Travis's Gift (Riley's Pride #3)- Sandra R Neeley Page 0,50

a deep sigh.

Libby wrapped her hand around his forearm where it held her securely against him, and closed her eyes again as she pulled the covers up to cover her shoulders and clasped them under her chin with her other hand, as she settled against him. As she lay in his bed, in his arms for the first time in a long time, she allowed herself to come to a realization that everyone else who knew her already realized. She still loved him. Despite everything he’d put her through, she’d never stopped loving him. “Still love you,” she murmured.

Behind her, with his woman in his arms, Travis opened his eyes and smiled into the darkness. She’d just confessed to still loving him. Of course, she thought he was asleep when she’d admitted it, but she’d still admitted it. He pressed his lips to the back of her head in a kiss, and let his heart and soul take the first easy breath they had in years. This was how it was supposed to be. This was his home, his peace, his happiness. He closed his eyes and let himself fall asleep again. This time to sleep through the whole night with his woman in his arms, and the relief from the constant ache she’d been able to provide.

Chapter 16

Roman shifted from his Gorilla as he approached the rise that separated the trailer park from the expanse of acreage behind it that also belonged to the Pride. He’d given up getting any rest and had spent the night letting his Gorilla roam at will. He paused to grab up the jeans he’d discarded just on the other side of the rise and slipped them on before continuing up and over the rise and into the trailer park. The sun was rising, and the birds were singing and chirping. As he made his way to his mobile home, he could see the lights on inside the diner on the other side of the highway. Since Libby was at Travis’s house, that meant that Richie, Yvette, and Constance must be opening up.

Roman went straight to his home, walked in the house, and closed the door behind himself. He didn’t even bother taking a shower, simply dropped his jeans where he was and let himself fall onto the sofa. He turned over on his stomach and laid his head on his arms as he closed his eyes. “Just a few minutes sleep would be nice,” he said to no one but himself. Wasn’t long after that, he was sound asleep. He didn’t even lift his phone from where it had sat all night on his coffee table while he wandered in his Gorilla form.

~~~

Travis opened his eyes at the sound of a soft knock on his bedroom door. The first thing he noticed afterward was the warm, soft female sleeping against him. He smiled sleepily and tucked his face back into the thick, brown hair that spilled down her shoulders as she slept. Travis inhaled deeply and marveled at the sense of peace he got from waking up with his mate in his arms.

The knock sounded on his door again, a little more insistent this time.

“Come,” he said quietly, not wanting to wake Libby — he wasn’t ready to let her go yet.

The door opened and Scotty stepped into the bedroom. “I gotta get to school,” he said.

“You can take the truck,” Travis said.

“Unh uh,” Libby mumbled.

“Jeep?” Travis asked, and in response Libby pushed back into him, nodding as she snuggled herself against him for a little more sleep.

“Take the jeep,” Travis said.

“Alright. I got every Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday off ‘til Christmas, so I should be home right after school — no work,” Scotty said.

“See you then. Be careful,” Travis said, before lying his head back down beside Libby’s.

Libby practically purred as Travis snuggled her closer and prepared to sleep a bit longer. She sighed contentedly and promptly fell right back to sleep.

An hour later, Libby’s eyes popped open, and she tried to sit up to look around the room. But, there was a large Tiger shifter spread out across her body keeping her from sitting up. She started tapping his shoulder gently.

“Travis? I need to get up. We have things to do,” she said.

“No. Need to sleep,” he mumbled.

“Yes. I have things to finish up. We need to make one last check of everything. I have to package up the last of the baked goods. We put 5:00P.M. through 10:00P.M. on