Zekia was surprised to realize just how close her room was to Javier’s. She had assumed in a house as massive as his, he would have had a wing all to himself. Instead, she found that he slept around the corner and at the end of the hallway. Now, she understood why he had shown up so quickly after her scream for help. Mariposa’s room was on the floor below. No doubt that was done just in case Lucian wanted to come by without being seen.
She slowed her steps as she got closer to the open doorway. Being the nosy reporter, she tilted her head to listen to the voice that was speaking in the room. It was his, Javi, she realized. Although he spoke low, the deep honey sound of his voice floated through the door and down the hall. As she got closer, she was able to make out his words. He was warning someone to stop pranking her. He went on to say that he was a grown man who didn’t need anyone protecting him or doing dirt on his behalf. She caught the sound of someone, a female maybe, but she couldn’t make out their response.
Picking up her steps to make it appear as if she hadn’t been listening, she made her presence known. What she had thought to be a conversation of two turned out to be a conversation between him and a group. All eyes turned towards her, rendering her motionless.
Javier’s eyebrow went up at the sight of her standing in his open door. He didn’t know if he should be offended or laugh at her attire. She looked like she should be on the cover of a cheesy chick novel. The dress she wore looked strange on her, yet it was still pretty. He was sure she could wear anything and make it look sexy. She had the type of body that would do any outfit justice. The yellow floral pattern mixed well with her dark skin tone. His gaze touched the flash of shoulder he could see because the sleeve had fallen. The cut dipped low in the front to show off her breasts. The wide brown belt matched the leather boots that completed her western getup. All that was lacking was…
He smiled and lowered his eyes to keep from laughing when he noticed the strap around her neck that was attached to the girly cowboy hat that hung behind her.
Clearing his voice, he stood up to tower over the heads of the group assembled.
“Is there something wrong? Nothing happened?”
He cast an accusing glare at the girls in the room. Zekia read the fear and pleas in the depths of all the eyes trained on her.
“No, no, nothing like that. I needed your opinion on something,” she replied in a rush.
A collective sigh of relief moved through the room from the girls. Making Javier mad wasn’t something they wanted to do. He was nice and fun, but he could be scary when he got in one of his moods. A few had seen what he was capable of doing when he was threatened, while the others only heard the rumors.
“That’s all, girls,” he informed the group.
Zekia shifted out of the way while she waited for the room to clear. It wasn’t until the bodies had thinned out did she get a chance to see what he was wearing. No longer in his sleep pants, he wore a pair of fitted blue jeans that left nothing to the imagination.
Don’t stare, the voice shouted in her mind.
Instantly, she snapped her eyes up to meet his gaze. Even though it had been a quick glance, she had seen enough to know that at rest, Javi was blessed, too blessed.
It would take a lot of foreplay before I could take that. I might not even be able to suck his…
“What’s up?” he asked, breaking into her thoughts.
What the hell is wrong with me? she frowned.
You’re hungry for dick…DICK, girl! the voice responded.
“I wanted you to take a look at this.”
“What were you doing last night?” he inquired as he leaned back from the sore on her arm.
“Sleeping. Nothing is gonna jump off it.”
Javi gave her an ‘I don’t know’ frown.
“Do you think I was bitten?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. Did you put anything on it?”
“Water.”
“Hm.”
He placed his hand on the small of her back and ushered her into his master bathroom. He breathed deeply of the sweet scent that was on her oiled skin. Zekia remained still. She watched him pull out a plastic first aid kit. She basked in his warmth and good looks while he bowed his head in concentration of his task. His rough hands on her skin created goosebumps on her flesh. Like always, she couldn’t just enjoy the moment without speaking.
“It takes a big man to do what you’re doing out here. Is that the reason your friend is the face while you stay out of the papers? Or is it ‘cause you were in jail?”
Javier kept his expression free of his thoughts. He didn’t even blink an eye.
“What makes you think I was in jail?”
“Well, the fact that you didn’t just say no.”
Javier smirked at her logic.
“Plus, when Mariposa talked about her life growing up, she talked about you and Lucian, but she didn’t use your names,” she added in a rush at the sight of him working his jaw in anger.
“So, you just assume I’m this jailbird she talked about,” he grumbled.
Finished, he turned towards the trash can and tossed the used and open items in the basket.
“No, not this time,” she promised. “That tattoo of the dove on your shoulder,” she pointed. “It’s nice, but it is a prison tat.”
Javier regarded her quietly. She could see that he was working something out in his mind.
“Miss…”
“No Miss, just Zekia,” she insisted.
“‘Cause we’re friends,” he mocked with a raised brow. He waved his hand to stop her from responding. “Are you here to write about the business man? Or will you be adding more?”
“I would never say anything about you or anything going on here,” she promised.
Javi searched her face. He knew that if she did, he would have to take care of her.
“Whenever I deal with people, I like to make myself very clear. You don’t know me, so let me clue you in. If you fuck up what I’m doing here, I will crush you. Oh, you can get an attitude all you want, Zekia, just as long as you understand.”
She had no clue she had let her annoyance at his threat show. The street in her had rose to the surface just that quick. Her stance had changed in a heartbeat. She wasn’t used to being told off like that. Zekia clamped down on her mouth to keep the curses in her mind from spilling out. Javier wasn’t the kind of man you could come at like that.
“I believe I’ve said that I wouldn’t do anything like that,” she gritted out.
He narrowed his eyes. What was it about her that rubbed him both the wrong and right way? Choosing to focus on the negative, he made a big show of looking her over.
“You got a rodeo you going to?”
Zekia bit her lip in anger. “No, I’m out in Texas, so I thought I should blend in with the people. I chose not to squeeze my ass into nut hugging jeans, tho’.”
“When you have a package like mine, any pants are nut huggers,” he smirked.
“Is that so? There I go assuming you were trying to advertise what you are clearly lacking,” she drawled with a deep eye roll.
Javier blinked. He tossed back his head in laughter at her comeback. He shook his head as he walked out the bathroom. Other than Ji Su’s old ass and Lucian, there weren’t many around that engaged him in a war of words. Now, he had two women who would give him a challenge.
“If you want this interview, you’ll have to work for it,” he stated while he slipped his shirt over his head.
“Work?” she repeated.
“Yes, on your feet, not on your back,” he tossed over his shoulder.
Zekia mouthed a string of curses behind his bowed head as he pulled on his boots. By the time he glanced up, she had painted an innocent grin on her face. She knew it was hot as hell outside, and she didn’t want to lift a finger. However, she was going to pull every weed if it meant sticking to his ass, and getting her reward from work.
Zekia timidly stayed to the walls of the barn’s walls. This was the closest she had ever been to a horse. No, correction. She had been near horses, but they were the kind you knew had no spirit left in them. These, however, were freaking beasts. She had no clue horses could be so damn big. Now it dawned on her that the horses in the races really were that tall, even without being next to the short jockeys who rode them. Every time the beasts flared their noses at her, she should jump.
“You’re never going to get your scoop if you stay over there,” Javier pointed out as he walked out of one stall to enter another.
“OK…I’ll just follow you then,” she whispered fearfully.
He hid his smile at the way she shuffled on the tips of her toes into the enclosed area.
“So, what are you doing?”
“You have to get closer, Zekia.”
“Don’t rush—”
“Not so loud. She knows you’re scared,” he warned when the mare began to stomp around.
“Right, right,” she mumbled. Sighing, she did her best to calm herself. “What are you doing?” she repeated in a low tone.
He didn’t point out that she didn’t have to whisper. “I’m checking her leg. She got hurt yesterday.”
Zekia tilted her head. She noticed the bright colored wrapping around the horse’s leg.
“All you have to do is stand near her head and keep her calm,” he ordered.
With a nod, she took his place while he walked over to the mare’s leg. He waited until she finally worked up the courage to touch the mare’s head. The smile of victory when she began to stroke the horse’s head caught him off guard. He had to mentally shake himself to get back to work.
“So, what happened to her?”
“She was trampled when a buck tried to mount her,” he replied, nonchalantly.
“I’ve seen the size of those things. Shit, I would have run from it too,” she spoke in a Mama’s voice to the horse.
This time, he couldn’t hide his chuckle. He stole a glimpse of Zekia.
“She wasn’t running. She’s gotten used to the size.” He held her eyes for a second before he went back to work. “Sad to say the male was too eager.”
He could hear her whispering a sassy comment, but he couldn’t make it out.
“Not to worry, though. She’ll be ready for fun in no time,” he promised, getting to his feet.
For the next three hours, Javier worked her. From shoveling hay to brushing down the horses and refilling their oat bags, to riding out on the four-wheeler to move the cows to a different field. He kept her busy, while she kept him laughing. She was clearly out of her element. After every curse and rant of dismay, she would do as she was ordered.
Zekia gladly snaked her arms around Javier’s body as he cranked up the four-wheeler to take them back to the house for lunch. All she could think about was her bed. She was so tired and hot from the blazing sun. She couldn’t understand why anyone would choose to spend their day working in such a way.
“What are those buildings?” she shouted over the gust of wind and roar of the motor.
Turning his head slightly, he said, “Those are the dorms that the boys stay in.”
Zekia stared at the large structure with a Spanish tile roof off in the distance.
“How many kids are here?”
He took a second to answer. “Sixty now…about twenty-three girls and thirty-seven boys. Hold on,” he commanded before he picked up speed.
Fifteen minutes later, a deep frown creased Zekia’s face when they pulled up to a different side of the barn.
“Come on.” He waved her out of her seat. Glancing over his shoulder, he said, “One more thing, then we’ll eat,” he promised.
“I’m hungry,” grumbled Zekia.
She didn’t want to do one more thing. She was sure one more thing would lead to a list of others. He had been saying ‘one more thing’ all damn day.
“Not this,” she fumed.
The smell of animals and shit slapped her in the face. The sound of his deep laughter only pissed her off even more.
“They have to be milked.”
“I know there are machines that can do that.”
“Yeah, these.” He smiled as he held up his two large hands before he rounded a corner and entered a stall that held three cows.
Zekia stood in the open door. She pinned the animals with her steely gaze.
Damn cows, the voice in her mind grumbled.
Her eyes widened at the stool he positioned beside. She twisted her face when she walked closer. He gestured with his hand for her to sit. She plopped down like a sack of flour.
“Now what?”
He felt her stiffen when he sat on a stool behind her. His hands caressed her arms until he reached her hands.
“Treat it like you would a dick…with a firm hand,” he teased, placing her hands on the tits.
“It feels weird.”
“I’ve heard that before.”
He coughed from her elbow in his side.
“Come on, Zekia…milk it. See,” he teased as he covered her hands with his. The sound of the white liquid hitting the inside of the bucket echoed through the still space.
“I’m doing it!” she cheered.
Yes, you are, he groaned mentally.
The tugging motion she was doing with her hands coupled with the rocking of her ass against his cock was making him hard. He wished he had more room in his jeans as the ungiving clothing threatened to rip.
“You haven’t asked me a lot of questions,” he said.
He was willing to talk about anything to get his mind off the dark-skinned woman in his lap.
“What’s the story behind you rescuing these kids?”
He was taken aback that she didn’t want to know about his business.
“Off the record,” she promised as she glanced over at him.
“The people I ran with did a lot of shady shit. I didn’t care ‘cause I got my piece of the pie when payday came, but when they started trading flesh…it bothered me,” he replied.
“So, you saw it firsthand.”
“It haunted me, it really did. So, when fate stepped in and flipped the coin, I wanted to do something about it,” he explained.
“But you can’t adopt all these kids. They need more than learning how to live on the range,” she stressed.
Why haven’t I backed away? he wondered.
He could have gotten up or started milking one of the other cows. Instead, his chest pressed into her back as he engulfed her soft body. He breathed deeply of her sweat and sweet-smelling hair products. His eyes focused on where his fingertips rested on her thighs. It would take nothing for him to shift directions and run his hand up her open legs to touch what he saw last night in her room. Did she have on the same thong? Or maybe something equally as nice?
“They go to school here on the estate. They are taught trades too,” he began.
His fingers played with the hem of her dress as he spoke. Zekia continued to stare at the side of the cow. She pretended not to notice the change in his voice or the movement of his hands on her thigh.
“Many of the kids are sent to live with families who are connected to our network. They commit to raising the children. Others use their position to get them jobs and work visas.”
Zekia flexed her shoulders and rolled her head on her neck for an excuse to put room between their bodies. His hand snaked around her waist. He pulled her back.
“Watch it, or you’ll hurt her,” he stated.
“Right,” she mumbled.
Having no other option, she relaxed again.
“So, you’re part of a modern day underground railroad.”
Javi’s laughter vibrated through her body.
“You’re really good at this…a natural.”
Javier leaned back. His hand shifted, taking the material of her dress with him. His eyes greedily feasted on her thick thigh.
“A rose tattoo, and a big one. How far does it go?” he questioned.
He leaned to the side to get a closer look. Zekia pulled her dress down.
“From my side to my thigh. Don’t ask. I think I milked her dry.”
After the words had left her mouth, she realized the double meaning. Javi’s eyebrow cocked.
“I’m really hungry,” she tried again.
The corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
“Zekia, you are a strange woman. I don’t know if you know just how odd you are.”
She stared into his face while he searched her face, for what, she didn’t know until he stood abruptly. He reached out his hands. Her wet one grabbed his strong, calloused hand. As if she was no heavier than a feather, he jerked her to her feet. With a nod, she walked away without a word.
Javier tilted his head in thought as she walked out of his line of vision.
What is it about her? he considered.
She was fit, smart, and had a mouth he was sure she was keeping reigned in to ensure she got what she wanted from him. Yesterday, upon her arrival, she had annoyed him. By dinner, he was angry. Then when he had entered her room, the winds had changed. It couldn’t have been because he saw her undressed. He was never in need of pussy. The way he was attracted to her this morning and after their time together so far was unsettling to him.
He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He shook himself. There’s nothing wrong with a little fun, right?
Zekia grabbed her food and retreated to her room. The food was just the thing she needed. It wasn’t long before the meal on her stomach caused her eyes to grow heavy. She sighed as she stretched out on the pillow top mattress. Like always, the few minutes before she fell asleep were spent recalling her actions. While the exercise was usually a helpful one, this time, it was anything but. Every damn thought was about Javier.
She rolled over and groaned. The man was offering her something she hadn’t had in never: a real male experience. Her ex-husband was never a real man. No matter how much they both tried to believe he was. He had offered her many things, but never, ever what Javi could give her.
You’re being crazy, girl, she told herself.
That man wasn’t that into her. Well, maybe he was from the way he was touching her, and the little slick comments he said to her on the sly. She wouldn’t mind playing around. Hell, she was sure Mariposa was going to let Lucian tap that before they went home. However, Mariposa could get something started with Lucian since there was history there. That wasn’t the case with her. She couldn’t afford to lose her mind after fucking Javier. It would be suicide for her to let him be her first male experience after being off the dick for so long.
It took her a second to realize she was scratching the bandage on her arm. A frown creased her brow. Slowly, she removed the bandage, laid it on the nightstand, and stared at the sore. Deciding it was best to let it breathe, she rolled onto her stomach. She sighed and let her eyes close. In no time, she was out cold. The skin under her gaping sore rippled slightly as the foreign object within buried itself deeper.