by Susan Stoker
Kendra sighed. “I know that. You know that. Heck, the whole staff, once they hear of this event, will know you didn’t do it. But the fact is, someone did call Mrs. Blanchette and they used your name. That is the only proof the Blanchettes, who don’t know diddly about you, need.”
Fuck. She paced to the other side of the room, one hand on her hip. “So why the forced vacation?”
“They agreed not to mention the event publically, if I put you on probation.” Kendra held up her hand. “Wait. Hear me out. I told them I would do one better and force you to take a week off with no pay so you could think about your actions.”
She fisted her hands, trying desperately not to hit anything. The urge to break something was strong.
“I also gave them three more nights for free. My hope is that while you are on ‘vacation’ whoever called Mr. Blanchette will call again, making it obvious it can’t be you.”
“Um, what does my being on vacation have to do with a call? People can call from anywhere.”
Kendra suddenly found her jean-clad thigh fascinating and appeared to pick at a speck of whatever.
She didn’t like it. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“I told them I would confiscate your phone.”
“Fuckin-a. I’m not a teenager who slipped out of her room at night and used Daddy’s car. You’re forgetting I didn’t do anything wrong here.”
Kendra’s poker face fell and she sighed. “I know. I’m just trying to save Poker Flat and keep you on staff at the same time. Maybe that’s not possible.”
Dread at the prospect of Poker Flat closing or having to leave had the steam in her veins cooling. It infuriated her that someone had used her as their cover, but the last thing she wanted was to be the downfall of the resort. “Fine. But for the record, this blows.”
At the relief in Kendra’s face, her gut told her she’d done the right thing, but it still sucked…and it hurt.
*
Hunter strode toward the bar, his first step once starting his shift. He wanted to talk to Adriana and find out if she would be able to determine if anything was missing in her car. The mystery of the break-in had him anxious to get to work.
It was still early, the Arizona sky splashing a few purples and reds across the Sonoran Desert. The inside lights of the main building were just discernable through the tinted glass windows.
He heard laughter in the bar area and quickened his step. As he turned the corner, he slowed. Kendra was tending bar. As far as he knew, she only filled in when employees were sick. Did Adriana’s whip cuts become infected? He should have insisted on checking them the other night.
Despite his hatred for alcohol, he stepped up to the bar and waited for Kendra to finish with a guest. It was the same foursome from the other night. The tiny blonde woman teetered a bit as she took her wineglass with her, her husband keeping her from a serious face plant.
Hunter ground his teeth as a familiar burn started in the pit of his stomach.
“Do you need something, Hunter?”
He snapped his gaze away from the inebriated guest. “Is Adriana okay?”
Kendra sighed and that in itself sent sirens going off in his head.
“She’s pretty upset.” She leaned in and kept her voice low. “I had to put her on mandatory vacation.”
He stared at her. “What exactly is that and why?”
Kendra glanced toward a couple walking up the path toward the bar. “I’ll have to tell you later.” In an instant, she was chatting with the two people.
But as Hunter watched, he could see the stiffness behind Kendra’s smile and she leaned onto one hip, something he’d noticed she did when she was not comfortable.
He moved his gaze toward the guests. They ordered drinks and waited, but they didn’t chat or even look at each other. When he’d seen them a couple days ago they acted like two twenty year olds instead of a couple married for twenty years. Probably an argument.
He stepped away from the bar and strode back the way he’d come. The guest casitas could wait. He wanted to know what the hell was going on with Adriana.
It didn’t take him long to reach her casita and without hesitation, he knocked on the door.
“I’m coming. Please don’t leave. This solitary confinement is for the fucking birds.” A crash sounded inside and he had to tap down his instinct to bust in the door. It wasn’t as if she was some kind of criminal, but if she was scrambling to hide a guest, Kendra would be pissed.
More shuffling sounds came from inside. “Just had to throw something on.”
He almost grinned at that. Since when?
Finally, the door was yanked open.
“Oh my God. Thank you.” Adriana jumped onto him, her legs wrapping around his waist as her arms encircled his neck.
Before he could figure out what she was grateful for, she’d pressed her lips against his and thrust her tongue into his mouth.
Every nerve in his body ignited and he grasped her against him. He captured her tongue with his own and swept through her mouth, tasting a bite of lemon and inhaling her fresh sage scent.
Adriana pulled back and looked at him with full-on lust. “Hi.”
Chapter Five
‡
Every part of his body wanted to back Adriana against the outside wall and take her right there. He swallowed and forced himself to focus. “Something’s wrong.”
She frowned before dropping her legs to stand, but she didn’t back away. “You can say that again.”
He didn’t move. He couldn’t. If he did, he’d be ripping her clothes off like an animal. He focused on his breathing, in and out, keeping his in-take even with his out-take while ignoring his hard cock.
“Some stupid bitch accused me of sleeping with her husband.” She let go of his neck and placed her hand on her hip. “As if I was that desperate.” She raised her other hand and snapped her fingers. “I can have my pick of those who are free to indulge. Why would I go behind some wife’s back to sleep with her husband?”
“For the challenge?” He purposefully incited her. Something in his masculine brain wanted to see her out of control. Maybe to retaliate for making him almost lose his own.
Her eyes turned to slits before she wrinkled her nose and spat on the ground. Then she thrust her chin up at him. “I have standards. I’m not a home wrecker. I don’t submit. I don’t ever put Poker Flat at risk. You got that?” She rose on her toes to get in his face.
He barely kept his lips from quirking up. “Got it.”
She scowled at him a moment longer before she stepped back. “I’m under house arrest.”
“What?” That didn’t make sense.
She threw her hands up. “I might as well be. I’m not allowed to go back to work for a week.”
“Kendra believed the guest?” He found that difficult to swallow. He didn’t know his boss very well, but from what he knew, she was very protective of her staff.
Adriana’s face softened. “No, she didn’t, but she had to do something or this couple could say nasty things about the resort, which would keep anyone from ever coming here again.”
He doubted one disgruntled customer could do that much damage, but he was no expert on the nudist community. Shit, he hadn’t even known there was such a community until his old high school buddy, Dale, asked him to apply at Poker Flat.
“And as if being off work for a week for something I didn’t do wasn’t punishment enough, Kendra confiscated my phone. The bitch claimed I called her husband. All you have to do is look at my outgoing calls and they could easily see I didn’t call, but Kendra had to pacify the customer.” Adriana crossed her arms over her ample chest. “I haven’t talked to anyone since this afternoon.” She pouted in an effort to enlist sympathy, but her full lips were far too sexy to make that work.
To him it was more of an invitation to take off her clothes and he was on duty. If there was one thing therapy had done for him, it was teach him how to refocus. “Your car was broken into.”
Adriana’s eyes widened before she let out a yell. “Yes! I knew it.”
Her whole body relaxed, which had his lips itching to smile. Most women would be devastated. “Do you think you could tell if anything was taken?”
She gave him a seductive look. “You bet I can. I know every item that’s in that car. It’s my organized mess. It helps to keep my casita clean. Can’t stand clutter.”
He raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “What about the rabies tag?”
Her face softened, her brows drawing together. “That was Lady’s. I keep it under the driver’s seat.”
The expression was so unusual on her that he had to ask. “Lady?”
She looked away. “She was my dog. A sweet little terrier who didn’t mind wearing a pink bow once in a while. A client had given her to me as partial payment. I didn’t want her at first, but the silly thing seemed to live for my every glance. It was the oddest relationship, but we got along fine.”
He had to ask. “What happened to her?”
Adriana, lost in her memories, appeared startled, but she covered it up with a shrug. “She died. They only live so long.”
Her reaction was forced indifference. She’d loved that dog. He didn’t say anything, processing this surprising information. She was far more complicated than she first appeared. He’d bet most people didn’t realize exactly how complicated or how intelligent the woman was.
Eventually, she put her hand on her hip and caught his gaze. “So now that we know my car was broken into, what do we do?”
“That depends, was anything taken?”
“No.” She scrunched her nose. “I can’t believe they went to the trouble of breaking into my car and didn’t take anything. Not a single receipt was missing. Even my bullets were still in the glove compartment.”
He wanted to ask more about that, but as it wasn’t relevant to the issue at hand, he moved on. “That could be because someone was interrupted before they could take something or because they just wanted to see if they could get in so they could come back another time when they thought it would be safe to steal it.”
“I would be devastated if that car was stolen. It means a hell of a lot more to me than just a vehicle for driving around. That’s a symbol.”
Before he could clamp his mouth shut, he’d opened it. “Symbol of what?”
“My independence from my past.”
“You mean from the bordello? I had the distinct impression you enjoyed that job.”
She winked at him. “You bet I did. Though now that I’m here, I’m glad that part of my life is over. No, my car is older than that. I bought it a year after I started at Mrs. B’s. I bought it outright. Cash.”
Adriana’s eyes sparkled in the dim light of her outside light, her energy reaching across the feet that separated them to make him feel her thrill.
“Once I’d done that, I knew I could leave anytime I wanted. It also symbolized my ability to have and do whatever I wanted in life. That’s why it was so easy to leave when Kendra offered me the job. I didn’t owe Mrs. B anything.”
“Did she try to force you to stay?”
Adriana laughed. “No, nothing like that. She more or less begged and cajoled me to stay because after ten years I was her most profitable girl.” She grinned in pure feminine satisfaction. “But it was time to move on.”
He found himself nodding, as if he could possibly understand what it was like to be a prostitute who left a bordello. He stopped. It had to be her refreshing honesty. Every emotion or thought appeared on her face and in her words. Nothing was held back. He liked that.
A memory of his wife pretending to like the rodeo because he did came unbidden to his mind. She’d loved him so much, she’d have done anything he liked. It had taken him awhile to finally realize that. Too long. He hadn’t appreciated what he had.
“Would you like to come in? I could sure use the company. I promise not to attack you again…unless you want me to.” Adriana winked.
“I’m on patrol.” The words came out in a rush. “Thanks anyway.” He gave her a curt nod and strode off toward the next staff casita to make sure everything was okay, and not because he was running away.
*
Adriana walked back into her casita. That man was a puzzle and she so wanted to put him together and find out what the answer was.
She turned off the television, the noise of having it on all day finally getting to her. Picking up her laptop, she flopped onto her love seat. She clicked it on and pulled up a game. Not working was driving her crazy. After killing a few monsters and getting into the secret passageway, she paused the screen.
If she had to be bored, the least she could do is have a drink with her boredom. After taking down a wineglass, she uncorked a new bottle of red wine and poured. It felt odd drinking alone. Whatever. It wasn’t like she had a choice.
Pushing the cork back into the bottle, she put it on the counter and walked back to her couch. She glanced outside, noticing the light shining from her living room onto her patio, just like it did with the guest casitas. Would Hunter come by again tonight to make sure all was safe?
Yes. He would.
Suddenly, the distraction of the game wasn’t enough. She could masturbate in the living room and watch for the telltale black cowboy boots to show up. Just the image of that had her body sensitized. But as she let the fantasy play out in her mind, it wasn’t as exciting as it used to be.
Because now she wanted him. She’d felt the hard muscle of his body when she’d jumped onto him. It could have been anyone at her door, but riding his waist had sparked fireworks inside her. He hadn’t even taken a step back as she threw herself into his arms. The man was a hunk.
He did want her. At least his kiss said he did. Of course he did. She was hot. And how long had it been since he’d been with a woman? Her gut told her not since before he arrived at Poker Flat last October.
MacKenzie was an amazon and just as hard bodied. It was doubtful those two had sex. They were more like comrades in arms. She grinned at the thought.
Why not? She and Hunter were consenting adults. It’s not like she wanted a relationship. Those were way too sticky. As the idea grew, the more convinced she was that it was a perfect ending to a boring day.
Jumping up, she sauntered into her room. Now what to wear? Nothing frilly for him. She prided herself on reading men’s likes. No, Hunter would like casual sexy, which fit her perfectly.
Pulling off her yoga pants, she wiggled into a pair of cut off, denim shorts, nothing underneath. Something simple for a top. A red, no-sleeve button-down that tied beneath her breasts would work. She looked at herself in her full-length, three-way mirror. One more thing.
Grabbing up a clip, she twisted her long hair up like she did when bartending and stuck the clip in it. Slightly messy. Perfect. She gave herself a sultry smile.
Oh yeah, she would be getting some tonight.
She pulled on a pair of short socks and her cowboy boots that made her legs look awesome. Jumping up from her bed, she grabbed her lock pick from her jewelry box. She paused. Last time he’d been pretty pissed she was in his casita. But what was she supposed to do, sit in a chair outside?
No way, but she could prepare him. Turning the light off in her bedroom, she moved back into the living room to her desk against the far wall. She pulled out a piece of scrap paper with an expired coupon for twenty-five percent off a vibrating anal wand and with a red marker she drew the female symbol intersecting with the male symbol. That should give him a hint.
She laughed, thrilled with her plan of action. Now all she needed to do was wait until the early hours of the morning. She didn’t know much about Hunter, but he was definitely a cowboy, which meant he wouldn’t leave his job one minute before it was done. It hadn’t taken long to figure that out.
Maybe she could make him that breakfast she’d suggested the other morning.
Adriana busied herself with packing up breakfast ingredients, snacks, sex toys and condoms
in between playing games and fantasizing. When two o’clock finally rolled around, she grabbed her basket of goodies and turned out the lights.
After locking her casita, she walked past two others before coming to Hunter’s. With expert finesse, she unlocked his door and stuck the sign on the outside before closing the door and relocking it. Once she’d put all the cold stuff in the fridge, she sat on his couch to wait.
Just a few more hours and he would be coming home. Her imagination started to go wild.
*
Hunter filled in Mac on what had happened with Adriana. They also took turns patrolling the garage. After what Adriana had told him about her car, he didn’t want anything else to happen to it.
The woman intrigued him. She was very honest in her immediate reactions, but there was another layer to her he hadn’t expected. He probably should have. Everyone had a past.
He grunted as his own rose up to choke him. Forcing it away from his thoughts, he strode to his casita. The sun had yet to come up, the sky just barely starting to lighten. It wasn’t much past five, but Selma had already opened the kitchen and Jorge was feeding the horses.
Kendra had closed the bar by one, which had left only one casita active for most of the night. When the foursome saw him, they’d asked him to ask Adriana to come down. He should have passed along the message, but he hadn’t. He didn’t know why, but it was probably better. Adriana had enough crap to handle between her car and the angry guest.
As he approached his home, a paper fluttered against the door. Curious, he pulled out his flashlight since the predawn light had yet to make it to that side of his casita. He stared at the symbols.
“Adriana.” His cock jerked. “Shit.” She’d picked his lock again.
He didn’t move to open the door. She was inside and he was off work. Was there any reason not to take what she offered?
If it had been anyone else, the answer would have been not a chance, but Adriana was different. Sex was given freely and often, no strings attached. That’s the part that was unusual. Sex meant something to women. To Adriana, it meant pleasure and no more.