Page 15 of Knot Her Cowboys (Big Sky Omegas #2)

O h. Fuck.

Oh, fuck .

Cooper was going to kill me. Hell, Riley might kill me too. Dakota and Levi might be more reasonable, but goddamn, they were going to be pissed too.

So why did it feel so fucking good?

I’d fucked Riley in the back of my truck until dawn had skirted the edges of the horizon, until her skin had finally cooled, and she’d dropped into an exhausted sleep.

I wished I could sleep too. But no. The brain cells were un-tranqed and I was fully fucking aware that the chaotic, cozy burn in my chest was Riley .

My new bondmate.

I had to savor these blissful moments because the second she woke up it was probably going to be open season on Cash. In my defense, I didn’t know she was going to have some sort of weird heat flare. And I super fucking didn’t know how helpless I’d be when she sank her pretty little teeth into me.

She cuddled so sweetly against me, sprawled over my chest, my cock still nestled in her warmth. I listened to her slow breathing, watched the rise and fall of her back, feeling smug as hell each time she shifted and started purring.

This was fine.

Well, it could be fine.

Maybe.

It would probably depend on how hard she freaked out when she realized she was stuck with me.

My purr rumbled.

No. This was not the time for purring. Except…I wasn’t going to be stuck with her. With her, yes, but definitely not stuck .

Riley stirred, groaning softly, her face rooting around until it planted against my throat. One big huff of me got her purr going again.

“You awake?” I whispered.

Another groan. “More sleep.”

“I should get you home.”

“Sleeeep.” She clung harder to me.

“Honey bun, I would love to let you sleep, but it’s gonna be sunrise soon and we are very naked in my truck bed. If we don’t get back to the ranch, there’s a good chance someone’s going to get an unintended eyeful of your gorgeous ass.”

She lifted her ruffled head, hair in every direction from a night of getting fucked, just visible in pre-dawn glow. My heart squeezed over how beautiful she was.

“Happy birthday.” I pulled her into a kiss that she readily melted for.

She smiled against my mouth, drifting to the side to kiss my cheek before sitting all the way up in my lap. “Guess we celebrated this one with a bang.”

Riley stretched, showing off every curve I’d had the pleasure of touching, my body instantly ready to take her apart again.

She laughed softly, rocking her hips. “Didn’t get enough of me overnight?”

“Bold of you to assume it’s possible to ever get enough of you.”

Nerves twisted my gut as I watched her wake up and start noticing what was different. Her brows pinched together, fingertips sliding between her breasts where they paused, the same spot on her where I felt the bond in me.

Riley’s gaze flicked up to meet mine.

“Please don’t be mad,” I said quickly. “I didn’t mean to.”

I felt the realization take hold in her, the awakening to what we had both done. Not anger, exactly, but she definitely wasn’t happy. “ How ?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Oh my god.” A bolt of panic shot through her and straight down the bond. “I’d started suppressants so my heat wouldn’t interfere with our move and I usually take them at lunch. I totally forgot with all the chaos of the breakup. Oh god, oh god .”

I cupped her cheeks. “Hey, it’s okay.”

“ Cash ,” she hissed, “It’s not okay. We can’t be bonded .”

“But we are.” I squished her cheeks, pushing her lips out in a little fish face.

“We can make it okay. You’re my best friend and I love you.

I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t hoping last night wouldn’t turn into something a little more permanent, that you might stay for a while and explore this thing between us, but?—”

“Cash, if you bit me on purpose, I swear to?—”

Hurt went off like a bomb in my chest, and instant regret blossomed on Riley’s face.

“Kinda offended you would think that. For one, you bit me first, and for two, I love you too much to take that choice away from you.”

Her bottom lip wobbled and I couldn’t stop myself from leaning in for another kiss. Desire bloomed in the bond, her fingers curling against my chest.

“I’m sorry. I love you too. I just freaked out and that’s not fair to you.”

I drew her closer until we were pressed chest to chest, our arms around each other. “You’re gonna have to talk to Cooper.”

“Cash, I won’t even be able to look him in the eye after this.”

“You’ll have to get over that because he kind of lives in the big house with us.”

Riley froze a half second before shoving back. “ Excuse me?”

“Um, Cooper is in my pack. Dakota and Levi too.”

Her hands clapped onto the sides of my face, squeezing tight. “You have a fucking pack and you didn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t want you to panic and leave. You were only going to be here for a couple of days as it was.”

Riley growled, but the sound disappeared when I snatched her back against me.

“You know you would’ve left if I told you Cooper lived and worked at the ranch. Your old alphas wanted to leave anyway, and I don’t believe for one second you wouldn’t have listened if I had told you Cooper could show up at any moment.”

Conflict twisted inside her. “You’re not wrong , but it was still really shitty.”

“I know. Trust me, I fucking know. I was selfish enough I didn’t want to lose what little time we’d have before you were gone again. If Cooper was there this weekend, I’d have said something, but he’s not due back until tomorrow morning. He goes to see Morgan every year for your birthday.”

Her guilt was like a ball of molten lead I struggled to breathe past. If it was that bad for me, how much worse was it for her?

“I hurt him too much. How do I face him?”

“I’ll go first,” I promised. “He can use up most of his crash-out energy on me before we pop you in front of him. I swear he’ll be happy once he gets over the initial shock.”

Riley wrapped every limb around me. “Why are you so good to me when I’m such a disaster?”

“That’s kind of the thing about loving someone.” I stroked a soothing hand down her back. “You love them whether they’re a disaster or not. Plus, I think we both know I’m not exactly a disaster-free zone over here.”

She took a huge breath in and let it out slowly, running her nose up the column of my neck to plant a kiss beneath my jaw. “I guess I should probably get off your cock so we can head back.”

“You could stay on it and we could cross all our fingers and toes we don’t run into the highway patrol.”

Riley giggled. God, I fucking loved that sound. “I think for the sake of my dignity and the luck I’ve been having lately I should put clothes on and sit in the passenger seat. Let’s not tempt fate any more than necessary.”

I moaned as she climbed off me, my fingers reluctantly unlatching from her hips. We located our clothing, scattered between the front seats and the truck bed, tugging them on as the sun crept higher.

She let me keep my palm on her thigh as I drove, a curious dance of desire and nerves swirling through the bond, switching firmly over to nervousness when I pulled into the drive for the ranch. It didn’t look like anyone else was awake yet.

We snuck into the big house like teenagers caught out past curfew.

“What the fuck, Cash?”

Riley shrieked, both of us turning to see Dakota and Levi sitting at the kitchen table. I pulled her against me, my palm against her chest where her heart galloped.

“Sorry.” Dakota rose to his feet, nostrils flaring and eyes widening the closer he got to us. “Okay, actually what the fuck, Cash?”

I stared at the ceiling. “Uh, so we have a new packmate.”

“She just broke off an engagement,” Levi hissed. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Riley bristled. “It’s not his fault.” Both of my packmates focused on her, a fresh bolt of lust and panic slamming down the bond. “I forgot to take my dose of suppressants and I had a heat flare. I’d be able to feel if he took advantage.”

Dakota sighed. “We have to tell Cooper. He’s going to flip.”

“Okay, but what about you two?” Riley asked softly. “Are you mad? We don’t even know each other.”

The tension melted out of Dakota and Levi instantly.

“We’re not mad at you,” Levi promised. “We know you’re our scent match.”

Riley stiffened. “Is that what that is?”

I poked Riley’s butt cheek, nudging her forward and Dakota instantly opened his arms to her.

She snuggled up in there, Levi standing close by, his hand cupped on the back of her head.

Her anxiety chilled out in their arms. That was a relief, at least. I already knew she liked them, but it didn’t hurt to make sure.

“So, you guys don’t just smell fucking incredible for no reason? How do you distinguish that from a scent match?”

The two of them exchanged a look over her head, Dakota opting to field that question.

“From everything I’ve ever heard about it, you just instantly know.

Maybe it’s something your conscious mind pushed back against because of your engagement, but you’ve been at ease with us from the start, so I can only assume you recognized it on an instinctual level. ”

She let out a little sound of distress and thunked her forehead against Dakota’s chest. “I feel dumb I didn’t figure it out. I guess you’re right that I knew, but I didn’t know .” Riley peeked up at them. “When did you know?”

“After the river.”

“So that’s not why you saved me? You’re just naturally a hero out of a movie?”

Levi laughed. “Well, for one, I wouldn’t willingly let anyone drown if I could stop it, and for two, Cash already loves you so that was more than enough for me.”

“I guess I should say welcome to the pack,” Dakota murmured, bowing his head to breathe her in. “I wish it was with a little more forethought, but I’ll choose to trust in fate.”

“Are you going to go back on your suppressants?” Levi asked. “I don’t want to push. I just want you to have control of any bonds going forward.”

“I probably should. I don’t really like them, but they do have their uses.”

Dakota glanced over to me. “I assume you’ll be taking this morning off. Are we instituting full omega leave for you?”

“That’ll be up to Riley.” My skin was already itching to have her pressed against me, but it wasn’t exactly fair to spring omega leave on my pack during our busy season.

“We could play it by ear,” Riley suggested. She slipped away from Dakota and Levi, wrapping herself around me. “I don’t mind tagging along on chores while we figure things out. Cash can hang out with me in the kitchen too.”

“You want to work after a fresh bond?” Levi asked. “You should be resting.”

Riley shook her head, holding on to me tighter.

“I’d rather do what I can. It’ll help me process if I have something to do with my hands and I promise I’ll rest if I need to.

Do we have to tell Cooper right this second?

I know I need to. I’m just…” Anguish flared up in the bond, knocking me breathless.

“I’m really scared he’s going to hate me, for this, and for everything before… ”

“He won’t hate you,” I insisted. “He’ll probably hate me, though. Anyway, we can call after you sleep. It’s about a two-hour drive from Morgan’s, so it’ll give us some time for you to emotionally prepare and for me to write out my last will and testament.”

Her nerves made me jittery, and I bent to kiss them away before her scent charred too much. Desire and relief lit up the bond.

“Come on, honey bun. Let’s get you to sleep. You had a long night and I want to snuggle up with you in an actual bed.”

She squeaked as I scooped her off her feet and she waved to Dakota and Levi overhead before I rounded the corner and traversed her up the stairs right into my room.

I didn’t even have to suggest stripping down.

She was already wriggling free of her clothes when I put her on her feet, and then she was climbing over my blankets to give me the most spectacular view of her ass.

Riley in my bed was something I had never dared let myself dream about becoming reality. But there she was. With a tentative smile she flipped my blankets back and patted the space next to her. I dove in, letting every inch of her gloriously naked body press against me, my purr instantly erupting.

She laughed, snuggling closer and tangling her legs with mine. “Happy to get your cuddles in?”

“Happy for every damn second I get with you in my arms.”