The Cowboy's Baby: A BWWM Billionaire Cowboy Pregnancy Romance (10 page)

Quickly, she gathered her plate and wine glass before walking along the length of the table to take his as well. “Well, I’m glad I could help.” When she made to head for the sink, she was stopped by a firm grip on her elbow. Daniel’s rough, calloused palm against her skin sent shivers of arousal down her spine.

“Esme…don’t go. I’m sorry I just…you have to understand it’s hard for me to adjust.”

Esme paused, her heart stuttering in her chest. Was this the part when the man poured out his woes over the woman who had walked away from him and the baby they’d planned to have together? Where she listened to him expound on how much he loved her – how she was just a tortured soul with a heart of gold?

“Alyssa was…difficult, but she was familiar. This…” He swept his free hand over the kitchen. “This isn’t familiar for me.”

“What isn’t?” Her words came out in a low, almost secretive tone as she stared down at him.

“Eating home cooked meals…living in the same house as a woman who doesn’t demand my attention…or twist me around her finger to get it.”

Esme let his words sink in as she listened to him, trying to hide her incredulity. Was the man trying to say that he’d
never
been with a woman who didn’t exploit him for what he had? That was certainly hard to believe. With all the money he had, the man had to have some sort of common sense. Gold-diggers were usually easy to spot from pretty far off. “Well, Daniel…” She finally ventured, “I can promise you I’ll never demand anything of you…unless, of course, the baby needs it.” She cleared her throat, hoping she didn’t come off sounding motherly. This child wasn’t hers – it was Daniel’s. “And if you want me to cook for you,” she continued, in an attempt to lighten the mood, “I can do that any old time. I enjoy it. It’s better when it’s for two.”

“Esme.”

Daniel turned in his chair, taking the dishes she held from her to set on the table before his deep blue gaze locked with hers. He never let go of her, his hold on her elbow turning soft as his thumb brushed over the sensitive skin just above her forearm. The place was surprisingly tender, and Esme swallowed thickly as her thighs tensed in anticipation. “It’s been a very long time since any woman cooked for me. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” His low, silky voice thrummed through her, and Esme wanted nothing more than to throw herself at his feet and beg him to screw her absolutely senseless. In her mind, she had absolutely no shame. But in the physical plane, she knew she had to show fortitude. Fortitude was the only thing keeping her from making a mistake she knew she might regret.

“Esme…I want to kiss you again.” The young woman inhaled sharply, the statement shooting directly to the core of her, heating it until the blood in her veins ran hot with repressed desire. “It’s been damn near all I can think of since the first time. Which was my fault, I know. I think of you sleeping just a floor below me, and all I want is to taste you again. Is that wrong of me?”

His words took her breath away. Esme could only stare into his blue, entrancing, utterly sincere gaze as her mind whirled. The last time he’d kissed her, the guilt she’d seen in his eyes following the encounter had torn her apart. She didn’t want to be a source of drama whenever his girlfriend decided to reappear.

But if what was between them was truly over…well, that was another matter entirely.

If they were going to live in the same house…Esme could handle a little tryst while she was waiting for the man’s child to ripen within her. She certainly wanted Daniel more than she’d wanted any man in a hell of a long time. She honestly didn’t care who he was or how much money he had. She had her own goals she was working to fulfill, and when she walked away, she’d walk away clean.

Like she always did.

“It’s not wrong.” She finally managed, wetting her lips slightly before she continued. “But I don’t want to convolute anything, Daniel. I’m you’re surrogate…and Alyssa is the mother of your child. If she comes back, I don’t want to-”

His mouth covered hers, firm and decisive, cutting off anything further she might have said. After a moment of shock, Esme allowed herself to melt into the kiss, her fingers sliding through his hair as she let Daniel tug her down into his lap. His tongue slid like silk against her own and a soft moan escaped her as she clung to him, liquid fire coursing through her veins.

When his mouth finally broke from hers, she was almost trembling with want. “I don’t want to make this about her.” The man murmured heatedly against her mouth. “And neither should you.”

It wasn’t the answer she was looking for, and Esme knew she should demand something more clear – but when Daniel’s mouth covered hers once more, she found herself at a decided lack of words. It was all she could do to hold tight to the man as his hands slid down to her hips, pulling her tight against the hard, flat pane of his chest as his mouth plundered hers.

He tasted like the chocolate chili sauce she’d made, that and his own spicy tang that was all his own, that reminded her of summer and sunshine and made her long for him to carry her right into the gardens beyond the house and lay her down on the soft grass to make love to her until she couldn’t remember where he ended and she began. For a split second, she wished that what was between them had nothing to do with the baby swelling in her womb – that he was just a man and she just a woman and their want was all that mattered.

At that moment, a low buzzing came from between them, startling the young woman into breaking the kiss as she tried to clear her mind of the haze of want that enveloped it. When the buzzing came again, Daniel cursed lowly, reaching between them to extract his cell phone from his pocket. He glanced at screen before scowling momentarily. When his eyes met Esme’s once more, however, the remnants of lust still burned there. “I have to take this. I’m sorry.”

A small sound of surprise escaped her as Daniel easily lifted her from his lap to set her carefully on her feet. He rose to his feet to pad from the kitchen, answering his phone as he went. As the sounds of the man’s smooth baritone faded to a low murmur, Esme took a deep breath, slowly coming back to herself.

This man was dangerous. She should have known it from the first moment she’d seen him, but Esme had foolishly believed that she could somehow fight Daniel’s ridiculously enticing allure.

She’d been wrong – that much was obvious.

And now she was in a house with a man who had no idea how much power he had over her – had no idea his innate charm and the desperation with which he sought an accepting woman appealed to her.

Steeling herself, Esme took up the dishes she’d attempted to wash once more, carrying them over to the sink. She had to regain some modicum of control here. If Daniel could take her apart with one kiss, she could only imagine what the man might do to her if he got her in bed.

Glancing down at her stomach, Esme sighed softly. “Your Dad is going to be the death of me, little bean. For sure. If your mom doesn’t kill me first.”

**

Daniel watched her.

Leaning over the balcony that overlooked the kitchen and great room, he watched Esme flit around the kitchen, mixing ingredients for what he presumed to be some kind of muffin. She hadn’t even put them into the oven and already they smelled heavenly.

The woman worked wonders in the kitchen – to a point where he wondered how he couldn’t have known such a thing about her from the get go. Surely it should have been written somewhere in her surrogate profile? Not only was she intelligent, the host of impeccably good genes, but also she could cook like no chef he’d ever sampled before.

She had an innovative, interesting approach to food – didn’t try to plate it as if it were some sort of high end decadence and didn’t speak of her talent as if she felt she deserved anything from her cooking alone.

But her skill was evident.

While she was unaware, he watched her movements about the kitchen, smiled as she hummed softy to herself. It was such a wonder to see a smiling woman in his house after so long. When he tried to remember the last time Alyssa had smiled for him…he couldn’t.

What the hell had happened to them, he wondered? When they’d met, everything had been wonderful, and now, he was alone, anticipating the birth of the baby she didn’t want…with a woman who intrigued him far more than he wanted to admit.

He’d told her how much he wanted to kiss her –and that in itself had been enough to make him question everything he and Alyssa had ever had; but when he had actually kissed her again, he hadn’t lied. He didn’t want this to be about the woman who’d left him..

If he was going to keep kissing Esme – keep touching, keep watching his child grow large in her belly – it couldn’t be about Alyssa.

Not anymore.

She’d been gone for almost two and a half months and he’d heard nothing from her. Perhaps it was time for him to truly consider that she might not be returning. The idea of a child being more important than her, it seemed, was too much.

It might be the biggest sign he’d seen, to date, indicating that perhaps he and the fiery Latina weren’t meant to be. Now, watching Esme, knowing that she was just the vessel within which his child grew – that she didn’t want children of her own – he could see her as more of a mother figure than the woman he loved.

It was a sobering thought, to say the least; but before Daniel could get too wrapped up in it, the doorbell rang. Esme’s head jerked up from where she was pouring batter into muffin pans even as he descended the stairs.

Doctor Amos Snell was on his doorstep. The man had been serving as the resident physician on the ranch almost since its incarnation. He was just about the same age as Daniel, and had experience working as both a private doctor in home and for residency in hospitals.

He was also one of Daniel’s closest friends and confidantes – the only man outside the clinic he would trust with the health of his developing child.

“Looking good, Dan.” The man’s warm green eyes met his as he took the man into a bear hug. Though it had been a while since they’d worked out together, the doctor still maintained a bulky physique similar to his own – though he was a tad shorter than the rancher’s statuesque height. “Looks like pregnancy suits you.”

“More than I might like to admit.” Daniel chuckled, heartened, as always, by the presence of his friend. “Sorry I haven’t been able to come to the office lately. Things have been a little hectic with the baby. Finishing off the breeding season and everything…”

“Yeah, I’m sure. But maybe now that you’re by yourself, you might be able to get a little R&R…” Amos trailed off at the sight of Esme stepping tentatively towards them. The young woman’s jeans and t-shirt were covered in a mixture of flour, sugar, and cinnamon, her hair in a haphazard, mussed knot atop her head. Even so, she was a vision that took him a moment to recover from. When he did, however, he found Amos gazing at him expectantly.

“Amos.” He cleared his throat, knowing that he’d have a great deal of explaining to do. “This is Esme. She’s my surrogate…the reason I called you in today, actually.”

“Nice to meet you.” Dusting off her floury hands on her jeans, Esme immediately stepped forward. When she did, her t-shirt pulled against her abdomen just enough for her small bump to show. Amos, thankfully, didn’t miss a beat, clasping her hand warmly in his. “Esme. So pleased to meet you. Dr. Amos Snell. I’m the ranch’s physician.”

Esme looked from one man to the other, her eyes wide. “It’s obvious you guys are eating the same beef. Are there any men here who aren’t giants? I’m glad I made so many extra muffins.”

“Muffins?”Daniel arched a brow in inquiry. He certainly wasn’t used to any woman on the ranch who was anything more than a pretty fixture. They looked good in jeans and boots and catered to Daniel’s physical needs, but, as he’d only recently discovered, other needs tended to be sorely neglected.

Not that he wouldn’t have liked Esme to tend to those as well. When he’d finished his phone call the previous night, she’d already tidied up the kitchen and gone to bed – something for which he couldn’t blame her. Cooking a five star meal had to take it out of a person. However, her absence had left him with a raging hard-on that had persisted until almost dawn - when he’d finally taken care of it.

“Blueberry and lemon poppy seed. They’ll be in the oven while you tend to the bean.”

“Bean?” Amos’ shaggy brows inched even higher. For Daniel, too, the term was completely new. He eyed Esme curiously.

“Bean?”

The young woman smiled, placing a hand over her stomach lightly. “It’s my nickname for the baby. Little bean. You
did
come to check him out, right?”

“Of course.” Amos chuckled as he moved into the house, carrying his bag with him. “Specifically for the Little Bean.” He shot Daniel an accusatory look as he followed Esme down the main hallway towards her room and the rancher groaned inwardly.

He was never going to hear the end of this.

The examination went off without a hitch. Daniel watched, awed, as Amos hooked up an ultrasound machine to give him his first views of his developing child. The image was blurry, and the child was only the tiniest shape at the corner of the screen, but all the same, it was enough to leave the immense man breathless in awe as he stared at the life he’d helped create.

This was what he had waited for – what he had
longed
for over the past decade.