Page 70 of Whiskey and Wildfire

A few more strokes and he was writhing in my arms, his body tensing as he cried out, coating my chest in his seed. Dakota’s release triggered my own, and I buried myself deep inside him as I came, waves of pleasure washing over me. We clung to each other, breathing heavily as we rode out the aftershocks.

Slowly, Dakota lifted his head from my shoulder, his dark eyes meeting mine. A soft smile played at his lips as he leaned in to kiss me tenderly. I returned the kiss, pouring all my love and gratitude into it.

We stayed like that for a while, trading soft kisses and gentle caresses as our breathing returned to normal. Eventually,Dakota carefully lifted himself off me, both of us wincing slightly at the sensation. He flopped onto his back beside me on the blanket, letting out a contented sigh.

I turned on my side to face him, propping myself up on one elbow. “Good riding cowboy,” I murmured, grinning at him.

“Not bad yourself.”

I scooched in closer, pressing my body up against his to keep out the night’s chill. We laid there for a moment, both of us staring up at the stars filling the wide-open Texas sky. It was a sight I’d never fully appreciated as a child. But after spending a few years in New York where I never saw even a single star on the clearest nights thanks to the light pollution, I realized how lucky I’d been to grow up in a place like Sagebrush. And now that I was here, at Dakota’s side, I wasn’t going back. Never again. This was home, even if I wasn’t on the ranch anymore.

“So,” I said after a while, trailing my hand down Dakota’s body until I had his semi-flaccid cock in my hand. “Is it my turn yet?”

I felt him give a heavy twitch and his dick began to thicken once more. Those dark eyes caught mine, sparkling in the starlight.

“Hop on, cowboy,” he grinned.

Chapter 27

Dakota

Ashroud hung over the entire ranch as Logan and I prepped for the auction. In the end, it was the only efficient way to sell off everything on the ranch all at once and try to alleviate some of the crushing debt Logan’s family was about to be in. And it would be mine too in a way. If Logan and I were going to be together, I’d have to help him pay it off. Honestly, it was the least I could do for his family after giving me a home for all those years.

It was hard to go through the barn, making sure tags were all in the right places and the horses looked their best. We knew what kind of people showed up to these foreclosure sales. They’d try to take everything as cheaply as they could get it, like vultures circling a dying cow. And I didn’t have any false hopes that the people of Sagebrush would show up en masse to buy our things at top dollar. They weren’t fond of me anyway and the rumor had already spread in the past few days that it was my fault that the ranch was going under.

I knew it wasn’t true, but that didn’t stop me from feeling like it was. If I’d just allowed me and my culture to be trampled, we wouldn’t be in this predicament. But Logan would hear nothing of it. In fact, out of everyone, he seemed the most chipper. Hewas constantly reassuring me that none of it was my fault, that he loved me, and that we’d always have each other despite it all. My heart swelled each time he said it.

As we finished up in the barn, Logan caught my eye and gave me that reassuring smile of his. “Hey,” he said softly, walking over to me. “It’s going to be okay. We’ve got this.”

I nodded, trying to believe him. “I know. It’s just... hard to see it all go.”

Logan wrapped his strong arms around me, pulling me close. I breathed in his familiar scent of hay and rich cologne, feeling some of the tension leave my body. “I know it is,” he murmured. “But remember, it’s just stuff. What matters is that we have each other.”

I pulled back slightly to look up at him, marveling at the warmth in his green eyes. How did I get so lucky to have someone like Logan by my side?

“You’re right,” I said, managing a small smile. “We’ll figure it out together.”

Logan leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to my forehead. “That’s my cowboy,” he said softly. “Now, let’s finish up here and head back to the house. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

As we walked out of the barn, the setting sun painted the sky in hues of orange and pink. The beauty of it all made my heart ache. How many more sunsets would we see over this land that had been our home for so long? It wouldn’t be many if the bank had their way about it. The foreclosure was less than three days away and they were already breathing down our necks.

We made our way across the yard, our boots crunching on the gravel. The house loomed before us, its windows dark and empty. It seemed to be mourning along with us. Caroline had gone back to Amarillo to help with her father and my mom wentback to the motel. Neither of them had the heart to watch us lose the place.

“You know,” Logan said, breaking the silence, “I’ve been thinking about what we could do after all this is over.”

I glanced at him, curious. “Oh?”

He nodded, a hint of excitement creeping into his voice. “I’ve been talking to Caroline, and she has a rodeo friend down in Amarillo. He says there’s good work out there, and he might be able to get us both jobs at the ranch that sponsors him.”

I felt a mix of emotions at his words - hope, fear, excitement. “Amarillo? That’s... that’s quite a change.”

Logan squeezed my hand. “I know it’s far and it’s a big city compared to Sagebrush, but maybe that’s what we need. A fresh start, away from all the gossip and judgment here in this little town. At least for a while.”

As we reached the porch steps, I paused, looking out over the land that had been my home for five long years. The idea of leaving was both terrifying and oddly freeing.

“What about your family?” I asked softly. “Your roots are here.”

Logan turned to face me, his green eyes serious in the fading light. “You’re my family now too, Kota. And my roots? They’re wherever you are.” He cupped my face gently, his soft hands warm against my skin. “We can always come back someday, if we want. But for now, I think we need to go somewhere we can both breathe easier and heal from all… this.”

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