Page 7 of The Rancher's Secret Relationship

"I know," the billionaire acknowledged. "But it doesn't mean I still can't have any fun with her, does it?"

Dutch words of profanity almost slipped past her lips when she saw the wolfish - almost cruel but outright devastating - smile that had unfurled over his lips.

Shit,Farica thought, and her heart immediately went out to Kady.

"I like seeing her squirm," the billionaire murmured.

Farica blinked.Did he seriously believe that?Couldn't he see, if he just took the time to think back on all the women he had fucked and left - it wasn't like him at all to care about whether he could make a girl squirm or not?

Her mouth opened and closed, but in the end, it was Slade's self-assured tone that made Farica decide to mind her own business.It's your funeral, dude.Or more to the point, it was his heart's funeral, if things turned out the way she suspected, and the billionaire actually felt more for Kady than he realized.

And if that was so, Farica thought, she just hoped her friend would realize the truth before it was too late, and he'd already done something stupid like hurt the girl he was starting to fall for.

Haven't Met You Yet

"But, Wolfe, what a big dick you have."

"All the better to tear you up with, my dear," the prince said as he sprang at her.

~ Big Bad Prince: Little Red Riding Hood Made Smutty by Marian Tee

FRIDAY MORNINGS WEREalways reserved for town hall meetings in Hartland, for which the town's fifty or so founding members (or their authorized representatives in some cases) gathered at the library's function hall to convene.

Among those discussed in this week's agenda was the approval of new member applications, a rigorous process that typically required three rounds of deliberation.

"Please affix your signature on AYE for the application to push through. Documents that do not have your signatures will automatically count as aNo."

Fifteen minutes later, and Stephen Everly - a man who had amassed billions in the energy industry but took on the role of an independent private practitioner of law in Hartland - formally declared the newest additions to their community:Devon Montgomery, Sean Northwood, Nicholas Sutherland, Logan Hardwall.

"Earliest permanent relocation date would be two years from now."

"Fair enough," Raj acknowledged, "and I don't see any of them having problems with that." As the one who had personally vouched for the four new members, it had been up to him to explain to the group about The Hartland Initiative.

Hartland's GDP per capita might be one of the lowest-ranking in the state, but that was exactly how the newly-established town's founding members wanted it to be. Everything that made Hartland less than ideal - from the remoteness of its location to its notoriously poor Internet signal - was as deliberate as the way the billionaires and heiresses that secretly made up the local community assiduously played their designated roles to perfection.

In Raj's case for instance, 'sheikh' and 'prince' may be the titles that came with his so-called day job, but in Hartland, the nature of his employment was of a humbler stature, being Hartland Stable's senior riding instructor.

One of the most important conditions for membership was for the applicant and his or her family to take the necessary steps to withdraw from the public spotlight. And since their newest members, dubbed by the media asSan Antonio's Finest Eligibles,still rode a rather high wave of popularity following Logan's much-publicized romance with his nephew's nanny, a two-year delay was definitely reasonable.It should be time enough, Raj thought, for the SAFE guys to pay who needed to be paid for their names to be forgotten and they could eventually start leading ordinary lives.

The meeting ended soon after, and as everyone filed out to leave, Slade found himself walking between the Blackwood brothers. The older set of twins, Thornton and Aidan, worked as a bookstore owner and police chief respectively, while their babybrother managed the flower shop just a few blocks away from Redwood Cafe.

"Hullo there." Of the three, only Ethan allowed his native British accent to slip out in private and was generally considered the most laidback of the bunch. "We had dinner at the cafe yesterday and got to meet your new waitress."

"Hard not to notice her," Aidan commented, "when she broke a plate the moment we came in. She's the jumpy sort, isn't she?"

"I think it's cute, though," Ethan asserted, and glancing at Slade, he asked, "Kady's like a breath of fresh air, don't you think?"

Slade tried not to bristle at how easily the younger man referred to Kady by her name. "Do me a favor," he said grimly, "and just forget she exists." Unfortunately, the warning only backfired.

There was a moment of silence, and then Ethan and Aidan immediately started grinning while even the normally gruff Thornton cracked a smile.

Fuck.

The thought of other men finding Kady's shyness cute was oddly irritating as hell, and that it had to be the Blackwood men to do so just made things a lot fucking worse. The twins could practically pass off as Keanu Reeves' twins (although granted, Thornton had more of a John Wick feel to him while the police chief better resembled the actor during his beardless, Constantine days) while their baby brother...

Thank fuck Ethan wasn't single, Slade thought darkly. As Farica had once put it, the youngest Blackwood was dangerous enough with just his charm alone, but add the fact that he was as rakishlygood-looking asHeathers-eraChristian Slater, he was definitely the one to keep an eye on.

On their way out, they spotted Anah manning the library counter, and all of them immediately slowed down to say hi.

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