This is Love by (Checkmate Duet 2)

“You’re a dirty girl, V.” He smirks and spins me around, slapping my ass before he continues. He doesn’t even rub it like the book boyfriends in my romance novels. But oddly enough, it turns me on even more. “Don’t even say it,” he warns. “V officially stands for vixen.” He wraps my messy hair around his fist and forces me to look into his eyes. “My V. My vixen.”

“I’ll always be yours, Travis.” The words fall out of my mouth, and my warm breath creates a fog against the glass.

“Princess, when you say things like that…” He groans in my ear, and the emotions that swirl through me are indescribable. I feel him tense behind me, and I push harder against him until he loses himself. Warmth fills me, and he leans his head against my shoulder. We stay like that for a long moment, taking each other in, deep pants and heavy breaths.

Travis takes a step back with me in his arms and glances past me at the window. He rubs his hand across the stubble that graces his perfect jawline. I turn and see my breasts and ass imprinted on the glass and can’t stop the laughter, but I’m not embarrassed. Hell no, I’m proud because somehow Travis has broken my sexual shell into pieces.

“The housekeeper will have fun with that one.” His smile is perfect, and I can’t help but admire his abs and how low his jeans sit on his hips when he zips them. I follow his happy trail all the way down to the lingering hard-on. Swallowing hard, I take a mental snapshot of this exact moment, not ever wanting to forget it.

After a moment, Travis sits on the couch and stretches out his legs. No words are spoken between us and I snuggle in next to him after putting on my bra and panties, compliments of Courtney and Victoria’s Secret. With our naked skin pressed together, he wraps his arms around me and I focus on his heartbeat and the sound of his breathing.

The clock on the wall lets out a loud gong on the hour, scaring the shit out of me. Travis holds me a little tighter and lets out a loud bark of laughter. I glare at him, then at the clock, knowing that it’s our cue to go. Saying goodbye is going to become harder with each passing day, but I try to push the nagging thought to the back of my mind.

“I don’t want to go.” I pout.

“Let’s stay. I’ve got the house until the weekend.”

My eyes widen. “Seriously? That must have been a helluva thing you did for this guy.”

“He basically owes me his firstborn.” He gives me a cute little side grin.

My eyes widen, and I’m intrigued. “I want to hear more of this story.”

“He helped me with finals, and I helped him snag the girl. She fell in love with his computer programming ass and the rest is history.”

I burst out into laughter. “Oh, my God.”

“It was better than paying for tutoring.”

I smack him on the chest, and he pulls me closer. “You are so wrong for that.”

“So whatcha say princess, am I having you for breakfast?” Travis asks, with an eyebrow tilted up.

I need to be studying, but I am ahead at the moment…

Fuck it!

Moments like this will be few and far between, and I don’t want to take another one for granted. I nod before kissing him.

“Bon appétite,” I whisper across his lips.

Somehow we fall asleep on the couch, and hours later Travis is patting my arm for me to move. He grabs my hand and leads me to the master bedroom. I fold the blankets down from the king-sized bed, and we climb under the sheets. It’s the first time we’ve slept in the same bed together without a care in the world. I roll over, and Travis holds me tight, as if I’m water that will slip between his fingers. But that won’t happen because nothing in my life has ever felt so right.

Not caring about school or Boston or anything, I fall asleep with a smile on my face.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

TRAVIS

It’s been three weeks since I snuck Viola up to the house on the bay, and even though we find every chance to be together, it was one of those moments I’ll never forget.

I hate that we’re keeping it a secret from Drew, but a part of me worries things will change between us once he knows. There’s no saying how he’ll react for sure, but I can’t imagine it’ll be good.

However, now that I have a rental car and I’ve returned to work, it’s a little easier to avoid Drew and meet up with Viola on nights he’s home. She still comes over on Wednesdays, and I still find ways to taste her when he’s not looking.