Me And Mrs Jones (7 page)

It was hard to be coherent when Travis was this close to her. She was unnerved by the sudden change in conversation. Since her divorce, she was more of a self-confident woman...a woman who knew what she wanted and didn’t have a problem going after it. However, she wasn’t quite sure if she was ready for Travis.

“Hmmm...I’m not sure about us going out on a date. I like to keep things very professional with my artists.”

Wrapping his hands around her wrist, Travis pulled her close enough to him so she could feel his body heart but not too close that they were touching each other. “Renee, I’m not those other artists. I am me and I want to go out on a date with you. Are you really that nervous about going out with me?”

“No, I’m not nervous about going out with you,” Renee answered a little too quickly.

“I wish I could believe you, but I don’t.” Travis tugged her against his body. “I know you’re trying to fight it, but you feel this electricity between us too. Why try to smother it when we could fan the flames and make it even hotter?”

Being near Travis like this Renee could feel the sexual magnetism that made him so self-confident and appealing. She saw how he was looking over her seductively trying to draw her into agreeing to a date with him.

Every time his stunning blue eyes met hers, her heart turned over and her pulse raced like a young girl out on a date with her first crush.
Could she really do this
? In all of the years of her marriage to Robert, he never once had made her feel so alive and wanted.

There was an air of efficiency about Travis that fascinated her and made her want to know more. The idea of being able to kiss his full lips sent her body and mind soaring like a kite in the sky on a warm summer day.

She did want this date as much or even more than Travis. So, why was she agonizing over it? Some of her apprehension evaporated leaving only curiosity about what her date with Travis would bring to the table.

“Alright, I’ll go out with you,” Renee finally agreed. “Where do you want me to meet you?”

“You aren’t going to meet me again,” Travis said clearly shocked by her suggestion. “I’m going to pick you up for our date. Just give me your address and I’ll be there by seven o’clock. I’m going to make this a night you’ll never forget.”

A night she will never forget? Renee didn’t think Travis had the means to do that for her, but she wasn’t going to say anything to bring him down. She knew he was a struggling artist, so anything he could provide for her she would take great enjoyment in.

Hell, if she’d allowed Robert to give her countless lazy assed dinners while they were married, she would be able to handle anything Travis tossed her away. He was too damn cute for her to get mad at over a less than expensive dinner.

“Let me write down my address for you.” Renee tried to move out of Travis’ arms, but he wouldn’t let her go.

“Not so fast,” he whispered. “I think we should have a kiss to close the deal, don’t you?”

“A kiss....right now?”

Renee didn’t know if she should stay or run. Travis wanted to kiss her. God, would she be able to handle it? Just the thought of his firm mouth on hers was already sending her body into overdrive.

“Sure. I don’t think a kiss—” The rest of the sentence was cut off when Travis captured her mouth with his.

She felt his tongue tracing the side of her mouth coaxing her to relax and let him in. The taste of tea and mint mesmerized her senses as Renee slowly opened her lips and Travis’ thick tongue slipped its way inside.

His hand wrapped around her waist hugged her against him like he thought she might try to sneak away, but that was the furthest thought from her mind. She was too caught up in how her nipples were rock hard against the front of her dress.

Renee felt the passion igniting in her body as Travis’ hand left her waist and inched its way down her back until he was cupping her ass in his palms. He held her against his throbbing erection making her get familiar with the size.

Wrapping her hands around his wide shoulders, she held tight urging him to give her more and more. She couldn’t recall the last time her mind and body had been this consumed with a man.

Their tongues danced in the ancient art of foreplay giving little hints of what was to come later if they got the chance to be with each other. Renee could smell the scent of Travis’ cologne as he grabbed her by the thighs lifting her up, so she could wrap her legs around his waist.

He made love to her with his mouth while a pool of moisture soaked her already damp panties. She moaned in the back of her throat when Travis’ hand eased underneath her short black dress and cupped her ass.

“Baby, you feel so fucking good,” he whispered against the side of her mouth. “Renee, I want you so badly.”

The sound of Travis’ voice pushed Renee back from the web of desire she was caught up on. Slowly, her eyes connected and she saw the wanting in the dark blue depths, but she couldn’t act on it here. What if Cruz had come in today or what if it had been a customer. Either one of them could have found them wrapped up in each other’s arms like this.

“Please put me down,” Renee whispered, removing her arms from around Travis’ neck.

Instead of doing as she asked, Travis slid his hand through her hair and rained kisses down the side of her neck. “Don’t try to back away from what happened here. I wanted this as much as you did.” He moved back and held her eyes with his again. “Do you believe me?”

Renee thought about it for a few minutes before she nodded her head. “Yes, I believe you.” She knew there was no way Travis could have just faked what occurred between them. He was truly attracted to her.

“Good,” Travis answered and then slid her back down his body until her feet hit the floor.

Taking a few steps back, Renee fixed her dress hoping that everything was back in place. She couldn’t have anyone coming in and finding her disheveled in her own place of business. There sure
would
be questions.

“You look beautiful. You don’t have to fix a thing.” Travis reached out and tugged a strand of her hair behind her ear. “How about you give me your address so I can leave and get our first date set up?”

Touching Travis’ hand, she removed it away from her face and then walked the short distance over to her desk. Renee quickly scribbled her information down on a note pad. She spun back around and found Travis standing right behind her.

“Here you go,” she said, handing him the slip of paper.

“Thank you, Renee. Remember to be ready by seven o’clock.” Travis reached out to touch her again, but dropped his hand before it made contact. He gave her a smile and then turned around and headed for the door.

Renee stood still watching Travis until he went out the door of the gallery and got inside his truck then drove off. Then it suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks what she had done. She agreed to go out on a date with her hunky new client.

Was she out of her mind? Or was she about to have the time of her life?

Chapter Nine

“I can’t believe you’re going out with Travis on a date,” Dana said sitting on the end of Renee’s bed watching as she got ready for her first date in over a year.

“Do you think I should have told him no when he called me at work? I mean I haven’t been out with a man in so long and never with a younger guy.” Renee turned away from the mirror and looked at her best friend waiting for an answer. Half the time she would jump into anything with her eyes wide open and not care what people thought, but this was different.

She really wanted this date with Travis. He had grabbed her attention like no other man had in a while. She was craving to find out more about him and his life; however, taking the steps to get there were a little intimidating.

Renee knew how to relate to a man her own age. They could share a common bond by sharing and discussing events from their past. But there were very few things that she and Travis could have a conversation about that didn’t involve a huge generation gap.

“Stop doing what you’re doing,” Dana scolded as she got up from the bed. “I can already see your mind working overtime and I don’t want you doing that at all. Travis asked you out on a date because he finds you extremely attractive.”

“Just go with it and let things grow and develop. I promise you that he’ll do everything tonight to make sure he gets second date from you. Remember, I told you that I know the look and Travis had the look.”

Why did Dana have to be right
? Renee thought to herself.

Dana always seemed to know what was going on with her before she even uttered a word. Sometimes it felt like Dana knew her better than she knew herself. She guessed that was one of the reasons she had become such instant friends with her.

“Fine,” she sighed “I won’t over think my date tonight. I’ll just have fun and try to forget about everything else.” Renee turned towards the mirror but spun back around when a thought crossed her mind. “Are you okay with this? I mean you did have a little bit of interest in Travis. Does it bother you that I’m going out on a date with him?”

“No, not at all,” Dana assured her. “Travis has known me a little longer than he has you. If he wanted to go out on a date with me then he would have asked me a long time ago. Forget about me. Have fun tonight. I need to leave anyway. I’m going over to Cruz’s house tonight. I’m having dinner with him and his brother. You know we’re going to have too much fun.”

Coming up to her, Dana gave her a quick hug. “Don’t allow this chance to slip through your fingers. Travis is a good guy. At least give him a chance to prove it to you. Every man isn’t Robert, so why keep giving your lousy ex-husband control over you? It’s your time to have fun and shine.”

Stepping back from Dana, she smiled at her very opinionated friend. Dana was right. She was already thinking about how not to enjoy her date with Travis instead of allowing things just to happen.

“Alright Mother, I won’t scare Travis away with me bringing memories of Robert and his horrible treatment of me. He’s out of my life and that is where he’ll stay.” Renee was confident enough to know that she wouldn’t go back on her word.

“Excellent, Just remember as soon as you get home give me a call because I want to hear every single detail and I do mean every single detail.” Dana touched her on the shoulder. “You don’t have to walk me to the door, I know the way.” Walking past her, Dana headed out of the bedroom and a few minutes later Renee heard the door close downstairs.

Facing the floor length mirror again, Renee rechecked her appearance one last time trying to get rid of the butterflies in her stomach. She ran her hands over the olive one shoulder dress that tied at the waist and stopped right below her knees.

She had purchased this dress six months ago when she was in New York trying to get an artist’s work in her gallery. Unfortunately, she’d been too late and the painter turned down her offer. He informed her that he had already signed with a local gallery in New York blocks away from his condo.

So, she decided an impromptu shopping trip might take away some of the sting of losing a client. Just as she was about to give up all hopes of finding the ‘perfect dress’, this stunning creation in the back of the shop caught her eye.

The dress wasn’t overly seductive but it wasn’t matronly either, it held just enough sexiness to be eye-catching and appealing to a man of any age.

When Dana was here, Renee had tried her best not to show how excited she was about her date with Travis, but she was thrilled to death. She guessed that she had done a good job, because Dana didn’t offer her any more advice about how to act. Honestly, she wasn’t in the mood for anymore guidance about how she should behave tonight.

Yes, it had been a little while since she went out on a date. But she still knew the mechanics of what went on when a woman went out with a man. Travis might be younger but he was still a man.

Her date with Travis tonight was her chance to cut loose and just have a good time. Nothing was going to hold her back. Everything was running smoothly at the gallery. With the addition of Travis’ paintings she now had enough for another small show for a selected clientele who were only involved in adding to their already huge collections of paintings.

Right at this moment, Renee didn’t think her life could get any better than it already was. Moving closer to the mirror, she turned around and looked at the dress from the back making sure one final time that everything was in place.

Liking what she saw, Renee slowly faced forward again and allowed all of the unnecessary built up energy to leave her body.
This was her night
! Once she walked out of that front door with Travis, she wasn’t going to allow anything to influence her mind with bad vibes.

Ever since her divorce from her lying, cheating ex-husband Robert, she had always sought out perfection from the way she ran her gallery down to the clothes she wore. For some little reason, Renee believed that if she worked hard enough and did her best somehow the perfect man would fall in her lap or Robert might see his mistake and come back to her.

However, she quickly came to her senses realizing that she didn’t want Robert back. She was too much woman for him. The next man she got into a relationship with had to walk side by side with her and not want her to be a step behind him.

She knew there was no such thing as a perfect man. Renee only dreamed the man who was the perfect fit for her was out there searching for her. She wasn’t dependent on a man, but she did love how it felt to be in a relationship.

Renee learned rather suddenly after her divorce how she loved the simplest things in life. She didn’t have to show off to impress anyone. If a person liked her then fine and it they didn’t then she was okay with that too. All that mattered was how she felt about herself each and every night when she laid her head down on the pillow.

Could Travis be the man she had been looking for all along? Renee wondered about this as she left her bedroom making her way down the hallway into the kitchen. She wasn’t quite ready to let her mind go there yet.