“Daniel…” She tried gently, attempting in vain to push the memory of his brawny arms wrapped around her to the back of her mind. “What are we doing?” Her voice was hesitant – inquiring. Of course, Esme knew exactly what they were doing, She just needed to hear it from his lips – to quantify the fact that she was doing exactly what she’d promised herself she wouldn’t.
When his clear cerulean gaze met hers, there wasn’t an iota of pride or arrogance. Instead, his eyes were filled with enough genuine warmth to make her blush. Warmth, she reminded herself, that couldn’t possibly extend beyond the influence of the child in her belly. “Whatever we like.” His slow, sinuous smile ignited a fire within her that threatened to consume her with its intensity. “I’m supposed to have a gajillion dollars, remember?” When he tugged her towards him, the hunger in his eyes took her breath away
She could no more have refused him than she could have stopped her heart beating.
When he kissed her this time, it was in a slow, leisurely slide of his tongue against her own that had her arching against his larger form. As he nipped and licked at her mouth, for the first in her pregnancy, Esme found herself actually resenting the child inside her – if only because the slight swell of her belly didn’t allow her to climb Daniel like a tree.
Even though she was wearing a cotton bra beneath her t-shirt, her overly sensitive nipples almost immediately stood at attention, straining beneath layers of fabric to press into Daniel’s firm chest. It was as if every nerve ending in her body immediately kicked into overdrive, sending tingles of awareness along her skin as her arms wrapped about his neck firmly. He tasted sweet – like wine with the mellow, tart tang of the cheese they’d been eating – and something deeper. Something dark and primal that Esme had only imagined up until that point.
When his mouth left hers, she struggled to draw breath as his lips continued hotly over her throat. His teeth grazed gently over her collarbone, making her shudder in sensation a moment before his tongue dipped into the hollow he found there. With a low moan, Esme’s toes curled in anticipation.
She wanted that tongue elsewhere so badly she trembled with the power of her own desire. When Daniel pulled away from her briefly, she whimpered softly at his loss, only to have him chuckle lowly when he reached for the hem of her t-shirt. Flushing darkly, Esme glanced over the grassy plain around them self-consciously. “Daniel…we can’t…here?” Her voice came out in a breathy whisper that drew an indulgent curving of his lips.
“We’re the only ones around for miles, I assure you. There’s more privacy here than anywhere I can possibly think of, Esme. Unless,” His gorgeous eyes gleamed with sudden mischief. “You’d like to go back to the house? Or stop entirely?” In the space of a millisecond, his gaze sobered and the expression he fixed her with became very serious. “If that’s the case, Esme, just say so. I don’t want to pressure you. I only want you to know…” His voice lowered to a husky murmur. “You don’t know how long I’ve imagined undressing you.”
At the words, the young woman’s eyes slid closed as the ache between her legs multiplied tenfold. When Daniel kissed her again, it was soft –almost hesitant as he sought her permission to continue. Esme erased any doubts he might have when she pressed her body firmly against his, her fingers curling into the material of his shirt as she kissed him with all the pent up desire that had tortured her for the past few weeks.
With a low groan, Daniel lifted her physically from the blanket with ease, settling her in the center of it before reaching for her shirt once more. This time, he didn’t hesitate, stripping the garment from her to set off to the side. For a moment, he merely gazed over her mostly nude torso, and Esme felt his eyes linger on her swelling breasts and the minuscule hump of her belly. When she moved to cover them, he caught her hands, his gaze locking with hers.
“Don’t ever think you need to hide this from me. You’re beautiful, Esme.” A hand stroked over her cheek before his opposite palm came to rest at the crest of her growing stomach. “This is beautiful.”
Esme forced herself not to think of the ramifications of his statement. He saw her as a vessel for his child – and if she happened to have a pretty face, so much the better for him. This was momentary sexual desire, and to attribute any deeper meaning to it would be completely remiss on her part…wouldn’t it?
When he looked at her like that – ran his hands indulgently over her skin – it was easy for her to pretend that there was nothing but desire between them – that he was just a man, and she just a woman.
Of course, things were far more complicated than that.
However, as the man peeled back the cups of her bra, exposing her breasts to the open air, such thoughts fled her mind. Daniel’s calloused hands each took the warm weight of her bosoms into their palms as he plumped them towards his mouth. A dusky peek disappeared between his lips and sensation shot through her, a moan spilling from her own.
His tongue and teeth tortured the small bead of flesh, nipping, biting, and licking until she was a quivering mass beneath him. Esme’s body had utterly and completely betrayed her. While she had never had an issue enjoying sexual encounters before, this was something completely and totally different. The mere touch of Daniel’s mouth against her skin made her writhe.
It was intoxicating.
Daniel teased one nipple until she was gasping, small sounds of pleasure escaping her, before he switched to the other seamlessly. He went back and forth as the fire within her built to epic proportions and she knew she had utterly ruined her underwear – only then did he move on.
The warmth of the sun kissed the woman’s bare skin almost as intimately as her new lover as he moved downwards, nipping at the underside of each breast before his hands moved to the swell of her abdomen. Here, he took immense care, drawing his lips up over the slight swell to finally rest his ear upon the crest of her stomach – as if trying to feel the life inside her. He hovered there for a moment, his thumbs rubbing small circles in her flesh as he reveled in the life growing within her.
For an instant – a split second in time – Esme found herself longing to watch the child grow with his father. She wanted to see him smothered in all the love she knew Daniel could give – to stand by the man’s side and be his support in the trials and tribulations to come.
But that wasn’t her place
She still had a career to pursue and dreams to fulfill –and for the first time in her life, Esme wondered about the path she hadn’t chosen.
Daniel’s mouth, low on her belly, snapped her back to the present. The man worked dexterously at the fastenings of her jeans before undoing them, sliding the thick cloth down her legs. All at once, the young woman lie before him in nothing but her cotton panties, her skin flushed from his attentions. Hi eyes devoured her from head to foot before a low sound of awe escaped him.
Then, he was stripping his own shirt off over his head and Esme momentarily forgot how to breathe.
As many times as she’d imagined seeing him shirtless – of the sculpted musculature that must lie beneath his clothes – nothing was as arousing – as inspiring – as seeing it in person. Massive, cut shoulders led down into a narrow waist, defined pectorals and rippling abs. It was the kind of body that came from hard work rather than cosmetic pursuit, and as Esme appreciated it, her womb clenched in longing.
Sitting up, she molded her mouth to his once more, savoring the groan that reverberated against her lips as she reached for the waistband of his jeans. As he nibbled at the lobe of her ear, she undid the button and slowly eased the zipper down, sucking in a breath at the heat that pressed against her hand.
The man was immense. The erection that strained against his boxer briefs already beaded with moisture creating a darker spot against the fabric. Licking her lips, Esme lowered Daniel’s jeans enough for him to shimmy from them – and then, they were equally unclad. When his body slid enticingly against hers, she lie willingly back against the blanket. The press of his arousal again
st her made her squirm and Esme couldn’t ever remember wanting anything as badly as she wanted him inside of her at that moment.
“I don’t want to hurt you…” Daniel’s drawl came low and heady against her ear. “You or the baby.” His fingers curled into the hem of her panties to slide them down her legs slowly. When he returned to her, it was to kiss her neck hotly, making her shiver. “I’ll be as gentle as I can…but I want you, Esme. I’ve wanted you for a goddamn age and a half.”
At the first touch of his erection against her slick lower lips, a soft cry escaped her. Esme spread her legs wantonly, arching against him, and he slid deep – so deep that she gripped his behind, moaning his name in near-delirium.
So good.
So deliciously right.
Daniel groaned her name as his pelvis settled flush against hers, burying his face in her shoulder a moment before he began to slowly piston his hips. Esme dug her heels into the blanket, pressing back against every delicious thrust as the man proceeded to undo her with every gasp – every low, thrumming moan.
Esme’s head fell back as he worked his body against hers, undulating his hips in motions that made stars shoot to life before her vision. She clung to him as best she could, moving in tandem – or in opposition when it drove him deeper inside her wanting passage. There was something ridiculously arousing – something animalistically primal about going at it outdoors where anyone could just come upon them. Even though Daniel had promised her that they wouldn’t be disturbed, Esme still felt a thrill of added excitement with every thrust
She shuddered with each contact of his hips against hers, feeling the tip of him kiss her womb with every movement. Her orgasm was cresting quickly – building until she was on the precipice of the ultimate pleasure.
And then, she sensed it.
As tender as Daniel was being – as breathtaking as the groans spilling against her shoulder were – he was holding himself back. Every muscle in his body was stained taut, and she could feel his teeth clenched against her flushed skin. Esme kissed her way up the side of his neck with hot presses of her lips until she reached his ear, arching her hips against his to take him even deeper. “Let go, Daniel.” She begged him on a breathy, pleasure-filled moan. “Give it to me. All of it.”
As if some invisible switch had been thrown, the man’s grip on her hips tightened a moment before his next thrust, lifting her body. As he touched a place within her she hadn’t even known existed, Esme came with blinding force, clinging to Daniel for dear life.
But he didn’t stop. The man continued with his fingers curled into her hips hard enough to leave bruises. He lifted her against him, angling her to meet the slide of his body until the young woman was a writhing mess of sensation against him. Despite just having come down from one of the most intense orgasms of her existence, she was immediately driven back toward another peak.
Daniel growled, low and steady, against her ear, the sounds of their flesh connecting a stark contrast to the peaceful landscape around them. He whispered obscenities that she couldn’t have imagined coming from his mouth, driving her passion higher and higher until he thrust once more – clutching her to him so she had absolutely no escape before spurting his seed deep within her in a series of hot jets that had her coming apart once more in his arms.
For a moment, she just lay in his arms, a thin sheen of sweat glinting from her body as she attempted to catch her breath.
Holy Christ.
The man might seem an angel, but he fucked like a demon.
Esme rested her forehead against his shoulder as her heart rate slowed. The only sounds were the soft breeze as grass and low tree branches rustled around them; and the young woman thought she couldn’t remember a moment when she’d been more at peace.
When Daniel finally spoke, it was in a low voice fraught with concern. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” He lifted his head from her shoulder, his gaze worried as he hurriedly began to look over her from head to foot. When his softening erection slid from her, Esme emitted a low moan of loss and Daniel cupped her face with a deep frown. “Esme, I’m so sorry.” His tone held not the slightest iota of humor. “Do we need to go to the hospital?”
He looked so serious – so afraid, that Esme couldn’t help but burst into laughter. He thought he’d hurt her? The very idea was ludicrous, more ludicrous than any possibility of needing a hospital. The moment the first sounds of her mirth colored the air, Daniel’s face contorted in concerted confusion and she tried to calm herself enough to speak properly. “No, Daniel…I’m sorry. I don’t know what impression I gave you but you certainly didn’t hurt me. Quite the opposite, in fact.”
The man’s frown softened somewhat. “You’re sure?”
He looked so adorable sitting there, his expression screwed into one of complete perplex, that Esme didn’t know whether to feel sorry for him or to be intensely aroused by the man’s incomparable naked form.
Rising onto her elbows, she touched her lips to his in a soft peck, her gaze reassuring. “I’m sure. That was probably as far to the opposite end of the spectrum from pain as you can possibly go.”
Daniel’s smile was slow and crooked, igniting fire in her belly anew where she thought she had to be completely exhausted.
Apparently not. “I didn’t hurt you.”
She shook her head, flushing slightly as his eyes roamed over her naked form with renewed hunger. “Not in the slightest.”
Daniel drew her to him, molding his mouth to hers and kissing her until her body was putty in his hands. “Your breasts…” He murmured huskily against her mouth, “They’re going to grow more, aren’t they?”
Esme couldn’t help an uncharacteristically girlish giggle at his enthusiasm. “I’m going to get fat too. Don’t forget that.”
“It’s not fat.” The rancher nipped at her bottom lip, sending a spike of sensation to pool between her legs. “That’s my son you’re talking about.” He cupped a hand over her belly with quirk of his lips. “Watch your mouth.”
Esme could do little else, with the way the man was currently manipulating it. As he eased her onto her side on the blanket, spooning her against his renewed erection, the dark-haired woman reached back to wrap an arm around his neck and hold him closer.
Closing her eyes for an indulgent moment, she pretended that he loved her – that she’d cook new meals for him every day for the rest of their lives and the baby growing inside her belly would be theirs instead of his.
It was a lovely dream; and though it couldn’t last forever, in that moment, in the clearing by the pond, with Daniel sliding deep within her for the second time, she was content to pretend.
***
Chapter Seven: Entangled
She was pissed.
Even five months after she had walked out on the sorry son of a bitch, Alyssa was still angry as a hornet. She had given Daniel Hartsford everything. Her heart, her soul, and all of her patience. And then, what did he want of her? A complete and total commandeering of her independence. He wanted to be with her all the time. She couldn’t go a single place by herself. He wanted outings and a pretty little bauble for his arm, so she gave it to him.
At his expense of course.
Then he wanted all of the things she’d pretended to be at first but couldn’t maintain.
Men were such ridiculous creatures. Everyone knew that the first stages of a relationship didn’t show anyone’s true self. It was all about being who the other person wanted you to be. The challenge was staying in love after everything was said and done – after the true colors came out.
By this point, Daniel knew who she was. He knew what she needed.
And still, he asked the world of her. He wanted romance when he wanted it, and when she offered it up – when she needed something, he was always exasperated. Didn’t he understand how difficult it was for her to keep her looks up at her age? Hair, nails, facials, massages, waxes, mani-pedis – it was all necessary to maintain her image.
He wanted
a gorgeous girlfriend? Well he had to pay for it. It was a given when someone worked as hard as her to be the perfect piece of arm candy. The designer clothes, bags, shoes and expensive jewelry – even the car she drove – he had no idea how well these things contributed to his image.
He was a successful billionaire who had been with the perfect woman. And honestly, in Alyssa’s mind, the price of being that woman had been extraordinarily low where he was concerned.
But then, he’d had to ruin everything.
When the man had first started babbling about the damn baby, she’d ignored it. She’d never really wanted any children of her own, though she was willing to be a kept stepmother for the right price. She’d thought it was just a passing fancy, and so she hadn’t paid Daniel’s pleas any mind.
But then he’d become incessant. Bugging her every day, every hour, about wanting a kid – about defiling her body for his own impending sense of doom. Christ, wasn’t it enough that the man wanted to fuck every time she turned around? While it had been thrilling at first, she’d quickly tired of his wanting to have his way with her at his whim. She had a life too, which he had a tendency to forget.
Ultimately, she’d agreed to his request – if for nothing more than to get him to shut up. She supposed that as long as she didn’t have to ruin her body for the sake of the brat, it wouldn’t be a big deal. She’d just hand it over to him the moment it was born anyway – wasn’t that what he wanted?
Maybe if it was a girl, she’d have the opportunity to dress the kid up and show it off to her friends, but that was pretty much the level of involvement she wanted. After all, the child would be Daniel’s, not hers. He was the one who wanted it.
And everything would have been fine if he hadn’t picked the wrong goddam surrogate.
The Cowboy's Baby: A BWWM Billionaire Cowboy Pregnancy Romance Page 9
