COWBOY ROMANCE: Devon (Western Contemporary Alpha Male Bride Romance) (The Steele Brothers Book 2)

by Amanda Boone

  © Copyright 2016 by Amanda Boone - All rights reserved.

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

  Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

  Get the prequel…

  Did you know there is a secret Prequel to the Steele Brothers stories? It’s called “Another Steele: Matt”. This prequel is not available anywhere on amazon, click here to find out how to get it…

  Devon

  The Steele Brothers

  Book 2

  (Can be read as a standalone book)

  By: Amanda Boone

  Introduction

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  To go directly to the Table of Contents, Click here.

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  This book’s Riddle:

  Q: This is a crime that is not punishable if committed. What is it?

  >>See answer

  The Steele Brothers: Devon

  1.

  “Oh, yeah, Amanda. Ride me, baby.” Max’s voice was guttural as he neared his orgasm. He reached a hand out and slid his fingers down my ass, stopping to toy with me along the way.

  I moaned and tossed my head back. My long red hair trailed down to his thighs, and he used his other hand to fist it. “Max!”

  He slipped a finger into my backside and slapped my ass. His hips thrust skyward, impaling me over and over again with his dick.

  We orgasmed together after a few more minutes of thrusting and heavy breathing. Then I fell asleep with a thin sheet wrapped around me, and Max got up to wave his bare, wet dick in front of the camera before shutting it off.

  I sat up in bed and rubbed sleep out of my eyes. Same old nightmare, different day. The alarm clock beside my bed chose that moment to go off, and I slapped my hand down on top of it to turn it off. I never slept past it anymore.

  Moo-Key, my overgrown dog, jumped onto my bed and stared at me. He was an Irish wolfhound that had been dropped off at my best friend’s animal shelter. No one wanted him because he was so large, but I’d fallen in love with him.

  My house was barely big enough for the two of us, but I’d also somehow ended up with a cat named Fred, too. Fred hissed from the foot of my bed, and Moo-Key yelped and jumped down to hide behind the bedroom door. He was too large to actually fit, so his entire back end was sticking out.

  “Bad Fred. You know better.”

  I pushed the cat down and then made my morning rounds. Both animals got breakfast, and then Moo-Key went outside to do his business while Fred made his way around the house, batting Moo-Key’s bones and toys under couches and chairs.

  I’d have to sweep them out later or the big dog would whine for hours. I’d had a feeling when Sara Jane had wanted to open a shelter. I knew that I’d end up with a small collection of animals, and sure enough, it was happening.

  I got dressed for my day in jeans and a tank top. I brushed my hair out and then braided it down my back. With a little bit of makeup I was ready to go.

  I dropped Moo-Key off next door, at Mrs. Wilkens’s place, with only light criticisms of my cleavage. Mrs. Wilkens was in her early nineties and as crazy as the day was long. She was my only neighbor within ten miles and loved to exercise that fact.

  She’d show up at my house at random hours, complaining about one thing or another. She’d borrow things from me without letting me know and then would lend them back to me when I found them in her house. Once she’d even stayed the night on my couch without me knowing. She was spunky and sneaky, but I wouldn’t wish for anyone else living next door.

  When I’d first brought Moo-Key home, she’d screamed and hid out in her house for days. Her plants went dry and the fresh pie she had cooling on her front porch had remained there until the coyotes came up and snatched it.

  It’d taken me weeks to convince her to actually get close to the giant dog. When she did, she’d immediately fallen in love. I’d left Moo-Key at home the day after while I went to work, and I came home to find him missing. Mrs. Wilkens had come over and kidnapped him. She said he didn’t deserve to be left alone during the day. Since then, she’d been babysitting him for me when I worked.

  She always had a comment about my appearance when I stopped by, though. I always had too much cleavage or leg showing. The conversation would without a doubt dissolve into her telling me a story about how, when she was my age, she was a proper lady and she did things the right way.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. If she only knew just how improper I really was. Thank god she’d never heard the rumors about me. She would never let me leave her house. It would be one endless rant.

  I had a meeting with a client that morning to go over what she wanted at her parents’ anniversary party. It wasn’t what I was used to doing, but I was still excited. I loved party and event planning. When I’d lived in Dallas with Max, I’d started getting pretty big events. I’d even planned a wedding for a player on the Dallas Cowboys football team.

  Those days were far behind me, though. Instead of an elite clientele, I was planning for Susie Homemaker’s baby shower. I knew I shouldn’t complain, because I was getting to do what I loved despite how bad things were financially around the area. I was just still bitter that I’d had to flee Dallas like my pants were on fire, giving up great opportunities, while Max was still there, living it up.

  I bit my lip and parked outside Mae’s Pie Shoppe. I needed an office. Meeting people at restaurants was making my jeans fit a little snug. I checked my reflection in the rearview mirror. Were my cheeks a little fuller, too?

  I leaned in closer and frowned while using both hands to mash my cheeks forward. My face lost its definition and I ended up looking like some kind of pug. Maybe I needed to do some cardio. It couldn’t hurt.

  My green eyes were bright and my lips were full, even if my cheeks were pudgy. Little wisps of hair floated all around my face, and in the early morning sunlight they looked like strings of fire.

  A sharp knock sounded on my window, and I jerked around to see who it was. Avery Steele was bent down so he could smile at me through my window.

  I gritted my teeth and opened the door, making him jump out of the way to avoid getting hit. “What do you want, Avery?”

  He grinned at me and touched my cheek. “That was a real cute face you were making. You looked like a little bulldog. Not far from your shining attitude most days.”

  I cocked my hip out to the side and glared at him. “You’re not funny. You think you are, but you’re not.”

  Avery rested against my car and just smiled at me. He looked so much like his older brothers, it was scary. There were subtle differences in their hairstyles and eye color, but they were all tall and built like the football player I’d worked for in Dallas. Which just meant they were all wide and muscled.

  Devon was slightly taller than Justin and Avery. I blinked away the thought of him and crossed my arms over my chest. “Did you want something, Avery?”

  He just kept smiling. “I know a secret
.”

  My patience was running thin, and I was almost late for my appointment. “Avery, you have until the count of three to tell me what you want or I’m going to punch you in the stomach. One.”

  He held up his hands and laughed. “I’m supposed to tell you that we’re all meeting down at Hank’s tonight. Justin wants everyone there when he proposes.”

  2.

  “Proposes?!” My heart slammed into my chest wall painfully. “He can’t propose!”

  Avery grabbed my arm and pulled me close. “Jesus, Amanda! Yell it a little louder!”

  I slapped his hand away and then paced in a little circle around him. “He can’t. He absolutely can’t. If he proposes then there will be a wedding, and if there’s a wedding then there’ll have to be a wedding party, and I can’t be anywhere near that stupid brother of yours!”

  “Was that supposed to make any sense to me? Is this about you hating Devon?”

  I snapped my eyes to him. “Who said I hated Devon?”

  He held his hands out in front of him and shrugged. “Look, all I know is you get snotty and run away whenever he’s near. You’re not exactly an angel any other time, but you’re especially snarly with him.”

  I grabbed my purse from my car seat and slammed the door shut. “I resent what you just said, Avery. What time is the stupid party?”

  “Seven. You can breathe a little easy for tonight, too. Devon had to run out of town to get something for the ranch. He won’t be back until tomorrow.”

  That did help a bit. I forced a smile and nodded. “See you there.”

  I walked into the restaurant and held my meeting with half of my brain focused. I really did hate Devon. Sara Jane and I were like sisters. I didn’t want to have to endure more occasions with Devon in attendance. I’d made it my personal mission for the last year to avoid him at all costs.

  I’d missed nearly every single one of Sara Jane’s dinner parties at her new house. I’d missed the grand opening party for the new shelter. I’d even missed church every Sunday since Devon and I’d had our trouble.

  I’d put a lot of work into avoiding the idiot, and it was going to be much harder to accomplish when Sara married Justin.

  I knew if I stepped away from my anger at Devon, then I’d be incredibly happy for Sara. She was madly in love with Justin and deserved happiness. I would be happy for her at the party that night. In that moment, though, I just felt miserable.

  I drove down to the public library and walked in, still in a daze. I passed the librarian, Maggie Shepherd, and smiled. I normally stopped to talk with her, but my head wasn’t in it.

  My table in the back was free, so I sat down and pulled my laptop out. I had to do some organizing and make a few phone calls to get things ready for the anniversary party.

  “I knew I’d find you here!” Sara planted both hands on the table in front of me and frowned. “Where were you on Sunday? Mable was looking forward to playing with Moo-Key.”

  I’d skipped out on a playdate for our dogs to avoid seeing Devon. I’d gotten all the way to the street she lived on when I saw that Devon’s truck was parked in the driveway. Instead of dealing with him, I’d chosen to drive home and entertain myself with six hours of Law and Order.

  “Something came up. I’m sorry we had to flake.” I pushed my laptop to the side and smiled up at my best friend. “You look especially pretty today.”

  Her hair was braided around the crown of her head, and she was wearing a beautiful white sundress. “Thank you. Justin told me to dress up. He’s taking me out to dinner tonight. We’ve been spending all of our time inside lately, so it’s nice to get out.”

  I winked. “What have you been doing with all your time inside?”

  Her blush was something I’d always been jealous of. It made her look almost angelic. “Don’t think this makes me forget my reason for coming here. I’m so mad at you, Amanda. You’ve been ditching things for months now. I hardly ever see you. I know you don’t like the Steele brothers, but you never gave me the story. I need to know something.”

  My eyes watered, and I had to blink away tears. “I’m sorry, Sara Jane. I haven’t meant to spend so much time away from you. And I don’t dislike Justin. From what I’ve seen, he’s great.”

  She sat down and pulled herself closer to me. “I can tell something’s been bothering you. Talk to me. Did something happen with them? If it’s not Justin, is it Devon? Avery?”

  I shut my laptop and counted my workday done. “How about we spend your lunchbreak actually getting lunch?”

  Sara shook her head. “I’m serious. You have to talk to me, Amanda. What happened with them that made you hate them so much that you’re now avoiding me?”

  I groaned. “Nothing happened with them. Avery’s great, too. A little annoyingly happy all the damn time, but great. It’s Devon. We just rubbed each other the wrong way one night and I don’t want to see him.”

  Rubbed each other the wrong way wasn’t exactly how it went. Unfortunately we’d rubbed each other in all the right ways. It was the talking that went bad for us. I shuffled the memory back to the back of my head and shrugged.

  “It’s not a big deal. I don’t want to worry about it. I’ll do my best to put it aside and stop missing stuff.”

  She held her pinky out. “You promise?”

  Well, shit. I never broke a promise. If I agreed, then I’d be spending a lot more time around Devon. I looked into Sara’s eyes and saw the hope there. She was my best friend for a reason. I loved her and didn’t want to disappoint her. I hooked my pinky finger around hers. “I promise.”

  She clapped her hands together and then looked toward the front of the library at Maggie, who was smiling at us despite how loud we were being. “Sorry!”

  I put my stuff away and stood up. “Let’s go get that lunch now. I didn’t realize how late it was.”

  “Oh, yeah. How’d that meeting go this morning?”

  A headache formed behind my left eye. “She wants lime green, plastic tablecloths.”

  Sara erupted in laughter, and I quickly ushered her out of the library before we bothered anyone else.

  3.

  I spent the afternoon curled up on my couch with Moo-Key and Fred. We watched a lot of Animal Planet, and then I slipped away while they were napping together to get dressed for the party.

  I decided on a green maxi dress that cut pretty low. I knew Mrs. Wilkens wouldn’t like the cleavage I was sporting, but I was in my mid-twenties. I wasn’t dead yet. I slipped my feet into a pair of nude sandals and let my hair curl down my back. I added a little drama to my eye makeup and then I was done.

  Moo-Key was still sleeping when it was time for me to head over to Hank’s, so I left him on the couch. Mrs. Wilkens would sneak over as soon as she couldn’t see my headlights and take him back to her house anyway.

  I got to Hank’s right on time and slipped inside. My heart was racing for what was about to happen to my best friend. She was getting her fairytale ending. A slither of jealousy went down my back, but I shut it down. I wasn’t like Sara. I wasn’t going to get a fairytale ending. Every bit as innocent Sara was, I was as tainted.

  With that depressing thought running through my head, I slipped over to the bar and ordered a drink. Even without Devon there it was going to be a stressful night. Being surrounded by people who loved him was almost as bad.

  “I see you’re ready for the festivities.” Avery sat down beside me and motioned toward the bartender for a beer. There was something heavier about him once I actually looked at him. There was a sadness in his eyes that I’d never paid attention to before.

  “Are you okay, Avery?”

  He looked at me with surprise in his eyes. “What do you mean?”

  I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “You look sad. Is everything okay?”

  He looked away, and when he looked back at me there was moisture in his eyes. “Not really. Everything’s a mess. I think I’m in love with Sara. I think I have been
for a very long time. There’s nothing I can really do, though. I’d known this night was coming for a long time, and I still never really prepared myself for it.”

  Avery blinked a few times, seemingly shocked that he’d actually said the words. “And, uh, I lied about Devon being out of town. I just really wanted to get you here for Sara. I knew it would be important for her.”

  I sat there with my mouth hanging open as he slipped off his barstool and disappeared into the crowd. I turned back to the bar and swallowed the rest of my drink down in one gulp. My chest felt like it was going to cave in, and I couldn’t tell if it was panic at the thought of seeing Devon or the sadness of what Avery had just admitted.

  “Care for another?”

  I nodded to the bartender. “How about you just leave the bottle?”

  He grinned and refilled my glass. “Nah. This way I get to keep coming over here to you. It’s selfish, but I can’t help it.”

  Any other time I would’ve looked twice at him. I might’ve even been flattered enough to sneak out with him. I felt too dark in that moment, though. I forced a smile instead and thanked him.

  There was nothing as sad as unrequited love. Something about the longing always got to me. I’d never been in love. Even when I’d dated my ex, Max, for four years, I’d never felt like I was in love. I’d watched my mother cry away her life over a man who just never loved her. No matter how much she did for him or how much she put her life on hold for him, he never cared for her.

  Love was a dangerous and unfortunate game. Someone always got hurt, and I’d decided at a young age that it was never going to be me. I would never be my mom, sobbing into a cheap bottle of wine every single night.

  I rubbed my chest and looked back at the bartender. Maybe a night of sweaty sex was what I needed. A reminder of what exactly I had to offer someone, what exactly I wasn’t offering them.