Chapter 23

I let my mare pick her way down the road at her own pace. She’s worn from the work and I’m already thinking ahead to the barn, where I’ll wipe her down and brush her out and maybe, just maybe, get an eyeful of raunchy ranch hand sex to satisfy my curiosity for another week. But up ahead I see two riders have stopped—one of them is Hank.

The other? Delfino.

I hang back, wanting to rush up and see what I can overhear but not wanting to be obvious about it. After a moment, Hank tips his hat at the Mexican and goads his horse with those silvery spurs of his. He takes off down the road at a fast clip, leaving Delfino alone.

Leaving him for me.

I urge my mare to pick it up a little. When I’m close enough that he hears her hooves, Delfino turns and gives me a quick glance over his shoulder. Catching up to him, I slow my mare down to match his horse’s speed and nod. “Delfino.”

“Mr. Johnny.” Delfino nods back, his voice soft.

“Just Johnny,” I say with a grin. “Hell, man, we’re about the same age. Mr. Johnny’s my paw.”

Delfino’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes, which stare at mine until I have to look away. I don’t hurry past him, so he reins in his horse to see what I’m going to do. When I pull up short, half-turning my mare around to keep him in sight, his smile widens. Nowit ignites those coal-black eyes of his.

“It was you.” The words are low between us, almost lost on the faint breeze stirring up from the arroyo. “In the barn. Watching us.”

I don’t deny it. My face burns with sudden color and I clear my throat, searching for something to say. I know what I wantto say—do me—but I don’t want to rush it and spook him away. I want this to happen. So I keep still.

Delfino misreads my silence. “What’s it you want, amigo? Was it you?”

“Yeah.” I guide my mare alongside his—we’re so close, I could easily reach across the distance separating us and touch his arm, his leg, something else. But I don’t. I clench my reins tight in my hands and look him in the eye. “It was me. Do you love him?”

“Mr. Hank?” Delfino’s grin breaks into laughter and I realize it’s a stupid question. “No, no, chico.It’s nothing like that. Mr. Hank has a woman he plans to marry. The date’s been set. But she’s a proper lady, si? She’s making him wait until the wedding. Mr. Hank has needs he wants serviced now.”

“So what, he pays you?” I sound painfully naive, I know, but I’ve never known anyone before who I could ask about relations between men. I have only my own daydreams to go on, and lately, Delfino has figured prominently in them.

With a shake of his head, Delfino looks away. “He’s the boss,” he says softly. Everything about him seems so soft. “He doesn’t have to pay me. I get a nicer mattress than my friends, a thicker pillow, another blanket when it’s cold. You see? He looks out for me, I give in to him. What’s it to you?”

Sounds reasonable. Holding my breath, I dare to ask, “I don’t know, would you—?”

“Oh, no.” Delfino shakes his head again, his mouth now set in a tight knot. “No, no, this isn’t—”

“I’ll pay you,” I offer, raising my voice to talk over him. “I have money.”

He shoots me an angry look. “Not enough.”

“How much?” I want this—I want him

Now his gaze turns appraising. The smile’s back, insolent and leering. After a long moment, he says, “Four dollars.”

I almost choke. “That’s just about half a week’s pay!” He shrugs as I sputter in disbelief. “The saloon girls down at Billy’s charge half that for practically the same thing.”

He gives me a smirk and half-turns his face from mine, suddenly coy. “How would you know what the girls charge? You don’t go for their type.”

I try to ignore the meaning beneath his words, but his suggestion cuts deep. He knows what I like. What about the others? Who else has figured it out?

Delfino moves his horse a step closer and reaches out to place a hot, sweaty hand high up on my thigh. I feel the heat from his palm burn through the denim of my jeans. “You want a real man,” he tells me, “you have to pay a higher price. If you’re cheap, settle for one of the girls down at Billy’s. Or you can sacrifice a little to get what you reallywant.”

Which is him, and from the way he stares so openly at me, I know he knows it. Damn it.Not yet conceding defeat, I ask, “When?”

“Payday,” he says.

My whole body trembles with a mix of anticipation and relief. That’s Friday, two days from now. Can I wait that long?

Delfino’s hand eases up my leg, trailing fire in its wake. “Mr. Hank will go into town to visit his lady friend, and the other gringos always head over to Billy’s to drink away their money. Friday night you meet me in the barn after sunset with your four dollars and we’ll see what we can do.”

Oh, please God, yes.