Use Me [Dungeon Masters 5] (Siren Publishing Menage Everlasting) (3 page)

* * * *

Raff took the broom, shovel, and trash bags to the top of the stairs and then shook his head. Shoveling broken bits of ceiling into the trash bags would be stupid because they were all heavy and wet. The sun was shining brightly outside. It’d be much better to dry the stuff out some first. He went back to the barn. He was sure he’d seen a wheelbarrow when he and Darcy were looking for the tools.

He walked past a folding camp bed with a thermal sleeping bag on it and a bulging duffle bag on the ground beside it. He was a little surprised that was all Ms. Cambrisi had with her, but maybe her other things were in the trunk of her car.

He lined up the wheelbarrow at the foot of the staircase and dropped chunks of drywall, ceiling tile, plaster, lumber, and a mass of other stuff into it then emptied it out on the front stoop, spreading everything out so it could dry in the sun.

By the time Darcy returned Raff had stripped off his sweater and shirt and was giving the living room floor a final sweep. A row of filled trash bags were on one side of the stoop, with the last of the mess in a pile still drying beside them.

He helped Darcy set up the generator then bagged the last of the trash.

“You’ve done a good job. It was smart to dry everything out a bit first. Why don’t you follow me to the job site? It’ll be lunchtime when we arrive, and then you can work for me this afternoon as well. They’re two men down today and struggling to meet their deadlines.”

“Thank you. I’d like that.” Not that he’d be eating lunch. Breakfast and lunch were distant memories these days. A filling nighttime meal was all he could afford right now. Even Starbucks coffee was beyond his means, although he kept telling himself water was a hell of a lot healthier anyway.

The men on the worksite were friendly and helpful but Raff was happy to do the unskilled tasks. All he cared about was that he was getting paid for working. Besides, it wasn’t like he was an expert in this type of activity. He’d been an expert at his old job. Four years to get his degree. Two years for professional certification and recognition. Another year at the bottom of the pile, and then eighteen-hour days and seven-day weeks to be making good money.

Only to wake up one morning and realize that he was more than thirty years old and hadn’t dated a woman for so long he couldn’t even remember the last one’s name. His friends—who he hadn’t spoken to in months—all had wives, girlfriends, kids, and he had nothing. Just a career that had sucked the soul out of him, and now he was merely an empty shell of a man. He had no interests, no hobbies, and no genuine friends anymore. He’d emailed his resignation to the managing director and had walked out of his office, out of his apartment, and out of his life, taking nothing with him.

Raff had headed south and west working as a cowboy in Arkansas and Texas, before swinging north again through Missouri and Indiana. He’d needed those long days full of nothing to restore his peace of mind. No pressure, no bustle, no city lights, no loud noise. He’d enjoyed the friendship of other men as they rode horses and rounded up cattle.

Working with horses had been the first job he’d ever had, as the stable boy for a riding school. He’d worked weekends all through high school and college. It was like going back to his roots. Back before he’d gotten off track in the search for money.

Right now, however, a little money would be good. Hopefully what he’d earn today would prevent him being thrown out of his tiny one-room apartment for another week.

It was almost the end of the day and they were cleaning up and putting things away. This was one large apartment being made into two smaller ones. It was a matter of adding a new kitchen and bathroom, and a separate entry for the second dwelling.

“No, no, it’s not your fault. You can’t help it. Stay in bed. Drink chicken soup. I’ll see you on Monday.”

Raff looked across at Darcy, who was frowning at his cell phone. That was probably one of the men he was replacing. It sounded like the man really was ill. Surreptitiously Raff crossed his fingers, hoping he might get a little more work. Another day’s wages would really help him.

“That was Hammer. Cam and Hammer both have the flu. I hope to god they didn’t give it to anyone else around here,” said Darcy.

Jason stared at him, coughed, and grasped his chest. Everyone else laughed.

Darcy turned to Raff. “What hours do you work at that animal shelter, Raff? Can you come back again tomorrow?”

“I’m three days a week, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. But they promised to call me in if some more new horses arrived.”

“What time do you have to feed Cambrisi’s horses? What time can you get here every day for the rest of the week?”

“I’ll arrive at whatever time you want me. I’ll make sure I’ve fed and groomed Pedro and Princess before then.”

“No need to groom the poor things in the dark. We start at eight, but if you could be here at nine, that’ll be good enough.”

Raff felt a huge weight fall off his shoulders. “Thank you. I’ll be here.”

* * * *

Two weeks later Violet was sitting on the stoop, staring up into the early morning sky. The stars out here were so bright. Every night she left the barn door open so she could go to sleep staring at the beautiful display they made against the black backdrop of the sky. She had to confess she was getting a little tired of not having a bathroom. Showering at work was all very well, but she’d had to visit a Laundromat several times, and go back home to switch out her clothing a couple of times as well.

She hadn’t seen the horseman or any of the workmen at all, but she knew they’d been here. A huge heater thingy had been in the house drying out the stairs and the upstairs hallway, and then it’d disappeared. Piles of lumber and rolls of electrical wiring were lying in her great room. The horses were well cared for, sometimes wearing their blankets on the colder days, so she knew all was well there as well.

Today was the big day. The work was officially going to start today. The kitchen and bathrooms were to be treated to new pipes and all the electrical outlets and wiring was to be checked as well. The builder had said his entire team would be arriving today. Although likely that wouldn’t be until she’d left for work, but she was still excited about it. It was finally real.

Violet was just about to stand up and say good-bye to the horses when headlamps appeared in her driveway and an old truck bumped down the track. That was something else that needed to happen. The driveway was going to be graded and covered with new gravel. When the truck stopped, she recognized it as one of the ones she’d passed as she’d left for work the day the ceiling had fallen in. Damn that’d been fun sliding down the stairs. There was something she needed to tell the builder about that. An idea that episode had given her.

Her horse manager climbed out of his truck and headed into the barn, returning soon with the feed for the horses. Next he switched out their water, making it all fresh. Violet hadn’t even thought of that. She’d thought the rain would make their drinking water clean, but apparently it needed changing. Then he began by brushing Princess and finally Pedro. As he was finishing, she walked across to the gate.

“Either you’re early today or I’m late.”

It took her a moment to recall his name. Her grandfather had told her. Rafael. That was it. Damn he was good looking. His hair was way too long and blond, and his eyes were dark brown. His face appeared weather beaten and his hands were darkly tanned, too, likely from working outdoors. She guessed him at six foot to her five eight.

“The builders are starting work here today so I wanted to spend time with Pedro and Princess to make sure the noise wasn’t going to worry them. They’ll have become used to the silence out here.”

“Do you think they won’t like the sounds of the machines and tools?” Violet stroked Princess’s nose.
Damn I’m a bad mother. I hadn’t even thought of that.

“It’s a big field. They can go up the other end if the noise worries them,” he said.

“That’s true.” Violet realized it was full light already. “I need to go to work. It’s been nice meeting with you.”

And for the first time since she’d moved out to her farm, Violet wished she didn’t need to take the time to shower and dress for work. She’d much have preferred spending those minutes talking to Raphael.

* * * *

Violet didn’t have to work. She could have lived the life of a celebrity on the income from her trust account. Well, except that her grandfather would never have permitted her to do that. But she didn’t want to anyway. Grandpop Cambrisi still had an interest in his many business affairs at eighty-five, even though he’d handed them all over to the younger generation one by one, ten to fifteen years previously. But all his many nieces and nephews knew that the old man read the business reports and if they started moving in directions he didn’t understand or didn’t approve of, they’d be summoned to his house to explain themselves very quickly.

Violet worked as an administrative assistant in the office of an erotic romance publisher. Her best friend and coworker, Phoenix, had told her about this house and land being for sale. Phoenix was living with two men on the farm that backed onto this one. The men had been worried the land would be sold to a developer who would build apartments there, ruining their privacy. She could understand that. Two men living with one woman needed some privacy. To someone who worked for an erotic romance publisher, a ménage seemed a perfectly reasonable relationship. But the world wouldn’t necessarily see it that way.

Violet had been looking for land so she could own horses for a long time. This property suited her just fine and the price hadn’t been unreasonable. Her grandfather wouldn’t have agreed to the purchase of it otherwise. Maybe they’d paid a little more than they should have, but that was fair. She’d been unable to find a place big enough for her to have horses, so clearly big allotments of land on the outskirts of Richmond were hard to find, and paying a small premium for one was a sensible business decision.

Besides, once she’d seen Darcy the builder and Raphael her cowboy, Violet was starting to think she might like to get up close and personal with two men herself. She’d never had a ménage before, but she’d read plenty of books and could see the idea working for her. At least for a little fling. Especially while they were both around her farm all the time during the renovations.

But only if the two men got along together. She didn’t plan on them sulking and pouting or worse still, fighting over her. She wanted two men at once. A real ménage. Well, she thought she did. They both were truly yummy and seemed genuinely nice as well. She’d be exploring that idea a whole lot more real soon.

The only problem was how to organize it. Raphael came early in the morning before going to work at the horse shelter. She thought the builders might start work quite early as well, but likely they’d also finish fairly early before she got home to talk to Darcy. Maybe she’d better book a vacation day so she could be here all day to time everything. Although what if she picked a day they didn’t come? Or only one of them came. Damn. Perhaps she’d just stay late and if they were both here simultaneously she’d see what happened and call in late for personal business. Very personal business.

But to her surprise when she got home, the front door was wide open and the sound of hammering and sawing were to be heard. Half a dozen vehicles were pulled up in her yard, including Raphael’s. She inched her way between them and parked right outside the barn, then walked into the house wanting to see what had changed.

Wow! The kitchen pretty much wasn’t there anymore. The sink and cupboards had been ripped out. The horrible old wall tiles were gone, and the shiny new piping and electrical wires told her the plumber and electrician had been working hard. The room looked twice as large and so much brighter.

Watching where she stepped, Violet walked through the kitchen glancing into the laundry, which was untouched as yet, and the small room, which was also untouched, and out into the hallway. The noise seemed to be coming from upstairs. There were two bathrooms up there, an en suite to the main bedroom, and a family bathroom between the other two bedrooms. She guessed that was where everyone was working.

Violet tiptoed outside, grabbed some carrots from her stash in the barn, and went to visit with Princess and Pedro. Fortunately they didn’t seem to be worried by what was going on, and greeted her as warmly as usual. “I suppose you got used to noise at the horse shelter. But this is your home. As soon as there’s somewhere safe for me to sleep inside, the men will be building you a couple of stalls in the barn for winter time.”

The noise in the house gradually stopped, and then two men came out and jumped into trucks before leaving. Violet stayed with the horses, but turned to face her house. She was going to speak to both Darcy and Raphael when they came out. Or if one came first, keep him with her until the other one appeared. She’d spent all day trying to decide what to say to them. Likely “Let’s have a ménage fuck” wouldn’t go down too well. She still wasn’t sure exactly what she’d say. But she hoped the right words came to her at the crucial time. And that the men weren’t horrified. Especially that they didn’t quit the renovation because of it. But this was her one big chance. She planned to use it.

Raff took one final wheelbarrow load of trash outside and emptied it into the giant dumpster Darcy had rented. He left the wheelbarrow in the living room over near the wall where hopefully no one would walk into it.

Darcy was waiting at the back door to see him. Cam and Hammer were just driving away from the worksite.

“You’re doing well. You fit right in with the team. How wedded to that job with the animal shelter are you?”

Raff’s heart beat faster. Inside he was as tense as he’d ever been when he hoped to close a big deal. “I like horses, but I also like to eat. Are you able to offer me full-time work?”

“Absolutely. Five days with the possibility of overtime on Saturdays when we’re busy. Four weeks annual leave by negotiation. I can’t have half the team off at once.”