Billie held her breath, already knowing what was coming.

“Then when I was seventeen, I came home from school to find her sprawled on the couch, a big, ugly man on top of her and her screaming for him to stop.” He sucked in a breath and his features darkened. “He was raping her and hell, she may have been a slut, but that didn’t mean I was going to stand by and let some motherfucker abuse her. I ripped him off her and threw my fist into his face. Until then, I didn’t know that I could even throw a punch like that but instinct and rage, concern for my mom, took over. I beat that man until his face was unrecognizable and Mom begged me to stop. And then she fucking helped him. She tended to him like he was a baby, and I realized then that she would never love me as much as her habit.”

“What happened then?” Billie asked, already knowing the answer, but wanting him to open up completely to her.

Travis swallowed; she saw his Adam’s apple move up and down his throat. “He left, and I vowed never again to defend her. She told me he wouldn’t call the police because of who he was, but she was wrong. He did. They found me and they threw me in jail. I told them my reasons for the attack, but even as I gave them my statement, I knew it wouldn’t matter. I guessed she wouldn’t corroborate my story, and I was right. Yesterday was the first time I’d seen her in fifteen years.”

Oh Travis. She wanted to pull him into her arms and wrap herself around him, but she guessed he would close up if she attempted sympathy. She didn’t know why he’d told her, but she knew it wasn’t because he wanted her to feel sorry for him. Maybe it was because he wanted her to see Lorna for who he thought she really was. Still, whatever the reason, she couldn’t help the happiness that bloomed within her at the fact that he’d opened up.

“And that’s when you met Priest, in prison?”

He shook his head. “I met one of the other Deacons—he was inside for a bar brawl that had put some guy in a coma—and for some reason we clicked. When I got out and didn’t have anywhere to go, he invited me to stay with him. The rest, as they say, is history.”

“What was it like being in a g…I mean club?”

He laughed. “Were you ever in Girl Scouts?”

She hit him with a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me look. “You’re not going to tell me your club was all about doing good deeds, singing songs around the campfire and earning badges for cooking and sewing?”

“Well…maybe not exactly, but there are some similarities.”

She couldn’t help laughing. She loved his sense of humor, even if he rarely let it out to play. “You want to explain some of those similarities?”

His forehead crinkled a little as if he was deep in thought, but then he shook his head again. “Nope. I’ve got a much better idea.”

He carefully took the sketch pad and charcoal out of her grasp and laid them on the floor and then turned back to her, pushing her gently down onto the mattress. They were both already naked, so they didn’t need to waste time and got straight down to business instead. Billie appeared to be in a permanent state of arousal around this man, so she was more than ready and willing for all that he had in mind.

—

Travis held Billie tightly, reluctant to let her go after a night of the best fucking of his life.

“What are you going to do today?” she asked, endeavoring to distract him with words as she tried to sneak out of his grip.

He tightened his hold on her and whispered into her ear, “You. Over and over and over again.”

She laughed, a beautiful sound that swam right through him. “Isn’t that what we’ve been doing all night and half the morning?”

“And I still haven’t had enough.” He pressed his lips against the nape of her neck, grinning when she shivered in his arms. His words and the truth behind them surprised him, as he rarely wanted to spend more than one night with a woman. Something about Billie made him want to hold on a little longer—she made him feel as if there really was good in the world. He pushed this worrying thought aside, deciding to make the most of the moment as he licked his way down to her breasts. Man, had anyone ever tasted better?

She moaned, a beautiful sound that he couldn’t get enough of, and he wondered if they’d ever get around to crawling out of bed. He had other things to focus on, but right now he only wanted to focus on her.

“Travis! You need to stop.” Billie giggled as she grabbed hold of his ears and tried to tug him off her.

“Why?” He twirled his tongue around one nipple and then sucked it right into his mouth.

She let out a gasp and thrust her hips up off the bed toward him. The hot vee between her legs pressed against his cock and it hardened instantly. It would be so easy and so good to thrust up inside her.

“Because.” Her voice was more forceful this time and she pushed her hands against his chest. “Because I need to get up and go to work.”

Baxter sprang up from his comatose state on the floor next to the bed and barked.

Billie laughed. “And the pup needs to be let out for a pit stop. If he pees on the floor, I’ll make you clean it up.”

That was almost worth the risk to have Billie writhing beneath or on top of him again, but as he weighed his options she took the chance to make her escape. He groaned as she all but skipped across the room, tugged on some underwear and then covered up with a long, floaty floral skirt and a black fitted top. She threw some bright, chunky beads around her neck.

“What time does the gallery close?” he asked, already fantasizing about that night. Already imagining ridding her of that sweet little outfit and losing himself inside her.

She smiled knowingly as she brushed her fingers through her hair. “I close up early on Mondays, actually.”

“Best news I’ve heard all day.” He stretched out and then linked his hands behind his head.

“But,” she said as she started out of the room, “I told my boss at the tour company I’d fill in for someone who’s sick, so I’ve got a ghost tour on tonight.”

“Dammit. You’re going to stand me up for ghosts?”

She shrugged in the doorway. “Sorry. I can’t afford to turn down paid work at the moment, not with the uncertainty of the gallery and all, but I’m sure you’ll find something to keep yourself occupied.”

As Billie headed down the hallway, Baxter following closely at her heels, Travis rolled over and put the pillow over his head. Yes, he had plenty to keep him occupied, but he’d much rather stay in bed and gather his energies for later.

A few moments later the aroma of coffee lured him out. He headed down the corridor and into the kitchen to find Billie cracking eggs into a bowl. She glanced over and smiled at him. “Want some breakfast?”

He paused a moment, trying to recall a time in his past when he’d ever hung around long enough to have bacon and eggs with a conquest, and came up blank. Breakfast seemed a little cozy; then again, he had worked up quite an appetite overnight. “Sure.”

Billie turned back to focus on whatever she was doing with the eggs and Travis crossed to the whiz-bang coffee machine, trying to ignore the fact that this scenario was alien to him. Just because he was about to share a meal didn’t mean it was serious. And she knew that. He’d been clear. Hadn’t he? The moment he’d finished helping Ajax and Blue he was out of here. No looking back.

“Are you thinking about Priest?”

At Billie’s question, he looked up to find her staring at him. “What?”

Her lips twisted at the edges. “You looked like you had the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

He sighed and focused on the coffee machine. “Yeah,” he lied. “I’ve also got some of my own business to attend to.”

“It’s lucky you work for yourself, or I guess it’d be harder to stick around here,” she said as she poured the eggs into a pan. It sizzled, and she began stirring the eggs with a wooden spoon.