Grasping her hips, he held on to her, letting her set the tempo. “Like that?” he asked, as he lowered his mouth to her neck, kissing a path down her skin to the hollow of her throat.
“Yes. Just like that,” she said in broken breaths as they kept up for several hot and heady minutes. She loved that he was such an attentive lover, wanting to know what pleased her, what thrilled her, and what made her shatter.
The answers were all one and the same. Him.
Soon, she wrapped her arms around his neck, letting her head fall onto his shoulder as the pleasure intensified, sweeping through her body like a rainstorm bursting from the sky. “You’re so good to me,” she moaned, concentrating on the climax that was rising up to greet her. He gripped her hips, quickly taking the reins, guiding her moves as he drove her over the edge, her body bathed in the bliss of their coming together.
Minutes later, he layered kisses on her neck and whispered in her ear, “This is now my favorite image of Hidden Oaks. You, here on the back porch. With me.”
She could hear in his voice the smile she was sure he was wearing.
Chapter Seventeen
Neither Becker nor Travis was on duty, but they were both at the firehouse for one of the final shoots. Becker as the captain, and Travis because, well, because he was a ham. But the photographer hadn’t arrived yet, so Becker pulled his friend aside. He wasn’t going to hem or haw, or let this gnaw away at him anymore. He didn’t know how Travis was going to handle this, and he didn’t know if this was the end to a friendship. But he knew this much—telling the truth was much better than the alternative. It was the only option.
“Hey, man. I need to talk to you.”
Travis nodded, a serious expression on his face. He probably figured it was about work. They walked outside the firehouse and stood by the open garage.
Becker steeled himself for an unhappy reaction, but he didn’t mince words. “Trav, I know you asked me not to get involved with your sister, but I wanted to let you know that I’m planning on taking her out tonight. On a date. Hoping that’ll be all right by you.”
Travis narrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head, as if he hadn’t heard correctly. He didn’t speak, just gave him a curious look. Becker had been expecting some huffing and puffing. Some lecture. Some man-to-man, don’t-you-ever-hurt-my-sister kind of talk. Not this stony silence.
Travis scratched his ear. “What? What did you say?”
“I’m going out with Megan. Tomorrow night,” he repeated.
Travis breathed out hard. Shook his head. “What the fuck?”
“She’s a grown woman. She can date who she wants.”
“Yeah, I know that. But I told you to stay away from her…” He let his voice trail off, then held his hands out wide. “You know how I feel about this.”
“I know. I know, man. You did, and I didn’t listen to you. And for that I am sorry. But the truth is I met her the night before I knew it was her, and we connected, and there’s just something there we want to explore.”
Travis cringed. His features contorted; his eyebrows nearly twisted. “You connected? What the hell?”
Becker nodded, keeping his voice steady and even. “We did, and we’ve spent time together on the shoot, and working on the calendar. And I know you said you don’t want me involved with her, but we feel something for each other. Something real.”
Travis kept shaking his head, as if he could rid himself of what Becker was saying. “I thought you were against relationships. I thought you didn’t even believe in them.” Travis slashed his hand through the air. “Never, you said. It only leads to trouble. And with my sister of all people? I love her like crazy, man. Do you have any idea what she means to me? Do you have any clue? Growing up, we had nothing but each other.”
“I do have an idea. I have a brother. I know what it’s like to care about someone, Trav.”
“She deserves the world, man. And you’re still stuck in Chicago.”
The words cut him to the quick. They sliced through him cruelly with the truth, and he swore for a second he could feel the pain as if he’d truly been cut. But then the feeling drifted away, like it had with Megan. Maybe he was moving on. Maybe he was finally starting to heal.
“I was,” he said in a low voice. “But I’m starting not to be, and it feels good.”
Travis narrowed his eyes, like he didn’t believe him. “So that’s it? You just changed?”
Was it that simple? Hell, maybe that was it. “Yeah, things changed. I met your sister. And I’m crazy about her.”
Travis scoffed. “You telling me you’ve been involved with her already?”