stuff was for the birds, but Troy was a man of his word. Sliding back into the hard wooden chair, he ordered a burger and nursed another beer and watched Senada.
It was 2:00 a.m. when Senada pushed the key into the doorknob of her small but well-maintained rental home. Feeling a prickling sensation on the back of her neck, she stopped and turned around. Probably Juan, she thought, staring into the darkness. He’d followed her home another time.
“The answer is no,” she said, wishing her porch light hadn’t burned out.
Her heart sprinted when she saw the silhouette of a big male form. Juan wasn’t that tall.
The moonlight hit Troy’s face as he stepped forward. “I didn’t ask.” His mouth tilted. “Yet.”
Relief sputtered through her, followed quickly by irritation. “What are you doing here?”
He shrugged and opened the door for her. “Just wanted to see where you live.”
Senada kept her back to the doorway. “It would have been polite to warn me.”
“It would have been polite for you to invite me,” he corrected in a low voice, and met her gaze.
“It’s late.”
Troy nodded but didn’t graciously back off. His blue eyes didn’t waver, his jaw was set in a firm line.
She sighed and led the way into her living room. “Three minutes,” she told him, and flicked on a lamp.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and prowled around the small room. “Looks like rental furniture.”
She’d always known Troy was big, but having him in her home made her more aware of the fact. Two minutes and thirty seconds, she noted. “Mine’s in storage. This was quicker, easier.”
“Why were you in such a hurry?” he asked, turning back to her.
Tossing her purse on the sofa, she shrugged. “I don’t know. I needed a change. Haven’t you ever felt like you needed to make a change and it had to be now?”
“Yeah, but moving halfway across the country requires a little planning,” Troy drawled, stepping closer.
“For you,” she conceded, and flipped her hair behind her shoulder. “I’ve been told I’m impulsive.”
“Maybe.” He gave her a long considering look, his gaze brushing over her body and returning to her face. “But there’s more to the story, isn’t there, Sin?” he said in a low voice.
It was an intimate, you-can-trust-me voice, and she felt the lick of temptation. She’d always thought Troy, with his six-foot-plus height, unapologetic chauvinism and blatant masculinity, was a little over the top.
Too much had been her assessment. Too big. Too rugged. Too intractable. Senada had always been the one to hold the aces when it came to male/female relationships. She suspected Troy preferred calling the shots. They wouldn’t mix well. Still, he was a strong man, more than physically strong, and that strength appealed to her now when she was vulnerable. Maybe he could handle the truth.
He cocked his head to one side and lifted his hand to cup her cheek. “Something is going on,” he mused. “Tell me and I’ll help.”
Her heart tugged. His hand was gentle, his gaze warm. She’d locked herself away from human kindness over the last few weeks and suddenly felt the loss. It would only take one step, and she would be in his arms.
In that second, she thought of her big, strong father and how he’d been unable to handle the truth. She took a giant step back, physically and emotionally. “It’s been three minutes.”
“I’m gonna find out,” he told her.
Sin shook her head and headed for the door. “You’re wasting your time.”
“I already know you’re not seeing any men, and Lord knows that’s out of character.”
She whipped around. “How do you know that?”
“Juan, but I would have found out anyway.” He twisted his lips in a cynical grin. “I’m the youngest of seven brothers, Sin. When you’re the youngest, you learn by watching, so I’m damn good at watching. And just so you’ll know, another characteristic about the youngest is that people underestimate you.” His gaze fell over her like a hot brand, then he looked into her eyes.
“Hasta la vista, baby.”
Troy didn’t like the accommodations.
His hotel room was the size of a closet, and if he turned over in his bed, he would land on the floor. No AC, no fan. To make matters worse, the walls were thin, and it sounded as if the guy next door had gotten very lucky tonight.
To distract himself from the explicit cries of his neighbors, he thought about Senada.
More convinced than ever that something strange was going on, he considered the possibilities. She could be sick, but it didn’t make sense that she would abandon her home and friends for that reason.
She could also be pregnant.
If the guy had dumped her, maybe she felt humiliated and didn’t want to face her friends. He frowned. The only catch was that he’d never heard of anyone dumping Senada. She went through men like tissues and always appeared to be the one to move on.
He remembered how soft her cheek had felt in his palm, and the appealing mix of fire and vulnerability in her eyes. For a minute there, she’d looked as if she wanted to trust him, as if she would share her secrets with him.
He swore, kicking off the sheet. This was going to take patience, and he’d never been patient. He deliberately closed his eyes, and the image of her stole past the barrier in his mind.
Her mouth was red and taunting, her eyes dark and sensual. His body heated. He swore again. His dear beloved brothers had sent him straight to hell.
Over the following nights, Senada tried to ignore Troy. It should have been easy. Most of her customers were male. Many watched her, but none with Troy’s unwavering intensity. He wasn’t the least bit sly about it, just propped himself on a stool at the bar, nodded his head in greeting, and watched.
She really didn’t need this, she thought, five days after he arrived. She’d fled to San Pedro with the intention of going to her father, but once she’d arrived, she chickened out.
If her father had been unable to handle her mother’s illness thirteen years earlier, how could he deal with Senada’s current crisis?
So, here she was, still shocked and afraid, and trying to adjust to a new and totally necessary lifestyle. She shook her head and checked the time. These days she was more conscious of the clock.
Juan sidled up to her. “This man from Tennessee. Troy. He comes every night. Is he bothering you?”
She flicked a glance at Troy and saw that he must have overheard. “Bothering me?” she repeated. Yes.
Another regular customer came up behind Juan.
