“I remember. This is where we had our first kiss.”
“It feels like it was yesterday.” His voice cracked. “I’ve missed you so much.”
He cupped her face, and she closed her eyes, shuddering. She opened them again just as he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. She grasped with shock and arousal, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pulled him to her and met his kiss with her own.
It was as if two forces of nature slammed them together with all the intensity and yearning to touch each other once again. They kissed frantically, desperately, for several long moments until she stepped away. She could so easily get swept up in this. And everything in her wanted to. But Cheyenne was a grown woman. And even though Austin was her childhood sweetheart and the man she’d been pining for ever since, she knew she needed to take things slowly. Be rational, get to know him, the real him, not the fantasy she’d worked up in her mind over the last twenty-five years.
“Wow,” he said.
“Wow is right.”
“I’ll walk you back to the lodge. I’ve gotta get up early tomorrow. The last thing I want to do right now is leave, but I know it’s what needs to happen.”
“I’m glad you said that.”
“When can I see you again?” He kissed the back of her hand before he guided her down the dock toward the lodge.
“Soon. As soon as you can.”
Chapter 6
Austin rode the four-wheeler toward the mailbox. Ever since last night, he’d had a song in his heart. Kissing Cheyenne had sparked fireworks inside him brighter and hotter than the Fourth of July. He felt as if he was finally coming home—as if he’d finally found what he’d been missing all these years.
Now that he had fully accepted that she was alive and well, he knew that the only thing he truly wanted was her. The only thing that truly mattered was making her his. Of course, he knew she had some say in that. But Austin was going to be the best man he could be. He was going to be the man that his mate needed. Now and forever. Even his brothers had noticed the pep in his step as they’d tagged the new lambs over the last several days.
It wasn’t that Austin was an overly serious man with no sense of humor. But having Cheyenne come back into his life had lightened his heart and filled him with a joy he hadn’t even known he was capable of feeling anymore.
He stopped in front of the mailbox and slid open the lid. He pulled the mail out and shoved it into a dry, clean pouch on the side of his four-wheeler. It wasn’t until he was walking up the stairs of his house that he noticed one of the letters had a return address and name of Bart Bailey. If he remembered correctly, that was Cheyenne’s brother. His curiosity got the better of him, and he ripped open the envelope before he reached the front door. He slid the folded letter out and read in stunned silence.
“We know that you’re in contact with our sister. You better keep your dirty shifter hands off her. Or you and all your dirty shifter brothers will be sorry.”
Austin blanched at the obvious hatred. Then he remembered that Cheyenne’s father had started an organization called the Antishifter Coalition in Fate Rock, trying to get the local Chamber of Commerce to shut down shifter businesses. Their families had been friends for years, so it had come as a shock when he had turned on them all like that. But Austin’s father had explained that Cheyenne’s dad was a broken man since his wife had died in the airport bombing, and it was their duty to forgive him and try not to retaliate on a personal level.
As the oldest Wilde brother, he was the one who remembered that time the most clearly. And since his best friend and childhood sweetheart had been the daughter of the man trying to destroy his family’s livelihood, it had hit him particularly hard. But he had no idea that her brothers still held such hatred after all these years.
Austin made it into the house and spread the rest of the mail out on the table, finding bills and business correspondence. He threw away the junk mail and then snatched up the letter from Cheyenne’s brothers one more time. He looked over at his phone, which was sitting on the counter, and wondered if he should tell her. This involved her as much as it involved him. It was about her brothers, after all. But he didn’t want to burden her with it. She was a grown woman. She made her own decisions. Besides, what threat could her middle-aged human brothers really be? They were all up in Denver as far as he knew. Fate Rock was not exclusively a shifter town. But there were enough shifters in the area that he was fairly well protected from anything anyone like that could throw at him. He finally decided to just let it go, as it really couldn’t amount to much.
But it did give him pause to know that her brothers did not support their relationship. It wasn’t an easy pill to swallow. He knew that it would make things hard for her. Hard for them both. As unfair as it might be, he wasn’t going to waste any time worrying or blaming. But he also wasn’t about to step back and lose the woman he’d loved since he was five years old. Her brothers might not want her to be involved with him, but they didn’t have to like it. It wasn’t any of their business as far as Austin was concerned.
After he finished sorting the mail, he began to start dinner.
Gunner banged into the house. He stepped into the kitchen and looked down at the letter still sitting on the table. Austin growled at himself. He should have thrown it away. Gunner didn’t need to be involved in this mess.
“What’s this all about?” Gunner asked.
“My mate’s brothers hate shifters.”
“What are you gonna do about it?”
“Nothing. What can I do?” Austin poked at the ground beef in his frying pan.
“Are you going to tell her?”
“I don’t think so. I don’t want to worry her.”
“Her brothers seem like dicks.” Gunner tossed the letter back onto the table.
“It would appear that way. But I’m not going to judge. They lost their mom in a hyena bombing when they were kids. Must’ve been really tough for them.”
“I don’t care how hard your childhood is. There’s no excuse for being so hateful, not to mention controlling. Don’t they think their sister has a right to make her own choices?”
“Well, that’s the way I see it. She’s here of her own free will. I don’t want to worry her. She knows her brothers better than anyone else does. And I’m sure she also knows they would not be thrilled that she’s seeing me. It’s me that they’re after. So for now, I’m keeping it to myself. That may change later if I think that it might be a threat to her. But I don’t have any real reason to believe that they would be.”
“Well, big bro, I got your back. We all do.”
“I know you do, Gunner. Don’t worry about it. I can deal with this myself.”
“It really sucks, though,” Gunner said. “After all this time, you thinking she was dead and then you find out she’s alive only to have her brothers threatening retaliation. I hope that there isn’t this much drama when I find my mate.”
“If I know anything at all about fate, Gunner, I can almost guarantee you there will be.”
Chapter 7
Cheyenne dressed in a warm pair of slim-fitting jeans, fur-lined waterproof boots, a snuggly sweater, and a windbreaker. Austin wanted to show her around the farm and everything he had been up to since taking over the operation.
Cheyenne couldn’t wait. She was impressed with what he had told her about the ranch and the kind of motivation it would take to change what his father and grandfathers before him had been doing for generations.
She drove out to the ranch with a picnic lunch that she’d ordered from the lodge: turkey sandwiches and fresh chicken noodle soup in a thermos. As she pulled her car up in front of Wilde Ranch, the memories of her youth came flooding back. She gasped as it hit her. She recognized every turn in the road and the old oak tree that still stood in the front yard.
The nostalgia was too much for Cheyenne, and a tear slid down her face. She wiped it away when she saw Austin open the front door and wave at her. As
he shot down the porch steps, she climbed out of the car with the picnic basket in hand. They greeted each other in the driveway. She’d been coming to this ranch since she was in elementary school, and it took her back in time more than a Michael Jackson song or the smell of Aqua Net hairspray.
Austin greeted her happily, and she smiled back at him. The sun was high and bright overhead, clearing out after a day of rain. There was still the scent of damp earth in the air and the smell of new life in the spring forest all around her.
“I hope you didn’t have any trouble finding the place,” he said.
“It’s strange. It’s like I was here just yesterday.”
“It must be strange coming back after all this time.”
“Strange doesn’t even begin to describe it,” she said with a laugh.
“Are you ready for some more nostalgia?”
“I’m not sure I can take it. I might start singing a Whitney Houston song at any moment.”
“I thought we could take the four-wheeler out past the back pasture. I’ve had about five hundred acres of forest and wetland turned into a wildlife preserve.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. I’d love to see it.”
Austin took hold of the picnic basket and led her to the four-wheeler. He put the basket in the internal compartment and climbed on. She bit her lip and looked at the machine, wondering where she was supposed to fit into the equation.
“Climb on,” he said, cocking his chin.
Cheyenne let out a deep breath as she climbed onto the four-wheeler behind Austin. She breathed in the scent of his skin and wrapped her arms around his torso. The memories were swirling around her. They used to ride four-wheelers through the forest just like this when they were kids. He turned on the motor, and it disguised the shudder of emotion she breathed into her shoulder.
“You all right?”
“I’m good,” she said reassuringly.
He turned the machine in the driveway and headed farther down the gravel road. The wind swept by, kissing her cheeks as she took in the sight of Wilde Ranch. Out in the pasture, the Wilde brothers were moving herds of cattle and sheep and a flock of chickens from one pasture to the next. The fields were full of lush, tall grass. Though she didn’t know a lot about agriculture, she could tell Austin and his brothers were doing something special and important.
She nestled her cheek against his back and let herself enjoy the feel of his body against her. It felt so right, like a missing part of her had finally returned. She didn’t want to lose this feeling again. Being ripped away from Austin, her home, and everyone and everything she knew had been traumatic.
But it wasn’t until that moment that Cheyenne fully realized that she’d had an empty, gnawing place inside her all these years that could only be filled by him. At forty years old, she didn’t want to admit to herself that she needed anyone or anything. But the broken heart of the teenage Cheyenne that now seemed renewed and fulfilled could not be ignored.
They continued up a steep incline, the four-wheeler’s motor working harder as they climbed. At the top, she could see the view of the pastures and meadows sprawling out around them. They drove deeper into the forest as the pine and fir trees overtook the view and crowded in around the road.
Austin took a right off the gravel road onto a rocky dirt road overgrown with grass and far less maintained than the main road they’d just left. They drove higher and higher until cresting another hill and taking several switchbacks deep into the valley below. They descended into a low-lying marshland, where blue herons flew from their watery purchase and bald eagles made their nests. She marveled at the sights around her. After having just left the industrial barns and shops of the ranch, she thought this place seemed as if it was untouched and pure in a way that was rare in today’s world.
Austin stopped the four-wheeler and cut the motor. In the distance, near a marshy lake, she could see a small gazebo with a picnic table underneath. It let out onto a walkway through the marsh.
“We come fishing out here sometimes,” Austin said.
“It’s like a park.”
“One of my favorite places on the ranch. I often come out here to reflect and relax. Sometimes to catch trout. But mostly just to catch my breath from all the work at the ranch and all the responsibility to my family.”
She slipped off the back of the four-wheeler, and Austin retrieved the picnic basket from the internal compartment. He reached out to her, and she took his hand. Together they walked down the wooden path to the gazebo that lay just at the water’s edge. It housed a rustic stone stove that seemed perfect for cookouts.
“Sometimes I fry up fish in here,” he said, motioning to the stove.
Austin set the picnic basket on the table, and they sat down opposite each other. She opened the basket and began to unpack the lunch. There were paper plates and sandwiches wrapped in paper along with bowls for soup. The restaurant had even included two bags of chips and two cookies.
She poured them both soup, and the smell of the broth hit her nose. There was a slight chill in the air. When the warmth of the soup hit her lips, it was a pleasantly sensual experience. She bit into a perfectly roasted carrot and chewed on the tender chicken.
“They make a mean chicken noodle soup at the lodge, don’t they?” Austin said.
“Everything I’ve eaten there has been delicious.”
She opened her sandwich and took a bite. She and Austin silently enjoyed their meal. She watched the birds swoop over the wetlands. It was an enchanting afternoon. The sun had just reached its zenith, and the light of the spring day glistened on the shallow waters that spread out before them. The emerald evergreen boughs danced in a sweet, soft breeze.
When they were finished with their meal, Austin asked if she wanted to explore more of the wildlife preserve. She wiped her hands on a wet nap and followed him out of the gazebo and down the wooden ramp that led through the marsh. As they walked along, he pointed out the different birds: a sandhill crane, a white egret, a pair of colorful wood ducks. He pointed out a beaver dam and a muskrat lodge. He pointed out a young buck in the forest in the distance.
Cheyenne loved nature as much as any girl born and bred in Fate Rock, Colorado. She’d missed being surrounded by the wild green expanse of the mountains and forest. Even with her camping trips and hiking expeditions, it just wasn’t the same as living in it and being surrounded by it every day. Her heart hurt for the life she’d once known, the life she’d believed she would live as Austin’s wife and the mother of their children.
She turned away as the emotions rose inside her, threatening to give her away. She sniffled and then turned back to him, a bright smile in her eyes. She was falling in love with Austin Wilde for the second time.
He was everything that she had ever wanted. He was strong, assertive, successful in what he was passionate about but calm and kind and loyal, with a deep undercurrent of sensitivity that she longed to touch and stroke, to love and nurture. She bit her lip as he swept a stray hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. He shook his head and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before he looked at her again.
“This is so strange.”
“I’ll say.”
“I mourned you for so long. I was still mourning you the day I found you on Mate.com. I’d finally decided that enough was enough and I needed to move on. And there you were, my mate, all this time.”
He took her hand in his, lifted it to his mouth, and kissed the tender flesh between her knuckles. Cheyenne took a deep breath, the sensation running up and down her spine. It ignited in her core like a warm flood of need. Her mouth dropped open in a silent gasp, and her eyebrows knit together. She wanted this so badly. She wanted him. She wanted the past they had never been allowed to have and the future that she could only make with him.
Their eyes locked, and in that instant of connection, they both knew. He grabbed her, pulling her against him in a rush. His mouth crushed against hers, consuming her with his kiss. His
tongue slipped between her lips, and she let out a groan she’d been concealing, going languid in his arms, letting him take full control as the power of his desire dominated them both.
His arms encircled her, and his hands moved over her curves, eliciting soft pants and moans from her throat. He pulled her closer, pressing his hardening manhood against her stomach. He slid his thigh between her legs.
Cheyenne was on fire, her arms around his neck, her fingers threaded through his hair. She pulled him closer, kissed him deeper, wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anything. His hands slipped under her blouse and ducked into the cup of her bra. His cool fingers sent a shock through her as he flicked her painfully taut nipple with his thumb.
She dripped with liquid magma, so hot and excited by his touch she didn’t even recognize herself. Every fiber of her being screamed for her to let go, to reach out and unbutton his pants, feel the thick length of his manhood. But Cheyenne wasn’t sixteen anymore. She had self-control. At least that was what she told herself as she slid her hands down his chest and hooked her fingers in his waistband.
He stepped back, his eyes alight with fire. His fangs descended in his mouth. She could see the wolf in him, see the animal hunger beaming at her through his eyes. She was his mate, the only woman who could own his heart. But he already owned hers. He ran his fingers through his hair and cleared his throat.
“That’s even better than I remember it,” he growled softly.
“Yeah.”
“I don’t want to do this here.” His hands encircled her waist as he looked at the ground. “You deserve better.”
She would have been willing to let him turn her around and pull down her pants right where they were. But he was right. They both deserved better than this. It had been twenty-five years since they’d been together. The first time they made love, it should be special. Romantic. Not out in the open like two hot and horny teenagers.
“It’s a date,” she said, winking when she caught his eye.
Elder Wolf (Wilde Brothers Ranch Book 1; Tate Rock Shifters) Page 4
