Page 163 of Tempting Wyatt

Asher eyes me steadily before I give him a nod, silently confirming I want his contacts to look into our father’s murder. Jesus. Even the thought sends a cold shiver down my spine. He tells us he’ll be in touch when he can, then takes off toward the helicopter. We all watch while it lifts from the ground and shrinks in the distance.

Once it’s out of earshot, Caleb turns to me with a clenched jaw. “We don’t need his contacts, Wy. I know exactly who is capable of?—”

“We’re going to eat some cake,” I tell my remaining brothers sternly. “Then I am going to dance with my beautiful bride. We’ll talk about this more tomorrow. Understood?”

Caleb’s eyes harden, but Isaac claps him on the back.

“Come on. Let’s go find out which of the female guests are feeling sad about being alone at a wedding. See if we can’t make them feel better.”

He winks at me, and I’ve never been more grateful for Isaac’s wayward dick.

After we cut the cake—with an axe because Ivy thinks it’s hilarious—and feed each other a piece, I’m on the dance floor with my angel in my arms. My Hollywood angel, who came here to save me.

Fuck, I love this woman so much that it’s hard to share her with the guests. I want to throw her over my shoulder and carry her to our home, bury myself in her until morning.

And I will.

Soon.

We dance and smile for photos. We laugh until there are tears in our eyes when Jasper makes an appearance, beelines for the cake table, and turns several well-dressed ranch hands into rodeo clowns, trying to get him put away.

Ivy says those are going to be her favorite pictures.

As we lock eyes during our last dance, she smiles up at me. “You happy, rancher?”

“Happier than I’ve ever been.” I kiss her soft lips, tasting her and making filthy promises in her ear that I plan to make a reality very soon. “I’m so glad I found you.”

She brushes her nose against mine, eyes gleaming. “If memory serves,Ifound you.”

I laugh because she’s right. She did. My angel came to save me and my ranch. And I plan to fully express my gratitude every day for the rest of my life.

But there’s a storm coming. I can already see the clouds forming on the horizon.

The problem with having what everyone else wants—a beautiful wife, thousands of acres of land, and a thriving ranch—is that there will always be someone plotting to take it.

Whoever took my dad out, they want something. This land most likely. Land that now belongs to me.

They’re coming for us. I can feel it in my bones.

With the back taxes paid and the mortgage caught up for the moment, they’ll be looking for less legal routes to attack and take what’s ours.

Asher’s in pain that he’s trying his best to hide. Caleb’s riding the line between living dangerously and dead. And I still think Isaac’s relentless skirt-chasing might get this place burned to the ground someday.

But today, my mom and my sisters are smiling, and mywife—fuck, I want to shout it from the rooftops—my wife is in my arms, where she belongs. I hold her even tighter. Whisper more filthy promises in her ear. Promise to love her and cherish her and please her for all the days of my life.

A sizable check of questionable origins and a homicide detective’s card burn a hole in my pocket. I don’t know what will come of this investigation into my dad’s death or if I’ll be able to save my brothers from their own demons, but I know that this here, now,thisis my legacy.

This life, this land, this woman.

My angel. My future. My forever.

The one thing I do know with absolute certainty is that I’ll protect her, this ranch, and the rest of my family the same way my father did.

Until my dying breath.