The Taming (The Black Thunder Series) (5 page)

Kate marched into the kitchen
. She went to the closet and pulled out random cleaning supplies then slammed them down on the counter sputtering obscenities she herself was shocked to hear. She grabbed several dust rags and polish then marched back into the living area.

Of all the arrogant nerve
, she mumbled under her breath as she sprayed the polish then wiped it with the rag. Her movements were sharp to match her rage. She dusted the entire downstairs then proceeded to clean the wooden floors and rugs.

In spite of her bad mood, the morning went rather quickly
. Before she knew it, it was almost noon. Kate returned to the kitchen and finished cleaning then started on lunch. It killed her to be so compliant with his demands.
I expect lunch to be served at noon,
she mimicked him to an arrogant tee as she opened the refrigerator and scanned the shelves. To her surprise, it was fully stocked.

Kate made a salad with the assorted greens and a poppy seed dressing from scratch
. She prepared a turkey sandwich, topped with tomato then browned the French bread in a skillet.

She
set the salad and sandwich on the kitchen table just as Jack McBride emerged out of nowhere, sneaking up behind her.

“Good afternoon, Barbie
doll.” He exclaimed.

Kate nearly
jumped clear out of her tanned California skin and he chuckled, seeing the rapid movement of two startled breasts.

She ignored him
of course and Jack took that as a sign to plant himself at the table before she recovered. His focus, now on the inspection of his meal, he lifted the bread from his sandwich, staring at its contents. It looked decent enough and Jack was almost impressed except for one very obvious thing missing. “There’s only a meal for one,” he said looking up at Kate. “You’re not joining me?”

“No,”
she said shortly.

“How do I know you didn’t poison it?” he asked with a hint of sarcasm.

She snorted and marched over to the table. She reached for his sandwich, brought it to her mouth and took a bite. She slammed it down on the plate then proceeded to retrieve portions of lettuce from his salad with her fingers and popped them into her mouth. Jack just sat back and stared at the bite mark on his sandwich.

“I didn’t poison it,” said Kate with a mouthful of food
. She swallowed. “But there’s always tonight.” She didn’t wait for a response and left him alone in the kitchen, stomping across the linoleum floor, but in spite of her effort she still heard his laughter echoing behind her.

She grabbed the dust rag and cleaner and headed upstairs
. To her relief, most of the rooms only needed a light dusting and the vacuuming took no time at all. She made her way down the hall and entered the last room to clean. She curled up her lip and growled upon entering the master bedroom. It grated her to clean for him in here, the most personal, intimate portion of the house.

  Kate had thoughts of putting shaving cream in his boots and it brought an immediate smile to her face
. Maybe she would spray dust cleaner on the inside of his hats. That would teach him. The priceless image of his head smelling like lemon cheered her up.

After that she didn’t seem to mind doing the meaningless chores
. She picked up his dirty laundry from the hamper and placed it in the basket. Next she polished the furniture then cleaned the bathroom. It didn’t take long before she was almost done cleaning.

Kate had only the vacuuming left
. She plugged in the cleaner and turned it on, pushing it across the carpet. She did circles in the rug like she was making holes for him to fall through while walking across the floor. Kate made a big circle guiding the sweeper like an airplane with her free hand stretched out as the wing. She giggled and went around for the final swing. The vacuum took a nose dive and shut off. She hit the switch, flipping it up and down a few times but nothing happened. Kate bent over, with her bottom high in the air, and flipped the vacuum to check the rollers.

“It might help if it was still plugged in
.” A voice came from behind her.

Kate cringed recognizing the voice
. She looked in between her legs and saw an upside down Jack holding the cord’s plug.

“What are you doing Barbie doll?” he chuckled as his eyes roamed over her sweet derriere
.

She looked quite the picture with her long legs disappearing into her cut-off jeans and her nice little ass perked up in the air
. It took every ounce of strength not to come up behind her and give her a little poke. But God, he wanted to.

Kate scowled and stood up tall
.
Why did he have to ruin it by showing up?
She was having such a good time, too. “I will be out of your way in a minute,” she said nervously seeing the way he was looking at her. “I was just finishing up.”

She walked over to him and he handed her the plug
. Their hands touched and Kate quickly pulled away feeling the same tingle as before. She plugged the vacuum back into the outlet, but it didn’t go on.

“You have to turn it on again baby if you want to see any action
.” There was innuendo in his tone. Kate ignored him, diverting her eyes so he wouldn’t see her flush. “Besides, didn’t anyone ever show you how to clean? You vacuum first, then dust.”

“Don’t be absurd,” Kate spouted a
nd rolled her eyes. “What difference does it make?”

“Vacuuming stirs up the dust and it settles onto the furniture
.” He ran his fingers along the dresser and held it up for her to see. She was grateful for his condescendence because it made that nervous feeling go away. “You’ll learn Barbie doll,” he laughed at her in his usual arrogant way. “I suggest you dust the whole house again.”

“I most certainly am not going to dust everything again.” Kate
was adamant. “Why, it will take me into evening before I finish.”

“Then I suggest you get a move on it
.” Jack walked over to his bed and removed his shirt. He threw it on the floor by her feet.

Kate stared at his bare chest and felt a quickening in her belly
. He might be an ass, but he was definitely a fine specimen of a man. Even she could not help but appreciate his muscular chest, the strong abdominal frame, and the patch of brown hair that disappeared at his jeans.

Kate’s eyes moved to his arms
. They were thick and strong most likely from a hard day’s work rather than a gym. A girl could get lost in those arms, muscles encircling like a cocoon. She was staring and he knew it.

Kate picked up his shirt and the smell of musk and earth permeated her senses
. Like a wave rolling across her, she bathed in the heady feeling of raw sensual male.

“I’ll just give you some privacy,” she mumbled as she took several steps back almost tripping over the vacuum
. She eased herself to the door, looking every which way except at Jack. She couldn’t look at Jack. Not like this, not with this strange need stirring inside her. She reached the door, but found the wall beside the open frame instead. She glanced up and their eyes met. Green eyes smoldering into her blue, branding her with his heat and choking her breath.

It took Jack all of three strides and he was in front of her; hands pressed against the wall, locking her in between his thick arms that she had moments before craved to feel
.

“What’s you hurry Kate?” His tone was husky and his voice low
. “Am I making you nervous?”

“No,” she lied, breathing in his masculine-scented skin
.

“You have seen a man without his shirt before
?” He leaned closer. “After all, you were married once.”

“Of course I’ve seen a man without his shirt before,” she breathed but her head was screaming,
not like you, oh boy not like you
...

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you kind of like what you see
. Perhaps even getting a little hot and bothered by it, too,” he whispered bringing his mouth closer to hers. He could practically taste her lips, and God, he wanted to taste that sweet mouth of hers. “What do you say? You game?”

She shook her head, unable to speak.

“I think you’re lying to me Kate,” he whispered fanning his breath making her mouth tingle. “I have half a mind to spank that sweet mouth of yours with my tongue.” He traced the outline of her lips with his finger feeling the softness of her skin against his flesh. He was too close for her to think.

“Stop Jack,” she whispered and closed her eyes so he would
n’t see what he was doing to her.

“Come on baby, you know you want me to
.” He was toying with her, but at the same time he was torturing himself. He wanted her more than he cared to admit, needed her, like the nectar of the gods, he wanted to taste her until he was good and drunk.

He pulled her to him, wrapping her hair in his hand
. He bent her head back ready to claim those rosy lips. Kate gasped, her breathing increased and her eyes darted open all in one act. She could practically feel his lips as they lingered a droplet away.

Her eyes grew dreamy locked into the smoldering heat of his dark green eyes and they fluttered closed again.

He was ready, more than ready. He was obsessed with her mouth, wanting in sheer desperation to take what she was now willing to give. A smile of satisfaction rose on his face. She was willing, and that’s all he wanted to know.

“Oh no baby, you want me to kiss that mouth of yours way too much
.” He grinned and released her.

Kate’s eyes flew open when she heard him laughing
. It was a game to him and nothing more. He had no intention of kissing her. He wanted to embarrass her, and a wave of humiliation washed across her cheeks.

“Are you blushing?” he laughed harder
. “Were you waiting for me to kiss you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she snarled
. “I wouldn’t let you kiss me if you were the last man on Earth.”

“I don’t know about being the last man on Earth considering I have about twenty-five working for me
. But I know when a woman wants to be kissed, and you wanted me to kiss you, Barbie doll.”

“Quit calling me that!”  She felt tears of rage
. “The name is Kate. Kate, you got that?”

“Whatever you say, Kate.” He grinned
. “Wouldn’t want to get your panties all tied up in knots, or maybe even a little wet.”

“Go to hell!” she shouted and ran from the room
.

Jack released a hearty laugh as he poked his head out the door and watched Kate tear down the hall
. Suddenly, he stopped laughing when he realized what he’d just done. There was no denying that he was attracted to her, and whether Kate realized it or not, she was attracted to him, too. Why did he feel the need to toy with her and make her mad? He couldn’t help it when he was around her.

“Dammit Kate, what am I going to do about you
?” He heard the front door slam. He smashed his hand against the frame then stormed back into his room banging the door closed behind him.

Four

Migraines and Softer Sides

K
ate ran down the stairs and didn’t stop until she was out the front door. She looked back to see if he was following her, and when he didn’t appear she sighed with relief.

Kate was rattled and she could feel her legs shaking
. What had gotten into her back there? Jack McBride with his little game of seduction; she fell right into his hands. She wanted to kiss him.

Well who wouldn’t
,
she justified. Being all good looking with no shirt and a tanned muscular body to boot. Her only conclusion,
that man was no good!

He was preying upon her loneliness
and she was much too vulnerable at this time in her life to get involved with a man like Jack. It was downright dangerous to place her heart on the table for him to snatch up and chew to pieces. He wasn’t interested in her, he wanted her body. It was a challenge to see if she would bend to his will, and when it was over he would be kicking her to the curb. She was sure of it.

All that pent-up need and stress was never good for Kate
. It made her off-kilter and when that happened it was most assuredly going to end in either an anxiety attack or a full blown migraine.

Her body chose the latter as a searing pain moved behind her eyes and her forehead started to pound
. Kate ran her fingers through her hair as she stepped off the porch and headed for the carriage house.

By the time she got home, her head felt like it was ready to explode
.
Oh, this was going to be bad
she thought as the pain shot up the scale from throbbing to excruciating, and her stomach went to instant churn to the point of nausea.

Kate needed her migraine medication
. She searched the medicine chest, but it wasn’t there. She checked the drawer on her nightstand and found the bottle.
Shit
, it was empty. She’d forgotten to refill it before leaving Santa Cruz.

Kate popped two Advil instead
. It wouldn’t take it away, but at least it might ease the pain. She needed to get the prescription filled fast before she was flat on her back suffering. She most likely would have to drive to Carson City, and that was thirty minutes away.

Kate phoned her physician in Santa Cruz
. After several minutes of pleading, the office finally agreed to refill her prescription. She sighed with relief, promising she would find a doctor soon in her area.

Kate grabbed her purse ready to head to town, and looked at the clock on the wall
.
Shit
, she didn’t have time to run her errand and be back to start dinner. She would have to go after preparing that arrogant bastard’s meal. Kate hoped she could make it through. The migraine was getting worse, and the pain was rolling all around her head making her scalp sensitive.

Kate returned to the main house and began fixing dinner
. If she remained silent and kept everything slow and steady, she might make it through. She kept the lights off in the kitchen to keep it dark. She made a quick casserole and popped it in the convection oven.
At least it would cook quicker than a regular oven
, she thought as consolation to her pounding head. She made a salad, but instead of making her own dressing she pulled out a store-bought brand instead. She placed them on the table.

Kate sat down and laid her head on the table
. All she wanted to do was sleep off the pain. Kate sat in utter silence in the cool darkened kitchen with grey tones of low light. The pain rippled through her head, but it was manageable without any quick movement or loud sounds.

But her peaceful moment was taken away, robbed by the kitchen light being turned on flashing fluorescent brightness across her face
. She heard sounds, loud sounds of human voice, calling her name sharply and abruptly.

“First day on the job and you are already slacking Barbie doll
.” His curt laughter sent stabbing pains in her head like a knife. “You tired or something?”

“Shhh,” said Kate in a low rhythmic tone as she lifted her head from the table and stood
. “Please talk quietly and turn off the light.”

“What’s the matter with you?” Jack asked in his arrogant fashion
. “Can’t handle it, can you?”

“I can handle it just fine,” sh
e moved in slow distinct motion and flipped off the kitchen light.

Her voice was low and spoken in hushed tone
. Jack saw the odd look on her face. Her eyelids were puffy and half-closed. “You sick or something?” He was not exactly sure how to respond. He wasn’t good when it came to seeing other people’s needs, especially women. He always avoided it like the plague. He was a man used to taking care of only his own. It’s what he did best and his motto was to never get involved.

“I have a migraine,” she whispered.

“Poor baby,” he said with a hint of sarcasm talking a little louder than Kate liked.

“The casserole is in the oven,” Kate ignored him
. “It should be done in five minutes. If you wouldn’t mind, I would like to call it a day.”

“I do mind,” he stated matter of fact
. “You’re shift ends when my meal is on the table and we finish eating.”

“Oh, I can’t eat,”
she groaned, feeling the nausea return just thinking about food.

“Suit yourself
.” He walked over to the table and sat then started eating his salad. “Come here and keep me company.”

Kate obliged and sat
. She leaned her elbow on the table and held her head in her hand.

“You’re a lightweight,” he laughed in full voice.

He saw her eyes close and wondered if she was faking. Women did that when they didn’t want to be bothered, at least that’s what his father told him, and Jack agreed with his philosophy.

Not that he saw many women sick before
. Actually, come to think of it he never did see a woman actually sick. He never stuck around long enough to experience it.

The timer on the oven dinged
. “You going to get that?” he asked then took another forkful of salad.

Kate’s eyes narrowed more than they already were
. She rose carefully so as not to disturb the throbbing that was building in her head. She took the casserole from the oven and its aroma lifted upward to her nose. Kate’s eyes widened as her stomach rolled over. Oh God, she was going to be sick. She threw the dish on top of the stove and barely made it in time to the wastebasket, violently spilling the contents of her stomach.

Startled,
Jack stood from his chair. She wasn’t faking at all. Kate hugged the wastebasket and he could see her legs quivering. She looked so frail, so helpless, almost like she did last night when he saw her crying, and he suddenly felt the same need to care for her now as he did then.

It wasn’t a natural response, and it almost caught him off-guard, but when Jack McBride made up his mind to do something, he did it, and he decided he wanted to care for her, almost needed to but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out why
.

“You okay?” He placed his hand gently on her shoulder
. Kate nodded. “Here let me take that.” Jack took the wastebasket and set it aside as Kate leaned back against the counter.

“I’m really sorry about this,” she said feeling totally awkward and embarrassed
. “I’m usually not in the habit of getting sick in front of my employer, especially on the first day.”

“Trust me it’s a first for me too
.”
In more ways than one
, he thought as he gently brushed her hair back and tucked it behind her ears. “Your head really hurts, huh? Did you take anything for the pain?”

“I took two Advil earlier,” she said
. “But I need to drive to Carson City to pick up my migraine medication at the pharmacy.”

  She looked worse than before
. “Well you can’t drive like this,” he said quietly. “It’s not safe. You go lie down and I’ll drive to Carson City to get it for you.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that
.” She shook her head. “I think throwing up actually made my head feel better.”

“Don’t argue with me, baby,” his words were endearing for a change
. “Now, let me help you back to your place.”

Kate nodded in agreement
. Jack motioned for her to follow him. Kate grabbed her purse, only to have Jack take it from her. “I’ll carry it.”

He escorted her back to the carriage house, opened the front door, and waited for her to enter. Kate moved toward the couch. All she wanted to do was lie down and close her eyes. The pain was increasing again.

“You need to rest properly,” said Jack taking her hand
. “You’d feel better sleeping in your own bed.”

He led her up the spiral staircase into the loft housing her bedroom
. Jack turned down the sheets and motioned for her to get in. She climbed into her bed and Jack tucked her in. He placed her purse on the nightstand then walked into the bathroom.

Kate took her purse and pulled out her wallet, withdrawing her
health insurance card, her driver’s license, and a credit card. Jack emerged from the bathroom holding a damp washcloth.

“Lie back, baby,” he gently instructed.

Kate did what she was told, laying her head on the pillow. Jack placed the cool cloth over her eyes.

“You’re going to need these,” she said in an almost whisper
. She held them out and Jack took them.

He glanced at the picture on her driver’s license
. “Why do I need your license?” he asked.

“The pharmacy will need my birth date,” answered Kate.

Jack looked at it again. “Happy belated birthday,” he smiled, seeing it was last month. “So how does it feel to be twenty-nine?”

“It feels much better than thirty,” Kate joked in spite of her head throbbing
. “And a whole lot worse than twenty-eight.”

Jack chuckled and sat on the bed
. “I don’t need your credit card,” he said setting it on her nightstand.

Kate lifted the cloth from her eyes
. “Jack, the medication is expensive. I’m not sure how much of it my insurance will cover.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said firmly
. “I’ll take care of it.”

“I can’t ask you to do that,”
she said appreciating his offer. She didn’t want to offend him since he was being so nice to her. “The medicine is over one hundred dollars, so please take my credit card.”

“I said I’ll take care of it,” he reiterated again
. “Come tomorrow, I’m going to add you to our health insurance, since yours seems to be a piece of shit.”

“Thank you,” she said as Jack placed the cloth back over her eyes.

“So what pharmacy did you choose?”

“Walgreens on Highway
Fifty.”

“That far, huh
?” She was green to the area and didn’t know the ropes. He would fix that starting with the pharmacy. He would have future refills sent to his pharmacist. “All right, now you rest while I’m gone,” he said gently. “I’ll be back.”

Jack stood from the bed and squeezed Kate’s hand
. She heard his footfalls fade down the stairs. She breathed a sigh of relief and tried to relax. The cool compress did help, as well as the dark silence of her room.

Kate drifted in and out, but not comfortably, because of the piercing throbbing pain behind her eyes and circling her scalp
. She got up and changed into a pair of sleeping shorts and a matching tank. She went into the bathroom and soaked the cloth with cold water, wrung it out, and then went back to bed, placing the compress against her eyes and temples. A wave of nausea struck her again, but there was nothing left in her stomach to extricate.

She was wishing now that she went with him
. It would have been thirty minutes sooner to take the medicine and to feel its effect. Kate lifted the cloth and looked at the time. It had been over an hour since Jack left. What was taking him so long? She threw the washcloth on the floor and replaced it with a pillow sealing her eyes into darkness and blocking any sound to her ears.

Jack pulled his truck up to the carriage house
. He grabbed her prescription on the passenger seat and left the cab. He entered her house like he owned it, which he did, and stopped at the kitchen to get her a glass of water before proceeding upstairs.

As he reached the top of the stairs he saw her lying with the pillow over her head
. One leg was flung over top of the blanket while the other was tucked inside. It made him grin, and he couldn’t help himself as his eyes traveled up that long leg of hers right to that cute little pink short. Part of him wanted to run his hand all the way up her leg and not stop until he found that sweet little spot, but the other part of him almost chastised himself for thinking that thought while she lay there in pain.