Page 34 of A Rancher's Vow

Nope. Either they did something together, or he’d abstain. He was not going to stroke one off five feet away from her without her knowledge. That would be creepy. Maybe it was a strange line to draw in the sand, but Dustin drew it.

He cut off the water and brushed his teeth, ignoring his heavy cock as best he could. Tucking the damn thing into a clean pair of boxers was torture.

Even worse, though? Opening the bathroom door to discover Charity stretched out on the right side of the bed, sound asleep.

A soft chuckle escaped as he made his way to the opposite side of the mattress. So be it. Tonight? Sleep.

But tomorrow, once they were in the same place at the same time, he would offer some suggestions for ways they could pleasurably pass their spare time while here at Crooked Creek.

7

She wouldn’t have believed it if anyone had told her that the first chance she had to get Dustin Stone into her bed, she would sleep through the experience like a baby.

God, she hoped he didn’t think she’d been faking it.

Crawling under the covers had sent her into a mental whirlwind—there was that word again, but it was true. She’d considered what seemed to be a million options of how to greet him when he came out of the bathroom.

Sitting up, pretending to read? They could exchange a little more casual conversation with meaningful glances before turning out the lights and spooning together.

Should she strip and stretch out naked, like an old-fashioned dirty postcard? Leave her clothes on and stretch out like ashyold-fashioned postcard?

Curl up on his side of the bed? Say nothing now, but snuggle against him in the night?

Gah. See? A ton of great ideas, not one of which was to roll over and instantly fall asleep. Silly woman.

Fern was going to tease the hell out of her for this.

That was Charity’s second thought when she woke up after not having seduced Dustin. Her first thought wasmaybe this morning, and then she realized the bedsheets on his side were cold.

Her phone said it was seven thirty, which meant she needed to get her butt in gear if she wasn’t going to be late for the deadline she’d been a hard ass about.

Wouldn’t that piss off Dustin’s uncle? If Charity was late after ordering him to be on time?

A ripple of amusement rushed through her, chased immediately by self-recrimination. Damn it, obviously Dustin’s naughty streak when it came to annoying his uncle was contagious.

Charity hurried out of bed and got ready for the day.

She paused to text Fern, though, which she hadn’t done the previous day after the girlfriend plan had been hatched.

Charity:Hey you

Fern:Hey. Apartment is fine and de-garbaged. I went in on the way home from the art gallery and made sure that was taken care of. The fridge I’ll deal with on the way home today.

Charity: You’re a wonder

Fern: I am amazing, aren’t it? I told you all the boring stuff before demanding juicy details.

Fern: Hint, hint. Now is time for juicy details.

Charity started to type then gave up and phoned her friend. “Hey. I’m running late, again, so here’s the scoop.”

Her friend stayed quiet as Charity updated her on what happened the previous evening. Then Fern snickered. “I don’t know if I should be crying or cheering over here. Insults, lies, missed opportunities. Damn, girl. You’ve been busy.”

“Haven’t I just?” Charity took a deep breath. Fern had her back for everything else, so now was time for the deep questions. “Tell me the truth. Do you think I’m terrible for hoping to sleep with Dustin while we’re here?”

“Well, technically—”

Charity rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “Cut to the chase, Fields. The clock is ticking.”