One corner of his mouth curled up in a half grin. “Okay then. Let’s go.”
She followed him out into the night. The sky was clear, the air sharp and crisp. The chill outside eased the heat swirling inside of her. In short order, they were standing inside the crowded waiting area of The Boathouse Café. The pace was slower in the winter, but it was still busy. Janie glanced around and saw many unfamiliar faces mixed in with locals. The Boathouse was a local and tourist favorite. Ever since Last Frontier Lodge, a local ski resort, had reopened, the tourists were in Diamond Creek year-round. Travis had thought ahead and made a reservation, so they were seated within minutes of their arrival.
Dinner passed in a strange blur for her. In some ways, it was quite normal. She managed to eat and carry on a casual conversation. She even managed to greet a few friends who stopped by their table to say hello. Travis bantered with Luke Winters when he stopped by their table with his wife Hannah, an old friend of Janie’s. Janie glanced up at Hannah, tall and willowy with sky blue eyes and a warm smile. “How’s it going?” Janie asked.
Hannah smiled, her eyes flicking from Janie to Travis and back again, mild curiosity in her gaze. “Busy, but good. How about you?”
Janie shrugged. “About the same. Not sure if you heard, but Stella broke her ankle in a sledding accident, so we’ve been dealing with that. Otherwise, John’s doing great in class. He’s full of energy and he loves to ask questions,” she said, referring to Hannah and Luke’s son who had started in her first grade class this year.
Hannah laughed softly. “You really do know how to spin the positive. He is so full of energy, he wears me out, and he never stops asking questions. I can’t tell you how glad I am that you’re his teacher.”
Janie laughed. Given that she felt muddled and like she was walking blind through whatever this was with Travis, a few moments of talking about teaching settled her. Having grown up with Hannah, she knew her well enough to know Hannah was probably wondering about her and Travis. Janie didn’t think much about the fact she rarely dated, but it felt like a glaring detail right now. Travis was laughing along with something Luke said. Hannah’s eyes flicked between them again. She curled her hand over the edge of Janie’s chair and leaned down.
“He’s good for you,” Hannah said, her voice low and barely audible over the murmur of conversation around them.
Janie glanced up, suddenly vulnerable and off-kilter again. Hannah’s warm blue eyes met hers, and she gave Janie’s shoulder a quick squeeze before straightening up when Luke curled his arm across her shoulders. They said their goodbyes and strolled away. Hannah slipped her hand in the rear pocket of Luke’s jeans, while he idly sifted his hand through her dark hair. Their casual intimacy struck Janie, sending a flash of longing through her. She’d watched many friends find love, yet she’d never questioned her commitment to staying single. Until Travis. She glanced over at him. He turned as their waiter approached. The lines of his profile were clean and strong. Her breath caught and her heart gave a hard thump before her pulse took off at a gallop.
Chapter 12
Travis adjusted an armful of firewood as he climbed the steps to the porch. While they’d been at dinner, the temperature had dropped dramatically. It was already cold, yet it had dipped lower into the teeth-chattering range. He nudged the kitchen door with his knee and stepped inside, toeing his boots off by the door, as they were damp from the crunchy snow in Janie’s yard.
“Here we go,” he said as he approached the fireplace in her living room.
Janie reached over and quickly took half of what he carried, turning to lay the logs in the fireplace. He set the remainder in the wrought-iron rack beside the fireplace and stepped back while she strategically placed a few pieces of tinder under the logs and lit a piece of paper, which she slipped in between the tinder and logs as soon as it caught fire.
There was a soft hissing sound and then the tinder lit up, flames rippling through the logs. Janie was leaning over, her gaze on the fire. Travis could hardly keep his eyes off the lush curves of her hips. He’d managed to get through dinner without completely losing control of himself, but he was about at the end of his tether, his restraint hanging on by a thin thread and sheer will.
She stood and turned to face him. Her dark hair fell in loose waves around her shoulders. Her porcelain skin was flushed slightly and her eyes bright. He couldn’t say he’d thought much about what to do next. He recalled Nathan’s comment that he should do something about Janie. So, he’d asked her to dinner, only to learn dinner with Janie teased him to near madness. Here with her now, lust rolled through him in a flash. He gave up thinking and closed the distance between them in one long stride. Her head angled up to him when he reached her. He forced himself to hold still, barely able to hear over the fast pounding of his heart. Even if his control was almost lost, he wanted to give her a chance to back away. She didn’t take it. She simply watched him, her layered hazel eyes dark with desire. Her pulse fluttered in her neck. The sound of her breathing, shallow and soft, sent him over the edge. He threaded a hand in her hair and dipped his head forward to fit his mouth over hers.
She was still for a beat and then sighed against his lips. That was it. He was lost. He swept his tongue into her mouth, reveling at her response. Their kiss went from hot to searing in seconds—a tangle of lips and tongue. She met him stroke for stroke. The fire beside them snapped and crackled, heat starting to emanate nearby, while the fire between them was nearly all consuming. He sifted his hand through her hair and down her spine, tracing the dip of her waist and the generous curve of her bottom. He couldn’t resist pulling her against him, groaning into her mouth at the feel of her softness against his hardness. He needed more and he needed it now. He tore his lips free and gulped in air before blazing a wet trail of kisses along the column of her throat and her collarbone.
While he was busy exploring the sweet taste of her skin, she was busy with her own exploration. One hand stroked up his chest and down his back, while the other reached between them to curl over his cock—rock hard and throbbing. He growled against her skin and lifted his head. He met her eyes in the flickering firelight. He grabbed onto what little control he had left and forced himself to breathe. “Janie,” he said roughly.
Her eyes were dark and she gave a small nod.
“If you want us to stop, we need to stop now.” He bit the words out, forcing himself to hold on. He didn’t want to push her further than she wanted to go, but he seriously didn’t know how much he could take before he lost what little control he had.
She gave a tiny shake of her head. Uncertain what that meant, he held her eyes. “What do you mean?”
She licked her lips. Holy hell. If she meant for him to keep some semblance of control, she needed not to do things like that. “I don’t want to stop,” she replied, her voice husky.
That was all he needed. He stroked his palms down her sides and curled his hands around her hips, lifting her against him. In a few strides, he was by the couch and sat down with her in his arms. She was a bundle of softness and curves. Her eyes slammed into his and she shifted to straddle him. “This,” she said, the roughness in her voice sending a hot jolt through him as she brought her mouth to his again.
Janie found herself sitting astride Travis, the feel of his hot length grazing against her with every subtle shift of her hips. She was teetering on the edge of pure madness. She’d decided she would let herself have this, yet this with Travis went beyond anything she could have anticipated. The wild pounding beat of desire between them had ratcheted up to a burning conflagration. Sometime in the last few minutes, he’d made quick work of her shirt and bra, while she’d shoved his shirt off. Amidst kisses and a tangled scramble, he’d tugged her jeans down where they dangled from an ankle. She gave a kick to free them and settled against him, a moan escaping at the feel of his hard cock through the damp silk of her panties. The denim was rough against the silk and she savored the friction.
A luscious shiver raced through her when he dipped his head and swirled his tongue around a nipple taut with need. She gasped with relief at the feel of his mouth on her bare skin. A subtle suction before he pulled away elicited a sharp cry. She gripped his hair when he shifted his attention to the other nipple, tracing wet circles with his fingers when he lifted his head. He held her gaze as he reached down and dragged his fingers along her low belly before hooking over the edge of her panties and delving down.
Barely able to breathe, her eyes fell closed as he stroked into her folds. She was drenched with need, her channel throbbing and slick. Her breath came in soft gasps, and she teetered on a delicious edge. Spun tight inside, his slow strokes into her channel only served to tighten the coil. He said her name, his voice low and gruff. She managed to drag her eyes open to find his waiting. Another finger joined the first, stretching her and sending hot streaks of pleasure through her. She was caught in his dark blue gaze and couldn’t look away as he began to rhythmically stroke into her. Her hips rolled into his touch as the pressure gathered within. In a flash, the sensation built to a crescendo. She distantly heard herself cry out sharply when his thumb circled over her clit, and then the pressure let loose, crashing over her in waves of intense pleasure.