A Contract Bride's Triple Surprise Read Online Free Page B

child was a joy to be cherished, and Trace’s boy was a rascal, eager to grab his long hair and chew on it.
    “I only kill men who need it,” he said. “Ravens are better company than most men. I always carry two knives in my side sheath and one in my boot. They go where I throw them. I know a few manners, and as you see, I speak English.”
    He waited for her reaction.
    “What about the baby?” She frowned up at him. “Playing with a baby doesn’t match your tough reputation.” She forced a rusty laugh. “Vicious killers wouldn’t want that to get out.” When he didn’t reply, she gave a small shrug as if it didn’t matter. “You don’t have to tell me.”
    “Yes, I do. I want a marriage based on truth.”
    “Truth?” This laugh was pure sarcasm. “I thought I signed a marriage contract with Nevin MacDougal. That’s hardly the truth.”
    He scratched his chin. “Yes, well, that had nothing to do with me.”
    She gasped. She scrambled to sit up. “Nothing to do with you? How, when you signed the paper and mailed it to me long before Prue had her baby!”
    Do not look at her chest. Do not check to see if the sheet slipped.
    His perfect control snapped. She sat cross-legged in the bed with the sheet resting in her lap. Her breasts were full and round, and her nipples pointed right at him. He stared.
    “Ross MacDougal, did you hear me?”
    Her breasts jiggled when she shook her finger at him. She finally realized why he was silent and slid into the bed once more, sheet at her chin
    “It’s rude to stare!”
    He continued to look his fill. He’d kept his cock under control all his life. His family knew him for never showing emotion. All those beatings and never did he cry. Why the hell did the tiny woman in the big bed make him feel like a sixteen-year-old with his first woman?
    “Not,” he growled, “when you’re my wife.”
    She shut her mouth, but the glare was still there. Though he cursed the effect she had on him, one thing was sure. This marriage, if she agreed to go through with it, would be a challenge. She had fire and gumption, which, if he was lucky, meant passion between the sheets as well. He enjoyed challenges, especially when the rewards would be high. If he played his cards right, he’d have a warm bed and hot woman whenever he was home. Nevin could keep her happy the rest of the time. Slow but definite steps were needed.
    He walked to the bed and sat. Not too close, but enough to let her know he wasn’t backing down. She didn’t move away, but she watched him very carefully.
    “Here’s some truth. Only my family knows I also carry another four knives that I keep hidden. I didn’t want that reputation. When the townies laid it on me, I made sure it stuck.”
    “Did I marry a bully?”
    “Nope. If you’re the meanest son of a”—he switched words when he saw her eyebrows coming together—“a gun around, trouble avoids you. It helps keep the MD ranch safe.”
    He bent his right leg and rested his ankle on his knee. Having never worn a suit before, he hadn’t appreciated the advantages. The loose material didn’t bind his cock like work pants. If he’d been in his usual canvas pants, there was no way he could sit. He held his ankle to give his hands something to do so he wouldn’t reach out and touch the near-naked woman lying beside him. The woman he had a legal right to throw on her back and take as often as he liked. As hard as he liked. And damn, he had never been harder in his life.
    “Because I’m older than Nev, Gil said I had to marry you because you had no choice but to accept me.” He winced at her gasp in response, but damn it, she’d best know the truth from the get-go.
    “We need sons to inherit the land. Gil and Prue had a daughter. If our first child is a girl, Nev will marry. He shouldn’t have a problem as he’s good with the ladies. I’m not.” He looked at her though his long hair hid his face. “It’s too late to do anything about it. The