Fix Her Up (Hot & Hammered #1)(89)

“Georgie.”

“Do it.” She gasped as Travis closed his teeth around her chin, growling. “You can go harder, can’t you? You don’t have to hold back because I’m so tight.”

He came with a roar that lasted for long moments, hanging in the air, that final pump of his stiffness telling her all about his desperation. And the expression of male rapture on his gorgeous face, the sticky, wet grind of their lower bodies, pushed Georgie into one final climax, a slow, all-encompassing one that made her shake violently. It made Travis’s head come up, his eyes molten as he witnessed it. “Beautiful,” he gritted. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”

They collapsed in a tangle of arms and legs, Travis tucking Georgie’s head beneath his chin, his unbreakable hold surrounding her. No place in the world she’d rather be than listening to Travis’s heart wail against his rib cage, throat rattling as it pulled in oxygen.

As they rumbled down the highway, she let the engine and Travis’s heartbeat lull her, refusing to be sad over the three words that remained trapped in her throat.





Chapter Twenty-Six


Travis flipped up his collar against the wind on his walk through the parking lot. The first of fall had begun to roll in, bringing a brisk breeze off the water. Soon the leaves would begin to change, and everyone would break out their sweaters. It wouldn’t be long before he was dodging kids in Halloween costumes as they trick-or-treated on Main Street. For the first time, he was actually looking forward to October for something other than the World Series. He was looking forward to everything right now.

He’d picked up the supplies he needed to put the finishing touches on Georgie’s fireplace and he could already see her laid out in front of it. Last night, after the limousine dropped them back at her house, there had been no question he was staying the night. That’s what boyfriends did, wasn’t it? And it turned out his girlfriend often slept in these tiny flannel shorts that went straight up her ass—he’d found them in the back of her sock drawer while digging for something to keep her feet warm. He’d coaxed her into modeling them and now he was borderline obsessed. When he imagined Georgie in front of the fireplace he was building, she wore nothing but those booty huggers and a smile, her skin lit up from the flames.

You don’t have to hold back because I’m so tight.

“Christ,” he muttered, slowing his gait out of necessity. Wouldn’t be a good idea to walk into Grumpy Tom’s with a boner, especially because he was meeting Stephen for a beer. Unfortunately, that was how he’d spent most of the day. Hard—or about to get hard—thanks to Georgie.

Had he always liked sex? Sure. Every man did. But he’d been having a vague, watered-down version of it his whole life. Being inside Georgie? His body got high. And so did his mind. Their bodies moving together meant being attuned to fifty things at once. Her pulse, the swell of her clit, the peaks of her nipples, the quickening of her pussy, the waning focus in her eyes, her words, her breath, the softness of her skin, the roughness of her nails. The affection she radiated at him. Being aware of all of those incredible things at once, tending to them, while being completely absorbed by a warm, blanketing sense of belonging.

Damn. He hadn’t seen Georgie coming. It was a great irony that the most selfless person in the world was inspiring him to be selfish. That’s exactly what he was being. He coveted this girl. Wanted her all to himself, even though her goodness was meant to shine in other places. Watching her sleep this morning, he hadn’t been able to stop his mind from projecting her onto a different time and place, where kids ran into the room and leaped onto her sleepy form. How long could Travis keep her to himself when he knew her dream was to have a family?

Travis’s gut tied itself into knots as he pushed into the buzzing bar, the sound of the ball game and classic rock meeting his ears. No matter what happened down the road, he needed to be honest with Stephen now. About his phony relationship with Georgie and why it started in the first place. About how incredibly real his feelings were for her now. Lying to Stephen had never sat right and the guy was obviously worried about his sister. He needed to know Travis would do everything in his power to make her happy. As long as she let him. Which was why he’d called Georgie’s brother this afternoon and asked to meet him for a beer at seven. Tomorrow morning, the girls were participating in the Tough Mudder. Her siblings would be present and he didn’t want any more deception. He wanted them to see their sister with a man who’d die to make her happy, no questions asked—and not doing it for show this time.

Although as Travis scanned the room, he didn’t see Stephen yet—

A familiar face at the bar made his blood go ice cold.

His father?

His father was here in Port Jefferson?

Travis watched in horror as Mark Ford teetered to the left on his stool. It was a scene right out of Travis’s nightmares. And memories. Those visions in his mind updated themselves now, adding new details, like the extra weight around his father’s waist, the hairline that had receded and thinned. How many times as a child had he snuck in through the back door of this bar, trying to pry his father away from the bottle? The sensation of hunger and shame crept up on Travis now, as if over a decade hadn’t passed.

“Well, now.” Mark slapped the bar with an open hand, turning on the stool. “There’s my son. Knew you’d turn up here sooner or later. Always did.”