Iron Cowboy [Erotically Yours 2] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic)

by Leah Brooke

  “I’m fine. Nervous.” Running her fingers through the hair at his nape, she looked into his eyes. “Are you sure this is okay?”

  After dropping another kiss on her lips, he rose to his full height, towering over her, his expression hard and unforgiving. “Positive. Sit here and relax.”

  She frowned as he moved away, missing him already.

  Mesmerized by the sight of him on horseback, she watched as he spoke with several of the ranch hands while keeping his attention on the men working with the horses. Shouting out orders, he kept moving, every man rushing to do his bidding.

  Lana thought herself too nervous to fall asleep, but stretched out comfortably on the padded lounge chair, with the combination of warm sunshine and a cool breeze blowing, she gradually relaxed and found her eyelids drooping.

  Distantly aware of a blanket being placed over her, she settled into a more comfortable position with a moan of thanks, her eyelids too heavy to lift.

  Waiting for J.W. to finish for the day, she dozed, occasionally rousing when she heard the men’s shouts to each other as they worked with the horses.

  Laughter.

  J.W.’s deep baritone barking out orders.

  Alice humming as she made dinner.

  Leaves blowing.

  Comforting sounds.

  Normal sounds.

  Relaxed in the cocoon of safety J.W. had built around her, she smiled and let herself drift again.

  “Whore!”

  Lana woke with a start, whipping her head around toward the sound of the angry voice that had yanked her from a deep sleep.

  A voice she’d never forget had pierced her dreams and shaken her sense of security with one rage-filled word.

  She gasped and then stopped breathing altogether when she looked across the patio and found herself staring into the eyes of the mad man who’d starred in her nightmares, the look in his eyes chilling her to the bone.

  Her heart pounded furiously, beating so loudly that it blocked out everything else.

  Gripping the arms of the lounge chair, she sucked in air, dizzy with fear as she lowered her gaze to the huge knife in his hand.

  She knew how the blade felt when it slid over her skin, the horror of being helpless and unable to avoid the horror of having her flesh sliced at his whim.

  She knew the terror of begging for her life and the disbelief when he only laughed and pushed the blade deeper.

  “No.” She wrapped her arms protectively around her swollen abdomen and struggled to get to her feet, her advanced state of pregnancy thwarting her effort.

  “What do you mean, no?” The man who’d attacked her in New York moved closer, holding the knife in a tight grip. “You don’t think I’m gonna let you keep that brat inside you, do you?”

  She couldn’t look away from the knife as she finally managed to get to her feet, but once she stood, she looked up at his face, judging the distance to the French doors on her left.

  “Is that him?” J.W. appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of her, his gun pointed at her attacker.

  “Y–yes.”

  “Good. Get inside, Lana. Right now.”

  Alice came running out and rushed to Lana, grabbing her hand. “Come on. Let’s get inside. You’re white and shaking like a leaf.”

  Fearing for J.W.’s safety, Lana rushed to the open French doors, feeling as if she’d stepped into a scene from a horror movie. So scared that she couldn’t feel her fingers, she wiped away a tear. “J.W., please be careful. I’ll call the police.”

  J.W. took another step toward her stalker, strolling toward him with a calmness that seemed to shake the other man. “You can call whoever you want to call. This’ll be over in a minute or two.”

  On the way in, she saw Rod standing at the edge of the patio. “Don’t let him get hurt.”

  “J.W. would kill anyone who interfered. Believe me, J.W. can handle this asshole. You need to go inside.”

  The first pain hit her, and not wanting to distract J.W., she nodded and rushed inside, watching the scene play out from the kitchen window. Biting her lip to hold back the cry of pain, she kept her gaze trained on the scene unfolding in front of her.

  “Get out of my way! She’s mine. She’s always been mine. The way she looked at me—I knew! I knew she was just waiting for me to come get her. It took me years—years—to get close enough. If those assholes hadn’t gotten in the way, she’d be with me. She wanted me, but those two guys in New York interfered in something that was none of their business.”

  J.W.’s icy demeanor became even colder. “So why’d you beat her? Why’d you cut her?” He remained tense, his hands fisted at his sides as he stepped closer, coming within a few feet of the deadly looking knife.

  “Because she was fighting me! She knew I’d be coming for her, but she tried to pretend that she didn’t want it. She tried to play hard to get.”

  J.W.’s jaw clenched. “You get that?”

  John Hudson appeared from around the corner, his eyes hard as he held up what appeared to be some kind of video recorder. “Yeah. I got it.”

  J.W.’s smile became one of anticipation. “Good. Now I can have some fun.”

  He took a step toward her attacker, grabbing the wrist of the hand holding the knife, lifting it high above the other man’s head and squeezing so hard that the other man’s wrist snapped.

  For such a large man, J.W. could move fast, faster than she’d ever expected.

  Punch after punch landed, and Lana couldn’t help but notice that J.W. hit the man in the face exactly where she had a scar.

  He’d broken his wrist as the other man had broken hers, where she still had the remnants of a scar.

  Grabbing him by the neck, where she had another scar, J.W. lifted the other man to his toes and kicked him hard in the thigh with his cowboy boots, which would probably leave a mark larger than the scar she had there.

  A punch to the stomach sent the man flying.

  Turning, J.W. paused, his eyes narrowed on hers through the window, somehow knowing she was there. “You okay, baby?”

  With a groan, the other man sat up and reached for the knife with his good hand, but J.W. turned, kicked the knife away, and bent low. “I was hopin’ you’d do that.”

  Lifting the other man’s head by grabbing the front of his shirt, he pushed the barrel of his gun against the other man’s head. “If I ever see you again, I’ll kill you.” Another punch in the face with an iron fist had the other man falling back again, this time unconscious.

  J.W. disappeared, appearing again seconds later in the kitchen. She took a step toward him but before she could take another, he was at her side, his arm around her. “J.W.?”

  Holding her close, he ran a hand up and down her back. “Calm down, baby. You’re okay. I just wanted to get his threats on tape. The police should be here any minute now. It’s all over and there’s no way he’s getting away with what he did to you. He’ll be gone a long time.”

  Rod spoke from behind him. “Damn, J.W. You’ve got a punch like a sledgehammer.”

  Alice nodded. “Sure does and it was much less than that bastard deserved.”

  Lifting her head, she stared up at J.W. “My water broke.”

  J.W.’s eyes went wide. “What?”

  Stunned that the man who faced a knife-wielding attacker with such calm could look so panicked increased her own fear.

  “It’s too soon.” The sudden tense silence surrounding them allowed her words to carry. Sniffing, she pressed her face against J.W.’s chest. “It’s too soon to have the baby. I still have four weeks to go.”

  J.W. rushed into action, lifting her in his arms and striding into the house. “Don’t worry, baby. We’ll get you to the hospital, and everything’ll be just fine.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Fighting panic, J.W. carried her into the hospital and past the nurse who rushed forward.

  “Mr. Brant!” The nurse hurried to keep up with his steps. “Where are you going? What’s w
rong?”

  “My wife’s water broke, and we’re going to the maternity wing.” He paused briefly at the staircase, but one look at Lana’s face had him shifting his path slightly and going straight to the elevators.

  The nurse turned sharply to get out of his way. “I’ll call the doctor.”

  “Good. I already called him, and he’s supposed to be waiting. Tell him we’re on our way up.”

  “Let me get you a wheelchair.”

  “I’ve got her.” His wife was better off in his arms than anywhere else, and he wasn’t about to hand her over until he had to.

  Once the elevator door open, he strode inside, surprised that none of the other people waiting got in with them. Jabbing the button for the second floor, he gritted his teeth when Lana moaned again and curled against him. “Another contraction, baby?”

  Alarmed to realize that she was giggling, J.W. pulled her closer, wondering if the stress and fear of the last hour had made her start hallucinating. “It’s okay. We’re almost there. What are you laughing about, baby?”

  “You.” Lifting her head, she smiled, her smile turning into a grimace as another contraction hit her. “You scared those poor people. None of them would even ride in the elevator with us.”

  “Scared them?”

  As soon as the doors open, J.W. strode out of the elevator and straight toward the nurse’s desk. “How the hell did I scare them?”

  “You should see the look on your face. Don’t scare the nurses.”

  Deciding that pain had made Lana delirious, J.W. stepped up to the nurse’s station. “My wife’s in labor. I want the private room I arranged for months ago. Where’s the doctor?”

  The nurse stepped back, her expression one of alarm. Almost immediately, she straightened, seeming to snap to attention. “Oh! Mr. Brant. Right this way. The doctor’s waiting.”

  “I know where it is.” Without giving the nurse time to round the counter, J.W. strode down the hall to the corner room with windows on two sides, glancing at Lana’s white face when she poked him in the chest. “What’s wrong, baby? We’re almost there.”

  “Stop scaring everyone. Would it hurt you to smile?”

  “I’ll smile when you’re no longer in pain. Christ, now I know what your brother meant.”

  “What?”

  “Never mind. Here we are.”

  * * * *

  Through the painful hours that followed, J.W. never left her side.

  “More ice chips, baby?” Lifting the spoon of chips to her mouth, he smiled, but his eyes remained full of concern.

  “No. Thank you.” Knowing that she had a little time before the next contraction, she reached out a hand to him, smiling when he took it in his free one at once. “Don’t worry, darling. The doctor said the baby’s only a few weeks early and should be fine.”

  “I know.” Setting the cup of ice chips aside, he lifted her hand to his lips and placed the other over her abdomen. “I just hate seeing you in pain.”

  When the next pain hit her, J.W. crooned to her, helping it through it and giving her something solid to lean on.

  Once it ended, he turned to glare at the doctor. “Can’t you give her anything for the pain?”

  Lana gripped his shirt and pulled him back toward her. “The doctor already gave me what he could without hurting the baby. Now leave the doctor alone and—oh!”

  Gripping him tightly against the pain, Lana breathed the way the doctor had taught her.

  Dr. Scott smiled. “You’re fully dilated. Are you ready to meet your new little son or daughter?”

  Trembling, Lana gripped J.W.’s shirt tighter, gritting her teeth against the pain. “Absolutely!”

  J.W. held on to her, wiping her face. “It’s all right, baby. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

  Lana smiled up at him, the love and concern in his eyes bringing tears to hers. “You worry enough for both of us.”

  In a surprisingly short amount of time, Lana held her new son in her arms with J.W. hovering protectively over both of them. His finger looked incredibly large against the baby’s cheek, the expression on his face one of wonder.

  “He’s beautiful.” Turning his head, he touched his lips to hers, his eyes wet with tears. “So are you.”

  The nurse stepped forward with a smile. “I’m sorry, but I need to take him for his bath, and the doctor wants him in the incubator for a bit just to be on the safe side.”

  Lana stiffened, gripping J.W.’s hand. “Is something wrong?”

  “No.” After lifting her mask to cover her mouth and nose, the nurse took the baby from her arms. “It’s just a precaution. You’ve got visitors waiting, and we don’t want to take any chances with him. He can’t have any visitors until the doctor’s checked him out thoroughly.”

  Pausing at the door, the nurse turned, her eyes twinkling. “Do you want me to start sending in your visitors?”

  “Visitors?” Lana lifted her gaze to J.W.’s. “Did you call our parents?” He hadn’t left her side, and she hadn’t seen him using the phone.

  “I had Alice do it.” He glanced at the nurse. “Give us a minute.”

  “Of course.”

  Once they were alone, Lana reached up for him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I love you, J.W. I never thought I could be this happy.”

  J.W. gathered her close. “I’m glad.” Lifting her chin, he leaned back, staring into her eyes. “I love you more than my own life. You look happy, baby.”

  She was happy.

  She pulled him down for a kiss and leaned against him, hiding her smile. “The Avery brothers are gone. My stalker is gone. The baby is great.”

  “And?”

  Lifting her head, she frowned, pretending to be confused. “Is there something else?”

  His eyes narrowed but danced with delight. “Are you teasing me, baby?”

  Shrugging, she allowed a small smile. “Maybe.”

  Pulling the chair closer to the bed, J.W. sat, holding her hand as he stared at her. “You’re stronger now than you were when I met you.”

  Delighted that his words rang true, she grinned, blinking back tears. “Yes, I am. Thanks to you. You’ve been there for me from the first day I met you. Your love gives me strength.”

  J.W.’s slow smile made her heart beat faster. “Then you should be the strongest woman in the world.” Sitting back, he eyed her for several heart-stopping seconds. “You’re gonna give me a lot of trouble, aren’t you?” He fixed her covers, pulling them higher, and then checked to make sure the socks the nurse had given her were pulled up.

  Shifting to a more comfortable position, she smiled when he waited for her to finish and fixed the covers again. “I wouldn’t want you to get bored with me.”

  “That won’t happen.” He leaned over her. “There are so many facets to you that it’s going to take me the rest of my life to explore each and every one of them.” Smiling again, he straightened. “Are you ready to let everyone in?”

  “Yes.” Lifting a hand to his chest, she blinked back tears. “But then I want some time alone with you again before you go back to the ranch.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” He pointed to a folded cot in the corner. “I ordered a larger cot. I’m not sleeping without you next to me. Ever.”

  “You’ll be right back?”

  His eyes flashed with delight. “I’ll be right back. You’re never getting rid of me, baby.”

  Unable to resist teasing him, she grinned and settled back. “You say that now. Wait until I recover.”

  His slow smile was filled with anticipation. “Lookin’ forward to it, baby. Then we’ll find out just how kinky you can be.”

  Filled with love for him, Lana watched him go, wiping her tears of happiness from her cheeks.

  She’d fallen in love with a man as strong as iron and a gentleness that warmed her all the way through.

  And he loved her.

  What more could a woman want?

  Epilogue

  Lana fi
nished rinsing Joseph’s hair and smiled as she watched him play with his bath toys. Keeping a close eye on him, she shivered at the feel of her husband’s warm lips on her neck.

  “Mmm. That feels good.”

  “I’d do something that feels a whole lot better if you weren’t otherwise occupied.”

  Hearing his father’s voice, Joseph looked up and squealed. “Dadadadada.”

  Chuckling, J.W. moved to Lana’s side and knelt on the floor next to her, leaning over the bathtub. “That I am.” He reached out to smooth a large finger over the front of his son’s hair. “Have you finished your bath?”

  Joseph squealed again and grabbed his father’s arm, kicking his feet and sending water and bubbles everywhere.

  J.W. wiped his face and grinned. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He reached for his son and wrapped him in a towel, his movements smooth and sure from long practice. “Come on, little guy. Let’s get you dried off and dressed. You’ve got a big day.”

  By the time Lana finished cleaning up and went back to the bedroom, J.W. already had Joseph dried and diapered.

  Standing at the doorway, she watched them play on the bed, a sight that never failed to stir her.

  J.W.’s T-shirt, now damp in several places, also had a few spots of bubbles, which she found sexy as hell on such a big, strong man.

  “You’re such a good father.”

  Turning to look at her, J.W. raised a brow, a half-smile playing at his lips, while his eyes held a seriousness that tripped her pulse.

  “Good enough to start talking about having another?”

  Lana’s heart skipped a beat. Grinning, she gathered the clothes she’d laid out for Joseph and sat next to J.W. on the bed. “We didn’t do much talking before I got pregnant with Joseph.”

  Running a finger down her arm, he reached out and caught his son’s flailing foot. “I wasn’t thinking about anything except getting inside you. Do you know that you’re more beautiful every day?”

  Sliding Joseph’s pants up his legs, she glanced at her husband. “I think your eyesight’s starting to go. I used to model, remember?”

  “I’ve seen all those pictures of you. You’re more beautiful now.” Moving in behind her as she continued to dress their son, he nuzzled her neck, sliding his hand around her to press it against her abdomen. “I want another baby with you. I want to get you pregnant again. I want to watch you grow heavy with my child. I want more sons and a little girl who looks just like her mother.”