Page 38 of Dust and Desire (Sagebrush Cowboys #5)

A tall, lean man with dark hair and warm brown eyes stepped forward from the edge of the crowd, raising his hand in a shy wave. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, with the kind of easy smile that immediately put people at ease.

“Diego comes to us from a ranch down near Houston,” Beau continued. “He’s got experience with cattle, horses, and just about everything else we throw at him.”

“Welcome to the family,” Jack called out, raising his beer bottle in salute. The sentiment was echoed around the gathering, and I watched Diego’s face flush with what looked like relief and gratitude.

“Now let’s eat!” Lucas announced, and the crowd began to disperse back toward the food tables and conversations.

Alex squeezed my shoulder. “Think he’ll fit in?”

I studied Diego as he was immediately surrounded by Logan and Dakota, who were no doubt giving him the lay of the land. “He seems nice enough. And if Beau and Lucas hired him, he must be good at what he does.”

As the evening wore on and the sun finally disappeared behind the hills, someone lit the massive bonfire that had been constructed in the field behind the house.

The flames leaped high into the darkening sky, casting dancing shadows across the faces of everyone gathered around it.

Someone had brought out a guitar, and the soft strumming of familiar country songs drifted through the warm night air.

I found myself sitting on a straw bale with Alex pressed against my side, his hand resting casually on my thigh.

The simple intimacy of it, the way we could just exist together in this space surrounded by people who’d become our chosen family, filled me with a contentment I’d never known was possible.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Alex murmured against my ear, his breath warm and promising.

I glanced around the gathering. Most people were focused on the fire or their conversations, the darkness beyond the flames providing perfect cover. “I think I might be.”

Alex stood, offering me his hand with that wicked grin I’d come to love. “Come on. I know a place.”

We slipped away from the bonfire, walking hand in hand across the dark prairie.

The sounds of laughter and music faded behind us as Alex led me toward a small rise that overlooked the ranch.

The stars above us were brilliant in the clear Texas sky, more stars than I’d ever seen during my years in the city.

“Here,” Alex said, stopping beside a cluster of mesquite trees that provided shelter from any prying eyes back at the bonfire.

I turned to face him, my heart already racing with anticipation. In the starlight, he looked almost ethereal, his face soft with desire and love. “You sure no one will see us?”

“Positive,” he whispered, pulling me close. “Besides, I want you too much to care.”

His lips found mine in the darkness, hungry and insistent. The taste of him, smoky from the bonfire and sweet from the beer he’d been drinking, made my head spin. His hands slid under my shirt, palms hot against my skin as they traced up my sides.

“God, I’ve been wanting to touch you all night,” he murmured against my mouth, his fingers working at the buttons of my shirt. “Watching you laugh, seeing you in the firelight... you have no idea what you do to me.”

I gasped as his mouth moved to my neck, his teeth grazing the sensitive spot just below my jaw. “I think I have some idea,” I breathed, pressing my hips against his, feeling his hard cock pressed against my thigh.

The night air was cool against my skin as Alex pushed my shirt off my shoulders, letting it fall to the ground beneath us.

His hands were everywhere, mapping my body like he was committing it to memory all over again.

When his thumbs brushed over my nipples, I couldn’t help the moan that escaped me.

“Shh,” he whispered, though his eyes were dark with arousal at the sound. “Unless you want the whole ranch to hear you.”

“Then stop making me feel so good,” I challenged, my hands already working at his belt buckle.

Alex chuckled, the sound low and dangerous in the darkness. “Never.”

We undressed each other with practiced urgency, clothes discarded in a messy pile on the grass.

The night air raised goosebumps across my bare skin, but Alex’s hands and mouth chased away any chill.

He pressed me back against one of the mesquite trees, the rough bark a stark contrast to the softness of his lips as they trailed down my chest.

“Alex,” I gasped as he dropped to his knees before me, his intentions clear in the hungry look he gave me. “We don’t have anything with us.”

He reached into his discarded jeans, pulling out a small packet of lube with a triumphant grin. “Speak for yourself, beautiful. I came prepared.”

The sight of him kneeling there, bathed in starlight and looking up at me with such desire, took my breath away.

His hands gripped my hips, holding me steady against the tree as he took my cock into his mouth without warning.

The wet heat of him engulfed me, drawing a strangled cry from my throat that I quickly muffled with my hand.

His tongue worked magic, swirling around my cockhead before taking me deeper. He sucked and licked until I couldn’t help the noises escaping my lips. My hand was fisted in his hair, guiding his movements as I fucked his face. Christ… I was never going to get enough of this.

His tongue dragged against the sensitive underside of my shaft as he worked, that familiar sensation that never failed to drive me wild.

I looked down to see his brown eyes gazing up at me in the starlight, full of desire and something deeper.

Love. Complete, unconditional love that still amazed me every single day.

“Fuck, Alex,” I whispered, trying to keep my voice low despite the pleasure coursing through me. “Your mouth feels incredible.”

He hummed around my cock, the vibration sending sparks up my spine. His hands gripped my ass, pulling me deeper into his throat until I could feel myself hitting the back of it. The man had no gag reflex, something I’d discovered early in our relationship and never stopped being grateful for.

But before I could get too lost in the sensation, he pulled off with an obscene pop, leaving me gasping and aching for more. “Turn around,” he commanded softly, his voice rough with want.

I complied immediately, pressing my palms against the rough bark of the mesquite tree. The position left me completely exposed to him, vulnerable in the best possible way. I heard the tear of the lube packet, then felt Alex’s slick fingers circling my entrance.

“You’re so beautiful like this,” he murmured, pressing soft kisses along my spine as he worked one finger inside me. “Spread open for me under the stars and begging for my cock.”

“Fuck yes,” I agreed breathlessly, pushing back against his hand. “I’ll give myself to you anytime you want me.”

“Good boy,” he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

He added a second finger, then a third, stretching me with the patience and care that had become his trademark. Even when we were desperate for each other like this, he never rushed, never took more than I was ready to give. It was one of the thousand reasons I loved him.

“Please,” I gasped when his fingers found my prostate, sending lightning through my entire body. “I need you inside me.”

“I know, beautiful,” he said, his free hand stroking up my back. “Just want to make sure you’re ready.”

His fingers withdrew, leaving me empty and aching. I heard him slicking himself up, then felt the blunt head of his cock pressing against my entrance. His frenum piercing was cool against my heated skin, a tantalizing promise of the pleasure to come.

“Ready?” he asked, his voice tight with restraint.

“God, yes,” I breathed.

He pushed inside slowly, inch by torturous inch, until he was fully seated within me. We both groaned at the sensation, the perfect fit of our bodies together. The piercing dragged against my prostate, hitting spots that made me see stars brighter than the ones overhead.

“Move,” I pleaded, my fingers digging into the bark of the tree. “Please, Alex.”

He began to thrust, slow and deep at first, building a rhythm that had me gasping his name into the night air.

His hands gripped my hips, guiding me back to meet each stroke.

The sounds of our bodies coming together mixed with the distant sounds of the bonfire, creating our own private symphony in the darkness.

“Harder,” I whispered, needing more of him, all of him. “I can take it.”

Alex’s control snapped at my words. His thrusts became more forceful, more desperate, driving into me with an intensity that left me breathless. The piercing hit my prostate with each stroke, sending waves of pleasure crashing through me that threatened to buckle my knees.

“So tight,” he panted against my shoulder, his teeth finding the sensitive junction of my neck. “You feel so fucking good wrapped around my cock.”

One of his hands released my hip to wrap around my neglected dick, stroking me in time with his thrusts. The dual sensation was overwhelming, pleasure building at the base of my spine like a coiled spring ready to snap.

“I’m close,” I gasped, my voice barely audible over our ragged breathing.

“Cum for me,” Alex commanded, his voice rough with his own approaching climax. “Let me feel you.”

His thumb brushed over the head of my cock just as his piercing caught my prostate at the perfect angle, and I shattered. My orgasm tore through me with an intensity that left me shaking, my release painting the bark of the tree as I bit down on my own hand to muffle my cries.

The rhythmic clenching of my body around him pushed Alex over the edge. He buried himself deep inside me with a strangled groan, his body shuddering against mine as he filled me with his warmth.

We stayed frozen like that for long moments, both of us trembling with aftershocks, his chest pressed against my back as we caught our breath. Eventually, he pressed soft kisses along my shoulder, gentle and reverent.

“I love you,” he whispered against my skin, the words carrying all the emotion he couldn’t always express.

“I love you too,” I replied, turning in his arms to face him. In the starlight, his face was soft with satisfaction and something deeper. Contentment. Peace.

We cleaned up as best we could with the tissues Alex had apparently also thought to bring, then dressed slowly, stealing kisses between pulling on clothes. By the time we made our way back to the bonfire, the party was still in full swing, no one seeming to have noticed our absence .

“There you are,” Caroline called as we rejoined the group around the fire. “Thought you two had gotten lost.”

“Just getting some air,” Alex replied easily, settling back onto our straw bale and pulling me against his side.

Ali caught my eye across the fire, a knowing smirk playing at her lips. I felt heat creep up my neck, but she just winked and returned to her conversation with Diego, who was already fitting in remarkably well with the group.

As the night wore on and the fire burned lower, I found myself thinking about how perfect this life had become. The man beside me, solid and warm against my side. The friends who’d become my family. The small house we were making our own. It was everything I’d never known I wanted until I found it.

“Penny for your thoughts,” Alex murmured, his lips brushing my ear.

“Just thinking about how lucky I am,” I replied, leaning into him so my head rested on his shoulder. “About how this is exactly where I’m meant to be.”

His arm tightened around me, pulling me in closer. “That makes two of us then.”

I nodded, knowing he was telling me the truth. “I love you, Alex.”

“I love you too, beautiful.”