Page 41 of Dust and Desire
He collapsed forward onto my chest, both of us breathing hard, his face buried in my neck. I could feel his heart hammering against my ribs, matching the frantic rhythm of my own. Slowly, carefully, he reached up and untied the blindfold, letting it fall away at last.
I blinked in the dim moonlight, my eyes adjusting as I looked up at him. His hair was disheveled, his face flushed, and there was something so tender in his expression that it made my chest tight.
“Hi,” he said softly, brushing a strand of hair from my forehead.
“Hi,” I replied, my voice hoarse.
“How was that?” he grinned, looking mighty proud of himself.
“Honestly?” I laughed lightly. “Better than anything I’ve ever done.”
We lay there for a long moment, neither of us wanting to break the spell. Finally, he shifted, pulling away with a soft sigh. I hated toend our fun, but he was back quickly with a warm washcloth, cleaning us both with gentle, careful touches.
“Stay,” I said, grabbing his arm as he moved to get up again. “Please.”
He smiled, that brilliant sunshine smile that had captured me from the beginning. “I wasn’t planning on going anywhere.”
He settled beside me, pulling the sheet up over us both. I turned on my side to face him, marveling at how right this felt, how perfectly he seemed to fit against me. I felt like the world had been lifted from my shoulders and in its place was the most beautiful feeling I’d ever had.
“Thank you,” I said quietly. “For... for knowing what I needed.”
“Thank you for trusting me with it,” he replied, his fingers tracing lazy patterns on my chest. “Goodnight beautiful.”
I leaned into his touch, pulling him close. “Goodnight.”
Chapter 15
Alex
Iwoke before dawn, used to getting up before the sun to start my work day. However, when I picked up my phone to check the time, I saw a late-night text from Logan. He was telling me to take the day off and grab my things from the apartment. He was calling in a repairman for the window and wanted me to switch to one of the other apartments. He apologized profusely for the inconvenience and said I could return to work when I was ready. I felt guilt that he apologized for something that was obviously my fault. I was the one with the jealous ex chasing me across the country, not him.
However, I couldn’t turn down spending the morning in bed with Dustin. Rolling over, I pulled him into my arms. He snuggled his face against my chest, placing light kisses against my skin even though he was still asleep. I wrapped my hand around the back of his head, swirling my fingers through his hair. He really wasincrediblybeautiful.
There was a pang of guilt though as I watched him, taking in every gorgeous feature. He didn’t know about my crazy ex or the fact that he’dmost likelybroken into my apartment and had my journal, meaning he knew every intimate detail of my life. If it really wasKeith, I had no doubt he’d come knocking, eventually. But a part of me, however illogical, wasn’t willing to accept that Keith would go through all this trouble just to keep up with me. It had been three years… surely, he would’ve moved on by now, right? Maybe the break-in and the red truck were just a strange coincidence…
But how could I take that risk? Keith could be mean, and I didn’t want Dustin to get caught up in the middle of it, not when he was so fragile and just barely leaning into whatever this was between us. Then again, if I told him everything… wouldn’t it just scare him away? At this point, Dustin wanted to be close to me, but he still had all the energy of a nervous hare about to bolt. I didn’t want to lose him, not when we’d finally just gotten started.
And the harder truth, the one I was avoiding admitting, was that I liked him too much. Two dates and I could feel myself falling for him. God… it made me feel desperate and pathetic, like the kind of guy that everyone blocked on dating apps when they got too possessive.
So, there I was, holding a man that I could neither admit the truth of my feelings to or the reality of my past without scaring him away. It seemed like my only choice was to keep up the carefree cowboy attitude until he felt more comfortable and safe. Then I could slowly expose my past to him and hopefully…hopefullyhe wouldn’t run off screaming. And when an appropriate amount of time had passed, I’d tell him how I felt about him. Besides, it could just be puppy love. Right?
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to push away the spiraling thoughts. This was exactly the kind of overthinking that had gotten me into trouble before. Maybe I was being paranoid about Keith. Maybe the break-in really was just some random crime. And maybe what I was feeling for Dustin was just the novelty of being with someone who actually seemed to care about me. Maybe, maybe, maybe…
Dustin stirred in my arms, his dark lashes fluttering against his cheeks before those stunning blue eyes opened and found mine. Asleepy smile spread across his face, and my heart did that stupid fluttering thing again.
“Morning,” he murmured, his voice rough with sleep.
“Morning, beautiful,” I replied, brushing a strand of hair from his forehead. “Sleep well?”
He nodded, stretching languidly against me like a cat. “Better than I have in months. You?”
“Like a baby,” I lied smoothly. The truth was I’d been awake for the better part of an hour, my mind racing with all the ways this could go wrong. But looking at him now, soft and content in the morning light filtering through the curtains, I made my decision. I wasn’t going to burden him with my baggage. Not yet.
“What time is it?” he asked, nuzzling closer.
“Early still. Logan gave me the day off to deal with the apartment situation.” I pressed a kiss to the top of his head, breathing in the scent of his shampoo mixed with our lingering intimacy. I loved the smell of my sweat on his skin. “Means I get to spend the morning with you.”
“Lucky me,” he said, and there was something in his voice that made me look down at him. His expression was vulnerable, almost shy. “I was worried you might want to... I don’t know, that last night might have been too much.”
