“Don’t need to right now. Having a hard-on doesn’t mean I have to come. They aren’t dangerous, no matter what some guys might have told you.”
A snort escaped her. She slid her hand up to cup his face, staring at him as if seeing him for the first time. “Okay. Tonight—whatever this was tonight—we’re okay?”
“We’re okay,” he agreed. “We’re friends, yes?”
She nodded, easing back on the couch. She curled her legs partially under her, though, which left her feet pressed to his thigh.
Dustin considered his words carefully. “I don’t fool around with all my friends, in case that question hits your brain. I’m not interested in kissing Fern.”
“What about Shim?”
He checked carefully, but since she wasn’t joking, he answered the question seriously. “He’s a great guy, but nothing about him makes me want to kiss him. Kick his butt, absolutely.”
“Okay.” Her hair was tousled wildly around her shoulders, and with her expression, she looked as if she were about to embark on a dangerous mission.
“Straight up, I didn’t expect this to happen. I had fun touching you. Kissing you. But I’m not looking for this to change anything between us.”
Worry slid away, and her expression brightened. “Thank God.”
He chuckled.
“Oh, damn.” She made a face. “I didn’t mean that to come across as if I don’t find you attractive. It’s just with the new job at Silver Stone, I really can’t afford to mess anything up.”
Valid point. “I’m just a lowly ranch hand, so that’s not really an issue. But we didn’t fool around tonight to start dating, am I right? And that doesn’t offend either of us.”
She nodded firmly.
Dustin lifted his shoulders easily. “To friends.
She picked up the glass off the table and raised it to him. “To friends.”
He laughed, grabbed his beer bottle, and clicked it against her drink. “Now where the hell is the remote, Tee? And these nachos aren’t going to eat themselves.”
They found the remote between the seat cushions, which triggered another round of laughter. They settled into a comfortable silence as time passed and the movie rolled to the final epic conclusion.
Dustin helped clean up, gave her a quick around-the-shoulder hug, and left before midnight.
With the truck windows wide open, the scent of the June night filled his cab. Yeah, the night had been unexpected, but he thought they were in a solid place right now, despite the surprise factor.
She was gorgeous. That part was undeniable. He just wasn’t ready yet for more than casual. And he was pretty sure Charity wasn’t a good choice for repetitive casual—she cared too deeply. He’d seen that in the way she was around her ballet kids.
Heck, she’d been part of the motivating factor for a huge fund raiser a few years ago, mainly because she’d wanted a way for the kids to perform during the holidays.
Nope, Dustin thought as he pulled into his parking space and headed into his quarters. Charity was a good friend. The moment of pleasure would just have to stay that—a moment.
His head hit the pillow and he was out like a light.
Minutes later? Hours? He wasn’t sure, but suddenly it wasn’t only him in the bed.
Charity was there, a twisted smile on her face that meant mischief. “Don’t mind me.”
Mind? Why the hell should he mind when there were soft hands caressing his chest. Kisses being pressed along his jaw.
Fingers curling around his cock and stroking him exactly right.
Christ, it was good. Dustin pumped his hips, driving harder into her grasp. “Just like that. Fucking perfect.”
Her breasts were right there, so he palmed one, teasing the tip until it was hard against his palm. He needed to come. Needed to taste her even worse. He dipped his head to lick the tight brown nipple—
Loud banging against his door broke him from the dream. Dustin blinked hard, cursing as he discovered his own hand curled around his rock-hard cock.
“Dustin.”
“Keep your shirt on. I’m coming.”
Dustin snorted. Or he would have been coming if he hadn’t been interrupted.
He found his feet and peered out the peephole. “Tucker?”
“Get up and get dressed. I want to see you in the office in ten minutes.” Tucker turned and strode away, vanishing into the distance rapidly.
Shit. Dustin scrambled for his clothes and hurried into the washroom to deal with cleaning up.
Nine minutes and thirty seconds later—he’d had to run to make it—Dustin stepped into the office. “I’m not on shift until eight.”
“You’re not late,” Tucker reassured him from his seat behind what was now Charity’s desk. “But this is getting out of hand, and I wanted to talk to you before I made any executive decisions.”
With no idea what was going on, Dustin sat in the chair Tucker pointed at and kept his mouth shut.
“One second. I want to be sure I have the full picture.” Tucker’s frown deepened the longer he stared at the computer screen. “By the way, do you have your phone on you?”
“Yeah, but I haven’t checked it since yesterday afternoon.” Because he wasn’t a glutton for punishment.
“Check it. Emails first.”
Dustin reluctantly pulled out his phone. “Anything in particular I’m looking for?”
“You’ll know it when you—”
“What the fuck?”
“Yeah, I figured.”
Dustin hadn’t cursed out loud on purpose, but shock loosened his tongue. He had over fifty unread emails when he’d usually have five to ten max overnight.
“What the hell is going on?” He checked the titles and this time cursed with real feeling. “Interview requests? This can’t be real.”
Tucker leaned back in the chair and folded his arms over his chest. “There are at least twenty that came to the Silver Stone email address that only horse buyers should know. And there’s over eighty to the ranch email. Some are legit queries into Silver Stone services, but a lot seem to be asking about you specifically. Any ideas why?”
Dustin’s frustration rose even as he apologized. “I’m sorry. It must be that stupid article.”
Tucker frowned. “What article?”
Embarrassment really did hit like a wave. “Clickbait nonsense about me being a billionaire bachelor.”
His brother-in-law snorted. “Good one. Ginny is going to love this. Send her the link.”
“My sister has a twisted sense of humour,” Dustin said dryly. “And I’ve been informed you can simply google me and get all the dirt you need.”
With an enormous sigh, Tucker closed his eyes. “Just great.”
“Can we please update the website and add a secured contact page?” Dustin begged. “It won’t help get rid of the people who already know how to contact us, but it’ll mean a buffer for the future. Shim will be here on Monday, and he could update it first thing.”
“Good idea.” Tucker shook his head. “A little like closing the barn doors after the cows are already out, but a good idea nevertheless.”
“It’ll stop the skunks from sneaking into the barn in the future.”