"You have to have something," Xavier said with a
laugh.
"You want some juice?" Rajan asked. "We got cranberry, orange, grape, and grapefruit."
"Cranberry would be great."
After Rajan left to go behind the bar, Ronin faced the others at the table.
"How long have you been here?" Race asked.
"A grand total of three days on and off," Ronin replied. "I came down and hunted for a place to live. Once I found that I headed back to Century, packed up and had my stuff shipped here."
"You bought the old Kenzie place," Jamal Kendricks added. "I love that old building."
"Thank you." Ronin accepted the cool glass from Rajan. "I like it too. It seems quiet and out of the way so I can get some sleep and work done."
"Work? What do you do?"
"I'm an artist. I design graphics for T-shirts and I paint. Haven't had a chance to work over the past few years though."
"How come?" Savaro leaned in.
"Was away in the Navy for a while there. Didn't have time for much of anything, much less doing work I love. All those things I had to put off for a bit until I was finished."
The men around the table congratulated him and welcomed him home. Their conversation switched rapidly but the company was welcomed. When the wait staff finally began to show up, Savaro excused himself along with Jamal and Rajan. Almost instantly another man, bright-eyed and with long hair, walked through the door.
Ronin watched as a smile lit the cowboy's face and he hurried over to pull the newcomer into his arms. After a rather intimate embrace, the two walked over.
"Ronin, this is Laird Anatolis," Race introduced them.
Ronin rose and took the man's hand in hearty shake.
Chapter Two
"José! A naked man just ran by me down your…
Um… is everything all right?"
José looked away from his soon-to-be ex to look at his best friend's husband, Xavier Crawford. The SWAT
agent was still decked out in a part of his uniform—black pants and shirt neatly tucked in, a silver badge hooked into his belt on the left side with a gun holstered and secured on the right. He also wore an empty holster strapped around his massive right thigh. The legs of his pants were tucked into boots that were laced up neatly and tightly. With a small smile, José rested his hand against his hips. "Oh everything is perfect. Richie here didn't think I was man enough for him so he had to go out and find someone else."
"It wasn't like that!" Richie pushed, reaching for José.
José shrugged away from Richie. "You better get him outta my face!" José backed up to stand beside Xavier.
"You want to go? That's what you want, right, Richie? You want to go, then go! Leave! Get to steppin'."
"Oh come on! I made a mistake!"
"What? Did you slip and fall on his dick over and over again? My momma didn't raise no fool. You're going to get your shit and get out."
When Richie stepped toward him again, Xavier moved in between them. José was thankful for that because if the SWAT agent hadn't, he was sure he would have ripped Richie's throat out and fed it to him.
"You should leave," Xavier explained to Richie.
A thick silence blanketed the room as Xavier stood staring Richie down. For a bit there, José thought Richie was stupid enough to start a fight with Xavier. Thankfully, he turned on his heel, muttered a profanity, and exited the room. José was going to give the ass some time to grab his things. If he wasn't gone in ten minutes José was going to start throwing Richie and his things out. He walked by Xavier and entered the kitchen.
A horn honked behind him and José shook his head and looked up. The light was green and apparently he wasn't paying attention. He looked both ways before he eased through the intersection, flipped his signal on to go left, and made the turn into the parking lot. He wanted to park close to the door but he couldn't. Though there was a spot between two trucks, he didn't feel like trying it.
The sky was dark when José walked from his car into the large shoe store. He hated shopping but sometimes it just had to be done. He stepped through the door and a chime sounded—one that annoyed him often but it was
used to alert the clerks someone had entered their store. He mentally shrugged and browsed the aisle until he found the size ten section. The search was harder than he thought. It was as if he'd missed all the good stuff. When he found a pair that looked as if they could be for him, he yanked the box off the shelf and sat to try them on. José pushed his feet into the new pair of shoes and stood. He stared down at them, tilted his left leg inward slightly and looked at the side. He wasn't a fan. Pushing some air out his mouth, he removed the footwear, placed them back in the box, and shoved the box on the shelf again. He glanced at his watch and made a face. If he didn't leave now, he'd never make it into Eros on time. Quickly, he took one final look at the shelves before leaving the store. At the exit he skidded to a stop as rain hit him. Rolling his eyes dramatically, he searched the parking lot for where his car was and moaned.
Why'd he park so far away?
"Oh right… didn't want to park between two trucks," he muttered.
The trucks were gone, leaving him to walk across the lot in the rain. If there was
