by Lane, Soraya
“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, then 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 yes, 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. “Ryder, 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 at him 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, laughing 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 her studying law again. 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 school tuition,” she murmured, on all fours and nuzzling his neck this time, stroking his inner thigh and loving the sound of him 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? Then 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 him sneak up on her, Ryder’s arms snaking around her waist and pinning her back against 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, h
is 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 changed 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 breakfast for her belonged to her. Forever.
Can’t get enough of the King brothers?
A Lot Like You
Veterinarian and single mom Hope Walker knows how to handle an emergency, but dealing with Chase King is something else. When she shows up at the sprawling King cattle ranch, she finds that nothing has changed when it comes to her one-time lover. How is it that he looks hotter than ever, and why is she still so attracted to him after all these years?
Chase can’t believe it when his former flame arrives on his ranch. After all these years, she’s still the one who got away, and he’s not about to let her walk out on him a second time.
But beautiful, brilliant Hope isn’t about to get straight back into bed with Chase, and a long-buried secret might end up keeping them apart forever.
Want to keep reading? Pick up your copy of A Lot Like You here!
A Lot Like Forever
Nate King has always thought of his best friend’s little sister as firmly off-limits. But now that Faith is all grown up, Nate is having a hard time keeping away from her. And when Faith applies for the live-in housekeeper position at the King brothers’ ranch, Nate’s world is turned upside-down.
Faith needs to get her life in order, and who better to help her than her childhood crush, and her brother’s best friend, Nate King. She’s loved and lost already, and she knows Nate is a bad boy, so she’s not about to fall head over heels in love with him. Or is she…
The problem is that Nate is sexy as hell, and his Texas-sized charm is irresistible. Which means that all the best intentions in the world aren’t going to save Faith. But when it comes to love, Nate has to prove to Faith that he’s the real deal, and Faith is forced to make the most difficult decision of her life.
Pick up your copy of A Lot Like Forever here!
And if you find yourself wanting more, then check out Soraya’s new River Ranch series, featuring the Ford family!
Cowboy Stole My Heart is Sam’s story (Faith’s brother from A Lot Like Forever!)
Also by Soraya Lane
A Lot Like Love
A Lot Like You
A Lot like Forever
My One True Cowboy
Once Upon a Cowboy Christmas
All Night with the Cowboy
Cowboy Stole My Heart
Letters to Love
Always and Forever
Montana Reunion
Montana Homecoming
Montana Christmas
Rescued by the Rancher
The Navy SEAL’s Promise
Writing as Soraya M. Lane
The Last Correspondent
The Girls of Pearl Harbor
The Spitfire Girls
Hearts of Resistance
Wives of War
Voyage of the Heart
About the Author
Soraya Lane graduated with a law degree before realizing that law wasn't the career for her and that her future was in writing. She is the author of historical and contemporary women's fiction, and her novel Wives of War was an Amazon Charts bestseller.
Soraya lives on a small farm in her native New Zealand with her husband, their two young sons and a collection of four legged friends. When she's not writing, she loves to be outside playing make-believe with her children or snuggled up inside reading.
To connect with Soraya, visit her website www.sorayalane.com, or email [email protected], and to find out about new releases you can sign up to Soraya’s newsletter.
