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“Half-strength café latte with almond milk, hold the foam.” He grins.
“Holy shit, I have a stalker on my hands.” I blow into the cup and take a sip, then moan when the hot liquid hits my taste buds.
Dustin always buys the good stuff, but I’m thrilled he knows how I take my coffee.
“Nope, I’m just observant.” He sits on my side of the bed, searching my face. “How are you feelin’ this mornin’?”
“Sore,” I admit, “but in a good way.”
His lips twitch, and I think he’s a little proud of himself. “I had to hold back from wakin’ you up early this mornin’; having you in my bed naked could be hazardous.”
“To you or to me?” I muse.
He reaches toward me and pecks a kiss on the tip of my nose. “You be the judge.”
Our cells ping at the same time.
Dustin sets his own mug down and pulls his phone out. Mine is apparently somewhere in the bedroom, though I have no idea where.
“It’s D,” Dustin tells me, reading the message. “Reminding everyone about this morning, me included. I’ve got a few errands to run. I have to feed the horses, so we’ve got just under an hour.”
“I was starting to think that was all a terrible dream with the Crows,” I say, my eyes closing at the memory.
It’s all everyone will be talking about. I know Nash will want answers, but the townsfolk will expect Diamond to retaliate. Nobody wants panic in Saddle, but they do expect justice. I guess things are a little different now she’s with the sheriff, but I know her. Diamond will always do what’s right, legal or not.
“Yeah, that was pretty messed up.” Dustin runs a hand down his face, his scruff darker than it was yesterday. I definitely like him with facial hair. I hope he doesn’t shave it off.
“Could it have something to do with Lanzetti?” I wonder. “The timing seems awfully uncanny.”
“He wants people unsettled, so yeah, I wouldn’t put it past him. Diamond said the Bandits’ prospect is here. He applied for the security position and starts today.”
“Holy shit,” I say, knowing this day was coming. We were all waiting to see if this dude, Screwdriver, is gonna live up to what’s expected of him, but it’s one way of getting someone on the inside of Lanzetti Farms. “This is gonna get interesting real fast.”
“Tell me about it. Diamond has organized an Airbnb for the duration of his stay. Can’t exactly have him comin’ to the clubhouse when they’re right next door,” Dustin says. “It’s highly likely they’ll have eyes on him since he’s new in town, but that’ll help with his cover of bein’ a blow-in.”
“Do you just feel like something big is about to happen?” I ask. “Like, I can’t explain it.”
“I get that feelin’ in my bones, yeah.”
“If he wants a damn war, he’s going the right way about it.” I blow into my cup. Dustin watches me, his face softening.
“You’re pretty like this.”
My eyebrows shoot up, and I almost choke on my coffee. “Like what?” I run a hand through my bird’s nest of hair, knowing I must look well and truly ravished.
“Like you had a wild night with a dirty cowboy.”
“Not just any cowboy,” I chide. “My dirty cowboy.”
He purses his lips. “I had no idea you were so possessive, but I like it.”
“I had no idea either until just now. Well, okay, you got me, maybe it was when that Missy chick was going on about being with you, and I felt like a green-eyed monster.”
“She wasn’t with me,” he reiterates. “Just so we’re clear on that.”
My heart could explode out of my chest.
I’ve been denying it to my club sisters for a long time, but they were right all along. I know we’re going to get shit for keeping them out of the loop, but that can’t be helped. We’ve only just discovered this thing between us ourselves.
