Page 23 of Wilde About You

Everyone looked at Colin, who looked as if he'd just been asked where the magic wand was. "Uh, first aid kit?"

"Seriously?" I asked.

"I've got some bandages and some of that stuff that stings and … and some clean washcloths. And ice," he said proudly. "I've got ice."

Jameson shook his head. "Pretty sure the ice is a given, but go ahead and pat yourself on the back for that one."

"Well, gather those things," I said. "You guys are in luck. I've been trained in first aid. It's my turn to thank you guys for saving my ass out there."

twelve

. . .

Colin

Once again, she stunned me. Sadie explained that she'd lived in the Amazon for six months and had learned to treat everything from a snake bite to being swarmed by killer ants, so our cuts and bruises were a cakewalk. Of course, Ronan wanted to hear all the gory details of the poor dude who'd walked right into a nest of bullet ants, the insect with the most painful sting on the planet, and the story about the coworker who'd been nearly squeezed to death by an anaconda. Sadie gladly shared the details as she patched each of us up. None of us were too injured. The men that had been sent after Sadie were more bulk than brains. You needed both to win a fight. Street credentials were what Zander liked to call it. When you'd been in enough fights, you learned the predictable ways people fought back, so you developed strategies to inflict the most damage and receive the least in return.

Jameson looked fairly unscathed, which was good because he was borrowing my bike to take a ride with Rio. His chin had a small cut and Rio never missed anything, so he would have to think up a good story for the cut on the way home. Zander crashed out in the spare room. Nev was still not answering his calls, and he wasn't keen to go home with a fat lip. It was ugly. Ronan had a black eye, but he figured Rachel would be happy when he told her why he got the black eye. They were still in that honeymoon, everything-you-do-is-awesome phase. And I was the Wilde brother with no one to explain or answer to. I had no one who would look at me with admiration because the fight was the right thing to do. Lately, not having that was making me feel as if I was missing out on something significant. I hadn't met anyone who stirred the kind of emotion that I saw when Zander watched Nev walk toward him from across the yard. I hadn't met anyone who fired up every damn emotion like Indi had always done for Jameson. Even back when they were sworn enemies, the tension between them pulsed with energy. And when Ronan, my twin and the person I was closest to in the world, lost his mind over a woman, a woman with a child, no less, I wondered what the hell was wrong with me. Had I been born with Finnegan Wilde's stony heart? Dad had wooed and charmed all of our moms, but I was never convinced he'd given his heart to any of them. It wasn't in his character to make himself vulnerable, and falling in love certainly made people vulnerable. Zander was proof of that.

Sadie came out of the bathroom freshly showered. Her short hair was combed back off her beautiful face, and she wore a cropped blue T-shirt over a pair of shorts. She always looked surreal to me as if she really could have walked out of a magical forest. I realized as I watched her cross the room on her small bare feet that I might not be immune to that vulnerability after all. It would figure that she came with so many complicated strings it made the whole thing basically impossible.

As Sadie reached up to smooth her wet hair back, her shirt inched up exposing her bare midriff and the bottoms of her bare breasts. "I'm starved. Should we get a pizza?"

I hadn't quite recovered from the last few seconds.

"What? You don't like pizza?" she asked.

I gave my head a little shake. "No, I mean yeah, pizza is great. I've got a few numbers on my phone. What kinds of toppings?"

"I like anything. Except pepperoni, sausage, onion, green pepper and, of course, pineapple, but anything else is good."

I laughed. "A cheese pizza it is. I'll order a meat one for Zander."

"Don't bother." Zander was pulling on his shirt. "I'm out of here. Nev has forgiven me, and it's all because of this sweet doll right here." Zander kissed the top of Sadie's head. "I told her I got a fat lip helping save this incredible woman from some kidnappers. She didn't believe me at first, but I told her to text Jameson for confirmation. She told me to come home now, which is her code for I'm horny and I'm going to reward you for being such a hero."

Sadie and I laughed.

"Maybe she just wanted you home now because the toilet is clogged," Sadie suggested.

Zander dropped his head back with a loud laugh. "Holy shit, Colin, don't you dare lose this one." He walked out the door.

Sadie smiled. "Guess that's the last of the spare Wildes. So, we're alone. All alone." We gazed at each other for a long silent moment. "Interesting development."

"It is." I closed the gap between us. "Very fucking interesting." I wrapped my arms around her, and she hopped on her toes and swung her arms around my neck. My mouth covered hers. Her lips parted and the kiss deepened. A low mewling sound rolled up from her throat. Her petite, lithe body melted against mine as I folded her in my arms. My entire body reacted. She pulled her lips from mine and gazed up at me with glassy blue eyes.

"That answers that," she whispered softly.

"Answers what?" I asked. My tone was low and gritty. I was so fucking hard I could barely take a decent breath.

"I wondered if you were a good kisser. You've cleared that up now." She laughed against my mouth, tightened her arms and lifted her legs to circle my waist.

I carried her to my room. She dropped her feet and looked around at the slightly messy and mostly unfurnished room. A line of snowboards leaned against one wall and a few trophies and medals sat on my dresser.

"Just what I expected," she said. Her hand reached up, and she pressed it against my face. "Colin, thank you for saving me, twice. Three times if you count picking me up off the street today."

"I'm starting to feel like I've been put on this earth just to make sure Sadie Rivers stays safe." I smiled. "Consider me your guardian angel." I kissed her again.

She laughed and peered up at me. "Is this part of the guardian angel job?"