His Dangerous Bride (The Brides of Paradise Ranch - Spicy Version Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

more like it.
    Hell, he was the luckiest man alive.
    “Trey Knighton.” He nodded, grinning from ear to ear. “He’s the sheriff. You’re not planning on robbing any banks, are you?”
    “No.” She brushed the idea off as though it were ridiculous. “I haven’t robbed a bank in years.”
    He laughed, loving his new wife’s sense of humor. Because she was joking, of course. Right?
    “Who’s that?” She nodded over to the bank where a tall, distinguished-looking black man in a suit that would make the finest tailors in San Francisco jealous was busy talking to a middle-aged man with snow-shite hair.
    “Which one?” Luke asked. “The dandy is Solomon Templesmith, Haskell’s banker and richest man, other than Howard Haskell and Rex Bonneville.”
    “He’s black,” Eden observed.
    “You’ve got a good eye,” Luke drawled. “He’s also brilliant, savvy, and ruthless when it comes to money. The man talking to him is Theophilus Gunn, the manager of the Cattleman Hotel. If you ever need anything done, no matter how complex or complicated, ask Gunn. He’s one in a million.”
    Eden hummed, and her eyes moved on. “Don’t you have a hairdresser? A dress shop?”
    Luke blinked and rubbed the back of his neck. “Why would we need them? Don’t ladies like to sew their own dresses and brush their own hair?”
    Eden snorted and shook her head. “This town was founded by men, wasn’t it?”
    “What makes you say that?”
    Eden raised a hand to point. “Bank, mercantile, saloon, jail, and that .” She ended by pointing straight at Bonnie’s place—where several of the girls had draped themselves on the porch wearing little more than skivvies, and were fanning themselves in the heat.
    Luke stopped, lips twitching. “Say, you didn’t, by any chance, used to work at a place like that, did you?”
    “No,” Eden giggled, amused instead of offended, thank heavens.
    “Oh. Good.” Luke shrugged. “I just thought…because you didn’t mind kissing a man you barely met and all…and because of that thing you said back at the station.”
    She dropped his arm and planted a fist on his hips. “So are you saying a woman has to be either a blushing miss or a whore? That she can’t kiss her husband like she means it without having low morals, or appreciate the sight of a finely formed rump?”
    “Um…well…I…” Oh Lord, he was in trouble now, and he hadn’t even been married an hour.
    Eden burst into a laugh as he squirmed. She punched his arm, then looped her hand through it. “Don’t worry. I know how things go. I have brothers, remember? And no sisters. Plus, Ma died after...” She cleared her throat, but didn’t elaborate.
    Luke breathed in relief. “Oh. Okay, I see.” That didn’t mean he didn’t feel like she’d knocked his heart down to his boots and back.
    “But women do like those things too, you know,” she added, almost as if she was telling him a secret.
    “Of course they do,” Luke said, although his thoughts ran more along the lines of “They do?”
    As they passed in front of Bonnie’s, the woman herself stepped out onto the porch, Rex Bonneville right behind her.
    “Girls, what are you doing?” Bonnie said, crossing her arms and tapping one white-leather-booted foot. Bonnie was an imposing woman who held herself with authority and never had a hair out of place. She was surprisingly young too—not even thirty. Why she had established a whorehouse in Haskell instead of marrying was almost as much of a mystery as why she spent time with Rex Bonneville.
    The girls on the porch rushed to sit straight, adjusting their scant clothing to be as modest as possible, which was a feat. Eden shifted her weight to one hip and watched the unfolding scene, a smirk tilting her lips. As soon as he was certain she wouldn’t expire with shock and indignation, Luke relaxed and observed as well.
    “It’s just that it’s so hot out here, Miss Bonnie,” Pearl sighed, giving herself another