“That necklace looks beautiful on you, Ally,” Mia Hamilton said sincerely, her eyes staring at Ally across the table of the casual family restaurant.
All four sets of female eyes at the table flew to Ally, murmuring their agreement appreciatively. “Where did you get it?” Maddie asked curiously.
Ally squirmed in her seat, fingering the lovely unicorn necklace that she hadn’t removed since the day Travis had given it to her. The last week had been the happiest of her life, and not a night had gone by that Travis hadn’t been in her bed. He’d gone to work late every single day for the last week, grumbling that he couldn’t wait until she came back to work on Thursday. Travis filled her days with laughter with his naughty and thoughtful antics, and her nights with dark desire that never went unsated.
“It was a gift from Travis,” Mia answered for Ally before she could decide what to say.
“Wow. It’s beautiful.” Asha reached out, brushing Ally’s fingers aside to examine the small unicorn.
“It was a birthday gift,” Ally murmured. Looking at Mia, she asked, “How did you know?”
Mia took a sip of her water and set it back down before answering. “Because I made it. Travis picked the stones and what I needed to craft it. And he gave me very little time to do it because he wanted you to have it that day.”
Ally gaped at Mia. The necklace she was wearing was a Mia Hamilton design? “I thought he just picked it up somewhere.”
Mia chuckled. “He did. My studio. He couldn’t find exactly what he wanted, so I had to make it for him. Those are the finest quality gems available. And he drew exactly what he wanted, so it wasn’t difficult to design since he did most of the work for me. He knew exactly how it needed to be. It’s unique. The unicorn must have significance. Why?”
Ally’s heart raced, the thought of Travis going to all that trouble and expense just to get her an exact replica of her fantasy unicorn making the piece of jewelry just that much more precious to her. “I write as a hobby. He liked the first story and the unicorn is one of the characters. He wants me to finish the books.”
“And will you?” Kara Hudson asked from her seat next to Asha. “It’s a very romantic gesture.”
“Definitely.” Maddie nodded from across the table.
“Travis has been different lately. He actually kissed me back on the cheek when I kissed him good-bye yesterday. And he’s smiling. Not that cynical, obnoxious expression he gets, but actually smiling. I was thinking he must be getting laid.” Asha gave Ally a sly look. “Am I right?”
“Oh my God!” Mia squealed. “You and Travis have been burning up the sheets? I should have known when he was in such a panic about the necklace. But I thought you were engaged?”
Ally hadn’t really had a chance to tell any of the women that she wasn’t engaged anymore. Only Asha knew. She explained what had happened with Rick and that she was no longer engaged, but she didn’t mention Travis. Maybe because the relationship was so new that she couldn’t really explain what they were to each other.
“Snake!”
“Asshole!”
“Slimy bastard!”
“Dickhead!”
Each woman interjected a derogatory name for Rick as Ally explained.
“So you’re free, and Travis pounced. Smart man, my brother,” Mia said with a smile as she took a huge bite of her club sandwich.
Ally shook her head. “I wouldn’t say he pounced exactly.”
“How long did it take him to get you into bed?” Asha asked, amused. “He’s had it bad for you for years.”
“Who says I slept with him?” Ally said with false indignation. “Maybe we’re just becoming friends.”
“Bullshit,” Kara remarked as she popped a fry into her mouth. “You haven’t denied it, so that means you definitely did him.”
“Travis is hot, but he’s always been so dark and broody. But I bet that makes him good in the sack?” Maddie said thoughtfully.
“Stop!” Mia held up her hand. “There’s an ‘ick’ factor for me here. He’s my brother. I absolutely do not want to know if he’s a good lay.”
All the women laughed uproariously, and Ally smiled.
Mia lowered her hand and leaned slightly across the table and asked in a loud whisper, “But did you do him?”
There was something really embarrassing about being questioned about her sex life by the sister of the man who rocked her world every time he touched her, so she merely nodded reluctantly.
“Oh, thank God,” Mia answered, straightening up to continue her lunch. “No wonder he’s smiling.”
“We aren’t really serious,” Ally told Mia nervously. “I mean, we’re just dating, getting to know each other.”
“Carnally,” Asha added with a smirk.
Ally elbowed her friend lightly. “It’s nothing serious.”
Mia’s brows narrowed and her eyes danced with mischief. “You don’t know Travis well enough then. Even when he was a boy, if he decided he wanted something, he got it. He’s annoyingly persistent when he covets anything. He’ll have a ring on your finger within a month.”
“I don’t think he’s like that with me. I’m sure he won’t,” Ally denied, embarrassed.
“He will,” Asha agreed with Mia ominously.
“Do you care for him, Ally?” Mia asked, concerned.
“I do. Probably more than I should at this stage of our relationship,” Ally admitted, knowing she was beginning to care way too much, too fast. “I’m just a little scared. I just got out of a bad relationship.”
“Travis isn’t like that, Ally,” Mia replied softly. “When he cares, he cares deeply. His affections might not be easily gained, but once you have them, he’ll never betray you. And he wanted the unicorn for you to show he cares because he isn’t good at giving or receiving affection. Honestly, I’ve actually never seen him care about a woman this way, and I knew when he finally fell, he’d fall hard. Please don’t hurt him. No one deserves to be loved more than Travis. And when it’s the right woman, he’ll love her obsessively and forever. It’s just the way he’s made.”
Ally’s heart squeezed inside her chest, knowing she’d give anything to be that woman. In the week since she and Travis had first made love, his affection was already changing her, making her hear his voice inside her head instead of all the negative things she’d always believed about herself. “I wish I could give him something,” she mused quietly, thinking about his unrelenting support, his faith in her.
“I think you already have,” Asha assured Ally. “He’s happy.”
Mia nodded her agreement and the group of women launched into more general conversation. The lunch was a totally enjoyable interlude, and Ally had fun getting to know Maddie and Kara better. It was obvious to her that all the women at the table loved their alpha male husbands to death, even though they good-naturedly complained about them being overprotective and overbearing at times.
Ally’s phone pinged in her purse as they were getting up to go their separate ways. Pulling it out, she smiled as she saw the text message from Travis:
I need to get rid of this damn desk!
He’d complained more than once how the desk distracted him, about the images he had throughout the day. Her heart flip-flopped at the thought, that she could actually be a distraction to a man as driven as Travis Harrison.
She said her good-byes to all the women, promising to become one of the regular members of their lunch club. Once she reached her car, she leaned up against it and texted:
As your assistant, it’s my job to find you a new one then, Mr. Harrison.
It only took a moment to get a reply:
Like hell you will. Nobody else is using this desk. I guess I’ll just be a masochist. How is your day?
She already knew he’d vehemently refuse to get rid of it, but she laughed out loud anyway before replying:
Good. Just had lunch with the girls. How about you?
He answered simply:
I miss you.
Ally’s heart melted, and she traced the words on her phone with a sigh. When Travis said or did things like that, her whole being ached for him. Travis wasn’t a demonstrative or bullshitting type of guy. Those words were sincere, an expression of his emotions at that moment, and she cherished them because she knew he didn’t express himself lightly.
She answered:
I miss you, too. I’ll make you dinner.
His answer came quickly:
I’d be happier if you’d actually be my dinner.
Ally barely stifled a moan at that thought. She needed to fan herself, and it wasn’t because of the humidity and heat of the Florida sun. There was nothing hotter than Travis’s demanding, bossy, alpha ways in the bedroom, and the way he mastered her body. But she answered him cheekily:
I offer to cook for you and all you want is sex?
It took a few minutes to get his reply:
I want a whole lot more than sex. And women don’t usually cook for me. Thank you, Ally. I’ll see you around six.
She frowned at his response, wondering exactly what he meant. Women didn’t cook for him? No…they probably didn’t. He did most things alone, and if and when he did have a date, she was pretty certain the woman would expect the finest from Travis Harrison. Did he actually think she’d been chastising him? She’d just been playing with him. She didn’t question whether or not he was using her anymore just for sex, and his answer had sounded rather remorseful. And for the very first time she realized that “thank you” was actually in his vocabulary. And it touched her that he was thanking her for something so very simple. She didn’t want to see him be sorry for joking around with her. Truth was, she loved seeing him fun and playful, and his dirty talk always turned her on. It was doubtful that anyone else saw him that way. She answered:
Six is fine. And if you get here early, I’ll be your appetizer. But I will feed you. You’ll need the energy.
She held her breath, hoping he’d come back with a playful response. The last thing she ever wanted to do was crush Travis’s playfulness because he had taken her comment seriously. He was already too solemn, too serious, and his lighter side was something she wanted to see more of.
He replied:
If I didn’t have a meeting, I’d be in my car right fucking now.
Ally let out a relieved laugh and typed:
No need. I have to cook. But it’s warm today. I think I might have to cook naked. Think about that in your meeting. Hope it goes well.
Her reply came almost instantly:
You’ll pay for that, woman!
Smiling, she returned:
I’m counting on it, handsome. See you later.
Ally put her phone back in her purse and opened the door of her vehicle. She drove to the grocery store to pick up what she needed to make Travis a nice dinner, her heart lighter than it had been for as long as she could remember.
She’s mine!
Travis clenched his phone tightly, staring at the words Ally had texted.
She misses me.
He thought he’d majorly fucked up by making her think he just wanted to fuck her. Well…he did want to fuck her. Every damn minute of the day. But Travis knew his physical desire was just a product of how much he wanted her to belong to him. He felt like a caveman, the desire to drag her off to his isolated cave where no one would ever take her from him almost unbearable.
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, images of the time he’d spent with Ally during the last week floating through his mind. He’d now been the object of several of her sweet, warm smiles, and every one of them had hit him like a boulder to the gut. Oh, it wasn’t like they still didn’t argue—like the argument they’d had over the wardrobe he’d provided for her. He’d settled it by taking all the clothing upstairs and putting it away, ignoring her while she systematically listed reasons why she couldn’t accept them. He’d won when he kissed her breathless and told her he’d probably tear them all off her eventually anyway. Damn, but his woman was stubborn. Travis wanted to give her the world, but she wouldn’t let him.
If she knew everything about me, would she still want to be with me?
Chances were, she’d run like hell, and he really wouldn’t blame her. He’d shared a lot of things with Ally that he’d never shared with another soul. But there were a few things he just couldn’t seem to tell her, too afraid she’d look at him in horror and run away. And Travis knew that would destroy him.
I need to just enjoy the time I have with her. Not think about the future right now.
Problem was, he wasn’t the type of guy who just lived in the moment, and he needed Ally too badly to even contemplate her leaving him.
He opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling. Ally made him ecstatically happy, but more fiercely territorial than he’d thought he could ever possibly be. Luckily, she didn’t seem to mind the fact that he always took her hard, fast and rough. In fact, she seemed to relish it. But he wanted even more. He wanted her complete submission to him, needed to know she was completely his, and he couldn’t get his frenzied cravings for that under control. Did she know she had him completely by the balls every minute of every day and never let go?
I might have to cook naked.
Oh yeah, she definitely knew, and she did everything she could to make him crazy. He loved it and he hated it. It was almost like she wanted to see him break, go completely caveman on her.
“Sweetheart, you have no idea exactly how demanding I could really be with you,” he whispered huskily, wanting to make her just as damn desperate as he was for her.
It wasn’t that Travis didn’t know that Ally was satisfied every time they were intimate. He made damn certain that she was. But he wanted her to let go completely, surrender herself totally to him and the white-hot passion that nearly consumed them both every time they were together. She was so fucking responsive, and she got so beautifully aroused. But he still felt like she was holding a part of herself back. And he was greedy. He wanted everything she had.
Glancing up at the clock, Travis cursed as he realized it was almost time for his meeting.
“Great,” he whispered harshly. “I’ll sit through the whole damn meeting wondering if Ally’s really cooking naked, my dick so hard I won’t be able to concentrate.”
He got up from the chair and straightened his tie. He’d warned Ally that he’d make her pay for teasing him. Problem was, every damn time she touched him, he damn near lost it. Walking out of the office and toward his meeting, he smiled, thinking of a solution that could remedy that problem.