Billionaire Undone(14)

“Wait.” She pulled her hand from his and turned to Charlie. “Thanks, Charlie. I had…fun.”

Charlie grabbed her purse from under the bar and handed it to her. “Have a good birthday, Ally,” he said sincerely.

Travis grabbed her hand, watching her wave happily at the remaining people in the bar as he dragged her out the door.

“Guess you didn’t want a Blow Job. They’re actually really good,” Ally told him cheerfully as they exited the bar.

“For Christ’s sake…stop saying that, Alison.” Travis tried to sound calm, tried to keep the desperation out of his voice. If she asked him about that one more time, his cock was definitely going to detonate.

He got her to the car and strapped her into the seat, before moving around to the driver’s side. Tomorrow, they were going to have a very serious talk about her safety. Or maybe there would be no talk…just action. That was what he was good at, and he planned on making certain that Ally was okay from now on. Obviously no one else seemed to worry about her, and her dickhead fiancé had never cared.

Travis knew her parents were both dead, and that she had no siblings. Her father had died when she was very young, and her mother had passed away soon after she had started college. No wonder she had been ripe for the first asshole who had promised her forever. She’d been easy pickings for a hustler like her ex, probably still grieving and alone. Not that she had shared those things with him. Most of her history he’d learned from Kade, and for some reason, that completely pissed him off.

Maybe she talks to Kade because he isn’t an asshole to her like I am.

Travis drove Ally home, saying very little except to get directions to her house. He was afraid that if he said anything, he would definitely lose control. There was no forgetting that moment when he’d seen her with her hands being held behind her back by some other guy. His protective instincts had flared, and he’d been ready to throttle the bastard just for touching Ally, even though the situation had been mostly innocent. He hadn’t reasoned, hadn’t thought anything through…he’d just reacted. Things didn’t work that way for him, not usually. He was a planner, a thinker, weighing the risks and benefits of every action. And he never, ever did anything remotely emotional or scandalous.

“Why did you come to the bar tonight?” Ally asked quietly, sounding more lucid; clearly, the drive home had sobered her up a little. “I know it’s definitely not one of your usual hangouts.”

“I wanted to make sure you were doing okay,” Travis answered honestly as he pulled into Ally’s driveway.

“Is it because I nearly had a meltdown in your office earlier?”

No. It really wasn’t. He’d done it because he hadn’t been able to stay away after he’d realized exactly what her situation was in life right now. How could he explain that he suddenly wanted to protect her, fix things for her, in addition to the fact that he was dying to fuck her? He didn’t even understand it himself. But he answered, “Yes.” It was the easiest excuse.

“I’ll be okay.”

Fuck! Her voice sounded tentative and vulnerable, and Travis had all he could do not to find her ex and kill the son of a bitch. He’d screwed Ally over, and left her all alone, in a bad situation, after she’d given him everything. Didn’t the asshole know just how valuable that kind of devotion was from a woman? Did he even care? “I know you’ll be fine,” Travis said gruffly. He planned on making damn sure she was from now on.

Ally seemed steadier as he helped her out of the car. She ran her hand lovingly over the hood of his Ferrari. “Well, it least I got to ride in one of your expensive cars,” she said jokingly. “This one is beautiful.”

“It isn’t that expensive compared to some of my other ones at the track,” he admitted. “But I like it for casual driving.”

Ally’s delighted laughter flowed over Travis like a balm to his soul.

“I’d kill to drive this F12, and you’re talking about it like it’s a cheap family car.” Ally snorted.

Travis felt the edges of his mouth start to tug. “I just got a Hennessey today. I was testing it out before I came to see you.”

Travis actually did smile when he heard Ally gasp as she said, “A Venom GT?”

“Yes,” he answered, surprised that Ally knew so much about cars. “You know your vehicles.”

“I grew up in Daytona Beach. I worked the concessions at the raceway in high school. It would have been hard not to learn something about fast cars,” she answered, amused. “I still pay attention.”