Dax (The Theriot Family 4)

You’ve always had a soft spot for the wounded ones.

And that had always ended in disaster. Having Beau beat the shit out of me was about the best outcome of me seducing Travis.

But I knew the moment Travis looked from the big bed that barely fit across the small-by-modern-standards bedroom that it wouldn’t take much to persuade him into it. His eyes were huge, and he was worrying his bottom lip so hard I thought he might make it bleed.

“This is—” My voice came out so rough I had to pause and clear my throat

“Your room?”

“Yeah.”

Travis’s huge smile had my heart skipping a beat. “It’s… perfect.”

Goddamn, the longing in his voice nearly did me in. What exactly did he think it was perfect for?

“Is this bed…” His tone was low and soft, and he licked his lips when he paused.

Was he trying to fucking break me? He should know I was used to getting what I wanted. I wasn’t known for my self-control.

“Um… is it from the 1800s?”

He wanted to know it’s provenance, not… He turned to look at me, and his eyes were so dark they were blue-black instead of their usual jewel-like sapphire.

Home restoration. I needed to focus on telling him about the restoration. That’s all this conversation was about. My dick twitched as Travis kept watching me with his fucking hungry eyes, reminding me I was fooling myself.

“It’s a reproduction. They didn’t make beds this big back then, and I’m a big man, so—”

Travis’s eyes widened, and I realized what I’d said. I needed to shut up. Why couldn’t I talk about something other than beds and things related to beds, or touching, or…

Travis walked toward the door that led into the small central hallway, and I followed him, showing him the bathroom, which I’d modernized more than any other room. I had to give myself some luxuries.

Once we were done there, I opened the door to the final room in the house. “This is your room. The bed in here is from the 1890s.”

Fuck. Beds again. Thank God I knew this frame wasn’t sturdy enough for what I wanted to do to him. Maybe once I fed Travis, he’d get some sleep, and I could go see which one of my—we’ll call them acquaintances with benefits—I could rouse out of bed at this time of day. If my dick got some action, maybe I could stop thinking with it.

A moment later, I knew that wasn’t going to work. No way in hell was I leaving Travis alone. If he woke up and I wasn’t there, he might run. I would not let that happen. He’d been on a path of self-destruction, and now that he’d started turning himself around, I would do everything I could to help him see that through.

2

Travis

It was all I could do not to sigh when Dax smiled at me.

“I’m going to shower and then start breakfast. You can do whatever you need to settle in, then meet me in the kitchen. Do you need a change of clothes?”

I laughed. “As if yours would fit me?”

“I’d find something that would do.”

I wanted to wear Dax’s clothes, to have his smell on me, but I had some clothes in my backpack that were at least reasonably clean. “It’s okay. I have something to change into.”

I stared at Dax’s gorgeous round ass as he walked out of the room, then looked down at my dirty, worn-out backpack, which held ninety percent of my belongings. There wasn’t much settling in for me to do, and despite what he’d said, I would not stay here more than a day. I couldn’t be around Dax—strong, fucking gorgeous Dax—for longer than that without making a fool of myself.

I’d nearly tripped over my feet when I’d stepped into his bedroom and seen his big, luxurious bed. This whole house was like a dream. I wasn’t stupid enough to believe in dreams anymore.

I set my backpack on the floor by the bed, pulled out my phone, and plugged in my charger to revive it. Beau would be pissed if he realized I’d let the battery run down, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t call Dax if he wanted to check on me. He didn’t need to check on me now anyway. Guidry, the man who’d been after Beau and probably me as well, was gone and so was his accomplice. Beau didn’t need me anymore.

After I showered and dressed, I sat down on the edge of the bed and closed my eyes for a moment. I needed some time before seeing Dax again. Grown-up Dax was even more potent than he had been at eighteen. I’d had a crush on him back then, but I’d been a kid, and the attraction felt much different now. If only my dream of Dax telling me I was the only one he’d ever loved had come true, my life would have gone so differently.