Two Can Play That Game (2 page)

Audrey
frowned. "Who else?" As she dragged a bottle of tequila over five
shot glasses, she glanced fleetingly at the crowd. "Geez, what's the
occasion? We're never quite this busy on a Saturday night."

"Rodeo
weekend." Charli popped the cork on a wine bottle and tipped it into a
long-stemmed glass.

"Think
your cowboy is with the rodeo?"

Charli
stared through the crowd, her gut clenching, praying her black-hatted cowboy
was with the rodeo. Bronc riders never stuck around. "God, I hope
not."

"Yeah,
they leave all too soon." Audrey gave her a quick hug. "
How about the guy at the end of
the bar, he's staring at you like he wants you."

"That's
Jackson Gray Wolf, Audrey. And he's staring at you. If he was staring at me,
it would be because I still haven't gotten his beer to him." Although
Charli wouldn't mind doing it with Jackson, he'd had his eye on Audrey since she
took over the Ugly Stick Saloon. Only Audrey didn't have time for a love-life.
"Why don't you go for him?"

"Who?
Jackson?" Audrey hefted the tray she'd filled with ten drinks onto her
shoulder and stepped out into the crush. "No time for love, sweetie. No
time for love." Audrey disappeared into the crowd of cowboys and cowgirls,
a sea of denim and belt buckles, and all there to have a good time.

Kendall
Mason slapped her tray on the counter and plunked her butt in a seat vacated
recently by a cowboy. "Remind me to wear tennis shoes next time I
work."

Guilt
causing her heart to thump against her ribcage, Charli grabbed empty glasses
and mugs from the tray and dropped them into the soapy water of the sink behind
the bar. "How's school?"

"I
graduate in just under a month. Can't wait.” She whooshed out a long breath. “Then
maybe I'll get a real job."

"And
make a lot less money."

Kendall
sighed. "Yeah, but at least
I won't have to work nights and weekends. I've got a real, honest-to-goodness
sex-life now. I want to live it."

"Point
made." Charli couldn't help the nudge of envy. "How are things
between you and Ed?"

"Best
sex ever." She grinned. "What about you? Dating anyone?"

Charli's
lips pressed together. "No." Not really. How could she say she was
dating someone if she didn't know who it was or if it would ever happen again?

"You
should." Kendall gave Charli her order and stood waiting, her gaze staring
out across the ocean of faces. "Love is wonderful."

"I
wouldn't know," Charli said, her voice flat, unemotional. "Say,
didn't I see your brother last night? Is he back for good?"

"Connor?"
Kendall's face brightened. "Oh, yeah. Isn't it great? He's back from the
war early. It's so good to have him home safe and in one piece."

"Is
he here tonight?" She fought to keep interest from her voice.

"Not
that I know of. I left him playing cards with Ed. The two are buds from high
school. They have a lot of catching up to do."

Charli's
shoulders slumped. So much for a repeat performance of last night. If her man
in the black hat was in fact Connor Mason.

With
Connor out of the equation, Charli took more interest in the other men at the
bar, staring at their builds, imagining them naked and partially submerged in
water.

A couple
of the guys seated at the counter could be broad shouldered and tall enough to
be her mystery lover. A thrill of lust gripped her body, sending waves of
sensation through her, reawakening her core.

One of
the men lifted a hand to get her attention.

Her
stomach knotting, Charli walked toward him, thinking the whole way,
This
could be him.

As she
came abreast of the cowboy, she forced a smile to her face, praying her lips
wouldn't tremble…unless of course they looked sexy trembling. "What can I
get you?" she asked, her voice cracking, so unsexy-like.

"I'm
good, it's just..." He crooked his finger.

Heart
racing, Charli leaned closer. "Just what?"

"You
have cherry juice on your..." He reached out, his finger nearly touching
her breast when he pulled it back, his eyes widening. "Er...on
your...there."

Her
pussy creaming, Charli nearly fell over the counter into his dark brown eyes.
"What?" she asked, completely oblivious to the shouts and noises
surrounding her.

"You
have a red juice streak on your...you know."

Charli's
gaze dipped to where the man pointed. On the swell of her breast was a long
pink, sticky trail of cherry juice. Heat rushed to fill her cheeks. "Oh.
Well." She dabbed at it with a cocktail napkin but the sticky juice didn't
wipe clean.

"Here,
let me." He dipped a napkin in a full glass of water and leaned over the
counter, his darkly tanned face within inches of hers, his full, sensuous lips
curled in a hint of a smile.

Rooted
to the spot, Charli couldn't move, her breath catching in her throat,
butterflies flapping against the inside of her belly. A waft of leather and
soap drifted her way, further scrambling her brain cells.

The
cowboy pressed the icy-cold, wet napkin to the swell of her heated breast.

Her
knees threatened to buckle, her vision blurred and she thought she might pass
out.

"Breathe,"
he whispered into her ear. "I won't bite you...unless you want me to."

Charli's
eyes widened and she remembered to fill her lungs. More warmth flooded her
cheeks and she fought to keep from leaning into him to steal a much-desired
kiss. "I'm not afraid of you. It's just that the water is cold."

As he
rubbed the napkin across her breast, her nipples beaded, making distinct points
jutting through the thin lace of her bra to make twin bumps on the front of her
ribbed knit white tank-top.

The
cowboy's gaze dropped lower, the grin widening. "How long is your shift?"

"I
close the bar." A hint of disappointment filled her. Her mystery lover
knew she closed the bar. He'd waited until she had finished her shift and
called her when she'd been on her way home. He must have been watching for when
she left the Ugly Stick Saloon.

Too bad.
This guy was cute. By the size of the ridge pushing against his fly, he was
well equipped, like the man who'd come to her in the judge's pool.

"I
can hang around." He sat back on his stool and lifted his beer mug.
"I don't know many people in this area."

"Oh,
yeah?" That made two of them. "Just visiting?"

He
nodded. "Staying with a buddy of mine from the Army."

Her
pulse picking up, she leaned across the counter. "Connor Mason?"

"Yeah,
you know him?"

"Met
him last night." She glanced over the stranger's shoulder, her gaze
scanning the bar’s patrons. "Is he here?"

"Said
he'd be here after he ran an errand."

Libby
and Audrey swung by with empty mugs and orders to fill. Charli took care of
their requirements and saw to her other customers at the bar before returning
to Connor's pal. "Got a name?"

"Guess
it would only be polite to exchange names, considering I've already touched
your breast." He laughed. "Name's Reed Townsend."

Her skin
tingling where he'd touched it, Charli held out her hand. He engulfed it in a
large grip, equally strong and gentle. "Charli Sutton. Nice to meet
you."

"Charli,
I need two shooters and another pitcher of beer." Libby plunked her tray
on the counter and off-loaded the empties.

Twenty
drink orders later, Charli swiped the back of her hand over her forehead and turned
to the bar stool where Reed had been sitting, a smile on her face.

Reed was
gone. In his place was a middle-aged farmer with a beer gut the size of a keg.

A quick
scan of the busy bar yielded neither hide nor hair of Reed, Connor or anyone
else remotely resembling her cowboy in the black hat. Charli sighed.

The rest
of the night dragged on, Charli serving one drink after the other in an endless
flow of alcohol. As three o'clock approached, her heartbeat kicked into overdrive.
She couldn't clear the drunks out of the building fast enough. What if her
cowboy in the black hat called and suggested another tryst? Maybe a sexy detour
on her way home, a dirty trick to be played out naked and with a lot of heavy
breathing.

"Are
you feeling all right?" Audrey approached with a tub of dirty glasses and
plates. "Your face is kind of flushed." She set her tub on the
counter and reached out to press the back of her hand to Charli's cheek.

"I'm
fine, just working hard."

"Let
me close up tonight. You go on home and get some rest." Audrey took the
rag from Charli. "Go on." She shooed Charli with a wave of her hands.

"Okay,
okay." Charli grabbed her purse from under the counter and ducked into the
bathroom to run some cool water over her face, fluff her hair and stare
dismally into the mirror. Not like that little bit of primping improved her
work-weary appearance. She sighed, hiked her purse up on her shoulder and
headed out the back door.

"Get
some rest," Audrey called out as the door swung closed behind her.
"Or not..."

Charli's
gaze panned the back lot behind the bar. Only her SUV and Audrey's bright red
pickup remained. No other cars or trucks waited. As she pulled around to the
front, only one lonely car was left parked in the lot. Probably someone who'd
hooked up with another customer. The lucky dog.

Her
phone sitting beside her in the console, Charli pulled out on the road, her
body tense, her hearing tuned in, waiting for the call. As she neared the exact
spot where she'd received the call last night, her breath caught in her throat
and she couldn't resist glancing down at the phone in the cup holder, her foot
lifting from the accelerator.

Ring
.

The spot
on the road came and went, the phone remained silent. Charli grabbed it and
checked to make sure she'd left it on. Her screensaver lit, displaying a
picture of bluebonnets beside a country road. It appeared to be functioning.
Maybe the ringer had stopped working. Maybe, she'd gone through a dead-zone of
cell towers.

Maybe he
wasn't going to call.

Her
heart grew heavier the closer she got to Temptation. So much for a repeat
performance of last night. What did she expect? A man who pursued her every
night until he had her so worked up she couldn't function?

She
loosened her grasp on the steering wheel and rolled her shoulders.

Get a
grip.
Men in
black cowboy hats didn't just appear out of thin air. Perhaps last night had
all been a dream. A damned good wet dream. Her pussy clenched, just thinking
about how he'd fucked her, her body caressed by the warm water of the judge's
pool. The added excitement of potentially getting caught making the experience
all the more enticing. What were the chances of recapturing such a night, much
less topping it?

The
miles passed and Charli resigned herself to going home to be alone.
Unfulfilled, and no more knowledgeable about her cowboy than the night before.

As she
rounded a curve in the road, two sets of headlights flashed in her eyes, a blue
light flashed over the top of them. Charli slammed her foot to the brake,
screeching her SUV to a stop just in time to keep from hitting the two vehicles
completely blocking both sides of the road.

Raising
a hand to shield her eyes from the overwhelming brightness, Charli shifted into
park and waited. Sometimes the state troopers performed road blocks on weekend
nights to check for drug-runners, human-trafficking or drunk drivers. She'd
heard about road blocks, but had never been caught in one of them.

A tall
figure approached the side of her vehicle, wearing a dark cowboy hat, dark
jeans and a black shirt.

Her
heart leaped into her throat and the fingers curled around the steering wheel
tightened. She drew in a deep breath and berated herself for even thinking
about her cowboy when this patrolman was only out doing is job. Letting out the
breath, she reached for the button to roll down the window. "What seems to
be the problem?"

The
lights behind him cast the man's face in the shadows. "Ma'am, please step
out of your vehicle."

At that
point, she noticed he wasn't wearing a badge or any other insignia proclaiming
his connection with law enforcement. And that voice... The man's deep, rich
tone sparked fire in Charli's blood and memories of last night. Her heart raced
and she fought to form coherent words. "Am I being accused of
something?"

"No,
ma'am. Just routine orders," he said.

That
bottomless, soul-melting voice flowed over her like liquid chocolate. The same
voice she'd heard on the phone and in the pool the night before.

"We're
here to search everyone passing on this road."

Search?
The very word brought to mind endless possibilities. "Could you show me
some credentials?" Her breath hitched in her chest, her body heating. It
was him—her cowboy in the black hat. She peered upward, unable to make out his
facial features. Damn. If she could see his identification, she might put a
name to this man. "How do I know you are who you say you are?"