“Oh my God…this is amazing.” Her unabashed delight in his home warmed his heart, and he set the box of her things he carried on the polished floor of the foyer.
“I designed it myself. Took two years to build.” He usually never liked to brag, but Esme brought out something in him that made him want to impress her. It wasn’t a hard task, after all – not like trying to impress Alyssa. “Would you like to see your room?”
The young woman beamed up at him. “Lead the way.”
The rooms he’d elected to give Esme were a soft rose in color – the bedroom with a high vaulted ceiling and lush, king sized bed. There was a vanity – though the young woman didn’t seem to him the type to preen over herself, as well as walk-in closet, a bureau, and a wide bay window that overlooked the gardens in front of the house.
Before she could get too worked up over her room, he led her into the bathroom. It rivaled the size of the master bath with a massive whirlpool tub, an overhead shower, and marbled sinks.
“That tub…” Esme gushed, leaning over the immense porcelain hollow. “It’s going to be amazing to soak in when I’m too round to stand up!”
Almost immediately, Daniel was assaulted by images of exactly what a very pregnant Esme would look like, utterly naked, lounging in a bubble bath. He suppressed a groan, leaving her to delight in her new accommodations while he stepped from the room to catch his breath.
Perhaps this might be harder than he realized.
The first doctor’s appointment went off without a hitch.
Thankfully, Esme didn’t have to get undressed, and so Daniel, thirsty for any and all information on the development of his child, was allowed to stay by her side for the entire procedure. Esme’s blood work had been run before her pregnancy was confirmed and then reconfirmed. As one month was far too early for an ultrasound or any physical view of the baby, they mostly discussed nutrition plans, prenatal vitamins, and exercises she could do to keep her body limber as it began to change.
The young woman cited that her morning sickness, after only a few weeks, had begun to fade, though she had acquired a number of aches and pains that she found more than a bit uncomfortable. Daniel bit his lip against an offer to massage pain from her lithe form. If needed, he would call in a masseuse – and when he did, he would envy the man every stroke of his hands against Esme’s smooth flesh.
They returned to the estate in a comfortable silence, and when he asked the young woman what her plans were for the day, she seemed unsure. Before Daniel could change his mind – before he could talk himself out of interacting with the young woman for fear of his raging libido, he made his offer.
“Would you like to start learning to ride today?” As breeding season was over, he found himself somewhat idle. While he could go into any one of his offices in Enid, or really, anywhere he chose, he preferred outdoor work, and thanked the Lord that whatever success he’d had allowed him to stay out of offices except for the three or four times a year it was absolutely mandatory.
At his offer, Esme flushed slightly. “Today?”
It was obvious from the look on her face that she was nervous – perhaps she hadn’t been expecting him to offer so soon.
“Well, it would be prudent for you to get a basic knowledge in before it might be dangerous for the baby. But, if today is a bad time…”
“No!” She interjected sharply before covering her mouth and answering again, this time with less apprehension. “I mean, no. Today isn’t a bad time. Um…what should I be wearing? Is this ok?” She glanced down at her sweatshirt, jeans and tennis shoes in question and Daniel smiled.
“I think we can find something for you.”
Though Esme had seemed somewhat taken aback when he’d provided her with an old riding shirt and leggings of Alyssa’s, the clothing actually fit her well enough. While the garments had fit Alyssa distractingly tightly – though, perhaps, that had been her aim – the clothing clung to Esme’s lean body in a way that left just enough to the imagination.
There were no riding boots that fit the young woman’s size eight feet, and so she retained her sneakers, making Daniel grin at the sight of her as she crested the hill that separated the main house from his private stables. She made quite the picture – her long hair piled atop her head in a haphazard knot, clad in a loose chambray shirt and brown riding pants with her All-Star Converse.
Esme Carter was alluring in a way Daniel had never encountered before. She didn’t try to flaunt her assets, or bat her lashes in the faces of unsuspecting men. Rather, she didn’t much care what other people thought of her – to the point where she lent her own body – and a lovely one, at that – to people she didn’t know from Adam so that they might have the child they desired.
The child he desired.
As she advanced on him, Esme looked more than a little nervous, glancing in turn to each of the horses whose reins he held. “Dear sweet Lord,” she breathed, her almond eyes wide. “They’re huge.”
“Actually, they’re pretty small for horses.” Daniel fought the slight quirking of his lips at her obvious intimidation. He himself had grown up with horseflesh, and so he couldn’t remember a time when the sight of hooves and blunt teeth had made him cower. Daniel liked to collect fine animals – he had over twenty on the ranch and more in locations both abroad and overseas. He was a stickler for healthy, well-bred, rare animals. His own horse, the reins of which he held firmly in his right hand, was a black, purebred Arabian stallion. It had taken him almost six months to break the proud animal – and he’d earned a fractured cheek bone and twisted wrist for his troubles.
But now, at seven years of age, Lincoln handled like a dream. He was extremely obedient – and fiercely loyal – a proud stallion with a gleaming coat and intense, dark eyes. In addition to bringing Lincoln from the stables, he’d also brought Apple. Apple was one of Lincoln’s daughters – a creamy white two-year-old mare with a dark spot on her forehead. She was one of the gentlest in the stable and he kept her precisely for her temperament. She was good with children and some of the ranch’s more skittish visitors.
And she would be perfect for a first time rider like Esme.
“Esme, this is Apple.” He led the mare past her pawing stallion father to present to Esme – who immediately took a tentative step backwards before stopping in her tracks. She appeared to steel herself before regaining that step – and then another to come face to face with the horse before her. Quickly, she glanced over in his direction.
“Can I touch her?”
He chuckled. “Well, considering you’re going to be mounting her in about five minutes, it might be a good first step.”
A small smile appeared on the young woman’s face before she reached out hesitantly to stroke over Apple’s downy nose. When she saw the mare wasn’t going to lash out and swallow her hand whole, she quickly huddled close to her, stroking the dark spot on her forehead and laughing when the eager animal nuzzled into her midsection, searching for treats.
Daniel taught Esme to feed Apple sugar cubes one by one before he started on the basics of how to mount a horse properly. He hid his smile as she struggled to swing her leg over at the precise moment, and then scowled when he made her do it over and over until the movement was effortless.
Next, he led Apple around the enclosed paddock he used for training, his hold on her reins firm as Esme rode on her back. The young woman quickly got the hang of shifting her weight and changing her hold on the reins to covey to the horse which way she wanted to go.
Within two hours’ time, Daniel had released Apple’s reins and watched Esme lead her carefully around the small paddock with approval. She was taking to riding much faster than he’d expected, and all because she didn’t try to tell herself what she couldn’t do. It was common in first time riders to place limitations upon themselves, but Esme threw herself into everything she tried with an uncommon gusto.
He’d almost forgotten what it was like to deal with a woman without inhibition.
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He watched Esme with her irrepressible grin circle the paddock again and again. Even when Apple broke into a slight trot in excitement, it wasn’t enough to startle her. She merely shouted to him in inquiry for directions and he answered her in kind.
Everything was going perfectly swimmingly until the cat.
Daniel would happily tell you that on any given day, Apple was the gentlest horse in his stables. She almost never bolted or kicked, unless you threw one random factor into the equation: cats. For some reason, the young mare was absolutely terrified of cats.
Daniel had the gardeners all on the look-out for stray animals near the stables for exactly that reason – but on that particular day, one must have slipped through. Apple was prancing proudly around the paddock for what must have been the fiftieth time when a stray tomcat darted into her path.
Immediately, the mare screeched to a halt with a whinny of fright, rearing suddenly. Esme’s cry of surprised terror echoed around the stables and Daniel’s heart leapt into his throat. He raced over to Apple’s side, immediately grabbing her reins to steady her as the cat raced off. The thick muscles in his arm bunched and contracted as he attempted to calm the horse, and Esme held on for dear life.
As docile as Apple usually was, when she was frightened, she was a beast to bring down. Daniel wrestled with her for a good two minutes before the bucking mare swerved in a movement violent enough to bounce Esme roughly from her back.
Instantly, Daniel let go of the panicking horse, moving to catch Esme’s flailing form before she hit the ground. One arm snapped around her waist, and the other her behind, inches from the hard dirt, before he hauled her upright.
For a moment, neither of them moved. Esme seemed to be holding her breath, in disbelief that she was still in one piece. Daniel was taken briefly back to a time when another mare had stepped into a pothole, breaking her leg and jarring Alyssa from its back. He’d had to put the poor creature down, and to add insult to injury, Alyssa had blamed him and hadn’t spoken to him for two weeks.
He waited with bated breath for Esme to erupt in a storm of tears and hysterics, his heart pounding in his chest. However, after a beat, the only thing that erupted from the young woman’s mouth was a relieved, nervous laugh.
“Holy hell…I thought I was going to break my neck.” She looked up at him as the panic slowly faded from her eyes, her lips curving in strange amusement. “Is Apple OK? What happened?”
Was the horse alright?
For a moment, he’d been able to see Esme in his mind’s eye with half of her bones broken, her lovely face streaked with tears, his child within her fighting for its life. And she wanted to know if the horse was alright?
“Apple is fine.” He breathed in disbelief, sparing a look over at the mare who was now grazing at the edge of the paddock almost as if nothing had happened. When he turned back to the woman in his arms, he was still struggling to comprehend her behavior. “Are you alright?”
“Fine.” Esme’s voice was completely calm as she smiled up at him. “You caught me, didn’t you?”
All Daniel could do was stare at her. The young woman’s hair was windswept, the first few buttons of her shirt undone in her fall, exposing a tantalizing amount of chocolate hued cleavage. There was a thin sheen of sweat on her brow from the spring afternoon heat, and most shocking of all, she was smiling after only moments before being thrown from a horse during her first riding lesson.
Daniel kissed her.
He could no more deny the impulse than he could his own nature. He normally wasn’t a man ruled by his impulses, but Esme brought out something in him…something that other women had struggled to stifle – to dress in the guise of the moneyed success that he had accomplished, but which he refused to allow to define him.
She was sweeter, even, than he had imagined. Like taking a drink after an eternity of thirst as she arched against him, her fingers immediately knocking his Stetson askew as they tunneled through his hair.
His tongue sought the crease of her lips, tracing it briefly in a plea for admission before it slipped into her mouth to tease her own to life. The way she responded to him - instantaneous and earnest, ignited searing heat that shot straight to his cock, making him almost lightheaded with want for her.
Jesus, he’d forgotten what it was like to kiss a woman for the first time and really want her - not because you were expected to or on a drunken one night stand – but to desire nothing more than to burry yourself inside her –for days if necessary until your name was the only thing she could remember.
Daniel caught her lower lip between his teeth to suckle gently before drawing her body tight against his own. Leaning back against the fence that separated the paddock from the rest of the property, he hefted her against him, his large hands curling into her firm behind, pressing her against the erection rising to press against the seam of his jeans.
Esme moaned softly, practically wrapping her legs around his waist in a bid to mold herself against him, and her obvious desire made him want nothing more than to carry her back to the main house and the warmth of his bed.
Just then, Lincoln whinnied loudly, startling them apart from his position tied to a fencepost nearby. The haze of lust that had descended upon Daniel slowly cleared as he took in the woman he was holding, from her half-lidded eyes to her kiss swollen lips.
She was breathtakingly beautiful.
And his surrogate.
Carrying the child that he and Alyssa had created.
Slowly, Daniel lowered her down his long form, his insides churning with a mixture of guilt and arousal. The moment she registered the regret in his eyes, Esme’s widened slightly before she scrambled away from him, dusting imaginary dirt from her hands onto her leggings awkwardly. “I’m sorry.” She spoke quickly, her fingers twisting together as she concentrated on Apple’s grazing form across the paddock.
Daniel cleared his throat, willing his erection to dissipate. “You don’t have any reason to apologize. I kissed you.”
“I didn’t stop you.” She replied almost instantly. “I should have.”
The silence stretched between them, uncomfortable and long. Finally, Esme exhaled a long breath. “I think I’m done riding for today. Thanks, Daniel.”
Before she could stride away from the paddock, the rancher caught her arm briefly, gently. “You’re sure you’re alright?” He knew the last thing he needed at this juncture was to touch her, but he couldn’t resist one last lingering second.
“I’m fine.” Her smile was forced this time, making him feel like the scum of the earth. “And the baby’s fine too.” Her final statement served to remind him why he’d brought her to the ranch in the first place; and truthfully, it wasn’t to take advantage of Alyssa’s absence and ravish Esme’s utterly delectable body.
No, it was to watch over the health of the child within her body – which Daniel was beginning to realize might be more vastly complicated than he’d first assumed.
***
Chapter Five: Developments
Coming here might have been a mistake.
Esme struggled with the notion as she ran her fingers over the tiny swell of her abdomen, soaking in the luxury of a hot bath.
Even though weeks had passed since her and Daniel’s “accidental” kiss during her first and only riding lesson, there wasn’t a day that passed that Esme didn’t struggle with her hormones and her own mind – both of which seemed to be growing increasingly rampant as her pregnancy progressed.
She could lie to herself – it wasn’t as if she wasn’t enjoying the luxury of Daniel’s estate. There was a temperature controlled swimming pool in which she could take a dip whenever she liked. She was able to walk the expansive grounds, through herds of cattle and horses, whenever she pleased, and get a taste of the outdoors in ways unavailable to her in the city. There were a thousand channels for her to watch on TV and even an indoor gym for her to take advantage of in her spare time.
But therein lie the problem: Esme
had entirely too much spare time – and spending it trying to remain far from the reach of Daniel Hartsford was extremely hard.
She could still remember the way his mouth felt against hers – the way the polite, almost painstakingly careful man had pulled her flush against him, his erection pressing into her belly as he’d plundered her mouth with his own.
It had been one of the most exhilarating moments of her entire life. Quite frankly, Esme hadn’t known that kissing a man could be like that – hot, turgid and painfully arousing, almost as effective as a far more carnal form of foreplay.
So now, she had to deal with knowing exactly how Daniel tasted, knowing that his bedroom was only one floor above hers. There were nights she woke up covered in sweat, slick and aching between her legs as she cursed the ridiculous heights her hormones had been driven to.
He felt guilty.
She’d known it the moment she’d seen his expression in the wake of their kiss. Though he might worry that Alyssa might never come back, he knew there was a chance – and that kissing his surrogate on the property where Alyssa had once been with him was more than a little dangerous.
At the thought of the baby’s mother, Esme scowled. If she did come back, she’d better come back ready to take responsibility for her child. She hadn’t really appeared to take things seriously in the clinic and the fact that she’d walked out on Daniel so soon after conception spoke volumes of how important she considered the matter.
Tracing damp fingers over the minute bulge of her abdomen, Esme sighed. If she’d have known that being a surrogate would involve so much drama, she might have thought twice before signing up. As it was, she’d been so high strung that she had barely been into Daniel’s expansive, heavenly kitchen.
Perhaps that was the problem.
The Cowboy's Baby: A BWWM Billionaire Cowboy Pregnancy Romance Page 6
