Wilde Fire (The Brothers of Wilde, Nevada 2)

“Some. Did you order yet?”

“Yes. King Cakes.” She patted her belly and frowned. “If I keep eating like this, I’m going to gain

twenty pounds.”

“You have a flawless shape, angel. I know just how to work off those calories, if you’re worried about them, though.”

She blinked then tilted her head. “You think so?”

“Know so. You remember what kind of trainer I am?”

Her mouth opened wide then snapped shut.

He leaned forward across the table. “Better than a treadmill.”

He watched Jessie bite her lip. She was so fucking sexy.

“Okay, cowboy. When I get back to DC, I’ll tell the owner of my gym about you. I’m sure she’d love to put you on her payroll.”

Jessie leaving town wasn’t something he was ready to face. His lil’ bro thought she was the woman who would be perfect for them. Phoenix so hoped he was correct.

“I’d rather be on your payroll, angel.”

“You’re only saying that because of the skewed ratio of women to men in Wilde.”

“You noticed that?”

She nodded.

“Wilde is a bit different than the outside world.” His town continued to thrive and exist because of his family’s unconventional structure that had kept the silver mine undivided, and most locals knew and accepted the unique makeup. Hell, due to the remoteness of the mining town, some had taken up the practice of plural marriages themselves. “Surely, you’ll be in town for awhile longer.”

“Depends. At least another week. It’s my understanding that your oldest brother is running the mine.”

“Yes.”

“My records show that there are three co-presidents. There’s a Daniel Wilde, Craig Wilde, and Dillon Wilde. Your dad and two uncles?”

“Something like that.” Phoenix’s three dads and mom were the sole owners of Wilde Mine, which he and his brothers would inherit one day.

“Well, if your brother won’t see me, perhaps your father will.”

“They’re out of town. Austin is the top dog for now.” Phoenix’s oldest brother hadn’t been with Jessie like him and his other three brothers had been. Phoenix’s cousins were more right than they knew. If Austin had known that Phoenix and the others had slept with her after he’d given strict instructions to steer clear while her investigation was going on, he would’ve ripped all of them a new one. Luckily, Austin was in the dark. For now. “Why are you all business, angel? Don’t you ever take a day off? Or a night?”

She took a sip of coffee. He spotted a little tremble in her hands, but her gaze never faltered. God, the woman amazed him.

“Let’s cut the crap, cowboy. I’m not an idiot. Did Jackson tell you to keep tabs on me?”

“Not in so many words.” He liked her directness, and his dick lengthened to the impossible, making him uncomfortable in his jeans. “Jackson was needed in Colorado. We’ve got some land outside a town called Bliss. The family is working on building a retirement home there. Our parents think it’s time to expand our holdings.”

“Why Jackson? Are you buying more livestock for the family ranch?”

“He’s got the skills they need right now. No livestock, though.”

His younger brother was full-blown cowboy, and Phoenix doubted that he’d told Jessie about what he really did for the family business. That was one thing Jackson liked to keep to himself, downplaying how smart he really was. He’d graduated from high school at sixteen, got his undergrad at nineteen, and his law degree three years ago at twenty-two. Jackson had been called away by the dads for some legal matter they required him to advise them on at the site in Colorado.

“When will your brother be back?”

“A couple of days.” Before Jackson had left, he’d called him with strict instructions to keep up the full court press with Jessie. His younger brother hated leaving, but he told him that it might be a chance for Phoenix to get to know her better.