Page 13 of A Rancher's Vow

He chuckled.

“Oh, damn.” She made a face. “I didn’t mean that to come across as if I don’t findyouattractive. 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 hewouldhave 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.