Under the Cowboy's Control (2 page)

Travis tossed the rag on the tractor seat. "Shit. Okay. I really don't have time for this crap. Let me get cleaned up and I'll be down there in a few minutes."

****

Selena clutched her hoodie to her chest and tried to breathe without blacking out.

She looked around at the five cowhands crowding in the back of the room, all staring at her with curious eyes. She sat on a narrow bunk in the corner of a small room with her back against the roughhewn wood. Bunks just like she was sitting on lined one wall. A large table with chairs took up most of the space on the other side.

She had been sitting here for the last hour ever since the man named Juan had found her on the side of the road. He had asked her about her injuries, questioning her in Spanish, and then gently lifted her and put her in the truck and brought her here. The move had sent arrows of agony through her ribs. She had briefly blacked out once.

When she left Mexico, she hadn't intended to masquerade as a boy. The thought never even crossed her mind. She only wanted to blend in. Putting her hair up in the baseball cap had been designed for comfort. Her hair was long and thick and she knew it would be hot.

But when the man had said, w
hat's your name, boy
, some feminine instinct made her answer,
Manuel
.

She never intended to lie. It just slipped out of her mouth. She hoped it would give her some sense of protection.

Looking up now at the room filled with five rough men in various ages and sizes, she was glad she had told the lie. They were inquisitive enough about her without knowing she was female. She saw their eyes, studying her intently.

Now she sat on the bunk and waited for the
Segundo
to bring back the boss who would make the decision whether or not to call the authorities about her.

She thought maybe that was the best thing, but Juan kept telling her otherwise. He was very old, about sixty, and he was the only one who spoke fluent Spanish. He was very gentle and nice to her, and he reminded her of the grandfather in Mexico she remembered from when she was younger. She would trust his judgment. She really had no other choice at the moment. She could understand most English words, but she hadn't learned to speak it properly yet. Juan was the only one here she could easily communicate with.

Juan said the boss was a fair man, and everything would be fine if she truly was a citizen. She could tell the older man was skeptical. And that presented a problem.

If she let them see the papers she kept inside her Bible, they would find out she was a girl. For now pretending to be a boy was probably her safest course.

The door clicked opened and the
Segundo
named Jim walked in followed by another man. Her eyes settled on the second man and watched him look around the room and find her. Her breath tangled up in her throat when his eyes found hers. Deep, dark, velvet brown eyes watched her. The impact of those dark brown eyes was disturbing. He was intensely masculine, and Selena gripped the hoodie to her chest more tightly.

Well over six feet of cowboy prowled toward her. His hair was dark, and he had on a ragged white t-shirt with no sleeves. He wore faded Wranglers and his boots were dirty and scuffed. His biceps bulged as he stopped at the end of the bunk and crossed his arms over his chest.

He had rough good looks, with several scars marring his face. One slashed down the left side of his face, a thin line that showed against his tan. Another dissected his bottom lip, leaving it puffy and white. His eyes were beautiful and deep brown, his eyebrows arrogant hooks above them.

Her gaze slowly moved down his body, trying to assimilate the size of him. His shoulders were wide, his hips narrow, and steely muscles ran up and down his length. Her heart skipped several beats, and then wildly began pushing blood through her veins. Her hands began to tremble where she clutched the jacket to her and the breath hitched in her throat.

She looked back at his face and found him still watching her.

Selena lowered her eyes in self-defense.

****

"Don't ya'll have anything better to do?" Four men in the room took one last look, and then filed out.

Jim and Juan lingered. Juan spoke. "You're going to need me to translate, Boss.

Manuel doesn't speak English."

Travis tipped his hat back to get a better look. The small figure on the bunk stared back at him. Pain etched the features, and dirt was smudged all over the little face looking at him. Dark, violet eyes silently watched him.

Travis felt a kick in the gut as an arrow of arousal slammed his groin.

Shock immediately followed.

Nothing in his thirty-two years on earth had ever made him think he wasn't one-hundred percent heterosexual. Not a secret thought, not a second look, not even a hint of curiosity.

His eyes narrowed and he looked more closely. Beautiful violet eyes stared at him apprehensively. The face was purely feminine, without even a hint of masculine youth. Her eyes were slanted, provocatively so, with delicate eyebrows slashing above them. Her eyelashes were ridiculously long, and reminded him of a fawn's.

She clutched a lightweight, dirty jacket to her chest, hiding the swells he knew would be found there. Her complexion was creamy ivory, except for the sunburn, which looked new. One eye was blackened, and he felt a fierce surge of testosterone boil up inside of him when he thought about someone hurting her.

She looked helpless in the extreme, and his men had been right to come and drag him back here.

But how the hell they had all mistaken her for a boy was beyond him. She was a female, no question about it, and a young adult one at that. She may only be eighteen or nineteen, but she was about to open a whole can of worms for him.

The question was, had all of his men thought she was a boy, or were a couple of them secretly waiting for the right time to pounce on her? All in all, they were good men, good hands, and he wouldn't keep them around if he didn't think he could trust every one of them. But the ranch was secluded, and the men were known to go a bit stir crazy with the lack of women.

This little bit of fluff was going to cause him major problems, he could tell already.

He cleared his throat and tried to bring his lust down a notch. "His name is Manuel?" Travis asked Juan the rhetorical question and turned back to the bunk.

"Can you understand me, Manuel?"

At the small affirmative nod she gave, Travis continued. "You say you are a United States citizen, and for now, I'm going to believe you."

He turned back to Jim and Juan. "He can't stay here with all the rowdiness that goes on at night and expect to heal. We're going to have to move him to the big house. I'm going to do that now. Juan, you come with me, so you can ease his fears a bit. Jim, bring the liniment and something to wrap those ribs with."

Her eyes flared wide at that.

He moved over to the bunk and looked down at the young woman lying there. "I'll be careful. But we have to get you out of here.
Comprehende
?"

She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip and nodded, just once.

He leaned down and carefully put one arm below her knees and the other under her back. She was extremely light, and he doubted she weighed a hundred pounds. He gently moved her against his chest, and carried her out the door and across the compound to the big house. Juan followed with her backpack.

Travis carried her through to one of the two spare bedrooms the house held. He shouldered the door wide, and held her next to the bed. "Juan, fold the blanket and sheet back. I want to get him in and settled so we don't have to keep moving him."

Travis wanted to keep the knowledge of her gender to himself for now.

He stood still and held her as Juan did as he had instructed. He looked into her face and saw her eyes shut against the pain.

He lowered her down gently and stepped away from the bed. The soft little body in his arms was beginning to play havoc with his breathing.

Jim walked into the room and set the supplies down on the bedside table. "What now, boss?"

"How about you go heat up a can of soup for our guest? God knows how long it's been since he had a meal." Jim nodded once and went on his mission.

"Juan, explain to our guest that I'm good with fractures and I'm going to look at his ribs. Tell him I know what I'm doing. Make it clear he has no choice in the matter."

Travis watched the girl the whole time he made the speech to Juan.

She obviously understood English. She grasped the situation completely and was now silently panicking.

He stood back while Juan translated his words and she started arguing back immediately. Her voice was soft, a little raspy. She was obviously upset and was letting Juan know it in no uncertain terms.

He let the volley go on for a while before he had enough. The girl understood English enough that he didn't need Juan's help. In fact, he needed Juan out of the room for what was about to happen.

His words were an order. "Enough. Go make sure the men know not to spread this around. We need to keep this under wraps while I figure out what the real situation is here. I'll send Jim for you if I need you to translate anymore."

Juan nodded his understanding and smiled once at the kid in encouragement and then took off.

The door closed behind Juan and Travis was left alone in the room for the first time with the girl. She lay trembling on the bed. "Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you."

His voice was deep.

He went to the small attached bathroom and wet a washcloth in the sink. His movements were smooth and methodical. He started to walk back to the bed, but stopped and locked the door first. He didn't need any eyes but his on her if this became physical. The less people who knew her sex, the better.

He pulled the single chair away from the small desk and placed it next to her side.

He lowered his big body down and lifted his boots to the small bedside table and crossed them. He held the cloth out to her. "Do you want me to wash your face, or do you want to do it?"

Her small hand flew to her face and she felt the dirt and grime there. She held out her hand and he placed the cloth in it. Hesitantly, she lifted it to her face and slowly began to scrub. She pulled it away and saw the dirt on in, then folded it over and washed again until the cloth came away clean.

When she was finished with the task, she lowered her hands to her sides, still holding the rag. She raised her eyes slowly to his.

The beauty of her face hit him. Arousal pierced his gut as he realized she was even prettier than he had thought.

He narrowed his eyes and questioned her, "What's your name, Angel?"

He saw her take a sharp breath, and pain etched her features from the sudden strain to her hurt ribs.

She didn't answer him.

Travis waited a heartbeat. "I know you understand me. I also know you're a girl.

But let's make this easy.
Como se llama usted?
"

Again, no answer.

"You know, Angel, this would be easier if you tried to get along with me."

Selena recognized the subtle threat and the note of authority in his voice and responded to it. "S-Selena."

Travis felt another jolt of need slam through him when he heard her voice say her name. Soft and feminine, with a Spanish accent, her voice brushed down his spine and attacked his nerves.

He was going to hell, no doubt about it, for lusting after a girl this young.

"Selena." It rolled from his tongue as he tried out her name. It suited her immensely. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it, Angel?"

Travis watched a small, pink tongue sneak out and moisten her lips. She shook her head slightly.

"I've got to check those ribs, Angel. I'm pretty sure that it's just a bruise, but I have to make sure nothing is broken." He kept his words gentle but firm, trying not to frighten her.

"No." She clutched the hoodie to her.

He was about to respond when a knock came to the door. "Soup's ready, Boss."

Travis stood and opened the door. Jim came through with a tray and took it to the bed.

Selena was assailed with heavenly scents. All at once, the nausea cleared up and a fierce hunger attacked her. Nothing but peanut butter and bread for three days had reduced her to salivating at the smell of canned soup. She pushed herself up and into more of a sitting position, the threat of the man looking at her ribs subdued with her hunger taking precedence.

Jim placed the tray on her lap and Selena picked up the spoon and started eating.

She took a few delicate bites, to make sure it wasn't too hot, and then couldn't stop herself from attacking the bowl of soup until it was gone. Embarrassed, she looked up to find the two men watching her.

Jim spoke. "Do you want more?"

She responded. "
Por favor."

Travis reached over and took the tray off her lap. "Not yet. The food needs to settle or he'll get sick." He handed the tray back to Jim, but snagged the glass of water and set it on the bedside table. "I can handle things from here, Jim. Thanks for your help. I'll go get some more soup from the kitchen in an hour or so."

"Okay, Boss. I'm gonna go see about the tractor you were working on." He turned and left the room.

Travis followed him and shut and locked the door. He turned and leaned against it, watching her. He really didn't like what he was about to have to do. Nothing in his psyche had ever gotten satisfaction from the thought of abusing people or small animals. The thought of terrifying her made his guts churn.

Best just to get it over with.

Selena saw him lock the door and panic assailed her. She bit her lip and steeled herself for what was about to happen.

Travis left the door and walked over and sat facing her on the edge of the bed. She shrank back against the pillows. "Shh, Angel." He put one hand to her shoulder to gently hold her in place and began to lift her shirt with the other hand.

She whimpered. "No,no."