The Billionaire Heartbreaker (14 page)

Reily exhaled slowly. She had no idea why Travis was refusing to take the ice, but it had nothing to do with her. Whatever attention-getting scheme he'd orchestrated, it was apparently working. Because Bob sounded like a man on the edge.

“I'm not sure what I can do to help you. If you can't get him on the ice, I doubt I'll be able to do a better job.”

“He asked for you specifically. It's game seven and the only way we're winning that cup is with him in the net. Do me a solid here, Reily, and I'll throw as much work your way as I can manage.”

Bribery, huh? Reily's bank account would thank her, but she didn't know if her heart could take seeing Travis face-to-face. “Why did he ask for me?” He'd sent her a pretty clear message just last week that she didn't mean anything to him.

“I have no idea. But I told him I'd get you down here and that's what I'm going to do.”

A knock came at her front door. The driver Bob had sent. She didn't doubt he'd have her kidnapped if she refused to go. “Fine. I'll go.”

“Thanks Reily. I owe you one.”

“Yeah you do,” she replied. “Big time.”

*   *   *

Reily made her way toward the locker room that Travis had basically barricaded himself in. Warmups were scheduled to start in twenty minutes and if Travis wasn't on the ice by then, he'd have to be scratched from the roster. She knocked on the locker room door. Waited. Knocked again.
Ugh
. Stubborn ass. Reily swallowed down a growl of annoyance as she jerked open the door with enough force to take it off the hinges. It looked like she was going to have to go in without an invitation. At the back of the locker room, she found him. And sweet Jesus, what a sight he was.

Travis stood in the center of the locker room, clad in nothing but a pair of skin-tight compression shorts. Her gaze raked over every inch of heavily muscled perfection from his strong arms, across his wide chest and down the ridges of his abs, to the narrow taper of his waist and the trail of crisp hair that disappeared into the waistband of his shorts.

“What do you want, Travis? And make it quick because Bob needs you on the ice. Now.”

Her barked words hung in the air between them. Travis's brows came down sharply over his hazel eyes and his lips thinned. If it was possible, he was even better looking angry. Damn him.

He raked his fingers through his thick hair. “I didn't bring that woman to my room,” he said without preamble. “I didn't even know she was there and I don't know how she got in. I was in the process of throwing her out when you showed up. You didn't even give me a chance to explain. Instead, you ran.”

This was about an explanation? “You didn't have to play games to get me down here. It's none of my business why she was there or how she got there. Your conscience can rest easily.”

“Reily, can't you even give me the benefit of the doubt that I'm being honest with you right now? You couldn't even wait to hear me out after you showed up at my room. You haven't answered any of my texts or phone calls. Haven't given me an opportunity to explain. I had to get you to listen to me any way that I could. I don't give a single shit what Bob expects or is waiting for. Nothing matters to me more than you do. Not even hockey. And I'm not setting foot on that ice until you hear me out and I know that you believe me.”

“It doesn't matter, Travis,” Reily sighed. “What I think doesn't matter.”

“Jesus Christ, Reily,” Travis said. “Don't you get it? Your opinion is the
only one
that matters. I'm in love with you! I've been in love with you since day fucking one!”

Reily's jaw hung slack. He was in love with her?

“I've been trying to prove to you that I'm not the man you think I am. And let me tell you, it hasn't exactly gone very smoothly. But damn it, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make you believe me. I'll give up hockey. I'll never play again. Never do anything to raise another eyebrow ever again. But I need you to be able to believe me. To trust me. Reily, I love you.”

A tight knot of emotion lodged in Reily's chest. She wanted those words to be true so badly that she ached. “I don't know what to think, Travis. I was so ready to believe you in that elevator. I went to your room to tell you that I don't think you're a dumb, superficial jock,” she said, low. “I think you're amazing. Caring. Sincere. So
real
. When you opened the door and she was in your bed…” She swallowed down the tears that threatened. “It confirmed what I'd suspected all along. I'm not special. You didn't see anything in me. You were only working an angle.”

His expression softened. “Are you kidding me?”

“No.” Admitting it hurt more than she thought it would. “I'm being serious.”

“For someone so damned smart and put together, you really aren't very good at owning how amazing
you
are. How many times do I have to tell you?”

Reily opened her mouth to respond. Closed it. Heat flooded her cheeks and she cleared her throat. He'd said it before and she didn't believe him. How could she when he was larger than life? She felt so inconsequential in comparison. “You think I'm amazing?”

“Honey,” Travis drawled as he closed the space between them. “You're the most amazing woman I've ever met.”

She wanted to believe him. Every last bit of it. But she didn't know if she'd survive it if he broke her heart again.

“I don't know, Travis. I don't know what to think.”

“That's not as important as what you feel,” he replied. “You
know me
, Reily. You know the me that only a few other people get to see. You can trust me. I'd never, ever hurt you. I'd do anything for you.” He gave a little laugh. “Hell, I wore a
suit
for you! Give me another chance. Let me prove how much I love you. We're great together and you know it.”

She wanted another chance with him more than she was willing to admit. She never took risks, always hedged her bets. For the first time in her life, she wanted to be reckless. To abandon her heart, give it completely over to him. Travis was right, she
did
know him. And he never would have invited a woman up to his room after saying the things he'd said to her. When he said he cared about someone, he meant it. She'd seen that loving side of Travis. He loved his family. His team. Hockey. Was it so far-fetched to believe that he could love her too?

“I'm scared, Travis.” Scared to trust him. To give her heart to him. To take a chance.

“I'm scared too,” he replied. His voice was soft and warm and Reily wished she could wrap herself up in the sound. “I'm scared to death that I'm going to lose you. I can't. I won't. I love you, Reily. I won't ever love anyone else. You're it for me. Period.”

“What if it doesn't work out?” she whispered.

He flashed an arrogant smile. “Honey, what if it does?”

*   *   *

On the outside, Reily was so sure of herself. On the inside, Travis saw her insecurities and they baffled him. “You're beautiful, Reily. Smart. Funny.” Her face screwed up into a disbelieving grimace. “You are. Especially when you get all flustered. You want to be the best version of yourself and whether you think so or not, helping other people to do the same is damned noble of you.” Travis grinned. “Especially with hard-luck cases like me.”

“I wouldn't ever call you a hard-luck case.” Reily gave him a wry grin and tender emotion bloomed in Travis's chest.

“I am when it comes to you,” he said. “Especially when I'm trying to show you how I feel about you and you think I only want to add you to a list of conquests.”

“You have to admit,” Reily said. “It's a pretty long list.”

“Who says?” Travis was tired of playing into the media's perception of him. He was ready to make a real, permanent change.
For her
. “You should know better than anyone how the media skews things in the name of sensationalism.”

“You're right.” Realization came through in her tone. “I've jumped to a lot of conclusions about you. And almost all of them were wrong.”

Travis flashed a devilish grin. “Not all of them were wrong.”

“No,” Reily agreed. “You're charming, honest, and dead sexy. Women have a tendency to throw themselves at you. The media got that part right.”

“I swear to God, I didn't know her. I sort of fell apart after I got her out of my room. I didn't know how to fix things with you. By the time I got my shit together, you'd already checked out.”

“It'll happen again,” she said. The sadness in her tone cut through him. “How can it not? I mean, have you seen you? And it's not that I think you'll succumb to temptation. It's that…” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and looked away. “I don't know if my self-esteem can take it.”

“Reily,” Travis said. “You have nothing to worry about. No one compares to you. You blow all of the competition out of the water.”

“I want to believe that,” she said. “But I don't have your confidence.”

“Then I'll spend every day of my life making you believe it,” he said. “It's not going to happen again, because I won't let it. I'm ready to make a real and permanent change. No one is ever going to think that I'm the wild party guy again. Everyone is going to know that there is one woman for me. Period. And that's you, Reily. I don't ever want us to be apart. I've been a fucking mess this week. I can't function without you.”

“That makes two of us,” Reily said. “I've spent the entire week in a state of chaos. I can't sleep or eat. My brain's all over the place. I haven't returned any calls or even gone into the office.” She gave a rueful laugh. “I'm a mess.”

“If you're a mess, you're a beautiful one,” Travis said.

Color crept to Reily's cheeks. So beautiful. She could stop him dead in his tracks with so little effort. “Bob needs you on the ice, Travis. This is it. The game of your life. The opportunity to prove yourself to all of the doubting assholes out there. We can work out our issues after you help bring home the Stanley Cup.”

“I told you, I don't care about that. All I care about is you.” He meant it, too. Nothing mattered more than Reily.

“You love hockey,” she said.

“I love you more.”

Reily's eyes met this. The brilliant blue shimmered with emotion. “I love you, too.”

She loved him?
Fuck yeah!
Travis fought the urge to pump his fist into the air and shout his elation. He closed the space between them in two long strides and cupped Reily's cheek in one palm. Words refused to form on his tongue, at least anything that would adequately convey how he felt about her. Instead, he let his actions speak for him and he put his mouth to hers.

Goddamn
. Kissing Reily felt like coming home. It was such a cliché thought but Travis couldn't help it. There was a rightness in the meeting of their mouths that he couldn't explain. As though her lips had been made to fit perfectly against his. As if he'd been born for just this moment.

Fucking surreal.

Her mouth parted on a sweet sigh and Travis traced her bottom lip with the tip of his tongue. The sigh turned into a husky moan as her tongue darted out to meet his in a soft, wet tangle.
Perfect
. She was perfect. He was in love with her and he meant what he'd said. There would never be another woman for him but Reily Martin.

Reily's arms came around his shoulders as she went up on her tiptoes. He let his own arms encircle her waist and he lifted her up to meet his height. Travis kissed a path down the narrow column of her neck, which caused a riot of husky giggles to erupt in Reily's throat. God, that sound. He couldn't get enough of it.

“I love you,” he murmured against her ear. He didn't think he'd ever get tired of saying it. “I don't think I could love anyone more.”

“Then do me a favor.” The sound of Reily's voice rippled over his skin in a pleasant shiver. “Get dressed, get out there, and show everyone exactly what Travis Christensen is about. Show them that you're the most badass goalie out there. Make sure that Dallas never has any reason
not
to do everything in their power to make you stay.”

“I'll go out there,” he said. “But not for them. I'll do it for you.”

Reily pulled back and studied his face. Her brow furrowed in the cute, bemused expression he loved. “For me?”

“For you,” he said. “From here on out.”

“I think it's okay to do some things for you,” she said with a laugh. “And for your team. This is for them, not me.”

“I want you to have it all,” Travis said. “Your career, money, success. Whatever you want that I can help give you, it's yours.”

“Let's just start with a quiet dinner,” Reily suggested. “And go from there.”

“Done.” His grin widened to the point that his cheeks ached. “Your place or mine?”

“Is Carter's family still at your place?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Travis said. “For another month.”

“We'll go to my place first then.” She gave him a brilliant smile that caused his heart to pound in his chest. “I think we need some time alone, don't you?”

He kissed her once, slow. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”

“But first,” Reily said. “Go out there and win a Stanley Cup.”

Travis kissed her again before he turned toward his locker. He had five minutes to gear up and get his ass out on the ice. “It's a done deal, honey. That cup is as good as ours.”

“Good. You'll make the perfect poster boy for my firm,” she said in a teasing tone.

“A poster boy, huh? That's gonna cost you.”

Reily smiled. “Name your price.”

“You. Naked. In my bed.”