Twisted Arrangement 4 (22 page)

Todd tipped his imaginary cowboy hat at her as he strolled out of the rundown motel room. He closed the door softly behind him, in deference to the other guests. It was well after two in the morning. Though there were no doubt other riders or bunnies behind the beige doors that lined the building, people used to late nights and early mornings, Todd didn’t want to wake anyone if he could avoid it.

He whistled as he strode down the road, back toward the arena where Hank had their trailers parked. Cami had driven them the the short distance last night in her beat-up Honda, but Todd didn’t mind walking.

The last of the buzz left his veins as the cool night air bathed his face, blowing away the muzziness that lingered. He felt good, if a little dusty and sticky. He’d dodged a bullet earlier... Or a ham-sized fist to the face, to be more accurate. And Cami had been delightful.
Very
delightful.

Todd grinned, thinking of just how delightful the cute blonde was, with her soft hands and pale, smooth thighs. The grin faded as, once again, his brain insisted on conjuring an image of the ample curves and tanned skin of the rude brunette. Carla.

She was nothing like his usual type. For one, she was a buckle bunny, and despite his brief foray in Cami’s bed, he really didn’t normally go for the girls who hung around the arenas and followed the circuit the way groupies did for rock bands. He preferred a woman who wanted him for him, not how many titles or belts he had, even if it was only for one night.

And, for another thing, she was obviously a drama queen. The redheaded cowboy, Eric, had practically said as much when Todd had asked him for an explanation of her snarky behavior earlier, around the fire.

There was a third reason he should put her as far out of his mind as possible. She was another man’s woman. Eric’s words hinted at a longer acquaintance than just one night, after all. Despite his faults, and according to his late Great Aunt Margaret he had a lot, putting the moves on someone in a relationship wasn’t something he did. Ever.

Todd scrubbed a hand against his jaw, the rasp of his stubble rough against his palm, catching on some of the callouses on his fingers. “Damn it,” he muttered into the dark, kicking at the loose gravel lining the dirt road to the arena. He wasn’t going to be putting the moves on Carla. She wasn’t his type.

So, why was he still thinking about her at all?

He took a deep breath of cool, dust-laden air and hurried the last few yards into the arena parking lot, shoving all thoughts of the mysteriously bitchy Carla and her luscious curves out of his head.

The parking lot was eerily quiet, lit only by the yellow-orange light of a few scattered lights. The windows in all the trailers and campers were dark, and across the lot Todd could see that the bonfire had been put out.

Everyone was most likely in bed, getting a few hours of shut-eye before moving on, either back home to their jobs or on to another rodeo. Todd’s body ached from all the activity of the day, from the rodeo, to the lake, to the sexual acrobatics with Cami. He couldn’t wait to crawl into his bunk. Why hadn’t he just stayed with the accommodating blonde? It was only a few hours, after all. And she knew the score. She wasn’t looking for him to settle down with her, or anything.

Still, he’d felt a powerful need to get out of that sad, beige room the second he hadn’t been occupied with Cami’s slender body. Todd ran a hand through his tangled hair with a sigh, blinking his eyes against the tiredness that threatened to overwhelm him.

A low creak, startling and unsettling in the heavy quiet, jerked his gaze upward.

“Shit.” The curse was whispered in a sultry feminine voice Todd recognized immediately.  Though she was making every effort to be quiet, the small sound carried across the silent parking lot.

Carla stood on the pitted asphalt, easing the door to a small, blue and white travel trailer closed. The trailer was old and dented but it was hitched to a brand new F150 with gleaming black paint.

The soft clunk of the door latching seemed loud in the stillness, and Todd saw Carla, dimly illuminated by the small circle of orangey light from the streetlamp, flinch. The muscles in his own arms tensed, and he realized he was reaching for her. He felt the absurd urge to comfort her. He dropped his hands, scuffing the toe of his boot silently against the ground.

“I don’t think anyone else heard,” he murmured, eyes intent on the curve of cheek he could glimpse through the fall of her hair.

She whirled, her eyes – he still couldn’t tell what color they were – flaring wide in alarm. Todd watched her marshal her face as she took him in. Her lush lips, nearly the same candy pink shade as Cami’s gloss but natural, had dropped open in an ‘O’ at his intrusion, but she pressed them into a firm line and narrowed her eyes at him.

Her gaze faltered a bit as she reached his chest, bared by his open shirt, and Todd couldn’t help the crooked smile that stretched his mouth. He couldn’t tell for sure in the dim parking lot, but Todd thought he might have seen her tongue flicker across her plump lower lip.

“What are you doing out here?” she hissed at him, eyes narrowing further, long-fingered hands coming up to rest on her curvy hips in clear indignation. Todd snorted softly.

“I think I should be the one asking that question, sugar.” He added extra drawl to his tone on purpose, to poke at her. For whatever reason, this woman thought she knew what kind of man he was, and as much as it irked Todd to be judged by someone who didn’t even know him, it wasn’t worth it to try and disabuse her of the notion.

People almost always thought what they wanted to think, no matter what anyone else had to say on the subject. Another lesson learned from Aunt Margaret. There was no use arguing with a woman who’d made up her mind.

Carla stiffened, stepping closer. Todd caught the faintest whiff of her scent, sweet and a little smoky, like burnt sugar. He dragged in a deep breath of it. She stopped a foot from him, hands clenching into fists at her sides.

“I was checking to make sure Eric’s papers were stowed safely. We’re heading out early.”

The words flowed like silk from her sweet lips, but Todd knew they were a lie. The skin around her eyes tightened the slightest bit, and her left brow lifted upward in challenge. Carla had a tell. His grin broadened.

“That so? Forgot to do it earlier, I reckon. Hopped out of bed to make a last minute check, did ya?” He moved his gaze slowly, purposefully down her body, taking in the fact that she was still dressed in her cut-off jean shorts and scuffed boots, though her shirt was untied now and covered the caramel-colored expanse of her midriff. Unfortunately.

She knew he’d caught her lie. He saw the knowledge of it flare in her eyes. They were a rich brown, he saw now. Like chocolate. And when had they gotten so close?

Her breath puffed against his chest as she gave a little huff. The muscles of his stomach contracted with each exhalation as she spoke. “Exactly.”

Carla didn’t offer any further explanation, and Todd didn’t question her again. They stood, toe-to-toe, for a long moment, eyes locked together. Todd’s fingers flexed, hands opening and closing at his sides restlessly.

He wanted to reach for her, take her shoulders in his hands. But he couldn’t tell for sure if he would shake her then, or yank her to him and crush his mouth against her plush lips. Both ideas sounded equally appealing. Todd had a desperate desire to know if she tasted as sweet as she smelled.

“Carla –”

Todd heard the slight hitch in her breath as he spoke her name, lost as it almost was beneath the clock of her boots on the pavement as she stepped hurriedly back, distancing herself from him. This time he was sure her tongue flickered across her lips, and he almost groaned at the sight.

“Babe, what are you doing?” Eric’s voice, sharp as a razor and loud in the hush of the sleeping lot, made them both flinch. Todd watched Carla as she turned slowly on her heel, toward the other cowboy’s voice.

His gut clenched as he saw a shadow flicker across her dark brown irises. Though she schooled her gorgeous face into an expression of mild annoyance, he knew he hadn’t imagined that brief flare of fear in her gaze. The muscles of her throat worked as she swallowed.

She opened her mouth to speak, studiously avoiding looking at the camper, but Todd cut her off before she could utter a word.

“Just making friends. Carla was apologizing for rushing to judgement about me earlier.” Todd smiled wide, flashing his teeth in an aw-shucks grin. He knew his dimples were showing as he poured on the charm.

Eric’s ice blue gaze swung to Todd, his thin red brows rising over his blade-like nose. “She was?”

From the corner of his eye, Todd could see Carla shoot him a look that seemed to promise future retribution, but she too smiled at Eric. “Yeah. You know me, honey. Sometimes I get a wild hair, and I couldn’t sleep, feeling bad for being such a bitch earlier. I was just out here, thinking, and who should wander home...” She trailed off, tilting her head in Todd’s direction.

Her words were soft and sweet, her smile slightly chagrinned. Pretty convincing too, until Todd realized she hadn’t trailed off because she was embarrassed about her earlier behavior, as she was making it sound, but because she couldn’t remember his name. If she even knew it.

“I’m Todd Ness, by the way.” He extended his hand to Eric, squeezing firmly when the other man took it. “I don’t think we’ve ever actually been introduced.”

Eric shook his hand, blinking through a wide yawn. Todd realized the other man was wearing only a t-shirt and boxers. He’d likely awoken to find Carla gone and come out looking for her. Clearly more than a one-night thing then. Todd needed to remember that.

“Not formally, no. Good to meet you. I’m gonna head back to bed. Early morning.”

“Don’t I know it,” Todd agreed, but his earlier exhaustion had faded away in the wake of his confrontation with Carla. Eric cut a half-lidded but pointed glance at Carla.

“You comin’, babe?”

She touched his face gently with her fingertips, but jerked her head back at Todd. “I’ll be in in just a second, honey. Just want to make sure everything’s cleared up here.”

Eric glanced at Todd again, but he was already nodding and turning back toward whatever camper the two shared. Carla stood on tip-toe and brushed a quick kiss on Eric’s jaw as he went.

They both waited until the other man was out of sight and the soft thunk of a door closing had faded. Around them, the cool night air was redolent of dust, motor oil, and the slightly mineral smell of the lake beside the arena. Over top of that, however, Todd could still smell the warm, sugary scent of her.

Her spine was straight as a rod when she spoke, though she didn’t turn back around to look at him. “Thank you.” She said it sincerely, though the low words were stilted, begrudging. And she didn’t elaborate on what she was thanking him for. They both knew.

He’d lied to her boyfriend. Todd didn’t know why he’d done it, or what she was up to. Hell, he didn’t even know if it was really Eric’s things she’d been snooping around in. Because that’s clearly what she’d been doing.

Todd rubbed the back of his neck, his muscles tense and tired. He sighed. He knew why he’d lied, if he was being honest. That brief glimpse of fear in her eyes at the sight of her cowboy had made something in his chest twist. He’d wanted to shield her from whatever or whoever put that look in her eyes. He’d never felt that, that almost painful knot of protectiveness, for anyone other than Emma. It unsettled him to feel it for this mouthy, prickly bombshell who clearly had secrets, and was a pretty skilled liar to boot.

“Are you going to explain what just happened here?” He’d kept his voice low, but Carla still tensed.

“No.” Again, she didn’t elaborate. Todd stepped closer, reached out. His hand was inches from her shoulder when she whirled back to him, as if sensing he was about to touch her. He dropped his hand.

“Hey, I think you owe me that at –”

“I don’t owe you anything.” Her hands were on her hips again, and Todd wondered what she’d do if he told her she looked hot when she was pissed at him. He’d probably get slapped.