The man made the right choice. He bent over to pick up the broken pieces of his sunglasses off the ground and staggered towards his semi, seeming dazed.
I'd never seen Travis violent before, but it was obvious he knew how to throw a punch. I'd also never seen him so angry. So threatening.
The aggression seemed to leave him immediately as he turned to me and hugged my body to his. After picking up the bag of our snacks, he quickly steered me toward his semi at the other end of the lot.
When he stopped with me by the passenger side, a mix of emotions painted his face-fear, anger, guilt.
He ran his hands over me as if assessing me for injuries. "Are you okay?" he asked, sounding distressed. "I leave you alone for two minutes … Fuck! I'm so sorry, Angel. I should've been there … "
"I'm okay." I finally found my voice. "I'm just really confused. What happened back there?" I motioned with my thumb toward the empty parking lot.
Instead of answering my question, he continued to search my body with his hands. "Did he hurt you?"
"Not really. I mean, he grabbed me … " I rubbed at the place where he'd had his meaty fingers wrapped around my arm. It didn't look like there would be any bruising, but there was a red streak on my skin, probably caused by the friction when I tried to pull away from him.
Travis's face turned murderous when he saw the mark on my skin. "Motherfucker. I should've hit that sick bastard a few more times," he growled.
When he started to look around like he was trying to find the guy again, I brought my hand up to his face to make him look at me.
"It's okay. I'm okay. Let's just get out of here?" I pleaded.
He nodded and briefly touched his forehead to mine before opening the passenger door and helping me up into the seat.
TRAVIS
That sack of shit touched Angel. When I saw him manhandling her, saw her struggling against him, my vision went red.
My hands were still shaking from the adrenaline and rage as I started the engine.
I didn't think she would run into any trouble here. The big-name truck stops got a lot of traffic and usually had parking lot surveillance, which discouraged the customers from certain behaviors.
I knew what he planned to do with her. It didn't take a genius to figure it out.
"Hey, you're bleeding." Angel pointed at my bloody knuckles with a trembling finger.
I flexed my hand, noting that it would be sore, but my skin wasn't broken.
"It's not my blood," I said, looking over at her and noticing she looked a little pale. "Are you sure you're okay?"
She nodded. "We should clean it. Do you have a first aid kit?"
"Glove compartment."
She found the small square case then tore open a few alcohol wipes before passing them to me.
"What's a lot lizard?" Angel's curious voice piped up beside me as I thoroughly disinfected the back of my hand.
I hated that she had to see this side of the business, but there was no way to sugarcoat it. "A hooker who hangs out at truck stops."
"He thought I was a prostitute?" she gasped. Sounding insulted, she sat back in her seat and looked down at her clothes.
She was wearing skinny jeans, and her Beach Boys shirt. Nothing about her outfit suggested she was for sale.
"He made an assumption based on what he wanted. You didn't do anything wrong, okay?" I made eye contact with her, wanting to make sure she heard me loud and clear.
"I told him to stop." She paused, then shivered as she quietly asked the sickening question I'd been wondering myself. "Do you think he would have taken no for an answer?"
"I don't know," I said, wanting to be honest with her. "I'm not sure if he was concerned about how willing you were."
We didn't talk much after that. Angel fiddled with the radio stations while I tried to concentrate on the road. Usually, driving was calming for me. But after what happened-or almost happened-calm was the last thing I felt.
I drove for another two hours before deciding on a rest stop.
"Are you sure you don't want to get a motel room?" I asked her after shutting off the semi. "After what happened back there … Maybe it's a better option."
"No," she said stubbornly. "This is where we spent our first night together. I want to do it again."
Well, okay then. I couldn't argue with that.
The truth was, I couldn't wait to sleep with her on the tiny sleeper bed again. I'd been looking forward to it all week and I didn't want to let some asshole to ruin our trip.
After we got changed and ready for bed, I snuggled in close to her on the narrow mattress.
Angel didn't waste any time, hungrily consuming my lips with hers. Usually, I was the one to initiate the physical stuff, so I loved it when she made the first move.
Unfortunately, I was distracted and she could tell. I was still pretty shaken up by what happened back at the truck stop. My head spun with the ‘what ifs', replaying all the different ways it could have gone.
Her kissing slowed and she pulled back to look me in the eye.
"What's wrong?"
"I just can't get it out of my head-what could've happened to you back there if I'd been one minute later. Just one minute." I shook my head. "It's on replay in my mind and I can't get it to stop."
"So let's replace it with something else," she suggested quietly as she ran her fingers through my hair.
"Like what?" I closed my eyes at the soothing gesture, the feeling of calm seeping into me with every gentle sweep of her hand.
"Let's make tonight a good memory." Her hand trailed down my chest and her fingers lingered suggestively at the waist of my pants. "Travis, how long do I have to wait?"
I knew what she wanted from me. And I wanted to give it to her.
I wanted Angel to be my first and I wanted to be hers. Although, somewhere deep down, I knew it wasn't going to be enough. Truth was, I didn't just want one part of her-I wanted it all.
I wanted her to be my first, my forever, and everything in between.
And even though I knew she didn't plan on staying, I was willing to take whatever she was willing to give, consequences be damned.
"I don't want to wait anymore either," I proclaimed.
A relieved breath whooshed from her and a huge grin spread over her face. "Good. Now take this off." She tugged at my shirt and it made me chuckle.
"Someone's impatient," I teased as I slipped my shirt over my head. "And bossy."
She ran her hands over my skin while licking her lips, and my dick instantly hardened.
Fuck. This is really happening.
After removing her shirt and bra, I came over her, loving the way her bare skin felt against mine. She eagerly clawed at my pants, pushing them down over my hips, and my erection bobbed impatiently between us.
A chuckle left me when she started using her toes to pull my pants all the way down to my feet. It was like she couldn't get me naked fast enough.
The feeling was mutual.
Next, I peeled her jeans off, revealing smooth, creamy skin. We'd been naked together before, but this time it was different.
Tonight, we would claim each other in a way no one else ever would again.
I melded my mouth with hers and a quiver ran through my body as the underside of my cock brushed against the short hairs over her center. I could feel the heat and wetness between her folds.
Running my fingers through her slit, I confirmed what I already knew. "Baby, you're soaked."
"I want you," she said breathlessly.
I thought about what it would feel like plunging into her heat, and I hoped I could last longer than a few minutes. If I'd known we were going to have sex, I would've prepared myself for it by rubbing one out before we left this morning.
Speaking of being prepared, a sudden realization came over me-I didn't have any condoms.
"I'm such an idiot," I groaned.
"What? Why?" she asked, confused.
"I don't have any condoms. I'm an idiot," I repeated.
"I'm on birth control," she said. "I have that implant thingy in my arm. Claire was pretty adamant about me getting on something even though I wasn't sexually active," she explained. "I'm covered for another year. And we've never been with anyone else so … "
"Are you sure?" I really hoped she was sure. Because I really liked the thought of being with her bare.
She nodded. "I want to feel you, Travis. I want to feel everything."
"Okay." I gave her a quick kiss, then reached into the front of the truck to grab my phone out of the cup holder.
"What are you doing?" she asked, sitting up on her elbows, giving me a good view of her breasts.