Page 6 of The Rancher’s Wedding Betrayal (Billionaires of Evergreen, Texas #17)

HUNTER WATCHED FROM his office window as Eve’s truck disappeared down the long driveway. Third time this week she’d gone off with Braxton, claiming they had “errands to run.” What kind of errands required his stable manager and his fiancée to spend hours away from the ranch together?

Stop it, Ferguson.You promised to trust her, remember?

The memory of her tears and her broken plea—

Please don’t hurt me like that again.

It should have been enough to quell the suspicion gnawing at his gut. Yet here he was, watching the clock and counting the minutes until her return.

He tried to focus on the quarterly reports spread across his desk, but his mind kept drifting. What were they doing right now? Why all the secrecy? And why the hell did the younger man always look so damn pleased with himself lately?

Evelline wouldn't betray you, Ferguson...

He wanted to believe this. But all he could think of was how his own mother had left her own son without regret. And if the very woman who gave birth to him could do that, did he have any reason to think Evelline couldn't do the same?

The sound of tires on gravel jerked him from his thoughts, and Hunter resisted the urge to go downstairs, to demand explanations. Instead, he moved to the window, watching as Evelline jumped from the truck, laughing at something Matt said.

His table manager reached into the truck bed, pulling out a small package wrapped in a tarp. He handed it to Evelline, who quickly tucked it into her jacket before looking around as if not wanting anyone to see what they were to.

Hunter’s jaw clenched. Whatever was happening, he didn’t like it. Not one bit.

THE NEXT DAY, EVE WAS nowhere to be found at breakfast. Cathy informed him she’d left early, something about helping Matt with a new mare.

“She said not to wait on her for lunch, either,” Cathy added, refilling his coffee cup. “Said she’d be busy most of the day.”

Hunter grunted in acknowledgement, ignoring the twist of unease in his stomach. He had a ranch to run, after all. He couldn’t spend his days tracking his fiancée's movements like some lovesick teenager.

Or so he told himself. But by mid-afternoon, Hunter was already heading towards the stables, and the sound of Evelline's laughter had him feeling murderous.

He rounded the corner to find her standing with Matt near one of the empty stalls, both of them hunched over something in Matt’s palm.

“It’s perfect,” Evelline was saying, her voice warm with approval. “She’s going to love it.”

“You think so?” Matt asked, sounding uncharacteristically uncertain.

“I know so. Mary Ann always did have good taste.”

Hunter froze. Mary Ann? Evelline's childhood friend? The one Matt had a crush on years ago?

Fuck.

Had he been jealous and suspicious for nothing?

Self-contempt lashed his conscience when he remembered all the distrustful thoughts he had against Evelline. He turned to leave, not wanting to intrude, but this was also the moment Eve happened to look up and spotted him.

"Hunter!"

The way Evelline's face actually lit up at the sight of him nearly had Hunter wincing.

He didn't deserve her, dammit.

But there was also no way he could ever fucking let her go.

Matt was quick to excuse himself, but when Hunter caught Evelline and his stable manager exchanging knowing grins, his jealousy returned in full force, and just like that, he found himself disregarding what he had overheard about the younger man's feelings for Mary Ann.

After all, Braxton might have only eyes for the other girl, but what about Evelline? It was possible that Evelline's innocence simply made her unable to resist Hunter's touch...while still carrying a torch for the other man?

“Hunter?” Evelline was looking at him curiously. “Is everything okay?”

Something snapped inside him. In three long strides, he closed the distance between them, backing her into an empty stall.

“Hun—”

He took her mouth in a deep, hard kiss, and her body melted instantly against his, her arms winding around his neck. He pressed her against the wall, his hands gripping her hips with bruising intensity.

“What’s gotten into you?” she gasped when they broke for air.

Instead of answering, he spun her around to face the wall, his body caging hers from behind. His lips found her neck, teeth grazing the sensitive spot below her ear that he knew drove her wild.

“Hunter,” she moaned, arching back against him. “Someone might see—”

“Let them.” His voice was a rough growl as his hands slid beneath her shirt, finding bare skin. “I want everyone to know who you belong to.”

In some distant part of his mind, Hunter knew he was being driven by his demons, not desire.

But the way his Evelline was also responding to his touch made it impossible to stop.

She was grinding herself against his hardness, her breath coming in short gasps, and she didn't resist at all as Hunter yanked her jeans down, just enough for his fingers to find her core.

She was already wet and ready, a whimper slipping past her lips as his fingers brushed against her folds while his other hand palmed her breast beneath her shirt.

“Please,” she whispered, turning her head to capture his mouth in a desperate kiss.

It was all the encouragement he needed. He freed himself from his jeans, pressing against her entrance without pushing inside. Even now, consumed by jealousy and need, he wouldn’t cross that final line without her explicit permission.

“Is this what you want?” he growled against her ear, teasing her with just the tip.

“H-Hunter, p-please..."

He groaned as he slid between her thighs, not inside her but gliding against her slick heat.

It wasn’t the same as being truly inside her, but the friction was exquisite, maddening, and his Evelline seemed to understand instinctively what he was doing, with how she was also adjusting her stance to tighten her thighs around him.

“So good,” she whimpered, one hand reaching back to tangle in his hair. “Don’t stop.”

Hunter set a punishing rhythm, one hand circling her most sensitive spot while the other kept her pressed firmly against him. The stable filled with the sounds of their ragged breathing, skin against skin, occasional soft moans that neither tried to stifle.

He was too far gone to realize that Matt hadn’t actually left the stables—that the younger man could hear everything from where he worked in the nearby tack room.

All Hunter cared about was Evelline, the way she trembled in his arms, the soft cries she couldn’t contain as he drove them both toward release.

“Mine,” he growled against her neck, biting down gently as he felt her begin to tighten around him. “Say it, Evelline. Say you’re mine.”

“I’m yours,” she gasped, her body beginning to shake. “Only yours, Hunter. Always—”

Her words dissolved into a cry as she came, her release triggering his own. He buried his face in her hair, holding her tightly as pleasure crashed through him in waves.

For several long moments, they remained locked together, catching their breath.

Time seemed to move slowly, their senses settling back in reality in trickles as they gradually took in the scent of hay and horses, the distant sound of ranch hands calling to each other, and the hard wood wall Evelline was still pressed against.

Hunter carefully helped her adjust her clothing before fixing him own, but when she turned back to him, and he saw her flushed cheeks and lips made swollen by his kisses—

Fuck.

Hunter was already moving forward, his fingers grasping a fistful of her hair as he pulled her close for another kiss. When he lifted his head, her eyes were dazed with pleasure.

"Um...wow? I was just gone a few hours," Evelline said teasingly. "Did you miss me that much?"

“Always,” he answered, his voice rough with emotion that wasn’t entirely spent desire.

She rose on tiptoes to press a soft kiss to his lips. “I need to go clean up. See you at dinner?”

He watched her walk away with a slightly unsteady gait that sent a surge of male pride through him.

"Hey, Eve, wait up..."

Fucking Braxton again...

His jaw clenched, and Hunter pulled his phone out from his back pocket. He knew he shouldn't do this, but his fingers seemed to move of their own accord as he typed a message to his cousin.

Tell me again what you saw between Eve and Matt eight years ago. I need to know everything.

His thumb hovered over the Send button. One press, and he’d be breaking his promise to Evelline in the most fundamental way. Doubting her. Again.

Delete it. Apologize to her. Trust her.

But instead he found himself doing the opposite.

He hit Send .

And immediately felt agonizing remorse.

Fuck.

Evelline deserved better than this, dammit.

He headed back to the main house, taking the stairs several steps at a time, not wanting to waste another moment. All he wanted was to admit what he had done and beg for her forgiveness. But when he knocked on her bedroom door, and she called for him to come in—

This was not fucking good.

Evelline looked nervous, her hands behind her back. "There's something I need to say..."

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

"I wanted to wait and plan. Make it this huge and special surprise," she added in a rush, "but all of a sudden, I just couldn't wait."

Wait for what, dammit?

Evelline brought her hands forward, revealing a small velvet box.

Was this some kind of parting gift before she broke up with him?

With slightly trembling fingers, she opened it to display a simple silver band.

“I got Matt to help me weld this thing since I don’t have money to buy an actual ring—”

Hunter stared at the ring, understanding crashing over him like a wave.

I'm an idiot.

All those secret meetings and the package Braxton had given her...

The world's biggest fucking idiot.

All of it had been for this—a handmade ring, crafted with Matt’s help.

But I don't have to let her know that, do I?

Hunter hauled her into his arms, his throat too tight for words.

“I haven’t asked you yet,” she protested, her voice muffled against his chest.

“You already know the answer to it.”

Evelline pulled back slightly, a smile wobbling up to her lips as she asked, “So it's a yes—"

"You damn well know it is."

"—to being my slave?"

"As long as we're married—" He meant every damn word. "I'll be whatever the hell you want."

"Oh, Hunter..."

She threw her arms around him again, Evelline rising to her toes so she could press her lips to his, the kiss made excruciatingly sweet by the salt of her tears.

How the hell do I tell her about what I've just done?