Page 38 of Dust and Desire
Chapter 14
Dustin
By the time dinner was over, I’d abandoned the dishes in the sink and taken Alex’s hand. They would be tomorrow’s problem. Tonight, I wanted to spend every moment with Alex. After his story, my heart was aglow. I couldn’t really understand why. He was right, most people would’ve been jealous he’d loved another man, but I wasn’t. I thought it was beautiful and intimate and sad in all the right ways. Maybe I really was a writer at heart.
Alex was still wearing nothing but a towel as I pulled him out onto the front porch into the night air. We leaned against the railing, watching the fireflies dance across the prairie. Above us the stars twinkled, and a thin crescent moon hung in the darkness.
“I never get tired of this,” I said, glancing over at Alex. “This place, the peace I feel here… it’s so much different from New York. And everything I didn’t know I needed.” I gave him a good once over, taking in that muscular body, the ridges of his torso, and the way the blonde hair on his abdomen dipped below his towel. “Sure beats pretending to be somebody else in a high-rise.”
Alex’s gaze shifted from the stars to me, his eyes reflecting the moonlight. “I’ve seen a lot of night skies, working fromranch to ranch, but something about this one feels different.” He stepped closer, his bare shoulder brushing mine. “Or maybe it’s the company.”
The warmth of his skin against mine sent electricity through my body. I couldn’t help but reach out, tracing my fingertips along his collarbone. His breath hitched, and I felt myself being drawn to him like a moth to flame.
“You know, Dustin,” he whispered, “I’ve never met anyone quite like you. Someone who… I don’t know… you seem so out of place but so reassuring at the same time.” He shook his head, letting out a small sigh. “Sorry. I’m just being silly.”
I cupped his face, thumb brushing over his stubbled cheek. “Don’t stop,” I said, surprising myself. “If this is silly, I like it.”
“I’m not usually the romantic,” he replied.
“Based on the story you just told me,” I said, leaning closer. “I think you are. And I love it.”
When our lips met, it felt like the stars themselves had descended into my body. His mouth was warm, eager, tasting faintly of the wine we’d shared at dinner. The towel around his waist provided little barrier as he pressed against me, his arousal evident against my thigh.
My fingers tangled in his short hair as the kiss deepened, his tongue exploring mine with a hunger that matched my own. I was so lost in him that I barely registered the sound of boots on gravel.
A throat cleared behind us. We broke apart, startled, to find Sheriff Marcus standing at the bottom of the porch steps, hat in hand.
“Evening, gentlemen,” he said, his expression unreadable in the dim light. “Just making my rounds, checking that everything’s quiet out this way.”
Heat flooded my face, but Alex remained pressed against my side, seemingly unashamed of his near-nakedness.
“All quiet here, Sheriff,” I managed to say, my voice embarrassingly hoarse.
Marcus nodded, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth as he replaced his hat. “Glad to hear it. You boys have a good night, now.” He tipped the brim toward us and turned to leave, calling over his shoulder, “Beautiful night for stargazing.”
When the sound of his vehicle faded into the distance, Alex burst into laughter against my shoulder. “Well, that’s one way for you to meet the local law enforcement.”
I couldn’t help but join him, the tension dissolving into something lighter, more charged. “Come on,” I said, tugging him toward the door. “I think we’ve given the prairie enough of a show tonight.”
Back inside, with the door locked behind us, Alex’s playfulness shifted into something hungrier. He pressed me against the wall, his towel finally falling away as his hands worked at the buttons of my shirt.
“I’m glad you’re staying tonight,” I said breathlessly, savoring the sensation as he slid his hands over my now bare chest. “Do they know who got into your apartment? We…” I paused as his lips wrapped around my nipple, pulling a moan from my lips. “We didn’t talk about it.”
“Don’t care,” he said, not looking up from his worship of my body. “Not important right now.”
His mouth moved lower, trailing hot kisses down my sternum as his hands worked at my belt. I wanted to argue, to insist we talk about the break-in, but the way he was touching me scattered my thoughts like leaves in the wind. I could hardly hold the thought in my mind for more than a fleeting moment.
“Alex,” I breathed, my hands finding his shoulders, feeling the solid muscle beneath sun-warmed skin. “I need you.”
He looked up at me then, his brown eyes reassuring me. “I’m right here, Dustin. I’m not going anywhere.”
Something in his voice made my chest tighten, a vulnerability that matched my own. I pulled him up to me, claiming his mouth in a kiss that was desperate and tender all at once. My hands roamedover his body, memorizing every ridge and hollow, the way he shivered when I traced the line of his hip.
“Bedroom,” I managed against his lips, but he was already guiding me backward down the hall, our bodies pressed together, skin against skin.
We tumbled onto my bed in a tangle of limbs and breathless laughter. Alex’s hands were everywhere, in my hair, on my face, sliding down to finish what he’d started with my jeans. When he finally stripped away the last barrier between us, I felt exposed in more ways than one, my cock flopping free.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered, his voice rough with want. His fingers traced patterns on my chest, and I arched into his touch, craving more.
