I followed my streets as best as I could remember them. But the torrential downpouring of rain concealed a lot of my memory. I wove through the mountains for three hours before I finally happened upon Travis’ cabin, and I grinned when his truck came into view. I stuffed the money I had into my purse before I grabbed it, then made my way for the porch.
I knocked furiously on the door until he opened up.
The door flew open and his eyes were wild. His sparkling amber orbs looked around, preparing for some sort of fight. But as his eyes gazed down at me and he studied me closely, the happiness I thought I saw in his eyes quickly morphed into a slow-burning anger.
Then, his hand came up and cupped my cheek.
“What happened?” Travis asked.
My heart thundered in my ears as his thumb stroked my cheek. It seemed to swell the more he began to manipulate it. His eyes danced around my face as I took in his strong form, my pelvis churning with a heat I’d never experienced before. My mind went blank as his eyes connected with mine, and I found myself at a loss for what to do.
Travis was beautiful and calm. He asked me questions and gave me options and never attempted to pressure me to do something he wished I would. Even though I had only been in his presence for snippets at a time, I knew he was a genuine person. A man who had been beaten down and broken, just like myself.
“Who hit you?” Travis asked.
I threw my arms around his neck and crashed my lips to his. Travis was the escape I needed. Travis was the distraction I so desperately wanted. If my father thought that he could sell off my virginity to the highest bidder, then I could take from him the one thing he thought gave him power.
I would give my virginity away to a man of my choosing, then I would let the pieces fall as they would.
As I kissed a man for the first time, allowing my tongue to dance along his lips, Travis slid his arms around my waist and picked me up. He carried me into his cabin and kicked the door closed behind him as the heat of his home blanketed me. His arms were strong. Throbbing against my back as he carried me down the hallway, our lips entangled as his tongue met mine.
For once, I was in control of my life. For once, I was excited for what was to come. For once, I was making my own choices.
And in that moment, I chose Travis.
Eleven
Ava
The door to his bedroom shut and we were cloaked in darkness. I could feel a heat pooling between my thighs I’d felt multiple times before. But I had never acted on it. I had never dared to try and figure out what was going on for fear that my father would find me. Come bursting into my room at any moment and catch me exploring myself. I stuck to reading books about my body. How a woman’s body was laid out and what everything was supposed to do. I knew my body in and out in a practical sense and in a sexual sense, but it had never been put to practice.
The only thing that made me appealing to my father’s business whims was the fact that I was still a virgin.
My back descended onto a bed as Travis’ lips devoured mine. A beautiful pressure burned in my chest. His hands were rough and calloused, traveling up my shirt and dancing along the trim of my bra. Electricity surged through my veins, taking me to heights I’d never experienced before. His beard tickled my skin as my hands drifted over his back, tentatively feeling his muscles undulating underneath my touch.
Something pressing into my thigh caused me to gasp.
“What in the world?” I asked.
Travis pulled away as I looked down, my eyes widening at the sight. Holy hell, that was his cock. That massive protrusion pressing into my leg was supposed to go inside of me.
I found Travis’ eyes again, his amber orbs gleaming with debauched intent. But my nerves were getting the best of me and I pulled away, sitting upright on his bed.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I just… it’s just… big,” I said.
“Thank you for the compliment,” he said.
But my eyes whipped back up to his and I could see his face sink.
“Shit,” he said as he sat on the edge of the bed.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“I didn’t even think about that,” he said.
“Please don’t go away. Come back,” I said.