Dark Horse: Bad Boy Cowboy Romance Read Free Page B

honey," I greeted him with a little smile. "Everything going well over here?"
    Marsden Guilefort turned to me, his grin staying on his face, although his eyes had to adjust for a second before they focused on me. "Jillian! My beautiful, classy fiancée!" he boomed out, throwing an arm around me. "Honey, you should have heard this story! It's hilarious!"
    Despite the man's overly loud voice, I couldn't help smiling up at him. Drunk or sober, Marsden Guilefort was absolutely irrepressible. From the moment I'd first met him, the man reminded me of a big grizzly bear, albeit one with a happy smile on his face.
    He stood a couple inches over six feet, towering over almost everyone else in the room. But Marsden was no beanpole - he still had the broad shoulders and thick forearms from his college days when he'd rowed for University of Virginia. His belly may have grown a little since his college days, but he still radiated strength and power.
    He always tried to smooth his brown hair back over his head, but I could already see that it was slightly mussy from him running his fingers through it. He'd shaved this morning, at my insistence, but I could already see the start of a five o'clock shadow forming on his face. Likewise, even the backs of his hands showed a thin layer of brown hair where they emerged from the cuffs of his suit. His suit already showed some creases and his tie was askew, but I just couldn't imagine Marsden any other way. He never managed to keep up his formal appearance for long.
    "Marsden, dear, I think that the race is going to be starting soon," I told my fiancé, wrapping my hands around one of his arms. "Perhaps we should move forward towards the front windows, so we can see Merlot run?"
    Marsden beamed down at me, although he flapped one hand at my suggestion. "Ah, no one's here for the horse races," he boomed out. "I'm sure that your horse will do fine! Now, let me get back to my story..."
    My smile froze for a moment, and I tugged a little harder on Marsden's arm. "Honey, this is very important to me," I insisted, fighting hard to keep my face from showing any annoyance. "You did help pay the fees for Merlot to run, you know."
    Marsden let out a loud sigh, but he nodded. "Okay, okay," he gave in, setting his drink down on the bar with a loud clink. I winced, but thankfully the glass didn't shatter. "Now, let's see," he went on, looking around nearsightedly. "Where did I happen to put down my cane..."
    I spotted the ridiculous thing leaning up against the side of the bar. "There, dear," I indicated, trying not to sigh.
    For some reason, my fiancé insisted that this cane made him look the true part of a gentleman. I'd managed to convince him to give up on his ratty slippers and that ridiculously short bathrobe he used to wear around the house, but he still clung stubbornly to this cane, insisting on bringing it with him to every formal occasion we attended.
    The thing wasn't even attractive, I thought to myself with a little mental groan as Marsden snatched up the cane. The cane was constructed of black wood, with silver wrapped around the last foot of the rod. The handle was also silver, sculpted into the shape of an eagle's talon, clutching a horn carved of bone. Marsden always insisted that this represented the cattle from which his family had made its fortune, and he carried it everywhere with him.
    With cane firmly in hand, Marsden turned and smiled back down to me. "Okay, my little high society woman," he called out. "Let's go watch your pony run a couple of laps!"
    Even those words couldn't bring me down, however, as I led the man through the crowd towards the big windows that overlooked the Virginia Derby track. Instead, I could feel my heartbeat quickening in my chest. The race was about to start, and although Merlot's performance was now out of my hands, I couldn't help feeling as though his fate on the race was up to me.
    We made our way to the front of the crowd, getting a good vantage