Chapter 24
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When quitting time rolls around Friday afternoon, I line up with the rest of the ranch hands to get paid. If Hank notices I don’t lag behind like I usually do, he doesn’t mention it. He just hands over my week’s wages, marks my name off the list he keeps, and nods at me without looking up. I grip the dollars in my hand and hurry away.
Sunset seems a long time coming. I brush down my mare twice, muck out her stall, and give her fresh hay, all the while glancing at the open window in the loft to check the color of the sky. It seems to take hours for the light to shift the shadows, but eventually the others come into the barn to saddle up and head into town. They show up in groups of two or three, sometimes more, and though they nod at me or tip their hats, they don’t invite me to join them. When I first started at the ranch, they asked a few times but I always said no. Now they no longer bother.
Then Hank comes in. He’s dressed in his Sunday best, no doubt heading for dinner with his lady friend. He takes the ranch’s prettiest steed, and his spurs catch the dying sunlight as he vaults into the saddle.
As the sound of his horse’s hooves disappear into the distance, I’m finally alone. So where the hell is Delfino?
I wait a little longer, brushing my mare’s mane until the hair feels soft beneath my hands. At last I hear multiple voices call out in Spanish—the Mexicans. I can’t make out what’s being said, but now that I’m listening for it, I can hear Delfino’s voice rise above the others. “No, está bien, amigos. Que salir de aquí.”
So he’s going to do this. With me. With me
I flush with sudden lust. When I move, my jeans chafe my cock and I want to whip it out now, be ready for him, but no. I make myself wait. What if someone else comes in with him? I’ll see how he wants to play this.
I almost can’t wait.
When he finally enters the barn, he uses the side door Hank favors. It squeaks to announce his presence, and I wipe my hands on my jeans as I come out of the mare’s stall. I hope I look dashing and debonair leaning against the side of the stall, but inside I feel as nervous as a teenager on his first date. Delfino emerges from between the bales of hay, that insolent grin of his already in place. “Hola, amigo,” he drawls, sauntering toward me. “You got the money?”
I hand him four wrinkled dollar bills. Our fingers touch as he takes them, sending a tingle through me. He smoothes out the bills and stacks them together, folds them in half, then folds them in half again. Then he tucks them into the back pocket of his jeans. “So, tell me what you want to do.”
Now the moment is here, I freeze. “I…I don’t really know…”
“You don’t know what you want?” he asks, laughter in his eyes.
The truth is, I know exactly what I want—I just don’t know how to put it into words. With a shrug, I suggest, “Why don’t we do what you did with Hank?”
Delfino moves closer, one hand straying to the front of my shirt. His fingers toy with the buttons, slipping them out of their buttonholes one by one. Then his fingers ease beneath the fabric to play across my smooth chest. I gasp as he plucks a nipple erect. “You mean this?”
I nod, yes, this, but not onlythis. I want more. I want Delfino on me, in me, bringing me to ecstasy and pushing me over the edge into the abyss of desire. I want everything he has to give; I want everything I can take. “Please,” I sigh, leaning in to kiss him.
He turns away. “No way, Jose,” he says, shaking his head. “Not on the mouth. That’s something money can’t buy, si?”
Disappointment stabs through me, but it’s quickly replaced with another shot of lust as Delfino pinches my nipple. Watching my face, he bends down and places his lips on the front of my shirt, right where the other nipple is. His tongue licks out, dampening the fabric, and I feel its wetness through the shirt. It teases me stiff, not just my teats but my cock, too. My crotch aches with the pressure of my erection. “Please,” I say again, fumbling with my belt.
He helps me with the buckle, then unbuttons the fly on my jeans and tugs it open. My briefs are pulled down and tucked below my balls. My hard dick points Delfino in the face, already rock solid and dribbling the first beads of pre-come. I wonder if I can hold back long enough to enjoy this, or if my body will shoot straight past the foreplay to release.