Her Secret Thrill (20 page)

Her dad chuckled at that. “Well, that's saying something right there.” He turned to Natalie. “We won't need
to have you involved in any meetings here for a while, so if you'd like to take a short vacation, I don't see why—”

Natalie surprised her father and everyone else by moving away from Jake and hugging him tightly. She kissed his cheek, then said, “Dad, I'm not going to work for you. I love you dearly. And I want to keep on loving you dearly. But I'm not cut out for corporate life and I'd rather keep family as family and not as co-workers.” She looked at Jake, then glanced at her sisters pressed in the doorway behind them. “I want to open my own practice. I don't know where or even what yet. But I think I'm better off being my own boss.”

Her father actually blushed at the public display and had to clear his throat several times. His voice lowered so only Natalie and Jake could hear his reply. “Yes, well. You always were more like your mother.”

Natalie was honestly surprised at that. “Mother was sick almost all her life. How am I like her?”

He smiled, and Natalie saw the love he had for her shining in his eyes. “She was an adventurer. Oh, her body might have been too fragile to allow her spirit to soar for real, but that never stopped her from wanting to. Had she been healthy, I think she'd have been a lot like you. Independent, single-minded, and ornery about it.” His eyes clouded then. “I suppose she wouldn't have needed me, then. I've always felt a bit guilty for that. Not that I wouldn't have wished her well, even if it meant losing her.” He shrugged, looking suddenly uncomfortable, as if he'd just realized what he'd revealed. “Maybe that's why I wanted to keep you close. You're the best part of her.”

“Oh, Dad.” She hugged him again and felt tears run down her cheeks. “I never knew. I do love you.”

“Go to Wyoming, Natalie.” He set her back, already well outside his comfort zone, and so publicly, too. So she gave him his space and let him reclaim his control. He straightened his tie and cleared his throat, his voice now back to normal. “I hope you find what you're looking for.” He smiled then, and the father she knew and loved, the fox, surfaced once more. “Naturally, if it doesn't work out, I always have a position available for you here.”

Natalie laughed and sniffled at the same time.

Jake stepped forward and shook her father's hand. “Thank you, sir. I promise I'll take good care of her.”

Her father gave him a look. “Oh, I'm not worried about that. You might want to get some help, though. You'll have your hands full just keeping up with her.”

“I'll take the advice under consideration.”

Natalie pinched his arm, but Jake just laughed and tucked her hand in his. The crowd had pushed into the lobby now, her sisters leading the pack.

“Come on,” he said, “before the mob descends on us. I want you all to myself.”

She couldn't argue with that. “Well, what are you waiting for? Isn't this the part where you sweep me off my feet?”

He grinned. “As a matter of fact…”

Rule number one: Never taunt him,
Natalie thought, squealing as he swung her up in his arms.
Oh, what the hell,
she amended. Taunting was fun. And if there was one thing she'd learned, it was that life should be more fun.

With that in mind, she waved at the crowd assembled
behind them, noting with great pleasure that many people were applauding. Her sisters' faces were blank masks of confusion. Well, it was a pity they didn't understand, but if she'd learned anything, it was that she wasn't responsible for their happiness or for their understanding hers.

Well, she did have a certain proprietary feel for the happiness of the man who held her in his arms.

“Please tell me there isn't a horse waiting in the parking lot,” she said, wrapping her arms more tightly around his neck. “I never did finish riding school.”

He kissed her soundly. “No horse. But there are one or two back at home I was hoping to introduce you to. I'd like to show you our land, but horseback is the only way to really see it properly. It takes a couple of days. We'd have to camp out. There's a cabin, too, but I haven't been that far to check out the condition of it. We don't use it anymore—”

“Camping, huh?” She was open to new things, right? She had the feeling this was only the beginning, and that was fine by her. She reached up and licked the spot beneath his ear. “Would we be alone on the trail, hoss?”

He stopped at the curb and let her slide down his body. “Why, yes, little lady, we would be,” he said with that teasing grin of his.

“God, I've missed you,” she said softly.

He pulled her close, and she reveled in the hard strength of him. Her body was clamoring for him already, but she was more than willing to wait. She had all the time in the world. Or she would, if she had anything to do with it. And she would. Single-minded and determined. Yep, that was her.

“I missed you, too.” He tilted her chin up. “Natalie, you have to promise me one thing.”

“What?”

“If you hate the ranch, if it's not for you, you have to tell me. We can find a compromise. We can have more than one home. Casper is close by, and if that's not big-city enough, then—”

She pressed her fingers to his lips, trying not to moan at the contact. God, she'd never been like this with anyone else. And she wanted to be like this forever. “I just want to be with you.” It was the one thing she knew above all else. “We'll figure the rest out. As long as you're willing to let me find my own way, then I'm sure we'll make this work. At least, I want to do everything I can to try.”

“Me, too.” He kissed her, running his hands down her sides, brushing over her already hard nipples with his fingers.

She did moan this time. “Did I mention I
really
missed you?”

“I believe you did,” he said, sounding a bit hoarse himself. But rather than tease her the way she'd expected, he tipped her chin up again, looking more serious than she'd ever seen him. “I do love you, Natalie.”

“I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing you say that. I love you, too, Jake.” Tears stung her eyes, and she thought his eyes were a little glassy, too. “Come on, cowboy. Show me this ranch of yours.”

He motioned with his hand, and a stretch limo pulled around the circle and stopped. A uniformed driver stepped out and held the door for them. “Mr. Lannister, Ms. Holcomb.”

“Some steed you have here, cowboy,” she said, climbing into the depths of the shiny black car.

He climbed in after her. “Well, I might be a rancher, but I'm still a Lannister.”

“I see that.” The driver got in and the car pulled away from the curb with a
purr.
“I also noticed the glass between the front and back is tinted.”

“I noticed that, too,” he said, sliding along the seat until he was right beside her.

“Did I mention how much I missed you?” she asked, tugging his coat open.

“Several times.”

“Well, you've never been slow on the uptake.”

“No, that's one thing you can't accuse me of.”

She smiled. “Then, what are you waiting for?”

He yanked off his jacket, then reached over to open the small refrigerator. He pulled out a bottle of champagne.

“Very nice. But the taste of you will be just fine,” she said.

He lifted his eyebrows and popped the cork. “Pretty bold talk.”

“I'm feeling pretty bold at the moment.”

“I can see that. Take your blouse off.”

She tried to keep an even expression, but the suddenness of the command, coupled with the heat in his eyes, caught her off guard. She slowly unbuttoned her top, enjoying watching his grip on the bottle tighten.

“Now the skirt.”

She eyed him, but did as he said.

Then he leaned forward and trickled the champagne on her stomach, following it with his tongue. “I'll never be able to drink it any other way now, you know.”

Natalie was still gasping, from both the chill of the sparkling wine and the heat of his tongue. “I'd like to share in that addiction.” She managed to sit up enough to take the bottle away from him. She smiled at him, then slid her hand down the neck of the bottle. “Now it's your turn.”

Jake grinned and unbuckled his pants.

She crawled over to him as he slid his jeans and boots off. “Keep the hat on, cowboy.”

“Sure thing, ma'am.”

She poured champagne over him and licked up every drop. His hips were jumping…along with the rest of him, as she got done her very thorough taste test. “I see what you mean. Highly addictive.”

“I'm thinking it's time for your first riding lesson,” he teased her.

She climbed on top of him, and he put the hat on her head. “Can we drive all the way to Wyoming?” She slid down over him, making them both groan. “I'm sick of airplanes.”

“Give us a chance…to get to know…each other…better.” He ground the words out. “Dear God, Natalie.”

“I know,” she managed to say. “I love you, Jake. Take me home.” And he did.

“I
FOUND
the perfect place!” Natalie was bouncing on the balls of her feet, so excited she could barely hold on to the phone.

“Not possible,” Jake responded automatically.

“Hey, just because I've been a little picky about location…”

“A little?”

“Even your mother thinks I should make sure it's just right before jumping in. Starting my own practice is going to be scary enough.” And she couldn't wait to start.

Jake laughed. “I know, sweetheart. The only reason I said you couldn't possibly have found the perfect place is because I was in the perfect place, oh, about two hours ago.”

“Two hours ago we were in bed mak— Oh, ha-ha. And thank you.” She fell in love with him more every day. He made her laugh, he made her think, and he made her heart pound just by looking at her. “Now, can you come into town today? I don't want to sign on this until you've seen it.”

“Have you talked to Mom?”

“Well…”

“She's there with you, isn't she.”

Natalie grinned. She'd bonded quickly with Helen. She only wished Jake's mom was planning to spend more time in Wyoming. “She just left. She thinks it's perfect, too.”

Jake just laughed. “So what do you need me for?”

Natalie lowered her voice. “If you have to ask that, then we need to do what we did this morning all over again.”

“Thank God my mom's not standing there.”

“I love it when you get all modest on me.” She leaned against her car and shifted her cell phone to the other ear. “Can you meet me?”

“I've got to make a few calls and meet a client about a bull he wants to buy, but if you can give me about two hours, I'll be there.”

“Great. And Jake?”

“Yeah, I know. I love you, too. Pretty damn wonderful, isn't it?” He hung up before she could respond.

She just smiled and kissed her phone. She'd been in Wyoming for three months, but it had taken less than three minutes to fall in love with the Double L, Casper and the incredible sight of the Big Horn Mountains.

It was spring, but there was still snow on the ground, so she climbed in the ranch Rover to stay warm and picked up the packet that had just arrived at the post office for her. Her sisters had sent an arsenal of bridal information, complete with typed lists of all the things Natalie had to do.

She was touched by their enthusiasm, and hadn't the heart to tell them she wasn't using a wedding consultant
or a personal designer. They were still reeling from the news that she was getting married on the Double L and not the family chapel in Connecticut. Liza, of course, had been thrilled and had readily agreed to being maid of honor. She was flying out in several weeks, and they'd do most of the planning then. Natalie couldn't wait. But most important was the fact that her father was healthy enough to fly out and had already agreed to walk her down the aisle. She got teary just thinking about their last phone call, when he'd given her his blessing.

Jake pulled up just then, honking the horn of his pickup and making her jump. She leaped out of the Rover and raced into his arms. “You're early.”

“I postponed my meetings. It's good to be the boss.”

She grabbed his hand, and turned and gestured to the small storefront in downtown Lamont, the small town named after Jake's ancestor who'd originally settled here. She'd decided on a small local practice instead of something in Casper. She wanted to stay small, and stay close to the ranch and Jake—and the family she one day hoped to have.

“What do you think? I know it's not on the main street and it's a bit run-down, but I can work on that. The brick is in good shape, the siding needs to be washed and probably painted. The electricity and water are up to code, though, which is good. It will need some new drywall and repainting, and the carpet definitely has to go, but—”

Whatever else she had to say was cut off by Jake's kiss. Someone drove by, honked a horn and gave a holler. Natalie didn't even try to squirm loose.

“I love you, Natalie,” Jake said when he finally lifted his head.

“And the whole town knows it. Or they will in about ten minutes when that guy heads into Darlene's Place.”

“I can see this bothers you greatly.”

Natalie couldn't seem to stop smiling these days. “Well, I think it's only right that the town's new family lawyer is part of a family herself. Don't you agree?”

“I agree that it's damn cold out here. Come on, show me around your new offices, counselor.”

“Right this way, sir.” Natalie loved the fact that Jake was as interested in her work and pursuits as she was. And in turn, she'd been taking riding lessons and reading up on the care and feeding of cattle and general farm management. She was thinking about getting some Nubian goats after reading an interesting article about them. But she'd talk to him about that later.

“Now, don't get discouraged. I told you about the paint and the—”

He opened the door, pulled her inside and had her up against the wall.

“Jake! There are no blinds on the windows.” She laughed when he hiked her legs around his waist and moved them out of view. “I don't mind the locals knowing I'm part of a family, but—”

“I was thinking we ought to christen the place. It's good luck.”

Natalie giggled when he started licking the side of her neck. “As in, get some champagne and have a little party?”

“We don't need champagne.” He shifted her legs
around his hips and pressed into her. “And you're all the party I'll ever need.”

“There are several rooms,” she managed to say, as he pushed at her clothes. “We should…christen them all, don't you think?”

“Absolutely.”

“So, I guess…this means…I can sign…the lease?” She was panting now, tearing at his clothes.

He tossed the rest of their clothes away and pushed inside her, making them both groan. “Definitely.” Then he was moving and she was holding on and they both growled into each other's mouths as they came.

Natalie laughed even as she tried to get her breath back. “I can't believe I'm going to have clients in here. Every time I look at this wall…”

“It will be our secret thrill.”

Natalie beamed up at the man she'd given her heart to. “You'll always be my secret thrill.”

“Bet on it.” He kissed her deeply and slowly, and the sweet tension began to build again. “I believe you mentioned something about other rooms?” He traced a finger over one bare nipple, then slid it down her body.

“Why, yes,” she gasped, nipping at his ear. “I believe I did.”

“I think maybe it's your turn to thrill me,” he said in that taunting tone of his.

She grinned at him and slid her hand down his body. “Bet on it.”