Roustabout (The Traveling #3) (13 page)

When I checked in, I asked if Tucker was staying there, but the friendly receptionist said they didn’t have anyone by that name.

Five minutes of googling places to stay on my phone brought up only one other alternative nearby—a cheap motel on the road out of town.

And this time I struck gold—Tucker had checked in an hour ago.

I sat back on the bed and wondered what to do next. I’d come all this way, and now I had no clue how to approach him or what to say without sounding like some creepy stalker. I really hadn’t thought this through.

I took a quick shower, washing off the dirt and grime of travel, then dressed casually in a light summer skirt and tank top.

Heat shimmered in a haze as I waited for yet another cab to take me back into town. I fiddled with my hair nervously, then thought about what I was going to say.

Hi, I was in the area. Thought I’d drop in . . .
lame.

Fancy meeting you here!
Pathetic.

I was worried about you, so I flew 900 miles to follow you to your mother’s funeral even though you didn’t return my calls . . .
too needy, too stalkery.

When the cab dropped me off, I was no nearer to a decision and . . .

“TC? Is that you?”

Tucker’s astonished voice stopped me in my tracks outside the rundown motel.

Oh God! This was so embarrassing!

He stared at me, his eyes narrowed, a frown hovering.

“Wow, I thought I was imagining things? What are you doing here, sugar?”

Tucker stood in front of me, a confused smile crinkling his eyes.

“Um, hi!”

He leaned forward and kissed my cheek lightly, his lips soft, his stubble rough.

“Are you . . . on vacation?” he asked, looking around him as if he was searching for someone, my traveling companion.

Seeing no one else, his confusion increased.

“Are you by yourself?”

“Yes, I . . .”

His frown faded. “You’re here on business? Your work sent you?”

“Actually, no. I’m here for you.”

Tucker’s eyebrows shot up. “For me?”

“Look, I promise I’m not a stalker,”
much
“but when I heard about your mother, it just felt wrong that you were here by yourself having to deal with everything. So . . . I’m here as a friend. If you need . . . to talk . . . or anything.”

Tucker looked stunned. Confused, astonished, amazed—all those words that meant he had no clue why I’d come to be with him.

“You . . . you came here for me?”

“Yes.”

“Why would you do that?”

Good question
.

“No one should be alone when they bury a parent.”

His mouth twisted, as if he’d tasted something unpleasant.

“I don’t want to be here, believe me, let alone anyone else.” Then a thought occurred to him. “How’d you know where I was?”

“I, um, phoned a couple of funeral parlors.”

“Oh.”

He still looked puzzled.

“That’s really nice of you, TC, but . . .”

He paused.

“It’s okay,” I said softly. “I can go. I don’t want . . . I just thought you might like a friendly face to talk to. But you’ve probably got family, so that’s fine. I didn’t think about that. I’m sorry, I’m sure you’re really busy.”

I was babbling, embarrassed, feeling stupid having come all this way, but then Tucker grabbed my hand.

“Thank you for coming, TC. Damn if that isn’t the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. Ever.”

I smiled shakily.

Then he frowned. “I’m sorry about the other night.”

I shook my head. “No, it’s fine. Aimee told me that you’d just found out.”

He nodded, but didn’t look convinced.

We stared at each other awkwardly until Tucker spoke.

“Can I buy you dinner? You know, to say thank you?”

I smiled at him. “We’ve already had sex, Tucker. You don’t have to take me out on a date.”

He laughed lightly. “It doesn’t have to be a date, TC. We can just have dinner. As friends, like you said.”

I smiled, hugely relieved.

“Okay, that would be great. So . . . I’ll see you later? Dinner-that-is-not-a-date.”

I felt the need to clarify, but Tucker nodded, a small smile pulling at his lips.

“I’ll check out a few places and text you, okay?”

“Sounds good,” I smiled.

Tucker

My mind was totally spun that Tera had come all this way because she was worried about me. I wasn’t used to someone caring like that. It hadn’t happened in a long time.

I knew that Kes and Zef were on my side, but that was different. Having Tera here—it felt personal.

We’d have dinner and a couple of drinks and then I’d call her a cab and she’d go back to her hotel. I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t thinking about taking her back to my room and losing myself inside her soft body. But I couldn’t do that to her—she was decent, good, and she didn’t deserve to be treated like that. Besides, the motel was a roach-infested shithole—not a place for her.

Shaking my head at the weirdness of the day, I turned around and headed back up Main Street, wondering where would be good enough to take a woman like Tera.

Two hours later, I’d just left my motel to meet Tera when the cherry red glow of a cigarette caught my attention and the harsh scent of smoke hung in the warm air.

“Nice evening,” said the man as he stepped from the shadows.

I was immediately on edge. I scanned him quickly, trying to work out why his innocent greeting seemed like a threat.

“Sure is,” I said easily, keeping him in my peripheral vision as I turned to walk away.

He was wearing a suit, which was unusual in these parts, and he had the close-cropped hair of someone who was military or ex-military.

“She’s pretty,” he said, drawing hard on his cigarette.

His words stopped me in my tracks. I clenched my jaw but kept my voice calm.

“Who is?”

“Nice rack, too.”

“Sounds like you’re having one of my dreams, buddy,” I said, trying to laugh it off.

“Well, the Senator doesn’t like you having dreams about his daughter. It could be bad for your health.”

What the fuck?

I glanced around, but couldn’t see anyone else—whoever he was, and I had a pretty good idea
what
he was—he seemed to be alone. Maybe this was a private message.

I stood lightly on the balls of my feet, ready to move if he decided to take a swing. But instead, he seemed relaxed, sucking on the end of his smoke.

“Bad habit,” he said, gesturing with the cigarette, “but I can’t seem to give it up. Ah well, a man’s got to have a few vices.”

He looked straight at me as he said that.

“You should know all about that, Mr. McCoy. Vices.”

I tensed, waiting for the punch line—maybe literally.

“You fuck women once and toss them away.”

I didn’t argue, because it was true.

“The Senator won’t allow his daughter to become one of your statistics,” he said, his voice calm, confident.

“Seems to me that she’s a grown woman and can make her own choices,” I pointed out.

He tossed the cigarette away.

“Stay away from her, McCoy. This is your last warning.”

He turned to walk away.

“I’ve got a question for you,” I said. “If Senator Hawkins told you to take it up the ass, would you?”

His back stiffened but otherwise there was no reaction from him.

“Last warning,” he repeated, then disappeared back into the shadows.

I was stunned. How the hell had the douche found me? How long had he been watching? The thought creeped me out. I wondered if I should tell Tera. Was this standard practice for her old man?

I shook my head.
What a fucked up evening
.

Looking over my shoulder the whole way, I headed to the bar where I’d arranged to meet Tera for dinner. After encountering the Senator’s goon, I didn’t know how I felt about seeing her. I didn’t know if he was following me or her. Either way, he’d know I’d ignored the warning.

But as soon as I saw her smiling from a booth at the back, I felt like I was in the right place at the right time for once in my sorry ass life.

We talked easily over dinner, nothing too heavy, and thankfully she didn’t ask any questions about the funeral or my so-called family.

But at the end of the meal, she seemed to get more nervous, and it wasn’t long before I found out why.

“I was wondering,” she said quietly, “Would you like me to help you with the funeral arrangements?”

I closed my eyes with a sigh before meeting her gaze, compassion glowing in her beautiful eyes.

“Look, I really appreciate your offer, TC, but this is something I’ve got to handle by myself.”

“But why? Friends help friends—let me help you.”

I shook my head. “Honestly, TC, I don’t want to be here; I sure as shit don’t want you getting mixed up in all of it.”

“I’d like to help . . . but I understand.” She paused. “Do you . . . do you want to stay with me tonight?”

God, yes!

“It’s probably not a good idea, TC.”

Her face dropped.

“No, you’re right. You’ve got lots of other things to do, I get it.”

I sighed. “It’s not that . . .”

“Then what?”

I shook my head ruefully. “I’m trying to do the right thing here.”

She cocked her head on one side. “And I’m the wrong thing?”

“No! I mean, fuck, you’re a really nice girl, TC, and . . .”

She shuddered. “Ugh! ‘Nice.’ That’s the kiss of death.”

I couldn’t help smiling. “Okay, fine. You’re sexy as fuck and I want to kick myself in the balls for turning you down . . .”

“Then don’t. Take me to your hotel.”

I shook my head. “It’s a shithole.”

“I don’t care.”

“Bed bugs,” I muttered, smiling as she shuddered.

“My hotel then,” and she slid her hand up my thigh as she said the words, and I couldn’t think of a single reason to keep on saying no. And right now, I’d blow my load if she so much as smiled at my dick.

The only thought going through my brain other than the need to get her naked was this:
being weak has its advantages
.

I followed her cab back to a fancy upscale hotel, parked in a dark corner, then waited nearly a minute before climbing off the Duke.

Her door was ajar when I got there and I slid inside, closing it firmly behind me.

The room was enormous, a suite rather than a simple bedroom. There was a separate dining area and living area, with a huge picture window.

She was waiting, trying to look relaxed, but her breathing was rapid and a flush of pink had risen up from her chest to her neck and cheeks.

She turned toward the bedroom, but I caught her around the waist and she stumbled, tripping on the three steps that led toward the bedroom and landing on her knees.

“W-what . . . ?

I slid my hand around to her stomach, unbuttoning her jeans and pulling them down over the curve of her ass.

“Right here?” she gasped.

“Yeah,” I growled, my voice harsh with want. “Right here.”

We didn’t sleep much that night, and it was just as hot as the first time we’d fucked, maybe hotter. I’d come so hard, my ears rang and I thought I’d gone blind, until she kissed my eyelids and I realized that my eyes were closed.

All I needed was to lose myself with her, but I made damn sure that Tera got all of my attention. I’m not the kind of guy who has to ask if a woman has had an orgasm—there are some things you can’t fake, and I’ve made it my business to know the difference. I don’t have anything else to offer except sex—so I’ll damn well make it something she’ll never forget.

Tera looked so beautiful laying there asleep, and I felt a reluctant sense of shame that she had to wade through my shit.

I’d never met anyone like her—so soft and kind and caring; so sassy and sexy. The woman made my head spin.

I took one last look, my eyes tracking up the soft skin of her thigh, the dip of her waist, the soft curve of her tits, her honey-blonde hair spread over the pillow—damn, she was sensational.

Tearing my eyes away, I scrawled a note in my ugly handwriting saying that I’d call her so we could make dinner plans. The thought of seeing her later made me feel a hell of a lot better, especially after reading the text I’d had from Renee earlier.