by C. M. Steele
Gone South
Southern Hospitality Series
Book 2
C.M. Steele
COPYRIGHTED © 2017
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, copied or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without written expressed permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is purely coincidental.
Cover design: C.M. Steele
Cover Image: Deposit Photos
The use of actors, artists, movies, TV shows, and song titles/lyrics throughout this book are done so for storytelling purposes and should in no way be seen as advertisement. Trademark names are used in an editorial fashion with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.
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All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior express, written consent of the author.
This book is intended for mature adults only. Contains sexual content and language that may offend some. Suggested reading audience is 18 years or older. I consider this book as Adult Erotic Romance.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
Chapter 1
Alex
I took off my hat and wiped my brow with my trusty bandana. It was old and tattered, but I got it from my grandfather before he died. I should have kept it tucked away this whole time, but he said to use it, because a real cowboy works hard and sweats. I needed to retire it before it was completely threadbare. Besides, it didn’t do a good job of drying away the sweat anymore. I returned it to my pocket, then went back to work. It was a typical hot day in Texas and I was out working alongside my hands before heading inside to handle the paperwork. My chest was covered in a layer of sweat that I ended up taking off my tee and used it to wipe the sweat away.
My phone buzzed. Pulling it out of my pocket, I saw it was the house. The neighbor girl started working for me because for some reason her father’s ranch was failing and she wanted to make some money. I hated that because they seemed like good people.
“What’s going on, dear?” I answered.
“Mr. Sanchez, there’s a young woman here. She seems like she’s homeless and is looking for a job.”
“What? Okay, I’ll be there in ten minutes. Give her something to drink and eat at the very least.”
“Already on it,” she said with her sweet voice. She’s a good girl. A little too young for me, but I still had to look after her like I would all females in my area. I hated to see anything bad happen to women.
I turned to my man and let him know I’m needed at the house. He nodded and went back to work. I hope this woman isn’t running away from trouble. My ranch was so far away from town that it didn’t make sense for someone to just wander onto my property. I had to make sure she was safe.
Woman or not, I don’t trust anyone I haven’t met. And I’ve never had a woman on this ranch that didn’t work for me and it would stay that way until I found a wife. This woman could take over some duties if she was a good cook, but if not, she had to go. Maybe I could find her a job in town, but since I already hired Maggie, I don’t really need a lot of help.
I climbed the steps two at a time, throwing the screen door open. I could hear Maggie talking to someone, then I heard her voice. I stopped in my tracks. That voice was sultry and my cock took notice. I looked down realized I didn’t have a shirt on. Rushing up to my room, I tossed on a plain white tee. My cock didn’t calm down for shit, by the time I made it back downstairs. That wasn’t good. I haven’t been with a woman in three years and didn’t need one here that got me hard.
I took a breath, then slammed my hand to the kitchen door, swinging it open to see long dark brown hair flipped over one shoulder and a slender frame from what I could see. She turned at my entry and I was so damn fucked. She wanted a job and I wanted to put my kid in her. Fucked up thoughts of an employer taking advantage of his employee crossed my mind and that wasn’t cool. I couldn’t hire her. I just couldn’t, but…I couldn’t let her go.
The air was knocked straight out of me. Her soft eyes were hazel and round with dark lashes creating a dark border around perfection. All the blood drained from my dome straight to my sack. I was fucked beyond belief.
“Mr. Sanchez, this is Diana Brody. Diana, this is Alex Sanchez.” I stood there just staring like a fucking fool. How old was I? Thirty, and here I was acting like I’d never spoken to a girl before.
“Hello, Mr. Sanchez.” A shiver of pleasure shot straight through my spine. The sound of her saying my name gave me the urge to bend her over the table and spank her ass. She was too damn tempting.
“Alex, please,” I informed her.
She blushed then replied, “Alex.” Now I was truly screwed. I wanted her to shout my name with my cock buried deep inside her.
“Alex, I was told in town that you were looking for help, but Maggie said you have her for that.” She bit her lip, looking a bit downtrodden.
“Diana, I don’t really need any more help, but that doesn’t mean I can’t use it. Maggie’s not here for all meals and the like so if you can cook, you’ve got a job.” What was I thinking? This wasn’t going to be good. I cross my fingers in hope that she can’t cook for shit. If that was the case, she could look for a job somewhere else.
“I’m a great cook. I can make most foods,” she offered with a light pink flush staining her face. Knowing that she was attracted to me wasn’t going to make it easier to hold back.
“Yes?” I asked, feeling a bit perturbed about the fact I didn’t have another way out. I really could use more help because no one was here for breakfast and that was the most important meal of the day. If she had to make it by five thirty in the morning that meant she would have to live here. I couldn’t do this.
“Yes, Mr.—Alex,” she answered. What was I going to do now? Go back to work, that was it. I would occupy myself with that.
“Listen we can talk about this later. I have to get back outside. Stay for dinner and we can discuss it afterward.” I placed my hat on my head, nodded and walked out of the house as fast as I could. The summer heat bore down on me and my throat constricted. I knew it wasn’t the sun or temperature. It was the idea of leaving her even for a short time. I look around the front yard of the ranch and that’s when I spot the older model Dodge Dakota that had seen better days.
An overwhelming need to speak to her forced me back inside. I rushed up the stairs like I was trying to outrun a bull. I was certain my hard entrance was noticed from the bang of the screen door from just letting it go after a hard swing.
Chapter 2
Diana
I sat back down, trying to catch my breath. Alejandro Sanchez wa
s more attractive in person and the way his gaze traveled all over me just made this whole thing much harder. His masculine sweat pulled me in and I wanted to cross the few feet between us and breathe him in. Through his tight white tee I could make out every single one of his muscles from his pecs down to his abs and that wasn’t what I was here to do. I had to get myself together and stay away from Alex. Alex, I could say his name over and over again, but then I was back where I started, mentally losing myself to him. This wasn’t going to go as planned at all. The mission in itself was dangerous and I was very unqualified for it. “Here’s a glass of tea,” Maggie said, interrupting my thoughts of his body.
“Oh, oh. Thank you,” I answered, taking the glass from her. She was a good girl and the perfect prey for the man I was here to watch. Getting the job was even more important than before.
I raised the glass to my lips, just as the screen door slammed. I put it down and stood, my training getting the better of me. Alex rushed through the door like the house was on fire. Knowing it was him didn’t calm me down. Instead, I felt more on guard. My body noticed everything about him.
“What’s wrong?” Maggie asked him, wondering why he rushed back in so quickly.
“I figured we’d get this meeting over with now.” He stepped up to the table and took my glass of tea, drinking it down in one long guzzle. I watched his throat, his Adam’s apple bobbing with every swallow. How could a man drinking, make me so thirsty? I slammed my legs shut before he could smell the fact I was in heat. Maggie looked back and forth between us with her brow arched and her arms crossed.
“That was her drink, Mr. Sanchez,” Maggie added with a snicker. Please for all that was holy tell me that he wasn’t interested in me, too. That wouldn’t be good for shit. Well, the woman in me would love to have his strong cowboy hands on me.
“Sorry, mi amor,” he said, looking me right in the eyes. Having lived in Arizona my whole life, and being half-Mexican, I understood and spoke Spanish. Though with the way he stared into my eyes, I didn’t need to know it to interpret his expression or the way he caressed the words—my love. It was probably just the way he spoke to most women.
“Wow, it’s hot up in here and it ain’t coming from the stove,” she drawled out the ending. I turned into a tomato for sure. All of a sudden the kitchen tiles looked very appealing. I was about to count the squares when I felt his strong hand cup my chin, pulling my head to look up at Alex. The rough pads of his fingers told me that he worked with his hands. Something about his raw, manly persona made it hard to focus on anything else.
“She’s right. I should send you away because all I can think about are the wicked things a boss shouldn’t consider doing with his employee.”
“Yes,” I muttered, struggling to gain a brain cell. His brown eyes weren’t so much chocolate in color, but like a caramel.
“Don’t look at me that way,” he warned me. Because that’s what it was. The shaky tone and deep resonating bass gave him away. I had to remember why I was here. I shook off the attraction.
“You said you wanted to discuss the job,” I reminded him. His face hardened for a second and then he nodded.
“Come into my office and we can talk about it. Maggie, can you bring us some more tea?”
“Yes, boss.” She winked then walked to the refrigerator while Alex pressed his hand to the small of my back and led me from the room. The burn of his touch passed through my top and imprinted on my skin. I tried to focus my thoughts on the task at hand, but then he leaned toward me and whispered, “Calmate, amor.” He led us down a corridor and right before the end of the hall opened a door on his left. The office was tidy. It didn’t look like I thought it would. In the center was a large oak desk with a laptop and mouse to the left and a calendar blotter
“I’m sorry. It’s just that I need this job,” I said, turning to face him. He could read the sincerity in my words, though it was true for different reasons.
“You know breakfast is at like five-thirty in the morning. Meaning in order to work here, you’ll have to live here.” Before I took this assignment, I was up for that idea. Thinking I was a physical badass and could handle anything. That was before I met the sexy Alex. He wasn’t anything like the man I was after according to all the information I could pull on him.
“I could drive in from town every morning.”
“No the fuck you can’t,” he stated, taking a seat behind his desk. “Did it cross your pretty little head that danger is around every corner in the middle of the damn night? It won’t be light and with that beater you drive, you might get stranded out there. I have an extra bedroom you can use.”
“I don’t think that’s safe either.”
“Only if you come beating down my door asking to be fucked,” he said. Did he have to say shit like that? I was working on my last thread of resistance.
“I won’t. I have a boyfriend, Mr. Sanchez.” Uh-oh. That wasn’t the smartest thing to do. He broke the pencil in his hand. He stood, then walked back around and came up between me and the desk.
“Did you say you have a boyfriend?”
“Yes,” I said with a firmer backbone. It was all a lie, but I had a job to do and couldn’t let Alex get in the way of it.
“That doesn’t work for me at all. There’s no way you’re going to live in my house and think you can bring your lover here.” He shook his head at me and closed the gap even further. His breath grazed my cheek. “Diana, your body reacts to mine. I can see it in your eyes, hardened nipples, and parted lips. And I bet if I checked, you’d be soaked for me. But I won’t. The way you react tells me you’re wasting time with this guy. Lose him. It’ll be best for all of us.”
“I won’t bring a man here, but that is as far as I’m going to let you dictate my private life.”
“We’ll see. Now, do you have to clear out your things from where you’re staying?”
“Um, I don’t have a place. It’s all in my car.” He closed his eyes.
“Again, another reason to dump the loser. No woman should be forced to live in anything but a nice warm home. Let’s get your things and take them to your room.”
“I need a drink first. I’m thirsty.”
“Speaking of which, Maggie should have brought it in already.”
He stepped around me and into the hallway and I followed him out. When we got to the kitchen I saw what or rather who was delaying her. The reason I was here. He was leaning on the chair near the island, blocking her path.
“What are you doing here, Rico?” he asked. I could hear the biting tone in his voice. Suddenly I wondered how much he knew of his cousin’s suspected crimes. I took a step to the side, away from Alex, but he wasn’t having it and moved next to me, his arm brushing mine. Even with all this tension, I was still turned on by him. Please tell me he wasn’t covering for his cousin.
“Whoa. Who is this? You have a woman in the house, well besides your lovely cook here?”
“She’s going to be an additional cook to handle breakfast and lunch. Now like I said, por qué estas aqui, guey?”
“Wow, someone’s a bit on edge. I was thirsty.”
“You’re not supposed to be here today.”
“I was in the neighborhood. You’re acting odd. Maybe it’s your new beauty.”
“I don’t want you harassing these ladies at all. And if I hear you say shit, I’ll beat your ass. Entiendes?”
“Calmate, primo.” He threw his hands up and smiled at Maggie, then me with the lecherous intent I had expected. Once he was out the door, Alex looked down and gave me a questioning expression. “I’m really sorry about that.” He turned his gaze to Maggie. “Maggie, are you all right?”
“Um, yes. He’s just a bit too flirty for me.”
“It’s harassment and the next time I catch him I’ll have his ass arrested. I know his thing about blondes and I’m sorry that he made you feel uncomfortable. I hope that won’t happen again, but lock the doors when I’m not inside. Okay?”
“Yes. I’m not trying to start trouble between you and your cousin.”
“You’re not. He’s hanging on by a thread with me already.”
“Why is he still around?”
“He’s family and hasn’t done anything that I know of. If he did, I’d never deal with him again.”
“Really?”
“What’s so hard to believe, Diana?” he asked me with a heartbreaking frown I didn’t think a big guy like him could pull off. It was as if I cut him to the quick. The cowboy was offended and I should have known better, but they are related.
“Well, loyalty tends to supersede misdeeds when it comes to family.”
“I don’t need a bad apple around spoiling the whole bunch. He is a loser and already gives the family a bad name. If I wasn’t asked by my father to give him a job, I wouldn’t have.”
“You girls stay inside. I have to get back to work. We’ll grab your things when I finish, okay?”
I nodded. Since I didn’t know what room he’d put me in, I had to wait anyway. After he walked out, I went to Maggie and gave her a hug. She cracked in my arms, sobbing hard and not holding back. “I’ve got you and one day he’ll get his own.” She nodded in my arms and I knew she was going to be okay. I had to find something on him that clenched the case, but he didn’t even live here. I’d hate to say it, but the only way we’d get a search warrant on his property here is if he did something to Maggie.
Chapter 3
Alex
I couldn’t wait for us to be finished. It was taking longer than usual, but that was probably because my mind wasn’t on the task at hand. It was on Diana. God, she was fucking beautiful. And the way she seemed to melt against my touch fucked up my whole system. No woman ever had that effect on me. She came into my world and I never wanted her to leave.
Rico had gone home after that incident in the house, but I still wanted to have a talk with him. There was no way this could continue. As much as I was worried for Maggie, I was thinking about him doing something to Diana, just to stick it to me. I was going to make sure he stayed away from the main house. My dad would just have to deal with the break up in the family. Fuck if I was going to tolerate this kind of behavior in my home.