by Soraya Lane
Her eyebrows pulled together slightly, uncertainty written all over her face.
Ryder glanced at his brothers, then at Shelly. They were all gathered around them rather than standing on the sides. “I know you guys probably thought I was crazy this morning, but as you can see Chloe was just as crazy and agreed to marry me.”
Chase cracked up. “Only because she didn’t have time to think about what she was agreeing to.”
Ryder scowled and Chloe nudged him in the side, laughing along with the others. “The truth is that this woman right here is amazing, and a wise old grandfather once told me that”—he grinned at Chloe—“if a woman is beautiful and smart, can beat you at cards, and you don’t ever want her out of your bed, then only a fool would let her go.”
“Your granddad told you that?” she asked, one hand on her hip.
Ryder laughed. “Yeah, he did actually. But he’s not exactly your stock standard grandfather. Which is why he’ll probably make us do this all over again when we get back.”
“Come on, marry her already,” Nate moaned.
“As I was saying,” Ryder interrupted in a loud voice, “since this is my wedding and all. When it’s yours you can, oh, hang on, no woman will ever be stupid enough to marry you.” Now it was Nate scowling. “Anyway,” he continued, turning back to Chloe, “you wanted proof that I was in love with you, that I was capable of commitment, and this is it. I’m yours for as long as you’ll have me.”
“And I’m yours,” she whispered, leaning in for a kiss.
Ryder pulled away for a second. “This is the part where I kiss the bride, right?” He didn’t wait for a response, but he did kiss the hell out of Chloe, dipping her back into a kiss for everyone to see.
“The new Mrs. King, huh?” he murmured against her mouth as he slowly brought her back up.
“Let’s not get too carried away with this missus business, or me taking your last name,” she murmured back. “But yeah, I’m yours, Ryder. Completely, totally yours.”
“Now that’s what I’m talking about.”
“I can now officially announce you as man and wife,” the officiant said, throwing a handful of colorful confetti over them. “And I would tell you to kiss the bride, but you’ve done that already!”
Nate and Chase let out whoops, clapping and whistling, and Shelly joined in, grabbing hold of Chase and planting a smacker of a kiss on his lips.
Ryder tucked an arm around Chloe and gazed down at her. “What do you say to an early night, just the two of us in that big bathtub?”
Chloe nipped his earlobe, teeth grazing his skin as she hugged him tight. “Sweetheart, we’ve been just the two of us for three nights straight. It’s about time we hit the town, don’t you think? Show these guys a good time.”
He raised a brow, giving her his best impression of a sad puppy. When that didn’t work he tried glowering, but she only laughed and kissed him.
“We can paint the town red and still have fun later,” she murmured. “Besides, I have a rock to show off.”
Chloe wiggled her finger in his direction, admiring her ring. “You got me,” he said. “Three hours tops though, then you’re all mine. Deal?”
“Hmmm, when you say deal…”
“I’m not betting anything against you, Chloe. Not now, not ever. I’ve learned my lesson damn good.” In fact, he wasn’t going near a betting table without her by his side and on his team. When it came to gambling Chloe had him beat every time.
“Deal, then,” she agreed, looping her arms around his neck and leaning back when he picked her up and slung her across his arms. “But if there’s space in the big game room at the Bellagio tonight…”
He chuckled and pressed a kiss to her lips. “It’s our wedding night, darlin’. You want to play poker, then that’s what we’ll do.”
“You know, I hated Vegas a few months ago, and because of you I love the place again.” She sighed and gazed up at him. “And to think you were just a hot cowboy I checked out at the rodeo one afternoon, huh?”
“Happy to be of service,” he told her, carrying her back down the aisle as his brothers threw way too much confetti at them.
“Oh, you can be of service to me,” she joked. “You’re all mine now, and I plan on putting you to good use.”
Ryder put her to her feet and skimmed his hands down her body, getting hard just thinking about what she had planned for him. He wanted her dress in a puddle at her feet, breasts bare and cupped in his hands, mouth tracing across every inch of her skin. He wanted her moaning his name and naked in his bed for the rest of his life.
“You sound like the perfect wife,” he muttered, running a finger down her chest and circling the top of one breast.
Chloe playfully smacked his hand away and put it around her waist instead. “Oh, I am, cowboy. Just you wait and see.”
Epilogue
“Don’t go,” Ryder said, reaching up and catching Chloe’s arm.
She gave in and let him pull her back down, lying over him, their naked bodies length to length. He stroked her hair, staring at her mouth and catching her lips in a kiss before she was able to say anything.
“Ryder,” she attempted, giggling as he expertly flipped her. She was pinned beneath him now and she didn’t bother to fight him, letting him hold her by the wrists.
“Why would you want to go to class when you could be here with me?” He waggled his eyebrows, stealing another kiss. “I could do all sorts of things to make it worth your while.”
She craned her neck back so he could tease his lips across her skin, the sensation of his tongue sending goose bumps of delight over her entire body. It would be so easy to just give in to him, to say yes, but she wasn’t going to.
“You make a compelling argument,” she told him, running her nails down his back, digging them in hard enough to make him yelp. “But then so do I. Which is why I’m going to make such a great attorney.”
“I know, baby, I know,” he said, sitting up and tugging her up with him. “You know how proud I am, right? Dallas ain’t gonna know what’s hit it when you walk into the courtroom.”
“You do know that I’m specializing in property law, right?” she asked, lips brushing his shoulder, tongue darting out to taste his salty skin. “I’m not going to be all L.A. Law, but I am going to be able to offer assistance to Nate with all your family’s property deals.”
“And here I was thinking your work was gonna be all role-play, like on the TV.”
She swatted at him, trying to pull a frown and failing when he stroked her hair. He loved to tease her and try to distract her, but Ryder had been with her every step of the way when it came to finishing her law degree. She knew he’d have loved to have her on the ranch at his beck and call, but she needed to carve out a career for herself and he respected that.
“You know, this gorgeous guy I met lost a bet and ended up having to pay my tuition,” she murmured, on all fours and nuzzling his neck this time, stroking his inner thigh and loving the sound of his groan. “It would be such a shame not to make the most of his generosity. Maybe I should move into a dorm so I can focus and not get distracted all the time.”
“You,” Ryder muttered, “are a witch.” He grabbed her cheeks between his hands to plant a wet kiss on her lips before pushing her off the bed and slapping her butt. “And that’s for being such a tease. Any more smart comments and I’ll have to punish you.”
Chloe left him in bed, admiring his muscled, lean body as he stretched out. The man was insanely comfortable in his own skin.
“Want to go riding after class?” Ryder asked.
She called out over her shoulder as she gathered her clothes, “My inner thighs are still killing me from the last ride.”
Ryder’s laugh echoed into the bathroom as she turned the faucet on and waited for the water to run hot. “You sure that was from the horse ride?”
“As opposed to the two-legged beast I rode last night?”
“Come on, whadda ya say? T
hen I can show you the new bulls I have.”
Chloe groaned. “Can’t we just walk there?” It wasn’t that she didn’t like horses, but the riding was seriously killing her legs.
“I thought you wanted to be a real cowgirl? You can’t live on the King ranch without being a pro on horseback.”
Chloe didn’t hear Ryder sneak up on her, his arms snaking around her waist and pinning her back against him, her butt rammed hard into him.
“Ryder, no!” she protested, squealing and thrashing to get away from him. Chloe pushed him back and leaped into the shower, closing the door and holding it shut tight. She burst out laughing as he flexed his biceps and made a play at forcing it open. “Go away. I’m serious.”
“Is that any way to speak to your husband?” he asked, spreading his hands against the glass and giving her a sad puppy-dog impersonation.
“Yes,” she replied, slowly taking her hand off the door and rinsing her hair. “Now be a good boy and go make me breakfast.”
Ryder’s laugh was warm, his wink lazy as he gave her one final glance up and down before the glass fogged over completely. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Never thought you’d be the one making breakfast in the mornings, did you?” she teased.
“Hey, if it means keeping you happy, I don’t care if I have to scramble eggs every morning for the rest of my life.”
He left her alone in the bathroom, massaging suds through her hair. Nothing beat living here with Ryder, and having … the rogue.
“Ryder!” she called, poking her head out of the shower and stretching to look into the bedroom.
“You change your mind about me joining you?” he asked, appearing in the doorway, jeans slung low and his golden-brown torso bare.
“You weren’t going to call Nate’s housekeeper over to cook breakfast while I was getting ready, were you?” she asked, not taking her eyes off him as she rinsed the shampoo off her long hair.
“Never crossed my mind,” he said, “but that’s a damn fine idea. Thanks!”
“Ryder!”
“I’m kidding,” he said, poking his head in and snatching a quick kiss. “The one thing I know how to make is a mean breakfast. I promise it’ll be all me.”
Chloe couldn’t wipe the smile off her face as she finished showering and reached for a towel. No matter how many times she pinched herself, she still couldn’t believe that the sexy-as-hell cowboy cooking her breakfast belonged to her. Forever.
Coming soon…
Look for the next novel in this HOT Texas Kings series by
Soraya Lane
Cowboy Take Me Away
Available in January 2016 from St. Martin’s Paperbacks
About the Author
As a child, Soraya dreamed of becoming an author. Fast-forward more than a few years, and Soraya is now living her dream! She describes being an author as “the best job in the world,” and she hopes to be writing romance and women’s fiction for many years to come.
Soraya loves spending her days thinking up characters for books, and her home is a constant source of inspiration. She lives with her own real-life hero and two young sons on a small farm in New Zealand, surrounded by animals and with an office overlooking a field where their horses graze. For more information about Soraya, her books, and her writing life, visit sorayalane.com or www.facebook.com/SorayaLaneAuthor, or follow her on twitter @Soraya_Lane. She would love to hear from you. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Epilogue
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE DEVIL WEARS SPURS
Copyright © 2015 by Soraya Lane.
All rights reserved.
For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
www.stmartins.com
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eISBN: 9781466865303
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / July 2015
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
