by Sara Daniel
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One Night with His Wife
Copyright © 2015 by Sara Daniel
ISBN: 978-1-61333-872-8
Cover art by Mina Carter
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC
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Also by Sara Daniel
More Than a Fantasy
One Night with the Bride
Captivating the CEO
One Night with the Bridesmaid
One Night with the Groom
One Night with the Best Man
Once Upon a Marriage
A Model Hero
One Night with Her Husband
Dedication
For my readers.
One Night with His Wife
A 1Night Stand Story
By
Sara Daniel
Chapter One
“The judge refused to approve it.”
“What?” Luke Cox jumped to his feet, smacking into the airplane’s overhead bin. Fumbling the phone, he shoved it up to his ear again, his lawyer’s bombshell too important for him to miss a word.
The passengers on either side shot him dirty looks as the flight attendants started their pre-flight walk through the aisle. Rubbing his aching forehead, he eased into his cursed middle seat, the throbbing almost canceling out the never-ending pain in his hip. Almost.
“What do you mean? Rosalind signed everything without contesting or haggling over the terms. You said this was the easiest divorce you’ve ever handled. What could have gone wrong?”
Luke had walked out on his marriage, but Rosalind hadn’t argued or tried to stop him. After all, who the hell wanted to be tied to a guy with one-and-a-half legs? Fact was, the remaining half pretty much sucked too. She hadn’t signed up for that kind of baggage when they’d said their vows, and he’d done the right thing by letting her get out.
A flight attendant leaned next to him. “Sir, please turn off your cell phone and buckle your seatbelt to prepare for takeoff.” Instead of the sexy, flirty stereotype, she looked like a linebacker who’d lay him flat in the aisle if he didn’t follow protocol.
Nodding, Luke reached for the seatbelt strap but needed to complete the call before he turned off his phone. He’d planned to be single by the time he boarded the plane. Instead, he was coasting away from the gate still a married man.
“In the months since Rosalind signed the agreement, your company net worth has gone from nothing to millions,” his lawyer explained. “The judge thinks she’s entitled to some of it, or, at the very least, he wants all the papers re-signed with proof that she understands how much she’s giving up.”
“Then give the money to her.” Luke scrubbed his knuckles over his face. He’d never meant to keep anything from her. She could have every penny. She deserved it for worrying through his tours of duty with the Marines, for the baby he’d promised but they’d never made, and for all the other dreams she’d put on hold for the past ten years.
The point of the divorce had been to give her a better life. If his bank account provided the means to improve on the original plan, so much the better.
The flight attendant marched down the aisle toward him again. “Sir, turn your cell phone off now. We’re preparing for takeoff.”
Luke nodded his understanding and lifted an index finger in a bid for a few more seconds. He needed to ensure the divorce situation would be fixed before the plane landed.
“She’s moved a few times since she originally signed the papers,” the attorney continued. “My people are trying to locate her. The judge postponed the case until both parties agree to a fair division of assets or she testifies she doesn’t want her portion.”
“If you can’t find her, hire a private investigator ASAP. I want her agreement by this afternoon. No more delays.” Call him old-fashioned, but Luke didn’t want to be legally married when he met his one-night stand date in a few hours.
He’d never once considered cheating on Rosalind, and she would never have cheated on him. Nor left him, either, so he’d been forced to walk out on her. He’d never forget the hurt and betrayal in her eyes when he had. Even if she never found out about his date, he recoiled at the thought of betraying her a second time by sleeping with someone else before their relationship received the judge’s official death knell.
The flight attendant leaned into his field of vision again, her lips a thin line, her eyebrow much thicker but still a single slash across her annoyed face.
“I’ll call you as soon as I land in Montana. Have good news for me by then, or I’ll be looking for other legal counsel.” Luke flipped the phone off before the attendant confiscated his electronics.
Within minutes, the plane accelerated down the runway. Closing his eyes, he tried to sleep, but his mind refused to turn off. The possibility of giving up half of his share of the company’s net worth was probably sending his legal staff and accountants into cardiac arrest. However, the money meant nothing to him.
While his best friend and business partner, Alex, had immediately bought a snazzy sports car with his newfound wealth, Luke hadn’t spent a penny until he’d signed up for Madame Eve’s 1Night Stand service. He’d requested a blind date who didn’t care about his missing leg or his brand-new money, only his cock driving into her until she screamed in ecstasy.
The date of his fantasies had better be good because the reality of his life was pretty damned shitty.
***
Luke drove the rental car through the entrance gates of the Alvarado Ranch Resort. Not only did it boast impeccably manicured grounds, the main lodge was a hundred times larger and more impressive than any farmhouse he’d ever seen. An elegant sign directed guests to a spa in one direc
tion, horse stables in another, and an eighteen-hole golf course in yet another. The resort appeared to be the perfect destination for people who wanted to “get away” and still have every comfort and convenience at their fingertips.
Rosalind had always dreamed of working somewhere with large, maintained stables, well-bred horses, and unlimited riding opportunities. If she were with him, she’d consider the Alvarado Ranch Resort a slice of heaven, but she’d want to be working with the horses, not checking in at the front desk. Wherever she’d ended up, he hoped horses played some part in her life. Her expectations had never been lofty enough to include affording a horse of her own, but she wouldn’t be happy if she wasn’t near at least one.
Although he’d contacted his lawyer every fifteen minutes since stepping off the plane, no one on the legal staff had come any closer to locating Rosalind. He wished he could see her face when she learned she’d have enough money to set up her own little ranch with all the horses she wanted.
He wouldn’t be seeing her face again, though, which meant he needed to stop thinking about her. He’d arrived at the Alvarado Ranch Resort to move on and reclaim the manhood his country’s never-ending fight against terrorism had stripped from him, not brood over the pieces of his life he’d never get back.
Ignoring the valet option by the front door—missing half a leg didn’t make him a cripple, damn it—he parked at the far end of the parking lot and tossed his duffle bag over his shoulder. Gritting his teeth and cursing his throbbing hip, he walked—fine, he limped like a freaking cripple—into the lobby.
The place buzzed with activity. Luke shuffled sideways to avoid getting mowed down by a luggage cart headed straight for him and bumped shoulders with three other people milling around. Muttering apologies, he stumbled to the relative calmness of the long line at the registration desk. After several minutes of waiting, he arrived at the front of the line and gave the cheerful young clerk his name.
“Yes, Mr. Cox.” She squinted at her computer monitor. “Welcome to the Alvarado Ranch Resort. As you can see from the commotion around here, we have a big group leaving this morning. Unfortunately, because of this, your room isn’t quite ready. Can I set you up with a tour of the resort and some complimentary drink coupons while you wait?”
“I’ll take the drinks.” His date likely hadn’t arrived yet. If the single non-stop flight offered by the airline hadn’t departed so early in the day, he could have gone to the courthouse and convinced the judge to finalize the divorce before he’d left. Everyone in the law office had assured him the paperwork would sail through and get rubber-stamped, so his presence wasn’t needed. Ha.
“I’d rather skip the tour and wander the resort on my own. Do you have a map or something?” he asked the clerk.
“Of course.” She set a placemat-size sheet of paper on the counter between them. “If you want to go horseback riding or participate in our ‘working-ranch’ activities, take this path.” She traced a pen along the route. “If you’d like to do some fishing in the lake, take this path. Any of our employees will be happy to help you get set up with everything you need.”
“Thanks.” After retrieving two condoms from his bag in case he hooked up with his date sooner than planned, Luke tucked them in a hip pocket, left the duffle at the desk then folded the map and shoved it in the other pocket. Winding through the crowded lobby again, he gave the zooming luggage carts wide berth and made his way outside. Once alone, he took a deep breath and shrugged out the tension that had crept into his shoulders from the curious and pitying expressions that always followed his limp.
Fishing had never held his interest, and golf was even worse, so he proceeded toward the stables. Although horses had been Rosalind’s passion, he’d come to appreciate them on her behalf. Fifty feet from his destination, he paused as a group on horseback trotted over the hill at the far end of the pasture. Oh yeah, she would think the ranch was heaven.
Despite her small frame, the woman on the lead horse sat tall in the saddle, her black hair arranged in a thick braid over one shoulder, a Stetson on her head. Damn, either the resort or the divorce disaster was messing with his mind, making him hallucinate that was Rosalind riding toward him.
But no wonder he thought of her when even the cowboy hat was the same copper color as the one she’d worn since the day he’d met her. He’d given her shit about that thing from the beginning, but his favorite fantasy involved her wearing nothing but the damned hat and riding him hard and long.
His cock jumped to full salute, and he shuffled behind a fence post so his hard-on wouldn’t be obvious to everyone who glanced his way. Once the riders drew close enough for him to see the woman’s boobs bouncing, he’d be lucky not to shoot his load in his briefs. The one-night stand couldn’t come soon enough to satisfy his long-overdue need for release.
The riding group approached the corral, and surprise derailed his fantasy. The woman didn’t just look like Rosalind—it was her. He dug his fingernails into the fence post. What the hell?
Coincidence, my ass.
Not when a coincidence equaled a setup where bad shit went down.
Chapter Two
Who would have set Luke up to run into her? He’d never heard of the Alvarado Ranch Resort before Madame Eve had booked his one-night stand to take place there. He’d learned about the matchmaking service through his business partner, Alex, who had used it to hook up with the woman he’d ended up marrying. Before that, Alex had hooked his sister up through the same company, and she’d ended up marrying her date, too.
Not that Luke intended to marry the woman he slept with. No way. But Madame Eve ran 1Night Stand, a classy operation, not a sleazy scam outfit. Moreover, Alex had personally recommended it. After carrying Luke’s unconscious body a freaking mile in the desert to save his miserable life after bad shit from really bad guys had gone down, Alex wouldn’t have set Luke up with the emotional equivalent of a grenade to the heart.
In the corral, Rosalind swung off her horse. After giving the animal an affectionate pat on the neck, a few whispered endearments, and setting it free to roam, she turned to the other members of her group. Holding the bridle of another horse, she calmed both the animal and the older woman in the saddle, talking her through the dismount. Then she high-fived a boy who’d climbed down on his own and propelled him toward the gate, away from the horses.
Finally, she shifted her attention to the last person still sitting astride, the young girl’s skinny legs encased in metal braces. “How did you like the ride?”
“I want to keep going.”
Rosalind grinned, her face so radiant Luke couldn’t breathe. “Every time I get on a horse, I want to ride forever, too. But even though you and I don’t need a break, the horses do, and I think some other people in your family might, as well. So, come back tomorrow, and you can ride again.”
Luke leaned his head against the fence post. He hadn’t seen her so happy since he’d had two working legs, but, even then, the smiles hadn’t been genuine. She’d tried to fool him, yet he’d seen her worry the Marines would return him home in a flag-draped box. But the pure happiness on her face while she stood in the corral stroking the horse’s neck reminded him of when they were newlyweds.
The enthusiastic rider held out her arms to Rosalind, and she lifted her to the ground with an easy swoop. “Help me walk to the gate, so Daddy doesn’t have to bring my wheelchair.”
Across the corral, a man froze in the process of maneuvering a wheelchair toward them. He set the chair aside while Rosalind steadied the child, encouraging her without rush her.
Reaching the gate, the girl threw herself into the man’s arms, chattering excitedly. Every person, from the older woman, to the parents and the kids, heaped adoration on Rosalind as they said their good-byes. She accepted the compliments graciously, passing on the praise to the horses, the rest of the staff, and even back to the well-mannered family.
After she sent them on their way, she surveyed the mounts still saddle
d and milling around the lot. One had wandered toward Luke’s corner. She took two strides in his direction then her eyes widened and her smile disappeared. Yep, she was better off without him making her life miserable.
Whether a true coincidence or a nasty setup had brought them together, he had to use the opportunity to take care of the loose ends of their relationship. Then he could let Rosalind get on with the happy, fulfilled life she deserved while he met his one-night stand with a clear conscience and a burning libido.
“Luke?” Rosalind could barely speak around the stallion-sized lump in her throat. She advanced across the dusty paddock in a haze of shock and disbelief. Yet, the closer she came, the more real he appeared. His tight charcoal-gray T-shirt showed off his well-defined chest and bulging arm muscles. He might not be an active Marine anymore, but he sure hadn’t missed a day of training.
He might have missed a haircut though. His light-brown hair fluttered in the breeze, teasing his ears and forehead the way she once had with her fingertips. The set of his strong jaw assured her such touches would no longer be welcome. Still, he’d come to her for the first time since he’d walked out on her, and she had to count that as a positive sign. Forcing a smile, she stopped on the opposite side of the white shoulder-high wooden fence.
“Luke, what a surprise.” She reached through the fence to place her hand on his forearm. Before she made contact, he stepped back, so she gripped a rough fence slat instead. Regardless of the reason he’d come to her, he must not intend to resume their relationship if he evaded her innocuous caress.
He squinted at the horses, the stable building, the pasture—everywhere but at her. “This looks like your kind of place.”
“You know me with horses—I’d sleep in the barn for the chance to work with them.” When Rosalind had been forced out of the base housing she’d shared with him, she hadn’t thought she’d ever find a place to call home. Maybe her heart would never consider any other place her real home, but she’d found the next best thing.