The Merciless Travis Wilde

She thought about the giant hot dogs she’d seen, glistening on the grill. Then she remembered something Travis had said.

“What did you mean about the Wilde Brother’s hot dogs?”

He laughed.

“When we were kids, Jacob, Caleb and I would cook up these feasts.”

“Feasts? With hot dogs?”

“Have some faith, woman. Would we call it a feast if it only involved hot dogs? These were special. We fried ’em.” He laughed at the expression on her face. “Actually, I did. Jake made the fried cheese sandwiches. Caleb was the marshmallow expert.” Travis brought his thumb and index finger together. “Dee-lish-ee-oh-so!”

Jennie reached for a napkin.

“That did it. I’m full.”

He grinned.

“Amazing. You should be popping out of your jeans by now.” He held out his hand. “Come on. Let’s get some lemonade.”

They found a stand, bought huge plastic glasses of lemonade and found a quiet spot on a bench beneath a tree.

“So,” Travis said, “what’s your professional opinion of amusement parks, Dr. Cooper?”

Her smile, so bright during the past hours, seemed to dim a little.

“I don’t have a doctorate yet.”

“But you will.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “You never know.”

“Well, true. Life’s unpredictable, but—”

“I had a wonderful time today!”

He smiled, reached for her hand.

“Me, too.”

“All those rides...” Her eyes shone. “What do you call them? Thrill rides?”

“Right.”

“Well, they’re definitely thrilling. But basically, they’re safe. I mean, the parks wouldn’t have them if they weren’t. Right?”

“Right,” he said again, and wondered where the conversation was going because, clearly, there was something in the wind.

“What I mean is,” she said slowly, “there’s no real risk.”

Travis grinned. “Got it. Nope. No real risk, so it’s safe to tell your folks that— Oh. Honey. I’m sorry. I forgot.”

“It’s okay,” she said softly. “That’s the way life is. You’re born, you die...”

She fell silent.

Travis thought he felt her hand tremble in his.

“Okay,” he said briskly, “we’re out of here. You’ve had enough sun and enough risk for the day.”

“No. I mean, that’s what I was saying. There really isn’t any risk in taking these rides. It’s wonderful,” she added quickly. “I mean, I had more fun today...” She looked at him. “I never actually did anything risky.”

Travis nodded. The conversation was on track again.

“But you have,” she said. “Haven’t you?”

“Well—”

“Did you ever go bungee jumping?”

“Yes. And it’s not all it’s cracked up to—”

“Back country skiing. Scuba diving. Rock climbing. Swimming with sharks.”

“Jennie.” His tone was harsh; he hadn’t meant it to be. “Where are you going with this?”

“I want to try something risky.”

A muscled knotted in his jaw.

“You already did. You got all dressed up, walked into a bar—”

Her face crumpled. She sprang to her feet.

He caught her by the wrist.

“I said it wrong, dammit. I didn’t mean it the way you think.” When she shook her head, he rose, too. “What I’m saying is that anything might have happened to you that night, anything at all. And the thought of something happening to you, something or someone hurting you...” Travis clasped her shoulders and turned her toward him. “Do you know how much you mean to me?” he said in a thick voice. “Do you have any idea how important you’ve become to me?”

She shook her head.

“You don’t know me. We’ve only been together—”

“I know how long we’ve been together. But I know something else, as well.” He looked deep into her eyes. “This—you and me—this isn’t—it isn’t just a man and a woman and—and sex—”

She shook her head and tried to turn away. He wouldn’t let her.

“I’m saying it wrong, dammit. What I mean is—”

“I know what you mean. I—I feel it, too.” Tears glittered like stars in her eyes. “I never meant for this to happen,” she whispered. “That I’d find someone like you, that I’d find such happiness—”

He kissed her.

Gently. Only their lips met, as if touching her might shatter the moment.

And as he kissed her, he tasted the salt of her tears.

Something ran through him, an emotion so new, so rare that it stunned him, and with it came a question.

Could everything a man thought he wanted out of life completely shift in little more than a week?

Even asking the question was dangerous.

Travis put his arm around Jennie, held her to his side as they headed back to his car.

Dangerous, sure.

But as he’d learned years ago, you could say that about anything that was really worth doing. Or having.

Life was all about risk.

What he hadn’t known was that, if a man was really lucky, he might just stumble across one special risk that had the power to change his life, forever.

CHAPTER TEN

ALMOST A MONTH later, on a gray, rainy morning, that was all he could think about.

Risks.

The kind he’d always taken.

Not the kind he was taking now.

He’d been a wild kid, the same as his brothers. But none of them had ever done anything cruel or stupid and—predictably—their streaks of wildness had eventually been channeled into positive stuff.

Jake, flying helicopters and now running El Sueño as well as his own ranch.

Caleb, taking the darker route into secret government service and now taking on law cases that drew headlines.

He, Travis, flying jets and then going into big-time finance.

Risky things, all. But still, with an edge of predictability to them.

Not anymore.

This wasn’t predictable.

What he felt for Jennie.

What he believed she felt for him.

/> It made what had existed between him and the girl who’d written him that Dear John letter years ago, laughable.

She had never been a serious part of his life.

They’d come together as much because of his glamorous status as a fighter pilot as her flashy looks. He’d never really looked ahead and envisioned her as part of his real life.

Jennie was already in his real life.

She wasn’t just his lover, she was his friend.

Hell, she was his roommate.

Her toothbrush hung beside his.

They were—it still amazed him—they were living together, and they hadn’t been apart for more than a few hours each day for the last three and a half weeks.

So, yes, this was a very different kind of risk.

It involved putting aside an entire way of life, one that was free of restraint or rules or obligations to anyone but himself.

It involved, he thought, staring out his office window on a rainy morning, something he’d never imagined himself doing.

Living with a woman.

It wasn’t that he’d never considered it. The thought had certainly crossed his mind before, not often, but there’d been times it had, at the start of a relationship...

And, man, he’d always hated that word—relationship—but that was what this was, a relationship.

He and Jennie were living together.

And he loved it.

Coming home to her each night. Starting the day with her each morning.

He loved it.

Travis rose from his chair, tucked his hands into his trouser pockets and paced slowly around his office.

Talk about a shocker...

Until now, living with a woman had never gone beyond casual speculation.

The simple truth was, the excitement of an affair faded. The fun wore away. The prospect of spending all his time with one woman pretty much 24/7 lost its appeal.

It had never been the fault of any of his lovers.

It was just the way things were.

Man wasn’t meant for monogamy. He wasn’t, at any rate...

He paused at the floor-to-ceiling, wall-of-glass window, and stared out at the gray Dallas skyline.

Turned out, what he’d been meant for was Jennie.

They went to sleep in each other’s arms and woke that same way. They ate together. Talked about mundane stuff like where to have dinner, complicated stuff like global warming. They went out, stayed in, listened to music, did all the things couples did and bachelors didn’t...