by Lori Ryan
Thank You for Loving Me
A Canyon Creek Novel, Book 3
Lori Ryan
Kay Manis
Copyright 2017, RMI Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved.
This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author/publisher.
Contents
Other Books By Lori and Kay
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Epilogue
About the Authors
Other Books By Lori and Kay
To find all of the Canyon Creek Series Novels, visit Lori and Kay at www.loriandkay.com! We’ve got a lot more coming in this world. Stay tuned at the end of the book for a sneak peek of the next book.
Lori’s Series can be found at www.loriryanromance.com and include:
The Sutton Capital Series
The Heroes of Evers, TX Series
The On the Line Series
and Lori’s writing in Amazon’s Kindle Worlds
Kay’s Series can be found at http://kaymanis.com and include:
The X-Treme Love Series
The Miracle Short Story Series
Chapter One
Devlin Darby moved her hips to the music, her skin vibrating with the bass beat thumping through the sound system as sweat rolled down her back. She stood on the dance floor of one of Denver’s trendiest night clubs, losing herself to the feel of the music washing over her. As a professional photographer, she traveled the world and loved every minute of it, but sometimes being back in the states gave her the chance to refuel in a way no other place on earth could.
Bonus points if that visit included good friends. This one did. Reuniting with her best friend, Maggie Lawrence, was just the break Devlin hadn’t even known she needed. Of course, watching Maggie dance was enough to bring a smile to anyone’s face. She watched Maggie with amused fascination, unable to stifle a laugh.
Her friend’s hands waved spastically above her head as if she were flagging down a plane, her hips gyrating with the music. She was more than a bit offbeat, but who cared. Maggie laughed, her smile brighter than the flashing lights overhead. They were here to have a good time, and obviously Maggie was.
Maggie lived in Canyon Creek, Colorado, a small town Devlin had always considered her home, even though she’d only lived there until she was twelve. Despite Devlin’s countless moves around the world after leaving—thanks to her father’s military career and now her job as a photographer—Maggie and she had remained close.
In a little over a month, Maggie would marry the town hottie, Ben Sumner, something that might bring out a twinge of jealousy in even the best of women. Ben was handsome, successful, devoted and most of all, loyal. But Devlin harbored no feelings from the green-eyed monster. She had absolutely no plans to tie herself down to one man for the rest of her life. She was a free spirit, a gypsy, and she liked it that way.
She rarely stayed in one place more than a month anyway, and she didn’t see herself ever settling down, no matter how hot and successful the man was. Or how much fun they might have between the sheets.
Devlin glanced around the dance floor. A small group of Maggie’s closest friends congregated around them. Devlin mimicked their moves, laughing and dancing, not used to the female camaraderie.
She and Maggie met in elementary school when Devlin marched up to the shy girl hiding behind the monkey bars, and proclaimed, “We’re best friends now.” Maggie nodded without protest, and from then on, that’s exactly what they’d been.
Maggie Lawrence was no longer that shy girl hiding on the playground. She’d found her place in the world and a man she loved. For that, Devlin was truly happy.
“I’m so glad you’re here!” She yelled over the music. The overhead lighting danced across her sweat-streaked face.
Devlin laughed as she took in her friend’s attire from head to toe. Maggie’s outfit announced to everyone why they were there. Her friend’s bachelorette party.
A bedazzled headband sat on top of her curly auburn hair, two light-up penises wiggling above her head from springy coils. Across her chest lay a satin sash that read “Same Penis Forever.” Apparently her fiancé had found the sash before the party and written “huge” before the word penis with a permanent marker.
Devlin didn’t want to think about the size of Ben’s junk, but if his was anything like his brother’s then the banner held some truth.
She ignored the shiver of arousal that ran through her at the memories that never dimmed.
Max Sumner and Devlin had hooked up a month ago when she’d flown in from New York City on a previous visit. She’d been scouting locations for a coffee table photo book she was working on and had returned to the small Colorado town, believing the breathtaking mountain views and fresh air would provide the perfect backdrop for the project. She knew there were other reasons she’d been drawn back to Canyon Creek Mountain. It was the only place that had ever felt like home to her.
Still, the hookup with Max hadn’t been planned, and if she’d taken a minute to think, she would have stopped herself. Sadly, he had a way of frying her brain anytime she kissed him. Devlin had always had a no-strings-attached attitude toward men. She wanted one thing only from them: sex. Good sex. And Max had given her just that.
Devlin had grown up in a house run by a dictator. Namely, her father, Louis Darby, Gunnery Sergeant. He’d controlled every aspect of her and her mother’s life. From telling them how to dress, how to wear their hair, and even her mother’s exercise regimen. His attitude toward women in general had been disgusting.
She had vowed early on in life never to let a man have that much control over her, not the way her father still did her mother.
She shook her head, banishing memories and bringing herself back to the dance floor. She focused on the addictive beat of the music, before realizing, addictive or not, she had to take a break.
Devlin leaned into Maggie, shouting in her ear above the music. “I need to go sit down, I’m beat.”
“Okay, hold on, I’ll go with you.” Maggie turned and yelled to the other women in the bachelor party group, pointing toward the general area where they’d highjacked a few tables earlier. She turned back to Devlin and grabbing her hand. “Let’s go to the bathroom.”
“No sw
eeter words.” Devlin laughed. She’d been drinking water tonight, volunteering to be the designated driver, but even sweating on the dance floor hadn’t stopped Devlin’s bladder from nearly exploding.
Maggie led her through the mass of people gyrating and jumping on the dance floor. They stood in a small line, their backs resting on the wall as they both fought to catch their breath.
Devlin tilted her face toward Maggie. “You having fun?”
Maggie’s eyes remained closed as a huge smile split across her face. “A blast. I’m having a blast, Devlin. It’s the best.” Her eyes fluttered open and she turned to Devlin. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“I told you I would be.” She’d come for Maggie but even a nomad like Devlin had to admit it was nice to hang out in one place for a few weeks. She rarely stayed at her apartment in New York for that long.
The line moved quickly and both women used the facility and washed their hands. Maggie slipped her arm through Devlin’s and practically skipped toward their table.
“Oh, shit,” Maggie said, coming to an abrupt stop, her hold on Devlin’s arm making Devlin stop with her.
“What?” Devlin stared around the club.
“There.” Maggie pointed toward their table.
When her eyes followed Maggie’s finger, she echoed her friend’s sentiment. “Shit.”
Standing around their table were three burly men, eyes flashing with a mischief that said the night was about to get more interesting.
Ben Sumner stood tall above the other men, his hazel eyes glowing as he raked a hand through his dark hair, searching the dance floor.
Maggie grinned and released Devlin’s arm, walking toward him.
Devlin muttered under her breath. “What’s the point of a bachelorette party if the bachelor shows up?”
Ben’s brother, Emmett, stood next to Ben, his gaze searching the dance floor as well, probably for his fiancée, Elle. Emmett looked so much like Ben it was uncanny.
Beside Emmett stood the town contractor, and second resident hottie, Shawn Braddock—affectionately known by all the girls in Canyon Creek as Shawn “Big Cock” Braddock. Devlin couldn’t validate Shawn’s nickname, but as she joined them at the table she couldn’t help but notice him. Clad in snug fitting jeans, shaggy blonde hair brushing against the collar of his button-down shirt, arresting blue eyes—yeah, Devlin would definitely buy a ticket for the Big Cock ride.
A little voice inside her head taunted, liar. She would never admit it to anyone, not even to herself, but since her time with Max, she hadn’t desired anyone else the way she had him. Without realizing it, she found herself searching the area for him like a love-struck fool. Idiot.
“Looking for someone?” a deep voice growled behind her.
A smile spread across her face and her girly parts tingled when she recognized the voice.
Max Sumner.
He pressed his body into hers, and without realizing it, she sank into him, his heat both tempting and teasing her.
She breathed in, inhaling his familiar scent. Mistake. She remembered his spicy cologne from their night together. The aroma had set off a chain reaction in her body the moment she’d nuzzled against his chest and breathed him in. The scent had clung to her body for days after their time together, despite several showers.
It had been a month since they’d slept together—although what they’d done would never be called sleeping. Or even sex. It was more like red-hot-monkey-sex. Red-hot-dirty-as-sin-monkey-sex.
Despite the good time they had together, she’d known immediately that sleeping with Max had been one of the dumbest things she’d ever done. The minute he’d rolled on top of her and slid inside, she’d realized that giving her body to him had been a mistake. Devlin only gave men one night, maybe two at the most. But with Max, she’d immediately wanted more. There was something about the big, sexy, alpha-male football player that was addicting. Like that first bite of a chocolate chip cookie as it comes out of the oven, warm and melting in your mouth—
“What’s going on in that beautiful mind of yours?” Max’s voice was at her ear, his breath caressing her skin like a silk scarf. She knew if she turned around, she would find light brown eyes staring into hers, and the wavy dark hair she’d sunk her hands into that night in bed.
Shit.
Devlin swallowed hard.
“You look like you’re about to come all over yourself.” His lips gently brushed the shell of her ear.
Heat bloomed in her belly and she damn near did come as a dull ache throbbed between her legs.
“Which is fine by me,” he continued, “although I’d prefer for you to come underneath me, or on top of me, or—”
Devlin held up a hand to stop him. “I get it.”
He stepped back and chuckled.
She choked back a moan as the deep rumble of his laughter vibrated through her body.
Double shit.
This, this right here, was what would get Devlin in trouble. Dirty talk from a sexy-as-sin ex-NFL player with more ego than good sense. Getting caught up with Max would be like giving a gallon of ice cream to a woman on her period. Nothing good would ever come of it.
Against her better judgment, she turned and studied the man in front of her. He was wearing a navy-blue sweater that clung to his muscular body like cling wrap.
Triple shit.
His faded jeans showcased powerful legs that had been honed to perfection. He might not be in the NFL any more, but you’d never be able to tell from that drop-dead body.
His dark brown hair was cut short on the sides, a bit longer on top. All the better to grab during the throes of passion, she knew from personal experience. His dark hazel eyes studied her intently, as if trying to learn her every move. No wonder his face had donned the cover of sports magazines across the world. He was, in a word, hot-as-fuck. Okay, that was three words, but she’d hyphenated.
Devlin turned her attention to Emmett who was now moving across the dance floor. She didn’t have to guess where he was going. Emmett Sumner would always find Elle Noble, no matter where she was. Moth, meet flame.
Devlin watched Elle as she gyrated on the dance floor. She was a professional dancer and owned her own dance studio, which gave her an advantage. Elle’s body was toned and lean and just the right amount of sexy to make men melt, and women want to scratch her eyes out.
Devlin had photographed Elle several times, even winning an award with a photo she’d taken of Elle before a ballet performance in college. Elle was a cancer survivor and Devlin planned to make her the centerpiece of her new coffee table photograph book benefiting an organization that provided support for cancer patients as they went through treatment.
But at the moment, Elle was lost in the music, eyes closed. Emmett honed in on her, forcing the circle of men around Elle to part with a lethal glare. Smart men. Elle finally opened her eyes and a huge grin transformed her face as she reached out to Emmett. Devlin couldn’t help but smile as the two moved together, his hands pulling her in, close and intimate as though the dance floor was theirs alone.
Devlin’s eyes scanned the floor. Maggie and Ben were off in another corner, her arms entwined around his neck, fingers in his hair, with eyes only for him.
“So much for the bachelorette party,” Devlin said, crossing her arms and glaring at Max and Shawn.
Kayleigh Montgomery, another member of the party, marched toward the table. “What are you guys doing here?” Her white-blonde hair flowed behind her, blue eyes narrowed as she studied the men.
Fast on Kayleigh’s high-heels, Lily Sumner joined the growing group around the small table. Lily was Sally Sumner’s daughter and the boys’ cousin. Last Devlin heard, Sally was now dating Elle’s father and Maggie was pretty sure Lily had the hots for Shawn but was denying it with a vengeance.
Good God, the whole group sounded like an incestuous bunch of hillbillies, a bad soap opera gone horribly out of control. As much as Devlin loved Canyon Creek, there was no way she c
ould ever live in a place where everyone knew your name, and all your business too.
“Did you see my cousin with Elle?” Lily asked, her cheeks flushed from dancing.
“You mean book boy?” Kayleigh said, referencing Emmett’s profession as a bestselling author.
“Yeah,” Lily nodded. “I guarantee you, he’ll sneak her out of here in the next half an hour.”
Devlin looked back to the dance floor. She had a feeling Ben and Emmett hadn’t been able to stay away tonight. Sometimes she wondered what that kind of love felt like. That all-consuming love that made you crazy with need and ready to fight to the death.
Max raised his hands. “Just for the record,” he stared at all the women, “I tried to talk them out of this brilliant idea.”
The all-too-innocent look on his face made Devlin wonder if that was true.
“So why are you here?” Lily asked, hands on hips as she glowered at Max and Shawn.
“Easy, tiger.” Kayleigh laughed, patting Lily’s shoulder. “Look, obviously these yahoos aren’t going anywhere,” she pointed a thumb toward frick and frack. “Let’s go dance.” She moved her hips to the beat of the music now thumping through the club. Her tight mini skirt rode higher, her top lower. Male eyes from every direction fell out of their heads, tongues wagging as they stared at Kayleigh, including Max.