Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 93699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
“Then let’s stop pretending…”
THIRTY FIVE & A HALF
FORTY DAYS AFTER SAYING “I DO”
TATIANA
Las Vegas, Nevada
His words hung in the air, floating and stretching across space, searching for answers.
“Tatiana?” He cupped my face in his hands. “Did you understand my question?”
“Yes.”
“Can I have an answer?”
“Mademoiselle!” The designer from Chanel stepped into the hallway, followed by two team members. “I told you he wouldn’t be amused. Come now, Miss. Let’s make sure you look beautiful for tomorrow’s Nike gala.”
“Can your team excuse us for a moment, Mrs. Celine? Travis asked. ”I’ll have Mr. Ryan let you know our next move.”
“As you wish, sir.” She slipped inside the living room and grabbed her purse, and then she and the other women walked past us and onto the elevator.
Travis dropped his hands and pulled out his phone.
Tapping the screen, he held it in front of me as Mr. Truss’s face appeared.
“Well, hello there, Mr. Carter!” He smiled. “I hope you and your wife are ready for one hell of a gala tomorrow night.”
“Not anymore,” he said. “We’re not coming.”
“I see…Are you ill?”
“No, I’m just done jumping through hoops to prove myself to you,” he said. “I let you into my personal life, conceded to several of your demands, and now I’m spending my last free moments with my wife.”
“Mr. Carter—”
“Every line that I’ve ever launched with your brand has sold out within seconds,” he said. “You know it, I know it, and millions of my fans know it. Yes, I made a few fucking mistakes after my loss, but you’d be pretty silly to let me go as I’ll go straight to Reebok, Under Armour, or Adidas and they’ll happily do business with someone who can prove he’s moved over a hundred million dollars in merch since he joined the UFC.”
Mr. Truss said nothing.
“If I don’t hear back from you in a week, it was great doing business with you, and my wife really appreciated the engagement party.” He hung up. Then he pulled me into his arms.
“I’m not pretending to have feelings for you,” he said. “I haven’t been pretending for a while.”
“Stop it, Travis.”
“I haven’t seriously dated anyone since you left me.”
“I’ve seen you with tons of models in the tabloids.”
“It hasn’t been tons,” he said. “And it was never anything worthwhile.”
“I haven’t dated anyone worthwhile either…”
“I’m aware,” he said. “So, are we done pretending?”
“Yes.” I nodded, and he kissed me like he did when he first made love to me.
I shut my eyes in bliss, hating that I’d lived through years of missing, wanting, and needing this.
He grabbed my hips and lifted me, commanding, “Wrap your legs around my waist.”
Obeying, I smiled as he carried me inside his condo, straight to the windows overlooking the city. I moaned as he assaulted my mouth with endless rough and possessive kisses. The exact flavor I loved.
“I’ve missed you so fucking much,” he whispered, setting me down on a bench. “So fucking much…”
“Me too,” I struggled to catch my breath. “Me too.”
He kept his eyes on mine as he undressed, taking off his shirt and tie.
I leaned forward and unbuckled his pants, earning a smile from his lips. He grabbed a condom from his pocket, and I took it from his fingers, spitting on his cock and taking it down my throat a few times before sheathing it in rubber.
He laughed low and grabbed my hands, pulling me to my feet.
Pushing up my dress, he grabbed my left leg, and I lifted it around his waist, angling for him to slide his cock all the way into me.
Our lips met once more, and he grabbed my ass and fucked me against the window.
“I miss you,” “I love you,” “Don’t leave me again,” came between every stroke.
“I miss you, too, “I love you, too,” “I won’t” came between every kiss.
After what felt like forever, we came together, our bodies writhing in pleasure at the same time.
When we came down, he slid into me again.
And again.
For the rest of the night.
THIRTY-SIX
FORTY ONE DAYS AFTER SAYING “I DO”
TATIANA
The following morning
Las Vegas, Nevada
I lay naked under Travis’s sheets, a fresh coat of sweat and sex clinging to my skin, a reminder that he was still the only man who could make me have multiple orgasms in a single night.
As he pressed kisses against my face, scenes of us making up for lost time played in my mind in a hazy blur. Every touch, every kiss, every word.
“You’re so fucking beautiful when you come for me.” He slid a hand through my curls. “Do you know that?”
I smiled. “What’s on our schedule for today?”
“A cancellation.” He twirled my hair with his fingers. “Tomorrow is cancelled, too.”
“Why?”
“Because we haven’t even begun to make up for all the time we wasted being apart.” He stared into my eyes. “I would’ve cancelled Tuesday’s event, but I can’t. It’s for my top fans, and I can’t afford to let them down again.”