Travis collapsed on top of her, his mind feeling lethargic and euphoric with pleasure. He couldn't even manage to come up with enough brain power to speak. The most he was able to accomplish was to kiss her over and over as he felt himself soften inside her. His cock sliding out of her welcoming warmth was enough to make him realize what he had done.

Fuck! He hadn't worn a condom! Of all the stupid, moronic, juvenile things to do. He groaned into her sweat dampened neck, his body shaking and trembling from both the aftermath of the best orgasm he had ever had and with implications of what he had done.

On unsteady arms, he hoisted himself off her and looked down into her contented, smiling face. Damn, she was beautiful. Not only was she everything he could have imagined and more...but she had given him the most precious of gifts. And how does he repay her? He cursed under his breath, he forgets to wear a fucking condom.

"I'm sorry, sunshine. I'm so very...fuck...yeah...sorry," he muttered, grimacing at how pathetic he sounded.

Her lavender eyes popped wide. "For what?" Reaching up, she stroked his hair out of his face.

Moaning, he leaned into her caress and kissed the palm of her hand. "I forgot to wear protection." He closed his eyes, blowing out a frustrated breath. "I can't believe I did that." Rolling carefully off her, he laid down beside her and threw his arm over his face, calling himself every derogatory name he could think of.

Her giggling brought him out from berating himself. Peeking over at her, her face was beautifully flushed, her lids drooping sleepily, but she gave him a sexy little smile which made his heart skip a beat.

"It's okay, I think," Her brow crinkling into a little frown.

"Are you on the pill?" Hope surged through him at the thought.

She shook her head. "No. But I finished my period a few days ago. I think the chances of me getting pregnant is less likely." Shrugging her shoulder, she grinned up at him. "Regardless, I don't regret it and next time, we will use one."

His body sagged in relief. Not only was he happy she wasn't angry, but he was ecstatic to know there would be a next time. Gathering her into his arms, he leaned down and touched his lips softly to hers before allowing her to snuggle tightly into the crook of his arm.

"I want you to know, I had a checkup last year. I'm clean and I haven't been with anyone since."

Her brows rose to her hairline. "Really?"

He chuckled at her expression. "Yes, really." Rolling his head towards her, he gave a little smirk. "I...um...I didn't run into anyone I wanted to be with," he said, hugging her closer to him. "You are the first woman I've wanted in a very long time."

"I'm happy to hear that," she poked him playfully in the ribs before laying her head on his chest with a soft sigh. "As you now know, I've never had sex before and I'm clean too."

"I'm happy to hear it," he teased, kissing the top of her head. "Although, it would have been nicer to know beforehand."

"Where would be the fun in that?" she yawned.

"You do like to keep me on my toes."

"Get used to it, cowboy. I'm full of surprises," she whispered sleepily, throwing an arm over his chest and giving him a squeeze. "I love you, Travis."

His heart seized. Those words had been thrown at him in the past by other women, but there was never any emotion or meaning behind them. Usually, it was a last ditch effort on their part to try and convince him they cared, but he knew there wasn't any depth to their declarations. Until now. Looking at the woman he held in his arms, his heart swelled. He had waited so long...he feared he may never find her and wouldn't ever hear those precious words. And now, they sounded all the sweeter and worth the wait coming from her lips. He was one lucky son of a bitch.

Suddenly, he didn't feel so worried about his mistake. Reaching up, he gently tucked her hair behind her ear as she slept. Carefully, he moved his hand down to lightly graze her stomach, imagining it swollen with his child. It was too early to be thinking the way he was, but...he also knew there wouldn't be any other women for him except for the one he held in his arms. Any babies they would make, would be beyond welcomed and loved. He swallowed a lump that formed in his throat, by both of them.

"I love you too, Harley," he murmured, winding his arms protectively around her as he felt himself drift. Images of a giggling little girl with beautiful eyes running into his arms filled his dreams.

Travis woke up feeling like his face was in a sauna. A hot, steaming...rather stinky...sauna. Cracking one eye open, he came face to black shiny nose with King. The big dog was sitting beside the bed with his head resting on the mattress, his face only centimeters away from Travis's. Those big brown eyes watching and assessing him, but for once, he at least wasn't growling.

Easing a hand out slowly, Travis patted him gently on the head. "Good boy. Your breath stinks...really, really quite terrible," he muttered under his breath, giving his ear a scratch, "but, thank you for not chewing my face off while I slept."

Giving the dog one last pat, he turned and stretched languidly. According to the clock on the night stand, it was just past dawn. A smile eased its way across his face as he rolled over and found Harley still sound asleep next to him. She was sleeping on her belly, her face turned away from him and the covers had fallen down past her waist giving him a full view of her naked back to just the crest of her amazing ass.

Easing up on his elbow, he looked down as the morning light bathed her lovely body. A frown quickly replaced his smile. Leaning forward, he saw a long scar partially hidden under a tattoo of two roses. Their delicate, beautiful blooms started on either side of the scar between her shoulder blades and the thorny, leaved stems wove and intertwined all the way down, ending at the small of her back. The phrase, Our Scars Are Proof We Have Lived, was elegantly scripted at the bottom. Where most women wore a tramp stamp...she wore evidence of her strength.

Not able to help himself, he gently ran a fingertip down the length of it. The answer to how severely she had been injured laid before him. It had been bad. Real bad. Fear gripped his insides. Whoever had cut the cinches on that saddle could have easily killed her.

"Admiring my artwork?" Harley sleepily asked, turning her head to face him.

"How bad was it?" His voice sounding hoarse. The frown he wore on his face deepening the more he traced her tattoo.

Feeling self-conscious, she moved to roll over on her back, intending to pull the covers up with her, but his hand shot out and stopped her, shoving her back onto her belly.

"Oof..." The air puffed out of her chest as her face was buried back into the pillow. What the hell? Raising up on her elbows, she angrily tossed her hair to the side and rolled her eyes. "Well, good morning to you too, cowboy."

"How bad?" he asked again, his eyes never leaving the rose tattoo.

She stared at him. His handsome face was locked in a pinched grimace. His lips thinning out until they were nothing but bands of flesh and his blue eyes flashed in anger. Of course, she assumed he wasn't angry at her...or at least she hoped so. Because, if he was, then Mr. Asshole was about to meet Miss Bitch.

"It was a long time ago." Leaning up on one elbow, she put her hand out and touched his arm, drawing his gaze from her back to her face. She shivered at the rage simmering in the icy depths. "It was just an old accident, but as you can see," she smiled up at him, "I've completely recovered." This time when she rolled her back away from him, he allowed it and she turned to face him. "How about a good morning kiss?" she coaxed, running her hand up his muscular bicep to his shoulder and she tried to tug him down to her mouth.

But, he pulled back. Stubborn as a mule.

"How bad?" he drawled, not coming any closer. His face set in a determined scowl.

She sighed and flopped on her back. "If you must know, my back was broken in two places. But, thanks to the wonders of medical science and some titanium screws, I was able to walk away." Was that a growl? Sitting up in bed, she tugged the sheet up to cover herself. What was his problem? "It was an accident, Travis. That's all."

"The fuck it was, sweetheart," he said through clenched teeth.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Why don't you tell me what you think it was then?"

"I saw the video, Harley. I saw your saddle slip. It was no accident."

Harley took a deep breath. "So...you've been checking up on me?" Her heart did a little flip-flop as she realized the jig was up. If he saw the clip of her accident, then he also knew who she was and what she use to do for living.

He drew a hand through his hair, holding it back from his head for a moment before letting it go. "It's a small town," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "When someone new comes in, people are curious."

"Don't you mean when someone new comes in claiming to be Jake Stewart's daughter and takes ownership of a property you had intended to buy...you suddenly got curious?"

"I see I wasn't the only one doing some checking up," he muttered.

"No. You weren't." She could see she had thrown him off by revealing she knew what his plans had been. Obviously, Travis Montgomery was used to getting his way without having to answer to anyone and if they were going to make this relationship work, she would have to nip that little habit in the bud. "You didn't think I wouldn't be just as curious when two neighboring ranchers show up to piss out their territory like two old tomcats?" She snorted.

"I wasn't pissing out my territory," he ground out. His blue eyes were dark and his jaw clenched so tightly, she was surprised his teeth didn't crack. "I wouldn't have had to do any checking if you had been honest with me."

"Honest?" she barked, jerking as if she had been slapped. "I told you from day one who I was! I never lied to you about anything!"

"Oh no? How about not telling me you were a successful rancher or you were a competition rider?" He pointed at her like she was on the witness stand.

Harley winced slightly. Oh...yeah...that. "I didn't lie to you, Travis. I just didn't tell you everything." Reaching up, she tried to sooth him again, rubbing his arm. It had been a stupid idea to withhold the truth from him. Sometimes her competitive nature ran away with her common sense.

"I want to know who you are running from."

Her hand fell away from his arm. "What are you talking about?" she asked, completely flummoxed.

"Who tried to kill you?"

She gasped, unable to believe her ears. "Nobody's tried to kill me."

He snorted and rolled his eyes. "Somebody sabotaged your saddle that day, Harley and I'm guessing that's why you moved here from Colorado and kept your identity hidden. You're lying low and I want to know from who."

He couldn't have surprised her more if he had jumped out of this bed in a tutu and started singing I'm a Little Teapot at the top of his lungs. He had seemed so sweet and kind yesterday. Telling her all those wonderful things and then being so attentive and gentle when they were making love, but now...she had to wonder if all of that was just a ruse to cover up he was a crazy son of a bitch who had a book of conspiracy theories stuffed under his pillow.

"This is ridiculous," she scoffed. Picking up a pillow, she smacked him with it. "I'm not lying low." She smacked him again. "I never hid my identity. If you remember correctly, I told you from the very beginning who I was." Picking the pillow up over her head, she brought it down on his head as hard as she could. "Harley Stewart is my real name, you idiot." She pelted him three more times, until he was holding his hands up in defense. "If I was running from someone, wouldn't you think I'd be smart enough to at least change my damn name?" She walloped him one more time, panting from her efforts.

"Now, sunshine," Travis started with apparent nervousness in his voice. He looked uncertain as he back up a bit from her in the bed, his back hitting the headboard. His hair all mussed and ruffled from her attack. "Maybe I jumped to the wrong conclusions."

"You think?" She smacked him again.

"What else was I supposed to think?" he asked, scrubbing a hand over his face and through his tangled hair. "I saw that video and then you were being all secretive about the Rancher's Rodeo thing...and then I see...I see the scar on your back..." his voice trailed off.

Harley's heart melted. He was trying to be a knight in shining armor. Granted, he sucked at it, but it was kind of cute. Tossing the pillow to the side, she crawled over to him and into his arms. Kissing his stubborn chin, she tickled her lips across the roughness of his beard to his lips.

"You are forgiven," she said. Kissing him soundly, she enjoyed the sensual feeling of his lips molding to hers. Pulling back she looked into those blue eyes, now clear of anger and heating with desire. "If you'll forgive me for not telling you I was a rodeo champion."

He appeared to think about it for a moment before a smile tugged up the corners of his mouth. "Deal." He licked the seam of her lips. "As long as I get to taste your sweet pussy again."

His big hands roamed down her back and cupped her ass. Hauling her up against his body, she could feel his raging erection through the bedding. Her pussy liquefied as he grinded her against him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed closer to him, her body shuddering at the erotic feel of it. His hands and lips were everywhere and she rolled her head back moaning in pleasure.

The sound of thunder broke them apart. Only...it wasn't thunder.

Harley tore herself out of Travis's arms, tumbled off the bed and bolted to the window. Three big, black Kenworths were heading straight up the driveway, blowing smoke and gravel.

"Holy shit!" she yelped. Slamming the curtains shut, panic made her stumble as she flew around her room and started grabbing clothes.

"What is it?" Travis asked, just as she threw his jeans into his face.

"It's my posse!"