Spurred On - Sabrina York

Titles by Sabrina York
Stud for Hire
Cowboy to Command
Spurred On
Spurred On
Sabrina York
INTERMIX
New York
INTERMIX
Published by Berkley
An imprint of Penguin RandomHouse LLC
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
Copyright © 2016 by Sabrina York
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ISBN: 9780451488213
First Edition: January 2017
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are
the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments,
events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Version_1
Contents
Titles by Sabrina York
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Epilogue
About the Author
This book is dedicated to Kristine Swartz for
making it all happen!
Acknowledgments
A huge thanks to Luann Reed-Siegel for her
excellent copyediting. Your eagle eye is much
appreciated! And I think we can all agree the
InterMix art team did a great job on this scorching
cover. A huge thanks to Lane Heymont for all of his
support!
As always, I would like to express my
appreciation to my fellow 12 Pack authors who
helped bring the Stud Ranch to life: Randi
Alexander, Cynthia D’Alba, Delilah Devlin,
Shoshanna Evers, Sable Hunter, Elle
James, Becky McGraw, Lindsay McKenna, Donna
Michaels, Lexi Post, Rebecca Schaefer, Cora
Seton, Susan Stoker, Paige Tyler and Beth
Williamson. You all rock!
And a huge shout-out to the real stars of this
enterprise, my AWESOME readers!!
Chapter One
Cody Silver’s feet tangled and he almost fell on his
face as a tall drink of water uncurled herself from
a refurbished red-hot Mustang and surveyed the
front yard of his ranch house. The first thing he
noticed was the curve of her ass because,
seriously? It was a fantastic ass. And then he
noticed her boobs. His pulse picked up and his
salivary glands went into overdrive.
Her hair was gorgeous too, a kind of burnt
umber, not enough for her to be a classic redhead,
but enough that it probably spoke to her passion in
bed. It tumbled down her back in a riot of curls.
With that figure, she had to be gorgeous too.
Didn’t she? He found himself burning with
curiosity to see her face, so he headed in her
direction.
This was his home. It was only polite to
welcome her.
Maybe she was a potential customer for the
Double S Ranch, better known by locals as the
Stud Ranch. Maybe she was a friend of Claire’s.
Whatever. He didn’t care. He just wanted to meet
her because he hadn’t felt this kind of instant
attraction since—
She turned, and he got a glimpse of her profile
and a skitter of unease rippled through him.
No. God no. It couldn’t be.
But then she heard him coming and glanced
over her shoulder. He saw her full on and his heart
dropped clear through to his churning belly.
His steps slowed. His anticipation faded. His
trepidation rose.
It was her. Sidney Fucking Stevens.
What was she doing here? After all these
years? And why did she still have this crazy power
over him?
No other woman had. No other woman did.
It had been over ten years since their
misbegotten affair, and the sense of loss still felt
fresh. Probably because, after all this time, he
wasn’t quite sure how it had happened. How he’d
lost her. Why he’d done what he’d done.
He idly wondered if she still hated him.
Or, perhaps, not so idly.
He sucked in a breath, steeled his spine, and
tipped his hat as he approached. Then he fixed
something that might have been a smile on his face.
Might as well try.
“Sidney,” he said, ignoring the catch in his
voice.
She stilled. Her eyes narrowed and her nose
twitched. She looked him up and down in a frigid
perusal. Oh yeah. She still hated him.
“It’s been a long time.” The best opening he
could manage.
She nodded, and said, “Not long enough.” She
muttered it under her breath, but he heard. He
suspected he was supposed to.
“What, ah, brings you to these parts?” he asked.
“Are you here to see Claire?”
“Yes.” Her response was short and clipped.
Nearly snarled, as though she couldn’t bear to be
in his presence. Couldn’t bear to speak to him.
Now, Cody had his share of exes—more than a
man probably should—but none of them could hold
a grudge like Sidney Stevens.
“Claire’s out of town.” He hated saying it,
because she’d probably get back into her car and
leave and he didn’t think he could bear that.
Though this altercation was anything but amiable,
he didn’t want it to end. Not yet. It was better to
have her stand there and hiss at him like an angry
cat than leave. Especially after all this time. He
found he wanted, more than he should, to keep her
here. Which was, all things considered, foolish
beyond reason. “Can I . . . help you?”
She did it again. Looked him up and down. He
was left with the impression that, in her opinion, he
was lower than a bug. But then, he couldn’t blame
her. He’d been a dumbass back then.
And he wasn’t much better now.
“Sidney?”
She huffed out a sigh and turned away, raking
her fingers through that glorious mane. “When will
she be back?”
“A week. Maybe more?”
“What? Where the hell did she go?”
He blinked at her ferocity. “She’s gone to
Houston to do some marketing. See if she can get
more customers in.”
Cody, his brother, Cade, and sister, Claire, had
turned their large ranch house into a B&B that
specialized in parties for women . . . complete
with hot dancers. It had been Cody’s idea, one
born of desperation, when the bank had threatened
to foreclose on the property after their father’s
death. They’d gotten a lot of interest, but the jury
was still out on whether this side-business could
save the farm.
It would kill him to lose everything his
grandfather and father had worked so hard to build.
He didn’t know who he’d be without the Double S.
And his siblings felt the same way. Each of them
put their all into this last-gasp chance to save their
inheritance.
Sidney made a face and sighed. “I wish I’d
known. I came from Dallas to see her.” After high
school, after their breakup, she’d moved there and
—other than an occasional visit to her parents—
she’d never come back. He’d certainly never seen
her around town. Not that he looked for her. Every
day.
He suspected she took great pains to make sure
they never crossed paths when she happened to
come to Snake Gully. Damn it all anyway.
She looked good, real good . . . but he knew
better than to say as much.
Her nose curled again. “I heard about what
you’re doing here.”
Sidney’s distaste wasn’t the first he’d faced.
Snake Gully was a small, conservative Texas
town, and even though the ranch was on the
outskirts, some of the old-timers didn’t like the
idea of bringing in dancers and horny housewives
from Dallas. They didn’t like it one iota.
But not one of those bastions of society had
offered to help them out of their financial quandary.
So, well . . . so there.
He didn’t know how to respond, so he just
nodded. “What brings you to town?” he asked
before he could stop the words.
She pinned him with a sharp glance and stared
at him for a long while, as though trying to decide
if she should deign to speak to him or just turn
around and flounce away. At long last, she said,
with a huff, “My sister is getting married.”
He nodded. “Yeah. I heard. Um,
congratulations.” The word burned on his tongue.
Cody knew Hanna’s fiancé . . . and hated him. Zack
Pucey was the biggest asshole on this side of the
Rio Grande.
And the other side.
And anywhere, really.
Why Hanna had agreed to marry him was a
mystery. She was sweet and well-liked. Zack was
despised. It was the oddest coupling he’d ever
seen.
Sidney shuddered. “Congratulations? Thanks a
bunch. Anyway, I’m in charge of the bachelorette
party. I was thinking about having it here.”
He gaped at her. A rowdy party featuring a
passel of hot, toned strippers was hardly Hanna’s
style. But hell, a booking was a booking. “Sure.
Come on inside and we can look at the calendar.”
“I’d rather deal with Claire.”
Not a shock. “She’s not here.”
“Or Cade.”
“Not here either.” He held out his hands to
illustrate his helplessness. Not that he wanted to
get her alone in a private space, but he did. Of
course, if he dared touch her, she’d probably rack
him in the balls. But a guy could dream. “Looks
like you’re stuck with me.” He batted his lashes,
surely not because he knew it would annoy her. “I
promise to behave.”
Maybe he shouldn’t have made that vague
reference to the fact that they’d once been
something more than icy-polite strangers. She’d
melted him once. That was how hot she was.
But she wasn’t hot now. Now she was cold.
Frigid. Her icy glower made him shiver. He turned
and walked back to the house. He didn’t check to
see if she followed, because that would be an
admission that he cared. Besides, he could hear her
heels crunching on the gravel.
And damn. She was wearing heels.
He loved her in heels.
He forced that scintillating thought from his
mind as he pushed open the door to the office and
gestured to a chair. Then he dropped into the seat
on the other side of the desk—surely not because
he felt a sudden need for some barrier between
them—and opened the calendar. “Do you have a
date in mind?”
She mentioned something in June, and they
settled on a couple of options.
“And how many people?”
Another frown. “I don’t know. Twenty-five?”
He arched a brow. “That many?”
“Tibby wants to come.” This she spat.
His head came up so fast he bit his tongue.
Tibby. What a horror. Aside from being Zack’s
sister and a monster in her own right, she was the
woman Cody’d started dating right after he and
Sidney broke up.
Beyond that, Tibby was still convinced Cody
was in love with her—even though their
relationship, if one could call it that, had ended
nearly as soon as it had begun. Even though all that
had happened nearly a decade ago, Tibby attached
to him like a remora whenever they happened to
cross paths.
Naturally, he avoided her like the plague.
He swallowed heavily. Cleared his throat.
“Ah . . . Tibby?”
Sidney nodded. “She’s bringing her friends.”
“Awesome.”
Claire was going to have a conniption. She’d
made it clear that Tibby was never to be invited to
the ranch. But if it was a condition of Sidney’s
booking, he would have to accede. Because he’d
realized, all of a sudden, this was the opportunity
he’d dreamed of. An opportunity to see her again.
And maybe, if he was lucky, to seduce her again.
It was something he’d fantasized about for ten
long years.
Making love to Sidney again . . . and finally
getting her out of his system.
He hummed with excitement as they waded
through the details of her event. Even as he wrote
down each of her requirements, his mind was in a
whirl, surreptitiously planning how he might soften
her wrath, when and where he might kiss her again.
It was foolish of him, but he couldn’t resist. Being
so close to her, drawing in her scent, hearing her
voice . . . all weakened his resolve, his protective
instincts.
With a shock, he realized he would do anything
to be with her again. If only once.
When they’d finished all the paperwork, she
stilled and folded her hands in her lap. Then she
looked at him—really looked at him for the first
time. For once her gaze was not distant. It was
warm, open, almost pleading. “I have . . . a special
request, Cody.”
He poised his pen over the order form, even
though all he wanted to do was stare at her. And
maybe drool. “Yeah? What is it?” Whatever it was,
he’d do it. If only to see that sincere look in her
eye again. If only to please her.
She took a deep breath and captured his gaze.
“I want you to help me scuttle this wedding.”
***
Cody stared at her. As well he should. It was an
insane idea, but Sidney was out of ideas.
Obviously.
She’d been desperate enough to come here. To
take the chance of seeing him again, after all the
heartache he’d caused. And man, it had been hard
to maintain a civil countenance in his presence.
She wanted to yell at him, rail, howl. She’d
wanted to run. But she didn’t. This was too
important. Hanna needed this—even though she
didn’t realize it.
Still, Sidney deserved a frigging Oscar for her
acting.
Cody blinked. “Excuse me? You want me to . . .
what?”
She glowered at him. For some reason, he
flinched. “Come on, Cody. Quit playing innocent.
You and I both know there’s something wrong here.
Hanna doesn’t love Zack. Not really. We need to
show her.”
He shook his head, as though he didn’t
understand. But then, maybe he didn’t. Men were
notoriously oblivious. About everything. “Show
her what?”
“That she’s not in love with Zack. What a
mistake this wedding would be.”
“Sidney . . .” He sighed. “How am I supposed
to do that?”
“You have hot guys here. Can’t you have one of
them . . . ?” She waved a hand in an illustrative
manner.
“What?”
“Seduce her?”
“You want me to hire a gigolo to seduce your
sister?” He gaped at her, so she glared back.
“That’s illegal, you know.”
“It doesn’t have to be a gigolo.” Hanna was
hardly the type of woman who needed to pay for
play. “What about other men?”
“Other men?”
She shot to her feet and began to pace. “Surely
you have friends?”
He seemed slightly put out. “I have friends,” he
insisted.
“Some handsome, hot, single guy friends who
might like redheads?”
“You want me to matchmake?”
“Whatever it takes. Anything to make her
realize that whatever it is she has with Zack isn’t
love.”
“Are you so sure it’s not love?”
She whipped around and pinned him with a
sneer. “Zack? Really?” Surely Cody could see that
Hanna was making a monumental mistake. One that
would ruin her life.
Cody took a moment to consider her request,
then shrugged. “I can try.”
Try? She braced her hands on the desk and
glowered at him. “Go through your little black
book. Invite some friends who might be
interested.”
He pushed back his chair and stood. “You’re
asking for a lot.”
“Am I? Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Asking that you invite some friends to a
party?”
“It’s a party for women.”
“There you go. You have horny friends, don’t
you?” Her tone underpinned the old adage that
birds of a feather flocked together, and for some
reason he looked wounded. She didn’t care.
His beautiful features firmed. He eyed her with
a sharp consideration that made her teeth clench.
“And what do I get in return? For this . . . favor?”
His tone made the tiny hairs on her nape
prickle. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Will you?”
She narrowed her eyes. “What do you want?”
“I think you know.”
She leaped to her feet. “Forget it. I am not
sleeping with you.”
His smirk was so annoying she wanted to
smack it off his too-pretty face. “Did I ask you to
sleep with me?”
“Then what?” A snap.
He shrugged and arranged his features into an
innocent mien, one he’d perfected after years of
practice. “A kiss. That’s all I want.”
She gaped at him. “A kiss?”
“Just a kiss. But a real one. You know what I
mean.”
“Fine. Come here.”
He laughed. It was low and rumbling and
arrogant and annoying as hell. “Not now. Later.”
“Later?”
“At a time of my choosing.”
Oh hell. He was even more aggravating than
she remembered. “Fine.”
“You agree to my terms?”
She shot him what she hoped was a scorching
glare. “Yes.”
“Excellent.” He stood and collected her copy
of the agreement and handed it to her and then, to
her consternation, followed her out to her car.
She had a little trouble walking on the gravel in
her heels. Surely she hadn’t worn them in case she
ran into him. Surely she hadn’t remembered how
much he loved a woman in heels. She wanted
nothing to do with him. Nothing whatsoever.
She hated that the prospect of kissing him made
her belly warm, but she knew it was purely
physical attraction and nothing more. Because of
all the men in the world, Cody Silver was the last
man she would want to be with. Any interaction
with him was bound to end with her heart shattered
in pieces on the floor, and she refused to let that
happen to herself ever again.
She was so focused on her determination to
avoid becoming entangled with him again that she
plowed right into him as he stopped by her car.
Her ankle turned and, with a terrifying crack, her
heel snapped and she fell.
He caught her.
There wasn’t even a moment to reflect on how
good it felt to be held by those strong arms before
his mouth came down on hers. Warm, hot,
demanding.
You’d think, after ten years of hating him, she
would have a modicum of resistance left in
reserve. She did not.
To her horror, she found herself instantly
sucked into the passion, the delirium of his kiss.
God, he tasted good. So good. Her mind stopped
working and her body took over.
She fisted her fingers in his hair and held him
as he ravaged her mouth, nibbled on her lips, and
stroked her body.
It was mortifying that she seemed to have no
will whatsoever.
When he lifted his head and grinned at her—an
irritating, vexing smirk—a hard ball formed in her
belly. He was too damn arrogant for his own good.
“That was nice,” he said.
Nice? Bastard.
She wrenched herself out of his arms and
teetered before him. “I hope you enjoyed your
kiss.”
“Oh no.” He grinned again. Dimples blossomed
on his cheek. “That was not my kiss.”
Heat churned in her belly. “What?”
“That was your kiss.”
Fury raked her. Ripples skittered over her
scalp. “What?”
“You’re the one who instigated that kiss.”
“I most certainly did not.”
“You threw yourself at me.”
“You are delusional.”
“Really?” Another smirk. “What was it then?”
She reached down and pulled off her broken
shoe and waved it under his nose. “I fell.”
He pursed his lips. “Seriously Sidney? That old
chestnut?”
“My. Shoe. Broke.”
“I see that. But I’ve had women sabotage their
shoes before . . . so they could fall into my arms.”
Oh. Good. Glory.
He was, without exception, the most self-
absorbed, egotistical douche canoe on the planet.
Without a word, she whirled away, hobbled to
her car, and tossed the damned shoe into the
backseat. And then, without so much as a glare in
his direction, she hopped into her Mustang and
sped away in a plume of dust.
God help her.
She couldn’t escape from his presence fast
enough.
And she couldn’t shake the looming suspicion
that she’d just made the biggest mistake of her life,
coming to Cody Silver for help.
Chapter Two
Cody was still spinning with the impact of seeing
Sidney again, kissing her again, when he pulled
into the long drive to his friend Logan’s ranch that
night. All the way to Dallas, he’d replayed their
conversation, analyzed her every expression, every
word, and he’d come to one stunning conclusion.
He wanted Sidney and he would do anything to
have her again.
Oh, it was hardly a surprise that he wanted her.
He’d never stopped. Of all the women he’d ever
known, she was the one who refused to vacate his
mind. It was the he would do anything to have her
again part that surprised him. All his life, women
had fallen at his feet. If one relationship didn’t
work out, he just moved onto the next.
Sure, he felt a little shallow at the realization
that he didn’t see the need to work on a
relationship, but honestly, he’d never met a woman
who inspired him to try.
Except her.
Then again, maybe all those other relationships
hadn’t worked out because the woman wasn’t her.
Yeah. It had to be her fault.
Or, if he was being totally honest with himself
—w...