powerless to do anything about it.

The gang of three, my brothers, they were invincible. It seemed like no matter what happened, they always had a smile on their faces. Reggie was quick with a joke, and serious Jonny was always giving brotherly advice. The oldest, Reese, was always the first to stick up for me back in the day. It wasn’t easy having three older brothers, but they were amazing guys, and they were turning into even better men.

But it never seemed to touch them like it touched me. The pain of everything, the way Daddy struggled and Mom constantly picked up after him, the difficulty of it all never seemed to get to them. They were content living their lives, seeing how things turned out, but not me. I had to step up and do something, even if that meant putting myself in danger.

It was all so hopeless, and hearing my mom talk about home only made me feel that much worse. I didn’t want to lie to her anymore, and so I’d been trying to avoid her. I needed a familiar voice in that moment, but I also couldn’t stand to hear it.

In the end, maybe I was just a coward. Maybe I couldn’t step up when I needed to. I didn’t know what I was, but I quickly ended the conversation.

“Sorry, Mom,” I said. “I have to get going. A friend is calling on the other line.”

“Oh, okay. Well, call me back soon.”

“I will. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

I hung the phone up and tossed it over onto my bed. I stared at it for a second, wondering.

I believed that in Travis’s case, where he came from was so important, but I hadn’t really looked closely at myself, at where I came from. Maybe I needed to do a little more of that before I started judging him.

Maybe I was being a little harsh on myself and a little unfair to Travis. Feeling guilty, I pulled open my bedroom door and went back out into the living room.

Travis was sitting on the couch and glanced up as I walked in.

“There she is,” he said. “Who were you talking to in there?”

“You spying on me now?” I sat down at the other end of the couch. Travis was watching a baseball game, though he looked more like he was drinking some of my wine than watching anything.

“Couldn’t help it,” he said. “This place is fucking tiny.”

“I’m sure you tried real hard not to listen.”

He grinned at me. “I did. That’s why I’m asking you now.”

“It was my mom.”

He nodded. “You tell her you’re elbow-deep with the Dixie Mafia?”

“No. I told her I’m off working a job I love and hanging out with people my own age.”

“I’m your own age.”

I laughed. “You’re like five years older than I am.”

“How old are you anyway?”

“Twenty-one.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “Shit, you’re young. I’m twenty-seven.”

“Six years. I was close enough.”

“Shouldn’t you be in college?”

“I decided not to go. Wanted to stay home and help my parents on the farm.”

“Farm girl through and through.”

I sighed. “Guess so. Hey, think you can get me some of my own wine?”

“Sure can.” He smirked and stood up. “So how was lying to your mom then?”

“Not fun.”

“I’m sure.” He grabbed an extra glass and poured me some. He handed it back to me and sat down. “Never fun lying to your family, even when you fucking despise them.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“I am.”

“You lied much to them?”

“When I was younger, all the time. They all died after that, so it’s easier not lying to them now.”

“Guess you’re trying to say I’m lucky that I can even lie to them at all.”

“Something like that.”

“Yeah, well, save it. I don’t feel lucky.”

He smirked at me. “I feel lucky. I get to sit on this couch with you, drink some wine. Feels good.”

“Not to me.” I sipped the wine and stared at him, frowning. “How can you be so calm right now? Do you have a plan?”

“No plan to speak of beyond this second,” he said.

“Then it seems like you should be more stressed.”

He shifted toward me, sitting closer. I didn’t move, but I felt my heart start to beat harder in my chest. The memory of the bathroom that first night came back to me. I had been so starving for him that night, had wanted him to kiss me so badly, but everything got so messed up after that. It was like we dropped the whole thing and forgot to pick it back up.

Until now, at least.

“That’s not the kind of man I am,” he said. “I just don’t stress about that.”

“But why? I don’t get it. Our lives are in danger.”

He moved closer, shifting his body toward me. “You know how many times my life has been in danger? Too many to count, honestly. I’ve been shot at more times than you’ve ridden the bus, I bet. When you’ve lived your life like that, you come to accept certain things.”

“What things?”

“Inevitable things. You can’t change what’s done; you can only change what’s ahead. You buckle down and you do the damn work. Otherwise you drown.”

“Comforting words,” I said.

“True fucking words,” he responded. “We can’t change what happened. We’re in this now, and we’re going to do the work to get out. Right? Me and you.”

“Yeah,” I said. “We will.”

He clinked my glass and drank. I smiled and drank with him. For some strange reason, I felt oddly comforted. I knew I should still be terrified, that nothing had been solved, but his confidence was infectious.

I couldn’t help but stare into his deep blue eyes, his intense gaze. I became incredibly aware of the positions of our bodies on the couch as he sat there, inches away from me, our knees touching. I sipped my drink to try to cover my embarrassment, but it was way too late. I couldn’t look away.

So when he reached out and took my chin, tilting my face toward him, I couldn’t move.

“I’m a practical man,” he said softly. “I take what I want. Do you know what I want?”

“What?” I asked, but I knew the answer already. I knew the answer and I wanted the same thing.

He leaned forward and kissed me, and I knew he had me.

His lips pressed against mine, our tongues touching as he pressed my face against his. He kissed me hard, and every built-up ounce of frustration and need inside me broke in that moment. All of the fear and the anguish, all of the pain, it was suddenly gone, or at least okay.

I loved his taste and the soft roughness of his kiss. He was hard and he was gentle and he was so much more than that, sending long waves of pleasure along my spine.

I sank into the kiss and let him shift his body against mine. I felt him take the glass from my hand and put it on the end table. He pressed me down onto the couch, kissing me hard, his hands against my hips.

I felt him slowly begin to unbutton my pants as he kissed my neck. I felt a thrill race through my chest.

“I’ve been thinking about this since that night,” he whispered in my ear. “We got fucking interrupted then. We won’t now.”

“Is this a good idea?” I asked.

“No,” he said. “But the things that feel the best usually aren’t.”

I gasped as I felt his hands flipped beneath my jeans and find my panties. I was soaking wet, knew I was soaking wet, and the soft grin he gave me only proved it.

“I know you’ve been thinking about it too,” he said.

“I haven’t,” I lied.

“You have. You can lie, but your pussy can’t. You’re dripping and you want it, don’t you?”

“Yes,” I admitted as he slowly began to work my clit. “Yes, shit,” I gasped.

His fingers rolled around my soaking clit, sending long waves of pleasure all through my body. I kissed him again, pressing my lips hard against his, feeling greedy for every bit of him as he continued to work my spot.

Slowly I felt his fingers press deep inside me. I gasped, breaking off the kiss, as he began to slowly slide his fingers in and out, fucking me. He grinned at me, pressing his fingers deeper, working them around me, and I couldn’t stop the moans from escaping my mouth.

“That’s right, girl,” he whispered. “Moan my name. I want to hear you say it.”

“Travis,” I groaned, not able to stop myself. I couldn’t believe how much control he had over my body as he worked me with his fingers, pressing deep inside me and slowly sliding out.

I felt him work back onto my clit, sliding his fingers along me. I kissed his lips, hungry for him, grinding my hips against him. He worked me as I kissed him harder, harder, getting deeper into it.

Suddenly he pulled back. He grabbed my hips and pulled me onto him. I straddled his lap and kissed him hard. He pulled my shirt off, tossing it aside, and then pulled my hair gently, tipping my chin back. He kissed my neck and felt my breasts with his free hand before undoing my bra. He slid that off and tossed it aside as well.

He kissed me hard then, his hands roaming my body freely. I wasn’t used to moving so fast with a man, but I couldn’t stop myself with Travis. There was something so powerful, and I felt it bubbling up to the surface from underneath me. I began to slowly work my hips against him, needing it, desperate for that contact.

He kissed my neck again, his hands teasing my breasts. “Fuck your body is perfect,” he said. “Your fucking pussy is tight as hell, and these tits are incredible.”

“You don’t need to compliment me anymore,” I said, smiling. “I’m already topless.”

“At this point, I just need you to know what you fucking do to me.” He took my hand and slowly guided it down. He placed it on his cock and I bit my lip. He was hard as hell.

“This is what I do?” I asked, slowly sliding my hand along his length.

“God damn right it is,” he grunted. “You get me hard as fuck. Look at you, Hartley. My cock can’t lie.”

I bit my lip and then stood up. He moved to get up, but I pushed him back down, dropping to my knees in front of him. His eyes were all fire and intensity as I unbuckled his belt, sliding it out, and then unbuttoned his pants. I slowly took them off him, sliding them away.

He sat there, his big, thick cock straining against his boxer briefs. I looked up at him, teasing him just a little bit, as I slowly slid off his underwear.

His cock was big and hard, standing straight and thick. I tried not to marvel at it too much, but I couldn’t help myself. I slowly slid my hand up along his length, biting my lip.

“You’re staring like you just won a prize,” he said.

“Maybe I did.”

He grinned at me. “You have no idea.”

I slowly licked him from base to tip before taking him into my mouth. I could barely fit him as I began to suck his tip, my tongue rolling around. He groaned as I jerked his thick shaft off, sucking his tip, using my spit to slide along his skin.

“There’s nothing better in this world than a fucking pretty girl sucking cock,” he said. “And Hartley, you have to be the fucking prettiest.”

I continued to work him, sucking his tip and jerking him off. He groaned, loving it, and that only made me even more wet. He pressed my head down slightly and I let him, sliding his cock into my throat, amazed at how much of him I could take, and amazed that there was even more left.

“Oh fucking shit, Hartley,” he said. “Suck that fucking cock, girl.”

I worked him, letting him fuck my mouth, sliding his big dick down my throat. I moaned, not able to help myself, losing it completely. I loved a man that took control, that made me suck his dick the way he wanted it and wasn’t afraid to tell me what he needed. Travis wasn’t shy about pushing his thick cock down my throat, and that only excited me more.

I pulled his cock out and took a deep breath, jerking him off and looking up at him.

He grabbed a handful of my hair and kissed me hard. “You have no clue what that does to me,” he said after the kiss was done. “Those tits, you jerking this cock. Fuck. I can’t take this shit anymore. I have to feel that cunt wrapped around my big cock.”

He stood up, pulling me up with him. He undressed me fast and easily, sliding my jeans down over my ass and kissing my skin as he went. He tossed my pants aside, went down on his knees in front of me, and grabbed my ass. He pulled me against him, spreading my legs.

I was surprised to feel his mouth and tongue begin to work my pussy. He began to suck and lick my clit, kneeling down in front of me. I laced my fingers through his thick hair, pleasure rolling through my body. He supported me, holding my ass as his tongue worked me. He sucked and licked me, working in circles around my clit, eating every inch of me.

I felt his tongue press inside me and I gasped. His tongue fucked my pussy, pressing deep inside me. I began to roll my hips, grinding down against his face as he ate me, his mouth starving and hungry for more.

“I can suck this clit all fucking day,” he said finally, standing. I was panting and staring at him, pleasure and need rocking through me. “Absolutely fucking delicious.”

I grabbed his shirt and tore it off him. I ran my fingers down his defined chest while he grinned at me. I traced the lines of the many tattoos he had all over him and felt the scars dotting his skin.

“You have a lot of scars,” I said.

“I told you, I’ve been shot at a lot.”

“You never said the bullets hit you.”

He grinned, tipping my chin up. “You never asked.”

He kissed me again, hard, and I felt his hands beginning to work my pussy again. He pressed his fingers deep inside me, and I let him take me, let him do whatever he wanted.

He worked me within an inch of ecstasy, and I couldn’t think at all. Suddenly he pushed me back, turning me, spreading my legs.

“Stay like that,” he commanded.

I put my hands on the back of the couch and looked over my shoulder. He grabbed his jeans, pulled a condom from his wallet, and tore open the wrapper.

I stared back at him, feeling so fucking exposed, and that felt so incredible. I wanted him to look at me, to look at my dripping pussy. He rolled the condom over his cock and grabbed my hips, pulling me against him.

I gasped, an explosion of pleasure and pain, as he sank his cock deep between my legs.

“Oh fuck,” I moaned, grasping the couch hard. “Holy shit, Travis.”

“That’s right,” he grunted in my ear, his breath hot against my skin. “I love feeling this cock spread you wide open.”

He slowly began to slide in and out. I couldn’t believe the way his cock filled me, filled every inch of me. I was dripping wet and he easily slid deep inside me.

“Fuck, Hartley. You’re like a fucking vice on this cock,” he said.

I reached back and pulled him down toward me, kissing him. He began to rock back and forth, pushing deeper and harder inside me. I pulled away from the kiss, unable to stop my moans as he began to thrust.

This was what I wanted, what I’d needed and been building toward. I wanted to be fucked. I wanted him to take my body, to fuck me deep and rough and fill my every inch. I rocked my hips back, rolling along his length, taking that big cock. He fucked me deep and hard, his body rough against mine. Sweat was rolling down our bodies freely, and that didn’t matter to me.

The only thing was him fucking me deep. That was all I needed, the only thing in the world for me in that moment. I began to roll my hips back against his big dick, taking him deep inside me, letting him fuck me rough.

The man was hard and rough as he began to thrust inside me, fucking me savagely. I moaned loudly, bucking my hips back against him, rolling my ass and taking that cock. I wanted him so badly, wanted to feel the coarse stubble on his chin, hear his grunts of pleasure mingle with my moans of desire.

Just then, he pulled his hips back. I felt him grab me and turn me around, spinning us both. He sat down on the couch and pulled me on top of him. I straddled his hips again and he slowly guided my hips downward, pressing his cock deep inside me.

I gasped, kissing his lips hard. He held my ass as I slowly slid up along his shaft and back down again, taking his every inch. I could tell I was close, so deliciously close, and I needed it.

“I love seeing that body sweat,” he whispered in my ear as I began to ride him faster, sliding up and down his thick cock, taking him deep inside me. “I love the way you moan, the way you take this cock.”

“I’m so close,” I moaned. “Travis, I’m so close.”

“You want to come for me?” he asked. “You want to come on this big cock?”

“Please,” I begged.

“Ride that dick, girl. Ride my fucking cock.”

I worked my hips, rolling faster and faster. “Fuck, Travis.”

“Come on, girl, ride that fucking cock.”

He grabbed my hips, helping me rock and roll my hips, his cock deep inside me. I moaned loudly, feeling the pleasure rock through my skin, every inch of me on fire.

He pressed his hips against mine, working with me. We moved like that, perfectly in sync, my body on fire with pleasure. He kissed my neck and whispered in my ear. “Come for me,” he said. “You dirty fucking girl.”

That did it for me. That tipped me over the edge. I could feel the orgasm burst out from my body and completely overwhelm me, rolling through my skin. I tipped my head back, moaning with abandon, completely mindless.

There was only the intense pleasure rocketing through my skin, taking me somewhere else.

“Fuck,” I heard him grunt. “Oh fuck, Hartley.” I felt him grab my hips and fuck me harder, harder.

His whole body stiffened and groaned, and I knew he was coming inside me. That only intensified my orgasm, as my whole body shook and trembled. He held my hips, keeping his cock deep inside me as he came, our orgasms coming together, mixing, and driving me way over the edge.

And slowly, so fucking slowly, we came back down together. Once it was over, he held me, his cock still inside me, our bodies drenched in sweat.

“Shit,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve ever come like that.”

“Yeah,” I agreed.

He laughed and kissed my lips gently. I kissed him back before slowly standing up, my knees weak.

“Shit,” I said, and collapsed onto the couch next to him.

“Agreed.” He took the condom off and wrapped it in a napkin before throwing it out. I couldn’t help but admire his body as he moved.

The sun had set, though I wasn’t sure when. It was completely dark out, and I couldn’t believe so much time had passed. It felt like all of that had gone down in the blink of an eye, but it had to have been longer than that.

“Come here,” he said, sitting down and pulling me against him.

We lay there on the couch together, breathing in deeply, enjoying the heady rush of the orgasm.

This was not part of the plan, but I felt too good to worry about it. Maybe it might make things harder in the future, but right now, wrapped in his arms, I felt right. I felt like I could forget about the things I couldn’t change and focus on fixing the things I could.

And I’d do that with him.