Page 13 of Cherishing Happily Ever After

Butwhathad tripped it?

Was there really someone on the property?The thought of Steph alone and unprotected in her cabin by the river fueled him to move faster.

In front of him, Tink led the way down the trail, excited to be running in the middle of the night. Travis kept swinging his flashlight back and forth along the trail, expecting to see…what? He didn’t know.

All the lights in the cabin were on, illuminating the area around it with a soft glow. Travis called out as he approached, so he didn’t scare Steph inside. “It’s just me, Steph.”

The door opened a crack. Stephanie’s face peered out, her eyes wide with fear.

“Hey.” He climbed the stairs of the porch. Tink wagged her tail and barked to be let in, excited to see her friend. “You okay?”

She nodded and closed the door quickly to unlatch the chain before opening it all the way to let him in. Tink scampered in first, demanding that Stephanie bend and pet her.

“Thank you for coming,” she said when she straightened up again. “I’m just—what?”

Travis swallowed hard and shook his head. “Nothing. Can I see your phone?” He had to turn away to keep from staring at her. There were more serious issues at hand than the way Stephanie’s breasts were outlined perfectly by the thin silk pajama top she wore, her nipples standing at attention and begging for his mouth to—no. He was there for one reason only. To make sure she was safe. Not to…well…not for any other reason.

Stephanie handed him her cell phone, and he quickly clicked on the app to make sure that what had tripped the alarm wasn’t anything serious. He was able to navigate through the cameras and see the exact moment the alarm went off. It was a fox.

“What setting do you have this on?” He asked the question as he clicked over to the alarm section and saw it was set on a super-sensitive setting.

He looked up in question, but Steph simply shrugged. “I wasn’t sure, so I just set it on the highest setting.”

Travis couldn’t help but smile a little at how utterly sweet she was. “You do understand that animals, especially animals that move around at night, will trip the system, right? I’m impressed it didn’t go off earlier.”

She wrapped her arms around her slight frame, and it was only then that Travis noticed she was shaking. “Hey.” He put the phone down and stepped toward her. “Are you okay?”

Steph wouldn’t meet his eyes. She turned quickly, but he still saw the tears that slipped down her cheek.

Despite the fact that it could very well be his undoing, Travis slipped an arm around her shoulders, turned her gently, and pulled her into his embrace.

She hadn’t realized just how terrified she’d been. When the alarm went off, startling her out of sleep, she’d panicked. Stephanie felt more than a little stupid about it now, and yes, she could have looked at the app herself. She could have seen easily that it was just a fox. There was no danger.

But in her panic, she hadn’t been able to think at all. She’d just reacted. And her first instinct?Travis.

It felt like a very good idea in hindsight. With his thick, strong arms holding her tight against his chest, warm from his run over to her, she’d never felt safer. Steph closed her eyes and let herself sink into his embrace. She slowed her breathing and forced herself to calm down.

“Thank you for coming,” she managed to say a few minutes later. “I really do…well, I guess it’s harder to be out here now than I’d expected. I just—”

“Hey.” He pulled away from her just enough to look her in the eye. And just like that, her resolve to stay away from this man who was completely wrong for her wavered. He reached out and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. “It’s okay.” His voice was low and gruff. “I don’t mind and I’m just—” He lowered his mouth to hers.

It would be so easy to let herself have this. Have Travis. To feel warm and safe for the night.

But that was the problem. It would only be for the night. One night. Because this man couldn’t give her more. He wasn’t capable of it. And that wasn’t enough for her. As much as she craved his touch, his lips on hers—she needed more.

Before his lips could touch hers, she pulled away and slipped from his grasp. She took two steps away. “Do you want a tea or anything? I feel bad for getting you all the way over here for—”

His hand was on her arm, pulling her back toward him before she could react. She spun and collided with his chest. A puff of air escaped her lips moments before Travis took the rest of her breath away with a kiss that melted away any objections she’d had only seconds before.

Her arms slipped up his body and wrapped around his neck. She pulled him close, deepening the kiss even as her brain told her it was a bad idea. But what did her brain know, when her body seemed to know exactly what it was that she wanted? And what she wanted was Travis.

He groaned and slid one hand down her side. Her thin silk pajamas were no defense from the heat of his touch. He set fire to her body as his hand traveled down the length of her, settling on the dip of her waist to hold her close. It had been a long time since she’d been with a man. Too long. Not since her engagement with Dax Combs had fallen apart, and that was almost a year earlier. She’d had opportunity, for sure. But Stephanie wasn’t like that. She didn’t do one-night stands, or casual relationships or flings. It was just who she was. She felt too deeply for casual.

Besides, the paparazzi would have a field day with it if they ever found out. In her line of work, reputation was everything. And somehow, she’d developed the image ofgood girlandsweetheart.The press had been good to her. Very good to her. But she knew far too many female celebrities who’d been painted with a very different brush. Not only had it killed more than one career, the damage had gone so much deeper.

A one-night stand wasn’t worth it.

But with Travis’s lips working their way down her neck, his fingers toying with the spaghetti strap of her top, her resolve was definitely melting away.

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