Omega’s Refuge (Rambling Cow Dude Ranch #1)

Chapter One

“Can you at least tell me what you have planned for our vacation?” I asked my alpha, Steve, keeping my eyes on the road ahead. “I’ve been driving for over an hour.”

When we’d begun our trip, I’d held out hope we’d end up on a sandy white beach, drinking ice-cold Mai Tais. But that hope was quickly fading as we continued to drive through Livingston, Montana. Because, while Livingston was less arid than our hometown of Billings, it was a far cry from an island paradise.

“If I tell you where we’re going, it’ll ruin the surprise.” He glanced up from his cell, giving me a fleeting smile. “Be patient, babe.”

I frowned. “Well, are we driving the whole way, or are we flying somewhere? Can you at least tell me that?”

“No, we’re not flying anywhere.” He grimaced at my dejected expression. “Sorry. I thought you’d realize that since, if we were flying, we’d have left from Billings Logan Airport.”

I frowned. “I guess that’s true.”

“We’re almost to our destination, though.” He said cheerfully. “It’s just a little farther.”

“Okay.” I did my best to stuff down my disappointment as my hopes of an exotic island vacation were dashed. Even if we weren’t flying to Hawaii, at least he was putting in some effort for once. I had to hold on to that and try to keep a positive attitude. We needed to have a good time together, wherever we ended up. Our relationship had been rocky the last three months, to put it mildly.

We’d been friends since high school, but officially together as a couple for the last year. However, despite giving me his bite a year ago, I’d caught him cheating on me with multiple omegas. I’d broken things off, but he’d come crawling back last month. My trust had been horribly damaged, but I still loved him and wanted things to work out.

I stared out the windshield at the landscape that surrounded us. The open plains of Billings had long ago given way to hills covered in a patchwork of green grasses and scattered clusters of juniper and pine trees. I was mystified by where we were going. I wasn’t a skilled camper, and neither was Steve. So where could we be headed?

I sighed. “So, you won’t even give me a hint about where we’re going?”

“I told you, I don’t want to ruin the surprise,” he murmured.

“I get what you’re saying, but I’m starving and my back hurts from sitting in the car for so long. Will I at least get to shower and eat when we arrive at our destination? ”

“You think I’m taking you somewhere where you can’t shower or eat?” He gave a sardonic laugh. “Why would I do that?”

I gripped the wheel tight, trying not to let his mocking tone annoy me. “I’m just really tired and curious, that’s all.”

“Fine.” He sighed. “I’ll spoil the surprise, if you insist. I booked us into the Rambling Cow Dude Ranch for a week.”

I didn’t speak for a few moments because I was so shocked.

He glanced over. “Aren’t you happy? I booked us a vacation. You’ve been nagging me to do that.”

I sputtered, “But… a dude ranch ?” I couldn’t for the life of me understand why he thought that was something I’d be happy about.

“That’s right.”

I scowled at the road. “But, why would you take me to a dude ranch?”

“So we could get away together. You’re always bitching I never do anything romantic for you.” He grabbed a bag of sunflower seeds from the center consol and popped some in his mouth. “So I did this for you.”

“With me,” I corrected him.

“Huh?” He looked confused.

“I usually complain you don’t do anything romantic with me, not for me. There’s a difference. You’re not doing me a favor by spending time with me.”

“Now, don’t go getting all touchy, Tanner.”

“You’re definitely acting like you’re doing me a favor,” I muttered.

“I didn’t mean for it to come off like that.” He rubbed my shoulder. “Come on, don’t be mad.”

I grimaced and grudgingly said, “Okay.”

He went back to eating sunflower seeds, rolling down the window so he could spit out the shells. “The important thing is we’re getting away for a bit. We need this time together, right?”

“Yes, but why’d you choose a dude ranch, of all places?” I tried not to sound accusing, but I was definitely disappointed. I’d hinted about going to Hawaii at least a hundred times, but he’d decided this was the right choice?

He shrugged. “You said you spent a summer on your grandfather’s ranch before high school.”

I frowned. “Yes, that’s true. But I also told you my grandfather was a homophobic jerk who almost ruined my summer vacation.”

He squinted at me. “Did you say that?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, Steve. God, he was awful to me. How did you miss that part of the story?”

He wrinkled his brow. “I’d swear you sounded like you had fun that summer.”

I sighed. “I had fun riding horses. But overall, my grandfather made that summer torture. He was really hard on me. He thought I was too soft and that my parents had spoiled me. That summer certainly didn’t leave me with a good feeling about anything cowboy related. I told you all of that.”

“Did you?” Steve rubbed his jaw.

The fact that he hadn’t picked up on how unhappy that summer had been for me was typical of Steve. Not counting the cheating, his inability to listen to me was one of our biggest issues.

When I didn’t speak, he glanced over. “Are you mad?”

“I’m disappointed,” I said softly. “I feel like you don’t listen to anything I tell you. That makes me feel like you don’t really care about me.”

“Of course I do.” He reached out and squeezed my thigh. “I mean, I planned this whole trip for you—I mean, for us—so that we could have some fun. We need some fun, don’t you think? Things have been tough for us lately. I thought getting away from the city together would be just the thing we needed to start fresh.”

I met his gaze, and my heart squeezed because he looked so sincere. But I knew from experience, Steve was adept at putting on an act when needed. I hated that I suspected he had ulterior motives for taking me on this trip, but that was how much damage had been done to our relationship because of his lying and cheating .

“Come on, babe,” he said softly. “Don’t be a poor sport. It’ll be fun.”

“Fun?” I murmured softly. When was the last time Steve and I had fun? I couldn’t even remember. When we’d merely been friends, we’d had good times, but once we were in a relationship, things had changed.

“I know things have been strained between us,” he said.

“Yeah, that’s why I suggested we go to counseling.”

He sighed. “Therapy doesn’t work. Everybody knows that.”

I scrunched my face. “I don’t think everybody knows anything of the kind. Therapy definitely can help people work through issues.”

“Well, I have no interest in telling some stranger our personal business. Besides, a vacation is way cheaper and more fun than relationship counseling, right?”

“Counseling isn’t supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to help fix what’s wrong.”

He exhaled. “Yeah, yeah. I know. But, we’ve known each other forever, Tanner. We don’t need a fucking therapist to psychoanalyze us. I think if we can relax, and have a really good time together, we’ll be just fine.”

“Maybe.” I had my doubts. Yes, relaxing and having fun together was a great thing, but it wouldn’t necessarily fix my trust issues. I still didn’t understand why Steve had cheated to begin with. I’d thought things had been going fine between us, but then I’d discovered the text messages from other omegas, and used condoms in his car.

He squeezed my thigh. “You’re so tense, babe.”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I’m definitely tense. I have many reasons for that.”

“You mean because you lost your job?”

“I didn’t lose my job, the contract just ended.”

He nodded. “Sure, but that still means you need to find another job. I’m sure the strain of that is huge.”

“It’s on my mind, yeah.” I glanced at him. “But most of my strain comes from what happened with those other omegas.”

He winced. “You said you forgave me. We need to put that in the past, babe. We have to. There’s no point in taking me back if you can’t forgive me.”

“I have forgiven you,” I said gruffly. “But forgetting is harder.”

“But it’s essential. We can’t move forward if you’re still pissed about what I did. I was weak and I strayed. I’ve said I’m sorry many times.”

“I know, but trust doesn’t just magically return. You really hurt me, Steve.”

“I know, babe,” he said quietly. “But if you won’t let it go, we won’t make it. ”

He was right. That didn’t mean it was an easy thing to do, though. “I’m trying hard to forget, okay? I really am.”

“I hope so.” We drove in silence for a few moments, then he said softly, “Hey, Tanner.” He gave me a flirty smile.

“Yeah?” I said warily.

“How about I help you relax?”

I frowned. “How?”

He gave a husky laugh and slid his hand from my thigh to my crotch. “What better way to relax than sex?”

I stiffened and made a strangled sound as he stroked my dick through my jeans. “Sex? But… I’m… I’m driving .”

“So?” He smirked. “I don’t mind if you don’t.”

My face warmed, but my dick hardened at his touch. “I don’t want to crash.”

“Tanner, come on, don’t be so uptight.” He squeezed my dick harder through my jeans. “You need to learn to let loose, babe. That’s one of my complaints about you. You have plenty of complaints about me, well one of mine toward you is you’re too damn uptight. You need to be more spontaneous.”

“But… I’m driving ,” I wheezed as his hand tightened on my dick. “We could crash and die. ”

“We’re not going to die. You just focus on the road, and leave the rest to me.” As he spoke, he slowly unzipped my jeans.

“Jesus.” Sweat beaded above my lip as he reached inside and gently tugged my cock out of my underwear. “Steve, this… this is nuts. I don’t know about th… this.”

“Shhh.”

I groaned as he unhooked his seatbelt and lowered his head. When his warm mouth engulfed my dick, I groaned even louder. The one thing in our dysfunctional relationship that had always been pretty good was the sex. Maybe he was right. Maybe I needed to be more spontaneous. If he needed that, I should at least try not to be so uptight. I spread my thighs, panting as he sucked harder and harder.

Just let go and enjoy it.

“Feels good,” I mumbled, my eyes practically crossing from pleasure. “But if you keep that up, I’m probably going to drive off the road.”

He lifted his head, face flushed. “Then pull over. Then I can finish you, babe.”

Heart racing, I pumped the brakes and slowly steered toward the side of the road. My body was hot and tense as the car bumped over the uneven dirt, and rolled to a stop. “That was so d… dangerous,” I mumbled.

“So? Maybe I want a little danger in my life.” He smirked and went back to sucking .

“Shit. Shit. Shit.” I moaned, and threw the car into park. I couldn’t help thrusting upward into his hot mouth. I wasn’t one for public sex, but at the moment, I didn’t care anymore that we were in a car where someone might see us. I needed to feel like my alpha really wanted me. Me and no one else.

He took me deep, and my eyes rolled up in my head. I clutched at the vinyl seat as he licked the swollen tip, and ran his warm tongue down up the length before swallowing me fully again. I wiggled, and thrust into his mouth, gasping.

Running one hand through his long, brown curls, I bucked my hips in time with his slurping. He was putting in a lot more effort than usual, and it felt amazing. He had my cock deep down his tight throat, and his tongue was working me skillfully. His technique had improved so much, one might almost think he’d been taking lessons.

Or practicing on other omegas.

That thought put a damper on the moment. It was hard to get over the fact that he’d cheated on me multiple times. Knowing he’d probably done this and other things with other omegas hurt and pissed me off. I’d never once cheated on him, and it wasn’t like I hadn’t had the opportunity. I had what most referred to as boyish good looks: blond hair and blue eyes. I’d had plenty of offers to cheat, but I’d stayed loyal to Steve. That made his betrayal even more painful .

But hurt or not, his wet, hot mouth had me on the edge. I wasn’t going to last much longer. My thigh muscles burned as I used his mouth for my pleasure. “Can’t believe we’re doing this,” I panted, squirming in the seat. I gave another nervous look at the rear view mirror, praying nobody pulled over to check on us. “But it feels good.”

“Spontaneous sex is the best,” he rasped as he unzipped his fly. Then he began to stroke himself off as he reclaimed my cock with his eager mouth. He swirled his tongue and cupped my balls, and I lurched toward my orgasm as my control slipped.

I threw my head back, and accidentally pressed on the horn. “Oh, shit. I… I’m gonna come,” I cried out. My eyes blurred and I lost control, pumping my load down his tight throat.

He lost his control too, splattering his cream all over my jean covered thigh. He groaned and swallowed my spunk, the sound of his pleasure rumbling along my throbbing dick.

He sucked every last drop of my release, and then sat up, grinning. “Yum.”

I was lightheaded as I stared up at the ceiling of my car. Even though I was a little embarrassed at how I’d behaved, I allowed myself to enjoy the warm, pleasurable sensations rolling through my body. Then I tucked my dick back in my underwear and zipped up my pants .

I forced myself to meet his gaze. “We never did that before. That was a first.”

For me. Maybe not for you.

His eyes flickered, and he wiped his cum off my jeans with a tissue. “Just trying to spice things up a little.”

That comment did nothing to comfort me. With his history, it wasn’t a great sign if he was getting bored. “I guess I never thought of a dude ranch as being sexy.”

He shrugged. “This ranch has real cowboys. Is there anything sexier than a cowboy?”

I frowned. Was he picturing a threesome with a cute cowboy or something? “Nothing sexier than a cowboy?”

He grimaced. “I mean, other than you, of course.”

“Right.” I put the car in drive and pulled out onto the road. “I guess I should be happy you bothered to bring me with you.”

“Don’t start, Tanner.” He put his seatbelt back on, and ran his fingers through his hair. “You don’t need to be insecure. Yes, I strayed, but I came back to you, didn’t I?”

“Yeah. You did,” I murmured.

But for how long?

“What we have is special.” He stared out the window. “You’re my omega, and I need to stand by you. ”

His wording didn’t exactly thrill me. “I wish you didn’t always make it sound like you’re doing me a favor.”

“That isn’t what I meant and you know it. But I gave you my bite. That’s a serious step. I’m trying to do the right thing.”

My stomach tensed. “Steve, I could get the bite removed if I had to. They can do wonders with plastic surgery now.” The procedure was obscenely expensive, but if worst came to worst, I could remove his bite.

He frowned. “That’s not the point.”

“What is the point?” I clenched my teeth. “Because if you only came back to me because you feel it’s your duty, feel free to leave.”

He was quiet for a moment, then he said, “I don’t want to leave. The point I’m trying to make is that you’re my omega and I love you . I want this to work.”

I said softly, “Okay.”

He took my hand. “We’re going to have a fabulous time together at this dude ranch, you just wait and see.”

“I hope so.” I glanced at him. “Do you even know how to ride a horse?”

“I went riding once a long time ago. I’m sure I’ll do fine.” He leaned his head back against the seat. “I mean, how hard could it be?”

I exhaled. “God, I hope this vacation isn’t a trainwreck. ”

“It won’t be. It’s just what we need. I’m serious T. Doing something adventurous together will help us bond.” Steve sounded drowsy, not surprising. Steve always fell asleep after sex.

“I guess I was hoping for something more romantic like a luxurious spa on the beach, and hot tub sex.”

“I’ll feed you grapes and screw you in your bubble bath. Will that shut you up?” He stuck his feet up on the dashboard by contorting his body.

“You’re such a sweet talker.”

“Like I said, we need this, T.” He sighed.

“Fine,” I griped “But if I get kicked in the head by a bull, I’m going to be pissed.”

His only response was a soft snore.