Her Twin Wilde Cowboy Masters [Wilde, Nevada] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Chloe Lang

  He liked to think of himself as an artist of sorts. A very talented artist indeed.

  * * * *

  Trying to keep her thoughts in check but not doing a good job of it, Mac sat next to Wade Masters in his truck. The man was pure male hotness. Even his voice made her shiver with excitement.

  “You cold?” he asked, glancing her way as he turned the key in the ignition.

  “No.” In fact, she was warm. Too warm. God, this wasn’t how she envisioned the evening’s outcome to be.

  “We’re going to make a stop at the Horseshoe.”

  “No, Wade. I need to get some sleep, even if it’s only a couple of hours. I work tomorrow. Remember?”

  “Call in sick.”

  “I knew this was a mistake.” Definitely, a mistake. She needed to remain focused on finding out if Austin knew anything about her brother’s disappearance. That was all. Any detours would only hamper her investigation.

  “Cool it, Mackenzie. I mean it.” His tone was no-nonsense. He did mean it. “I’ll take you home, but tomorrow you’re going with me to The Masters’ Chambers. Understand?”

  “Do I have a choice?” She knew she didn’t.

  “No. You don’t.” He grabbed her hand and squeezed her fingers gently. “Besides, I know you’ve been curious about the club. I’m a premier member there. I can get you in.”

  “That’s not what I’m worried about. I’m not totally in the dark about what goes on there, Wade. I’m much more traditional when it comes to such things.”

  His eyebrow cocked up. “Are you, now?”

  “Okay, I’ll go, but no funny business. I just want to see it. Will you agree to that?”

  The sexy beast only smiled, refusing to answer either way.

  “Wade, I’m serious.”

  “Relax, sweetheart. One thing about me you should know is that I will never force a woman beyond her limits. Not even you.”

  “Good to know.”

  He released her hand. His fingers moved lightly down her thigh. “But I am good at helping someone find and push her limits.”

  A shiver shot up and down her spine at the promise.

  When he parked his truck in front of her apartment, Mac grabbed the door handle.

  “Don’t you open that door, sweetheart. My mother would turn over in her grave if I let you.”

  “I’m not helpless, cowboy. I can open my own door.”

  “Not when you’re with me.” Wade exited the truck, and she waited as he’d instructed for him to open her door. She thought of herself as a modern woman with all that entailed, but something about this cowboy’s gallant nature charmed her. It didn’t feel fake or even weak. Wade was real and strong, through and through.

  When he opened her door, he reached for her hand to assist her out of the cab. “Call this my attempt at being a gentleman.”

  She grinned. “You? A gentleman? I doubt that.”

  Going to The Masters’ Chambers was something she had wanted to do. Austin Wilde owned the place. What if she found the one clue that would point her to where her brother might be? God, she hoped so. She was going. Without Wade, she wouldn’t have a chance of getting into the exclusive place. With him, the velvet rope would part.

  When they got to the front door, he leaned down and kissed her before she could turn her head and offer him her cheek. His thick, manly lips pressed into hers like a crashing tsunami. Her toes curled and her skin tingled.

  What a kiss!

  Deep and moist. Forceful and delicious. It went on and on until even her legs felt like noodles. Mac’s nerves hummed at the edge of her consciousness. How long he held her mouth to his she wasn’t sure. Time seemed fuzzy and distant. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. And still he kissed her into a pleasure-filled dimension. As his tongue danced in her mouth, she felt her worry soften a bit. In his embrace, she believed somehow, someway, everything was going to work out.

  Ending their kiss, Wade cupped her chin. “I guess you’ll find out tomorrow night if I’m a true gentleman or not, Mackenzie.”

  Barely able to catch her breath, she didn’t offer any witty retort. Instead, she remained silent. Going with Wade might be a mistake—her willpower melted next to him—but what other choice did she have?

  None.

  * * * *

  Mac hurried along Nugget Street heading toward Main.

  She’d overslept. When she’d finally put her head on the pillow just a few hours before, the digital clock on her nightstand had shone the early-morning time in soft blue numbers. Falling asleep had been impossible. Wade Masters’s good-night kiss had undone her, keeping her awake more of the night. Why had she agreed to let him take her back to her apartment? I’m an idiot, that’s why.

  She fought the urge to yawn. Fatigue didn’t matter, but making her shift on time did.

  A trio, two men and a woman, were walking on the sidewalk heading her way. One guy had his arm around the pretty redhead’s shoulders, while the other had his around her waist.

  As the triad got closer, the men tipped their cowboy hats to Mac.

  “Good morning,” the woman said softly.

  “Morning,” she answered.

  As they passed, she recalled seeing them last night at Charly’s party. Was it still going on? Likely. Wilde was anything but sleepy. She’d have to get all the details from Charly and Jessie after her shift. For the first time in her life, she had friends, female friends. It felt great. But that wasn’t why she was in this town. Suddenly, the image of the napkin with the faded ink she’d found in her brother’s apartment floated to the front of her mind’s eye. One name, a phone number, and the cryptic digits and single letter were inked on it. Two. Six. One. One. Two. Zero. The letter ‘U.’ Four. Three. What did it mean?

  I’m getting completely off task being here. She shook her head to remind herself to remain focused on the only reason she was in Northern Nevada and not at her desk in Denver. Still, attending the bachelorette party had been important. Austin Wilde had been there, too.

  Speeding up her steps to just shy of a run, she shivered as the cool autumn breeze hit the back of her neck. One mistake and all her hard work might be for naught, and Trent might be lost to her forever.

  Food. Music. Dancing. Spinning around the dance floor with Wade Masters had been like a dream. She’d spotted Wyatt gazing at her from the sidelines. Clearly, the two had changed tactics in their art of seduction. Instead of the dual attack, they’d chosen a singular one last night. Perhaps Wade was more interested in her than Wyatt. Didn’t matter either way. The evening had ended with a kiss and an invitation. That wasn’t quite right. Wade wasn’t really inviting her to The Masters’ Chambers. He was demanding she accompany him there. He was a rough-and-tumble cowboy. Not one ounce of metrosexual tendency in him at all.

  Over the past few weeks, she’d poured a river of black coffee for Austin, learning only that the man was punctual and dictatorial.

  Nothing else. Nothing useful.

  Her jaw tightened at the thought. One thing for certain she did know—seconds ticked by more rapidly since her brother’s disappearance. Time itself was mocking her.

  The java-addicted bastard had been her sole reason for coming to Wilde, Nevada, in the first place. Her only lead, though paper thin—literally. Every morning at six sharp the arrogant asshole entered Norma’s Diner. Without waiting for someone to seat him, he headed to the table farthest from the glass door entry, plopping his ass in the chair, positioning his back to the wall and his front to the entrance.

  She guessed Austin had reason to be on guard. The president of the Wilde Silver Mine was one cool operator. Slick.

  So far she’d learned nothing out of the ordinary about him, but the itch at the back of her neck told her he was hiding something. Her instincts had never failed her, but unlike some great story she was trying to uncover, this was personal. This was family. Could she be off her game? What was she missing? She whispered a silent prayer that today something might fall in her lap that would
lead her to Trent’s whereabouts.

  This story would’ve been one hell of a scoop to tempt her boss with. But she wasn’t here for this or any story for that matter. She wasn’t even here for a sabbatical, though that had been what she’d claimed to her chief editor at The Denver Sun. She was here for Trent. Nothing else.

  Her ability to stay focused was something all the editors she’d worked for had always deemed exceptional, though one in particular had called her methods “a bit insane and incredibly reckless.” So be it. Her supervisors might’ve shied away from her tactics, but they’d never turned down the pages she’d brought to them. Ever. She’d won more than her share of accolades in journalism. What did any of them matter now? She would gladly give them all back to find her brother.

  Her purpose, her goal, her mission was much more important than any of those in the past.

  If I fail…

  Mac shook her head. She didn’t want to let her mind go there. Not now. Not ever.

  Approaching Coyote Street, she once again glanced around the mining town. The intersection of Coyote and Main was the heart of Wilde. To her right on the southeast corner was the town’s City Hall and Courthouse. It looked like a miniature of the State Capitol Building. The bronze statues in front were of the founding family of the town, the original Wildes. Three men—Ezra, William, and Jacob—stood behind their wife, Daphne. Mac had read the plaque and a couple of the books in the local library about the history of Wilde. She wondered what kind of life Daphne had back then. If the smile on the image depicting her was any indication, she’d been happy. Her descendants remained the true movers and shakers in the area. Austin’s family still owned the silver mine that employed the majority of people in the area.

  Continuing her trek, she glanced across the street to the Wilde Silver Mine’s offices, which sat on the southwest corner of Coyote and Main. The northeast corner had the Horseshoe Bar & Grill, next door to her destination. On the northwest corner was the spot the old Hotel Cactus had sat. Maude Strong, the owner, wasn’t one to procrastinate. Giant dozers were parked next to the remaining rubble, which was being cleared away to make room for the new Hotel Cactus. Maude had stretched out the plans at Norma’s on many occasions. Everyone seemed thrilled she’d decided to rebuild it in the same fashion as the former building erected in 1909. The architect was allowed to update the electrical, the plumbing, et cetera, but nothing more. Rooms remained in the exact configuration as had been. There was one addition that Maude had allowed. A swimming pool and hot tub in the back.

  Most tourists would look at this village with its gas streetlamps, hitching posts, and quaint storefronts, as a throwback to an earlier era. Outer appearances could be deceiving. She’d learned in her short stay in Wilde that the sleepy community’s façade concealed the truth to the casual observer. Behind closed doors, Wilde was wild, indeed.

  Not too different from her own hometown, but not exactly the same either.

  She looked at her cell to check the time. 5:59 a.m. She picked up her pace to just shy of a run.

  Unlike home, the residents here were unified in their embrace of the unusual. Polyamory relationships were typical here, not the exception.

  In the short time she’d been in Wilde, she’d grown to appreciate the town more than she’d thought possible. That was saying a lot given her travels around the world chasing leads, hoping to get the jump on the next big story. Keeping an emotional distance from people and places was important to staying objective. How had Wilde gotten past her walls? Was it the unity of the place? The charm? She wasn’t sure how, but it had.

  Most places in the States could fit into one of several categories on her list.

  Bustling metropolises, like Los Angeles, Dallas, and Chicago. Crumbling and struggling cities, like Detroit and Pittsburgh. Suburban sprawls. Pick any manufactured McMansion locale with iron gates and too-perfect parks. Quaint towns, like Fredericksburg, Texas, and Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Wilde didn’t fit any of these norms, not even close.

  Though she hated how little she’d uncovered since her arrival, Mac knew she had to be patient and remain undercover. Posing as a waitress wasn’t new to her. The story that had gotten her a byline in every major paper in Colorado had come about because of the same kind of ruse at a steakhouse in Denver. She’d blown the lid off of a cover-up by the then attorney general of the state for his son, who had killed a young woman.

  When she came to Main Street, she crossed the empty lane to the other side. She turned left, remaining on the sidewalk on Main, though on the opposite side she’d just come from.

  She’d been shocked at how many murders had occurred in Wilde recently. Odd little town indeed. Two psychopaths had left a trail of bodies before being brought down. Jessie Wilde and her cousin Charly Wynn were at the center of the bloodshed.

  Thankfully, the chaos in Wilde had settled down, and Mac had gotten a better chance to finish her work—finding her brother.

  Certainly, Austin Wilde had something to do with Trent’s disappearance. Wyatt or Wade at least knew something.

  Facts. That was what she had to find. What had she learned so far about the president of the local silver mine? Coffee. Scrambled eggs. Dry toast. Two slices of crisp bacon.

  Nothing useful.

  Perhaps today would be different. Perhaps today she’d get something that would lead her directly to her brother. As she walked into the café, her gut tightened. Anna was pouring Austin his morning coffee.

  Damn.

  Hopefully tonight at The Masters’ Chambers with Wade would be more fruitful. Hopefully.

  Chapter Five

  Mac thought the past twenty-four hours had been quite a roller coaster. She felt like she might be losing her edge, her investigative detachedness—hell, even her hope that her brother might actually be found.

  Wade squeezed her hand. “You stay close to me, Mackenzie. Understand?”

  She nodded, happy to remain next to him. The Masters’ Chambers was more theatrical than she’d imagined it would be. Also, she’d found it odd she had to fill out paperwork at the reception area. The rules, better known as “protocols” here, were strict, and management expected them to be followed. The giant bouncers around the place didn’t help to make her feel any better. Not a single one had a smile on his face. Fierce was the best way to describe them.

  “Keep your eyes off of other men. Don’t look them in the eye, sweetheart.”

  “That wasn’t one of the rules on the form, was it?” she asked her guide.

  “It’s my rule. You’ll follow it and anything else I say to the letter.”

  She nodded, though he didn’t seem to expect her to respond, just to obey. Best to shove aside her overactive imagination, which was being magnified by the dim lights of the club, and take notice of what might help her find her brother, or at least get some clue on how to find him.

  Wade placed his arm around her shoulders and an electric heat shot through her. The back of her knees weakened, and she leaned into him instinctively, relying on his frame for balance. She wanted to blame it on nerves, but that wasn’t entirely true. Everything about this cowboy called to her body, to her mind, and to her very core. His brother, too. The two had invaded her dreams, delivering erotic pleasures that had her waking up soaked almost every night since meeting them for the first time at the café when she’d first arrived in Wilde.

  Her nerves were getting the best of her. Had agreeing to come to the club been a mistake? Wade seemed at ease here. All the smiles sent his way from the women amazed her. Clearly he was a regular at The Masters’ Chambers. It pleased her to be on his arm.

  “You ready to see more of what the club is about, sweetheart?”

  “Yes. Please.”

  Knowing Austin Wilde owned this place gave her more reason to keep her eyes wide open. Many residents of the town visited the sex club from time to time, but much of the clientele were from far-flung places around the globe. Wherever they came from, their pocketbooks and bank ac
counts had to be bursting at the seams. Outside in the parking lot were the priciest luxury vehicles in the world, including Rolls-Royces and Maseratis.

  “I’m taking you over to that area.” Wade pointed across the large room that held both stages and a dance floor. “They’re setting up a demonstration for newbies and tourists like you.”

  “Okay.” She had a sudden thought to run out of the place.

  Breathe.

  Bolstering her courage and clinging to her curiosity, she told herself that she’d been in some much tougher spots tracking down a lead. This was going to be a piece of cake. Deep down she knew it wasn’t.

  As they got closer to the stage with the “scene,” which Wade had told her these things were called, she had to stifle a nervous giggle.

  Wade guided her to the front row and the center seats. “You sit there.”

  She bit her lip and sat, unable to resist him. “What can I expect from this?”

  “Don’t expect anything, Mackenzie. Just watch and learn. Don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

  “You’re leaving me?”

  He placed his thick index finger to her lips. “Quiet. I’m just going to talk to the Doms who are running this class. I won’t let you out of my sight.”

  “Really?” She clasped her hands together in her lap. Her normal calm seemed absent here at the club.

  “Yes, sweetheart.” He didn’t leave her. In fact, he sat down in the seat next to her and took both her hands. “Relax, Mackenzie. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Got it?”

  She liked hearing his words. They steadied her nerves a bit.

  “I’m going to give you your first lesson.”

  Her temperature rose, and her heart raced. “B–But you said we were only here to watch.”

  “And that’s what we will do, but you’re out of your comfort zone here. I want you to feel safe, and I only know one way to make that happen. You’ve got to trust me.”

  “I do trust you, Wade.”