Part 3 (1/2)

She actually didn't know how Travis had managed to sleep on the thing because she wasn't comfortable and she was a good six or eight inches shorter than him and a heck of a lot more slender.

Her day at the lake with him had been wonderful, too wonderful, and then nerves and fear had stolen through her much sooner than she would have liked. But the longer she lay there, unable to sleep, the more she thought about the past, something she certainly didn't want to do.

It was history, ancient history, and to dwell upon it would do her absolutely no good, so why did she find her eyes closing and the memories bubbling up? Probably because Travis was only one thin door away from her, and that night with him six years prior had shaped her, changed her from a girl to a woman, and no matter how much she said she hated him, what she felt about him was anything but antagonistic.

Taylor stopped fighting the memories, and a dreamlike smile appeared on her face as she slowly drifted off, taking her back to that party, to the night Travis had finally given her everything she'd ever wanted from him-right before he'd pulled the rug straight out from under her.

”WHAT ARE YOU doing at a grown-up party, squirt?”

Taylor turned to find Travis Montclave standing behind her in a pair of dark jeans and a polo s.h.i.+rt molded to his chest. Add to that the megawattage smile and twinkling eyes and she was about to melt into a puddle right there at his feet.

”In case you haven't noticed, Travis,” she said with her most practiced purr, ”I'm all grown up now.” Though her hands were trembling, she lifted her gla.s.s of wine and took a sip, then licked her bottom cherry-red lip while giving him her most come-hither smile.

The intake of breath and slight narrowing of his eyes were all the reward she needed.

”Ha! You'll always be twelve,” he said, though his eyes took a sweep of her twenty-year-old body.

She may not have been the curviest woman at the party, but she had a woman's body, and she intended to use everything she'd been given to finally seduce Travis.

”Why don't you take me for a dance and see if I move like I'm twelve,” she challenged him.

Travis said nothing as he threw back the rest of his drink before setting the gla.s.s down and looking as if he was having an internal struggle. If he turned her down, she would be humiliated, but what were the odds she would be at the same place at the same time as her childhood crush? It was now or never.

”Fine. One dance,” he said. This was her window.

One dance turned into two, and then five, and in between each dance, Travis drank just a little bit more. Soon he wasn't fighting her as they stepped out onto the dance floor and she rubbed her curves against him. Soon the pa.s.sion in his eyes was more than obvious.

”We shouldn't be doing this, Taylor,” he said as she brushed her lips across his neck.

”Why not, Travis? We're both adults. I want you,” she said before pus.h.i.+ng against his obvious bulge. ”And you want me.”

A shudder pa.s.sed through him. ”You're my best friend's little sister. I can still see you in pigtails,” he said, though he didn't pull away from her.

Taylor wasn't backing down. When they finally made love, he would see her as a woman, not a little girl. He would see what he had been missing out on the last few years. Sure, he couldn't have dated her before she'd turned eighteen, but she was nearing twenty-one now, and she knew what she wanted, and she wanted Travis.

This time when she stood up on her toes and brushed her lips against his, he didn't pull away. No. This time, his hands came around her and his lips moved, and then she wasn't the one doing the seducing anymore.

She had practically floated away from the party in Travis's arms, and the next two hours were everything she'd wanted and more. His lips trailed across her body, his fingers stroked her fire to a burning inferno, and his eyes wors.h.i.+pped her. He was so gentle, and yet so masculine at the same time that when he finally did enter her, there was only the smallest pinch of pain to remind her she had never had s.e.x before.

Just before she was drifting to sleep, she couldn't help but whisper, ”I love you, Travis.”

And that's when everything went wrong.

”Oh, Taylor, we shouldn't have done this. You don't know what love is. You're too young, too immature. I took advantage of you, and drinking is no excuse,” he said. He untangled himself from her and sat on the edge of the bed, his head hung in shame.

”I wanted you, and you wanted me. There's nothing wrong with that. I am so sick of everyone always telling me how young I am, how I should be doing this or that, anything but what I choose. Don't ruin this, Travis.” She hated to plead with him, but she couldn't lose him just when she'd finally gotten him.

”You will hate me for this, Taylor,” he said as he stood, pulling farther from her.

She pleaded with him to just stay, but he dressed and then apologized again before he walked from her hotel room, leaving her sobbing on the bed she'd just felt the greatest pleasure in.

”I hate you, Travis,” she whispered, so broken and empty . . .

TAYLOR WOKE UP with a s.h.i.+ver traveling down her spine and a tear falling down her cheek. No light was coming through the cabin windows, but she knew she wouldn't go back to sleep. That day six years ago had been her greatest pleasure and her greatest pain, and now she was having to relive it over and over again because she was with Travis in this secluded cabin.

Maybe she should just go back to her parents' place, just admit defeat. Even the thought of that filled her with rage. No. Travis had broken her heart once, and she certainly wouldn't trust the man, but he wouldn't ever hear her beg again, and he wouldn't see her cry.

It was his turn to cry, and she wouldn't mind being the person to make him do so.

”You lost fair and square, Taylor. Now pay up.”

Taylor stomped her foot as she looked at Travis sitting so smugly on the couch, his hands behind his head, one foot across his knee, and a broad grin on his face.

”You know you would be considered a real tool if you make me go through with this,” she said, hoping he would give her an out.

”You'd make me do it. Now pay up.” Of course he wasn't giving her an out.

”I hate you.”

”No, you don't,” he quickly responded, still not moving. ”I have all night. The rain is coming down in sheets and makes a perfect backdrop.”

”Fine!”

Walking with as much dignity as this moment would allow, Taylor turned her iPhone on and pushed play on ”Single Ladies,” then turned her back to Travis.

They'd been playing Scrabble, at which she normally excelled, but the letters just weren't being her friend that night. The loser had to perform a dance for the other. She'd been so sure she was going to win, and then she was going to make him dance to ”It's Raining Men.” It would have been such sweet victory.

Instead, she had to shake her booty to ”Single Ladies.” The sad part was that she'd learned the routine her freshman year of college, before she'd decided she wanted to race full-time and not spend all day in the cla.s.sroom.

Closing her eyes, she tried to pretend Travis wasn't there while she did the dance that made men drool. That was impossible, as the man was hooting and hollering as her hips shook. When she finally finished the song and turned to face him, brus.h.i.+ng her fallen hair out of her face, she tried to look as defiant as possible. Not an easy task when she'd just humiliated herself.

”Next time, you will be the one dancing,” she a.s.sured him.

”Ah, baby, I'll dance for you right now,” he said, standing up and making her take a step back.

”No. That's perfectly all right,” she said, not trusting that look in his eyes one little bit.

”Come on, Taylor. Let's dance together,” he said, moving slowly toward her.

”No.” She took another step back, but then found herself pressed against the wall. The cabin was way too small, and with the rain pouring down, it was becoming increasingly smaller.

”You've run out of room to hide,” he said, only a couple feet away now. The door was to her left, and Taylor made a rash decision. She darted through it and straight into the downpour.

Yes, she would certainly find herself cooled off, but that was good, because her body was on fire at the moment, and all it had taken was a smoldering look from Travis.

Oh, how she wished her stubborn pride would allow her to leave the cabin and run away. But at the same time, she didn't want to leave. She wanted to gain control over her emotions about Travis, about her career, and about her family. She needed to find some sanity in her otherwise crazy life, and if she ran away from the cabin, she would only be taking one more step backward.

”Perfect. I love to dance in the rain.”

Before Taylor could close her mouth, Travis was pulling her into his arms and spinning her in a circle in the muddy front yard of the cabin. He'd not only followed her out, but was now dancing with her, music lightly drifting through the open front door of the cabin, barely audible over the sound of the pouring rain.