“Why?”
“Because you’re my woman and whether I like it or not, I’m a high-profile man. I want to make sure you’re safe.” He shot her a look not to argue with him.
“I didn’t know,” she murmured, not sure how she felt about being watched all the time, but touched that he was thinking about her safety. “I’m sure it’s not necessary.”
“It is,” Travis replied harshly. “Don’t argue with me on this one, Ally. I want you safe.”
Deciding she could deal with security because it was just part of who Travis was, she replied, “Okay.” She watched the scenery out the window, marveling at the high peaks of the mountains, the top of which still had snow. “Oh my God. Are those bighorn sheep?” she asked excitedly, looking at the rocky terrain by the side of the freeway.
“Yep,” Travis replied. “You’ve never seen one?”
“Never,” Ally replied enthusiastically. “I’ve rarely gotten out of Florida.” She rummaged in her purse for her phone to take a picture.
“Don’t bother,” Travis advised. “You’re too far away. Don’t worry. You’ll see plenty of wildlife here.”
“You know, that’s one of the things I was really excited about when I took this job. I wanted to travel, see other places. I was disappointed once I realized you’d never take me. But I guess it all worked out because I needed my other job.” She put her phone back in her purse.
“I wanted to,” Travis answered hoarsely. “But I couldn’t, Ally. It wasn’t possible. Even then, I wanted to f**k you. And to have you that close to me would have killed me.”
“It’s so hard to believe you were really attracted to me for that long. Travis, there are so many women who—”
“Didn’t matter. I haven’t f**ked another woman since I met you. I didn’t want a single one of them,” he said irritably.
Ally gaped at him. “You haven’t had sex in four years?”
“Nope. Just me and my fantasies about doing the only woman I wanted. But they were pretty hot fantasies,” he said jokingly, trying to lighten the conversation.
“Why didn’t I ever notice?” Ally muttered to herself.
“Because I didn’t want you to. You were engaged to another man. I thought you actually had the perfect life. But if I had known he was a dick, that he wasn’t making you happy, I would have started taking you with me,” he answered angrily. “I would have done everything in my power to get you away from him.”
Ally felt tears well up in her eyes, the knowledge that Travis had been there all that time wanting her nearly breaking her. She knew how she felt about him now, and if he’d felt even a small portion of what she felt for him, it had to have been difficult. “I wasn’t happy. Rick and I hadn’t even tried to have sex in two years. He made excuses, but I knew—”
“Don’t, Ally. Don’t think about him,” Travis barked.
“I don’t hear his voice anymore, Travis. And I’m actually grateful he made me leave him. It doesn’t hurt anymore,” she told him honestly.
“Whose voice do you hear?” he asked in a voice cracking with emotion.
“Mine.” Ally looked at his profile, his jaw clenched tightly. He obviously still couldn’t stand to think about her ex. “And sometimes I hear yours. Especially the naughty things.” She watched as he relaxed in his seat, his face softening.
“I wanted to kill the bastard for what he’d done. He’s lucky he just lost his job and his woman—if you can even call her that. Christ! She was barely eighteen,” Travis grumbled.
“How do you know that?” Ally inquired, slightly stunned that Travis knew about the other woman in Rick’s life.
“Because I filtered the right information to the head of his practice to get him fired, and then I bribed the woman to leave him. She was young, and dazzled by the fact that an educated man was interested in her. He’d fed her some line of bullshit about you, and she believed it because she was young and clueless. She never really knew the truth about you. She was mortified, Ally. I didn’t want her to destroy her life with an ass**le. She was too damn young. I paid her tuition to go to college, provided she stayed away from him. She took the deal, and she told me she’d never see him again anyway.”
Ally stared at Travis for a moment, completely blown away. It was hard for her to feel sorry for Rick since she’d worked her ass off for years for him. And he’d get another job. Just not one as prestigious as the one he’d landed after college. But the fact that Travis had saved a young woman from Rick’s manipulative behavior touched her. “I knew she was young, but not that young. Thank you. He would have destroyed her.” Rick had nearly destroyed her, and she was older and wiser. She could imagine what damage he could do to a woman that young and naïve.
“You’re not pissed off?”
“No. Rick will get another job, but he might have to work a little harder. I can’t be sad about that. Maybe he’ll be too busy to go after barely legal women. But what you did for that girl is amazing. You’re amazing,” she breathed softly, knowing this wasn’t the first young woman he’d rescued. He’d also helped two young Indian women escape a bad fate when he’d been helping Asha.
Travis shrugged, looking almost embarrassed. “I thought it was the right thing to do.”
“It was,” Ally agreed, her chest tightening when she looked at Travis. He had so much integrity, so much hidden compassion inside him. And he never sought anything in return, never wanted recognition for the good things he did. In fact, he avoided the attention. Travis Harrison did what he thought was right, because of his sense of honor. “You’re one hell of a man, Travis Harrison.”
“I’m an ass**le, Ally. And everyone knows it. But if you think that, I’m glad you’re delusional,” he said with a smirk. “Whatever it takes to keep you,” he added in a more serious tone.
Ally rolled her eyes. “And you think I’m delusional?” But her whole body flushed with pleasure. “Oh look! We’re coming up on the Eisenhower Tunnel,” she exclaimed, seeing the sign that they were getting close.
Travis shook his head, and smiled. “I didn’t realize you’d get excited over a big hole in a mountain.”