|
The Tessarae Inn |
|
Dreams In Amber Refrains
CHAPTER 8 Heather adjusted her skirt, so that it appeared to be just a couple of inches below her crotch. She loved how the suit was completely conservative and appropriate for an up and coming business executive except for the skirt that was guaranteed to keep men focused squarely on her legs and on what was growing in their pants. She glanced in the mirror and studied the image of Travis. He was lying on his stomach with his legs spread apart and with the rumpled sheet covering his behind and part of his back. Their encounter had been pleasant enough this time but she sure as hell didn’t feel like calling his name at any point. Only one man had ever done that to her, only one man had ever brought her to her knees and made her beg for more. And that sure as hell wasn’t going to happen again. Not in this damn lifetime, unless… Travis rolled over then covered his eyes with his arm. “This is important to me, Heather. I need your help.” So they were still talking about that blonde bitch.
Why in the hell should she give a flying crap whether that bimbo sang
with Travis or not? Why in the hell should she give a flying crap about Travis?
The image of Robyn’s smug face flashed through her mind and she remembered.
Anything that tied Robyn’s shorts in a knot was all good.
Still, although Robyn would always be her all-time favorite opponent,
there was a new contestant on the horizon and an alternative contest in sight. Don’t stop, Babe. What’s
my name? “I’ll do what I can, Travis. You know I’ll help you anyway I can.” “Yeah, right.” Was that attitude? So the bad boy thought he could be a bad boy with her. He needed to learn otherwise. The knock on the door startled both of them. “Travis, it’s Blair. Gail told me I could find you up here. I don’t mean to disturb you but I wanted you to know that we are leaving and to thank you for everything.” Travis jumped up, wrapped the sheet around him, rushed to the door and opened it a crack. “Wait, Blair. Just give me ten minutes. I’ll meet you downstairs.” “I didn’t mean to disturb you. We can just go and I’ll call you later.” “No. Wait. Five minutes. You’re didn’t disturb a damn thing. Give me two minutes.” Blair chuckled. “All right. We’ll wait for you downstairs on the deck.” “You won’t regret it. See you in two.” Heather watched as Travis slammed the door then sprinted past her to the shower without giving her a second glance. She was trying to be mad about it but her mind was preoccupied with other things. She checked her makeup, made a final adjustment on her skirt then checked her cleavage. She smiled. Todd Manning wasn’t going to know what the hell hit him. For forty-five minutes she felt as if she had been sucker punched then plunged into a massive heat wave with no relief in sight. She was the one who didn’t know what hit her. She couldn’t keep her eyes off of him. He was flat out gorgeous but she had been around a lot of good-looking men before. Hell, Travis was good looking and he could get most women to drop their panties with little more than that crooked smile of his. And he had enough of the bad boy vibe to scare most mothers of daughters beyond the age of consent but underneath it all was this decent guy. She sensed that there was nothing decent about Todd Manning. Not a damn thing and that fact made her hotter than July. She crossed her legs to try to control the urge to throw herself on him. She had never, not ever, experienced this kind of instantaneous and painfully raw longing before. Men wanted her. She rarely wanted men other than as short-term play toys and conveniences to scratch an itch when needed. But this was different. She threw her head back as an image flooded her mind of what it would be like if he was touching her, moving inside of her, calling her name… “Are you all right?” It was the blonde bitch. Claire? Daire? Oh, who cared what her name was? What mattered was that the shimmering footprints of the afterglow of the sex they had were still visible on him and she hated it. Hated her. “I’m fine,” said Heather with a polar icecap rolling along her words. The blonde watched her for a few seconds more then turned back toward Travis. Heather shifted her position. She needed to pay attention to what was going on now that she had a stake in what happened. Travis leaned forward and rested his elbows on his thighs. “The word is already leaking out, Blair,” he said softly. “I think we can control it but our time is limited. I just got a fax a little while ago about a blind item being planted on some website.” Okay. Now was the time to take some control of this conversation. “And I’ve already heard the buzz on the ink and word route,” she said. The blonde looked over at her. “There is no way you can stay off the radar screen. You are already a blip the size of Cleveland. The TV folks are just waking up to the possibility but when they come there will be no safe place.” The gorgeous one growled then slowly turned his head so that he could see her. “And you’re some kind of damn expert because…?” She almost felt her body freeze as he focused on her for a few seconds. His hazel eyes drifted along her body and face as if he would just as soon shovel dirt on her grave as talk to her. She breathed deeply and chilled her soul. Her father had taught her how to negotiate with anyone even with a man who was making her cream in her panties just by looking at her. She dipped her voice in an ice bath then said, “Yes, I am some kind of damn expert. Handling and managing publicity is what I do for a living and I am very, very good at what I do.” She had his eyes on her and only her and she fought to stay focused. She crossed her legs and wet her lower lip, slowly but subtly. “You are setting your wife and your life up to be a circus,” she continued, “just because you are jealous of Jake Travis, rock star. Now is your ego really worth the price she will have to pay?” Okay, she had backed his ass into a corner and now he either came out fighting or conceded to her wisdom. Either way was fine with her. He glared at her but she kept her face neutral. “I can take care of what’s mine,” he said in a tone one degree from menacing as he stared at her. “And why in the hell would I be jealous of….” The blonde reached over and touched his hand. And he turned toward her like a she was a magnet or something. One touch and he forgot everything else. “I think they may be right, Todd. If Travis’s people do it right, there will just be a couple of pictures and a few days before it is all over. No one is really interested in me. It’s Jake Travis they want to know about.” Travis stood up and moved behind the blonde. He placed his hand on her shoulder. It was so obvious he had a thing for her. His body actually quivered ever so slightly just from that minimal contact. “That’s what I’ve been saying all along,” said Travis. “I’ll make the calls right now. We’ll do it in the city but only with the people I trust. Y’all just need to stay a day or two more so we can iron out the details.” The gorgeous one snapped his gaze onto his wife and pinned her in place but she didn’t back down. She leaned forward and forced Travis to move his hand then said, “I think this is for the best, Todd. Just another day.” “A day too long.” Heather could see the resolve settle in the blonde’s eyes, in the alignment of her body, and in the angle of her head. It seemed now that she had made up her mind she wasn’t going to let him or anyone else steamroll her one way or the other. She could obviously be formidable when she put her mind to it. Getting rid of the bitch might be harder than she originally thought but what needed to be done would be done. And if she was reading the gorgeous one correctly, he would pull out a mighty big gun right about now. “I’m not staying here,” said Todd. “IF you insist on doing this then I’m not going to be a party to it.” Travis shrugged. “Maybe that’s best. We’ll use her maiden name which will give the reporters one more hurdle to jump and if you’re not around the question of the identity of her husband might not come up.” Heather watched a wave of anger sweep across the gorgeous one’s body. She wondered what he was capable of doing if provoked. Did Travis know who he was messing with? She recognized what this man was even if Travis didn’t. He had deep and dark places and not a lot of compunction about dipping into that well to get what he wanted. She knew this man. She had known him all her life. ============== Blair watched Todd as he glared at Travis. This situation was driving her insane. The last thing she wanted to do was cause any kind of rife between she and Todd but she couldn’t shake the feeling that his reaction was the result more of jealousy than of really believing that not singing was the best decision. Ultimately her decision to sing or not could affect Jack and Starr and she couldn’t afford to let her babies suffer needlessly. She needed to make the best decision for all concerned, not just the one that was easiest for Todd to handle. “I need to talk to my wife, alone.” She exhaled. They did need to work this out between the two of them, alone. “Do you want to go back upstairs?” “I want to talk in the car.” “No need,” said Travis. He stuck his hand out to Heather. “We’ll go out on the deck and give you all the privacy you want.” Blair watched Heather, who looked as if she had been slapped. What exactly was her role in all of this? Why did she care one way or the other? After a long pause, Heather took Travis’s hand and let him lead her out onto the patio. Todd, who was sprawled on the couch, did not move.
She could see the storm warnings posted everywhere.
Rough seas ahead. If we
talk, we may argue but we will never break. She sat next to him and placed her hand on his chest. He slowly rotated his head and looked at her. He was angry but what stopped her short was the love she saw in his eyes. For a moment she let herself indulge in the sheer pleasure of just looking at him but then she forced herself to focus again on the issue at hand. “I honestly think this is the best thing to do,” she said. “I’ve been thinking about it from every angle. The worst-case scenario if I perform seems better than the worst-case scenario if I don’t. Then there’s always the chance that things will go off without a hitch.” “Blair, when has anything ever gone off without a hitch for us?” “How easily you forget.” She played with the soft strands of chest hair visible right at the point where his shirt opened. “It feels like just a few hours ago that we were in Key West. Do you remember?” She moved her hand and caressed his face. “Do you remember how you felt with me just a little while ago upstairs in that bedroom?” “I remember every minute I’ve ever spent with you—the good and the bad.” “Remember the good. Trust me. Trust my judgment. Trust that whatever I do, I do out of love for you.” “It’s easier than it used to be.” “Why make it harder than it has to be?” He grinned at her. “Are you going to break into song now?” “No. I’m going to kiss you now. I’ll sing to you later when we are alone and can be properly undressed for the occasion.” ======================== Starr laughed when Jason told her about the Mrs. Cole dating his Uncle Hank and about the ugly dress Keri had picked out to wear to the wedding. She missed him. He always made her laugh even when she felt like crying. “I don’t know how much longer I’ll be here. We were suppose to leave yesterday but Mommy and Daddy went to see Jake Travis.” “Jake Travis!” “Yeah. Isn’t that cool?” “Major cool but I thought your Daddy didn’t like him.” There was no use trying to lie to Jason. “I’m kind of scared. Things get bad sometimes when my Daddy gets mad.” “Don’t worry, Starr. He promised you that wouldn’t happen again. Don’t you believe him?” “Yeah, sure. I guess…” “Then think about the good stuff, Starr. What about the play?” “Flicker is still playing Cinderella but Claire is her understudy and would be so much better. Claire is better than anyone in this whole town. She’s gonna be a great actress one day.” “Who’s Prince Charming?” “Lance Thorpe.” “Lance! That’s his name?” “Claire thinks he’s dreamy and all but he’s not too smart. He and Flicker are always all over each other.” “That makes you mad?” “For Claire,” she said quickly. “I bet I can guess what part you wanted. The wicked stepmother, right?” “Yeah. But I’m not going to be here.” “You would have been the best wicked stepmother ever. Maybe you should try to stay longer.” Starr felt a flash of anger. “You don’t want me to come home?” “Sure, but I want you to be happy. I can wait, if you’re happy.” Emily waved at her and nodded. It was her signal to that she had been on the phone long enough. Different world, different rules. Emily and Sheri never let her use her cell phone and monitored how long she was the phone. It was really irritating but she could live with it. “Everything is all right, Starr. Wyatt Cooper couldn’t even find Creedyville if he had a map.” Starr exhaled loudly. Jason always seemed to know what she was thinking before she did. “I got to go. Tell Susie and Jeremy I called. I can’t wait for you to meet Claire. She’s my best friend…next to you. She’s so cool, Jason.” “I bet she’s glad to have a neat friend like you, Starr. Don’t forget to ask about the play. Maybe you can stay.” “I wish, but I think I’ve used up all my wishes.” |