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Chapter One Chris Evans. That had been his name. A name he’d tried to forget. A life he’d left behind. But he wouldn’t ever forget this day. Because today he had returned home, today he had returned to the place where he’d died and been reborn, an immortal Knight of White—a Demon hunter known only as Ryder.Leaning against his black Chevy pickup, Ryder stared at the wooden stairs leading to the double doors of the small-town bar he’d visited that night—the night he’d been attacked by Demons. Rows of vehicles surrounded him, the full parking lot showed how busy the Double R Tavern was this night. Music poured from the doors and window of the popular nightspot with a blustering force extending beyond its panels. The plentiful crowd overflowed to the porch.In the distance, thunder rumbled with ominous force, lightning flickering across the black sky, a scent of rain lacing the air. In a gust of wind, dust lifted in the air around his well-worn boots. Almost as if Mother Nature shouted a wa
Chapter One
Chapter Two Alexis Wright had never been a woman to be blown away by any man, certainly not in the middle of a difficult situation. She’d grown up on a ranch surrounded by big, virile men who were often a bit too sure of their own masculinity. Her father—“Big W” to the rest of the world—had been one of those big virile men until six months ago, when a heart attack had stolen him away. And he’d taught her how to take charge of a situation, even when it overflowed with testosterone. But here, now, today, staring into the eyes of the sexy stranger who’d managed to come to her rescue—despite her best efforts not to need rescuing—she found herself feeling anything but in control. Hypnotized was more like it.“Are you both okay?” the stranger asked, his voice low, sensual, and good gosh, a bit too distracting for comfort.Alexis inwardly shook herself and tore herself out of the deep, dark depths of his eyes. Distractions were dangerous when you managed a ranch with debts the size of Texas. “Y
Chapter Two
Chapter Three Ryder maneuvered his truck past the wooden gates of Big W Ranch, trailing Alexis as she drove the bumpy dirt path. He remotely remembered Big W Ranch. Remembered his father mentioning Big W’s little girl—Alexis. She had been a toddler when he’d been attacked. An innocent child who might have been a victim as easily as anyone else. And now, life had come full circle. Demons—Darkland Beasts as they were known to the Knights—had found their way back to Round Rock, hunting innocents again as they had hunted him. Perhaps they’d find Alexis this time if he didn’t stop them. He’d picked up their scent back at the bar, his senses raw with the taint of their presence, his nerves on edge ever since.He reached up and flipped the windshield wipers on high; the rain pounding on his windshield created more unease within Ryder. Huge droplets melted into each other one after another, crashing over metal and glass, erasing his chances of properly evaluating his surroundings.Following Alex
Chapter Three
Chapter Four Alone in the hallway of Big W’s ranch house, Ryder and Alexis stared into one another’s eyes, heat swirled around them, blanketing them in awareness, in desire. Ryder wanted so many things in those moments. He wanted to kiss Alexis, to taste her, to touch her. He wanted to bury himself deep inside her body and claim her as his own. To tell her everything he was, everything he had been, to simply wipe away the secrets that would make protecting her a difficult task. And he wanted his sword.But were the things he wanted the right choices?Seconds ticked as they stared at one another, the moment of decision upon him. What would he do? What would he say?“Oh. Ah, hi.”Kelly’s voice came from behind Ryder, her presence bursting through the spell woven around Alexis and him. Regret tore through Ryder, the loss of opportunity, of choice, gone with the intrusion.Ryder quickly noted the flush of embarrassment coloring Alexis’s ivory skin. He immediately let go of her arm, but he had t
Chapter Four
Chapter Five Alexis replayed Ryder’s words in her head. Tell me to go and I’ll go. She inhaled the spicy male scent of him and felt her body heat. Space. She needed space before she did something insane, like tell him to stay, or…kiss him.“Stay or go?” he urged softly, his voice a velvety caress along her nerve endings, creating deliciously provocative thoughts of what might happen between them if she allowed it to.Tell him to go. “Stay,” Alexis said, ignoring the voice in her head. The one that said an affair was a distraction she couldn’t afford. So was depending on someone who would be gone in a short while—it would weaken her. Ryder was an emotional liability. He had a way of seeing past her walls, of unraveling little sections of the tightly spun ball that had become her life, and with little or no effort. And she wasn’t sure she had the emotional fortitude to fall for him and then say goodbye. Not now. Not with everything she was going through.But as surely as she warned herself
Chapter Five
Chapter Six Ryder took his time and made love to her with that kiss, a message in each stroke of his tongue, a promise of passion beyond this moment. But passion turned quickly to fiery desire. Their hands traveled, explored. Desire building, second by second, caress after caress. He found his way into the V of her body, fit his cock to the center of her core, her hips arching into his. He drank in the soft sounds of pleasure that escaped her mouth into his as he molded her breast to his palm, stroked her nipple through the soft, black T-shirt. But it wasn’t all of her and he needed all of her. Needed in a way he could never put into words.He shoved her shirt upward and eased it off of her as she removed it. Standing up and giving her his back, he reached for enough control to undress before he kissed her again. When finally he turned around, he was naked, aroused, his hungry stare devouring the sight of her spread out on the bed, waiting for him, his gaze hungrily painting a trail alo
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven It was four o’clock in the morning, and Alexis sat on the end of the bed, dressed in Ryder’s shirt, eating a piece of toast smeared with her favorite strawberry jam. She couldn’t believe how relaxed she felt with him. How comfortable talking. And they’d talked a lot. For hours. Well, more than talked. Made love. Talked to recover. Made love again.“It’s good, right?” she asked, watching Ryder take a bite of the toast. He wore blue boxers with horseshoes on them, which she couldn’t help but tease him about.“It’s great,” he agreed, finishing off his third piece. “You said your housekeeper makes this stuff?”She nodded. “Beverly is an amazing cook. She makes pancake syrup, too. It’s so good. Everything she makes is.” She laughed. “Good thing I work hard or I’d be fat. You should taste her muffins.”He studied her a moment. “What time does Beverly get in to work?”Alexis reached for the glass of chocolate milk sitting on the nightstand, finishing off her last bite of toast. “Soon
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight The sun was setting, the night muggy. It was two weeks after Ryder had joined the Big W operation, and he stood on the front porch of the house and eyed the scene in the driveway. Alexis and Kelly stood by Kelly’s red Volkswagen in heated debate. Again. Kelly was going to see Hector. Alexis was begging her not to. Kelly waved her hands in anger and then got into the car. Ryder waited as Alexis approached, looking shaken and upset.This was the first time he’d seen her in twelve hours. He’d left early to work with Rick that morning. Alexis had gone into town to the bank, very closed-lipped about why, but he intended to find out tonight. Not that he needed much guesswork. The ranch was falling apart; the cattle were being attacked and killed by wolves—or so Rick thought. But it wasn’t wolves. It was Hell Hounds. A little detail Ryder had been handling off the radar. He’d been hunting, killing as many Demons as he could. Telling Alexis he was scouting for wolves, checking tra
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine Alexis sat on the edge of the tub, still fully dressed, watching the basin fill with water, the bubbles grow. She was upset. Upset on so many levels, Alexis didn’t know if she was coming or going. Worried over Kelly and completely rattled over the ranch—afraid she was about to lose it. No. Certain. Absolutely certain that everything her father had worked was going end horribly. At least selling the ranch would have felt like a successful ending. Losing it was devastating. Adding to those things was a complication she’d warned herself not to create, but she had. She’d gone and fallen in love with Ryder. Head over heels in love. And tonight she’d been ready to tell him everything going on in her life, to spill the beans about how bad her circumstances were. No more talking in circles and telling him half the story. No more avoiding his ideas to help the ranch grow and prosper because she didn’t have the money to implement any of the changes he suggested. She was going to tru
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten Alexis rounded the side of the bar to find the back parking lot empty except for one vehicle, Hector’s, and only one small light illuminating the area, the shadows thick and threatening. Several yards away, she saw Hector and Kelly.“Kelly!” Alexis screamed, trying to stop her from getting into Hector’s pickup truck, but to no avail. Kelly got in; Hector didn’t. He charged toward Alexis, and she felt the menace in him. She started to back away, certain Ryder would be there any second.Hector was running toward her now, angry, ready to lash out. Probably blaming her for her foreman’s actions, too. She turned and started to run, thankful for the sight of Ryder charging toward her. With…swords. He had swords in his hands. What in the blazes was happening?Her question was absorbed by the growl that sounded behind her. A vicious snarl followed. A snarl like she’d heard in the wood with Ryder that day. Hector’s horrid gasp came next. Instinct had her turning toward the noise, tryin
Chapter Ten
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