by Chloe Lang
The Strong Cowboys of Wilde, Nevada 4
Strong Passion
Charly Wynn is fearful since her job prospects are up in the air. She’s fallen in love with three of the six Strong brothers. She’s even starting to imagine a future with all six of them. But when the brothers present her with an impossible choice, Charly is ready to leave Wilde forever.
Nate Strong uses his dominant skills to convince Charly her future is in Wilde with him. His plan is to drive her mad with pleasure for as long as it takes to get the result he desires—Charly’s full surrender to him and his brothers.
With the killer about to pounce, Charly loses herself to Nate’s dominance. Can these two find a way clear of heartbreak and into each other’s arms before it’s too late for both of them?
NOTE! You are purchasing Siren's newest serialized imprint, the LoveXtreme Forever Series. This is Book 4 of 7 in the The Strong Cowboys of Wilde, Nevada collection. These books are not stand alone. Each is a continuation of the previous book and must be read in the numbered order. Each book may end on a cliffhanger but usually with a happy-for-now for the heroine and one or more men. The final book contains a happily forever after for the heroine and all her men.
Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among siblings.
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Western/Cowboys
Length: 21,999 words
STRONG PASSION
The Strong Cowboys of Wilde, Nevada 4
Chloe Lang
LOVEXTREME FOREVER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: LoveXtreme Forever
STRONG PASSION
Copyright © 2012 by Chloe Lang
E-book ISBN: 978-1-61926-834-0
First E-book Publication: June 2012
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
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Regarding E-book Piracy
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This is Chloe Lang’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Lang’s right to earn a living from her work.
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DEDICATION
To Liz Berry. Having you cheer me on is a gift I cherish.
STRONG PASSION
The Strong Cowboys of Wilde, Nevada 4
CHLOE LANG
Copyright © 2012
Chapter One
Charly Wynn stood on the sidewalk at the corner of Main Street and Coyote Lane in Wilde, Nevada, taking in the beauty of her surroundings. This town was small, really small. Being from the Bronx, she’d never imagined that she would ever like such a quaint town, but she did. Really, it had little to do with the town and everything to do with six sexy cowboys.
The Strongs had captured her heart. At least three of them had. Drake had been the first. He’d been so kind and patient, helping her overcome the memories of college where a football player had tried to rape her. God, Drake was actually more than the first of the brothers to win her over. He was her first lover, period. And what a lover! He knew just how to touch her, kiss her, and make her feel so very feminine and wanted. Heath, too, had taken over her thoughts and will. Different from Drake, but oh, so very masculine, the guy had manipulated his way into her life. The trip to Malibu with him had flattened her, causing her to surrender to him. Dax had the charm and humor that never failed to make her smile. The guy knew how to pleasure a woman. But it was his honesty and possessiveness that thrilled her. Each of them had confessed their love to her, but she hadn’t said it back, though she knew she did love them.
She spotted Carlotta heading her direction. The minute the woman saw her, Carlotta made a beeline straight to her.
“My dear, how are you dis fine day?” Carlotta asked.
Charly stopped and smiled, deciding a lie was probably the best way to handle the question. “Just great.”
Carlotta frowned. “Don’t tell fibs to a psychic, Charly. Vee alvays know.”
She shrugged. “Can anyone ever fool you?”
The woman placed her hand on Charly’s shoulder. “Only von had ever fooled me. The bastard von my heart and left. Child, vee need to have a reading.”
“I know. I’ve been busy.” Charly wasn’t much of a believer in tarot cards, but the last time she’d had a reading done by Carlotta, it had been pretty accurate.
“Vhat are you doing right now?”
“Um…”
“Remember, don’t lie. I’ll know.”
Charly giggled. “Nothing. I’m free.”
“Perfect. Let’s go to my liquor store.”
* * * *
Wearing a white turban with a large jewel in the center, Carlotta sat across from Charly. A crystal ball sat to the woman’s left. In front of her were tarot cards she’d dealt onto the table.
“Charly, dis is da Celtic Cross spread. I choose dis one when a client desires deeper and varied insight. Perfect for da complex and difficult questions.”
“Then that’s the spread for me. I’m juggling three cowboys.”
“Doesn’t sound too bad to me, my dear.”
“Well, it is. Really bad, actually.” Her cowboys were part of a divided house. Even though
this was Wilde, where plural marriages were the norm, she could never have all three of them.
Carlotta pointed to the card at the center of the spread, covering what she’d called Charly’s significator. “Dis position is da atmosphere of da current situation. Here is da Nine of Cups. Vhen reversed like dis, its meaning is conceit and vanity. Vhen dealing vith romance, dhere is an arrogance and hesitation.”
“I’m not sure about that, Carlotta. I’m not arrogant. I’m confused.”
“Perhaps, my dear. Perhaps. But arrogance can mean dat you are holding on to old beliefs, old vays, not trusting your heart.”
Charly felt the sting of the truth of Carlotta’s words.
“Let me move on, child.” She touched the card that was sideways on top of the Nine of Cups. “Here is da obstacle. Dis is da Hermit.”
Charly looked at the card. An old man with a walking cane held out a lamp that glowed yellow.
“Da Hermit is about vithdrawing from relationships to hear da inner voice. It is a need of understanding.”
“That all sounds good, right?”
“Sounds good, but is not good for da situation. Actually, it is likely a distraction or excuse. Again, choosing logic instead of passion. Let’s move on. Look here, Charly.” Carlotta pointed to the card on top of the spread. “Dis is da Two of Vands.”
The card had a tall man looking over the sea. He held a staff in one hand and a globe in his other. To his side was another staff.
“Dis card represents da best you can achieve vithout a dramatic change in your direction or plans. Dis is da Two of Vands and is reversed. It predicts an erosion of power and a cloudy future. It suggests dat you have been caught off guard by someding and dat your mind is cloudy.”
“Spot on, Carlotta.” Charly thought about the call from the Center in Malibu. She’d put all her hopes and dreams in that place. Now with that off the table and no money to speak of, she was more than wigging out. She was a total mess.
Carlotta patted her hand. “You must change course, my dear. Vhatever you are dinking to do, you must turn da odher direction.”
“What else do the cards say, Carlotta.” Charly glanced down at the remaining cards. They looked dark and foreboding. One card had a woman blindfolded and tied to several swords. Another had a dead body on the ground, also with swords, but unlike the previous card, these were buried in his flesh. The scariest card to Charly was of a tower being hit by lightning and two people falling to the ground.
Carlotta scooped up the cards and shook her head. “Doesn’t matter, my dear. I’m certain you vill change your course. You must. Your future happiness depends on it.”
Chapter Two
Nate Strong patted the black horse’s muscled neck. “We did good, boy. Real good.”
The sun was long gone as he led his horse to one of the smaller sheds in the barn complex on the main ranch.
He saw a few men milling together outside the largest building. Last year, his dads had it built for the family, the three foremen, and for the most loyal hands who’d been on the Strong payroll the longest.
Nate had turned down his parents’ offer of a bigger stall in the state-of-the-art facility, deciding to stay put in the old barn with only six stalls, not twenty-eight. In the new space, Nate would have to deal with more people than he cared for.
Besides, Joker was definitely better company than most humans.
He led the old boy through the short center aisle of the barn out the back to the circle pen for the cooldown.
The two of them had covered a lot of miles today, getting the Brangus heifers that Drake had bought in Texas to The Lazy Blue, the northwest section of the main ranch. There was plenty for the new herd to graze on back there until they dropped their calves in the spring.
“Hey, bro.” Heath led his horse, Yoda, into the pen.
Nate felt sorrow for the beast. Such a name didn’t suit an Arabian Champion, but his idiot brother was a Star Wars fan through and through. Every horse Heath had ever owned was named after some character from the movies. Hans Solo was still kicking, but too old to be more than a pleasure ride these days.
“Got any plans?” Heath asked as he walked Yoda around the fence.
Nate noted Joker’s puffing was lessening. Another ten minutes or so and he could take his horse in the barn and get his saddle off. “Not yet. I was thinking about heading over to the club.”
By club, he meant the local BDSM sex club, The Masters’ Chambers, owned by their cousin Austin Wilde. Wailing on a pretty little sub’s ass always helped to work out the kinks in his back and neck after a long ride.
Heath was cooling down Yoda perfectly. One thing Nate admired about his brother was his ranching skills. Heath was almost as good a cowboy as he was. Almost.
“Hey, take Joker, and I’ll fill up the water trough.” Nate handed Joker’s reins to his brother, who began leading both horses around the pen.
Nate turned on the hose, filling up the metal with cool water. There didn’t need to be much in it, since both Joker and Yoda had their own water buckets in their stalls. But routine dictated that after the cooldown, the horses got a drink and a carrot. Silly, but his dads had taught his brothers and him since they were very young that good horses made a ranch and deserved to be treated well. The water-and-carrot ritual had been a part of the Strong way for generations.
“Want to join me at the club?” Nate asked his brother.
“No thanks.” Heath sounded more serious than normal. “Have you given any more thought to my plan?”
“You mean the Charly Wynn plan?” Nate turned off the hose and got the big carrot out of his jacket’s pocket. “Heath, I know you. What’s your game?”
“No game, Nate. I swear.” Heath led Joker and Yoda to the trough. “They’re cooled down.”
Since he could see both horses were breathing normally, Nate took Joker’s rein from Heath. Both animals lowered their heads into the trough and began drinking the cool water.
“Nate, spend some time with Charly.” Heath was holding Yoda’s carrot reward in his left hand. “You’ll see. Dax and Drake are already on board.”
Heath clearly liked playing puppet master, but Nate wasn’t about to let his brother pull his strings. “So, if your plan works out—and that’s a mighty big if—we’re going to spit in the face of tradition?”
Tradition in Wilde meant three. Three men, one woman. Jessie and the Wilde brothers were the exception to the rule. If Heath was able to get his brothers in on his crazy plan, the town would be in an uproar.
“When have you ever given a damn about tradition, Nate?”
He chuckled. “You got me there. Like I’ve always said, tell me the rule, and I’ll be happy to break it.”
Heath gave Yoda his treat. “You’ve lived by that mantra ever since I can remember.”
“Here you go, Joker.” Nate placed the carrot at his horse’s mouth, and he gobbled it up fast. Nate looked at Heath. What was his game? Playing a lovesick fool wasn’t his brother’s norm, but he had always been shifty like a fox.
“I just don’t see a day when the six of us are going to walk down the aisle with Ms. Wynn, especially not Seth. Do you think he’s ever going to let you off the hook about Gabby?”
Heath’s demeanor darkened, clearly from old guilt. He didn’t answer, but led Yoda into the barn.
Nate hated that he’d brought up the past. Fuck. He’d stepped in it now.
Guiding Joker into the barn, he thought about how the horrible split had occurred.
The day Heath had bedded the younger three brothers’ fiancée with his successful Hail Mary pass, two things had come out of it. First, he’d won, saving Drake, Dax, and Seth from the gold-digging bitch. Second, all six of them had lost—lost each other. The trust and love was gone. Now, they were forever locked in the ridiculous battle of three and three.
Nate couldn’t imagine anything better than a day when all the old hurts were healed and forgiven, but he also couldn’t see it actual
ly ever happening either.
Heath unbridled his horse. “Tell me you’re not the least bit interested in Charly, and I will cut my losses and move on to Tobias.”
As his mind brought up an image of the gorgeous woman, Nate knew he couldn’t. And why not? She was his type, all the way. Her submissive tendencies, curvy body, and adventurous mix were something he couldn’t turn down. He’d shared women many times with Heath and Tobias, so it was natural for them to bed Charly the other night. But the moment he’d tasted her skin, the Dom in him had snapped to attention, and the man in him had followed.
Still, it was much more than her curves that had hypnotized him. The girl’s innocence and honesty were like unbreakable cuffs on his will. Not good. Not good at all. He gave little credence to following one’s heart. Nate wasn’t sure he even had one in his chest. If he did, his would be a tricky bastard, loitering in dark corners and smoking cigars. And love? Not a big believer. And love at first sight? Hell, no.
But why the fuck could he not stop thinking about Charly Wynn?
* * * *
Charly sat at a table in Norma’s Diner, stuffed from the King Cakes she’d had for breakfast. Heath Strong sat beside her, sipping his coffee. “Seriously, you and your brothers aren’t going to let me have even a single minute alone?”
“You’ve got the full picture.” Heath took a bite of his bacon.
Hers was only half eaten.
Drake, Dax, and Heath were worried about her dad ambushing her in Wilde. Truthfully, she was, too. Jessie had cut her honeymoon short just to deliver the message about her dad looking for her. Charly hadn’t seen him in years, but her sharpest memories of him weren’t positive. Armed robbery was just one of his many offenses, though it was the one that had actually landed him in the penitentiary.