Part 4 (2/2)

The thought of doing exactly that was making him break out in a sweat, but he could hardly just leave her like this. Touching her leg would ensure that he wouldn't get back to sleep tonight, but he'd endure anything to ease her pain.

”The doctor said that would help, but I can't do it . . .”

He unclasped her clenched fingers from her knee and ran his hands along her thighs until he felt a huge knot.

”d.a.m.n, Taylor! This feels terrible,” he gasped.

”I've dealt with it for the past two years. I'll deal with it tonight.”

But she didn't even have the energy to swat away his hands. So, taking great care not to hurt her if at all possible, he began kneading the flesh of her naked thigh.

What in the h.e.l.l was she wearing? It seemed to be about the tiniest pair of panties the stores could possibly sell. Dammit. That was the last thing he should be focusing on, and he refused to think about the light skin of her stomach peeking at him above those panties, where her T-s.h.i.+rt had ridden up.

After a few moments, he increased the pressure of his fingers and ma.s.saged her inner thigh. Another moan escaped her lips, but this one was a mixture of pain and relief. He was pretty sure he was helping her, because she wasn't twisting as violently.

He moved his hands downward, and she protested. ”No. Please. Where you were!”

Going back to the place he'd been kneading, a place far too close to her barely concealed core, he continued ma.s.saging, finally feeling the hard knot begin to relax under his sure fingers.

Travis didn't know how long he ministered to her, but pretty soon she was lying there still, her cries and moans silenced and the muscle in her thigh back to normal. He continued rubbing, unsure whether it would tense again if he stopped.

She was no longer sweating, but he could feel the temperature in the room rising the longer he sat on the bed, the longer he touched her smooth skin. This was more torture than he could ever remember feeling.

”Thank you, Travis. I . . . It usually lasts a long time,” Taylor whispered, and he figured that was his cue to stop.

But for some reason, his fingers wouldn't lift from her skin. Moving them downward, he rubbed along her lower thigh, then down her calf, and he finally captured a foot, pus.h.i.+ng his thumbs against her tender arch, eliciting another moan of pleasure from her beautiful mouth.

”I don't hurt there,” she said, but there was no protest in her voice.

Travis said nothing as he moved to the other foot and took a few minutes to rub along the arch before working his way up her calf and finally reaching her other thigh, making her breath hitch and her body begin to move again on the bed-though this time there was no pain involved. No pain for her, at least.

His hands now gave their attention to the curve of her waist and then the sides of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s as he leaned over her. He was so unbelievably hot right then that he didn't know whether he had enough control to stop touching her.

”Open your eyes, Taylor.”

Slowly, sweetly, achingly, her eyes opened, and the desire he saw reflected in their deep blue depths had him catching his breath.

”I'm going to kiss you now.” That was all the warning he gave before he bent forward and took her lips, his tongue tracing the edges before sliding inside and possessing her the way he'd been longing to from the moment he'd seen her drive away on that dark Montana road.

Careful not to push against her still-sore body, he lay next to her and pressed her against him with one hand so he could feel her perfect curves. Deepening the kiss, he swallowed the moan she released into his mouth before his other hand moved up along her side and slid around to cup one breast.

The feel of her pebbled nipple against his palm had his arousal pulsing. He pressed his hips against hers, the need to take her so consuming that he could think of absolutely nothing else. And why not? Would it really be so bad to satisfy them both?

When her hands came up and sifted through his hair, he nearly lost the battle raging within him. He knew he had to back off, to do the honorable thing. She'd been in pain, and he'd come in to help her. It wasn't an excuse to satisfy himself, even if she needed it just as much as he did.

”Tell me you want to make love, Taylor.” If she told him she wanted him, then all bets were off. He'd have permission. He wouldn't just be taking from her. Leaning back only slightly, he cupped her breast, his fingers gliding across her nipple, making her body shudder.

He nibbled on her bottom lip as he waited to hear the words he desperately wanted. And he got . . . nothing. No words at all. He leaned back, his body screaming at him to continue what he'd been doing.

Her eyes were closed, her breathing heavy, her hips still pressed tightly against his. There was no doubt that she could feel exactly what she was doing to him. The question was whether she cared to do anything about it.

”Taylor.” He waited for her eyes to open, and it seemed to take forever, but finally, those beautiful eyes focused on his, and after a few more heartbeats, they began to clear, and now it was Travis who was in pain, because he knew the answer before she spoke.

”This isn't a good idea, Travis.”

”Why?” he demanded. If she wanted to stop, then he at least deserved to know why.

”I'm not ready for this,” she said, her voice almost broken.

At the distress in her eyes, Travis lost all the fight that he'd been about to give. He ran his hand along the side of her face, cupping her beautiful skin as he looked into her eyes.

”Then I'll wait until you are.”

Her eyes widened, but he decided it was a good time to leave-now, before he couldn't. Leaning down, he caressed her lips with his before letting her go, and he slipped from the room, closing the door behind him.

He tried to ignore the fact that his legs felt like jelly, and that this night wasn't going to be much fun, to put it mildly. It was only 3 a.m., but he was officially up for the day, in more than one sense of the word. Throwing on his jogging pants-thankfully, no one could see the tent he'd made in them-he grabbed a flashlight and his gun and stepped outside.

He planned to run until exhaustion was the only thing on his mind. But after two hours of punis.h.i.+ng his body almost to the point of no return, he knew nothing was going to get Taylor from his mind.

Taylor looked around anxiously as she came out of the bedroom. Whew! No Travis. She'd behaved badly the night before. They'd both wanted to make love, but she'd been so afraid. That was her only excuse. He wasn't the man she'd been imagining him to be for the last few years.

If he were a monster, this would be so much easier. But he was kind and giving, and he made her laugh more than anyone else ever had. So why was she so reluctant to fall back into bed with him? The answer was profoundly painful to admit to herself. It was because she was in love with him, and if for some reason this didn't work out, she feared she'd never trust her heart again.

Was that a good enough excuse to keep her distance? Right now, she really didn't have all the answers. Maybe she could do something kind for him. He'd been cooking most of the meals since they'd both ended up at the cabin-she mostly handled sandwiches-and though she wasn't the greatest of cooks, she could surprise him with breakfast.

He was most likely out running, or gathering more firewood, more things she hadn't been doing. Taylor realized that if she'd been up at this cabin all by herself, she never would have lasted. It was time to fight this inner battle and get back to the woman she normally was.

Yes. Breakfast it was. It wouldn't be nearly as good as what Travis made, but that was okay. It was the thought that counted, right? Right! Pulling out one of the cooking magazines her mother had conveniently left, she flipped to a page showing breakfast biscuits and an egg dish she needed to bake.

Okay, she could do this!

She pulled out eggs, bacon, onions, and the ingredients for the biscuits. Her mother made the most mouthwatering ones, so she'd do her best. If she wasn't careful with her cooking, instead of offering him an olive branch, she'd end up having to rush him into the ER to have his stomach pumped.

Taylor found herself humming as she combined the eggs with milk and seasonings in a bowl, and then poured the mixture into a pan and slipped it into the oven. Laying out the bacon in a pan, she enjoyed the sound of sizzling as she mixed the batter for the drop biscuits just like the magazine was telling her. Sure, the batter looked a bit lumpy, but she laid out the biscuits on the pan and put it into the oven, too, before flipping the bacon.

When she was finished with the meal, the egg mixture looked a little rubbery, the biscuits a bit too brown, and the bacon overly crisp, but she was more than proud of herself. Now, all she had to do was wait for Travis.

When the door opened a few minutes later and his eyes zeroed in on her, she gave him a hopeful smile, praying he wasn't going to be angry with her. Yes, she had the right to refuse his advances, but they were in this small cabin together, and the last thing she wanted was to keep arguing with him.

”What's that smell, Taylor?”

She couldn't tell from his tone whether he considered the smell good or bad.

”I made breakfast,” she said, s.h.i.+fting on her feet.

He absolutely gaped at her, and it took him a moment to speak. ”It smells great.”

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