Page 93 of Dust Storm

He worked down the line of buttons on his shirt. “You sure there’s not something you wanna talk about?”

Fucking mind-reading cowboys…

“What changed your mind?” I asked.

“About what?” he asked as he buckled his belt. “Fucking?”

“Yes.”

His smile was bashful. “Cass, I’ve been fantasizing about you since I saw you get out of that car the day you arrived. Not fucking you the day I walked in here and saw you touching yourself had nothing to do with you.”

“Because you have kids.”

“I do.” He stomped into his boots. “And today you stood up for them and protected them.” He leaned over the bed and kissed me. “Nothing is more attractive to me than that.”

20

CHRISTIAN

“You’ve been avoiding me.”

“Jesus! Fuck!” Coffee sloshed across the countertop as the ceramic mug fell out of Cassandra’s hand. She slumped against the kitchen cabinets and pressed her hand to her chest like she was trying to stave off a heart attack. “I thought you were gone.”

“So, you admit that you were avoiding me,” I said as I closed the front door behind me, stealing a moment to take her in.

She was still in her pajamas—a pair of long, silky pants and a tight, long-sleeved shirt that clung to every delicious inch of her chest.

“No,” she said defensively. “I’ve been busy.”

“You live in my house.”

“I wasn’t avoiding you. I just thought you had left early this morning and were out somewhere doing cow things.”

“Cass.”

Her eyes drifted to the paper bag and coffee cup in my hand.

“I took the girls to school this morning.” I dropped the lump wrapped in wax paper on the table and approached her with cooltactfulness. “Walked Bree to her homeroom to make sure no one gave her any shit.”

“A show of force is never a bad idea,” she said cooly as she peered curiously at the coffee.

“Stopped by the fancy coffee place and picked up your concoction.”

Cassandra lifted an eyebrow and popped the lid on the paper cup to peer inside before giving it a sniff. “Okay, be serious. I know I give you shit about being a mind reader, but how do you know the kind of latte I drink?”

I leaned in and let my beard tickle her ear as I whispered, “All I had to do was walk inside and ask if a loud New Yorker had been in lately. And then I asked them to give me whatever she ordered.”

She snorted as she raised the coffee to her lips. “Impressive.”

I grabbed the breakfast sandwich off of the table. “Bacon, egg, and cheese on a roll.”

Cassandra looked genuinely surprised. “It’s not on a biscuit?”

“Not on a biscuit.”

She set the coffee aside and started ripping into the wax paper. “I could kiss you right now.”

“Fine by me.” Before she could get her hands on the sandwich, I grabbed her hips and pinned her against the counter, kissing her until we were both breathless. I tangled her hair around my fingers and gave it a gentle tug down, forcing her to look up at me. “Will you stop avoiding me now?”

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