Alone with You Read online

  “You haven’t finished.”

  She eyed the half-eaten meal. “I’m taking the rest with me. Crappy as that motel is, there’s a microwave in the room.”

  “I’ve got one in the trailer, too. We’ll order the cobbler to go.”

  A smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “Put it on my tab.”

  “How about I take it out in trade?”

  She blinked, let out a soft laugh. “I beg your pardon.”

  “Shoulda known you’d show up eventually.” Buddy’s voice seemed to come out of nowhere.

  Tanner hadn’t seen him approach but he felt the man’s beefy hand clap him on the back. Before he could turn around, Buddy pulled out a chair and sat down. He held a pair of beer bottles by the necks and set one next to Tanner’s empty.

  With a half smile, Tanner moved the rolls and butter to give him room. “Sure, Buddy, why don’t you join us?”

  “Christ, Tanner, how long has it been? Two years?” Buddy’s eyes were bloodshot and he had a paunch on him. He was younger than Tanner but he looked as if he’d been barreling down a few miles of bad road.

  “At least. I just heard you bought the place.”

  “Yeah, well, I had to find something to do. It ain’t rodeoing, but it keeps me in beer and out of jail.”

  Tanner looked at Lexy, about to introduce her when Buddy said, “And what’s your name, darlin’?”

  Oh, she loved that, Tanner thought, watching her dab the napkin at the corner of her mouth. He could read her well enough to know she was stalling, figuring out how to respond. She wouldn’t want to embarrass him, but she sure as hell didn’t like being called darlin’.

  “Lexy,” she said finally.

  “Pretty name for a pretty lady,” Buddy said, and glanced at her iced tea. “How about something stronger? Sandy will go get anything you want.”

  Lexy’s smile was very polite, very controlled. “And you are?”

  “Buddy Cooper, bull rider extraordinaire, at your service.” He picked up her hand and kissed the back.

  Her eyes widened a fraction but she kept the smile in place, withdrew her hand and lowered it to her lap.

  “Extraordi— What?” Tanner asked, then winked at Lexy.

  “Don’t mind him,” Buddy said, leaning forward, his forearms pressed to the table. “He’s what us cultured folks call uncouth.”

  Tanner laughed. “Lucinda must be teaching you all those fancy words.”

  “Ah, hell, she left me two years ago.” Buddy straightened and sighed. “Don’t marry a buckle bunny, Tanner. No matter how pretty or how sweet-smelling she is, don’t you do it. The minute the fat paychecks dry up and she knows there won’t be any more shiny gold buckles, she’ll be gone so fast it’ll give you whiplash.” He rubbed his eyes. “Shit, Lucinda couldn’t even wait till I recovered from that last surgery.”

  “I’m sorry,” Tanner said, all too familiar with the scenario.

  “Hey, no worries... This place keeps me busy, so it’s all good.” Buddy smiled at Lexy. “We were about to get you a real drink, darlin’. What’ll it be?”

  “I’m fine, but thank you.” She didn’t seem put off this time. When she turned to him, Tanner caught a glint of sympathy in her eyes. “If you two would like to catch up, I don’t mind going back to my room. I have several calls to make.”

  “No,” Tanner said, irritated that he sounded curt. But he wanted to spend time with her. “Let’s go walk off some of this dinner. I’ll come back and visit Buddy later when he’s not so busy.”

  “You’re not in the game?” Buddy said, looking over his shoulder when someone called for him. “I figured that’s why you were here.”

  Lexy glared at him, but he honestly didn’t know what Buddy meant. “What game?”

  “Texas Hold ’em. Ten grand buy-in.”

  “Hell, I don’t play for that kind of money. You know that.”

  Buddy pushed back from the table, grinning at Lexy. “If you don’t already know, this guy’s a cheapskate.”

  Tanner snorted and reached in his pocket. “Yeah, because I don’t give my money away at poker.”

  “You still got that old tin-can trailer?”

  Tanner signaled Sandy for the bill. “You watch how you talk about Betsy. She’s been more faithful than—” He caught himself, but it was too late. Buddy could easily fill in the blanks. It was obvious Tanner had been joking, but man, he felt like shit.

  Buddy waved a hand and got to his feet. “You’re right about that. Like I said, it’s all good. Now put your money away. Better learn to take a free dinner when it’s offered. I heard you’ve been achin’ in a lotta new places lately.”

  Knowing Buddy meant no harm didn’t take the sting out of the reminder. “Dinner is on Lexy. Right, darlin’?” Tanner emphasized the endearment and grinned at the daggers shooting from her eyes.

  Then her lips curved in a smile that managed to come across like a one-finger salute.

  “Well now, that sounds mighty interesting.” Buddy pushed the chair in, his flushed face full of curiosity. “Somebody lose a wager?”

  “I’ll come by later,” Tanner said quickly. Too late he realized he shouldn’t have invited questions about Lexy. He didn’t need the guys razzing him about the calendar. “Is the game gonna be here?”

  “In the back room right after the restaurant closes. Lance, Cortez and Travis are coming for sure. A few more maybes. I’m not expecting J.D. since he’s still kicking ass down in Milford. He won’t wanna mess with his mojo. Can’t say as I blame him, though I wouldn’t mind taking some of that cash off him.” Buddy turned when he got another shout from the bar. “I gotta go.”

  Tanner said nothing while they waited for the check and Lexy’s to-go box. He was still thinking about J.D. sitting in the catbird seat down in Colorado. He really had to be packing some luck. The man didn’t have money for high-stakes poker. Those games were set up for the big boys with fat wallets. Tanner hoped he was still flush because J.D. would never leave a game while on a winning streak. That left the path clear for Tanner to come back later to see the guys. He’d managed to avoid J.D. for seven months now, and he aimed to keep it that way.

  “He’s quite a character,” Lexy said, breaking into his thoughts.

  “Who?”

  “Buddy.”

  “Yeah, he’s got a wicked sense of humor. When he was younger he used to play locker room practical jokes. Made a lot of enemies. Everyone’s got their rituals before riding. They don’t want anyone messing with them.”

  “What’s yours?”

  He saw Sandy headed toward them, and was never so glad to get a bill in his life. Yeah, he knew the question was just idle curiosity. But he never discussed his silly superstitious routine with anyone. Although it sure hadn’t been doing him any good lately.

  Sandy brought him the check, and he glanced at the total, then gave it back to her with a hundred-dollar bill.

  “May I have a receipt, please?” Lexy asked.

  “No, she doesn’t need one.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  Tanner sighed. “Don’t we have enough to argue about...can we let this one go?”

  She glared at him for a second, then murmured, “You forgot to order the peach cobbler.”

  Sandy grinned. “I’m on it. One or two pieces?”

  “Two,” they said at the same time.

  As soon as she left, Lexy asked, “Your ritual?”

  He shook his head. “Not gonna happen.”

  “You won’t tell me?”

  “Nope.”

  “Is it something embarrassing?”

  After draining his beer, he threw his napkin on the table. “It’s private.”

  She looked far too interested and not the least put off by his brusque
tone. “Does anyone know what it is?”

  He hesitated. No point lying. “Yes. One person.”

  “Who?”

  “None of your business.”

  “Okay, that means female,” she said, looking pleased with herself as if she’d solved a major mystery. “A girlfriend?”

  “No, but she had to sleep with me to get the information.”

  As he suspected, that shut her up.

  But it didn’t stop her from studying him with narrowed eyes. Part of him wanted to know what was going on in that conniving brain of hers, but the logical part convinced him to leave it alone.

  Sandy brought their cobbler and the change, which he told her to keep, earning him an arched brow from Lexy. Yeah, so what if he’d overtipped? It was his money. She wasn’t paying him back for dinner.

  They both stood, and though he hoped Lexy would take the lead, she waited for him. “I have another question,” she said as they walked shoulder to shoulder to the door. “You’ll say it’s none of my business but I really would like to know.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Does it bother you when someone implies your career is almost over?”

  Jesus. Tanner hesitated. “Yeah, it bothers me.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “That’s life,” he said, shrugging, then reached around her to open the door.

  She stopped right in the doorway and looked up at him with uncertainty in those heart-stopping blue eyes. “You were right yesterday,” she said with a small sigh. “I did piss off Daddy.”

  10

  LEXY WASN’T QUITE sure why she’d made the admission. Except she’d been touched by Tanner’s candor and she wanted to give him something in return.

  They’d stepped outside but were still blocking the entrance. He took her arm and drew her toward the parking lot. She switched the doggie bag to her other hand, and they wove around parked cars and monster trucks, not stopping until they got to the sidewalk.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, relieving her of the bag.

  She stared at him for a long moment, then shook her head. “It’s very boring and even more clichéd.” She liked being able to look at him this closely. He had a good face, well-shaped lips, strong jaw. Even cleanly shaven he had a ruggedly handsome thing going on. She wondered if she would’ve given him a second look had they passed each other on an Oklahoma City street.

  Her first instinct was a resounding yes. Though in truth, probably not. Lots of guys wore boots and cowboy hats downtown. They never caught her eye. But now that she knew Tanner a little, it was impossible to tell.

  “You still interested in taking a walk?” He touched her face, jerking her back to the conversation. All he did was tuck an unruly curl behind her ear.

  “Where?”

  “A few blocks south is the festival grounds. They’ll have game booths, food concessions, a band playing. Probably even a dance floor.”

  “Is that supposed to tempt me?”

  He grinned. “I hope not.”

  “You’re safe, cowboy.” She laughed and patted his chest. The casual, unthinking touch started a jitter in her tummy. He was solid muscle and his heart pounded nearly as fast as hers.

  “Or we could go back to your room,” he said, his hazel eyes turning a chocolate brown.

  “And do what, exactly?”

  “Hard to explain.” He leaned in and brushed his lips below her ear. “I’d have to show you,” he whispered, his husky voice caressing her skin.

  This so wasn’t fair. Oh, God, this should’ve been a simple no-brainer errand. Find a cowboy for the calendar...a man who shouldn’t appeal to her in the least...deliver him to the photo shoot. Fly back to Oklahoma City solo. The end. Easy as...

  She heard a soft whimper and blinked. Had the sound come from her? Amazed, she straightened and moved back a step. She saw that he still held on to the bag and his other hand remained at his side. Only his lips had touched her. How was that possible? Her entire body felt flushed, tingly.

  Her hand was still pressed to his chest, and she calmly removed it, ignoring the slight tremor in her fingers. In a matter of seconds, daylight seemed to slip into dusk, shadowing his face and cloaking them in an intimate cocoon.

  “It doesn’t have to be anything heavy,” he said, brushing the hair away from her eyes. “Maybe a little kissing, talking...” He smiled. “More kissing.”

  “You know it won’t stop there.”

  “We’re adults. We can stop any time we want.”

  The want was the thing that worried her. He didn’t understand, and she couldn’t expect him to know how important it was that she not screw up. Sex she could get anywhere. But sex with him...as incredible as the experience would undoubtedly be...could end badly. Any hint that she’d behaved unprofessionally and it was over for her. No more second chances. Her father didn’t give them readily, and this was it.

  On the other hand, she’d already seen Tanner naked. And she wouldn’t mind seeing more of that.

  Dammit.

  “Kissing. Only kissing,” she said, jittery at how intensely he was focused on her mouth. “Any touching has to be through clothes. Agreed?”

  He lifted his gaze and laughed. “Do I have to sign somewhere?”

  “This isn’t a joke.” She shuddered for no reason. The air was cool but not cold. At his troubled look, she murmured, “I know you don’t understand.”

  “How about we walk and talk?” He slipped an arm around her shoulders, and she really should’ve objected instead of leaning her head against him.

  They walked along the busy highway, against traffic that flowed steadily in the opposite direction toward the festival grounds. A few people honked their horns, whether randomly or because they recognized Tanner, it was hard to say. He’d been stopped for autographs a lot.

  At first his popularity had confused her because she didn’t understand the rodeo world. But it pleased her, as well, since it meant he was a viable candidate that would make her look good. And then she’d started resenting the intrusions, which should’ve told her that she might be in trouble. A young boy had stopped him on their way to the restaurant. He never turned down signing autographs for kids, no matter how inconvenient.

  The boy was chatty and excited to meet his hero, and what had she done? Waited impatiently, glancing at her watch, and in general, acting much like the spoiled brats she’d detested in boarding school. Fortunately, Tanner hadn’t noticed. If he had, it would’ve shamed her.

  “You’re quiet,” he said. “Having second thoughts?”

  “So are you. Quiet, I mean.”

  He tightened his hold around her shoulders, forcing her to lean on him. “Oh, I’m having plenty of thoughts. I doubt you want to hear them.”

  Wanna bet? was her knee-jerk response. But that was the other Lexy, the untamed one who’d gotten her into this predicament with her father. “Probably not.”

  “That isn’t what you wanted to say.”

  “You’re a mind reader now?”

  “Body language, sweetheart. Remember? It’s much more reliable than words.”

  She gave him a light shove. “Sweetheart. Darlin’. What’s with you cowboys? Is using a woman’s name too much of a commitment?”

  “Well, seems like I hit a couple of nerves.” Tanner lowered his arm. “Didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers.”

  “Oh, please, you didn’t even come close.” She hadn’t meant for him to release her.

  “All right, then you won’t mind my suggesting you work on your breathing. That was the real giveaway.”

  She stopped and looked at him. “Remind me why I like you.”

  Tanner grinned. “That’s progress. Yesterday you wanted to pull a shotgun on me.”

  Lexy laughed and
sighed at the same time. “Of course I like you or I wouldn’t have kissed you.”

  “Speaking of which, can you walk a little faster?”

  Words escaped her. In some ways, he made things easy. Too easy. She slid an arm around his waist, and he put his arm back around her shoulders. He set a brisk pace, and she did her best to keep up.

  “We’d better be careful,” she said when they reached the motel and were close to her room. “If Vivian knows you’re with me, she’ll charge double.”

  She’d been joking, of course, and turned to see why he hadn’t responded. He was looking at her, just looking. No smile, no anything.

  “Tanner?”

  He set the bag on the ground and took her face in his hands. She backed up against the cool brick, using the wall for support. Foolish, really, when she had his broad shoulders to hold on to.

  She tentatively moved her hands. “You know my room is only seconds away, right?”

  “I know,” he murmured, his lips skimming hers, then warming the sensitive skin below her jaw. He returned to her mouth, kissing her leisurely at first, taking his time until he found an angle to his liking. And then he coaxed her lips apart with a skillfulness that had her quivering.

  He swept his tongue inside her mouth, swirling and teasing and leaving his brand in every nook. She normally wasn’t a passive partner but she just stood there, spellbound, her heart pounding, while she soaked in the taste and masculine smell of him.

  When he moved his lips to her neck, a split second of reason left her with an awful thought. He’d changed his mind. He wasn’t coming inside. This was a good-night kiss.

  “Tanner.” She hated how weak her voice sounded, but it was the best she could do. “Why?”

  He lifted his head and looked at her, his calloused thumb stroking her jaw over and over. “I couldn’t wait.”

  She squinted as if that would help her understand. “What?”

  “I’m sorry.” He lowered his hand and turned his gaze toward the street. “I didn’t mean to get—” Sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his neck. “That wasn’t cool. I should’ve waited until we got inside.”

  Laughter bubbled up and spilled out. “Are you kidding? That was totally cool.”