A Bachelor, a Boss and a Baby

by Rachel Lee

  “A man who isn’t put off by babies but has just been confronted by one of the most beautiful women he’s ever seen.”

  “Beautiful?” She almost gasped the word. “None of your blarney, Blaine Harrigan.”

  “I never kissed the stone.” But her teasing mood relieved his unusual paralysis. Could it be that he was worried about whether he would love her well enough? Only one way to find out.

  He’d have liked to pick her right up off her feet and carry her to his bed, but this bloody doorway wasn’t wide enough. For an instant he thought of that ranch he’d considered buying, and most of all a sprawling homestead with more room than any house he’d ever been in. But that all slipped away as he took her small hand in his bigger one and gently urged her toward the bedroom.

  Her shyness and nerves seemed to have dissipated. Once inside his room, she came into his embrace as naturally as if she’d always been there. His own muscular size, built through years of manual labor that around here was as much a part of his job as the desk work, made him acutely aware of how fragile this woman was. Not weak, but fragile. A being requiring gentleness from him in every way. Gentleness he wanted to provide.

  Bending his head, he sought her mouth for a kiss. Hard to believe they had come to this without any sexual exploration. Blame Daphne for that, he thought with mild amusement.

  But amusement quickly vanished, along with most rational thought, as she opened her mouth to him, inviting him into the warm, moist depths of her very being. Excitement slashed through him, sharp desires that reached his every cell. His tongue was his surrogate, but thrusting in and out of her, tracing the pearls of her teeth, tasting the faint remnants of tea, didn’t feel less than total penetration. It felt like the first small step to completion.

  Joy joined passion, elevating him until thought very nearly vanished, giving way to feeling. Her arms slid around him, then clamped tightly, her nails digging into this back as if she were hanging on for dear life. Never had he felt so needed.

  One of her hands slid upward, capturing the back of his neck, turning him into her prisoner. The other slid down and around until she was working at his belt buckle.

  She didn’t want any fooling around. She was in a mad rush, too.

  With effort, he lifted his head. Her eyes fluttered open, looking sleepy. “Blaine?”

  “Do we need to be hurrying?” Fast, slow, he didn’t care for himself.

  “Hell, yes,” she said, then clamped her mouth to his once again.

  Well, then...

  She pulled away and surprised him by beginning to shed her own clothing. He could take a hint, and he stripped his quickly.

  Then there was the breathtaking moment, absolutely breathtaking, when all the barriers were gone. The chilly air made her nipples pucker, large nipples with the pinkest of areolae. Her waist tapered down to a woman’s hips, not a boy’s, with all the curves he so admired, curves that would cradle him, not fight him.

  Gorgeous. Farther down he found her long, lithe legs, yet like so much of her, curved, too. No protruding knees, no sign of the underlying bones, absolutely perfect.

  The air in the room seemed to be thinning out as he filled his eyes with her naked beauty. Had he created her out of the stuff of dreams, she could not have pleased him more. In response, the electric ribbons of desire that ran through him became more like a primitive drumbeat. His staff was erect, and it twitched in time to his need.

  He hoped he pleased her half as much as she pleased him.

  He needn’t have wondered. “You’re perfect, Blaine.”

  No, not perfect, he thought. The scars of brawls, of minor accidents, of careless moves with a tool...they marked him all over.

  She stepped closer and touched a crescent scar on his upper thigh. “What’s this?”

  The moment almost slipped away, interrupting passion with one of his least favorite memories from childhood, but she deserved an answer. That was one too big to ignore. “Me and some of the lads were riding our bicycles down a hill out a way in the country. We liked it because we could go fast. Too fast.”

  “Oh, no!” She looked at him, concern on her face.

  “As you can see, I’m fine.”

  “But it was close, wasn’t it?” Then she deprived him of reason and thought by cupping him in her hand. He sucked air between his teeth. “Am I hurting you?”

  “You’re a witch,” he growled, and before she could do more, he grabbed her, twisted her and threw her on the bed on her back. “So we want games, do we?”

  A small laugh escaped her. “What kind of games do we have in mind, Mr. Harrigan?”

  He was sure liking this playful side of her. He straddled her, leaving everything exposed to the gods and her. Then he grabbed her wrists and forced them to the top of her head, where he held them easily with one hand.

  “I could make you my prisoner,” he rumbled. “An offering on the altar of my desires.” He began to caress her from neck to privates, noting how silky she felt everywhere. At once she began to squirm in response, and little gasping breaths started to escape her. “Too much to handle?” he asked, teasing.

  “Try me,” she gasped back. “Just try me.”

  “Oh, I intend to.” Caressing her with his hand while she wriggled delighted him. Amazingly responsive, and he was enjoying the way she felt beneath his touch.

  Electricity seemed to fill the air, feeding his wants and desires as if he were plugged into a power source. Anticipation gripped him with yearning, and an unexpected fear that she might change her mind.

  But with a strong pull, she broke his hold on her wrists and her hands landed on his chest, as light as butterflies, but maddening as she slowly began to trace him. A lazy smile curved her mouth as she closed her eyes and gave herself up to the world of sensation.

  “I want you,” she whispered. “I’m aching with it. Every part of me is alive to you...”

  He could say the same, and began to feel a subtle shudder growing in his arms and legs as strength gave way to a stronger need.

  Her hands cupped him again, dragging a deep groan from him, then she stroked his erection, nearly driving him to the edge of insanity.

  “Witch,” he muttered. Ah, by the saints, he couldn’t forget...

  Rolling onto one elbow, which brought his hips into electric contact with her, he pawed in the nightstand drawer, hoping the condom wasn’t too old...

  She grabbed it from him, struggling to rip it open, then with a pleased smile began to roll it onto him. Nobody, ever, had done that for him, and he never would have dreamed that it could be about the sexiest thing a woman could do.

  “Damn,” he said without apology, then lowered himself, seeking her welcoming cavern, until he felt the instant where they met and she gave him entrance.

  Slowly, savoring his plunge toward ecstasy, ignoring the way her hands gripped his hips and pulled on him, he savored every single split second of their union.

  Then at last he was deep within her. Filling her. Claiming her. Uniting them in bliss.

  * * *

  Diane hadn’t had long to be surprised by her own boldness. She’d never felt this way before, but something about Blaine drew it out of her, a woman filled with power and her own desires who refused to be denied. If he had turned away...

  But he hadn’t. He had answered her desire with his own, which was clearly every bit as strong.

  There was something very special about Blaine wanting her, but she couldn’t sort through that now. Soon she was awash in passion, anticipation and an edgy sort of fear that none of this would really happen, that something was going to tear these moments out of her grasp.

  It seemed so impossible...

  But as his touches ignited bonfires all throughout her body, she stopped fearing and started experiencing, filled with joy and wonder and a hunger unlike any she had ever know
n.

  Then...then he was deep within her, filling a place too empty for too long, stretching her in ways that made fresh thrills run through her, and a satisfaction that was almost enough by itself.

  But not enough, as he soon proved, moving within her, lifting her from reality in a world populated by sensations beyond description, sensations that blinded her, drove her, hung her on a precipice she feared she might not be able to fall over.

  But finally, finally, with one deep thrust, he tossed her over that edge into free fall among the stars. She heard his groan as he shuddered, but it merely added to the almost painful sensation of falling into heaven.

  Chapter Nine

  Blaine fell asleep with Diane wrapped in his arms. He’d murmured sweet things to her, caressing her hair and side gently, telling her how wonderful she was, but then the inevitable happened.

  Amused, feeling absolutely wonderful and not at all abandoned, she woke from her own doze and rose and quickly pulled on her undies, socks and flannel shirt. The digital clock beside the bed said it was nearly five, and Daph had yet to miss her five o’clock feeding.

  The apartment was a little chilly, but not too much so. She began warming Daphne’s bottle in a pan beside the sink and listened to the wind whip up outside. A change in weather coming?

  Having recently come from Des Moines, she figured she had enough cold weather gear for herself, but the baby? She’d need to go shopping again.

  A trickle of amusement filled her. Nobody had warned her how expensive a baby could be. Especially starting from scratch. Bed, playpen, changing table, mobile, toys, blankets, new clothes as she grew and now winter wear. Oh, and don’t forget the mountain of disposable diapers and the formula.

  She now seriously understood the point of a baby shower.

  There was still some tea in the teapot, probably really strong by now, but she used the strainer and poured some into a coffee mug, not willing to risk Blaine’s grandmother’s china in a microwave.

  Just as she pushed the buttons to heat it, she felt powerful arms slip around behind her.

  “The bed was empty and getting cold,” Blaine murmured in her ear.

  A shiver of pleasure trickled through her. “It’s almost five. Daphne’s witching hour.”

  “I figured.” He kissed her earlobe, then the nape of her neck, and released her, causing more delightful shivers. She hated to feel his arms slip away. “If it’s tea you’re wanting, I’ll make fresh. That’s past the point of drinking. It’d peel paint off a car.”

  She turned to face him, feeling the smile that danced around her mouth. “Fresh tea, then?”

  “Coming up.”

  The tea was ready and steaming in delicate cups before Daph stirred. Diane started to move toward the playpen, but Blaine forestalled her.

  “Let me? I’ve been missing the babes. Missing family, come to that. Careful or I’ll adopt ya both.”

  She didn’t think that sounded so awful, but it was a luxury to be able to settle on the couch and sip her tea while Blaine tended to her daughter. She curled her legs under her, a favorite position she hadn’t indulged often since Daphne’s arrival, and pulled the afghan over the back of the couch onto her bare legs. Warm and cozy.

  She loved looking at Blaine. So strong and good-looking, with that startling Irish combination of nearly black hair and brilliant blue eyes. But as much as she loved that, she loved seeing the way he cradled her daughter, murmuring to her, his attention completely fixed on her as he called her daffodil. Occasionally he even hummed.

  And Daphne’s gaze was as fixed on him, never wavering.

  As Daph was nearing the bottom of her bottle, Blaine looked up. “I was thinkin’.”

  “Yes?”

  “I was thinkin’ I’d like to date you. Normal-type dating. Not just me running over to see what you might need, but taking you out to dinner or a film. I’d suggest dancing, but the roadhouses can get rough. Or you could come with me to my darts game and meet the lads.”

  She didn’t know what to say. He wanted to date her? That meant a lot more than the friendship that had been growing between them, never mind the time they had just spent in bed. That could be dismissed. Maybe. Butterflies began fluttering in her stomach.

  “And in case you’re worryin’,” he continued, “Daph can come with us if you want. We’ll just choose things that will be okay for her. Drives in the mountains before snowfall. There’s even a ranch I’ve been mulling buying, and I wouldn’t mind your opinion.”

  She was still trying to absorb all of this. Did this mean something more than friendship? Stupid question. He’d been then one to call them dates. She seized on the thing that seemed totally out of place. “Why would you want my opinion on a ranch? And why in the world are you even thinking about buying one?”

  “Because it’d be a big spread of land, unlike anything I could get back home. When I was young and running on the streets and hills of Galway, I loved Western films. I kinda outgrew that, but I never lost my desire for owning a big piece of land and having horses. This place offers so many opportunities. It’s a big country.”

  She nodded, thinking about it. “Years ago, back when I was in college, I went with some girlfriends on a camping trip. We wound up in the seriously misnamed Sunshine Campground.”

  “Why misnamed?” Daphne must had enough, because he put the bottle aside and lifted her to his shoulder.

  “Because the entire five days we were there, it never stopped raining.”

  He laughed. “Misnamed indeed.”

  “While we were there, anyway. The point is, we met a couple from Sweden. They’d planned to drive the country from one end to the other with plenty of time to stop and take in the sights, but they were only halfway across and running out of time. I remember how they kept repeating their astonishment that this country is so big.”

  “It certainly is, and I like it. If I got a ranch, I could bring me nieces and nephews for visits. They’d be agog at the space, and even more agog at being able to ride horses.”

  “I bet they would. I haven’t ridden in years.”

  “Did you like it?”

  “Loved it.” She smiled feeling oddly wistful. “It was actually a course in college. My family never would have paid for regular riding lessons.”

  “Would you like to do it again? I happen to have a horse I stable with Gideon Ironheart. I’m sure you could ride her, or Gideon would gladly let you choose another mount.”

  She looked at him. “What in the world are you driving at, Blaine Harrigan?”

  His smile spread. “I told you, I want to date you. I think we might have something going here, and there’s only one way to find out. As for you looking at the ranch, I couldn’t tell you the number of times I heard me mam complain about how men just couldn’t see the most obvious things. I don’t think she was talking about timber and framing.”

  Diane laughed. “Probably not.”

  “Anyway, no rush.”

  Dating. It sounded so formal. She remembered the first time she went out with Max. He’d had a couple of tickets to some show and said one was a spare. He’d asked her to come but carefully pointed out, This is not a date.

  She should have walked away right then, but she’d taken it to mean they were just going as friends. Little had she guessed that he’d meant friends with benefits, which had evolved to something more and left her feeling emotionally slashed.

  But she and Blaine had arrived at an entirely different place. They’d already had sex. Now he wanted to date? He must be trying to say something, but she wasn’t sure what.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  She looked up from her lap and realized he’d stopped walking with Daph and was simply watching her while the baby slept against his shoulder.

  “I don’t know. I mean...dating seems like an afterthought now. Maybe
?”

  “Wasn’t intended to.” He sighed a bit, then walked to the back of the apartment. From the sounds she could tell he was changing Daph. When he returned, he placed her daughter in the playpen, and she was still feeling confused about what he was trying to get to here.

  He sat beside her on the sofa and took her hand. “I never thought I was good at this sort of thing. Yeah, I dated a few women, and it never worked out and I always figured it was me. Ailis gave me a good idea of that. So you ask a woman out to dinner or to a film, she says yes and never calls you again and never returns your calls. Or...she just turns you down before you get the invite out of your mouth. Common enough, I s’pose.”

  “Likely,” she agreed. “There’s certainly nothing wrong with you that I can see.”

  “Sure and I’m God’s gift, can’t ya tell?”

  That drew a small laugh from her. “Maybe not quite.”

  “Definitely not quite. Any road... Matters between us have been flowing backward.”

  That startled her. She twisted so she could see him better. “In what way?”

  “Well...I walk into your life by way of the daffodil, and I’m busy falling for the child, and fixing up your nursery, handy lad that I am, so baby came first. Then...we worked together a bit here and there, but hardly so’s you’d notice, and we still don’t really get to know each other, and then the next step—we have sex. Not that I’m complaining, but aren’t things supposed to happen in the reverse order? Me datin’ you, us deciding a trip to bed would be grand, then me falling for your daughter?”

  He had a point, but the way he framed it made a bubble of amusement rise inside her. She should have been nervous that he was looking for a way out of the rapidly growing intimacy between them, but he was instead looking for a more customary version of events.

  “So we did it backward?”

  He smiled, tilting his head a little. “I’m quite sure if you read one of them self-help books, you’d find we got it all wrong. Now me, I’m in the way of thinking that I’m very fond of you—and your daughter—but shouldn’t we have some of the fun of getting to know one another over a bowling ball or a pint or a game of darts? Or if none of those interest you, over dinner or a drive in the country?”