Page 142 of Westin

“Anytime, anywhere.”

She stands, and I rise with her. Her wet body presses to mine, and her hands wrap around my neck. She’s so soft now; not just her body, but in the way she touches me, the way she trusts me. I carry her out to the bed. In the top drawer of the dresser, where I keep our toys, is the ring I bought her in the winter. I take it out and cross the room.

“Hold out your hand,” I say.

She does, her brows rising when I slip it on her finger. Her breasts heave and her throat bobs as the ring glitters in the dim light.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispers. “How long have you had it?”

“A while,” I murmur, kissing between her breasts. “When can I marry you?”

“The summer,” she says. “I want Keira to have her moment.”

“Do you want to just go to the courthouse?”

She shakes her head. “No, I want a real wedding. Everyone at the ranch, anyone else you want there, can come. And I want David there as well.”

Shock ripples through me. Did she just say that? I lift my head. “What?”

She purses her mouth. “I want him to see that he didn’t break me. Maybe I’ll never have Carter Farms, but I will be happy. Fuck him.”

I hesitate. She gives me a sharp look.

“I am that petty, Westin,” she says.

My heart thumps as I bend down and kiss her deeply. “It’s not pettiness, darling. He deserves it.”

I let her go back to bathing, and I head downstairs. The wild animal in my chest is jerking at its leash, raring to go. Time to let Deacon know I just got my opportunity to invite a shit ton of people up to Sovereign Mountain.

Now, all I have to do is decide what I feel like doing to David Carter. Fuck figuring anything else out. Getting Carter Farms in Diane’s name can wait.

I want blood.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

DIANE

Keira and Sovereign get married at the ranch. Westin looks so handsome officiating that he’s all I pay attention to. Keira wanted a small, private wedding, so it’s just the ranch hands, the wranglers, and Sovereign’s close friends. It’s a balmy spring day, the sun is warm, and the grass is a rich, dark green carpet under our feet.

The wedding is small, but the celebration afterwards feels huge. Everything goes hazy at the end. Sovereign and Keira disappear just as the sun starts to set. Everyone else stays in the tent where the alcohol keeps flowing.

Someone sets up fireworks down in the valley, across the road. The beer runs out, and whiskey is pulled from back rooms and poured. My yellow sundress sticks to my body. Westin keeps trying to put his hands up under it, kissing my neck in front of everyone so I have to give him a look to make him behave.

At some point, Deacon and Jensen start shooting tin cans in the field. Sovereign leans out of his window and hollers at them to cut it out.

Westin shakes his head and mutters something I can’t hear. Then, he puts his hat on my head, and we slow dance, both too drunk to do anything else.

Around three in the morning, I’m in bed with a glass of water and Tylenol. Then, it’s morning, and I’m so hungover, I can’t do anything but sleep it off for the next twenty-four hours.

Westin brings me some toast on Sunday morning when I’m finally feeling better. He looks good, but his body tolerates alcohol better than mine. I brush back his wavy chestnut hair and let him kiss me. He tastes minty, like he just brushed his teeth.

“No alcohol at our wedding,” I say.

He laughs. “I think it’ll be alright,” he says. “Just no whiskey for you, darling.”

I sigh, feeling a little messy. “Okay, no whiskey for me.”

His mouth trails down the side of my neck. “I’ll have better things to do than drink on my wedding night.”

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