Selena tried to digest his words. He had a pet snake? "Wh-what? You l-let a rattle--
rattlesnake live under your h-house?" Selena was shaken up at the thought of that thing living under the house.
"No, it's not a rattlesnake, Angel. That was the old bull snake that likes to sun himself on the front porch. He's not poisonous. He just looks like a rattlesnake.
That's his defense. In nature, his looks take care of him. He can't hurt you." He took a step closer.
Selena tried to calm her racing heart. She had almost stepped on the thing, and it had taken off like a shot, back under the house. She put one hand to her heart and the other over her mouth, like she was attempting to cut off another scream.
Travis took another few steps until he stood within touching distance. Selena looked up at him with her heart in her eyes. "I don't like him."
That old bull snake had been living under the house longer than Travis had owned the ranch. But he was a dead snake if Selena said the word. "He kills the mice and keeps the bigger rodents from getting close to the house. But if you don't like him, I'll shoot him. No problem."
Selena didn't like mice, either. Now that she knew about the snake, she would be careful to give him a wide berth. "N-no. It's okay."
"That's brave of you, Angel. Are you sure? I can kill him for you, easy." Travis gave her a small smile and lifted her chin. "I think maybe he deserves to die, for giving you such a scare."
Selena trembled even more as she realized that once again, she was in his arms.
"N-no."
Travis slid his arms around her back and started to rub them gently over her. "Well, you've had a bad scare." His hands slid to the small of her back and up again. "I want to do something to make you feel better. If you won't let me kill that snake, there's got to be something else I can do for you." His words were an innuendo, meant to entice.
Selena shook her head. "No. I'm f-fine."
"You sure?" His head lowered and he gently kissed her lips. She stood still in his arms. His lips brushed back and forth across hers. He moved them to her ear.
"You've been so brave. I want you to forget about that old snake and think of more pleasant thoughts." He gathered her more closely in his arms as he whispered those words.
Travis held her close and waited for an opening to kiss her more fully. She felt so good in his arms and it had been days since he had held her like this. Days since he had seen her except for a few seconds at a time when she would dance out of his reach, out of the room he was in.
She started to speak. To deny she needed anything from him. "No, I'm f--"
He cut her off with a kiss. His mouth swooped down on hers and he thrust his tongue deep, mimicking the sex act. If he couldn't take her that way, he could at least have this. He held her tightly and loved her with his mouth. He thrust his tongue deeply in her mouth until she was out of breath and turned her head away to drag in oxygen. He rained kisses on her cheeks, her forehead, her chin, and her ear.
She moaned his name. He picked her up and carried her over to the couch. He sat down on the big sturdy sofa and kept her in place on his lap. His mouth returned to hers, and he started a seduction of lips and tongue that had her panting in seconds.
She tried to turn her head away. "N-no. No, Travis."
He pulled her face back to his and clamped it in place with his large palm. He looked deep into her eyes. "Please, baby. Let me kiss you. That's all, I promise.
Just kisses."
She continued to look at him and didn't answer. He clamped his mouth down on hers again. He wooed her with his lips, his tongue swirling around hers. His hand taking long swipes up and down her torso and thigh, going from the indent of her waist to the softness of her thigh and back again.
Selena felt inundated by pleasure. Her mind was a boggle of emotions, excitement screaming through her veins, desire so intense she wondered that she had never experienced it before. She felt the strength of his body surrounding her and the hardness of his erection growing underneath her. This was an intimacy that couldn't go on much longer without some relief.
The thought had no more come to her when she felt his hand pushing up her shirt.
She broke her mouth free and turned it away from him. "No, Travis." She panted and waited, desperate for him to stop, desperate for him to continue.
He continued.
He slid his eyes from her face to the flat, white stomach revealed by the low-rise jeans and the shirt, now bunched around her breasts. God, she was beautiful. And responsive. And beautiful. Holy shit. She was going to be the death of him.
He couldn't imagine going through the rest of his life not knowing what it would be like with her. He had never wanted anything this badly before. Nothing. Not a woman. Not the ranch. Not the world championship. Not even leaving home and getting away from his old man.
She was beginning to take on an importance that he couldn't control. His hand pushed the shirt up farther, and her breasts were revealed to him through the white cotton of her bra.