To Desire a Wilde

by Kimberly Kaye Terry

  As he was looking over the cattle, a slight frown marring his perfect face, Ellie in turn allowed herself to look at him fully, drawing in a deep breath of resignation.

  He wasn’t supposed to be here with her. When she’d met with Nate yesterday and they’d gone over the tentative plans for the next two weeks, she’d been assured neither he nor his brothers would be here while she conducted the research.

  Instead, he’d informed her that she would be working with Jake, who was the ranch’s foreman, along with a crew Jake was already in the process of assembling to assist her in any way she needed.

  Nate had told her in no uncertain terms that neither he nor his brothers wanted be involved. They all knew the seriousness of the situation, and didn’t want there to be any question of bias, based on Ellie’s history as a family friend, or her father as the ranch’s vet. Nate had gone on to tell her that they felt confident their animals were clean and the investigation was one that had their full backing, knowing it would exonerate the ranch in the end.

  Nate’s heartfelt assurance had gone a long way in easing the last of the discomfort she’d felt in accepting the position, as had the brief hug he’d given her, welcoming her back home.

  Surprised at the unexpected display of friendship, a friendship that dated back to childhood, she’d blinked several times, battling back the emotion she felt from the small, but sincere, gesture.

  She’d had mixed feelings about accepting the position, one that had been extended to her after her involvement in a similar investigation, two years ago.

  Having worked with the USDA as a subcontractor before, Ellie’s name was in the database and, as only a select number of veterinarians in the country had her particular expertise, she’d been offered the position.

  However, when offered the position, Ellie had given her supervisor full disclosure regarding her association with the ranch. After a careful review of her records, she’d been approved.

  She knew that was partly due to the fact that her supervisor had not only worked with her during the previous assignment, but that he’d once taught a class she’d attended. He assured her he believed her ethics were beyond reproach and her familiarity with the Wildes wouldn’t interfere with her performing her job.

  Although she’d discussed it with her father before accepting the position, it had taken Nate’s warm acceptance of her as well as the job she was there to conduct before Ellie felt at ease.

  Additionally Nate had assured her that neither he or his brothers would interfere with the investigation, and would give her the space she needed to work without them hovering.

  His reasons had mimicked the very same reasons she’d given Shilah when he’d taken her to lunch.

  At the time when he’d told her, she knew she should feel pleased. Yet she found herself wondering if the decision had been a unanimous one between all the brothers. Particularly Shilah.

  She turned back around and found Shilah’s dark gaze focused intently on her and suppressed a shiver.

  So much for giving her the “space” Nate had promised.

  As much as she knew he shouldn’t be there with her, having given her objections when he showed up that morning soon after her arrival on the ranch, there was no use lying to herself like she wasn’t glad he was there.

  Expecting to be with the foreman, as had been the plan, Ellie arrived in time to see Nate and Shilah involved in a…discussion. The argument had been short and to the point, and although she’d only caught the tail end of it, and had been too far away to really hear the conversation, Ellie could feel the anger rolling off both their big shoulders as the two men faced off.

  Ellie wondered at Shilah’s reasons for going against Nate’s wishes. A part of her hoped it wasn’t just to keep an eye on her, but because he hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind, as she hadn’t been able to keep her thoughts away from him.

  “Ellie? The men are ready to roll. Which pen do we tackle first?”

  With a start, Ellie turned to see Shilah staring across at her. She knew there was no way he could know the direction of her thoughts, but there was something about the way he was looking at her, in that certain way he alone had, even when they were younger. It made her feel as though he could read every single thought in her mind, that he could somehow see deep inside, to the very heart of her.

  A ghost of a smile played around his mouth, making her heartbeat speed up just the smallest bit, and a bead of sweat trickled down between her breasts, despite the way the day had cooled. Her nipples responded on cue to his stare.

  She felt them constrict painfully, as though he’d touched them. As though they were reaching out to him for his touch.

  She brought herself up short when she consciously found her body leaning toward him, his horse inches from hers.

  She drew in a shuddering breath and turned, breaking the visual connection.

  Dear God, she was losing it. Ellie shook her head as though to clear it, desperately trying to call up what her response was supposed to be, mentally scrambling to remember what his question had been.

  A frown marred his perfect features. “Are you okay, El?” he asked, his voice deep with worry.

  “I—I’m fine,” she said. Removing her hat, she ran her hand through her hair, dampened with sweat. “Just tired, I guess,” she said, although that had nothing to do with the reason for her momentary memory loss.

  His glance fell from her face, down the line of her neck, and stopped at the valley of her breasts. As though he knew what was happening to her.

  As though he knew he was the cause.

  Ellie’s body tightened. It was as though he’d touched her, as though she could feel his strong hands brushing over her breasts.

  “How about we go with the red team?” he asked, referring to the red bar code she’d placed on one of the pens.

  “Yes…that sounds good,” she said, keeping her thoughts firmly under control. “We’ll color-code the cattle according to the pen they’ll go in. Tell the men to herd them in, ten at a time, so as not to scare them.”

  While in veterinary school, Ellie had learned of a technique that seemed very effective for keeping cattle calm, a state she wanted them to be in. She would not only be drawing blood from them, but also observing them for physical signs of stress and other ailments to make her full assessment.

  “Sounds great, doc,” he quipped. “You’re the boss,” he said with a wink, a sexy smile crossing his sensual mouth, and Ellie was helpless against the humor and the smile.

  “And don’t you forget it,” she replied, keeping her face stern, refusing to respond to either the humor or the way his smile made her insides go to pure jelly.

  “Not likely to forget.”

  “Then we can take the next shipment and place them in the pen adjoining, and we’ll start tagging the remaining,” she went on, fighting to keep the conversation on business.

  “Hmm.” She stopped, thinking momentarily. “I’m thinking the quickest way, probably the most efficient way, would be to tag them after they’ve had the first blood drawn. We then keep those cattle in the same pen together, for observation. This will eliminate crowding and keep them calm. After they’ve been cleared the men can release them. I’ll have their blood stored and we’ll move on to the next group. That’s pretty clear, right?” Ellie asked, scrunching her nose, running her gaze over the open area filled with the waiting cattle.

  The task wasn’t an easy one, but she knew it was manageable as long as everyone was on the same page.

  “Clear as mud!” was his reply. Startled, Ellie glanced away from the cattle and laughed lightly. Although she’d been asking the question of him, actually she’d been voicing out loud her thoughts, something she often did.

  “Great, as long as we’re clear…at least I’m assuming being clear as mud is a good thing?” she asked, and he laughed along with her.

  “Yep. Pretty sure I’ve got it straight,” he said with a wink.

  “I’ll get
the men right on it. Shouldn’t take us more than a few of hours to get through the first pen, draw the blood and tag the cattle. The men I’ve chosen for this job are pretty experienced with this,” he said. He turned, reining in his horse, and galloped toward the holding pen where the men were beginning the systematic separation of the cattle.

  Maybe she’d conjured up in her mind that what she’d seen in his eyes, the look of admiration and longing, had been nothing more than leftover sentiments from days gone by.

  But on the heels of that thought surfaced memories of their kiss, the way he’d held her. Mentally throwing up her hands, Ellie threw herself into work.

  She began the arduous task of cataloguing the cattle, the first step in her process before she’d draw blood and perform her observations. Ellie wasn’t even aware of the passage of time, her day flying by.

  Ellie rubbed at her knee, feeling tension form a tight knot beneath the surface.

  Throughout the day, she’d alternated between riding horseback, helping to herd the cattle into their assigned pens, and drawing blood from the cattle, labeling the vials and then observing the animals for signs of illness.

  Many times she’d felt Shilah’s eyes on her, and it was those times she’d taken pains not to rub at her knee, not wanting him to know how badly it was beginning to ache.

  He must have seen her, because toward the end of the day, when they had two pens of cattle left to get through, he called for backup.

  No sooner had he called out for his men to round up more help, than Ellie was shaking her head, giving a counterorder.

  A young ranch hand glanced from Ellie’s set features to Shilah’s, the boy’s face bewildered, not sure who he should listen to.

  Ellie sighed and turned to Shilah, knowing the young man was waiting for his boss to give him the final verdict.

  “I thought we agreed…out here, I’m the boss,” she said, and held her breath, seeing indecision cross his face.

  He stared over at her, and despite the set expression, she saw the underlying look of concern reflected in his eyes as his glance slid over hers.

  “We can pick this up tomorrow, El,” he said, his voice low, for her ears alone.

  “I’m fine,” she replied, yet was touched by his concern. Their horses were so close that they were almost touching noses. Impulsively, Ellie reached across the short expanse between them to place a hand over his large forearm. As soon as her hand touched his, she felt the thick muscle bunch beneath her fingertips.

  He held her gaze, lifted her hand from his arm and brought it to his mouth, where he placed a soft kiss in the center of her palm. Ellie felt the light caress sear a path straight from her palm throughout her body.

  “Shilah—” she choked out.

  “I know you’re in pain, Ellie,” he interrupted, quietly, for her ears alone.

  She felt none of the shame and anger she normally felt whenever she detected sympathy from those around her. It was somehow…different, the sympathy she felt from Shilah. A connectedness that went beyond the physical, one that left her shaken.

  As though everyone around them had disappeared, the noise from the cattle and ranchers yelling out orders all faded to nothingness and there was only her and Shilah, alone.

  “Shilah…I’m fine,” she whispered and, after a long appraisal of her, he nodded his head shortly.

  “Fine. But we’re calling it quits after this last bunch.” When she opened her mouth to argue he cut her a look.

  Ellie held up both hands in surrender. “Okay, okay…but tomorrow we’ll be on an even tighter schedule. Hope you can handle it,” she quipped, but was secretly glad that he’d taken the decision out of her hands.

  “Oh, don’t worry about that,” he said, running a long, hot glance over her. “There’s not much I can’t handle, doc…. You’ll do well to remember that,” he said. Without waiting for her reply, he tugged on the horse’s reins and galloped away, leaving Ellie’s mouth open as she stared after him, wondering what the hell to make out of that.

  Chapter 9

  Ellie leaned back in her saddle, closed her eyes and allowed the cool air to blow across her hot skin, fighting back the disappointment she felt.

  The day had been long, hard and dirty. With a sigh, she removed her hat, running a hand through her sweat-dampened hair.

  They’d finished for the day, and the men had left, along with Shilah. After the day spent with him, working side by side, she expected…

  “What exactly were you expecting?” she asked herself, aloud, in the dark.

  She didn’t expect what had happened—for him to leave along with the men and barely say goodbye to her.

  After they’d left, she’d been torn. Although she was so tired she could barely move, she was also strangely restless. Not quite sure what to do with herself, Ellie had decided to go for a ride and had resaddled her horse.

  Since her arrival, she’d yet to take a ride, remembering how it used to calm her, the feel of the wind blowing against her face, the natural sounds of the night, birds cawing, crickets chirping, mixed in with the occasional horse neighing and calf moaning, all blended together to make what Ellie like to think of as…

  “Ranch music,” a deep voice filled in the thought.

  With a start, Ellie’s eyes flew open and she turned to see that Shilah had ridden up next to her. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t heard him.

  “What?” she asked, turning toward him, telling herself that the reason her heart had jumped was because he’d scared her, and not because she was happy to see him.

  He smiled across at her. “Remember, you used to call it ranch music?” he asked, and the frown on her face eased, softening into a smile and she laughed softly.

  Ellie shook her head. “I can’t believe you remember that.” She paused for a moment, and plunged in, asking, “Wanna go for a ride?”

  “Thought you’d never ask,” he said with a slow grin.

  Ellie reined in her horse, coming to a stop, completely out of breath.

  They’d ridden for the last hour, and although she could have ridden another hour, she knew if she did, her body would be screaming at her in the morning from the aches and pains.

  As she was turning to face Shilah, who’d slowed his horse down as well, she stopped, squinting.

  “Is that what I think it is? It’s still there?” she asked, pointing. In the distance stood a lone old cabin, one she and Shilah used to play in, from the time they were children until she’d left the ranch.

  He smiled at her. “It is…. Wanna check it out?”

  Ellie hesitated, glancing down at her watch, the illuminated dial indicating the lateness of the hour.

  “No, I better not. It’s getting late,” she said, her tone wistful.

  “Come on, El…I’ll race you there,” he threw out the challenge. That was all she needed.

  Pulling on the reins of her horse she nudged it, leaned down low, urging her horse to go, her laughter trailing behind her as she took advantage of Shilah’s surprise and got a head start.

  She made it to the cabin moments before he pulled in next to her, both of them completely out of breath.

  He raised a brow at her, taking in deep, even breaths. “You cheated.”

  “All’s fair in love and war,” she replied, completely unrepentant of her unfair advantage. “Come on,” she said. Before she could dismount, he was there beside her, holding out his hand for her to take.

  Together they walked up the short walk, until they reached the cabin, the old floorboards creaking beneath their booted feet.

  “Hey, be careful,” Shilah murmured, cupping her beneath the elbow. “Here, let me help you.” She allowed him to help her navigate the rickety stairs, until they reached the door.

  “You think it’s unlocked?” she asked, biting her bottom lip and glancing up at him in question.

  “Only one way to find out,” he said and leaned out, grasping the rusted doorknob.

  When the door opened easily,
Ellie gave Shilah a surprised look.

  He grinned, motioning for her to go in front of him. “After you.”

  Once inside, Ellie turned by instinct, memory flooding her of the layout of the place, and found a light switch. When the light flickered on, she smiled in surprise.

  “Not only is it open, but it still has electricity,” she marveled, glancing around at the small cottage. As she did, memories of days gone by flashed in her mind.

  “No, we never had the electricity turned off,” Shilah replied, following her as she walked through the small living room, running a hand over the back of the single sofa in the center.

  A scarred coffee table was set in front of it, and in the corner stood a bookshelf still holding books.

  Ellie turned to face him, a frown and a look of question on her face. “Shilah…it’s as though we never left! I mean, everything is exactly like I remember it,” she said. Without giving him a chance to comment, she continued to walk through the small cabin, her amazement growing as she spun around to face him.

  “Shilah?” she asked, confusion turning to dawning realization when she saw what looked like a blush darken his olive-colored face.

  “Shilah…did you keep it like this?”

  He avoided her glance, and she walked over to him, placing a hand on his arm. “Why?”

  “Come on, El…you know why.”

  Ellie felt as though all the air had been sucked from the room as his dark gaze settled over hers. Confused, not wanting to try and figure out what it all meant, she turned away.

  “I—I think we’d better go.”

  “What are you so afraid of, El?” he said, pulling her around to face him, his face tightening with anger.

  When Ellie tried to shrug off his hold on her, he placed two fingers on the side of her chin, forcing her to hold his gaze. “What about me scares you?” he demanded.

  She placed her hands on his chest and shoved him away, suddenly angry. Angry at the situation, the way he made her feel…at herself for not being able to turn away from the dark promise in his eyes.

  “Afraid of you?” she scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I’m not afraid of you or anyone else. Whatever misconceptions you have in that head of yours about me, you can just forget. I. Am. Not…afraid of you,” she reiterated, dragging each work out, staring at him defiantly. She ignored the inner taunting voice that asked who she was trying to convince, Shilah or herself.