Blyssful Lies (The Blyss Trilogy 2)

I let out a sigh of relief. Thank God. Travis begins gently stroking my hair and playing with it. As he twirls a piece between his fingertips, he confesses, “Jules, I’ve been around the block a time or two. You are who I want, and even if you wound up pregnant, I would still want to be with you. I want there to be an ‘us’.” He softly brushes his lips over mine, then whispers, “I want you for keeps, if you’ll have me.”

I almost choke on my next breath. I don’t know what to say. In my mind, I’ve only known him for a few days now. I know he’s been nothing short of someone worthy to spend all of my time with, and as if he can read my mind, he continues, “I’m not ready for a baby yet either. I’m just saying if it were to happen, you wouldn’t be left out in the cold. I wouldn’t walk away from you or our child.”

“Thank you, Travis. That does mean a lot to me.” I give him a shy smile. “I really am thankful for all you’ve done for me. I don’t know what I would have done had you not been there to find me in that alley.”

“Hey, baby, don’t look back. Things happen for a reason, and look at it this way—you’ve got someone to kill your bugs now.” Shaking my head at him, a small giggle escapes me. His lips twist into a smile as unhindered amusement dances behind his eyes, proud of his slick remark. “C’mon, let’s go get cleaned up. I have some things I want to show you.”

His comment spikes my curiosity. “What things?” I ask, my brows furrowing.

He kisses my nose and gently pulls out of me while lifting his heavy body off mine. Immediately, I miss the full feeling and give him a pout. He laughs at me while grabbing my hand, pulling me out of bed. “I have some self-defense lessons I need to give you.”

“I still have my can of hairspray,” I retort. “I don’t want to get up.”

He chuckles. “C’mon, lazy bones. You go take a shower, and I’ll make you some breakfast.”

Not wanting our moment to end, I grudgingly get up and move toward the bathroom. As I do, he swats at my bare ass, startling me, and I leap forward with a loud yelp. I turn around, rubbing the palm of my hand over my bottom, soothing the sting while arching my brow. “What was that for?” I ask with astonishment.

He lasciviously smirks at me, eyeing the length of my body. “I couldn’t help but smack that sexy thing.”

I shake my head at him with reproach. “You’re lucky my backside has healed, because there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity, boy,” I say, holding a certain challenge in my tone. When he takes a step forward, moving toward me, I squeal and run to the bathroom. Locking the door behind me, I can hear him laughing behind it and I grin to myself.

Despite my memory loss, our intimate love making had to have been, without a doubt, the most intense and soul-connecting moment known to man. The feelings and emotions he was able to stir within me when we joined for the first time was earth-shattering. It’s as if we were fated from the beginning to be together.

After breakfast, I step out the backdoor and into the backyard as the brightly lit morning sun immediately begins warming my skin. The heat from the sun’s rays feels like paradise against my pale skin as the warmth seeps into my bones. I smile and inhale the fresh country air. The smell of pine trees and forest fills my lungs, and there’s a wonderful feeling down deep in my soul I can’t describe. The entire day thus far has been something from a fairytale, other than the revolting bug incident, of course. I shudder at the thought of having to chase down that horrid creature.

Travis comes up from behind and circles his arms around me, giving me a sweet embrace. He kisses the back of my neck, which in turn gives me chill-bumps all over, despite the humid air outside. “Whatcha thinking about?” His deep inquiring voice does something all topsy-turvy inside me.

“Mmm, how good the sun feels on my skin.” I grin in reply.

“Yes, well, it’s going to be a hot one today. You won’t be saying that in another hour or two.”

I shake my head, correcting him. “No, I feel as if I could stay out here all day and bake myself.” I close my eyes and lean my head back, resting it on his shoulder as I smile into the sunlight.

“Well, I for one am not into baking myself outside in this heat. I want to get done with some training before it gets too sweltering out here to even breathe.”