Not a Chance(7)
He laughed and caught her by the wrists. He swung her 'round and pinned her to the floor beneath him, trapping her hands above her head. She was still laughing and squirming. When she opened her eyes her laughter faded. She was suddenly struck by the fact that she was playing with fire with a man she barely knew.
He stared hard into her eyes. "Things are serious, now," he said. "What do you say, Arden? Nobody has to know." And the way he undressed her with his eyes made her light up all over so that for a brief second she was genuinely tempted to say yes.
"I would know," she said, before that temptation could expand any further. "I won't cheat on my fiancé."
He kept her pinned for another moment. She didn't struggle, knowing he would back off as soon as he realized she was serious. His eyes narrowed briefly, assessing. Then they softened into a sad sort of smile.
He rose to his knees and extended his hand, pulling her to a sitting position. Then he leaned back against the couch. "You change your mind, just let me know," he said.
"I won't. But thank you for the offer."
He shrugged, picked his novel back up and started looking for the place he'd left off. And for some reason she felt a sudden emptiness.
CHAPTER FIVE
On the second morning, sunshine streamed through a crack in the drapes and spilled directly into Travis's eyes. If not for that, he might have slept until noon, like he had the day before. He squeezed his eyes shut and rolled over, the mattress squeaking beneath him. The day before, he and Arden had dragged the queen size mattress down the stairs from the master bedroom. It was a good suggestion on Arden's part and may have had something to do with his grumbling about the floor hurting his back. Thirty-four...surely that was too young to be complaining about bodily aches and pains.
Travis sat up and glanced at the other side of the mattress. She slept soundly, looking profoundly beautiful with the early morning glow of the sun brightening her skin and casting shadows over her face. She had the blanket pulled up to her chin. He might have enjoyed fantasizing about the body underneath, with its soft subtle curves, but he knew that she was fully clothed and likely to stay that way.
The evening before they had played Monopoly and she had drank wine that she found in the kitchen cupboard. She'd asked why he didn't drink and he told her about the alcoholism. She'd surprised him by digging for more information. He wound up telling her way more about his past than he'd intended. He'd watched her the entire time, making sure she was truly interested and that her sympathy wasn't condescending or fake. She'd nodded along and empathized with him. She'd even told of a friend of her father's from out of town who had an alcohol problem.
It was a comfortable visit. Maybe it was because neither of them gave a shit about the opinion of the other. Maybe that's why they were so relaxed and comfortable together. Maybe getting all the sexual teasing out of the way earlier had lightened any tension they may have been dealing with.
He wanted her. No doubt about it. But she knew that and didn't seem to care. And she obviously didn't want him back. So they wound up falling into a companionable acquaintanceship rather quickly. Now she was sleeping and he took the opportunity to appreciate her beauty. She wasn't ice on the inside after all. She tried. But really she was playful and sexy and interesting. Maybe if they were snowed in long enough he could get in her pants.
She started to stir, so he stood and stretched, not wanting her to know he'd been gazing adoringly at her. His breath caught as she stretched and moaned and arched her back. "What time is it?" she asked in a groggy voice.
"Nine-thirty," he replied.
She exhaled and slowly pushed herself up. Then she smiled. "Sunshine!"
"Yes, cupcake?" he replied, grinning.
She rolled her eyes and stood and walked to the window. "Jeez. I've never seen that much snow, before. Look, it's blown in a drift all the way up to the window."
He joined her. It was deep, for sure. The sun would go a long ways towards melting some of it. But there was no way they were making it back to the road and getting the truck out of the ditch today.
She looked up at him and opened her mouth.
"Probably not today," he said, before she could ask.
She closed her mouth and frowned.
"Hey," he said. "If you're missing the warm embrace of your dear lover Nick, I'd be glad to fill his place for a while." He held out his arms.
She glared at him.
He dropped his arms. Okay, she's not in the mood for it, he thought. For that matter, he wasn't either. There was nothing pleasant about wanting a woman you couldn't have. If he could, he'd go up to Rowdy's bar and play pool with the guys and try to pick up a woman there. Lots of desperate thirty-somethings hung out up there. And Travis needed a thirty-something. Or a forty-something. Not a twenty-something with too many life lessons to be learned before she'd be stable enough for a relationship.