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She moved on top of him and pulled his jeans and boxers down. She tossed them aside and then slipped her panties off under her dress and flung them in the same direction as his clothes with a wicked smile. She turned around and lowered herself slowly down until he filled her so full she cried out. She leaned forward, placing her hands on his thighs so none of her weight would risk hurting his injuries. With no fear of making eye contact, she was able to regain some of her careful control.
He took over, grabbing her hips and moving her up and down over his slick shaft. “You’re beautiful.” He pressed his lips to her back, continuing his torturous pace.
His words were like throwing lighter fluid on an already roaring fire, and she gasped and arched her head back as she climaxed uncontrollably. She opened her eyes as he spun her around. His eyes held a dangerous look.
Tori flung herself onto the bed next to him and listened to his breathing even out. She was raw with emotions and uncertain as to what to do or say. She couldn’t unload on him now. Not after everything he’d been through. Still, she had questions.
“Did you win?”
Chris didn’t speak for a long moment, and she was sure he had fallen asleep. She turned on her side, expecting to find proof that he’d shut his eyes and nodded off. Instead, she found his blue eyes focused on her hair splayed out on the pillow. He reached up and tenderly wrapped a long strand around his finger.
“Yes.”
She considered that for a moment. What would tonight have been like if he’d shown up at the club, excited to tell her he’d beaten Louis? Would she still be feeling as hurt as she did in this moment?
With a sigh, he pushed himself up from the bed and pulled his jeans on.
Panic took over as he zipped up and looked down at her, still standing and making no move to get back into bed. “You’re leaving?”
He nodded and leaned down and brushed her lips with a kiss. “It’s been a long night. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She attempted to smile up at him even though she felt like she was plummeting into Brokenheartville. She wanted to jump into his arms and wrestle him back to the bed and demand a redo that involved her being a badass sexual diva and him being… well himself, but less sad and intense.
He smiled back at her, one side of his mouth turning up into a devastating smile. “Sweet dreams.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Chris grimaced ashe swallowed the last sip of his cold coffee. The bad hospital java was rivaling the bad hospital breakfast he’d eaten an hour earlier.
“Thanks for coming. Quite a mess Travis has gotten himself into.”
Charlie’s voice was tired and groggy. Neither of them had even bothered to try and sleep last night. “Do you think it’s over? Do you think Danny will leave him alone now?”
Chris nodded. “It’s over.”
“You sound so sure. What if he decides in a week or a year to come back and fuck with Travis again? You may not be there next time.”
“He won’t be back.”
Charlie stared at him, eyes narrowed. “Oh, my God. You paid him off.”
It wasn’t a question, and Chris didn’t bother answering.
Charlie let out a low chuckle and shook his head. “Travis is gonna be pissed.”
“No. He. Isn’t,” Chris said through gritted teeth. “He’s never going to know.” He pushed himself up from the plastic chair and threw his cup in the trash. “Tell Travis I’ll be back in a few hours. I need to take care of something.”
“You know you don’t always have to be the one to take care of things. You could have called and told me about Travis before you took care of everything. You do this shit all the time.”
Chris looked at Charlie with a surprised look — eyebrows lifted and chin tilted down.
Charlie put up a hand to stop Chris from commenting. “Before you get all high and mighty on me, I know I wasn’t the best big brother to you when Mom and Dad died. I dealt with it by running away. Travis too, but not you. You stayed and handled everything. It was you who took care of selling the estate, dealing with lawyers, and God knows what else.” Charlie ran both hands over his face. “I’m sorry that landed on you. I came back to Sweetbriar because I want to be a part of your life. Good and bad. We’re family. Blood. I’m not running away again.”
Chris nodded, unsure of what to say. He believed Charlie was back, and he was damn glad to have him in his life again, but this thing with Travis wasn’t Charlie’s fault. It wasn’t on Charlie to fix this. It was all on him. If he hadn’t been so focused on his own shit, he would have realized what Travis’ uneasiness on the trip to Carroll had been about. Instead, he’d acted like an idiot and assumed it was all about him. No more. He was done being blind to Travis’ troubles. He’d do whatever it took to see him settled and back on his feet, even if it meant giving up the one thing he wanted the most. This was bigger than he and Tori. He needed to be there for Travis one-hundred percent.
Tori woke tothe smell of coffee and the faint sound ofThe Golden Girls. She opened one eye to find Claire sitting, legs crossed, on the opposite bed with a picnic of food and coffee laid out beside her. She was happily humming along to the theme song.
Tori hardly recognized her own gruff voice as she opened her mouth to point out Claire’s annoying morning peppiness. “You really are the worst in the mornings. No one should be this chipper this early.”
