Page 14 of Cherishing Happily Ever After

“Steph?” He nibbled and sucked at a sensitive spot behind her ear. “Are you going to push me away again?”

Was she?

Stephanie took a deep breath. “I haven’t been the one pulling away, Travis.”

His lips stilled on her skin. With his hands still holding her fast, he lifted his head. “You thinkI’vebeen pulling away?”

She nodded. That’s exactly what he’d been doing. They’d been playing a push-and-pull game for months. The attraction between them was fire. From the very beginning, there was no denying how attracted they were to each other. And every time they’d gotten close to…well, to anything…he’d pulled away. Literally. Until the last time. They would have slept together if they hadn’t been interrupted.

“You know I wasn’t pulling away that time,” he said as if he’d read her mind. “Not even close. And I’m certainly not pulling away now,” he added. “Quite the opposite.”

He pulled her close to him again, and a surge of need rushed through her at the feel of his own desire pressed up against her belly.No. He wasn’t pulling away this time.

But it wasn’t about that. It was the way he kept himself just distant enough from her emotionally. It wasn’t about physical presence. It never had been.

Stephanie swallowed hard as she made the decision her heart knew was the right one, no matter how much her body protested. She slipped her hands up between them and splayed them out against Travis’s hard chest, forming a barrier between them. “We want different things, Travis.” He opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off before he could. “I think we should just be friends.”

His face flashed through myriad feelings, but settled on a small, knowing smile. “Friends? That’s what you want?”

It wasn’t at all what she wanted. She wavered in her resolve, but only for a moment. She nodded. “I think it’s for the best. Don’t you?”

He hesitated, his hands still on her body. For a second, Stephanie thought he would disagree, maybe try to convince her otherwise.Maybe, he might just…

Travis released her and stepped back. “I don’t think it’s going to matter what I think is best here, Steph.”

She shivered, immediately cold from the loss of his touch. And maybe that was all the answer she needed? If he was willing to walk away so easily, that only proved he wasn’t in it for more than a hookup.

“But I’ll respect what you want,” he added and turned to leave.

“No, wait!”

Travis turned slowly, a small, sexy smile on his lips that made something low in her gut tighten in need. He raised an eyebrow in question.

“Will you stay?” She felt stupid asking after what had just happened, but the idea of being alone for the rest of the night was enough to make her swallow her pride. “I mean, as friends?”

He chuckled a little and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Of course.”

Relief washed through her.

“But if you’re serious about just being friends,” Travis added, “you’re going to need to put a sweater on or something, because…I can only handle so much.”

ChapterFour

The air washeavy with the threat of rain when Travis woke up and slipped away from Stephanie’s cabin the next morning before dawn. He left the dog behind, mostly because Tinker Bell was sleeping so soundly she hadn’t noticed when Travis woke, and also because if Steph was still frightened at all about being alone, maybe the dog would provide some kind of protection. Or, more likely the case, would provide theillusionof protection.

He’d managed to get a few hours of sleep on the small couch she had, while Tink, the traitor, curled up next to Steph in her bed. Where he wanted to be.

And damn, did he ever want to be curled up next to her petite body, his hands on her curves, holding her close against him. Keeping her safe and warm while his lips traveled—

No.

For what felt like the millionth time since the night before, Travis had to force his mind away from thinking that way. She wanted to be just friends.

Bullshit.

Shesaidshe wanted to be friends. But her kiss and her body said exactly the opposite. Still. He was a gentleman, mostly. And he’d respect what she wanted, even if he didn’t buy it. Even if it was not even close to whathewanted. Because he wanted her. He’d wanted her from the moment he met her. It was like a magnetic pull; he couldn’t seem to stay away from her. And he’d tried.

Damn. Had he ever tried. Because he knew they would never work together. She was the type of woman who wantedmore.Hell, she was a celebrity. She wasknownfor her committed relationships and the way she didn’t sleep around or play the Hollywood game. She wanted things he couldn’t give her. He knew that.

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