A Lover's Vow

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One (#ulink_97b7d932-14ae-5c48-ad08-14ea8e87dcb4)

Dalton Granger glanced around, noting the hundreds of people assembled in the rose garden of the Granger estate. What had happened to the small wedding Shana Bradford had originally planned? Granted, the pregnancy wasn’t obvious, but he thought the huge wedding along with the white gown was a bit much. But then, even he would be the first to admit that Wonder Woman looked jaw-droppingly stunning.

Wonder Woman was the nickname he had given Shana, and she’d proven more than worthy of the name after performing more than one impossible feat. The main one of which was capturing his oldest brother Jace’s heart. Dalton had honestly thought Jace would avoid marriage like the plague, especially after his first failed marriage to the woman Dalton still thought of as Evil Eve.

Stay focused.

Easier said than done, Dalton thought, shifting his gaze from the bride to her maid of honor, her sister, Jules Bradford. She was the one woman on this Earth he despised with a passion. Unfortunately, his major problem was that he desired her with that same degree of passion. Yes, he would own up to it, although he wished things were otherwise. There were times when he’d even concluded that his attraction to Jules was too obsessive to be considered normal. However, he could deal with it as long as she stayed in her space, because he certainly intended to stay in his. Today would be an exception, since her sister was marrying his brother. He’d been warned by Jace to be on his best behavior, which was an effing challenge. And nothing could have prepared him for last night’s rehearsal dinner. It wasn’t his behavior but his attraction to Jules that had tested his level of control.

She’d shown up wearing a pair of skin-tight black leggings and a long-sleeved white dress shirt with tails fanning across her shapely hips, thighs and curvaceous backside. And she’d worn a tie of all things. Was that a new trend or something? Mixing masculine with feminine? Business with casual? You had to have balls to make such a bold fashion statement. But the one thing he’d discovered about Jules was that she thought nothing of pushing the damned envelope to do whatever she pleased. However, he would admit, even grudgingly, that when she’d worn what he considered outlandish attire, she’d managed to look totally feminine and sexy as hell.

A frown curved Dalton’s lips. He needed to get a grip. The last thing he wanted was to think about how Jules looked last night. But then, today wasn’t much better with her hair pulled up tight in a bun with a few curls left to frame her face. She had skin that looked soft and flawless, and her eyes were a dark chocolate. Then there were those beautiful, high cheekbones and lips that looked enticingly kissable and were painted a beautiful shade of red.

It was damned torture standing here and looking at her when he should be paying attention, listening to whatever asinine wedding vows Jace was making to Shana. It was a known fact that Dalton didn’t believe in that forever-after, until-death-do-us-part BS. Being cynical was a character flaw of his, one he embraced wholeheartedly. He prided himself on never doing anything he’d regret later. But there had been that one time he’d been stupid enough to let his guard down, and it had been with Jules.

Damn, he needed a drink. Thinking he needed one was better than thinking he needed to go over to her, unwind her hair and run his fingers through it before kissing that lipstick right off her lips. Hell, since he was thinking of being so effing bold, he might as well strip her naked, too. He could imagine the wedding guests’ reactions to that, and the last thing his family needed was another Granger scandal.

He couldn’t help but recall the first time he’d seen Jules. He’d been feeling so fucking horny and had gone to this nightclub to make a hit. He hadn’t been impressed with the prospects until she’d walked through the door. At the time he’d had no idea she was Shana’s sister and, to be quite honest, it would not have mattered had he known. All he’d cared about was that she’d looked hot, and he’d wanted a piece of her. No, not just a piece, he’d wanted the whole thing. Head to toe and especially all those areas in between. He saw. He liked. He got. Things had always been that simple for him. Quick, easy and hassle-free.

Anger suddenly rushed through him, and he fought the emotion by breathing in deeply when he remembered how things had actually gone down that night...definitely not the way he’d planned. Jules Bradford had turned his life into a damn circus, where he was a clown one minute and walking a tightrope the next. No other woman could make his blood boil while at the same time rev his libido up to the point of making his groin ache.

He should have more control, but unfortunately, at the moment, he didn’t. He couldn’t help but be grateful for the little ring bearer who was standing directly in front of him, blocking any telltale signs of his aroused state. By rights, all eyes should be on the wedding couple, anyway, and that included his own. But some things were unavoidable, and his fixation on Jules today fell into that category.

He slid his gaze down to her feet and then back to her face while wondering whose idea it was for the maid of honor and the bridesmaids to wear short dresses. At any other time, he would have appreciated seeing so many gorgeous pairs of legs, but since one of those pairs belonged to Jules...the pair he was transfixed by...he would have preferred otherwise.

“By the power vested in me by the great state of Virginia, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

The minister’s words collided with Dalton’s thoughts. Had he been standing there and staring at Jules the entire time Jace and Shana had exchanged vows? He quickly slid his gaze away from Jules in time to see Jace kiss Shana.

Dalton then shifted his gaze to his other brother, Caden, who was standing beside him and grinning from ear to ear. Both he and Caden had served as Jace’s best men. He loved his brothers, although at times they got on his last nerve. And lately, he couldn’t understand what drove them to do some of the idiotic things they did, like getting married, for instance. Jace tied the knot with Shana today, and a few weeks ago Caden had eloped with Shiloh Timmons, whom Dalton referred to as the Wine Lady, since she owned a wine boutique in town. It was quite apparent that both of his brothers had been p-whipped out of their ever-loving minds.

He returned his gaze to Jules at the same exact moment she glanced over the heads of the kissing couple. Their gazes clashed, and bam, he swore he could hear cymbals banging in his ears. Her eyes were frosty as hell, and she was probably calling him all kinds of names under her breath. And then, as if she suddenly recalled they’d both been warned to be on their best behavior, she parted her red lips, showing perfect white teeth in what he knew was a fake smile. Was she trying to taunt him while staring him down? He’d be damned if he’d let that happen, but she was welcome to try. Moments later, he saw she’d given up when her phony smile was replaced by a frown, and her eyes went back to being frosty again. Now it was his turn to smile, and his was more fake than hers had been.