lori king rough ride romeo (9 page)

liquor.

“Cheese and biscuits?” she asked with a wry grin.

He shrugged, “Sera hated it when we cussed. My more creative words were

replaced with more tolerable phrases, and some of them stuck. Did you sleep

well?”

She shook her head, “Not really, but it’s not because I don’t have fantastic

accommodations. So, where did you say you were going?”

“I didn’t.” he said, shoving his hand in his pocket and leaning one shoulder

against the wall as she walked across the living room to the foyer.

“If you’re going looking for my sister you’d better be inviting me along,

Roman Freemont,” she declared, her words dripping with silent threat.

“And if I don’t?”

The question tripped her up, and she stopped just short of invading his

personal space. Disappointment filled him when she lifted her hands, and for just

a moment, a look of utter devastation crossed her features.

“You were going to leave me behind?” She sounded hurt.

“I haven’t learned anything here yet, so I’m going into town to ask around. If

I get a lead I’ll tell you. I promise.”

“I’l go with you. I want to hear the answers myself. Maybe I’ll pick up on

something you miss.”

He shook his head, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“She’s my sister.”

“Yeah, but the folks in town don’t know you, so they might be less inclined to

spill secrets with you there.” He was congratulating himself on his quick thinking

until she grinned smugly.

“Then I guess you’ll just have to introduce me as your girlfriend to make

them comfortable.”

Roman felt his jaw drop and all of the blood in his body pooled in his balls

making them feel heavy and achy. “What?”

“Sure. If they think I’m your woman, they won’t be as shy about sharing.

Come on, it’s only temporary, and I promise you’ll come home with your virtue

intact.”

A haze of lust made his vision blurry for a moment, and he swal owed hard

to keep from drooling. Franki had no idea how close to the truth her words were.

He hadn’t had any virtue to worry about for years, but he’d throw what he had in

her direction if she just crooked her finger.

“I-I don’t think—”

She scooted closer, and reached across him for the door handle, her arm

brushing against his abs. “Don’t think, just lead the way.”

He was surprised to find himself doing just that. She even let him open the

truck door for her, and she gave him a wide smile of appreciation that turned his

knees to jelly. Damn. If making her happy meant searching for her sister, he was

going to do everything in his power to find the other woman. Maybe then he’d

have a shot at keeping the goddess riding shotgun for his own.

~ ~ ~ ~

The ride into town seemed to take forever, and Franki tried to ignore the

rumbling of hunger in her belly. She’d been on her way downstairs for breakfast

when she spotted Roman sneaking out, and she didn’t take time to think out her

plan before she insinuated herself into a pickle. Now she was going to have to

pretend to be his girlfriend as long as she was here so as not to make the

townspeople suspicious. It was too important that they get information they could

use for her to screw this up.

“Where are we going first?” She turned in her seat to look Roman over. He

was one hell of a fine piece of man candy. Well-washed, snug denim hugged thick

muscular thighs and encased a nice size bulge behind the metal zipper. She felt

her heart thud harder when that bulge seemed to grow larger under her gaze.

Jerking her eyes back to the windshield, she tried not to think about the sexual

desire racing through her veins.

Roman cleared his throat and then muttered something.

“I’m sorry, did you say, the bar?”

He gave a sharp nod, and she frowned his way. Shifting in his seat, he spread

his thighs and her assumptions were confirmed that he was packing a thick

erection behind that zipper. Her palms grew sweaty, and she fidgeted in her own

seat squeezing her thighs together.

“The bar is the best place to find people with loose lips and seedy friends.”

He said in a husky tone that made her skin tingle. “If this guy Goat is working

through this neck of the woods plying hookers, the bar is the best place to find his

customer base.”

Nodding, she agreed, “That makes sense, but why would the bar be open

this early? The sun’s barely up.”

“Mick’s doesn’t ever really close. Between Mick working the night shift, and

his wife Carly covering the day shift, they’re pretty much always open.”

“I wouldn’t have expected that in such a small community. I thought most

small towns didn’t even allow alcohol sales on Sundays.”

“We don’t. That’s the one day off Mick and Carly get, but only because the

town council president is still Reverend Grimes.” Roman explained. He glanced

her way and then his eyes narrowed on her. “Did you have anything to eat?”

Waving his question off she shook her head, “No, but I’m fine. Who would

actually be at the bar this early?”

“Don’t know, but that’s where we’re going to start. If we can’t get anything

out of the bar, we’l go see Amelia at the convenience store. She’s the town gossip,

so if there’s something to know she’ll probably know it.” He reached into his shirt

pocket and tugged out a small orange, tossing it into her lap. “Eat.”

Surprised at the gesture, she lifted the sweet smelling fruit and stared at it.

“It’s just an orange. I promise it’s not poisoned. I snagged it off the counter

before we left.”

“Thank you,” she murmured, sinking her fingernail into the thick skin until

she reached the meat. The sweet citrus orange smell filled the truck, and she

smiled as she slipped a piece into her mouth. “It’s delicious. I didn’t realize I was

hungry until we’d already left.”

“Well I didn’t exactly plan on having a partner in crime today, but plans

change. Take another bite.” He nodded at the fruit, and she tipped her head

curiously.

“Why?”

“Because when you bite into it you make the sweetest moaning sound.

Makes me wonder what you sound like when—”

“Whoa, cowboy! We’re just pretending to be a couple, remember?” She

fidgeted in her seat again. Knowing that she knew his mind was in the gutter too,

made it all the harder to stay on task.

“You know we’ll have to be fairly authentic in this supposed relationship.

These folks have known me for years, and they won’t buy it if you’re acting all

awkward.”

He was right, but that didn’t make the circumstances any easier. “How

authentic?”

“Well you certainly can’t pull away from me if I reach for your hand,” he

threw one arm across the back of the bench seat, and stroked his finger-tips over

her shoulder. Goose bumps rose on her skin and her stomach knotted. “And we

should at least know the basics about each other.”

“Okay, what do you want to know?” she tried to keep from pulling away

from his gentle touch, but just that little connection had her body spazzing out on

her. How would she manage not to react if he touched her more intimately?

“Tell me about yourself. What do you do for a living?”

She hesitated, and he squeezed her shoulder encouragingly. “I’m a glorified

accountant. I do the books and the payroll for a couple of small businesses in my

neighborhood.”

Roman’s eyes narrowed, “And? The way you say that makes me think there’s

more.”

“Marilyn ratted me out didn’t she?” she said, feeling her lips quirk up in a

grin.

He smiled sheepishly, “She might have shared a few tidbits of information

with me, but she truly meant no harm.”

“I do some Internet work on the DL, but it’s all on the up-and-up...mostly.”

She tipped her head back against the back of the seat only to feel his fingers

brush along the base of her skul . “I’ve never been arrested for anything, but I’ve

been questioned a time or two.”

It hung in the air for a moment, and Franki wondered if Roman had

changed his mind about her knowing that she wasn’t always on the right side of

the law. It’d happened before, but not recently. Years had passed since she’d dated

anyone seriously enough to spill her secrets.

“What kind of hacking do you do?” he asked. There was no judgement on

his face, just genuine curiosity.

“Mostly I track things like lost property, or renters who’ve skipped out on a

landlord, but sometimes I access personal files for a wife who thinks her husband’s

been cheating, or a parent who’s worried their kid is doing things online they

shouldn’t. It’s frustrating to know that I track people for a living but I can’t even

track my own sister. The phone she cal ed on was a burner phone and that was

really my only lead. With no paper trail there’s not much more I can do for now.”

“Can you do like a GPS thing on the burner? Or use the internet to track his

car on the highways?” Roman asked. “I’ve been that in movies before.”

“Don’t believe everything you see in the movies. Burner phones don’t use

GPS, that’s why they’re preferred by criminals, and I’d trace his vehicle if I knew

what kind he drove. There was no record of anyone named Goat in the state of

Minnesota.” She said rolling her eyes. “Anyways, I promise I’m not a career

criminal who steals people’s identities for a living. I just happen to blur the line

between legal and illegal when necessary.”

Franki realized they’d reached town only when Roman removed his hand

from her shoulder and put the truck in park. She sat up straight in surprise and

reached for the door handle, but his large palm covered her bare thigh stopping

her.

“I’m no angel either sugar, so don’t ever think I’d judge you, but I am

curious why a beautiful woman like you hides herself behind a computer.”

His hazel eyes stared so deeply into her soul that she shuddered. “I suppose

for the same reasons anyone else would. I feel safe behind the screen.”

Roman nodded, and gave her a cheeky half smile. “Believe it or not, I

understand. Now, for some info about me. I’ve got a bit of a reputation in

Montford, so there might be some disbelief about my new…status. Play along

and I promise we’ll come out of this with the information we need. I won’t stop

until we do.”

She believed him. Every cel in her body believed that he was for real, and

she couldn’t remember the last person she’d trusted so much. “Thank you

Roman.”

With one more squeeze, he pushed his door open and hurried to help her

out of the truck. He gave her a pointed stare when she opened her door herself,

and she shrugged. “Sorry, it’s habit.”

“Apparently the men in Minnesota don’t know how to treat their ladies,” he

grumbled, his palm going to her lower back just above the curve of her ass.

“I wouldn’t know. I don’t date.”

Roman started to question her, but they’d reached the heavy wooden door of

the bar already. “Later we’ll continue this conversation,” he muttered, holding the

door for her as she entered the dimly lit building.

A shiver went down her spine as the four occupants of the bar turned their

way. She hated being the center of attention almost as much as she hated going to

strange places. As if he’d heard her thoughts, Roman reached for her hand and

laced their fingers together, whispering in her ear, “They won’t bite. I promise.”

With a deep breath, she let him lead her over to greet the Montford

residents.

“You’re up awful early, Romeo!” The woman behind the bar was classically

beautiful, with long blonde hair that was pulled up on the top of her head and fell

in a graceful waterfall of curls. Pale ivory skin and soft pink lips perfectly offset

her wide green eyes.

“Morning Carly. Franki, this is Carly Lancaster, Carly this is my…girlfriend,

Franki Scott.” Roman said tripping only slightly over the words.

Franki took a seat on the barstool directly in front of Carly and turned to

give the woman a smile, only to find Carly staring at her in astonishment.

“Girlfriend? Don’t tell me another Crawley Creek bachelor has been swept

off the market! And you Romeo? Real y?” Carly leaned forward on the bar and

her exceptionally large breasts pulled her black t-shirt taut. “Honey surely you

could do better than this scamp.”

“I…um…well…it’s all been so fast.” Franki looked to Roman for help only

to have him give her a shrug. His eyes were filled with laughter as he wrapped his

arm around her, and pulled her into his chest.

“Yep, she swept me right off of my feet. I never even had a chance to put up

a fight.” He teased playfully. “You missed out Carly Sue. You could have had all

of this beefcake for your very own, but you had to go and marry that redneck

Mick.”

Carly giggled and tossed her bar towel at Roman. “You cad. You were barely

sprouting whiskers when Mick and I got married.”

Roman winked down at Franki who watched the byplay with rapt curiosity.

“Carly was the first woman I ever fell for. She used to run the cash register at the