realize,” Madison admitted. “How do your wife and kids handle you being gone so much?”
He raised a brow and gave her an amused look. “SEALs have a ninety percent divorce rate. I’m in that statistic because I’m a SEAL.”
Her heart pounded a little. “Well, then,” she stumbled, “your girlfriend? A significant other?”
Travis just shook his head and paid attention to eating his MRE. “I have a lousy track record,” he muttered.
“I’m sorry,” Madison said quietly, holding his gaze. “You’re a hero in my eyes. That shouldn’t mean you have to be so alone.”
His heart squeezed unexpectedly beneath her sincere voice and expression. He could entertain having her as his woman, no problem at all. But as with all the rest of his experiences, women in his life went one way and he went the other.
“You get used to it,” Travis said, avoiding her searching blue gaze. The woman could melt rocks with those eyes of hers. Hell, she was melting him and he wasn’t sure what to do about it. Did Madison know her own feminine influence over him? Oh, in his high school days, because he was part of a star football team, he hadn’t wanted for girls. Every cheerleader had set their sights on the Sidewinders. And Travis had enjoyed his high school years. “Why aren’t you hooked up with a guy?” he asked.
Blinking over the blunt question, Madison shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe too many hours of training our horses and showing them? Running a breeding facility?” She opened her hands and added, “I love what I do, Travis. There aren’t a whole lot of single guys my age that are in the horse business. Most horse farms and breeding facilities are family run.”
“What do you like to do for fun?” He had images of her jumping into a river and skinny-dipping. Madison might seem shy, but he’d seen her strength under fire. He liked her way too much. She was appealing to him. Somehow, this blond-haired beauty was turning his world upside down and making him think differently about settling down.
Shrugging, Madison said, “You’ll laugh at me.”
“No, I won’t.”
The sparkle of life came to her eyes for the first time and it damn near stole his breath. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes were so alive. An ache, a really crippling ache, grabbed hold of his lower body. Would Madison look at him like that as he made love to her? His mind and his body rocked on that heated, dangerous question. “Tell me.”
“I have two passions in my life,” she said, feeling his genuine interest, feeling warmed by that intense look that made her yearn to kiss him. “I love my horses but my hobby is sort of boring by a lot of people’s standards. My mom, who is a large-animal vet, taught me quilting when I was a teen. I love making quilts for the elderly. I belong to a local women’s quilting club and we get together once a week to work on our latest quilt to help those who have so little.”
“Are you a throwback to another era and age?” Travis wondered aloud. “My grandmother quilted. My mother never picked it up, too busy raising us kids on a cattle ranch.”
“Maybe the word old-fashioned fits me, then?” Madison felt shy and broke away from his burning gaze. God, she felt like the man had X-ray vision and could undress her with his eyes. She didn’t feel threatened, but rather, desired. Very desired. Was something going on between them, something invisible? Whatever it was, she felt shaky, needy and hungry. Granted, Travis Cooper was a man’s man. There was no strutting. No bragging. He was quiet. Confident. She’d not met many men like him. And it drew her powerfully.
Old-fashioned.
Yeah, Madison certainly was. Travis smiled a little to himself as he finished off his meal. Madison seemed uncomfortable about admitting it to him. The Texas girls he grew up with were strong-willed and knew what they wanted. And they didn’t apologize for chasing him or his other friends to get their attention. He watched her nervously move her fingers clasped in her lap. “So, you were born in Texas?”
“Yes.”
“Horses consumed your life from when you were a little girl onward?”
“How did you know?” Madison was shaken by his insight into her.
“Just a guess,” Travis murmured, giving her a slight smile, trying to put her at ease. At least she’d eaten her meal and that was a positive start. Putting his MRE away, he said, “I’ve got a towel, washcloth and soap in my ruck.” He hooked a thumb over his shoulder toward the pool. “That’s glacial water and it’s damned cold, but you could strip out of those ruined clothes of yours, get washed and cleaned up. I’ve got some shampoo somewhere that I can scare up so you can wash your hair.” He saw her sudden response, hope coming to her eyes.
“Really? Oh, I’d give anything to get clean.” Madison wrinkled her nose, opening her hands, the fine silt and grit on them.
“I thought so,” Travis said, unwinding and walking to his ruck. Rummaging around, he found the items and set them on the sleeping bag near her leg. He added a clean T-shirt and a set of his trousers for her to wear because her clothes were torn and ruined. “I’m going to go check out our environs. Be back in about an hour, maybe a little less. Will that give you the time you need?”
Madison nodded. “Yes, thank you.” And tears suddenly sprang to her eyes. “I don’t mean to cry,” she whispered, trying to push them off her cheeks.
“Hey,” Travis growled, kneeling down next to her. He cupped her face, lifting her chin just enough to look deeply into her marred gaze. “Never apologize for tears, darlin’. You’ve been through a lot.” And dammit, he was going to kiss her if he didn’t stop right now. Dropping his hands, he gave her an apologetic look and stood up. He had to leave or they were both in trouble. Walking over to his M-4, he picked it up and threw the boonie hat onto his head. “I’ll see you later.”
Shaken, Madison could still feel the warm, callused hands cupping her jaw. His mouth had been inches from hers. Her breath had snagged, her pulse skyrocketed as he surprised her with his unexpected attention. Closing her eyes, she pressed her palms to them, feeling shaken, a quiver rocking through her womb. She released a huge sigh, then scrubbed her eyes and slowly stood up. Her skin burned with pleasure where his hands had slid across her jaw, holding her, looking so deeply into her eyes. She didn’t know what to do. Her world had turned upside down last night. Madison was still cartwheeling emotionally, unsure of herself.
Getting the towel, wash cloth and soap, she walked slowly over toward the pool that now glinted with sunlight. Her heart was pounding. And it wasn’t out of fear. She wanted Travis to kiss her. And then what?
Chapter 4
Travis moved silently into the cave an hour later. He saw Madison standing in the sunshine, looking up through the hole in the cave roof at the blue sky above. His body went on red alert. His T-shirt did nothing but emphasize her breasts and slender body. The trousers were far too large on her, bulky, and she’d rolled them up as best she could around her ankles. But that T-shirt... He took a deep breath, grappling with his desires.
“Hey,” he called, letting her know he’d come back. Madison started and jerked in a breath. “God, you scared me!” She placed her hand against her wildly pounding heart. Travis gave her a look of apology as he placed his rifle against the wall. He was sweating, his skin glistening, that hard look on his face. Only his eyes softened as he shed his gear and stripped down
