Only You (5 page)

“Protection,” he gasped as he nibbled his way up her throat.

For a second, he felt her hesitation and almost cried. He had to have a condom somewhere in the house. Except most of his stuff was still at the ranch.

“I’ve got it covered.” She traced the outside of his ear with her tongue. “And the doctor says I’m healthy.”

“Thank God. Me, too.” He cupped her behind and lifted her up until the pulsing tip of his cock nudged against her opening. “Tell me what you want.”

She covered his mouth with hers. “You,” she murmured against his lips. And tightened her legs, urging him to lower her down on him.

He slid inside her, giving her time to adjust to him being inside her, but Maggie wrapped her arms around his neck and started moving up and down until he lost his last bit of control. He pounded into her, part of his brain warning him to slow down, while another part rejoiced at letting go. “You’re so tight. I . . . need . . . this.” He thrust deep into her, their breathing ragged and loud. Sweat trickled down his face and onto his chest, and he bent his head and gently bit her nipple until he heard her gasp. She stilled for a second, her body strung tight as a bow, then her body clenched around him, and he emptied himself into her.

The roar of his heart filled his ears and his legs shook, his release overwhelming him. He slowly let go of her and pulled away, making sure she could stand on her own before planting a hand on the wall above her head as he waited for his world to reassert itself.

“I’m sorry,” he croaked. He wiped the sweat out of his eyes. “I lost it. I’m sorry.”

“Shh.” She gently kissed the corner of his mouth. “You were perfect.”

He pulled her into his arms, loving how her softness and curves fit against him. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. “You didn’t hurt me.”

“If we take this up to the bedroom, I’ll make it up to you. It’s going to take me a while to recover, though.”

“You think so?” He groaned when she gently took his nipple into her mouth. “I have a secret weapon.”

He laughed, ran his hand possessively over her behind and squeezed. “And what would that be?”

She smiled at him. “Chocolate cake. I think you’ll find it amazing what I can do with one little swipe of icing.”

“Oh, boy.” His cock perked up.

She wrapped her hand around him. “Would you be interested in having dessert in the bedroom?”

“Only if I get to sample the . . . cake first.”

“Deal.”

He watched her beautiful ass bounce as she ran up the stairs. To hell with the cake. He had something much more delicious to taste.

With her eyes closed, Maggie smiled as the sun from JD’s big bedroom window warmed her bare back. It felt almost as good as his big hands had felt all over her body last night. And earlier this morning. He’d made love to her one last time before rolling out of bed to go to work.

She opened her eyes. What they’d done had nothing to do with love. They’d had sex. Great sex. Incredible sex. But only sex. If she hadn’t gotten pregnant from last night, then she doubted she ever would. If her calculations were correct, she was at the beginning of her ovulation cycle, and they’d done it enough times that if his sperm hadn’t hooked up with one of her eggs, then it wasn’t meant to be. Not that she wouldn’t mind trying again with him. Several times. Just to be sure.

If only she could kill the voice in her head that demanded justification for being deceitful. Well, not really deceitful, because she wasn’t pregnant yet as far as she knew. Okay, maybe a little deceit was involved, because she’d reassured him she had the birth control covered. Which she did. Just not the way he’d assumed.

Maggie sat up and looked around the bedroom. Even empty, it was beautiful. The wall of windows across the front showcased the same spectacular view of the valley and mountains she’d seen from the main floor. Fluffy clouds drifted over the blue sky, creating erratic shadows across the grasslands below. The house should be decorated in natural tones that reflected the colors outside. Rust-brown, a muted blue mixed with various shades of green. The longer she stared out the window, the more colors she noticed.

She blew out her breath and crawled to her feet. There was no graceful way of getting up off a mattress on the floor. JD had taken Spartan to a whole new level. And, of course, she had to wonder why, even though she didn’t want to know too much about him. She turned on the hot water in the shower and gratefully stepped in under the spray. The tiled shower was huge, big enough for two people to take a shower together. And wasn’t that much more pleasurable to think about than why JD preferred living in his brother’s house rather than his own? Or trying to decide if she was morally obligated to tell him she was trying to get pregnant?

Maybe she didn’t have a problem. If a man like JD wanted to have children, he could have any woman he wanted. He obviously didn’t want a family. She closed her eyes, rested her head against the tiles. From the glimpses she’d seen of his character, she knew he’d make a wonderful father.

She’d picked the wrong cowboy. It was supposed to be a
wham, bam, thank you ma’am
encounter. But her first attempt had derailed already. She liked JD. Hell, she could be crazy about him if she let herself. Which she wouldn’t. She didn’t want a husband. She didn’t want a boyfriend. She didn’t even want a lover.

She wanted a baby.

Claire looked up at her over the top of her reading glasses and harrumphed deep in her throat, then went back to the spreadsheets laid out on the kitchen table. The pine table was a far cry from the antique desk Claire had in her office in Chicago.

Men. They sure messed with your life.

Maggie dropped into the chair on the other side of the table. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, don’t look at me like that.”

“JD was in earlier. He was whistling. I’ve never seen him look so relaxed.”

Maggie wiggled in her chair. Heavens, if she had a tail she’d be wagging it right now. “It’s not going to work,” she wailed.

“Looked like everything was working just fine to me.”

“I like him.”

“That’s good.” Claire flipped a sheet over and peered at the one underneath. “It’s important to like the father of your child.”

“But I’m not supposed to like him or get involved. It was supposed to be in and out and that’s it.”

“I imagine you managed the in-and-out part?”

“He was wonderful.” She sighed.

“Then leave.”

Maggie jerked her attention back to Claire. “What?”

Claire smiled slyly at her. “Leave.”

Devil’s advocate
. It was an old game they’d played with each other for as long as Maggie could remember. One or two of them would challenge the third to defend their decision by saying the opposite of what they hoped would happen. Claire said
Leave
, but she meant S
tay, and tell me why you should.

 “You’ve accomplished what you planned to do,” Claire continued. “If you stay, you and JD are going to get involved. More involved. What are you going to do when he finds out you’re pregnant? If you left now, your life would be a lot simpler. I still think you have to tell him you’re pregnant at some point, but it would be a lot easier telling him from thousands of miles away than right next door. Especially as right next door is his brother’s ranch.”

Leave
. Maggie’s breath stopped in her throat. She hadn’t been here a week, and already the thought of leaving made her feel sick.

“You’re right. I should go.” She bit her bottom lip as she tried to organize her thoughts. She was supposed to defend her position, not capitulate. “But you and Sammie are the two people I’m closest to, and you’re both here. I need my friends right now.” She stood and took a turn around the kitchen. Panic tightened her throat. “I’m thirty-six years old. I should have a family and a whole community behind me. When did I become such a loser?”

Claire got up and hugged her. “You’re not a loser. You own a condo in San Francisco, and everyone at the art gallery loves you. But you do jump before you look. You haven’t thought out your strategy very well.”

Maggie returned the hug then walked over to the window and looked out at the backyard, the tightness in her chest easing as her brain started working. “Okay, suppose I’m pregnant. I want to be around you and Sammie, so I should look for a place to buy around here. But then what do I do about JD?”

“
If
you’re pregnant, and
if
you decided to stay in this area—those are some pretty big ifs. And honestly? I don’t see myself living here any longer than I have to. But if that’s what happens, you’d have no choice but to come clean to JD.”

“He’d hate me for trapping him.”

“Probably. But at least you wouldn’t be expecting marriage or financial support. Lots of kids these days are brought up in two different households. It might be a little rocky at first, but it’s doable.”

She didn’t want the complications of having a relationship with the father of her child. She probably wasn’t pregnant. Not after one night. And if she were? Well . . . she’d leave. Maybe.

She turned to look at Claire who had returned to her spreadsheets. “Seriously? You’ve never considered living here?”

“I’m a city girl, Maggie. Once I fulfill my contract and get that twenty-thousand-dollar bonus, of course I’ll leave. Why would I stay?”

“Because Ethan will move here?”

“I work for the man. He tricked me into coming here with that damned clause in my contract. Once I have my money, I’m gone.”

Maggie had a feeling leaving wasn’t going to be as simple as Claire assumed, but she kept her thoughts to herself. “Maybe I’ll look around, and see what’s for sale in the area whether I’m pregnant or not. I did wonder if JD would sell his house to me.”

Claire laughed. “You really do like to complicate things, don’t you? I don’t know if he loves or hates that place, but I do know he’s not going to want to see you living there with his kid.”

“You’re right. Again. I’d love to decorate the house for him, though. It drives me crazy how empty it is.”

“If you decide to stay at least for a while, ask him. He can’t live with his brother for the rest of his life, and you have great taste. It would give you something to do for the next few months.”

“No. I can’t imagine being around him and not wanting to jump him every chance I got.”

“You’re going to have to get used to not having sex with him if you’re pregnant, and he finds out you got pregnant on purpose. There’s no way you two could have a healthy relationship after that.” 

“Who can’t she have sex with?” Sammie drifted into the room and slumped into a chair at the table.

“JD.” Claire peered at her. “You don’t look so good.”

“Dave and I argued.” Sammie laid her head on the table. “He thinks I’m distracting the new kid they hired from his work. Russ and I were only talking for a few minutes, and we kept working the whole time. I don’t know what Dave’s problem is.”

Maggie perched on the corner of the table. “Maybe he’s jealous.”

“Of who?”

“Whom,” Claire corrected her.

“Whom. He treats me like I’m a kid, for heaven’s sake. I’m thirty-six. Practically old enough to be a grandmother, and he’s all
Be careful you don’t hurt yourself
or
That’s too heavy for you.
”

Maggie took advantage of Sammie’s closed eyes to grin at Claire. “Sounds like he’s trying to protect you.”

“Yeah, that’s it. Not. He thinks I’m a stupid female. I don’t even know why I bother to help at the barn.”

“You sound about six years old right now. You look flushed. Are you feeling okay?” Claire put her hand on Sammie’s forehead. “You’re burning up. You’ve probably got that stomach flu that’s been going around. Remember Ellie was just getting over it when we went to Arnie’s last week?”

“Now that you mention it, I do feel kind of queasy. Think I’ll go have a nap.”

“Can I get you anything, Sammie?” Maggie asked. “Water? Juice? A painkiller?”

Sammie waved her hand behind her as she left the room. “The thought of trying to swallow anything makes me feel lousy. I’m going to crash for a while.” She looked over her shoulder at Maggie. “Dave wants to know if you’re taking Lulu out today. Otherwise he or Russ will have to. You should let him know.” She continued out of the room.

“What’s that about?” Claire asked.

Maggie stuck her hands in her jeans pockets. “JD introduced me to Lulu last night. Asked if I’d mind riding her. She’s too big for Sammie to ride and, apparently, none of them have time to give her the attention she needs. It’s been so long since I’ve ridden, I hope I don’t make a fool of myself.”

“You were always good with horses.”

“Remember Buttercup?”

“Yeah. I’ve never forgiven your parents for selling her. I think it’s great you’re going to start riding again. You’ll have to be careful, though. Gwen was just talking about how pregnant women should only walk their horse, and only in the first twelve weeks. You used to love riding.”

“So did you.”

“Wasn’t the same. I was just afraid of missing out on something, so I kept taking riding lessons with you. You lived to go riding.”