Through the Dust (Black Springs Ranch, #2)

by Amber Palmer

Honestly, it kind of pissed me off how handsome he was. He had that whole ruggedly handsome, grumpy cowboy thing going on.

I liked the idea of antagonizing him a bit. I liked his anger, his fury, his attention.

I hated that I wanted to know what was keeping him up, that I even cared in the first place. I hated that I wanted to make it better.

I hope she left this loft with my fucking mark imprinted on her skin.

“You’re such a brat.” “What’re you going to do about it, old man? You gonna spank me?” Yeah, I fucking am.

“Make no mistake… I’m in control right now,” he said lowly. “And I’m gonna take my time, killer, because you’re right; I’ve been watching and waiting and wanting, and I’m not gonna fuck this up because I don’t know if I’ll ever get this again.”

His words cut off with a hiss as I reached beneath the band and pulled him free. “What the fuck, Bishop? How does this thing not get in the way of riding or working or, I don’t know, regular everyday activities?”

Of all the wasted years. His words were a lightning strike to the heart.

There was something about kissing in the heat of passion that looked different when the dust settled after a storm.

She thrived in chaos, in an organized disorder.

I’d learned early on that pushing Lennox’s buttons was all fun and games until she reached the point of no return. Once that happened… It was best to mind your balls because she would absolutely try busting them.

Though I’d deny it until the day I died, I was a bit obsessed with Bishop. I might even still have some of my old diaries that featured full blown fantasies about the hot, older cowboy if I looked hard enough.

He exuded confidence, the epitome of big dick energy. But hey, at least he had the package to back it up.

Bishop didn’t just talk the talk. He walked it, too.

“Bad girls don’t get to come, killer,” he muttered. “And from where I stand, you look like a naughty girl.” “I guess you’ll have to punish me instead. Really make sure I learn my lesson.”

No matter how scared I was, it wasn’t enough to stop me from diving into the deep end with him. Fuck it.

She smelled like me after spending all night in my arms and my sheets. I fucking loved it.

“I don’t give a fuck about the bacon when my new favorite meal is sitting in front of me. Besides,” I paused, grabbing the last two pieces off the frying pan and plating them, “it looks like you were already done.”

I wanted to stay up too late talking and spend lazy mornings between the covers. I wanted to take her grocery shopping and make a list of all the snacks she liked. Most of all, I wanted her to know that I’d be by her side come hell or high water.

Nothing scared the woman. I was sure the prospect of punishment overrode her hesitation to push my buttons.

Yes, he could be an ass, but that was something I’d grown to appreciate. It made those rare moments of vulnerability much sweeter.

But it was more. It'd always been more.

I just hoped he felt the same because I wasn’t sure how to return to a world where I didn’t love Bishop Bryant.

There was a wicked spark in his eye, one that told me I was going to be in a lot of trouble when he got ahold of me next, but I loved bratting him. That would never change. Especially now that I knew what punishments lay in store for me when we were alone.

“I think you’ll find that there isn’t much I wouldn’t do when it comes to you. I’m in the palm of your hand, sweetheart,” he said, pressing a kiss to the center. “Don’t crush me.”

“Okay, but how am I supposed to just let this go? Bishop, baby, you have porn hidden away in your underwear drawer,” she said, cupping my face and giving me a chaste kiss through her giggles.

She’d used my body wash this morning. The fact she smelled like me awoke some deep instinct, I felt like a damn wild animal.

“Who are you, and what have you done with Bishop Bryant?” “Dunno,” I said, ducking my head so I didn’t have to look at her. “Heard he went and fell in love.”

“I’m just like you! I’m a lovesick fool that she’s got wrapped around that dainty, infuriating finger of hers, and I don’t know what to do with that. I’m terrified of fucking everything up with her, and—are you seriously laughing right now?”

“I’m so fucking gone for her.”

Every decision I made was cautious. Careful. There was nothing I wanted to risk this life for. Until now. Until her.

Kissing Lennox Hayes for the first time had been life-altering. It made me want things I’d only dreamed about. It’d given me hope for a future—a better one where I could move away from my past and do something for myself.

She was the opposite of me in so many ways and the embodiment of everything I wanted to be. I’d never met anyone with a wilder spirit or a harder worker. Her stubborn streak rivaled my own, but it was never out of selfishness.

She knew what she wanted. If she didn’t, then she faked it until she made it.

There was no denying it. I wanted her snark, her bite, her unimaginable wit. I wanted to work beside her, to cheer her on, and vice versa. I wanted a relationship like Doug and Ruby, one filled with love and laughter and enough memories to last us a lifetime. Goddammit, I wanted it all. And there wasn’t anything stopping me from having it except for me. I was my own worst enemy.

“I am so disgustingly in love with you that nothing could change that. You could tell me to fuck off, and I would, but nothing can change the way this stupid thing in my chest beats for you.”

“Bend over the desk, killer. And keep those hands where I can see them.”

“That’s fine right now, but I’m done hiding, sweetheart. You deserve a loud love. Besides,” I said, leaning down with a smirk. “It’s getting too damn hard to keep my hands off you.”

The man constantly told me he loved me. He reminded me of a toddler who’d just learned a new word and couldn’t stop saying it. It was cute. Adorable, even.

For so long I’d made the mistake of thinking she was just a good time girl, the kind that didn’t take much seriously and laughed their way through life without so much as a care in the world, but I was so fucking wrong. Shame was my best friend whenever I remembered the way I’d dismissed her, but I was dead set on making it up to her. Even if it took the rest of my life.

I didn’t want to wait another day to make her mine, to show her I was all in.

“I can see through the dust, cowboy. You’re not fooling me.”

“What do you see then?” She was quiet for a moment, contemplating her answer before she gave it. “You. I always see you. Your love for the ranch, for our family, for me. How you’re the first one at the barn in the morning and the last one to leave at night. The way you put everyone and everything before yourself.”

“All I see is you, sweetheart.”