Kimberly Raye - Texas Outlaws - Cole

Until Cole aced the championship in Vegas and secured himself a place in the history books and Nikki took her final exams. Then they would go their separate ways and leak the word that they’d split. Nikki would head to Houston for her internship and Cole would bask in the glow of his sixth championship buckle.

Until then, they would play the happily wedded couple right here in Lost Gun.

And I now pronounce you husband and wife...

“You may now kiss the bride.”

The minute the words were out, panic rushed through Nikki, along with a flutter of anticipation. While she’d thought through most of the details, she hadn’t counted on the kiss.

No biggie. She was the resident bad girl. She kissed men in her sleep and she didn’t get uptight over it. Or weak in the knees.

Especially weak in the knees.

Cole was just another in a long line of many.

That’s what she told herself. The problem? It wasn’t true. She’d had all of a handful of kisses in her day, even though the men’s bathroom wall over at the honky-tonk would argue the opposite. And they said women liked to gossip? Men were worse, constantly wagging their tongues to feed their egos even though there was little truth to any of it. She hadn’t made out with the entire offensive line back in high school or gone to third base with every ranch hand down at the Circle J.

For the first time, she found herself wishing that she had so that her hands wouldn’t be trembling quite so much as this particular moment.

Nikki closed her eyes as Cole’s lips touched hers. Quick. Meaningless. That’s all this was. He would plant one on her and then it would be over and done with. Curtain drawn. Elvis has left the building.

But then her lips softened under the sudden pressure of his mouth. His tongue swept her bottom lip and slipped past to deepen the connection.

He pulled her closer, his hands at the base of her spine, burning through the thin material of her dress and stirring her deprived hormones.

The chemistry between them was instant and explosive and she couldn’t help herself. She knew this was all a farce, but she kissed him back anyway.

In the interest of putting on a really good show, of course.

No way did she buckle because it just felt so freakin’ good.

No. Way.

She slid her hands up his chest, her palms flat against the stiff material of his jacket until she reached the solid warmth of his neck. Her fingers curled around, holding him close.

Okay, so maybe it felt a little good.

The floor fell away as she leaned into him. His warmth overwhelmed her. His scent filled her nostrils and made her heart pound and—

“Nicole Renee Barbie!” Her mother’s voice shattered the passionate haze surrounding Nikki and Cole and her eyes popped open. “What in tarnation do you think you’re doing?”

She whirled to see Raylene walking toward them, her latest fling—a trucker named Dale Something-or-other she’d picked up last night at the bar—hot on her heels.

“Kissing a man.”

“I’m not talking about the kissing. I’m talking about this.” She motioned to the bouquet in Nikki’s hands and old Judge Collins who’d been napping in the corner while his wife talked the kitchen out of a plate of leftovers when Nikki had snagged him to do the ceremony. “You didn’t just do what I think you did.”

“These fine youngsters are now happily married,” the judge announced, stifling a yawn. “Mother.” He motioned to the woman standing with a plate in her hands. “My work here is done. Time to call it a night.”

“Thanks so much.” Cole shook the man’s hand. “I’ll settle up with you first thing tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry about it.” The judge’s wife waved him off. “He won’t even remember it. We’re just happy we could be a part of such a wonderful occasion. Marshall doesn’t get to officiate too often on account of he has trouble remembering all the words.”

“He did just fine tonight,” Cole assured the woman. “Just fine. Isn’t that right, sugar?” He turned to Nikki, but she was too busy looking at Raylene.

The older woman shook her head, her cheeks a bright red. “No, no, you couldn’t have.” Denial gripped her expression, as if the Dallas Cowboys had just lost the Super Bowl and she had a wad of cash riding on the game. “No way did you just saddle yourself to some low-life, snake-in-the-grass man.”

Before Nikki could speak, Cole stepped around her and caught her mother in a gigantic bear hug. “Don’t think of me as just any old snake-in-the-grass, Mama Barbie. We’re family now. That makes me your snake-in-the-grass.” And then he planted a huge smack on her cheek.

4

NIKKI CLIMBED INTO the backseat of one of the stretch limousines that had lingered behind to take the out-of-town wedding guests back to the local motel and focused all of her attention on trying to ignore the man who climbed in behind her.

Her husband.

The thought rooted in her mind as the driver tipped his hat before rolling the security window into place. The engine roared to life and the massive vehicle rumbled down the road, away from the festivities.

Not that theirs was a real marriage, but still. At the moment, it almost felt real with the kiss at the altar and the plush limousine and, well, it was their wedding night.

And she was feeling uncommonly good thanks to half a bottle of wine, one hell of a spectacular kiss and the fact that her mother had turned on her heel and marched off in the opposite direction after Cole’s big display of familial affection.

“I can’t believe she bought it.”

“Did you see Sally Fisk and Tara Lawrence?” He grinned. “They were texting before we even said our ‘I dos.’ Half the town has to know about this by now.” His grin widened. “This just might work.”

“It will work,” she said with more confidence than she’d felt in a long, long time.

He was so close and so strong and he smelled so good—like sweet vanilla-bean wedding cake and while her palate had graduated to more sophisticated flavors, she found herself with a sudden craving for something simple. Tasty. Satisfying.

“Yep, I think this is just what the ole doc ordered.” He half turned. A grin tilted the corner of his mouth as he pinned her with a gaze.

Nikki’s heart stalled and she couldn’t help herself.

She leaned forward and touched her lips to his. It was nothing short of explosive. The chemistry ignited and mushroomed, and what started as a subtle press of mouths soon morphed into a deep, urgent, delicious probing of tongues.

No, no, no, a voice whispered. This was too fast, too soon. At the same time, she’d wanted to kiss him like this since she’d been a seventh grader, sitting at the Dairy Freeze, watching him feed a banana split to her oldest sister. She’d been too much younger back then, but now... Now the age difference didn’t matter. They were both adults.

Married adults.

Caution melted away in the face of so much heat, and arousal washed through Nikki from her head to the tips of her bright pink toenails. The pulsing awareness started in her scalp and spread through her body, pausing at every major erogenous zone. Her nipples tightened and hardened. Pressure hummed between her legs. Her thighs quivered. Her heart pounded as loud and as fast as the drummer for Buckcherry, and her blood rushed at an alarming rate.

“We probably shouldn’t be doing this,” she murmured.

“Then again, if anyone should be doing it, it’s us.” Cole’s hand found its way under her dress and swept a burning path up the inside of her thigh.

“True enough,” she breathed as his finger traced the lace edge of her panties before dipping underneath.

His finger ran back and forth, his callused skin arousing Nikki’s sensitized flesh. Back and forth. Up and...oh, boy.