I struggled against his arms, but he was too strong. I don’t think he even noticed my movement as he walked us both out of the bank and over to the horses. He threw me up on the back of a horse with no saddle and climbed on in front of me. He pulled on the reins and sped off from the bank. I was too scared to try and jump off of the horse. Instead, I hugged myself to the robber’s back and pleaded for my safety.
“Please, let me go. I won’t tell them which way you went. Please, let me go back to my family.”
It was no use, the man just ignored me as he continued riding off out of town. All I could do as we rode off into the middle of nowhere was wonder what Malcolm was going to think when I didn’t show up—unless someone told him that I was kidnapped. I wondered if he would try and save me, and of course, the answer in my head was yes. He wanted to make up for the fact that he had lied to me. He had to come for me, unless he decided to be with Sonya instead. Her father didn’t care about cowboys; he wouldn’t forbid her from being with him. Being with Sonya would be easier for him.
I started to cry against the robber’s back, sniffling and rubbing my tears against his vest. He changed course and headed towards a large rock formation, stopping the horse from riding past it, and jumped off the horse, pulling me down with him. He backed me up against the hard rock, lifting his hand to caress it against my tear-stained cheek, rubbing away the salty liquid.
“Are these for the family I stole you from?”
I just shook my head. I didn’t want to explain my broken heart to a complete stranger.
“Please don’t cry. I hate to see a woman crying.”
I tried to stop crying, taking a deep breath to calm myself, but it was no use. I only ended up crying more. The solution the robber had was to press his cloth-covered lips against mine, pressing them hard enough to let me feel the pressure of his kiss against my mouth. I had never been kissed like that before. I was a good girl and only let lips touch my knuckles before this moment, but I was so hurt and lost that I let myself go completely into the robber’s kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly, still crying as my mouth swiveled to move against his. When I was panting and out of breath, he pulled away from me, pulling the cloth away from his face, letting me see his perfect features and stare more clearly into those deep, leather-brown eyes.
“There is no reason to cry, flower. I’ll return you home if that is what you want.”
“Flower?”
I was staring at him, obviously confused by the sweet endearment he called me. I wasn’t sure if he knew my name or not, but it was a strange coincidence, one that frightened me a little, especially now that he had kissed me like that.
“Please don’t hurt me,” I said. “Please, for my father’s sake, leave me virtuous.”
That was when the robber started to laugh. He was holding his gut and almost falling onto the ground before straightening himself out and moving his hand back up to caress my cheek again. His thumb ran down to slide across my lips as he smiled.
“Iris, I would never hurt you, nor do anything you didn’t want me to.”
“How do you know my . . .”
Realization had hit me just as my question was coming to the end. Malcolm wasn’t going to be coming to rescue me from the robber, because he was the robber. Without thinking, I raised my hand and slapped him hard across the face, glaring at him, but making no move to run away. I was going to get revenge, and an apology before I let that man out of my sight.
Chapter Eight
“I suppose I deserve that.” Malcolm rubbed his cheek but still smiled at me.
“Why did you kidnap me? Why not just introduce yourself like a gentleman?”
“Because I’m not a gentleman, Iris. I’m a cowboy, wanted by the law. I figured kidnapping was the best cover for you.”
“What do you mean, best cover?”
“If you decide you don’t want this life with me, you can return home, escaping the robber, instead of coming home from running off with a cowboy.”
I’m sure my mouth formed a large oh as more realization hit me. He kidnapped me to save my honor in case I didn’t want him or his life. I could only smile, throwing my arms around him and crushing my lips against his. It was in that very moment that I realized I was in love with that man. I didn’t care that he was a cowboy or that my family despised him. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him.
I let out a moan when I felt him push his tongue past my lips and into my mouth. It was an unexpected sensation that made my head float up to the clouds. His hands grabbed a hold of my hips and pushed me back up against the hard stone, pressing his chest hard against mine as he explored my mouth, one flick of his tongue at a time. I knew that a woman should not be alone with a man before marriage, especially in an intimate setting, but I couldn’t stop myself. The more the taste of his mouth invaded mine, the more control I lost over myself. I lifted one leg up and wrapped it around his hip, my thigh grinding against his gun and holster. Malcolm pulled away from me, breathing heavy and licking his lips.
“You sure you want this? Want me?”
“More than I have ever wanted anything.”
“This is not how I imagined having you the first time.”
“Doesn’t matter, as long as it’s you having me.”
I smiled at him, reaching up to caress his stubble-covered face with my fingertips. All of this was against everything I was taught as a child, and my heart was racing with desire. Malcolm could sense that I was ready and waiting; he stripped off his gun holster and tossed it aside, pulling his belt out of his pants and tossing that away too. His pants started to fall down, settling on his thighs. I looked down to see a semi-erect cock, the first genitalia I had ever seen, including my own. I began to blush, reaching out to touch it with my fingertips. The skin felt so soft. I traveled down the entire length of him. Malcolm shivered and gripped my wrist, moving my hand off of his body.
“There will be plenty of time for that later, love.”
I smiled and nodded, wrapping my arms back around his neck. He pushed up my dress and lifted me up, wrapping my legs around his hips. He lifted one hand up to his mouth and sucked two fingers between his lips, pulling them out and sliding his tongue up and down them.
His wet hand moved down between us, slipping inside of my undershorts and rubbing the palm of his hand against my pussy. I had to bite down on my lip to keep from moaning too loudly. It was pure bliss to feel his hand on me there, grinding and rubbing against me. My entire body was on fire, my thighs beginning to soak themselves as he readied me. He dipped two fingers deep inside of my pussy, his mouth moving to my neck to cover it in affectionate kisses.
“I’ve never been with a girl like you, Iris. I hope that I don’t hurt you.”
“No hurt, just pleasure. Oh my lord, the pleasure.”
I could feel him smiling against my neck, his hand swiftly pulling away my undergarments. He moved his hands to my ass. He pulled my hips tight against his, his hand moving back down between us, this time to position his cock at my pussy entrance. His lips worked their way from my neck to my mouth, his tongue finding its way into my mouth again just as he pushed himself inside of me. I let out a groan of pain as I felt him break through my virgin barrier, my nails digging into his neck.
“Shhh, I’ve got you, Iris. It won’t hurt for long.”
I nodded, burying my head into the crook of his neck, letting him kiss and tease my earlobe as he slowly pushed into my pussy deeper. He stayed still, buried deep inside of me for a few minutes, allowing my body to adjust to him. When my body had accepted him and stopped clenching out of pain, he began to slowly thrust in and out of me, pressing me hard against the rock each time he pressed in.
“Are you alright, Iris?”
“Mmhmm, please, more. I need more.”
Malcolm nodded and thrust deeper inside of me, picking up his pace until he found a nice, steady rhythm for the both of us. I was moaning against his neck while he was nibbling on min
e. My body was trembling and shaking within his hold, my heels digging into his lower back as I tried to push myself onto him harder. As if animal instinct had taken over my body, I thrust myself into each of his thrusts, riding his cock, moaning and whimpering as he worked me up to the edge of orgasm. I could feel his moans and grunts vibrating against my neck, his cock throbbing inside of me. I could feel it against my inner walls. It only made it that much more exciting. My breath was getting lost between my lips and lungs, my skin covering itself in sweat and goosebumps.
“I love you, Malcolm. I love you.”
As the words left my mouth, Malcolm thrust into me harder, taking his mouth off my neck and moving his right hand to the back of my head, pulling my head up to face him.
“I love you too, Iris. Oh, hell, I love you more than anything in this world.”
He pulled my head into his, crushing his lips hard against mine, devouring my mouth with need and desire has he pumped himself into me harder and more determined. I moaned against his embrace, feeling my whole body shake as a rush of release moved through my body. I could feel myself clenching around his cock, feeling it throb even harder. I screamed against his lips, feeling his own screams echoing through my mouth and vibrating against my tongue. I could feel him emptying himself inside of me, pounding between my thighs in hard, short strokes, making sure every last drop was wrung from both our bodies before we both collapsed onto the ground, barely able to breathe.
Chapter Nine
I lay there, wrapped up in Malcolm’s arms, both of our backs getting covered in desert dust as we enjoyed just being together. Occasionally, he would kiss my forehead and pull me tighter against his side.
“Malcolm, can I ask you somethin’ and you not get mad?”
“Of course, my sweets.”
“What happened between you and my daddy?”
“Oh, you want to know that?”
“Yes please.”
“Well, what did your daddy tell you?”
“Nothing except you were wanted by the law.”
“Alright, I’ll tell you. But no hating on your daddy. He was only doing what he thought was best.”
I just nodded, waiting for him to tell me the story.
“Well, he surprised me in town, found my home and noticed there was no horses around. I tried to lie and say I had just sold my herd and wasn’t going to get new colts till the spring. He wasn’t believing me, and went he went back into town to ask people about me. He came across the wanted poster with my name on it. Listed some of my crimes, was not very good. He came back out to my house and yelled for a good long while, then threatened that if I ever try and contact you in any way, he’d tell the law men where to find me, and ensure I never get out of jail again.”
“Is that why you wrote Sonya instead of me?”
“Yes ma’am. I didn’t want your daddy intercepting the letter, or doing something worse. But I had to meet you, had to see the woman who had captured my heart with only a few letters.”
“I’m glad you did. Being here is wonderful, and being there was awful.
“Well, there is no going back now.”
“I only want to go forward with you, Mr. Stenson.”
Malcolm smiled and kissed my forehead again, sitting up and pulling me with him, helping me up to my feet after that. He brushed as much dirt as he could off of my dress, smiling as he rubbed away the smudge of dirt on my face.
“I never expected to find such a wonderful bride through the mail service.”
“Bride?”
Malcolm smiled and kneeled down on one knee, holding up a ring made of string and grass.
“I know the ring ain’t much. I’ll get you a prettier one eventually, but . . . Iris, will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”
I was blushing and fanning myself. I wasn’t sure if my words were even words—they sounded like strange squeals—but I said yes and tackled him onto the ground, covering his face in small kisses as I said yes over and over and over again. I was so excited to become Mrs. Stenson. I didn’t care if he was a cowboy on the run—he was my cowboy on the run.
“I want nothing more than to be your wife.”
His arms were wrapped tightly around me, kissing me one last time before he tossed me up onto the horse. I cringed as I felt a stab of pain from my freshly abused thighs. I wrapped my arms around his waist when he joined me on top of the horse. He yanked the reins and guided the horse to carry on with our journey.
We didn’t spend much of the journey running. We took our time, letting the horse trot most of the distance, stopping every once and awhile for rest or drinks. We traveled like that all the way to the edge of the country, finding a nice, quiet spot near the ocean that nobody knew existed. Malcolm built a house for us there, and we used the money he had stolen from the bank to buy a few colts, starting up our own horse-breeding ranch just like Malcolm had spoken about in his letters. He taught me to ride a horse with and without a saddle, I taught him to talk with a bit less of a foul mouth—but joined him in his bad words every now and then—and we made love under the stars almost every night.
It wasn’t a surprise that I became pregnant so quickly after we had gotten together, which had us planning a real wedding so that we could be married before I began to show. That was the part of the fairy tale that I never got to live, though. In planning our wedding, we had no idea who we should and should not trust. I, of course, invited a few of my friends, and my mother, to come see me get married. I knew I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t have my mother there with me. Unfortunately, my mother handed the invitation over to my father, who used his connections across the country to track us down, along with the authorities.
Daddy was there on my wedding day with a sheriff and three deputies, all armed with pistols, waiting to take Malcolm off to jail for all of his crimes, including robbing the bank of Weston and kidnapping me. I tried to explain that I was never kidnapped, but nobody would believe me, not even my daddy, who never once looked me in the eye after he had found me. He had officially shunned me, considered me soiled and no good, claimed I was not his daughter and refused to acknowledge me as such any longer. I tried not to be too hurt by it. After all, if being shunned by my daddy meant a life with Malcolm, I’d accept it. Malcolm meant everything to me, and so did the baby growing inside me.
Regrettably, the world did not see fit for me and Malcolm to remain together, and the law made sure that Malcolm was never seen out of a jail cell ever again. I spent a few months visiting him every day, bringing him gifts and sweet breads, singing and reading to him, telling him how the pregnancy was treating me. Eventually, though, he asked me not to come anymore, told me it was too hard to watch me growing bigger with his child, knowing he’d never be able to hold the baby or me again for the rest of his life. I left that day crying, going to my momma and daddy’s house for comfort. My momma welcomed me with open arms, but Daddy just locked himself in his study, giving me only one choice if I wanted to be part of the family again.
Epilogue
It’s been a few years now since I’ve seen or heard of Malcolm Stenson. They had moved him to a jail far away from Weston. They also moved me away from Weston, delivering me to the doorstep of Flint the baker. He accepted my daddy’s proposal of marriage because he knew I was marrying him out of need, not money, and I accepted the proposal because I was five months along and it was the one condition my daddy said I had to follow in order to be considered his daughter again.
Not that it mattered much. Once Flint and I were married, I never spoke or heard from my daddy again. He stayed in Weston and refused to respond to any of my letters. I supposed he only said he would forgive me in order to save the family’s reputation. I finally understood what he had meant when he said I was no better than my mother. Her stories about my real daddy being a cowboy were true; she had run off with a cowboy while engaged to my daddy, and returned to him heartbroken and pregnant a few months later.
It made sense wh
y Daddy hated me so much after Momma came clean about that. She did so to gain permission to see her grandson, Malcolm. Yes, I named him after his daddy, because Malcolm will always be a part of my life, and I will always hold him in my heart. Everyone that knew frowned at the idea of me naming him after the bad cowboy that had kidnapped me and held me hostage for months without any word to my family, but my son knew the truth. I told him the story of his daddy every night at bedtime. It wasn’t the type of stories my mother would tell me about my daddy, though. No, I painted this cowboy in the perfect light, spoke of how sweet he was, how he built us a home with his bare hands, how excited he was when he found out that I was pregnant. How he had always hoped that it was a boy, and how proud he’d be of the boy he was.
My son always enjoyed hearing the stories, and liked the fact that they were our little secret. He knew Flint was very touchy on the subject, especially when my other children were around, but Malcolm always knew if he wanted to know about his daddy, all he had to do was ask me to tell him the story again. For a while, it saddened me that I didn’t have wonderful stories of love and adventure to tell my other children, especially my daughter Marissa, but instead of dwelling on how me and her daddy got together, I decided to support her in finding her own love and adventure, as long as it was a man not wanted by the law, and I told her the only reason for that rule was because I never wanted to see her cry, especially not for seeing a love behind bars as I had. All my children followed that simple rule, and all of them grew up happy, in love and with their own families, and when I see my son Malcolm holding one of his own children, I can see that same shimmer in his deep, leather-brown eyes as his daddy use to have, when he imagined holding our son in his arms.
Reverse Cowgirl on the Billionaire Cowboy
By: Erin Walsh
Romance: Yes, Stepbrother! Page 30
