His Dangerous Bride (The Brides of Paradise Ranch - Spicy Version Book 2) by Merry Farmer

vehemently. The other men stared at him. “You don’t realize half of what this woman is capable of,” he went on. “Neither do I, if truth be told, but I sure do want to find out.”
    Lawson leaned over and whispered something to Cody at the edge of the scene. Cody snorted. Billy and Oscar—one of Mrs. Piedmont’s men who was coming along to help out—exchanged glances that said they just wanted to see what would happen next.
    Travis glanced to Mason, then at Franklin with a shrug. “It’s up to you, boss.”
    Luke darted a glance to Eden to see what she thought of that. She stood her ground, a confident grin on her pretty face, as if her inclusion on the drive was a foregone conclusion.
    Franklin studied her. His expression twitched from an unreadable frown to an amused grin. “I’m newly married myself,” he said. “And I can’t imagine how I’d feel if I had to leave Corva for weeks on end.”
    “Corva’s a gem among women.” Eden nodded. “She was always one of my favorites at Hurst Home, always helping the other girls out. She offered to paint my portrait once, but for…various reasons, I declined.” The shifty look that popped to Eden’s face sent Luke’s thoughts racing. He didn’t have time to give it much thought, though. Eden went on with, “Tell Corva I say hello next time you see her.”
    Atop his horse, Franklin looked as though he’d been given a prize for valor. He nodded to Eden and said, “I will. I’m sure she’ll want to catch up with you once you get back.”
    It was all Luke could do not to laugh out loud. So that’s what she meant about being friendly to get out of sticky situations. Eden had to be the most clever woman he’d ever met, on top of the most beautiful and most sensual. She’d worked magic around Franklin Haskell, knowing exactly what to say to get what she wanted.
    “I appreciate that, sir.” She nodded respectfully to him, knowing she’d won. “And I promise to keep a sharp eye on your messy, smelly, ill-mannered cattle in the meantime.”
    Luke chuckled, heart light. At least, it was light until they started moving, figuring out which spare horse they could bring along for Eden. All that cleverness of his wife’s could easily be directed at him any moment. He was going to have to watch himself where she was concerned. But then, that was another thing he’d always heard about women that he suspected he was about to find out was true. Men thought they wore the pants in their marriages, but women were the ones who sewed those pants, and they could make them as tight as they wanted.

 
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
    Eight hours later, Luke’s heart wasn’t so light. In fact, he felt as though a fifty-pound buzzard had crept up on his shoulder and was staring down at his every move.
    “Watch the left flank,” Travis called across the milling herd of cattle as they rounded a bend where a slope met the stream a few miles outside of Paradise Ranch.
    Luke sat straighter in the saddle, glad at least that he felt as one with Marshall, his gelding. He spotted a pair of cows that looked more interested in investigating the slope than continuing on with the others. Instinct kicked in, and he nudged Marshall to investigate.
    “No, no!”
    A numb prickle crawled down Luke’s spine at Travis’s correcting shout. What had he done wrong? Anxious and frustrated, he turned Marshall toward Travis, who was now riding through the ambling herd to reach Luke.
    “What?” Luke called when Travis got close enough. “I was just going to stop those two from getting away.”
    He glanced over his shoulder. Not only were the two cows still straying, Eden had paused atop her horse to watch him. Her face was shaded by the wide brim of her hat, so he couldn’t tell what she thought.
    Travis rode close, evidently keeping his reply to himself until he could deliver it face-to-face. Perfect. Luke grunted. His wife was about to witness him being reprimanded when he was supposed to be