The Cowboy Lassos a Bride (Cowboys of Chance Creek) (9 page)

“I’ve been making some plans of my own.”

“Really? What kind of plans?”

“Changes to make around the ranch.”

She was so beautiful he wished he could pull her into his arms and go back to making love to her, but he figured if he tried she’d get mad and leave. Women liked to talk at the strangest times and this was one of them. He couldn’t put a ring on her finger, but she was still in his bed, still naked, still interested in what he had to say.

“I want to add a bison herd, for one thing. I’ve done some reading about them. Did you know they’re far more hardy than our cattle? They’re built for our winters; you barely have to help them through. Their meat is better for us. Since it’s a specialty meat you can charge more for it. I don’t see why we shouldn’t have a herd.”

“Gladys would like that.” She turned to him with a smile and her breast grazed his arm, sending heat straight through him.

Jake couldn’t help himself. He tilted her chin up and kissed her softly on the mouth. “We could set up relationships with restaurants and distributors.” Her hand slid up his arm to his shoulder and she kissed him back. Jake lost his train of thought. “I want to talk to you, slow things down a bit, but the truth is…”

“What?” She leaned into him, arching her neck as he trailed kisses down it and gasping when he bent down to cover one nipple with his mouth. “Jake.”

Her arms slid over his shoulders and she allowed him to tilt her back until she lay on the bed. “Jake, we should really…” But her hands caressed his back and shoulders, and she moved with him as he began to nuzzle her breasts.

“We will,” he said. “In a minute.” It was plain she welcomed this distraction as much as he did. He had no idea what they’d do tomorrow, but it was too late to sort anything out tonight. They were in bed together. Naked.

He traced kisses around her breasts, down to her stomach and lower still. Hannah moaned when he found her core and tasted her. She was so sexy leaning against the pillows, her back arched in pleasure, her thighs spread to grant him access. She trusted him, that was clear, so on some level she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. Knew, in fact, he’d do whatever it took to bring her happiness.

He let all thoughts of the future slide away and concentrated fully on the woman before him who had given him her body, if not her heart quite yet. He had to make her understand how fully he wanted her. They were meant to be together. He had to make her feel the same way.

He teased her with his mouth and tongue, stroking her until she began to move beneath him, uttering small, sexy moans. He slid his hands under her to cup her ass, lift her closer, spread her legs farther apart. Hannah gripped the sheets and tilted her head back, her eyes closed. Taking his time, building her desire, he waited until he could see she couldn’t take much more, quickly pulled on protection and lifted himself into position.

With his hardness pressed against her, he asked, “Is this all right?”

“Yes.” She gripped him urgently.

“I can take you all the way there the other way.”

“No, I want this.” She pulled him close.

He loved that she wanted him like this. Loved that she let him cover her, let him stroke into her from this position of power. He loved that she trusted him fully to bring her to the edge. Loved that she was content to ride over it with him.

He began slowly with powerful, deep strokes that left Hannah panting and gripping his back with insistent fingers.

“Jake.” She lifted her hips to meet him. He knew what she wanted and gave it to her. Faster strokes, harder, pulling out and pushing in until the friction built within her and she couldn’t hold back anymore. “Jake!” she cried and arched against him. His own release close, he bucked harder against her, slammed his hips down to meet hers. He felt something give, something not quite right, but went over the edge, lost in his release, lost in the waves of ecstasy that pulsed through him, pounding into Hannah again and again.

When he collapsed against her, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed the side of his head. “You make me feel so good.”

“I always want to make you feel good.” He pressed his mouth against her neck. “Let me always make you feel this good.”

She wriggled under him without giving him an answer and he followed her lead, pulling the covers with him until they spooned together under the blankets. He didn’t press her. Instead he watched her eyelids drift closed and her breath even out. She trusted him enough to fall asleep beside him. That had to mean something.

As quietly as he could, he slipped from beneath the covers and moved to the bathroom off his own bedroom to clean up.

Only then did he find the tear in the condom, a gaping hole too wide for any doubt that it might have done its job. Jake dropped it in the trashcan as an irrational hope flared within him. If Hannah became pregnant she wouldn’t hesitate to marry him.

Should he wake her up and tell her what happened? Urge her to think over his proposal again?

No, she’d feel pressured, he decided. She might become so upset she refused to think about it at all. Would she know the condom broke? She hadn’t said anything, but then she hadn’t gotten up and moved around after their lovemaking. She might not discover any evidence until morning.

And then what would she want to do. Rush off to a doctor? Take care of it?

Jake’s hands balled into fists. Accident or not, practical or not, if she made that kind of decision it would end their relationship before it even started. And what if she thought he’d tampered with the condom to force her hand? She’d hate his guts.

Gripped with indecision, he returned to the guest room and watched Hannah sleep peacefully in a tangle of covers. If he woke her now neither of them would get any rest tonight and that wouldn’t help anything. Best to sleep on it and decide what to do in the morning.

‡
Chapter Seven

H
annah woke to
find Jake gone and one look out the window told her why. The sun was almost up, which meant he must have been busy with chores for ages. She could never keep rancher’s hours.

Rancher’s hours.

The events of the previous night came back with a rush, and she lay back against the pillows taking in the luxurious ache between her legs with a rush of pleasure, desire and shock. They’d made love twice, and it had been great. Jake was the perfect lover. Affectionate, generous… insatiable. Too bad he had to get up so early in the morning. They could have gone for another round.

And he’d asked her to marry him. For a split second she felt like saying yes. What would it be like to wake up with him every morning, and come home to him every night? When she’d mentioned her career plans, he’d seemed somewhat disappointed, and she figured he’d wanted a stay-at-home wife. But surely they could work that out.

Maybe.

She’d better get up if she didn’t want to be late. She slipped out of bed reluctantly and stopped cold. Something wasn’t right. Something… down there. Whirling around, she threw on the first thing that came to hand—Jake’s shirt from the previous night—and ran down the stairs to the bathroom on the first floor. Was it the only one in the house? She didn’t know, since they hadn’t completed their tour last night. She didn’t care, either. What she cared about was the slipperiness between her legs. Evidence that their protected sex hadn’t been that protected after all.

A few moments later she was sure. Hadn’t Jake put on a condom the second time around? She thought back. He had. So why…?

Could it have torn?

What a time to be off the Pill. She’d only gone off a couple of months ago because she’d had a series of bad headaches this summer. She’d meant to give her body a break then try a new brand. She even had the doctor’s appointment lined up next month. That didn’t help her now, however, and she suspected those headaches had more to do with being with Cody than the stupid Pill, anyhow. Her body knew she needed to leave him before she did. But how would her body respond to a broken condom?

By getting pregnant?

She yanked open the cupboard door under the sink but saw no sign of a condom in the small wicker trash can. Racing back upstairs she saw only two doors leading off from the balcony—her own bedroom and presumably Jake’s. His door was closed. She knocked hesitantly and when she received no answer, turned the handle and barged in.

A masculine room lay before her. The bed unmade. Clothes tossed here and there. A desk piled with paperwork. Like in her room there was a generous closet, but a second door lay beyond it.

Bingo. A small en suite bathroom with a shower. She pushed inside it, ignored the mess and looked in the cupboard under the sink.

This bathroom, too, had a tan wicker trash can.

It was empty.

Jake let Chester
put his muzzle down and drink from Chance Creek. The small river formed the border between the Matheson and Cruz ranches. As kids he and his brothers swam the creek often and forded it when they wanted to visit the other ranch rather than going the long way by road.

What a night. The last twenty-four hours had blindsided him. Not only had he slept with Hannah—twice—he may have accidentally gotten her pregnant. If she was excited about marrying him and settling down with him here, he wouldn’t have minded the torn condom one bit. Given the current circumstances, though, he was beginning to feel mighty guilty.

Did she know what had happened? He’d better assume so, which meant she’d be hopping mad the next time she saw him. What would she say? It was no accident he was as far from his cabin as his chores could take him. He’d gotten up this morning prepared to bring her breakfast in bed with an apology and explanation, but no sooner had he walked downstairs than Ned knocked on his door with an emergency with one of the horses. He might have raced back when they were done and caught her before she left for work, but he decided not to give her the chance to throw his proposal back in his face and storm away. Maybe if she had some time to cool off they’d be able to discuss it rationally tonight.

He sure hoped so.

In the back of his mind was the truth of the matter—that he hoped if she took a few hours to consider the ramifications of a pregnancy, she’d want to stay with him and have the baby. If there was a baby. Not telling her straightaway was the most ass-backward thing he’d ever done, but here he was doing it, nonetheless.

He hoped he hadn’t messed up everything.

The sound of hoofbeats caught his attention. Ned and his father.

“Taking the rest of the morning off?” Ned said laconically. Holt chuckled.

Jake shrugged. “Just doing some thinking.”

“I saw your company drive in last night,” Holt said.

“Yeah? So?”

“Did you propose?” Ned drawled.

Jake didn’t like the satisfied look in Ned’s eye. His brother had been jealous of him all their lives. He couldn’t wait to steal Jake’s position out from under him. Time to let Ned know he didn’t plan to surrender any time soon. “Yes, I did.” He was rewarded when Ned’s grin disappeared.

“But let me guess,” Holt said. “She declined.”

“You don’t know that.”

“The hell I don’t. If you and Hannah were engaged we’d all be toasting you around my dining room table. You wouldn’t be out here in the middle of nowhere hiding from your chores.”

Jake swallowed the angry words he wanted to say. His father was right. What was the use in arguing? “She just needs some convincing. She wants a career. She’s afraid marrying me will tie her down too much, but you wait. She’ll say yes before long.”

He hoped.

“What do you want with a career woman?”

“I like a woman with a brain.”

“Brains are fine, but there’s too much work around here for your wife to be fluttering off to town every day.”

“That’s my problem.”

Holt shook his head. “It’s everyone’s problem if you’re too busy keeping house and raising kids to do your chores. Ned, you better get ready to run this place. This one wants his wife to wear the pants.”

“For God’s sake,” Jake began, but Ned spoke over him.

“I am ready. I’ve been ready.”

“Whether or not my wife works, the agreement still stands,” Jake said to his father. “If I’m married by the twenty-first, I stay in charge.”

“Fine,” Holt agreed. “We’ll change her mind about that career nonsense soon enough.” He wheeled his horse around. “So quit your moping and get back to work.” He cantered away, followed quickly by Ned. Jake watched them go, a sinking feeling in his gut. Ned couldn’t wait to replace him and if he didn’t look out, he’d find some way to scare Hannah off. If his father didn’t scare her off first. He couldn’t do much about Holt, but he should be able to stop Ned from making trouble. He thought fast, scanning the horizon without seeing it. He needed to distract Ned, but how? A thought occurred to him and he smiled. How else? A woman.

He checked his watch. Hannah wouldn’t get home from work until dinner time. He might as well distract himself until he could talk with her and sort this mess out. He turned Chester around and headed back to the barn.

Time for a trip to town.

Hannah showered slowly,
trying to warm up but failing miserably. She couldn’t stop trembling no matter how hot she made the water. She didn’t have the torn condom as evidence, but she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that something had happened.