Harley's mouth gaped open and her tummy fluttered as if she had swallowed a whole hoard of butterflies. Of all the things she expected to come out of his mouth, that was not one of them. Adonis bewitched by her? Woo-boy...how was that even possible? Every time they have been together it had ended in a fiasco or with them both snipping and snarling at each other like a couple of dogs fighting over the same bone.

Except...there had been one time when things had worked out just fine. A raging case of the warm and fuzzies overcame her as she remembered the kiss under the oak tree. There had been no worries that day. No Rafferty, no fears...just a kiss which still made her toes tingle. Harley wanted that moment back again. Without Brady, she sighed to herself. But sadly, there was a Rafferty and with him came a whole load of troubles and worries. Problems she didn't want Travis to get tangled up in.

"I think you are mistaking pain in the ass with bewitching." She rolled her eyes. "I've caused you nothing but trouble since the day I arrived."

He shook his head. "That's not true. You're unlike anyone I've ever met. The more I get to know you, the more you entice me. Just looking at you sitting there...you are so beautiful."

His eyes roamed over her body emblazoned with enough heat to make her pussy liquefy.

"Hell...watching you breath blows me away." Travis grazed her cheek gently, reaching up to tuck a few stray strands of hair behind ear. Easing her guitar out of her clenched fingers, he gently leaned it against the porch rail. Encroaching deeply into her space, he gently ran his nose down hers and looked into her eyes.

"Sunshine, it's all I can do to keep my hands off of you when you are around and I'm finding I don't want to even try," he said quietly, giving her a boyish grin that made her heart stutter. "I couldn't stay away from you even if I wanted to."

"You...you should stay away from me." Harley pushed the words out of her throat despite the fact they almost choked her.

Even though she was proud of herself for actually saying the words, her body refused to obey her brain's command to pull away. Like a mouth to a flame, she was drawn to his heat. I'm going to get burned, Harley thought. But, she couldn't think of a better way to go than to be scorched in his arms.

His chuckling laughter brought her back from her wandering thoughts.

"Are you warning me off?" His low rumbling drawl did profound things to her body. "I think you have that backwards. I should be warning you away from me, but there is no stopping what I feel for you," he murmured as he picked her shaky hands out of her lap. Bringing them to his lips, he ran them softly over her knuckles. "And I have no intention of stopping."

"Ah..." Harley's brain function fizzled out at the touch of his lips.

They were so warm and gentle. Watching the feathered pair of luscious distractions run across her knuckles made her feel a little dizzy and she closed her eyes. Imagining where else those lips could be distracting her had Harley panting for air. The naughty visual made her nipples grow hard and a rush of moistures flood her panties.

She barely managed to hold back the moan before it escaped, but her body, the traitor that it was, started to tremble. She worried her bottom lip as she tried to rein in her runaway lust. Taking a deep breath, she reopened her eyes fully intending to put an end to these shenanigans, but when she collided with his baby blue gaze staring at her with dark intent...all rational thought flew out the window.

Cocking his head to the side, he reached up and tapped his finger against her bottom lip. Harley let it out from under her toothed assault with a pop.

"When you do that, it makes me want to kiss you." His eyes advanced from hers to her lips. His hooded gaze holding her completely captive and her mind started to scream for him to kiss her.

Oh shit, she had never wanted to be kissed so badly in her life. The need coursed through her body making her paralyzed. She didn't want to move. She didn't want to breathe. She didn't want to break this moment with anything else but his lips glued to hers.

"You're killing me, sunshine," he whispered as he shook his head and sighed. He pulled away a tiny fraction, keeping her hands gloved in his. "We should talk about why you think I need to stay away from you." A look of resolve and longing intermingled in his tumultuous eyes.

Peeking up at him through her lashes, Harley could see the warring emotions flick across his face and she suddenly didn't care about any of her reasons or for anyone for that matter. All that mattered, right now this very second, was her Adonis. To hell with Rafferty, Wolf Springs and every other damn fucked up thing that claimed this was a bad idea. He was here with her right now, in this moment in time and what she wanted more than her next breath was to be in his arms.

She longed for the feeling of being protected when he cuddled her next to him. Memories of the times she had spent in his embrace flitted through her turbulent mind. His touch had been intimate, demanding, soft and exciting all rolled into one. His rough calloused hands teasing her skin and making her crave more. She shuddered slightly at the thought as it warmed her blood.

"Are you going to kiss me or not?" she challenged, saucily tossing her hair over her shoulder. Deciding to stop over thinking everything and go for broke.

His eyes widened in surprise, meeting hers for a long moment. "I think..Not."

Harley's bubble burst. Rejection slammed into so hard she jerked backwards. What the hell? Didn't he just say he wanted to kiss her? Anger coursed through her body replacing the lovely lusty desire of moments before. "Rather indecisive aren't you, cowboy?" she snapped as she tried to pull her hands free from his, but failed. He had her in a lock tight grip.

"Oh, you will find out how decisive I can be, darling," he said quietly. "Hush now." He stilled her flustered struggles by capturing both her hands in one of his and bringing them up to lay on his chest.

Her anger stuttered as she felt his strong heartbeat thumping beneath her fingers. The linen shirt doing little to stop the heat which warmed her palm and she imagined her fingertips working their way under to his skin. She licked her suddenly too dry lips and tried to focus on the current conversation. Did he just moan?

Harley shook her head to clear the cobwebs. "Did you shush me?"

"Yes I did, sunshine." His lips twitched with amusement.

"I don't like being shushed and I don't like playing games." Harley narrowed her eyes at him and reluctantly tried to reclaim her hands, but he kept them plastered to his body. "Please let me go," she said, exasperated and needing some space from all the mixed signals she'd been receiving. This was the worst game of red-light green-light she'd ever played.

He smiled that charming smile of his that caught her off guard. "The things you make me do." And with that, he let go of her hands.

Her victory over her freedom was short lived, however, as he bent down and put one of his arms under her legs and the other behind her back, effectively scooping her up and depositing her in his lap with little effort. She squeaked in protest, grabbing onto his shoulders for balance.

"That's better," he whispered as he nuzzled his face into her hair. "You smell fantastic."

"This isn't letting me go," she gasped. Her ability to breath was highly hampered when he ran his lips across the ticklish spot behind her ear. Her embarrassment of being in his lap replaced by burning desire and she closed her eyes as shots of it ran hotly down, pooling in her belly.

"No, but it's a very effective way of keeping you quiet," he murmured against her neck, nibbling her right out of her mind.

Harley stiffened briefly in his embrace, but one more bite of his teeth against her throat and she melted. Being in his arms was like having an outer body experience and she clung onto his shoulders for dear life.

"Now, tell me why you think I need to stay away from you when I obviously have no intention of doing so."

"Huh?" Harley's struggled to process his words, but her mind was busy assimilating all the delicious feelings running rampant through her from his touch. How can he expect her to respond when he kept tickling her with his tongue?

"Answer me, Harley." He pulled back and looked into her face. His eyes, a glorious sea-color, were soft, warm and heated.

What was the question again? Harley attempted to wrangle her scattered thoughts back into the corral.

"Ummm...because people around here don't like me," she managed to coax out. "I'm bad for your reputation."

He threw his head back and laughed. His booming delight shook deeply in his chest which reverberated into Harley, making her quiver in his lap. He was gorgeous when he laughed. His eyes sparkled similar to sapphires in the sunlight and the outer corners crinkled in such a beguiling way, it made her want to kiss them. She loved his smile, his deep throaty laughter and wished she could sit and watch him for hours.

But, regardless of how incredible he looked in his amusement, it wasn't funny. She sat back and scowled at him, keeping the grin that twitched the corner of her mouth from showing. "I fail to see the humor in the situation," she snapped.

"My reputation!" he sputtered out once he caught his breath, before he started to laugh again.

"Oh for crying out loud." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you drunk?" Leaning in, she took a tentative sniff, but the only scent assaulting her senses were purely his.

He looked down at her, chuckling he pulled her in tighter. "Drunk on you, maybe," he said, putting his chin on her head.

"Focus, Travis."

"Okay," he chuckled. "Why in the world do you have this ridiculous notion that you are bad for my...reputation." He could barely get the word out.

Cuffing him on the shoulder, she pulled away as far as he would allow. "I'm being serious." She frowned. "You shouldn't even be here."

His lips quirked up in a little half grin. "It's a free country, sweetheart. I'm allowed to go anywhere I want to and right now, there's nowhere else I would rather be than sitting here on this step with you."

Her insides melted and turned all squishy at his words. "That's beside the point." She sniffed. "You don't even know me. Not really."

He gave her a smirk. "I know all I need to know and the rest I'm looking forward to finding out."

He nuzzled her neck and Harley had all she could do to not purr. "You aren't making this easy," she moaned, in frustration as his tongue ran along the out edge of her ear.

"Mmm...you would rather I make it hard?" he hinted with a wicked smile.

"Travis," she exhaled, pushing away from him. "Just...stop, okay?"

"Alright," he sighed.  "I might not know every little detail and fact about you, but I have learned a lot in the little amount of time I have spent with you. For instance...I know you love your animals and have a way with them unlike anything I have ever seen since your dad. I know you're a crazy dog lady." He poked her in the ribs and made her giggle.

"I know you smile at everyone you meet and because the sight of your smile is so genuine and full of light, they can't but help smile back. You love music, country music to be exact and you listen to it at decibels loud enough to shatter eardrums. I know when you dance, my heart pounds and I forget to breathe. You about gave me a coronary when I saw you dancing on the roof," he teased, giving her a little wink. "And I know, I can't wait to dance with you in my arms."

He tapped her on the nose with the tip of his finger. "I also know you have a bit of a temper and when you get irritated, your foot starts tapping. If you get really flustered, you stomp it and a lovely blush starts from here," he traced a line down her cheek, letting his finger fall gently down her neck to play along the neckline of her shirt, "to here."

His eyes locked on to hers. "I know you are kind hearted and don't want to cause trouble. You will go out of your way to protect others even if it costs you and you will put others feelings above your own. You're a damn fine woman Harley Stewart and I consider myself one hell of a lucky man to know you."

I wanted to take this time to thank you for reading! I really hope you enjoyed this installment of When Roses Collide, and that you'll consider giving it a vote. I can't tell you how much your support means to me and how much it motivates me to keep going.

Don't forget to check out my Facebook page for the latest news and general fun! You can find me at K. M. Halandras. I look forward to seeing you there!

If you find any errors along the way, don't be afraid to point them out and I enjoy any recommendations or critiques you may have. As always, I will try and update once a week, but if you don't see an update here, check out my other story Bending Steele and FANGED. Thanks again!