Page 129 of For Cowgirls and Kings

And then he does, stilling beneath me, his eyes never leaving mine as ribbon after ribbon of cum sprays inside of me, marking me as his from the inside out.

I’ll be his, forever, no matter what happens next.

FORTY-SIX

MATEO

May 5th, 2025

“You guys look…”Stetson eyes us skeptically, and I fight every instinct I have to look down at myself. Because I know what I’ll find. Wrinkled, disheveled clothes, that are more likely than not covered in not one, but two different cums.

I’m not mad about it.

I lean over, pressing a kiss on Dale’s slightly messier hair, her braid frizzy from where my hands had been tangled in it.

“Cute, adorable, hot, sexy? Take your pick,” Dale states dryly and I snort.

“Fucked,” Gus deadpans. I smirk at that, trying to hide the confirmation by kissing the top of Dale’s head a second time. When I compose myself enough to look up, Gus’s eyebrow is raised in challenge and I just shrug.

He’s not the least bit wrong.I am fucked.Both physically and emotionally. Because even though we just had the best car sex to likely ever have happened on planet earth, I’m aware that Dale’s withdrawing from me, and I’m helpless to stop her.

I expected this to happen, I just thought I’d have more time. More time to figure things out in my life, to show her I’d do anything to be in hers.

“Sit down you nasty love birds.”

“Nasty love birds? Stetson, I don’t know that I’d call us nasty when you guys are?—”

“Cute, adorable, hot, sexy?” Stetson taunts, throwing Dale’s words back at her.

“You guys are all cute and adorable. And I’m painfully single. So how about we start drinking, yeah?” Faith quips, tapping her menu on the table for emphasis. Stetson and Dale turn to her instantly, flashing equally guilty smiles as if both being chided by their mother.

We all feel bad, in actuality, for Faith. She’s a catch—sweet, compassionate, loyal, beautiful. But she’s never once mentioned dating, or a guy for that matter.Maybe she’s into girls?

I slide into the booth beside Dale, effectively trapping her and Faith next to her, in.

The waitress arrives, taking everyones order—margarita’s all around, mostly—virgin for Stetson, obviously, and water for Gus. When she retreats, I wait in a comfortable, but somewhat forced silence. Like no one knows what to say first.

I’ve been working so much, I’ve barely had time to spend with Dale, which I hate now more than ever. If she really does think she’s leaving me, is it driven by my sudden distance? Or is it something more?

And how much time have I wasted being away from her?

“How’s the baby?” Dale asks, forging on as she always does. Stetson rubs a hand over her very noticeable bump, and smiles softly.

“Doc says she’s growing perfectly. Haven’t had any issues so far, besides running the local grocery store out of pickle spears.”

“Spears, specifically?” I tease.

Gus scowls, and shifts an inch closer to Stetson. “You better believe it. Apparently, the crunch to mushy ratio is just better with spears. I learned that the hard way when I arrived withvarious pickles, thinking my wife would be excited, and was instead met with tears and forced to promise never to get the wrong pickles again.”

“I’m growing your child, you know? I can have whatever pickles I damn well please,” Stetson huffs.

“Which is why the grocery store calls me when they get their next shipment of spears each week,” Gus states, running a hand up her arm. Stetson physically relaxes, leaning into his touch. It should be sickening, seeing them so doe-eyed and in love, but it does nothing but make my own heart ache. Not only do I wish I’d grown up in a family full of the kind of love Stetson and Gus share, but I also want what they have with Dale so badly I can almost taste it.

Gus went through many trials to get his happy ending, and I know I must do the same.But damn, I’m getting impatient.

“You’re going to be the best daddy,” Stetson says wistfully, her eyes glued to the side of Gus’s face. There’s so much longing there, and I only ache more.

“You really are,” Dale says, her voice soft like she’s trying not to choke up.