Only Skin Deep by Cathleen Galitz Page B

Travis growled.
    He wrapped his warm body around her as if to say he wasn’t letting go anytime soon. Lauren didn’t want to go anywhere else. Pressing an ear to his chest, she listened to the life song beating there in steady cadence. A woman in love, she heard the echo of her own spirit. And though she knew better than to blurt out such a raw, untested proclamation so soon, Lauren refused to think about the consequences of giving her heart to a man who wasn’t ready to accept it.
    For once in her life, she wasn’t going to let herself think about the future and all its complications. Not when the present was so perfect.
    And so damned fleeting.

Seven
    A pink sun climbed behind a bank of clouds to spill dawn upon a glorious new day. Filtered through lace curtains, the morning light tattooed dancing patterns on Lauren’s shoulder and that of the man sleeping so soundly next to her. She stretched her hand out to the sunbeam, marveling that it hadn’t turned her invisible again.
    Or made Travis disappear.
    Lauren was certain that heaven would have difficulty competing with the feeling of waking in his strong arms, sharing his body warmth and savoring the sweet soreness of being so thoroughly loved. While he slept, she studied him at length. Time had honed the boyish good looks she had loved so well and turned Travis into a man slightly too rugged for the cover of slick fashion magazines. The stubble along his jawline lent roughness to the peaceful expression that he wore while sleeping. Lauren couldn’t resist finger-combing his short blond hair. Natural highlights caught the sunshine and warmed each strand to the touch.
    Oh, what she would give to start out each day appreciating this man’s finer attributes! Those on the inside as well as the outside. He had his quirks. That much was true. Who didn’t? Scarred by the past, Travis was clearly afraid to let his guard down. But Lauren knew him as a good man. The fact that he was willing to rush in to a save a damsel in distress—whether she wanted to be rescued or not—was testimony to his own personal sense of integrity. And despite her assertion that she could take care of herself just fine, thank you very much, she secretly longed to renew her faith in long forgotten fantasies about knights on white horses.
    Lauren understood that Travis didn’t feel the same way about her that she did about him, but she couldn’t believe that passion such as theirs could be born in the absence of emotion, either. Watching his chest rise and fall in steady rhythm, she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have his children. She fantasized briefly about standing over a crib and gazing upon the sleeping angel such a union was sure to produce. Would the baby be as beautiful as his father? As inquisitive as her mother?
    Something sweet and unbidden welled up in Lauren’s heart, and moisture rose unexpectedly to her eyes.
    Stop it! she told herself fiercely.
    Such dreams could only lead to heartbreak and ruin the perfection of the moment. She refused to let concerns about the future drain the joy out of the present. For the precious time being, the man of her dreams belonged to her.
    At least until he woke up.
    Impulse drew her hand over his heart. Cupping it like she would to protect a flame from the wind, Lauren said a prayer over its steady rhythm.
    â€œGood morning, gorgeous.”
    The sound of that voice, gravelly with the first utterance of the day, startled Lauren so that she drew her hand back as if caught in the act of stealing. She savored the sound of that tender endearment on his lips. However, without benefit of a comb or makeup or toothbrush, it was hard for her to believe its reliability.
    â€œGood morning,” she repeated.
    Eyes the color of lifting fog reassured her. And beheld her gently. She was relieved to see that Travis gave no sign of bolting from bed once awareness of his surroundings settled