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CHAPTER EIGHT
THEY WERE FINALLY alone. The rest of the Stormcloud family had left to go about the duties. Daisy was the last to leave, and she’d stared at Kee long and hard before finally shutting the boardroom door behind her. But Kee had kept her chin up, returning her stare. She knew Daisy was still trying to figure out the best way to help Kee. Problem was, none of them could give her what she wanted. A life where she was free to live with her daughter without fear or prejudice.
Kee blew out a long breath between pursed lips, lifting a few stray wisps of hair off her brow that’d come loose from her braid. “Holy cow. Daniella sure doesn’t like to take no for an answer, does she?” That woman was a force to be reckoned with. It was no wonder this luxury ranch ran like clockwork, with a woman like her at the wheel. But Kee wasn’t sure she wanted Daniella meddling in her life, even if it was with the best of intentions.
“No, she doesn’t. She might come across as a hard-headed woman, but don’t get her wrong, her heart’s in the right place.” Wazza pulled out his chair and sat down heavily. He ran a hand distractedly through his hair, and for a moment Kee couldn’t take her eyes off the way short tufts stood out at all angles. It made him endearing. And sexy. Who would’ve thought a man running his hand through his hair could be sexy? It was doing all sorts of strange things to her insides. “But it was one of the reasons why I took you to Daisy’s place, instead of bringing you here. I knew they’d ask too many questions,” he added.
Tearing her gaze from his beguiling hairstyle, she pulled out the chair next to him. “Well, you made the right choice. But with Daisy bringing me here, it feels like the choice was taken out of our hands. Out of my hands. I feel like I’ve lost all control. All my plans have been derailed.” She understood that she probably sounded a little unhinged. Because she had no real plan. And no real destination. She had no control over the fact that her car had broken down. But at least it had been her making all the decisions, both good and bad. Now this family had taken her under their wing, treating her like a wounded animal who needed their help. It was all completely overwhelming.
“I feel like I’m being coerced to stay here. What am I going to do now?” Her question was almost a wail of despair. She was close to losing it, tears once more threatening to break free, holding in all that tension so no one saw how scared and frightened she’d been was taxing. And now all she wanted was to take Benni somewhere safe. Just her and her daughter. It was all about Benni, in the end. She was so confused.
The whole morning had been one big whirlwind. Starting from the moment she’d heard the hum of a vehicle coming down the track and being unable to stop Benni from running out to greet the car, thinking it was Wazza arriving. Only for Benni to stop short when a dark-haired woman and a young man stepped out to the gravel. Kee pulled her daughter to safety behind her legs and stared at the two strangers, heart racing wildly. There’d been no doubt in her mind this was Daisy returned home early, and she’d wanted to swear and curse at Wazza for getting it so wrong.
Kee had remained frozen, standing like a statue, unsure whether to run and hide, or welcome the woman and her friend—she later found out it was her brother—inside. Daisy had solved the problem for her by holding the door open and suggesting they all have a cup of tea and a quiet chat out of the heat. Daisy had been cool and calm, as if finding a strange woman and child living in her house was nothing to be worried about. She’d been genuine and friendly, just like Wazza said. Even getting down on one knee to speak to Benni, telling her how much she liked her hat, and offering her a cookie from the bag of groceries her brother had carried in.
River had been far more reserved. Watching Kee warily out of the corner of his eye. But at least he kept his thoughts to himself and let Daisy do the talking.
“They’re only trying to help,” Wazza replied, failing to keep the defensiveness out of his tone.
“I know that,” she snapped. “But maybe it’s not the sort of help I want.” She could feel the anger starting to rise, a reaction to all her surging emotions. Unable to sit still, she got to her feet and began pacing up and down the length of the enormous table.
Wazza watched her for a few moments, then he also stood, his large frame barring her way and she pulled up short before she ran into his chest. “What do you want, then?” His light-blue eyes searched her face. “Tell me, and I’ll try and help. If you want to leave, I’ll take you wherever you want to go.” His hand came up to rest on her shoulder. His touch ignited flames of sensation on her bare skin that flowed through her like lightning flashes.
They were standing so close she could feel the heat emanating from his body. And she suddenly, stupidly, wanted to lean her cheek against that hand resting on her shoulder. She hadn’t given her brain permission to think about how Wazza affected her. How her body lit up when he was around. In fact, she thought she’d expressly forbidden it to remember how he set the blood beating through her veins, how her limbs felt suddenly wobbly when he touched her. Like he was now. As if her muscles turned to hot liquid and that molten heat was all pooling in between her legs, even now as she stared up at him.
“Thank you,” she whispered. It seemed like the appropriate answer, but she could no longer recall exactly what it was she was thanking him for.
“I need you to understand that you’re not trapped here. This isn’t a jail, you’re free to go whenever you want.” His voice was deep and unhurried, oozing like warm honey. He lifted a finger to stroke her cheek. She almost closed her eyes at the sheer intimacy and pleasure of it. Today, Wazza’s sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing strong, tanned forearms. She stared at the perfection out of the corner of her eye. Nicely honed and well-built from long hours of physical labor. A man with nice arms was such a turn on. She’d always thought that.
“Mm-hmm,” she murmured. He was staring at her lips. Which unexpectedly felt so dry that her tongue came out in an unconscious act to moisten them. Uh-oh. That was the completely wrong thing to do, because now his eyes were laser-focussed on her mouth, irises going dark and unpredictable. He took a step closer, his body crowding hers, and her nipples tightened to sharp points. His aroma surrounded her. She’d expected him to smell like cattle and dirt. But he smelled like crisp hay and leather.
She was about to take a step back, away from this aching awareness of how close they were standing, when his other hand slid to the small of her back, pulling her gently into him.
Instead of swaying backward, Kee found herself standing straddling Wazza’s thigh. Something hot and urgent tingled between her own thighs. It’d been a long while since she’d had a man that made her feel this way between her legs. Sure, Jakov had wanted her, had wanted to have sex with her, but it was always done his way. Often rough and unsatisfying. This was something altogether more powerful and heady. Jakov had never looked at her with such tender desire.
His lips found the side of her neck and she didn’t stop him, as his mouth buzzed down her soft skin. Warm and wet. His kiss ignited all sorts of feelings in her breasts, and stomach…and down lower. She was powerless to resist and turned her lips to seek the heat of his. His mouth claimed hers, slow and sweet, gentle, and forgiving. Something in him must’ve understood not to push her too hard, or she’d run like a startled rabbit.
Their kiss deepened, and he slotted himself into her thighs, so she could feel his erection pounding between them. He groaned deep in his throat, but didn’t break their kiss, as her hand slid over his chest, feeling all those delicious muscles underneath. As though a switch had been tripped inside, and a goddess of sexual abandonment had been released, she shivered and pulled him tighter. She ran a hand through his deliciously tousled hair, pulling his mouth down harder onto hers, wanting him closer, wanting him to devour her. Wanting them to become one, his skin on hers, his hands all over her body.
If anyone had told Kee two days ago that she’d be kissing a cowboy with reckless abandon, she’d have waved them off as belonging in the lunatic asylum.
But maybe she was the one who needed to go into an asylum. Because what was she doing kissing a cowboy in a luxury lodge in the middle of Queensland? And what would happen if her daughter suddenly walked through that door and caught her doing…this with Wazza? It was this thought that finally brought her to her senses. She tipped her head back, breaking his hold on her lips. Instead of withdrawing, his mouth moved once more to the soft skin at the base of her clavicle, and she drew in a shuddering breath. Oh. My. God. She was pure sensation and light. And need. She wanted this man with an intense longing she’d never felt before.
Benni. She needed to think about Benni. Not about what she wanted.
“Wazza.” She gently pushed on his shoulders, and he reluctantly removed his lips from her neck.
“Hmm,” he grunted against her skin, but she could feel him tensing, withdrawing from her.
She held him at arm’s length, letting her breathing come back to something resembling normalcy. Letting her pounding heart stop trying to beat out of her chest. “We shouldn’t have done that. I don’t do this sort of thing. With other men,” she added, dropping her gaze. “I haven’t even known you for two days, and look at us.”
“Yes, but it feels like we’ve known each other for weeks, months. We have…chemistry.” His voice was still low and throaty, his hand remaining in the small of her back, as if he were unwilling to break their connection completely.
“Maybe we do,” she admitted. For a crazy second, she’d forgotten her troubles, forgotten the reality of needing to protect her daughter against her psychotic paternal family. But chemistry wasn’t any kind of excuse to forget her responsibilities.
Wazza regarded her silently. She felt her cheeks turn pink. She owed him an apology. A big one. She’d come across as ungracious and churlish before, and he deserved better. He’d been willing to help her. Had even suggested he’d take her away from the station, to wherever she wanted to go, against his boss’s wishes.
“Sorry. I need to thank you for everything you’ve done. I’ve been so…ungrateful.” She hadn’t done anything to deserve this man’s empathy. His kindness. All he’d ever done was offer her his generous heart. Found her a place to hide out. Brought her food and organized to fix her car. Right down to bringing them both Akubras yesterday.
