by Leah Brooke
“I’m—” Lana’s stomach rolled, and with a hand over her mouth, she raced for the bathroom.
Seconds later, J.W. was at her side, rubbing her back while dampening a wash cloth. “Damn, baby, I’m sorry.”
By the time Lana finished, she was exhausted and slumped against him, taking the warm washcloth from his hand and wiping her mouth.
“What the hell just happened?”
J.W. held her close, his lips in her hair. “We kept switching the schedule around for the new men, partially to see the abilities of each man, and partly to see who was where when there was trouble. It appears Tommy and Buck Avery got to Bud Delaney and convinced him to help them. Threatened him actually.”
Lana turned to gape at him. “That young man who saddled your horse?”
“Yes. That’s when the Avery brothers first approached him. They told him that if he didn’t help them, they would hurt his sister.”
“The poor thing.”
“Yeah, well he knows now that he should have come clean with everything.”
“Are you going to fire him?”
“No. Not yet. Time will tell if he told the truth. Until then, were keeping him real close.”
“So what the hell happened today?”
“John got Bud to confess to helping the Avery brothers after he found dynamite hidden in plain sight in an area Bud had been patrolling. Once John confronted him, he got him to talk, and Bud admitted everything. He also told John that he’d allowed Buck and Tommy to sneak into the house.”
“Oh God.” Memories of her attack came flooding back.
Rubbing her back, J.W. lifted her chin to stare into her eyes. “Rod had already suspected that Bud was up to no good. He knew Bud was stationed close to the house, so he came inside and waited. John called me out with the walkie-talkie, knowing that Rod and the Avery brothers would overhear. When I went out, John told me what had happened, and that Rod was already guarding you. I unlatched the French door just enough to get inside fast. And we waited.”
Taking the cloth from her, he rinsed it out and wiped her face with it, the slow slide of the cloth over her heated skin drawing a moan from her.
“Rod was hiding in the corner of the living room and followed you to the study. Buck and Avery were in the hall bathroom, evidently waiting for you to pass them on your way to the bedroom.”
“Oh God. What if I’d gone that way?”
“Rod would have stopped you. Your safety is the number one concern on this ranch, Lana. Come on. Let’s get you something to settle your stomach and get you calmed down.”
Laying a hand on his arm, she searched his hard features. “What did you mean, time will tell if Bud told the truth?”
“We’ll talk about it later.”
“I want to know now. You can’t keep treating me like a child.”
J.W. sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’m not treating you like a child, Lana, but I don’t see the need to upset you right now.”
He held up a hand when she would have objected. “When the doctor says you’re all right, I’ll tell you.” Lifting her to her feet, he strode from the small bathroom and toward the kitchen. “Let’s get you something to drink and make sure your stomach’s settled.”
Carrying a glass of ginger ale, Lana allowed J.W. to lead her back into the study where Rod stood by the closed French doors, looking out.
Turning, he glanced at J.W. before meeting her gaze, his eyes filled with a combination of anger and concern. “Are you all right, ma’am?”
Shaking from head to toe, Lana gave him a weak smile. “I’m fine.”
Rod inclined his head. “Good.”
“Thank you for being here.”
“You’re welcome, but J.W. deserves the credit. He’s the one who wanted us to stagger the schedule. J.W. suspected that someone on the inside had to be helping the Avery brothers.”
His gaze settled on J.W. “They planned to kidnap her and get you to pay ransom. They figured you owed it to them for firing them. They were going to go to Mexico on the money you gave them. When they got there, they were going to call you and tell you where to find her.”
Lana gulped. “Dear God.”
Rod frowned. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
Gathering her close, J.W. bent and hooked one arm around her back and the other under her knees, lifting her as if afraid she might break. “Keep sipping your ginger ale. I’m taking you to the doctor, and I don’t want to hear any lip about it.”
Curling into him, she lifted her hand to his shoulder.
Holding her high against his chest, J.W. carried her out to his truck. “That’s the most I’ve heard Rod speak since he started working here.” He looked down at her, his eyes narrowing. “The only time he smiles is when he’s around you.”
Nervous now, Lana pushed against J.W.’s chest in an effort to get down, but he didn’t seem to notice. “J.W., I don’t want you to think—”
J.W. strode out of the room and to the front door. “I trust Rod almost as much as I trust you. As a matter of fact, I now trust him with your life. We’ll go get you checked out to be sure you’re all right.”
“I’m fine, J.W. It feels better just to have you hold me.”
“Good, because I don’t plan to let you go anytime soon. We’re going to see the doctor, though, to make sure.” Once he settled her in his truck, he went around to slide into the driver’s seat. Starting the engine, he turned to her. “I think Rod suspects what happened to you. He’s very protective, which is one of the reasons I promoted him. His sister was attacked.”
Lana gasped. “Oh no!”
His eyes hardened. “She wasn’t as lucky as you were. She was killed.”
“How horrible!”
“Maybe one day he’ll tell you about it himself. On the first anniversary of her death, he got drunk and told me the whole story. I’ve never seen him drunk again.”
As they started down the driveway, he turned to her. “I’m real proud of you. You kept your head and stayed quiet and out of the way.” At the end of the driveway, he stopped. “You’re a hell of a lot stronger than you think you are. I’ll be glad when you realize it and realize that you can trust what you feel for me.”
Lana choked back a sob. “And you were there. You came to my rescue before either one of them had the chance to take me.”
Aware of his steady stare, she smiled. “I know what I feel for you, J.W., but that doesn’t mean I’m going to marry you just because you feel sorry for me and responsible for me because I’m carrying your child.” Taking a deep breath, she stared out the windshield. “I wouldn’t think that a man like you would want to marry someone you don’t love.”
“Who said I don’t love you?”
She turned with a gasp, her heart pounding out of her chest at the look on his face.
With a raised brow, he smiled faintly, his eyes sparkling with love for her. “I love you so damned much, I ache with it. If you weren’t so set on pretending that every bit of affection I show you is because I feel sorry for you, you’d see that.”
Pulling out onto the main road, he glanced at her again. “I’m here when you’re ready to admit that we belong together. Don’t take too long. I want to be married as soon as possible. I don’t want my child born a bastard.”
Chapter Seventeen
Lana slid naked into bed where J.W. waited for her, pulling up the covers before reaching for the tube of hand cream she’d left on the nightstand.
“I’m glad we finally managed to get my parents and your mother settled down. It’s a small town, isn’t it?” Frowning, she poked him. “Your mother admitted to me that she hasn’t been around because she was afraid that you would think she was trying to do a little matchmaking. She was afraid you would get frustrated and dump me.”
J.W. raised a brow, smiling faintly. “Did you tell my mother that you were trying your best to dump me?”
“I’m not trying to dump you.” Lana rubbed the cream in,
Lenore Brant’s words playing in her head.
They’d come home from their visit to the doctor’s to find her parents and J.W.’s mother waiting for them.
Alice had been there, horrified to find out what had happened while she’d been shopping, and had clucked over Lana like a mother hen while cooking dinner for everyone.
While J.W. said his good-byes to her parents, his mother had pulled Lana aside. “He loves you. He’s so worried about you, but I’ve never seen my son so happy. You’re good for him.”
Lana smiled at that. “He’s good for me, too.” She’d realized suddenly that, since she’d begin to stay at the ranch, she no longer checked locks.
She slept soundly.
Lenore grinned. “You’re good for each other.” Sneaking a glance at J.W., Lenore leaned closer. “I’m looking forward to helping with the wedding arrangements.”
Pulled out of her musings when J.W. took her hands in one of his, she turned to meet his searching gaze. “It appears that we’re good for each other.”
Rolling to his side, he propped himself on his elbow, releasing her hands to slide his under the covers. “So you’ve decided to stay here with me?”
Biting her lip against the slow slide of his finger over the outer curve of her breast, Lana realized that struggling against the decision she’d already made became increasingly difficult.
Clearing her throat, she shifted slightly to get the friction of his finger against her nipple where she needed it, but J.W. somehow avoided it. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
“With a small suitcase.” Leaning closer, J.W. pressed his lips to her temple, the gentle slide of his finger back and forth over the underside of her breast sending delicious sparks of sensation to her nipple. “And you keep everything out of sight. If not for the scent of your perfume and one little tube of hand cream on the nightstand, no one would even know you used this room.”
Her nipple ached for attention, ached for the friction of his warm, callused finger. “I d–didn’t want t–to get in the way.”
Lifting his head, he scowled down at her. “When have I ever made you feel that you were in the way?”
A moan escaped when he tapped her nipple once before resuming his teasing caress. “You haven’t, J.W., but I only agreed to stay here for a few days. A few days were up several days ago.”
Something come and went in his eyes, something that looked very much like a combination of anger and panic.
Realizing she must have imagined the panic, and concerned about the anger, she rolled toward him, placing a hand on his chest. “Why did you look angry just a second ago?”
J.W. smiled, his eyes gleaming with understanding. “You don’t have to worry about my anger, and you know it. I’ll admit that I would be upset if you leave, but the last thing you ever have to worry about is being hurt by me.”
Bending to touch his lips to hers, he sighed. “Ordinarily, I’d be angry that you even considered it, but I know what you’ve been through. I would never hurt you, but tying you to the bed is sounding better and better.”
Laughing softly, Lana lifted a hand to his hair and pressed against him, nibbling at his bottom lip. “Maybe you are a little kinky.”
Tugging lightly at her nipple, J.W. rolled her to her back, his lips hovering over hers. “There’s no maybe about it.” With a groan he slid his hand to her abdomen. “But for the next several months, we’re going to do everything slow and easy.” Bracing himself on his elbows, he pushed her hair back from her face. “I want you to live here. I want all your little bottles and tubes in the bathroom and your panties and bras in the drawer next to mine. You’re not in the way, baby. Just the opposite. You’ve breathed life into this house.”
Lana blinked back tears. “I love you, J.W.”
J.W.’s slow smile was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. “I know. I love you, too.”
Lana blinked, her eyes welling with tears. “Don’t. I don’t expect you to say it just because I’m pregnant with your baby. Damn it, J.W., I never expected a man like you to lie to me.”
His eyes flashed. “I’m not lying.”
Lifting her chin, Lana looked into his eyes, wishing she could believe him. “If you love me, why didn’t you tell me until we were on our way to see the doctor?”
Holding the ends of her hair, he ran them over her nipple, the sensation so intense it made her pussy clench. “Because you weren’t ready to hear it.” Smiling tenderly, he took her hand in his and turned it to brush his lips over the scar on her inner wrist. “You’ve been through a lot in the last several months, and now you’re carrying my baby. I don’t want to rush you, but I want you here with me. I want you to be my wife.”
Stunned, she gaped at him, struggling to hold on to reason. “Oh, J.W.! I wish I could agree to marry you, but I’m just not ready. I need to be sure. Everything’s happened so fast. How can we know we’re right for each other when I’m still not myself?”
“I know what I want, Lana. I’ve been looking for it long enough. You’re it.”
“You sound angry again.”
J.W. shrugged, still using the ends of her hair to tease her nipple, the gentle caress sending ripples down her body to her clit. “Frustrated, but I’ll live. In the meantime, I want you to stay here. Give up your apartment and stay here.”
Struck by the tension in his body, Lana shook her head and smiled. “I hope neither one of us regrets this.”
The light in J.W.’s eyes warmed her all the way through and made her want him more than ever. “Good. I’ll hire movers tomorrow. I want you moved in here as soon as possible.”
Lana cuddled against him as a case of nerves hit her hard, her body humming with arousal. “I hope we’re doing the right thing. I want you to talk to me. Share things with me. I want to be a partner. I don’t want to be shut out or kept in the dark. You can’t shield me from everything.”
“No, but there are things that you need to let me worry about.” Bending, he touched his lips to her nipple, his tone telling her that his attention focused more on arousing her than their conversation.
“You haven’t told me yet what you meant about waiting to see if Bud was honest with you.”
J.W. sighed and pressed his lips to her abdomen. “I don’t want you to get upset. I want you to trust that I’ll keep you safe.”
Smiling, she cupped his jaw, while inside her heart raced. “I do. Tell me.”
“Your attacker somehow found out about the Avery brothers and paid them well for information about how to get to you. He found you, but with so many men around, he can’t find a way to get close to you.”
“Oh God. I’ve been out with my mother and yours!”
“And you’ve had my men, men whom I trust, following you.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Our mothers knew. I didn’t want you to worry about it.” He slid his finger back and forth over her nipple. “They got Bud to agree to help. He’s going to let your attacker close to the house as planned.”
“But not inside the house!”
“No, baby. Not inside. He’ll get close enough for you to identify him, but then he’ll be taken care of.” His eyes narrowed on hers. “Trust me on this, Lana. I’d give my life to protect you.”
“Please don’t. I can’t live without you.”
“Now you’re beginning to know how I feel. Can we talk about something else now, like how sexy you look, and how much I’m going to enjoy watching my child grow inside you?”
“I’ll be as big as a house soon and you won’t think I’m so sexy. What did the police have to say? Did they get the Avery brothers to confess to all the trouble they’ve caused?”
With a sigh, J.W. lifted his head, resting his hand on her abdomen with a smile. “Okay, let’s get this out of the way. Buck and Tommy were taken to the hospital for treatment and are now in jail. They tried to deny the fire and cutting the fence, but the cops found the gasoline and dynamite. It all had their fingerprints all over it
. Finally, Tommy admitted to the fire, cutting the fence, and their plan for you. They’re going to be in jail for quite a long time.”
“Good. They deserve to be for all the trouble they’ve caused.”
J.W. smiled, his fingertips brushing lightly over her mound. “Everyone’s talking about you, you know.”
Shocked, and not sure she liked being the topic of conversation, Lana frowned. “About me? Why?”
“Well, it’s all over the ranch that you kept your cool. You’re quite a heroine. Everyone’s waiting for us to have our first fight.” Grinning, he touched his lips to her nipple again. “I think they want to see how you handle me.”
Wondering about the same thing herself, Lana shrugged, ignoring that comment. “I just wanted to stay out of the way. I was too worried about protecting the baby to do anything.”
Sliding down slightly, J.W. leaned over her, pushing the sheet aside to kiss her abdomen. “You’re going to be a wonderful mother.”
Intrigued, Lana pursed her lips, sliding a hand through his hair. “How would you know that?”
“I know you. How do you feel?”
“I told you that I’m fine, and so did the doctor.”
“The doctor said that he wants you to rest. Too much excitement like that isn’t good for a pregnant woman.” Eyeing her breasts, he sighed. “Which means that, although I can’t stop touching you, there’ll be no lovemaking tonight.”
Narrowing her eyes at him, Lana slapped his shoulder. “That’s just mean.”
“Tomorrow night, baby.” Delighted with her, J.W. rolled to his back, gathering her close. “Tonight, what you need is sleep.”
Attuned to her, he reached out and turned off the light, settling her against him again. “Okay?”
Lana sighed, her head on his chest next to her hand. “I’m fine. It seems I’m always fine when you’re around.”
* * * *
