The Taming (The Black Thunder Series) (27 page)

“Kate,” he whispered.

She lifted her head and their eyes met.

“Can I kiss you
? I promise, I won’t do anything else.”

“You can kiss me,” she said sweetly.

Jack leaned forward and kissed her. There was no roughness to his partaking. It was gentle and feather soft, almost dreamy, and Kate felt herself swoon. There was so much feeling in this one single kiss, like he was expressing everything he felt deep inside. He ended it at the perfect moment. Jack coaxed her head back into his arms, stroking her hair.

“Sweet dreams, baby,” he whispered.

“Goodnight, Jack.” Kate closed her eyes. For the first time in her life she felt a total peace just lying in the arms of the man who had touched her soul and before she knew it she was asleep
.

Eighteen

Now or Never

W
arm light filtered through the window caressing Kate’s cheek, beckoning her to wake from night’s sweet slumber. An absolute purr escaped her lips, along with soft smiles, and dulcet recollection of falling asleep in Jack’s arms. She stretched like a cat, mewing to the harmony of a perfectly glorious day.

Kate rolled on her side ready to fold back into her lover’s embrace, but
found he was gone. In his place lying on his pillow was a long stem rose and a note. Kate reached for the rose and smelled its scented bouquet, then picked up the note and read it.

Good morning, baby,

You were sleeping so soundly I didn’t have the heart to wake you.

Duties call and I’ll be out by the southern corral working most of the day
.

Come find me.

Missing you already,

Jack

Kate held the note to her heart and sighed as a bright smile played across her lips
. She hopped from the bed like she hadn’t a care in the world. She was hopelessly smitten, caught up in the symphony of her heart beating to the sound of new love. She showered and dressed, then went downstairs to the kitchen.

To her delight, he made a fresh pot of coffee
. A cup was waiting for her on the counter along with another rose. Who would have guessed the overbearing Jack McBride could be so romantic? She felt all warm and fuzzy inside as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She leaned against the counter and sipped the hot brew, a smile etched permanently on her face.

Happiness radiated from her being as she went to work cleaning the house, wanting it to be perfect for when he came home
. Plugging in her headset to her cell phone, she turned on her music and proceeded to make everything sparkle to reflect how she was feeling inside.

As she cleaned she wondered what it would be like if she did move in permanently with Jack
. With each item she polished she formed a mental attachment as all women did when they were creating a home. Could she call this home? Home was not a physical place but more of a feeling that settled around the heart, and today her heart felt totally at home with this place and with Jack McBride.

Kate moved to the kitchen loading the dirty dishes into the dishwasher
. She opened the cabinet under the sink and retrieved a detergent tablet from its container and dropped it in the door of the washer. She noticed the jet dry carrier was empty so she went to the supply shelf to retrieve another bottle. There next to the small blue bottle she eyed a yellow sheet of paper crumbled in to a ball. She unraveled it, flattening it smooth again enough for her to read. It was one of Jack’s lists that she had previously tossed angrily on to the shelf in sheer rebellion of his ridiculous instructions.

In that instant Kate’s good mood came crashing down, like a balloon that lost all of its air
. She turned off her music laying the earphones around her neck. She walked over to the kitchen table and sat, staring at the list as another voice drifted through her head.
Could she live with this man who was so different than she?

He was a man driven by ego
. An earthly man tied to the soil in an era forgotten by an outside world except in the foothills of Nevada. She was a teacher, an educator, and thrived on contemporary culture. Their interests were worlds apart.

And then there were the matters of the heart
. Where Kate craved intimacy, Jack craved possession. His need was to claim her and make her his. If she had to be honest with herself, he did fill a secret place within her to be claimed but would it always satisfy her, or would it eventually destroy their relationship?

Kate swung back and forth on the pendulum of indecision
. Her head told her it was too soon to be thinking about moving in, but her heart wanted to fall asleep next to him every night and wake up in his arms every morning. Was that so wrong?

What she wouldn’t give to talk to Clara right now, but knowing how she felt about Jack made her hesitant
. She needed to call her anyway to let her know she was all right. Perhaps she could feel her out before revealing her desperate need for advice. Kate picked up her phone and called. It rang once and Clara answered.

“Kate, are you all right
?”

“Were you hovering by the phone waiting for my call
?” She teased.

“I got worried when I didn’t hear from you, but Adam told me not to call and bug you
.” Clara breathed a sigh of relief hearing the happiness in her friend’s voice.

“I’m fine.”

“So what happened when you got home last night?” she asked.

“You were right, Jack was packing up my things when I got to the carriage house.”

“That bastard,” fumed Clara. “I’m going to kill him!”

“But he wasn’t packing me up to leave.”

“Okay, now I’m totally confused.”

“He was packing me up to move in with him at the main house
.” There were several moments of silence. “Clara, are you still there?”

“I’m still here
. I’m just in shock. Did he ask you to move in with him?”

“Nope,” answered Kate
. “He just flatly told me,
you’re moving in, and that’s that
!”  Kate mimicked Jack to a tee.

“Why, that arrogant son of a bitch,” Clara laughed as she shook her head in disbelief
. “Are congratulations in order, seeing you’re the first woman Jack has ever invited into his house, much less asked to live there?”

“I told him no.”

“Good for you for standing your ground. Jack McBride needs to learn he can’t order people around.” Kate was silent. “What’s wrong?” asked Clara feeling the tension all the way through the phone.

“He’s a conundrum, Clara,”
she finally spoke up. “On the one hand, he is the most arrogant, overbearing man I have ever met, but there’s another side to him, too. He can be kind and very sweet when he wants to.”

“So can a
rattlesnake right before he bites.”

“Well, he has already bitten me,” joked Kate
. “He’s a man that it’s hard to say no to.”

“Are you having second thoughts?”

“Maybe,” said Kate as she started biting her nail. “Tell me it’s too soon to be moving in with him.”

“Is that what you want to hear, because if it is then I’ll say
it? It’s too soon for you to be moving in with him.”

“You’re right
. It is too soon.” Kate conferred.

“No, I just told you what you wanted to hear
. Now do you want to know what I think?”

“That’s why I called you,” said Kate getting a little frustrated
. “I need your help sorting this through.”

“Let me ask you a question,” said Clara
. “Have you fallen for him?”

“I don’t know,” she laughed
. “Maybe-”

“Do you think Jack has fallen for you
? Because Adam thinks he has it bad for you.”

“Oh, he’s fallen for me, but not in the way you think,” added Kate.

“Quit talking in riddles.” Clara’s voice radiated annoyed.

“He thinks I belong to him.”

“You belong to him?” She paused. “Like property?”

“To quote Jack McBride,” said Kate, parroting
his voice. “
You’re mine baby, and nobody else’s. You belong to me, in my bed, squirming under only me, remember that!
”

Clara couldn’t contain her laughter as she almost fell off her chair
. “Well I’ll be damned,” She finally spoke though she was still laughing between breathes. “Not in a thousand years would I have guessed our Jack McBride would fall so hard for woman, and to think I’m responsible for bringing you two together.”

“We’re not together yet,” Kate stated growing annoyed
. She didn’t see the humor in it.

“Oh, you already are sweetie and you don’t even know it.” She couldn’t stop laughing
. “This is rich. Wait until I tell Adam he was right. He’s never going to let me live it down.”

“You’re not helping me Clara,” said Kate getting mad
.

“I think you want to move in with him and just need permission from someone to say go for it,” said Clara
. “I say go for it! I moved in with Adam right after our first date and we’ve been together ever since.”

“You were always the impulsive one,” said Kate
. “But I’m not like you. I need to be cautious, especially now.”

“Kate, you can’t plan out your life like a business proposal
. It doesn’t work like that. Sometimes life throws you a curve and you just have to go with it.”

“Oh, this is a curve all right,”
she sighed. “You know he’s even offered to have a child with me if I want. This man is so intense it’s scary.”

Clara broke out in a full fit of laughter again.

“It’s not funny Clara,” fumed Kate. “He doesn’t want to use protection because I think in his sick warped mind he thinks if I get pregnant he would own me completely.”

“Kate, did it ever occur to you that our little overbearing Jack McBride is in love with you and he just doesn’t know how to tell you so he spouts it in the only language he knows,” Clara continued to laugh
. “Hell, maybe he hasn’t figured it out himself. It’s not like he’s a man who is self-aware.”

Kate sat back in her chair and considered her friend’s insight
. It was a definite possibility that he had indeed fallen for her. The thought brought a smile to her face.

“Here’s my suggestion,” said Clara settling herself down
. “Tell Jack you’ll move in with him on a trial basis.”

“For how long?” asked Kate, thinking it was not a bad idea.

“A week, a month, you decide. But during that time he is forbidden from moving your furniture from the carriage house just in case it doesn’t work out.”

“That might work,” said Kate as hope beamed in her eyes
. “Clara, you’re a genius!”

“I know
.”

Clara was a genius and Kate made up her mind
. For the next hour she unpacked the remaining boxes placing them in the designated drawers that were allotted to her as well as the space in the closet. She placed her sweaters on the top shelf moving over his massive collection of Stetson hats. A hint of lemon still lingered when she picked one up and she couldn’t help giggling a little.

When she was done, she went downstairs to the kitchen and prepared a picnic lunch for the two of them
. Then she headed out the front door and made her way to the corral on the south end of the property.

Jack was working on repairing the fence that several of the wild mustangs had broken the day before
. As Kate approached, she watched Jack lift the sledgehammer over his head and drive the post into the ground. She noticed his naked chest glistening from the sun’s heat and his t-shirt tucked behind his jeans. Her eyes roamed over his hard lean muscles watching them pulsate when the force of the sledgehammer crashed down over the post.

“I brought lunch,” she said
strolling up beside him.

Jack lowered the hammer and wiped the sweat from his brow
. Kate’s eyes darted across his chest as he stepped closer to her, but when their eyes met, she quickly looked away.

“You like what you see?” he said as he flung the sledgehammer on the ground
. He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. Kate felt the wetness of his chest absorb into her dry cotton tank. The smell of musk and earth permeated her senses.

“Oh, you’re sweaty,” she giggled as she tried to pull away.

“It didn’t seem to bother you the other night when you were squirming underneath me,” said Jack as he held her firm. He watched her face turn a rosy red. “God, you’re cute,” he laughed then swatted her on her rump and released her. “You got anything to drink in that picnic basket of yours?”

“I brought a jug of iced tea,” said Kate regaining her voice
. She opened the side of the basket and handed him the jug of cold liquid. Jack lifted it up and rested it on his shoulder. He tipped it forward and drank. Kate watched in amazement as he chugged half the container without taking a breath.

“I needed that.” He lowered the jug and held it in his hand
. “Thanks, baby,”

“Are you hungry?”

“You have no idea,” he said as his eyes undressed her.

“For food
.” She rolled her eyes.

“Actually, I’m starved
. This kind of work builds up a man’s appetite.”

“I made plenty to eat.”

“Why don’t we eat at the picnic table under the pavilion where there’s shade,” suggested Jack. “Here, let me carry that for you.”