She told me all of this in her letters, but I just hadn’t allowed myself to think about it in years. Her words brought it all rushing back to me. More than anything, I wish that I could have saved her from all that loneliness.
Letting Faye have a few minutes, I head outside to start my truck, promising myself that she will never be alone and friendless again. Somehow I’m going to solve this problem and give her everything she has always deserved. I’m hoping meeting with Analise will help us come up with a plan that works for everyone.
A few minutes later she is all smiles as she climbs up into the passenger seat of my pickup. It seems a little forced, though. “You ready?” I ask her.
“As ready as I’m gonna be,” she says. I know she doesn’t want to admit to Ana that we know who she really is and what that means to us. If there was another way to help Faye, I would do it.
“It’s going to be okay, Faye. We will figure it out, and I swear I won’t make her go back to him if she feels like she is in danger.”
She brushes her hand over mine and smiles at me. The anxiety tightening my chest starts to dissipate. I like knowing that I can put her mind at ease.
The drive across town goes by in lightly strained silence. We pull into the diner and Faye points out Ana’s little car, so we know that she is still here.
“Travis, I want to talk to her first. She may not open up with you right there, but I think she will tell me the truth about why she is hiding from her husband.”
“All right, but I’m going in with you.”
She doesn’t argue with me. “That’s fine. Just give me a few minutes to talk to her alone, then we can figure thi
s whole thing out together.”
Nodding my agreement, I park my truck and pull her across the seat and into my arms.
I have to kiss her. I can’t wait another minute.
Her startled eyes meet mine as her tongue slips out, slicking over her bottom lip.
“I’ve needed to do this all day,” I mumble, framing her delicate face in my big hands and pressing my lips tenderly against hers. She slides her hands up my arms to rest against my biceps, and the breathy little sound she makes causes my blood to run hotter.
Every protective instinct I have for her comes crashing forward, and I pull her more tightly into my arms. Choking back my own sounds of desire so I don’t frighten her with the intensity of my lust, I nip at her lips until she opens, accepting my searching tongue.
My heart pounds out a rapid rhythm against my ribs while my mind chants mine, mine, mine in time with the beats. Her little body softens against me, her fingernails scoring my skin as she slides her tongue against mine. My fingers slide into her hair, adjusting the angle of our kiss so I can take her mouth more deeply. She moans as my hand slides under the hem of her shirt and settles against the cool satin of her naked back.
I can’t restrain the groan that rumbles out of me and into the wet heat of her mouth as I realize she still isn’t wearing a bra. Her eyelids flutter open at the sound, her honey-eyed gaze unfocused as her eyes meet mine.
A soft knock on the window snaps us both back to the realization that we are in my pickup in a public parking lot.
Faye scoots away from me, gasping for air, her damp lips swollen. Her cheeks flush bright pink as she realizes what we were doing. My own breathing is ragged and loud in the confined space.
I take a centering breath and only smell the sweet scent of Faye. It doesn’t help me calm down at all.
Glancing out the window, I see the waitress I spoke to the night before. Faye must have noticed her at the same time.
“Ana!” she exclaims, just before she scrambles out of the truck and circles around to her friend. Gathering myself, I open my door and hop to the ground, watching them as they hug.
Ana murmurs something to Faye I can’t hear. She looks at me with a wide grin and nods at her friend with a laugh.
Ana gives me a quick smile, and I lift my chin in greeting before they turn toward the diner and head inside.
Chapter Thirteen
Faye
My knees are still shaking from his kiss. Hell… I did not see that coming.
I keep touching the tip of my tongue to my lips. I can still taste him on my skin. It’s driving me crazy. I’ve never been kissed like that.
I had one kiss after a dance my freshman year, but after that I kept the few boys who expressed interest in me away by telling them I had a boyfriend who was a marine. No fifteen-year-old boy feels he can compete with that, especially after catching a glimpse of the picture of Travis I kept in my locker.