A Cowboy in Ravenna

by Jan Irving

  Tom roared, loud and lusty.

  “Trin!” Chace whispered. He climaxed hard, hot spend dripping down his legs.

  When he came back to himself, a little wobbly, Cass and Tom were at the base of a tree, curled together, staring at Chace.

  Chace flushed. “Shit!”

  Tom laughed. “Not bad, Chace. You’re hot.”

  Chapter Three

  “Can’t sleep?” Chace asked Trin, eight hours into their flight to Rome.

  Trin rubbed his jaw, his big body stretching as much as possible in the tiny space. He hadn’t been able to swing first class, though he suspected it was no problem for Chace, but he’d had chosen to fly together in economy.

  “If a horse gave me this kind of ride, I’d check its shoes for rocks,” Trin grumbled. His hands tightened on the armrest as they hit another bundle of turbulence and the seatbelt sign flashed on.

  “You haven’t flown much.”

  “I usually take my truck everywhere.” But Trin couldn’t take his truck across the Atlantic.

  “Are you nervous?” Chace didn’t look at Trin as he fiddled with the on-board magazine. His face was white and tired.

  Trin suppressed the need to cuddle Chace. If Trin could do what he really wanted, they’d be lying together under the simple down quilt on his bed back home and he’d love the tiredness from Chace’s eyes, leave him flushed and relaxed.

  Those thoughts didn’t make sitting in the too-tight space any easier. “Shit,” he growled. Chace was oblivious that he was in mating heat, his innocent human body craving his shifter partner. When Trin looked at him, all he wanted was to strip him and to cover him, feel Chace’s fingers digging into his hips.

  “Yeah, uh, I’m nervous about this.” Trin was more nervous about the hot Italian studs who would soon be after his Chace than about going to Italy, but he couldn’t exactly share that.

  “Do you want to look at the guide book again?” Chace asked, fidgeting.

  “Yeah, give it here.”

  As the plane circled for a landing, he saw the bright green and dusty gold patchwork of farmland below. Not so different from home, he guessed, except for the clump of stony towns on hillsides and the nearby blue-green ocean.

  He looked at the language guide again, repeating words like grazie and buon giorno under his breath. The habit of taking care of Chace just wouldn’t break. Probably Chace’s Italian was better, but as Trin took his bag from the overhead bin and handed Chace his backpack, Trin went over more of the words he’d made himself memorise.

  “It’s raining,” Chace said, disappointment shading his voice as they shuffled off the plane.

  “No snow,” he said, not wanting to see Chace disappointed. All he’d talked about for the days leading up to this trip was being here. Probably because he didn’t want to talk about how his father had kicked him out.

  “Yeah.”

  Since they didn’t have any other luggage, they found their way to the trains that headed into Rome. Trin wasn’t impressed by the roosting pigeons and graffiti covered walls, but he didn’t like big cities. He knew he’d feel the same way in New York.

  “We’ll switch trains right away, head up to Ravenna,” Chace said, fresh enthusiasm lighting his voice again.

  “We will?”

  Chace looked at him, soft blond hair in his eyes so Trin had to fight the urge to brush it back. “Didn’t you read the itinerary I sent you?”

  “Uh.”

  “I emailed it to you days ago, Trin.”

  Trin rarely checked his email. He was more a hands-on man.

  “You’re so retro. No wonder Sasha calls you a true alpha male.”

  Trin grimaced at the thought of their mutual friend, a neighbour who had moved from LA recently. Sasha was a bit New Age, but all right. He lived with Micah Danvers, the new deputy who had turned out to be the twin brother of another resident, the mysterious Luka. The damn valley was turning into a romantic soap opera as far as Trin was concerned. Shifters claiming human mates. He guessed it was possible for those of his kind who had normal abilities, but for someone like him…

  “You volunteer at Charlie’s nature reserve, right?” Chace asked him tentatively.

  “Yeah. Where else would I get to interact with a real Bengal tiger?”

  “Yeah.” Chace sighed. “Charlie lets me sketch his animals all I want as long as I also help out come feeding time.”

  “Seems a fair trade.”

  “Um, well, you know Luka and Charlie had something going ever since Luka showed up at Charlie’s yoga class and folks started talking about them…” Chace began.

  “Did they?” Trin knew very well there was something between Charlie and Luka, since he hadn’t been two feet on Charlie’s land when Luka had shoved him against the barn and challenged him, staking his claim as Charlie’s mate. Luka’d only settled down when he’d recognized that Trin was not a threat. “Folks should mind their own business,” Trin grumbled.

  Chace gave him a ‘yeah right’ look. “And then Sash and Micah had that fire at Micah’s place and now Micah lives with Sash…”

  “What’s your point?”

  “Are Micah and Charlie related? They have the same last name. Folks are saying maybe there’s some incest goin’ on there as well as, ah…”

  “Folks don’t have any sense! No, Micah and Charlie are probably only distantly related.” This was hard for Trin to talk about, but he found himself opening up with Chace, just like always. “I come from a village where the most common name is ‘Danvers’. I think the, uh, people there intermingled with folks in town over the years.” He narrowed his eyes and then shrugged, deciding to share something with Chace he’d speculated about. “I’m almost sure Charlie has relatives from the village since he has that special healing gift with his animals.”

  “Like your healing gift?” Chace asked. His eyes were gleaming with curiosity. He was always trying to dig more about Trin’s past out of him.

  “Yeah.” And when he got home he’d have to bring up that theory with Luka and Charlie, as well as let them know about the ugly incest rumour. Shifters and their mates had to keep a low profile and that was difficult enough when male shifters chose male human lovers.

  Could the men who’d fired Micah’s cabin a few months ago somehow be behind these stories, turning the townsfolk against Trin’s friends?

  He’d damn sure talk to Micah about that theory as soon as he could.

  “Sash didn’t encourage you to come to Italy, did he?”

  “No.” Chace trailed him as they boarded yet another train, this one for Ravenna. “But he did think this trip would be good for me. ‘Insightful’, he said.” Chace flushed. “He was also really sure you would come with me.”

  “Huh.” Trin closed his eyes as Chace slumped in the seat next to him.

  “He’s a lucky man,” Chace went on. “Micah makes no secret of how much he likes, uh…”

  Trin opened his eyes to give Chace a look. “Sex. The word you are looking for is sex. And yes, Micah and Sash definitely have somethin’ going.” This was sensitive ground, so he decided to change the subject. “What’s in Ravenna?” If it was hot gay Italian men, he had to brace himself. The plan was he’d stay near Chace, just to make sure he was safe, make sure no one hurt him or took advantage of him. It would be a challenge to his need to stake his claim on Chace, but he’d been fighting that feral part of himself for years. He might have given in if he was a normal shifter.

  “Ravenna was once a centre of the Christian Roman Empire,” Chace said, face buried in another of his guide books. “Amazing mosaics.”

  Mosaics? Trin blinked. Shit, he didn’t know anything about mosaics except they were something you put on the floor, right? He was going to come across as a barbarian on this trip, he recognised morosely. But at least Chace didn’t seem all worked up about Italian men. Probably he wasn’t going to Ravenna to hook up with someone.

  “I’m soooo tired,” Chace moaned.

  “You
can lean against the window a little.” He rearranged their stuff so Chace could put his feet up, taking in the bruises under Chace’s eyes that one night of sleep would miraculously wipe away.

  He was so damned young he made Trin ache. Damn, he needed to keep him safe.

  “Do you think about…Sage a lot?” Chace mumbled, a long time later.

  Trin swallowed. “Yes. Every day.” When Chace didn’t push for more, he continued, “I still look for him in the supermarket or when I go to a new town…”

  Chace’s sleepy gaze was soft, like he’d touched Trin.

  “I’m not…whole without him.”

  “I wish I could give him back to you,” Chace said.

  Trin gave in, pushed some of the hair out of Chace’s eyes, flushing a little as the woman across the aisle paused her loud conversation in Italian to stare at them. Were his feelings so obvious? “Get some rest,” he said. “I swear you’ll have a good time in Italy. I’ll keep you safe.”

  Chace grimaced. “You make it sound like an ordeal, being here. I want you to have a good time too, Trin.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Chace shook his head, a rueful grin touching his lips as he closed his eyes. “This commuter train takes a while to get into town. Wake me when we’re in Ravenna. We have to visit the House of Carpets.”

  The House of what? But Chace was already breathing deeply, colour returning to his cheeks.

  Ravenna reminded Trin of a university town with its long avenues of campus-like buildings, some constructed out of dusty, mud-coloured brick. “That’s an early Roman church.” Chace pointed as they walked. “See the dome?”

  It wasn’t very impressive from the outside, kind of lumpy with a single squat tower but it did look old, Trin guessed. “We’re going carpet shopping?” he asked, rubbing his stiff neck.

  “Carpet shopping?” Chace grinned. “Like I’d take you shopping. You hate that. If you’d use your BlackBerry properly, you could read my email with all the travel stuff.”

  “Yeah.”

  “You still don’t know how.” Chace sighed. “You and technology, I swear.”

  “I don’t like new stuff.”

  “Then you should like what we’re going to see now.” They hopped over slick tiles that led to the massive door of the church Chace had pointed out. Trin thought there were a lot of churches in Italy. In White Deer, Montana, there were only two.

  “The carpets are in here?” When they entered, he automatically removed his cowboy hat, wishing he hadn’t brought it since it probably made him look even more like an American hick, but it was a part of him, soft and broken in, and Chace thought it might be good when the weather got hot. Not that that was a problem today. It was still raining.

  He looked around, seeing a typical sanctuary with flickering candles and shadowy spaces. The air smelled of cool marble, dust and the drift of incense.

  “Follow me,” Chace said softly.

  He still didn’t see any carpets, but followed Chace through the church and then down some stairs. He smelt earth and old burials, his wolf senses not liking this place.

  “Oh my God,” Chace whispered.

  Trin’s eyes widened as he saw what had transfixed Chace—the undulating geometric carpets of mosaics, knots and chevrons in tiny blue-grey, sand, yellow and brown squares. He realised it was a floor plan for a large building as he walked behind Chace, just as fascinated by his young human’s reaction as he was by the musky remains of a villa.

  “I can’t believe I was on that plane trying to get some sleep and now I’m here,” Chace said. He knelt on the wooden walkway. “Trin, it’s like this is who I really am. Not what my father wants me to be. Not how I’m lacking.”

  “Just a damned minute,” Trin growled, kneeling beside Chace so he could see Trin was deadly serious. “You’re not lacking anything because law school isn’t for you and you don’t want to run the ranch. Hell, you can just hire a good foreman.”

  “I have a good foreman.” Chace held his gaze. “I think Dad’s still pissed off since Mom left me the land. When I’m twenty-one it all goes to me and there is no way I can make that up to him, unless I sign it over like he wants.”

  “No, Chace. It’s your father who needs to find his own life.”

  Chace looked startled. “I never thought of it that way before.”

  Trin pulled out a drawing pad and a pencil from his bag, handing them to Chace.

  Chace raised a brow. “You brought that for me?”

  “I can only draw stick cowboys and cattle, remember? I bet you want to capture this floor. I have to admit, it’s pretty impressive. Thanks for showing it to me, Chace.”

  Chace might have looked a little washed out from all the travel, but his eyes were happier than Trin had ever seen them as he opened the pad and began to sketch.

  Despite wanting Chace’s happiness more than anything, seeing him like this wrenched something in Trin’s chest. Would Chace be content to return to tiny, boring White Deer after coming to Italy?

  “It’s hard not to break the rules here,” Chace said, pencil making soft shushing sounds across paper, abstracted smile tugging his lips.

  Trin wanted Chace so much when he was so fully himself, so into what he was doing. Trin translated that into wondering if Chace would make love with the same kind of focus. He had to escape this small space, get some air, or he might do something he’d regret.

  “What rules?” he asked.

  “This one.” Chace’s warm lips brushed his.

  Life shot through Trin, painful, full of yearning. His chest heaved as he stared at Chace.

  Chace was breathing hard too. “I’m sorry! I needed to do that, just once.” He covered his face. “God, I’m sorry.”

  Trin noticed that the only other couple touring the site were just leaving, so they’d probably missed Chace kissing him. He opened his mouth to tell Chace he was impulsive, but instead he took in Chace’s slumped posture.

  He didn’t like it.

  “If you’re going to kiss a man, kiss him right,” he said.

  “Trin,” Chace whispered, peeking at him. “I don’t know how. I’ve never…”

  “I know you haven’t.” And his dick loved the idea of Chace’s virgin state.

  He cupped Chace’s cheeks in his big hands and leaned his forehead against the younger man’s, breathing in his scent, taking the time to appreciate how Chace’s skin felt smooth under work-worn finger tips.

  “I can’t be your boyfriend,” Trin told Chace, told himself.

  Chace’s gaze dropped. “I know.”

  Trin swallowed. His hands were shaking. “But I can give you a few pointers, I guess. Lesson one is you don’t need to sneak a kiss from a man you like. If he’s got any backbone and he likes you back, he’ll want you to kiss him.”

  Chace’s skin heated, and a blush spread down his neck and upper chest. Trin wanted to rip off Chace’s T-shirt and kiss that tell of his arousal.

  “Start off slow. Take the time to appreciate who you’re holding in your arms.” Trin nuzzled Chace’s neck, whiskers rasping against Chace’s softer skin. Chace had always bemoaned the fact he barely had to shave, but Trin thought it was sexy. Hell, everything about Chace was sexy.

  “Trin…” Trembling in Trin’s arms, Chace’s breath was a hot tattoo. However slow and gentle Trin wanted to take it, Chace was wild.

  “Easy.” He kissed Chace’s forehead and the corner of his mouth. Chace made a soft sound of want.

  Trin’s balls tightened with the need to spill on Chace’s skin, marking him. What would it be like to cover him while he lay in bed with Trin? He tried not to think of that as he took Chace’s jaw and applied firm pressure so Chace parted his lips. When he did, Trin slid his tongue confidently inside Chace’s mouth. Chace curled his fists in Trin’s T-shirt as he rubbed himself against him. He sucked Trin’s tongue as if desperate for penetration.

  Trin made an approving sound, liking that Chace instinctively knew his natural place in th
eir mating—as Trin’s submissive human. It probably wasn’t politically correct, something Sasha was always going on about, but Trin didn’t give a fuck. Chace had always belonged under him and everything alpha in Trin needed to protect Chace, to give him pleasure.

  He stroked Chace with his tongue, exploring thoroughly, patiently, as Chace quivered. Chace’s lower body was plastered against his, the hot imprint of Chace’s cock rubbing against his leg.

  He wanted to cover that cock with his palm, give Chace the release his body was begging for, but they couldn’t do that here. Jesus! What were they doing?

  He fell back on his heels, drawing into a crouch as he breathed through the pain of separation from his mate.

  “We can’t.”

  He saw the flash of humiliation in Chace’s eyes. It pissed him off.

  “Not here, Chace. It’s under a freakin’ church.” Trin shook his head. What the hell was wrong with him? Chace was the inexperienced virgin, not him. Trin should have better control.

  “We’re alone,” Chace said. “Good thing it’s a weekday, I guess.”

  Trin nodded and after a moment, managed to get to his feet. “Do you want to do some more sketching?” he asked. He couldn’t ruin this for Chace, not when he was so happy to be here.

  Chace shoved his hair out of his eyes. “I need… I can’t just switch it off!”

  Trin edged to the corner of the little walkway, staring at a pavement with three men holding fruits and flowers, fall leaves, winter branches. He guessed they were the seasons. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Chapter Four

  I’m not going anywhere.

  Trin had always been there for him, Chace mused as they left the Domus dei Tappetti di Pietra where Trin had patiently waited while Chace had sketched as many of the mosaic carpets as he’d wanted. Despite his swollen, unsatisfied cock, he’d soon lost himself in his art though he planned on a long, hot shower when they arrived at their hotel. It wouldn’t take much more than his soapy fist and the memory of Trin’s kiss to make him come.