Page 193 of Mad As Hell

Ryan came down the hallway, still dressed in his clothes from the wedding.

Cori’s nose wrinkled. “Why do you look fancy?”

He smiled back at her without a care in the world. “I had something important to do this morning. I was just about to go change.”

“Can we ride horses now?” Cori blew past his explanation, not needing details.

Ryan shot me an amused look, and I shook my head. I had zero desire to climb on top of an animal and ride it for hours… unless that animal was the man I’d married.

His gaze turned molten as he watched me, like he knew where my thoughts had gone. I bit the corner of my lip and forced myself to look away before I jumped him in front of his sister.

“Actually, Maddie and I have plans today. Is that okay?”

Her face fell a little.

“I’d like to go horseback riding,” Bex volunteered from behind me, brightening the girl’s face once more. “But it’s been a little while since I’ve gone, so you might have to show me how.” She maneuvered around me on the staircase and came down, holding out a hand for Corinne to take.

“I can show you,” Corinne assured her with all the seriousness an eleven year old could muster.

“Congratulations,” Ms. Wallace murmured, flashing Ryan and I a secret smile before trailing after Cori and Bex.

Ryan came around the banister, and I paused on the last step as his hands came to my waist.

“Hi, Mrs. Cain,” he murmured, his thumb stroking my hip.

I tilted my head to look at him. “What plans do we have?”

“There’s apparently this whole law about marriage not being final until it's consummated,” he reminded me.

My eyes rounded with feigned horror. “Well, we can’t have that.”

“Absolutely not.” He leaned forward, his lips brushing my collarbone. “But there’s still one thing I need to do before I whisk you away and don’t let you out of bed for the next day.”

I wound my arms around his neck. “God, I love the way your mind works.”

“Just my mind?” His breath tickled my throat as he kissed his way up my neck.

I hummed in approval and turned my lips to his ear. “I love the way your cock works, too.”

He groaned, his hands tightening to the point of bruising on my waist. “Fuck, Maddie.”

I leaned back with a grin. “That’s the plan.” I gave him a pointed look. “Provided you get dressed and finish whatever pressing task is keeping you from being inside me.”

“Tease,” he muttered, turning me on the step and cracking the palm of his hand across my ass to get me moving. I yelped and stumbled up a step. “Get this sexy ass upstairs.”

With a giggle, I started up the stairs, narrowly avoiding his fingers as they grabbed for my ass and tried to slide up the inside of my thighs. He chased me down the hall to our room, and I wrenched the door open with a breathless laugh only to stop short when I saw someone was already waiting for us inside.

I glanced back at Ryan before settling my eyes on Bishop. “Uh, hey.”

“Hey,” he greeted, jerking his chin at Ryan. “Ready, man?”

“Ready for what?” I began, but Bishop turned, and I noticed the tattoo gun and machine on the desk.

Ryan stepped around me and stripped off his shirt, tossing it at me with a wink. “Hold that, baby.” He sat in a chair beside the desk and laid his arm across the flat surface while Bishop sat in the other chair.

Like he’d done it before, Bishop took a cloth and wiped down the inside of Ryan’s bicep where three sets of numbers rested.

10.01

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