Page 83 of Tied to You

My brain trips, unable to find any words to offer him as comfort.

“I’m good with it, Mollie. Really.”

But I know that’s not the truth. It’s so fucking obvious, even a blind man would be able to see. “You feel as though you’ve let them down.” I say it, instantly recoiling, unsure why I said those words out loud.

Travis’ face turns blank. He watches me, but I can’t tell which way he’s going to go. I try to back up, but he holds me still. “Do you think I’m useless, Mollie?”

I frown, breathing in. Then the penny drops. I’ve called him that before. “No.” I shake my head. Getting it now. “They were just words I said before I knew you.”

“You don’t know me, though. That’s just it. Nobody fucking does. They all assume they do, but they don’t know what I really want.”

I look at the fierce looking man underneath me. I’m trapped under his steely gaze. “Then tell me.”

He looks up, shocked, like no one has ever asked him that question. “What do you mean?”

“What is ityouwant, Travis? Not what Mick wants from you, or the club. There’s got to be something that drives you.”

Enthralled, his lips part. A flash of something dark whips across his face, then it drops. It’s clear he hasn’t shared this with anyone before.

I nestle in closer to him, letting him know I’m here. “I just want time to pass with purpose.” He frowns at himself, his lack of speaking out until now, evident. “All it’s ever done is skate by with no direction.”

“How do you mean?” I wonder.

He adjusts his arm behind his head. “I don’t know,” he says, his bodyhardening. “Just feels like each day I wake up is the same somehow.”

I can’t help it; I lean down placing a kiss on his pec before I look up at him. “Like you’re trapped in a loop.”

After a beat, he removes his hand from behind his head, jiggling the necklace around my neck. “You know the feeling?”

I huff my false amusement. “All too well.”

“Your dad? That was him last night?”

A small smile raises. I can’t believe Travis ended up the same place as my dad. “Yeah, that was him. And this,” I hook my thumb under the necklace, “is his way of trying to make me come home.”

His eyes widen. “Looks like the two things you don’t care for.”

Money and power.I sigh. “It’s all he knows.” I look down at the rock. “He thinks my life would be better if I was with him. At home, becoming one of the most prestigious lawyers at his firm.”

“Doesn’t sound like a bad life. What makes you hate it so much?”

I take my time, not wanting to come across as ungrateful for having parents who worked hard to give me a good life. “Because it’s not what I want.” I look up, finding his eyes.

He smiles.

“I know they only want what’s best, and I’m good at doing what I’ve educated myself to do. But I just turned twenty-two and whether I’d make a damn good lawyer one day or not, I guess, no one ever asked me if it’s whatIwant. I grew up in it, so it’s just expected from me. You know?”

“I know.” Travis pulls me up his body, wrapping his arms around me. “What is it that you want then, Baby Doll?”

“To make my own decisions.”

He smiles. “Makes sense why you find listening so hard.”

I flick his exposed nipple, smirking at him, then place a kiss on his chest. “Anyway, I thought we were talking about you?”

“Well, I’m not really the talking type, baby.”

I nip his skin with my teeth.