The Billionaire Rancher's Christmas Wife Read online

  The Billionaire Rancher’s Christmas Wife

  Marian Tee

  Contents

  Blurb

  ABOUT THE BOOK

  Also by Marian Tee

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Epilogue

  Dear Readers,

  About the Author

  Also by Marian Tee

  Blurb

  28-year-old Isla Bouchard signs up to be a mail-order bride to escape her heartbreak and start a new life as a cowboy’s wife. She comes up to Aspen, Colorado to meet her future husband, who’s nothing like the sweet, gentle man his letters have made him out to be. Instead, Sean Northwood turns out to be a devastatingly handsome rogue, and even more shocking, he’s no ordinary rancher but a billionaire who owns one of the world’s most successful stud farms.

  Isla is terrified of trusting and loving a man again, but just one kiss from Sean is enough to make her forget all her fears and insecurities. And so she gives herself to him – heart, body, and soul – not knowing that the billionaire only sees her as a temporary part of his life.

  Note: This is a STEAMY, MODERN-DAY ROMANCE set in Colorado. It has no cliffhangers and a guaranteed HAPPY EVER AFTER. Fans of Diana Palmer and Margaret Way are likely to enjoy this.

  ABOUT THE BOOK

  “I’m beginning to think you set out to fool me in those letters of yours.”

  Isla was indignant. “I did not.”

  “But you were so sweet and funny---”

  “I am sweet and funny!”

  He raised a brow, and Isla flushed upon realizing she was acting anything but, with the way she had just yelled at him. Lowering her voice, she muttered, “I am sweet and funny.”

  “Whatever you say, sugar.”

  Isla shot him an accusing look. “There’s just something about you that brings out the worst in me. I only lose my temper with you.”

  “Uh huh.”

  His eyes were back to laughing at her again, and Isla’s teeth gnashed. “I’m not lying. Except with you, I have always been sweet and funny---”

  Sean’s gaze turned thoughtful. “Assuming what you’re saying is true…”

  “It is!”

  “You’re sweet and funny, and you never set out to fool me---”

  “Of course I didn’t.”

  “Then how about that kiss you promised?” he asked very politely. “Didn’t you promise me one when we’d meet?”

  Also by Marian Tee

  Want More Hot Alpha Billionaire and Biker Romances from Marian Tee?

  Enjoy exclusive excerpts about my newest and upcoming releases by signing up for my newsletter.

  Standalone Novels

  Savage, Broken, Beautiful

  A contemporary and sizzling-hot retelling of the Beauty and the Beast, this story starts when Arabella sells herself to a mysterious French billionaire who has her whisked to his remote island.

  Eternal Night

  This is a retelling of Hades and Persephone’s love story, but this time the God of the Underworld finds himself falling for a mortal girl.

  Captivated: 4-in-1 Friends Romance Boxed Set – Enjoy four standalone romances between passionate, domineering billionaires and the women who were their friends first before becoming their lovers.

  All stories have either happy-ever-after or happy-for-now endings.

  His Fair Lady – Prince Julian knows the blind fortune teller Cass is everything he wants in a woman, but she can never be his bride.

  Devoured — Cynical Italian billionaire Luca Valencia buys himself a wife in order to give his little girl the mother she needed and deserved. His choice: innocent Vivian Day, who he knew could ill afford to reject his proposition.

  The Marriage Dare

  Quintessential girl Friday Jane can’t ever say no to a dare. And so when her friends challenge her to make out with a beautiful stranger, she does it. And when said stranger dares her to marry him – she does it, too.

  EVERGREEN’S MAIL-ORDER BRIDES (According to Reading Order)

  The Billionaire Rancher She Married (Devon & Hilary)

  Greek Billionaire Romance Serials

  The Art of Catching a Greek Billionaire (free)

  The Art of Trusting a Greek Billionaire

  The Art of Loving a Greek Billionaire

  The Art of Forgiving a Greek Billionaire

  The Art of Wedding a Greek Billionaire

  The Art of Kissing a Greek Billionaire (free)

  The Greek Billionaire and I (Standalone)

  The Greek Billionaire and His Secretary Series

  The Greek Billionaire and His Secretary (FREE)

  Dear Greek Billionaire

  Love, Your Greek Billionaire

  Forever and Ever, My Greek Billionaire

  That One Time (Standalone)

  My Dutch Billionaire Trilogy

  Part 1 (FREE)

  Part 2

  Part 3

  Pollyanna and the Greek Billionaire Trilogy (Innocent and Betrayed)

  Part 1 (FREE)

  Part 2

  Part 3

  How Not to be Seduced Series / Mediterranean Affairs (According to Reading Order)

  Nik & Daria

  A Fling with the Greek Billionaire: Prequel (FREE)

  A Fling with the Greek Billionaire: Standalone

  Eternally Seduced: Contemporary Romance (7-in-1 Boxed set)

  Included in this bundle: How Not to be Seduced by Billionaires, How Not to be Seduced by Rockstars, How Not to be Seduced by Dukes Part 1

  The Ice Around My Heart (How Not to be Seduced by Dukes Part 2)

  The Rockstar and His Fangirl (Standalone)

  The Rockstar I’ve Loved for So Long (Standalone)

  BBF Series: Christopoulos University (According to Reading Order)

  Warning: Love Moderately Duology (Derek & Jaike)

  Unwillingly Yours (FREE!)

  Meant to Be Yours

  Park & Violet (Standalone)

  Nick & Lilac (Standalone)

  Jason & Keanne (Standalone)

  Prince of Darkness Duology

  Part 1

  Part 2

  For Angelo (Standalone)

  My Greek Billionaire (Alyx & Nathan)

  My French Billionaire (Christien & Kharis)

  IN BED WITH A BILLIONAIRE Series

  My Russian Billionaire (Sergei & Fredericka)

  My Greek Billionaire (Alyx & Nathan)*

  My Italian Billionaire Part One (Anneke & Marcus)

  My Italian Billionaire Part Two (Anneke & Marcus)

  My French Billionaire (Christien & Kharis)*

  *also part of BBF series

  DESERT SHEIKHS Series

  My Arabian Billionaire (Khalil & Harper)

  Malik

  Rayyan

  Tarif

  Altair

  Heart Racer – Billionaire Biker Romance Series: Christopoulos University (According to Reading Order)

  Leandro & Bobby: Duology

  Heart Racer (FREE!)

  Driven by Love

  Helios & MJ Trilogy

  Swish (FREE!)

  Burn

  Click

  Kellion & Aria (Standalone)

  Yuri & Kalli (Standalone)

  Drawn / Russian Stepbrother Romance / Play With Me Sports Romance Series: Christopoulos University (According to Reading Order)
<
br />   Drawn (Standalone)

  Russian Stepbrother Romance Trilogy

  When I Moan

  When I Hurt

  When I Love

  Play With Me (Standalone)

  This Round I’m Yours (Standalone)

  Love You Again (A Standalone Sequel to Drawn)

  Visit Marian Tee’s website for her other titles.

  Want More Hot Alpha Billionaire and Biker Romances from Marian Tee?

  Enjoy exclusive excerpts about my newest and upcoming releases by signing up for my newsletter.

  The Billionaire Rancher’s Christmas Wife (Evergreen’s Mail Order Brides #2)

  By Marian Tee

  Copyright 2017 by Streak Digital Publishing

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Created with Vellum

  Chapter 1

  Isla Bouchard could not get enough of Aspen in December. Naturally, she had done her best to research in advance about the place, but even so – reality was far better than what her imagination had been able to come up with. Maybe it was because her family was not the affectionate type, but she had never quite believed one could literally “feel” Christmas in the air…until now. Through the short but winding ride it took Isla to reach her hotel from the airport, she had seen just about every Hallmark Christmas card illustration come to life: rosy-cheeked children laughing as they crowded around Santa with his live reindeer, snowy-white mountains that reached up to kiss pristine-blue skies, and barren trees made festive by holiday lights hanging from its branches and red-and-green ribbons tied around its trunks.

  Soon, she had her first glimpse of her home for the weekend, and Isla couldn’t help but draw her breath as Mt. Aehrenthal slowly rose into view like a timber-and-stone castle straight out of a German fairytale. As her cab came closer, she was able to peer through its panoramic windows and take in its enchanting interior: stone-cladded columns that intersected with overhead log beams, tall exposed ceilings and shiny mahogany floors, leather sofas forming a half-circle around tree bark tables, and six brick fireplaces (and all of these were in the lobby alone).

  If Isla had been the type to feel self-conscious, then she would have already felt like shrinking into nothing by the time her white taxicab joined the long queue of luxury vehicles rolling up the driveway. To say that she felt out of place was an understatement; her entire surroundings were simply of a different league, one that even her comfortable, upper middle-class background had not been able to expose her to.

  All the clothes she had shopped for this trip, Isla realized ruefully, now felt quite outdated. She had purchased them only a month ago, actually, but somehow, the guests around her, dressed as they were in the most stylish ski and après ski attires, made it seem like anything sold this year was already out of fashion.

  It was as if only clothes meant to have its catwalk debut for next year’s winter season were en vogue, Isla pondered to herself. But how did one even shop for clothes that were not yet available? How did they even know that those would still be fashionable by the time they came out? Was this a mystery only the very rich knew the answer to?

  As soon as she climbed out of the cab, a bellboy came forward to take her luggage, and ignoring the snooty expression on the younger man’s face, Isla simply thanked him with a smile and engaged him in a cheerful chat about the hotel. “It’s my first time to travel alone,” she confided to him, “and it’s also my first time to see snow. Do you have any recommendations for what I can do here during my stay?”

  By the time they made it to the reception counter, the bellboy – Willy - had given up putting on airs and was quite enthusiastic as he described the many activities the town had to offer.

  Although it was only eight in the morning, Isla was pleasantly surprised when the hotel’s receptionist didn’t turn her away with a pointed reminder about the standard check-in time. Instead, the pretty, well-groomed receptionist simply gave her a warm smile of welcome and asked for her ID. “I’ll also need a few moments to search for an available room, if you’re alright with waiting, Ms. Bouchard?”

  “Of course. Please take your time.” While waiting for the receptionist, Isla looked about her curiously and noticed a pair of well-dressed women. Their gazes met, and she was about to smile politely in greeting when the two women quickly looked away as if worried Isla might suddenly latch on to them like a leech.

  The women’s reaction would have made most people feel insulted, but it only caused Isla’s lips to twitch– a fact that did not escape the man seated at the opposite end of the lobby, his imposing length folded in one of the armchairs next to the windows.

  He had a tablet on his lap, and he had in fact been reading the news on it when he noticed her arrival. Everyone did, actually, which was ironic since she, on the other hand, appeared genuinely unaware of the impact she made on the right people.

  And with “right”, what he actually meant was the few men who had sat up and taken notice of her, men who were all wrong precisely because they were cut from the same cloth as he was.

  Like him, those men would see past her ‘plain Jane’ disguise, something he doubted she was even aware of. The tight bun would be a turn-on rather than a boring hairstyle (it made men like him hunger for the sight of her red-gold locks cascade down her back), and the same went with how she was covered head to toe in her turtleneck sweater and jeans (men would always want more what was withheld and unseen).

  Like him, those few “wrong” men would be far from intimidated by the way she carried herself: head up, back straight, and a stride that was brisk and purposeful as it was sensual and graceful. It was, if anyone cared to ask him, how he imagined Diana, goddess of the hunt, would have walked the face of the earth if she ever came down from Mt. Olympus.

  A woman who embraced her femininity but found no shame in her strength, he mused. A woman like her would no doubt be wild and imaginative in bed, her every instinct driven by passion – but only to a man she deemed deserving of her attention.

  And he would be that man.

  Just the thought of claiming her had his nostrils flaring, his hooded gaze burning so hotly that it inevitably stirred her consciousness and eventually caused her to turn around.

  A more polite man would probably have looked away by the time she faced him, but instead his scorching gaze remained on her, waiting to claim her from a distance. He had always been the type to court trouble anyway, and more than that, he wanted her to see the desire in his eyes – and know that it was all for her.

  And so she did.

  Isla’s hand instinctively went to her throat when her gaze clashed with the stranger’s. She was no shy wallflower when it came to men; that would’ve been impossible considering 90% of the workforce in her father’s law firm were men.

  But this stranger…he wasn’t like any of the men she knew. Something about him felt so inexplicably different – threatening even. For one thing, he was too gorgeous than a mortal had any right to be. Silky chestnut brown hair that could’ve been the subject of a men’s shampoo commercial, deeply tanned skin, and a body that was so obviously muscular not even the fact he wore layers of clothes (a buffalo check barn jacket thrown over a gray round-neck shirt and jeans) could hide how formidably built it was.

  To put it simply, he wasn’t the kind of man someone like her could ever attract, thus making Isla glance curiously over her shoulder. She was certain he had to be staring at someone behind her – but no one else was there except Willy.

  Her brows furrowed. Did that mean he was looking at her? She glanced back at the stranger, and it was as if he had heard her question, with a smirk slowly unfolding on his lips.

  It’s you I’m looking at,
the smirk said – but it didn’t end there, and her disbelief only grew as she saw his arrogant gaze dip to her mouth.

  And there it stayed until she had no choice but to read the message – no, the command – in his gaze. I’m going to take your mouth, drive my tongue inside –

  Her cheeks heated, and Isla turned away with clumsy haste, desperate for some reason not to let him see her blush. How hot she felt right now! So much so that she had to clench her fists against the urge to fan her face. Dear Lord. What was happening to her?

  A smile of pure sexual interest slowly unfolded over the man’s lips at the way his redheaded goddess suddenly spun, her back to him. He would have suspected her manner coy if it had been any other woman, but not her. Never her. He was damn certain of it.

  “Thank you for your patience, Ms. Bouchard.”

  The receptionist’s words had Isla breathing a sigh of relief. Thank God. The sooner she could put distance between her and Mr. Shameless, the better. Thanking the other woman as she handed Isla her card key, she added, “I hope I didn’t put you through too much trouble?”

  “Not at all, Ms. Bouchard.” The receptionist shook her head with a smile. “We hope you have a pleasant stay with us.”