And here she’d brought in a pig. And while Gregory was clean, he, like any other animal, had a litter box. And he was bound to spill something at some point. Heck, she was bound to spill something.
He’d told her that his life didn’t allow for a pet and she’d blithely waved that off as something he was just rebelling against.
But the more she saw, the more uncomfortable she felt. Gregory didn’t belong in this man’s life any more than she did. Clutching the leash, she turned to give Travis a wary smile. “So . . . what are your plans for today?”
He pulled out the BlackBerry again and she wanted to grit her teeth. He studied the screen, and then clicked a button. “I have three meetings.”
“It’s Saturday.”
He glanced at her, his blank look indicating that she was clearly talking nonsense. “Business doesn’t stop on the weekend.”
Well, it should, she thought, but said nothing. “I need to make sure that Gregory has the proper food. Is there a supermarket nearby? And a feed store?”
He wrote down a phone number and handed it to her. “Call my assistant. She can get whatever you need.”
“I can do it.”
Again, he gave her a blank look. “She’s my assistant. It’s her job to do these things.”
Risa gritted her teeth.
* * *
She spent the day bored as Travis continued to work. Now that he was back in his apartment, he was on the phone constantly, flipping between that and his computer, watching a PowerPoint in a remote meeting presentation, or brokering some sort of consultancy deal, or a jillion other things she couldn’t follow. The man was a workaholic.
For her part, she played with Gregory, flipped through a magazine, and then watched some mindless TV. She’d called Travis’s assistant with her grocery list and the woman promised to bring it by in a few hours. With the sun close to setting and Travis still hard at work, she put Gregory’s leash back on and took him for a walk. This part of Houston was lovely enough, as wealth could buy manicured lawns and perfect nearby walking parks. Gregory enjoyed the excursion, seemingly none the worse despite his harrowing car ride.
But Risa was feeling unsettled. Travis had encouraged her to stay with him. He was paying her an exorbitant amount. Didn’t he want to spend time with her? With Gregory, she amended, ashamed at her own thoughts. Of course this was for Gregory. Wasn’t it?
She returned to the apartment, still rather out of sorts about things. While she’d been gone, the food had been left in grocery bags on the counter, and she put it away in his nearly empty fridge, studying the contents: a few old takeout boxes, some beer and wine and a few bottles of water. She shook her head at the sight and turned to feed Gregory.
While the pig liked carrots and fresh vegetables, she was careful with his diet and mostly fed him pig feed. She was hungry, too, so she dug through the bags for the snacks she’d requested. Finding crackers and cheese, she sat down on one of the stools at the bar in his immaculate kitchen and ate.
Some time later, he padded into the kitchen behind her, and leaned in and kissed her neck. “Want to go out and grab some dinner?”
She glanced at the clock and saw it was almost nine at night. She was a little irritated at him. He’d worked all day, ignoring them. “Now?”
“Now,” he agreed. “I’m finished for the day.”
How thoughtful, she thought dryly. “It’s kind of late and I’m not sure we should leave Gregory unattended. When he’s scared, he chews on things.”
“Ah.” He leaned in and kissed her neck again. His hand ran down her arm, caressing her. “I ignored you, didn’t I? I’m sorry. You must be starving. Pizza?”
She caved a little at that. He wasn’t used to having someone around all day. “Pizza’s fine. Thank you.”
Travis continued to nip at her neck, brushing aside her hair. He texted something into his phone, and then set it down, wrapping his arms around her waist. “My assistant will be by with one in about a half hour.”
Risa was beginning to feel sorry for his assistant. “All right.”
He tugged on her shirt, untucking it from her waistband. “That gives us plenty of time for a little privacy. Come into the living room with me.”
She only hesitated for a moment, then slid down from the stool. He linked her hand in his and led her back into the living room. He sat down on the couch and then tugged her down until she straddled him on the couch.
“Much better,” he said, running a hand down her back.
Uncomfortable, Risa felt tense and awkward in his embrace. Her weight was pressing down on his thighs, and the last thing she wanted was to crush him. “Am I too heavy?”
He shook his head, kissed the soft bend in her arm. “I like you the way you are. Soft and delicious in my arms.”
“You can melt a girl with your words.”
His eyes gleamed wickedly, and she forgot all about how he’d worked all day long and ignored her. “Good.”
Risa leaned in to kiss him, her arms wrapped around his neck, her breasts pressed against his chest. She could feel his erection pushing up against the cradle of her sex. His hand moved between them, fingers brushing against her nipple, and she gasped against his mouth.
“Been waiting all day to touch you again,” he said softly, his thumb moving back and forth against her nipple, hardening it to an aching peak. “Couldn’t wait to pull you in my arms again. I kept getting distracted during my meetings.”
He’d noticed her? Even when she’d thought he was busy? She was going to have to prance around the apartment in nothing but her panties next time, then. She kissed him to let him know how pleased that made her, and was rewarded with a tiny thrust of his hips, forcing that hard length against her core. Pleasure rocked through her and she rolled her hips against him, eliciting a groan from him.
“Take your shirt off,” he told her, sliding his hand under her clothing to caress her belly.
She lifted her arms and dragged her shirt over her head, tossing it aside. His mouth latched on to her nipple through her bra, tugging at the peak and she moaned, her fingers digging into his hair. Oh God. She wanted more of his mouth, more of him. She needed him deep inside her again. She ached to have him seated deep.
He dragged his teeth over her nipple, then rolled his tongue against it, leaving the lace of her bra wet from his ministrations. He turned to her other breast, using his mouth on her nipple as he teased the other with his fingers.
She thought she’d go mad from how good it felt, and couldn’t stop rocking over his cock, the small movements as involuntary as the passionate whimpers that escaped her throat.
After a moment, he lifted his head. “Condoms.”
Risa nodded and rolled to the side of him, sitting on the couch in a daze, still in her bra and her jeans. He leaned over and pressed another hard kiss to her mouth. “Get naked for me while I grab one.”
Another burst of pleasure shot low in her belly at his command, and she nodded. While he left the room, she unhooked her bra and discarded it, then shimmied out of her jeans. She was just about to step out of her panties when she remembered.
His assistant was going to be here soon with the pizza.
Alarmed, she grabbed her shirt just as he returned, naked except for his boxers. He immediately returned to her side and began to run his hands along her body, teasing her naked breasts, sliding down her belly, and dipping into the slick lips of her pussy.
She almost dropped her shirt, her knees went so weak. “But what about your assistant?”
Travis circled her clit lightly, holding her body against him. “She won’t come in. She’ll just ring the doorbell and leave it for us. Get back down on the couch for me.”
“It’s leather,” she protested.
He shrugged, and then tugged her down to the f
loor, onto the thick white rug.
Well, hell, she couldn’t argue with that. Risa slid to her knees, and when he removed his boxers and began to roll on the condom, she lay back on the plush rug and just admired the sight of him, looming over her, his cock hard and ready for her.
God, he was magnificent. She was in way over her head, and she absolutely did not care.
Travis moved over her, tugging her legs apart. She gladly spread her legs for him, raising her hips in a suggestion of what she wanted.
And then he was on top of her, kissing her, and his cock sank deep inside her in a sudden move that made her gasp with pleasure. He stroked inside her, hard, and she clung to his neck, surprised at his ferocity. Surprised . . . and turned on. His next stroke was just as fierce, and she was soon swept away in each rocking thrust that seemed determined to push her across the carpet. It was possession and ownership in each plunge of his cock into her body, and she felt owned and dominated by him.
And she loved it.
It seemed they had just started, she had just begun to lose herself in the pleasure when that incredible tension began to build in her hips. She moaned, rising to meet him with every harder thrust. And then she was coming, his name a gasped, choked sound, her pussy clenching tight around him. He continued to fuck her, his movements more forceful, harder and more erratic, until he came as well, with a hoarse shout. His body locked over hers, stiffening, and he gave a final rolling thrust before collapsing on top of her.
Breathing hard, Risa hugged his weight over her, a little stunned by how quick things had been. He knew just how to touch her to bring her to an almost immediate pleasure. That was incredible.
Travis leaned in and gave her a light, lingering kiss, just as the doorbell rang.
His eyes gleamed and he seemed almost boyish. “That’ll be dinner.”
For the rest of the evening, Travis was hers. They ate pizza, drank wine, and made love again in his bed. After making love, she told him all about what to expect as a pig owner, determined to hold up her end of the bargain. And she told him about Gregory’s more amusing antics, hoping that he’d start to love the pig as much as she did. They spent hours in bed, just talking and caressing each other, before making love one final time. As she drifted off to sleep, Risa thought that this Travis, this one in bed with her, just might be the perfect man.
It was the businessman part of Travis that she had no idea what to do with.
* * *
After a week of living in his apartment, though, it was clear to Risa that the businessman side of Travis seemed to be the dominant one. She enjoyed his company—his laugh, his smile, his conversation. She loved his body, loved the way he touched her and brought her pleasure.
She hated his BlackBerry.
He was never further than a phone call away from his job, and that drove her crazy. Even when they were in bed at night, twined together, if the phone buzzed with an incoming message, he’d roll over, grab it, and start typing away.
Risa had to remind herself that this wasn’t a real relationship. It was a sexual interlude, nothing more. Travis hadn’t promised her more than two weeks of his time. He’d promised her money and that was it.
Strangely enough, the money wasn’t really a factor anymore. After spending a week with him, she didn’t care about the money as much as she just wanted him to spend some genuine time with her.
And with Gregory.
The pig adored Travis. There was something about him that Gregory had immediately taken a shine to, and whenever Travis was busy working, Gregory would lay at his feet to keep him company, or butt his head against Travis’s leg, demanding to be petted. Travis, for his part, seemed to be coming around on the pig. He petted Gregory and occasionally threw a chew toy for the pig to chase. Risa had even talked Travis into taking an early morning walk with her and the pig, and he’d carried the leash while they’d wandered a nearby park, hand in hand.
But then his phone rang and the moment was over.
She’d been doing her best to show Travis how to take care of Gregory, but it was hard to teach someone who was too busy for any sort of animal, much less an intelligent pig. She knew that Gregory liked to chew things when he was bored, so she took him on multiple walks a day to wear him out, but she wondered what it would be like when she left.
And she wondered why the thought made her so sad.
* * *
Risa checked her watch and drummed her fingers on the arm of the movie theater seat. She stared up at the small screen, willing Travis to show up.
His apartment building had a private movie theater that showed new releases. You simply signed up to have the theater for a few hours. Once Risa had learned about that, she’d been excited at the prospect of having an actual date night with Travis. And he’d agreed, once she’d talked him into it with kisses. He’d even moved a meeting for her.
Now date night had arrived and she had the room reserved, but he wasn’t there. The popcorn she’d popped had gotten cold, and she sat in the dark, waiting. She’d left him an hour ago in the apartment. He was reviewing a contract, and had promised to run down to grab them a few sodas at the corner store and meet her in the movie theater.
She checked her watch one more time and then stood up from the chair, worried. Surely nothing had happened to him on the way to the store?
On a hunch, she went to the elevator and punched the button for Travis’s floor. She slid her key in the lock and opened the door.
There was Travis, on the phone, his computer open in front of him. Exactly in the last place she’d left him.
“Are you fucking kidding me, Peters? Have you seen these suggestions they made? They’re a joke,” he said into the phone. “Did you see clause eighteen? No? Go look at it. I’ll wait.” He glanced at her as she walked in, and then turned back to his computer. His hand reached down to absently stroke Gregory’s velvety ear. “Did you see it? Exactly. That is absolutely not part of the deal.”
Risa felt cold. Little by little, her fantasy of him was crumbling. She wanted to have this time with him. So much. She wanted the memory of their short time together to be an incredible one that she could look back on with fondness. Her silly heart wanted Travis to grab her by the waist, nuzzle her neck, and beg her to stay with him forever.
But he was a busy man. Too busy for a pig. Much too busy for a relationship of any kind.
She’d been foolish to ever hope for one.
Very calmly, she went to his room and began to pack her bag. She took her clothes off hangers, folded them neatly, and then closed her small suitcase. She paused when she turned and saw that he had Pearl’s old photo album out on a nearby dresser.
So he’d taken a memento from his grandmother’s house after all? Risa moved toward it, compelled, and turned the pages. There was a picture of Travis as a young boy, with that same serious expression on his face, holding up a fish. Travis reading a book in a bay window. Travis playing fetch with a dog, a wide smile on his face. Her heart skipped a beat.
Travis with Pearl, his arm around her waist, as he wore a graduation cap. Travis and his grandmother sitting on her porch, smoking cigars as if they didn’t have a care in the world. Underneath the picture was a caption: First major business deal.
Where had that Travis gone? Suddenly sad for herself and for him, she left the photo album open to the picture of him and the dog. That was the Travis she wanted.
She picked up her suitcase and headed back into the living room, dropping it by the door. She suddenly realized that her car was still in Bluebonnet, still at Pearl’s house. Maybe she’d ask Travis if she could rent the place. Maybe there was a teaching job or two in Bluebonnet. She loved that little town.
“I’ll call you back,” Travis said suddenly, and she heard his phone click off. “Risa, what are you doing?”
She braced hersel
f and turned around, a wide smile on her face. “I’m sorry, Travis, but I’m leaving.”
The scowl on his face was furious. “Why? Because of tonight? Something’s come up. There’ll be other nights to go to the movies—”
“No, there won’t,” she interrupted him. “You know why? Because you don’t have time for anyone in your life.”
He stared at her, his jaw set in an angry line.
Risa sighed. “I’m not telling you this to make you angry, Travis. I’m really not. It’s just become very apparent to me that you were right and I was wrong. You don’t have time in your life for a pig. You don’t have time in your life for a pig-keeper, either. I’ve really enjoyed our time together.” Her voice grew soft. “Really, really enjoyed it. I wish I could stay longer.”
“Then stay.”
She shook her head.
“Fifty grand,” he said suddenly. “Give me a month and I’ll give you fifty grand.”
Annoyance flashed through her. “Have I asked for the money, Travis? For the last time, this isn’t about the money. You can keep every damn dollar that you promised me. I came here because I wanted you to love Gregory, but I mostly came here because I had a fantasy of you, and I was half in love with you the moment you walked through your grandmother’s door. Being with you has been part of that fantasy, but the reality is that you don’t have time for anyone.”
He said nothing.
“Well?”
“I’ll pull some strings. Get you a teaching job here. We can build a school, if you want, and you can—”
She threw up her arms, cutting him off. “You’re still not listening to me.”
He still stared at her as if not quite comprehending her. “Everyone has a price, Risa. I want to know yours. I want to know what it’ll take to make you stay with me for a bit longer. I . . . like you in my bed.”