Travis's Gift (Riley's Pride #3)- Sandra R Neeley Page 0,21

Libby asked after an uncomfortable pause.

“For the record, Libby. Anytime I kiss you, it’s for one simple reason. I love kissing you. If I see an opportunity to allow me to kiss you, I’m kissing you.”

Libby rode along in silence for a few minutes before deciding to stop skirting the issues. If he brought ‘em up, she’d answer him truthfully. She was tired of the whole situation. Tired of pretending they didn’t know each other. Tired of pretending she was okay with him driving her out of his life. Tired of pretending that she only felt anger toward him. “It’s been a long, long time since you kissed me, Travis. There are a lot of opportunities you’ve intentionally passed up. Don’t forget, I was there, too. I know it for a fact.”

“You’re right. I did,” Travis agreed.

Neither said anything more until they made it to his house.

As he put his truck in park, and Libby reached for the door handle to get out, he finally spoke again. “It won’t be happening again.”

Libby froze with her hand on the door. “I didn’t think it would,” she answered.

“Fair warning. I will not allow another opportunity to kiss you to pass me by without taking full advantage of it,” he explained.

Libby whipped her head in his direction to find him grinning at her, before he got out of the truck and closed the door.

Libby got out and went to the bed of the truck where Travis was gathering bags to bring inside the house.

“Where are you taking those?” she asked.

“Inside,” he answered, lifting some of the bags over the side of the truck and turning toward home.

“No, I was taking them home to do all the baking there. I’ll just bring them back when I’m done. We can freeze the cookies and all, and thaw them as we need them. If we start running low, I’ll make more.”

“That makes no sense at all. Why take them to your house to make them, then have to bring them back. Just make them here,” Travis said.

“Because,” Libby answered, following Travis inside his house.

“Because why?” he asked, setting the bags on his kitchen counter and reaching for the ones she held in her hands. Travis placed the bags he’d taken from her on the counter beside the others and stood facing her with one hand on the counter top and another on his hip as he looked down at her.

“Because I’d rather cook in my own home. I’m not used to your kitchen,” Libby lied.

“You’ve cooked in my kitchen many, many times,” Travis pointed out.

“So. It’s been a while,” she answered defensively.

“It has. It’s been a while for a lot of things. Time for things to get straightened out,” Travis said, moving to step around her and go back to the truck for more bags.

“Like what things?” she asked, frustrated as she followed Travis back out to the truck.

“Like you not being here. Like me chafing at the bit every damn time I know you're spending the night with Lucas. Like you holding yourself apart from me even when we’re in the same room.” He spun on her and pulled her into his arms, pressing his lips to hers and forcing his tongue into her mouth to taste her again. After the kiss he gently pulled his mouth from hers. “Like me not being able to kiss you any damn time I get the urge,” he said, staring into her eyes and daring her to say it wasn’t time to change these things.

Libby swallowed audibly before daring to stand up to him. “All of this is a direct result of you shutting me out. Of you deciding that you didn’t want me, and driving me away. You made it clear what you did and didn’t want and forced me out of your life. All I did was give you what you wanted. I stopped fighting you.”

Travis raised a hand to her face and stroked his thumb across her cheekbone. “I was a fucking asshole. I was lost and I was hurting and my pride was broken. I believed I was less than a whole male. I thought I was doing what was best for you by giving you the opportunity to go find someone that could take care of you and not the other way around.”

“I never asked…” she started.

“I know that. I know you would have taken care of me every moment of every day for the rest of my life if it had been