To Tame a Wilde (Wilde in Wyoming)

by Terry, Kimberly Kaye

  “You’re an amazing man, Nickolas Kealoha,” she murmured, her voice thick with sleep.

  Her words caused another kick to his heart.

  He didn’t want to think of her in those terms. Soon, she would be leaving the ranch. Soon, she would be leaving him.

  The thought brought back that pang in his heart, this one so strong he grumbled. She sleepily laid a hand over his chest.

  In the center of his heart.

  He bit back a curse.

  He was falling in love with her.

  Chapter 20

  “What a nice way to enjoy an afternoon break,” she breathed, the words fluttering against his chest as soon as her heart had calmed and she could speak again.

  She felt more than heard his rumble of laughter.

  She groaned. “That sounded so flippant, didn’t it?” she said as she lifted away from him to gaze down at his face.

  The smile on his handsome face made her catch her breath.

  He was such a beautiful man, and when he smiled, his entire face lit up, making him breathtaking.

  He was the perfect specimen of manhood.

  “Hey, I like it,” he said and reached up to touch one of the curls that had, as usual, managed to ignore her attempts to keep it restrained.

  His vigorous lovemaking had made sure the rest of her hair had followed suit, and now it hung around her shoulders in kinky, curly waves on her shoulders.

  It was the weekend, and although a rancher’s workday didn’t preclude the weekend, she was surprised when he’d asked her if she’d be interested in going out with him. She’d agreed and they’d spent the day together.

  He’d taken her to one of the floral orchards, as well as one of the small gardens that provided his mother’s foundation with its supply. She’d been touched when he had brought her to the foundation gardens, knowing how much it meant to him, to his family. A part of her heart opened up that much more to him, despite her desire to take it one day at a time and enjoy what they had without bringing too much...feeling into it.

  She feared it was too late for that.

  “Oh, Lord, I must look a mess!” she said with a groan, brushing aside the gloomier thoughts and searching, in vain, for a ponytail holder.

  “I like how you smile, laugh...how comfortable you are with me. I also like this,” he said, continuing to finger the curl. “Why don’t you leave your hair down more?”

  She smiled over her shoulder at him as she pulled her shirt over her head and continued her search. “Not exactly the image I try to project, at least back home,” she said, distracted.

  “And what is that? What kind of image is it you’re trying to maintain?”

  He got up and tugged his jeans up the length of his legs. She stopped as the sight of him dressing was nearly as exciting as him undressing. He caught her staring and gave her a knowing look, which made her blush.

  “I happen to like the way you look, too,” he said, reading her thoughts. They held glances, mutual smiles on their faces. He leaned over and kissed her softly before patting her naked rear end.

  “Finish getting dressed, woman. We have the entire day ahead of us,” he said and her smile returned.

  Later.

  Later they could talk about what was going on between them. How he made her feel.

  She felt the changes within herself, knew that no matter what the outcome of her visit here, on a personal level, she wasn’t the same woman.

  “The image I ‘try to project’?” she mimicked, not really paying attention to what she was saying in her vain attempt at finding the band to secure her hair.

  She pulled her panties up her legs as she considered the question.

  “I don’t know. Just one of a professional woman, I guess, is as good as any way of describing it.”

  “I would think that would go with the territory, what with your profession. Don’t your Wilde Boys treat you that way? Like a professional woman? Or do they still see you as the little girl who grew up on the ranch?” he asked.

  She turned to look at him, wondering if there was anything in his question besides a simple question.

  His look was the same. From his expression it didn’t look as though he was mocking her, or the men. She relaxed yet felt tense, not because of anything on his part, but her own.

  Her Wilde Boys.

  She hadn’t thought of them in that way in a while. She bit on her bottom lip, uncomfortable with the thought.

  He caught the way she was worrying her lip and his head tilted to the side.

  “You okay, babe?”

  “Um. Yeah. Just thinking, that’s all,” she said as she finished buckling her pink wedge-heeled sandal. “They do. It’s not that the brothers don’t treat me as a professional. They do. It’s just hard sometimes, growing up in the same hometown, with the same people,” she finished.

  It wasn’t always easy to voice her feelings to herself, as she’d been struggling with the conflicting feelings she’d been having lately regarding her career, the Wilde Ranch and the feeling that she was ready, in a lot of ways, to leave.

  She’d felt a sense of guilt when she realized that for as much as she loved the Wildes, her life on the ranch and in her hometown, since the death of her father she’d found herself ready to move on.

  “You know, sometimes change is good. Doesn’t have to be bad, or make you feel guilt-ridden, either. We all need change sometimes,” he said.

  Again it was as though he was reading her mind.

  Her gaze flew his way with a deep frown on her face. God, had she been that transparent? Had her feelings been that clear to read?

  And if he’d guessed, did that mean the Wildes had known, as well? Had that been the reason Nate had encouraged her to fly to Hawaii, and not only that, encouraged her to take a small vacation?

  Nick wasn’t even looking at her, she noticed, her body relaxing at the realization. He was busy buttoning the remaining buttons on his shirt.

  She exhaled. Despite the sexy sight of his muscled chest exposed to her, the beautiful lightly tanned skin thick and corded with muscle, she closed her eyes.

  She thought back over her last conversation with Nate.

  * * *

  “So do you think this is the best course of action?” she asked as she leaned against the kitchen counter, her arms braced on the granite countertop as she held the mug of coffee between her hands.

  The kitchen was the gathering place for the Wildes.

  All three of the brothers lived on the ranch, and over the past year they’d completed the construction on the west wing, so that the house—mansion, really—had an extra three thousand square feet added to it overall, as each master suite for the couples had been expanded.

  The brothers’ rooms had already been large by most home standards, but now each one was like a home within a home, each room reminding Sinclair of a luxurious suite in an upscale hotel, complete with its own small kitchen area.

  It was a retreat, and although they rarely did so, if at any time the brothers and their wives chose to break away from the family for a night or weekend on their own, their private suites allowed them the luxury without feeling stifled or restricted due to size.

  There was no expense the brothers had spared. No expense when it came to their new wives and their new lives together. As much as she loved them, there had been a small part of Sinclair that envied them their love.

  “I think if you feel it is, that’s good enough for me, Sinclair. You know that I—we, the entire Wilde clan, trusts your judgment,” Nate replied.

  He brought his own coffee mug in hand over to where she sat perched on one of the stools near the low, circular granite counter they often ate and drank around, in an informal setting.

  He eased his long frame onto
one of the tall bar-stool-style chairs.

  “So... Nate, what you’re saying is, it’s up to me, this decision?” she asked and bit down on the bottom of her lip.

  Nate laughed. “Okay, so what’s up?” he asked before taking a drink of his coffee and grimacing. “Told Holt to stay the hell away from the coffeemaker,” he complained.

  She smiled, despite her ambivalent feelings, before her face became serious again.

  “How do you know there is anything wrong?” she asked, putting her own cup to her mouth. She grimaced, as well. Holt really did make the worst coffee she’d ever had.

  “Little sis, whenever you bite your lip, I know something is on your mind,” he said with a smile.

  For whatever reason, that brought tears to her eyes, tears she fought against.

  “Hey, what’s wrong? Something is really troubling you!” he said.

  Sinclair could only shake her head.

  Smiling a shaky smile, she began to speak. “It’s this whole situation,” she told him.

  He frowned. “With the Kealohas? You don’t need to be upset about that. We have confidence in you, and at the end of the day, we’ve had to deal with situations a lot more complicated than this. We’ll survive.”

  “It’s not that so much as...one Kealoha, to be exact,” she finally admitted.

  And with that, she opened up to Nate in ways she hadn’t even admitted to herself. Telling him that she was confident in her abilities, that it was Nick she was having problems with. Not the Kealohas as a family.

  Just one Kealoha.

  Nate listened carefully, without interrupting her once.

  She poured it all out. The situation with the Kealohas was one she could handle, she assured Nate. In fact she had no issues with anyone in the family. After her initial interaction with Keanu Kealoha, it had been Nick Kealoha with whom she had dealt. And that was the problem. How Nick...affected her.

  When she finally finished, she felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

  With an odd look on his face, one she didn’t understand completely, he gathered her to his big chest and hugged her. When he set her apart from him and stared so intently into her eyes, she felt the rash of tears return.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. It’s just wonderful seeing how you’ve grown into this amazingly wonderful young woman, so confident, so smart and capable...” He stopped, laughing and shaking his head. “And so beautiful, that if I hadn’t grown up with you like a sister, and didn’t have a wonderful woman I love more than life itself, I’d be a little jealous of Nick Kealoha,” he said to her utter astonishment.

  “What are you talking about, Nate Wilde?”

  He smiled. The smile had been tilted down at the corner, as though he was sad in some way.

  She frowned. If she didn’t know better, she could have sworn in Nate’s eyes was a mist....

  “Nate?” Her voice cracked on his name.

  “We have all the confidence in the world in you. Go to Hawaii. Do the Wildes proud as we know you will, baby girl,” he said and hugged her.

  They small-talked after that, and when he left her to go to work, she stared after him, a bemused look on her face, wondering what he knew that she didn’t.

  It was as though he was saying goodbye...with his blessing.

  Unaware, a tear slipped down her face as she watched him walk away.

  * * *

  Now, as she watched Nick Kealoha get dressed, waiting for her to finish, a part of her wondered what Nate had known that she hadn’t.

  “Ready, babe?” he asked, smiling and holding out a hand for her to take. She again brushed aside the odd feelings she got whenever she thought too hard about the Wildes.

  With a nod she placed her hand in his and allowed him to lead the way.

  Chapter 21

  “Ever saved a horse and ridden a cowboy instead?”

  “Nick! You scared the hell—” The rest of her rant was smothered in his kiss. With a blissful sigh, she turned, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back in earnest. Really getting into his kiss, she stood on tiptoe to get better access.

  He didn’t just kiss. He made love to her mouth, just like he made love to her. Hot, sweet and incredibly naughty.

  She smiled around his kiss. He broke away, staring down at her.

  “What?” he asked, his finger coming up to trace the smile.

  She shook her head, “Nothing. Just thinking.”

  “About?” he asked, releasing her. She sighed, turning to face the documents on her desk.

  Sinclair had been in the middle of going over the final documents she was sending off to the Wildes for their inspection before giving it to Nick for him and his family to go over.

  His gaze went to the papers on the desk she used at the ranch.

  It had been more than a week since they’d gone over it, and she had begun to wonder if Nick was holding something back. Every time she mentioned the settlement he would either divert her attention with lovemaking...or divert her attention with lovemaking.

  She frowned. The man made her feel like the easiest woman on the planet, she thought.

  He turned and caught the frown. Leaning down, he kissed it away.

  “What’s up? I know that look,” he said, yet something in his eyes troubled her.

  “You know what’s up, Nick. What I can’t figure out is why?”

  “Why, what?” he asked, but she saw the way he evaded her eyes.

  “That right there! Every time I bring up the settlement you go weird on me!”

  When he folded his arms over his chest and stared at her, looking at her as though she was the one being strange, she’d had it.

  She stomped her foot, feeling all of ten years old, but she was at her wit’s end. Although Nate hadn’t said anything, nor had any of the others, she knew they must be wondering why a matter that should have taken three days, a week tops, had turned into a weeks-long adventure.

  The fact that no one had actually said anything to her was a mystery she didn’t understand, but the fact remained: she needed to wrap it up.

  Every day she was in Hawaii, the Kealohas were making it harder and harder for her to think of the time she’d have to leave.

  “Come on, baby, we have to deal with this. I don’t like that I have to keep trying to get you to look at something that will benefit you. The settlement is fair, but if there is something you don’t like, you or the family, let me know, I’ll let the Wildes know and—

  “What?” she asked, her frown returning.

  “What if I told you I don’t want a damn thing from your Wilde Boys? My family and I are fine.”

  She frowned and moved toward him. She placed a hand on his arm and looked up at him. “What’s going on? What are you talking about? I’m well aware of your family’s wealth, baby. No one is saying you ‘need’ anything from the Wildes,” Sinclair said, shying away from calling them her Wilde Boys without even being aware that she did.

  She hadn’t referred to the brothers in that way for a while yet that she was aware of.

  “Listen. We need to talk. Really talk,” he said, taking her hand and guiding her toward the desk.

  He opened his mouth and began to speak, his eyes locked on hers.

  “I...well... See, the thing is,” he began and stopped.

  “Baby...are you okay?” she asked and he looked at her, helpless, looking lost.

  “Nick?” she asked, her voice lowering, fear threading it.

  “I...I want to make love to you, baby,” he blurted the words. “I’ve needed you all day. You know how I get,” he said and buried his head in her neck, his hands shaky as they rested on her waist.

  Even as she allowed him to lift her enough to remove he
r panties, she felt the fine tremble in his hands.

  “Nick, baby, we really need to go over the papers,” she moaned as his finger delved inside her, withdrawing her cream, her body already preparing for his.

  Before she could question him further, before she realized that he had once again diverted her attention, her panties were on the floor and he was reaching for the box of condoms they kept in her desk.

  It hadn’t been the first time he’d taken her in her makeshift office.

  Condom donned, seconds later he was easing his thick, long length inside her welcoming body.

  As he rolled his hips she accepted him, rocking into him, their bodies swiftly catching one another’s rhythm. Natural-born lovers. She moaned as he groaned, their voices sighs of passion even in sync.

  Lazily she rolled back and forth on his shaft, her body calling to his.

  The lazy sway of their lovemaking didn’t stop the inferno from building and it wasn’t long before their orgasms hit simultaneously.

  As he came, he wrapped his big arms around her waist, bringing her close as he pumped, once, twice, three more times, his voice muffled as he growled his release.

  It was long moments before her heartbeat returned to normal.

  Not just because of the mind-blowing orgasm, but also because of what she thought she’d heard him growl against her neck as he came.

  “God, I love you,” he moaned in a heartfelt whisper against her neck.

  Simple. Direct.

  And, oh, God...she loved him, too.

  Tears threatened to fall.

  * * *

  “How’s everything going, Sinclair? Haven’t heard from you. Thought I’d give you a ring, girlfriend!”

  Sinclair smiled, leaned back against the soft down cushions on the bed in her hotel room and withdrew her glasses from her nose.

  “Hey, Yaz girl, how are you?” she said, glad for the interruption, her mind not on the brief she was finishing, but on Nick, the Kealohas, the Wildes...and the tangled mess she found herself in.

  “I’m doing well, babies are doing well, too,” she said and Sinclair smiled.