Billionaire Undone(43)

Ally panted as she relished the uneven rise and fall of Travis’s breath, knowing he’d been just as affected by what had just happened as she had been. “You just rocked my world, Mr. Harrison,” she said breathlessly. Never in her wildest imaginings could she ever have seen her solemn, no-nonsense boss as a dominant, passionate, intense lover.

His hand connected with her ass with a loud smack. It stung, but it didn’t really hurt.

“Travis,” he insisted. “Mr. Harrison applies to more than one person. I don’t want you forgetting who just fucked you half senseless.”

He’d actually screwed her completely senseless, but she answered saucily. “Did you? I didn’t notice.”

He slapped her ass again. “You noticed. And you’re going to keep on noticing until the only voice you hear is mine telling you how much I want to fuck you.”

Ally speared a hand in his hair, stroking the thick strands between her fingers. “Thank you. I’ve never felt that way before,” she told him seriously.

“How?”

“Sexy. Wanted. Beautiful,” she admitted quietly. “I’ll never forget this night.”

“No, you won’t. Because we’ll be doing it every damn night,” Travis rasped. “I meant what I said, Ally. You’re mine now. I’m not letting you go.”

Oh, God. Ally wanted to be his, but she was trying to set herself free, not set herself up for another heartbreak. Travis Harrison might want her right now, and he’d helped her just by giving her a taste—okay, maybe a feast—of desire. But she was his employee, his assistant. “Travis, I’m your employee. We can’t just continue to have an affair.”

Travis sat up, causing Ally to have to straddle him. “The hell we can’t. And it isn’t an affair. It isn’t like either one of us is attached.”

“Then what would you call it?” Ally asked curiously.

“A goddamn fantasy that’s actually coming true,” Travis told her obstinately.

“And when the fantasy ends?” Ally shot back at him.

“It won’t. Not ever,” Travis told her stubbornly. “Christ! If you could spend five years with a man who didn’t give a rat’s ass about you, why can’t you try being with a man who cares about you and what you want?”

Ally looked at Travis’s face, the hurt in his eyes flooring her. “I’m sorry. I guess with you I’d just be waiting until the novelty of screwing your secretary wore off and I’d be hurt again. It’s not you. It’s me, Travis. I’m scared to try again so soon.”

“I’d die before I’d hurt you, Ally,” he told her huskily, his hand stroking her back absently.

An enormous lump lodged in her throat, as she suddenly considered why she wouldn’t give whatever was happening between her and Travis a chance to grow. Did she think she didn’t deserve a guy who cared? Did she think Travis didn’t really care? Whatever her reasoning, it was self-destructive and ridiculous. He was a man like any other. Yes…he was one of the wealthiest men in the world, but to judge him solely based on that fact was just plain stupid. She knew now that he was a good man beneath his gruff, solemn exterior. And she already cared about him. And he’d showed her more concern than any other person in her life ever had. Maybe that was the really scary part. “I guess I’m just not used to someone who cares. But I’d like to get used to it,” she admitted hesitantly. And she wanted to care about Travis in return. He needed to lighten up, and whether he’d admit it or not, he needed someone who cared about him and not his bottom line. And that was something she could and would give him.

Getting him to open up to her wouldn’t be easy, and she wouldn’t have an easy time being vulnerable to him. But couldn’t it end up being worth the risk? Ally lifted a hand and stroked his rough jawline. “Will you let me care about you, Travis?” She held her breath, terrified by leaving herself raw and vulnerable to this man, but wanting him too badly not to take the risk.

He caught her hand in his and kissed her palm. “Care, Ally. I need you.”

Ally let out her breath, relief flooding her body. In opening herself up to Travis, she’d unwittingly allowed him to reveal his vulnerability to her. For a proud, intensely alpha male like Travis, his risk was as big as her own. “I’m afraid it’s too late to start. I already do care,” she whispered softly.

His dark eyes pinned her with a possessive look, but something miraculous happened at the same time. For the first time since Ally had known him, Travis Harrison gave her the happiest, sincerest, and broadest smile she’d ever seen, and she knew she was completely lost. And, seeing his handsome, almost boyish expression, Ally decided he was definitely worth the risk.