Page 32 of Dust and Desire
Me: I don’t really have anything else anymore. I threw my suits away when I moved here.
Alex: Perfect. You look incredible in jeans. Though you look even better once I get you out of them.
My face burned as I typed back.
Me: Alex...
Alex: Sorry. Can’t help myself. I’m a horny dude, but I can dial it back if you want.
I stared at his message, my chest tight with longing. I loved the idea of him wanting me, half hard in a barn somewhere. The thought scared me almost as much as it thrilled me.
Me: Me too… I’m just not good at saying it
Alex: That’s okay, beautiful. See you at 7. Try not to overthink everything between now and then. <3
I smiled despite myself. He already knew me well enough to know that’s exactly what I’d do.
Me: I’ll try.
Alex: And Dustin? Last night was perfect. You were perfect.
I clutched the phone to my chest, my eyes stinging with unexpected tears. When was the last time someone had called me perfect? When was the last time I’d felt like I deserved that kind of praise? God… I wanted more of it,neededmore of it. It seemed the answer to decades of prayers had come at last and his name was Alex Reyes.
Chapter 12
Alex
At six o’clock I left the barn, drenched in sweat, hay, and half the arena’s worth of dirt. It had been a long hard day on the ranch, but I’d barely noticed. After last night with Dustin, I was on cloud nine. All I could think about were those beautiful blue eyes and the way they sparkled when I grabbed a fistful of his hair and told him to take every last inch of me in his mouth. Talk about a power trip and an incredible show of trust on his part. For a guy who’d been avoiding sexual relationships out of fear, he sure was eager to please.
I palmed my cock through my jeans as I walked quickly back toward the apartment. Just thinking about last night made me hard. I wanted to head to his cabin now, but I needed a shower first. Everything between us was a little too new to show up unwashed and stinking of horse. Besides, I wanted to make a good impression, to make him think I was more put together than I really was. Not that I ever did that for other men, but something about Dustin wasspecial. I actually wanted him to like me.
And that, more than anything, was new for me. Usually, I wasn’t the type to fuck the same guy two or three times. After that they started to catch feelings and suddenly they wanted to talk abouthouses and families and settling down. It always made me nauseous. Sure, maybe someday I’d want that, but I was twenty-five. It could wait. And yet, with Dustin, I caught myself daydreaming about fucking him just as often as I wondered what it would be like to wake up with him, to make breakfast together, and to live the normal day to day at one another’s side.
I shook my head with a small scoff. Maybe I was just getting lonely. Either way, I was still going to go pick him up tonight. And if that went well, the day after too. I figured I’d take it one day at a time until I was sure of what I wanted.
However, the moment I came around the backside of the arena, I found my apartment door standing open.
I froze, my hand instinctively dropping to my side where I usually kept my knife when I was working. But it wasn’t there. Then I remembered, I left it in the barn in my saddlebags. I didn’t have time to worry about it though. Something was wrong. I never left my door open, not even in a place as safe as Baker Ranch.
Approaching cautiously, I listened for any sounds of movement inside. Nothing but the soft hum of the air conditioner and the distant calls of cattle from the fields. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I stepped onto the small stoop, peering inside.
“What the fuck...”
My apartment had been ransacked. The few possessions I owned were scattered across the floor. My clothes were pulled from their drawers, my duffel bag emptied onto the bed. Even the small kitchen area hadn’t been spared. Cabinets hung open, my coffee mug was shattered on the linoleum, and all of my drawers were thrown open and emptied onto the floor.
I entered slowly, scanning for any sign of the intruder, but whoever had done this was long gone. The place wasn’t big enough to hide anyone. My jaw clenched as I surveyed the damage. It wasn’t just messy… it wasdeliberate. Someone had been looking for something.
My journal. The thought hit me like a punch to the gut.
I rushed to the bedside table where I kept it, yanking open the drawer. Empty. My heart pounded against my ribs as I dropped to my knees, searching under the bed, behind the dresser, anywhere it might have fallen. Nothing.
“Goddamnit,” I muttered, sitting back on my heels.
That journal contained everything, my thoughts about Baker Ranch, about the people here, about Dustin. Things I’d never say out loud, private moments I’d wanted to remember. And now someone had it.
I grabbed my phone from my pocket, scrolling to Logan’s number. He and Caroline were the heads of the ranch, if anyone should know about this, it was them. My thumb hovered over the call button as another thought struck me. What if this wasn’t random? What if someone had targeted me specifically?
Before I could overthink it, I pressed call.
