Xavi tried to tell the lady that he was here with Trace. He even opened his mouth trying desperately to get the words out. But nothing came. Sweat slid down the side of his face as he worked to try to loosen his throat enough to get any words out. Still, nothing came.
The lady with the warm brown eyes looked at him for a moment. Then the next thing he knew he was sitting on a stool at the island with a glass of milk and a plate of cookies in front of him. Crap, Trace was sitting out in the hot truck and here he was in the cool house, with cookies. Trace was going to break him in half. But, it was only polite to taste a cookie and take a sip of milk.
“Everyone around here calls me Ms. Lucy. Can you tell me your name?”
Xavi had just swallowed the milk and took a deep breath. Keeping his eyes lowered, he said, “Xavi.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Xavi. Can you tell me what brought you to my kitchen?”
Xavi couldn’t tell her. He could only hear the voice of his father telling him he was going to hell. His father told him every day of his life that he was going to hell. The picture his family presented to the world centered on religion. Xavi could never understand how they all could spout fire and brimstone nonstop everyday but turn around and live the lives they did.
Xavi knew his father was having an affair with a woman he worked with for many years. His brothers all bed-hopped, sometimes stringing along multiple women at the same time. Yet, when his brothers had seen him in a club sitting close to another man, all hell broke out. They had gone straight to their dad, and then Xavi had been physically dragged into his bedroom and the door was locked as they left. He couldn’t even think about the week that followed until his grandfather had managed to get him out of there.
Xavi stood up and took a deep breath. “I’m with Trace.”
Xavi grabbed a few cookies off the plate and ran out of the room. He didn’t stop until he was back, sitting in the truck, handing the cookies to a hot and sweating Trace.
He waited for Trace to yell at him or even take a swipe at him for leaving him in the truck for so long. Instead, Trace just sat there and started eating the cookies. So, Xavi started the truck and, after Trace gave him a few directions, drove it back down the driveway. When the road broke off into two directions, he turned right towards the barns and then right again to an old two-story farmhouse that was where the hired hands lived in.
Xavi got Trace into the farmhouse and between the two of them, they managed to get Trace painfully up the stairs and into his room. Xavi helped him take off his boots and clothes. He was only too happy to look at the eye candy that was revealed to him when each piece of clothing was removed. Even though he had left his underwear on, Trace had an ass that looked like a quarter could bounce off of it. Xavi would happily volunteer to try. Trace groaned and looked relieved when they finally got him into bed. Xavi had caught a glimpse of Trace’s thigh, swollen and deeply bruised, so dark purple it was almost black.
“I’ll get you some water.” Not waiting for an answer, he raced back downstairs to the kitchen and found a bottle of water in the refrigerator. Back upstairs, he watched Trace drink half the bottle in just a few swallows.
“Come sit and talk to me for a minute, and then I need a nap,” Trace said. “Later, you can go get your stuff out of the truck and take one of the empty rooms down the hall.”
Xavi thought about finding a chair, but Trace grabbed his hand and he found himself sitting on the bed, leaning against Trace’s side.
“Did you manage to tell Ms. Lucy you’re here with me?”
“I think so.”
“She’s a real nice lady.”
“She makes good cookies.”
“That she does. When you bring your stuff in, could you bring my little black backpack in too? My phone and charger are in it and I’d appreciate it if you could plug it in.”
“Sure, I can do that.” Xavi would do just about anything for Trace. As it was, he was trying his hardest to resist exploring the hard chest he was leaning against. He found the tattoos covering it exotic, and they added to Trace’s bad boy image. He wondered how soft his long hair was. He was just about to lean forward and kiss Trace when there was a knock on the bedroom door and a good-looking, tall, black-haired cowboy walked into the room.
Chapter Four
Xavi went to jump off the bed as fast as he could, but Trace put his arm around him and held him against his side. Then, to Xavi’s horror, Ms. Lucy walked in right behind the cowboy. Again, Xavi tried to make a run for it, and again Trace was having none of that.
“If you’re in bed at this time of the day and that cutie on the bed still has his clothes on, I’d say you’re hurt in some way.” The dark-haired man walked over and Xavi saw the black slashes of his eye brows raise when he spotted the large bruise on Trace’s leg. “Ms. Lucy, I think you need to get the hot water bottle in here. From the looks of it, some horse’s hoof caught Trace but good.”
“Do you need me to bring some pain pills too, Trace?” Lucy asked.
“No, I took some while I was waiting in the truck for Xavi to come out of the house.”
Xavi couldn’t help himself. Reaching down, he grabbed the edge of the sheet and pulled it over until it covered Trace up to the waist. Xavi looked over at the handsome cowboy standing next to the bed, and he pulled the sheet higher until it was almost up to Trace’s neck.
“Okay. Now that we’ve established that the cutie doesn’t want me to look at you, can you introduce us, Trace?”
Trace squeezed his waist and smiled at Xavi. “Adam, I’d like you to meet my assistant, Xavi Diaz. Xavi, this is the foreman of the Crazy Angle, Adam VanPeterson.”
“Nice to meet you, Xavi.” The foreman put out his hand and Xavi shook it. When he went to pull his hand away, Adam hung on to it. Not wanting to seem rude, Xavi tugged just a little. Looking up into Adam’s handsome face, he could see humor sparkling in his warm brown eyes.
“I don’t bite unless you say I can. Welcome to the Crazy Angle.” Adam smiled, showing Xavi straight, white teeth, made whiter by Adam’s dark, tanned skin and the shadow of a short beard on his face. Xavi knew Adam was trying to make him feel at ease, but he could feel the panic starting to rise and there was no way he was going to be able to say anything.
“Let him go, Adam. Xavi is shy and you’re making him nervous.” Trace didn’t look to happy and he was now leaning over and put his hand on Adam’s wrist.
“Trace, my friend, I suggest you let go of my arm before you start to irritate me.” Adam’s voice had turned cold.
Xavi watched in growing alarm as Trace swung his legs off the bed and stood up. This put him right up next to Adam. “I thought I told you to let Xavi go.”
Adam did let go of Xavi’s hand, but then he turned and both men were now chest to chest, glaring at each other. Xavi couldn’t help comparing the two men. Adam was a gorgeous man, with his short, jet-black hair and dark clothing covering the work-hard muscles of a stunning body. But to Xavi, he didn’t come anywhere near Trace, who was at least three inches taller and even more heavily muscled. Trace made Xavi’s heart speed up just by looking at him.
“Did you forget my warning when I called you, Adam? Xavi is off-limits.”
“Maybe we should let Xavi decide if he wants to spend some time with me.”
“He is not spending any time with you. Why don’t you go find one of the hundreds of men you’ve bedded and leave mine alone.”
“Since when did he become yours? I don’t see your name on him.”
“Back off, Adam.”
Xavi could see that both men were about to come to blows, if someone didn’t do something about it. Although, he was starting to get pissed off, the way they both were talking about him like he was a piece of meat.
Just when he thought things were really going to turn ugly, Ms. Lucy walked into the room with a hot water bottle in her hand. She instantly sized up the situation and to Xavi’s utter surprise, she threw the hot water bottle at the men
.
The red rubber projectile caught both men across the face, bounced off and landed with a splat on the wooden floor.
Xavi held back a laugh at the way both stunned men looked down at the bottle, like they didn’t quite know what hit them. Then they saw Ms. Lucy standing in front of them, legs slightly apart, with her hands on her hips.
“I suggest you two quit acting like two dogs fighting over a bone. Trace, get back into bed and let’s put some heat on that leg. I’m sure the muscle is damaged and if we don’t act quickly, you could have a permanent indent in that thigh. You wouldn’t want to mess up those pretty legs now, would you? And you, Mr. VanPeterson.” Even Xavi flinched at the stern look she gave Adam as she shook her finger at him. “You are the foreman of this ranch. There is no need to make a new employee feel uncomfortable, just because you like to pull Trace’s strings.”
Xavi watched the foreman flush and look a little sheepish. That was when Xavi realized that Ms. Lucy had hit the nail on the head. Adam and Trace had one of those love-hate relationships. He would bet money that they would defend each other to their dying breath, but they also loved to antagonize each other as much as they could.
“Sorry, Ms. Lucy.” Adam reached down and picked up the water bottle and handed it to Trace, who was again sitting on the bed, leaning back against the headboard. Trace place the bottle against his bruised leg and Xavi could see it must have felt good, because Trace visibly relaxed.
“Xavi, why don’t you get settled in,” Adam said. “There are a couple of rooms down the hall that are open. Feel free to put your stuff in one. Supper is in a couple of hours, you’re more than welcome to come to the big house and eat with the rest of the guys. Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, come in to the office and meet with Graham and me. Then we can start your paperwork and you’ll officially be an employee of the Crazy Angle Ranch.”
A few minutes later Adam and Lucy left, leaving Trace and Xavi alone. The more Xavi thought about it, the more irritated he became. Sure, he and Trace had exchanged a few kisses and their chemistry was off the charts, but that didn’t mean they were dating or anything. And it sounded like Trace had warned Adam off before they even arrived. To Xavi’s way of thinking, he had officially accepted a job from the man, not gotten married.
Trace watched the emotions play over Xavi’s face and knew he was working himself up. It looked like he had two choices. He could grab the man and keep him in his bed until he was too sore and worn out to be mad anymore, or he could give him some time to cool off. Trace knew what he wanted to do, and he knew what his leg would let him do.
“Sorry about the ruckus. Adam and I tend to get on each other’s nerves once in a while. I know you would like to get settled, so I think I’ll take a little nap and let you bring your stuff up.” Trace saw that Xavi was listening and he didn’t have that little pinched look around his mouth anymore, so he thought maybe he was getting in the clear. “If you could, would you wake me up in about an hour? Then we can decide what we’re going to do about supper.”
“Would you like any more water or anything?” Xavi asked.
“No, I’m fine,” Trace answered. “And, Xavi, thanks for all your help.”
Xavi nodded and left the room. It didn’t take long to get his stuff out of the truck and find a room right next to Trace’s. While he was at it, he brought Trace’s stuff into the house and left it outside his door. Then he took a little time to check the house out and look out the windows to get the lay of the land. So far, he liked what he saw. The Crazy Angle was well cared for, from what he could see. All the buildings seemed to be well maintained. For a huge working ranch, the yards and pastures were remarkably clean. Even the few pieces of machinery that he could see looked well kept.
He took a few minutes and watched some young horses in a nearby pasture. As they played with one another and trotted about, their rich sorrel coats shown in the sun. Xavi enjoyed watching them shake their wheat-colored tails and manes as they tossed their heads at one another.
All too soon, it was time to wake Trace up. With a short rap on the door, he opened it to a still-sleeping Tracy, sprawled out on the bed. He had kicked off the sheet and was giving Xavi a spectacular view of acres of skin. The boxer-briefs didn’t cover the fact that the huge cock beneath was growing thicker by the minute. Xavi was riveted by the sight and couldn’t look away. He hoped the head would peek out the top of Trace’s underwear and reward him for his patience.
“Xavi, if you’re going to continue to stare at me like that, you better get that tight little ass over here and do something about this hard-on.”
Xavi tore his gaze off of Trace’s straining underwear and looked up into his intense gaze. Trace’s hair had come undone from the band that usually held it and now was spilling across the pillow. It would be so easy to join Trace and explore all those hard muscles and trace his tongue along the lines of his tattoos. But the bottom line was that Xavi wasn’t ready. And he was still a little miffed that Trace had acted like he was his property or something.
“You said to wake you up in an hour. I left your stuff in the hall. It’ll just take a minute to bring it in.” Xavi turned and left. He came back in with Trace’s bags and put them over by the dresser. Quickly, he pulled the cell phone and charger from the black bag and plugged them into an electric wall socket.
Trace hadn’t been born yesterday and Xavi’s body language was telling him he was still pissed at him. He briefly reviewed the option of again taking Xavi into his bed until he calmed down, but quickly dismissed that idea. They both needed to get to know each other better before they let the physical chemistry loose between them. Trace decided he would give him a day or two.
“Do you want to go down to the big house for supper or would you rather save meeting all the guys at breakfast? We do have stuff for sandwiches down in the kitchen. I don’t have a problem with eating here tonight.” Trace watched as a look of relief crossed over Xavi’s face.
“I can make sandwiches. Should I bring them up here or do you want to go down to the kitchen?”
“Let’s go down to the kitchen. I’d like to move this leg around.” Trace swung his legs off the bed and grabbed his jeans and T-shirt off of the floor. Sliding on the jeans, he stood up and quickly put on his shirt. Not bothering with shoes, he gingerly made his way downstairs.
Sitting down on a wooden chair at the kitchen table Trace enjoyed watching Xavi move around the kitchen. The man’s motions were quick and efficient. Of course, he didn’t say much, but that was okay with Trace. He never could stand men who chattered nonstop.
As Xavi put the two plates down on the table and went to get the glasses of milk he had poured from the counter, Trace noted that they had a little over a half hour until the rest of the men would come in to take showers, before they went up to the big house for the evening meal.
When Xavi was seated, both men picked up their sandwiches and started eating. Trace had taken a huge bite of his sandwich, when the unmistakable tart taste of pickle filled his mouth. In a million years, he would never understand why someone needed to put pickles in their sandwiches. But was he going to tell Xavi how much he detested the things? Not in a million years.
* * * *
Xavi was glad he could be useful and make Trace a sandwich. It wasn’t much, but it made him feel more at ease around the man. He could tell Trace was enjoying his sandwich, too. In just a few bites, it was gone, and so was the tall glass of milk he had poured him.
“Would you like some more?” he asked.
“No thank you, sweet pea. Hurry up and finish. The guys should be in pretty soon and I thought we could go up to my room and watch a little television.”
It didn’t take long for them to clean their dishes and get back to Trace’s room. They were watching an Alien vs. Predator movie when Xavi heard the unmistakable sounds of the men climbing the stairs and going to their rooms. Shortly, Xavi could hear laughter and joking around as they left again.
When t
he movie started, both men were sitting side by side on the bed leaning against the headboard. Xavi was on top of the covers and Trace was under them, again wearing only his underwear. Xavi found the tattooed chest covered with a light pelt of hair distracting. But he told himself he couldn’t just jump the man—he was injured, after all.
By the middle of the movie, Xavi found himself nestled in the curve of Trace’s shoulder, breathing in his fresh male scent. He couldn’t stop his hand that was resting on Trace’s hard belly from moving a little. His fingers enjoyed tracing the muscles bunched under the skin.
“Sweet pea, if you keep that up, you’re going to get more than I think you’re ready for.”
Xavi snatched his hand away and felt Trace chuckle under him.
The movie ended with Xavi lying down flat on the bed, snuggled tightly in Trace’s arms, his head resting on Trace’s bare shoulder. Once the movie was finished, they started watching the latest reality show about fishing on the Bering Sea.
Half listening to the show, Xavi let his eyes take in Trace’s handsome profile with his strong straight nose and black slashes of eyebrows. He had never seen the man clean-shaven. There was always a shadow of hair covering his strong jaw. Trace’s shiny black hair was loose and flowed messily around his shoulders. Trace turned his head and light-blue eyes filled with lust met his.
“Stay the night in my bed, sweet pea,” Trace said softly.
Xavi thought about it, but knew the right answer was the hardest. “No, not tonight.”
“You do know I’m going to keep trying until you do?”
“That’s okay.”
“It is a strange house, you know. I wouldn’t want you to get nervous. I think you would be safer in here by me.”
Xavi laughed, thinking that sometimes the bad boy could be so cute. “Not tonight.”
Xavi's Wild Ride [The Men of the Crazy Angle Ranch 2] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) Page 3
