Cowboy's Conquest: A Big Sky Short Story

by Amelia Wilde

  It’s so stupidly, ridiculously hot, the way he says it—the way he waits for a fraction of a second, just in case I want to safe out.

  When I don’t, he takes me in a single thrust.

  I thought I knew Wyatt’s strength before. I had no idea.

  The thrust sings of all his work on the ranch. I haven’t seen him on a horse, but I know he rides one—a stallion, by the feel of him, one as strong as he is. I never asked what kinds of animals he ranches, but if he has to wrestle them, they’re no match for him. It knocks the wind out of me and I let out a wild cry, hands scrabbling at the comforter.

  “That’s it,” he says. “That’s it.”

  He pumps into me with a relentless rhythm, and for the first time in my strange, embarrassing life I am no one and nothing but a bundle of nerves set ablaze by a man’s body moving in mine. This man’s body moving in mine. He takes me, and I am taken. I am owned. I am his possession, just like everything else on this ranch. Everything else under the sun. As far as I’m concerned, he owns the world. He owns my world, and that’s all that matters.

  Wyatt reaches around in front of me and gives my clit a vicious circle with the tips of his fingers.

  That’s all it takes to set me off.

  I explode onto him. There’s an unearthly sound from somewhere close by. Me. It’s me. This sound could go in the HISTORICAL MUSEUM. It probably will, because I’m sure everyone in Paulson heard it.

  Wyatt’s muscles bunch and tense against my ass and with an animal growl he comes, emptying himself into me. The hot spill of him makes me come all over again. So dirty, my heart beats. So filthy. So right.

  I don’t know how long it takes for us to come down from the high.

  I only know that when it’s over, when we’re separate beings again, he gathers me into his arms and wraps me in a clean sheet. He strokes my cheeks, strokes my hair, wants to know if I’m all right. He brings me a glass of clear water. He makes me drink.

  He lets me fall asleep.

  Wyatt

  I have to wake her up.

  It’s the worst thing I’ve ever had to do in my entire life. My mother would have said I was bringing drama to a poetry reading, which was a saying I never understood. I was never much for poetry.

  I want this redheaded angel to stay with me forever.

  But I have to send her home.

  What’s the alternative? That she stays in Paulson? That she gives up her life for me? I can’t leave the ranch. It’s in my blood, and my brothers count on me to steer the ship. She works in Denver, and the thought of being surrounded by all those buildings makes my skin crawl.

  I sit down next to her and listen to her breathe for another few minutes.

  It’s time for me to get to the booth. I’ve got to stand there and pretend I care about selling beer. I don’t. I don’t care about anything but her.

  I’ve fallen for her, and it took an hour.

  No—that’s about as true as a little white lie. It took several hours. Over several beers at the Fourth of July. It took watching her laugh, and seeing the way she looked at me, and drinking in the way she moved through the bar when we had to switch tables.

  She’s got a light about her. That’s the only way I can describe it.

  And what did I do? I made her mine, and now I have to let her go.

  I run my hand over shoulder and she stirs, deliciously tangled in the sheet. “Hmm?”

  “It’s time to get up, sweet thing.”

  She doesn’t question it, just follows me to the bathroom and lets me wash her hair in the shower and run a soft cloth over every inch of her. I’m hard as a rock by the time I’m finished, but there’s no time—I’m already late. There’s no time—she’s already under my skin. She lets me help her back into her clothes, and then I hear it—the sound I’ve been dreading since I opened the app on my phone an hour ago.

  Tires on the gravel driveway.

  I take her by the hand and lead her downstairs. Emily blinks, still rosy-cheeked and satisfied. “Where are we going?”

  “I’ve got to get down to the booth. Festival starts soon.” Every word is a knife to my gut. “And you’ve got to get back to the airport.”

  “The airport?” Thunderclouds roll across her face. “What do you mean?” Emily looks out the front window and sees the car idling there for the first time. “Did you call me a car to send me away?”

  “There’s no life for you here, sweet thing. And I can’t—” I practically choke on the truth that fills my mouth. “I can’t be the one to leave you behind again. That’s not fair.”

  “Oh, but putting me into a car and sending me packing is fair?” Her lower lip trembles. “I came here for you, Wyatt. I don’t want to leave.”

  “What’s here for you?” I spread my hands wide. “It’s not the kind of life a sweet thing like you deserves. It’s slow here.” A city girl like Emily needs more than a two-screen theater and wide open spaces. “I can’t ask you to stay. I won’t.” I straighten up tall. “Do you have your phone?”

  She opens her mouth like she’s going to tell me off, but nods instead.

  “All right. Be a good girl and get in the car.”

  I walk out with her and tell the driver he needs to stop at the Riverbend, then take her back to the airport. And then I lean in through the open window and kiss her like it’s the last time, because it is. I take her face in my hands. “You’re the sweetest thing.” I hope she hears everything I’m not saying. I hope she hears how much I’m going to miss her. I hope she hears how I only want the best for her.

  Emily shakes her head.

  She rolls up the window, and this time, I’m the one who gets left behind.

  “Stop staring. You’re frightening the customers.” My brother Maclin nudges me with an elbow. “Did you hear me? Earth to the jackass who’s ruining our sales.”

  “This is how I always look.”

  “No. You look like you did the first time you realized we send the cows off to be butchered.” Mack flashes a smile at a pair of ladies passing by.

  “You weren’t even there for that. Shut your mouth.”

  “What’s wrong with you? Just tell me. Tell me, ‘cause we’re standing here at this booth, and for some reason it’s still hot, and I need something to pass the time. Wyatt. Wyatt. Tell me.”

  My brother is the most obnoxious person on the planet, and usually I don’t care. I’m too old to let him get to me on an everyday basis. But right now I feel raw, like my insides are exposed to the Montana sun while simultaneously getting sandblasted.

  I’m a fucking fool.

  But I also know that it’s over. Whatever I had with Emily back at the farmhouse is over and done, and there’s no taking back what I’ve done.

  “Wyatt. Wyatt. Tell me. Wyatt.”

  “There was a girl,” I burst out. “She was perfect for me. She…likes what I like.”

  Mack’s eyebrows shoot up toward his hairline. “If you’re talking about what I think you’re talking about—”

  “Don’t bring this up to me in the light of day.”

  “You brought it up.”

  “You harassed me.”

  I love my brother, but right now I hate him enough to toss him into the middle of Paulson Bay at midnight and let the fish have him.

  “What happened, then?”

  “Sent her away. This place isn’t for her.”

  He purses his lips. “How do you know?”

  “I know. And I’m going to pay for it, so shut your trap.”

  Mack is quiet for a couple of minutes, tipping his hat and smiling at the people passing by. “Wyatt.”

  “What?”

  “What did she look like?”

  I sigh. “Most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

  “Red hair?”

  I whip my head around to stare at him. “Were you at the farmhouse before?”

  “Jesus, no.” He laughs, a belly laugh. “But look. Seriously. Look.”

  I turn a
round, and there she is, hair shining in the sun, stalking through the crowd. And I’ll be. She’s dragging a rolling suitcase.

  “Wyatt!” Emily shouts. “Wyatt, I don’t know your last name, but I can see you. Don’t you dare think about running away.”

  “Oh my god,” drawls Mack. “She’s a spitfire.”

  I shove him so hard he falls over.

  Emily stops in front of the booth and stabs a finger at me. “You listen. I bought a plane ticket to come find you. And you know what? I fell in love with you.” She looks around, daring everyone to stare at her. They’re staring, all right. “I love you. I don’t care if we only had sex for an hour. That is correct,” she shouts at the top of her lungs. “I had sex with Wyatt What’s-His-Name for over an hour, and I am in love with him.”

  “Westbrook,” supplies Maclin. “Hi. I’m Wyatt’s brother—”

  He never gets a chance, because I leap over the counter of the booth in a single bound and sweep Emily up in my arms. And then I kiss her like it’s the first time, because it might as well be.

  “I love you,” I murmur into her mouth. “You’re crazy. I love you. Stay with me.”

  She beams down at me. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  And then she kisses me again.

  Emily

  “You sure you want to stay?”

  Wyatt looks at me from across the booth at the Riverbend. It took exactly one visit for it to become our favorite booth. We’ve been here for way more than two visits by this point, and yet…

  He still asks the question.

  “I’ve been here for almost a month. I’m looking for a new job. Isn’t that enough proof?”

  Wyatt grins, and the shine in his green eyes is enough to knock me out right here at the table. “If you stay any longer, I might—”

  The door to the Riverbend opens hard on a gust of wind. It’s warm out, but the wind that blows through the bar has a cold edge to it, like winter come early. A silence falls, broken only by the sound of cowboy boots against the floor.

  The cowboy moves quickly over to the bar, and Greg the Bartender goes to meet him. It’s a strange hush. A shiver moves over my skin. The sensation’s like a cousin of anticipation, mixed with a healthy dose of the eve of an epic battle.

  Not that I know much about epic battles. But if I did, I’m pretty sure that’s what it would feel like.

  “Who’s that?” I dart my eyes to the side, not wanting to look at the other cowboy head-on. Honestly, I’d rather spend the rest of my life staring at Wyatt. I think I will.

  He wraps his hands tighter around his mug of beer and looks me dead in the eye. “That’s Austin Bliss.”

  “Ooh. Is he your arch-nemesis?”

  Wyatt lets out a quiet laugh, not enough to shatter the hush of the bar. “No. We’re just…not friendly.”

  “Why not?” I can’t help looking now. “You like similar hats.”

  “—New York. Today,” says Austin Bliss. I must have my head titled at just the right angle to hear him. “Didn’t want you to worry.”

  “I won’t worry unless I hear more news,” answers Greg the Bartender. “Safe travels.”

  Austin tips his hat, turns on his heel, and goes.

  He takes the wind with him.

  “I wonder what that’s about.” I can’t help myself. I’m a fan of gossip. When you’re as sweet and good and wholesome as I am, the slightest whiff of drama is like catnip. At least, I think it’s like catnip. I’ve never had a cat, so my knowledge of catnip-related things is mostly theoretical.

  “I’m sure the news will get around town when Austin’s good and ready.” Wyatt pushes his mug away. “But I don’t want to talk about Austin. I think it would be more fun to make some news of our own.”

  That brings me up short. “News of our own?”

  “Listen, sweet thing.” God, that grin is an addiction I’ll never kick for the rest of my life. “If you’re sure you want to stay, then I’m sure I want to marry you.”

  Joy. Unadulterated joy. One hundred percent joy. It sweeps through me like the sunshine bursting through the clouds. “Is that a proposal, sir?”

  He takes my hand in his and brings my knuckles up to his lips. “Will you marry me, Emily?”

  “Will you take me home with you?”

  He gets to his feet, pulling me with him. “Right now, if you want.”

  “I want.”

  “Is that a yes?” Wyatt’s grin is blinding.

  “That’s a thousand yeses.” He kisses me right there, in front of everybody, and I feel in the heat of his kiss that tonight’s going to be a doozy. Every nerve lights up in anticipation. “But I want to do one thing first.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Bother Greg about what Austin Bliss told him.”

  The door flies open again, another gust of wind moving through my hair. There’s no Austin Bliss this time, but the breeze carries unanswered questions and…the scent of a bonfire?

  “Come on.” I take Wyatt’s hand in mine. “Let’s go. Together.”

  Thank you so much for reading Cowboy’s Conquest! There’s more cowboy romance deliciousness going on in Paulson.

  A lone cowboy rides under the big Montana skies.

  His last name is Bliss.

  And like any man with those Bliss blue eyes and a ranch to his name, he’s in need of a wife.

  ➤ Order THE COWBOY’S BRIDE: A BLISS RANCH NOVEL and be the first to read about the mysterious Austin Bliss!

  If you’re in a summer beach mood, head over to the Bliss Resort and check in for the ride of your life! (Yes, it’s that Bliss family!)

  Roman Bliss wasn’t expecting his old high-school crush to e his new employee. There’s trouble in paradise, and she looks killer in a red bikini!

  ➤ One-click CRUSH ON YOU and read now!

  Or, if you’re in the mood for a military hero…

  Dayton was never allowed to love Summer. He went to war to forget her. But now he’s back in New York City, and his best friend’s little sister is all grown up…

  ➤ One-click BEFORE SHE WAS MINE today!

  If you loved Cowboy’s Conquest, please consider leaving a review on your favorite site! <3

  Giddy up!

  Flirt Club is headed west to Big Sky country!

  Join 11 of your favorite romance authors as we take the Cowboy Express to Paulson, Montana and wrangle up some of the steamiest short stories yet!

  Saddle up and hold onto your hats, ladies, ’cause this is going to be one wild ride!

  CeeCee’s Cowboys by Frankie Love

  Cowboy’s Melody by Rebecca Gallo

  Cowboy’s Heart by Laney Powell

  Cowboy’s Kiss by Sierra Hill

  Cowboy’s Fantasy by Tracy Lorraine

  Cowboy’s Redemption by Alexx Andria

  Cowboy’s Promise by Fiona Starr

  Cowboy’s Conquest by Amelia Wilde

  Cowboy’s Pride by Poppy Parkes

  Amelia Wilde is a USA TODAY and Amazon Top 100 bestselling author of steamy contemporary romance and loves it a little too much. She lives in Michigan with her husband and daughters. She spends most of her time typing furiously on an iPad and appreciating the natural splendor of her home state from where she likes it best: inside.

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  See you on the other side! <3

  P.S. There’s more where that came from!

  Are you in the mood for wounded warrior heroes with huge hearts? Read BEFORE SHE WAS MINE free in KU today!

  Do New York billionaires strike your fancy? Read about the irresistibly intriguing men of the Purple Swan, starting with RICH BOSS, free for a limited time!

  And don’t miss my favorite sweet, angsty,
hilarious single dad hero in OVER EASY, first in my laugh-out-loud Main Street Single Dads series! Read FREE today!

  Bliss Brothers

  Crush on You: Roman Bliss never saw Jenny London coming. This ugly duckling turned brunette bombshell could either save his resort…or destroy his heart.

  Stuck on You: Beau Bliss meets his worst enemy in this opposites-attract firecracker of a novel. Who’s going to win this battle?

  Hooked on You: Driver Bliss needs his freedom, but he might be willing to give it up for a mysterious one-night stand…

  Crazy on You: Charlie Bliss would be crazy to give Leta Quinn a second chance…

  Love on You: Huck Bliss should not fall for his best friend. Not now, not ever.

  Wish on You: The mysterious Asher Bliss returns…with a fake wife!

  Wounded Hearts

  Before She Was Mine: Dayton Nash survived the war, but he might not survive falling in love with his best friend’s little sister.

  After I Was His: War has torn Wes Sullivan apart. Whitney Coalport could put him back together…if they don’t destroy each other first.

  When He Saw Me: Bennett Powell never stops searching for the truth. So it makes sense when he falls for Eva…who is a liar through and through.

  The New York Billionaires Series

  Rich Boss: Kate already had a demanding boss. Then she meets Jax Hunter, the new owner of her company.

  Rich Scandal: Graham Blackpool is never getting married. But when a sex scandal forces him into a fake engagement, he finds himself wanting to say I do…