“Oh.”
Adrian lifted a hand over his head and grabbed the material of his shirt, pulling it up and off. “I need a shower before my shift starts.”
Somebody whistled, and Adrian held his hand out with his middle finger up, without looking around. “Shut up, you assholes. God, you’re a horny bunch tonight.”
“Tonight?”
Laughter.
Adrian raised an eyebrow at me. “They can be a bit much sometimes. If they don’t get any physical release during the day you can kind of tell when they get back here. The trainers work them up like crazy and then send them back here. In fact, I have a feeling Trey and Callum are getting busy up in the loft right now.”
Oh, hell.
I tried not to look at the loft where suspicious rustling noises and muffled groans could be heard.
“Where’s Noah?” Adrian asked of no one in particular. “Did he meet Jensen yet?”
“Not yet,” a steady voice said.
It belonged to a slim, boyish looking individual in skinny jeans and a grey button-down who sat quietly on the bunk opposite mine.
“Noah! There you are. Come here and meet Jensen.”
The young man named Noah stood and walked over to us. He gazed at me under his lashes. “Hi.”
“Hi,” I said, my voice sounding breathier than I’d intended. I cleared it nervously and tried for something deeper, manlier. Something not expressing as much of a wow, you are superhot, and I want to fuck you vibe. Because, holy hell, this man was hot. As hot as Luke, but in a completely different way. “Hi.”
“Jensen, this is Noah. He’s twenty-one, shy as shit unless he’s in harness, and one of our best performers. He always gets an A+ in the ready-to-please department.”
“Adrian.” Noah blushed beet red and shook his head. “Don’t embarrass me.”
“Kind of hard to avoid embarrassing you, kid. You’re fucking adorable.”
Noah bravely raised his eyes to meet mine. They were sky blue and sparked with intelligence. “I hope the others haven’t scared you off. We’re not all assholes.”
I felt myself warming to the shy man immediately. “Not a chance. I like a challenge.”
“Then you’ll do great,” Adrian said. “Anyway, I gotta go shower. Maybe Noah can entertain you for a bit.”
Noah looked at the floor. Noises from the loft had become more urgent, and it wasn’t difficult to figure out what was going on.
“You might as well get used to the sex sounds,” Noah commented. “The testosterone in this place is off the charts.”
“Yeah, I guess.” I looked down at my feet and tried not to listen to the impassioned noises from the loft.
“I like your hat, by the way. We don’t get many real cowboys here.”
I grinned. “Thanks. I feel a bit conspicuous. Maybe I should get rid of it.” I turned the old hat over in my hands and wondered if I was capable of making such a sacrifice.
“Don’t. The hat’s a part of you. I can tell.”
*
Noah had retreated to read in his bunk so I dug my copy of On the Road out of my rucksack and did the same. The noises from the loft had ceased after some rather loud exclamations, and now all we could hear was snoring.
The door suddenly creaked open and shoes scuffed on the painted wood floor.
I glanced up and felt my pulse quicken as I recognized Luke at the same time he came to a stop and stared right at me.
