by Liv Brywood
She had no idea why she felt so comfortable confessing everything to Mack. He hadn’t been the easiest person to talk to when she’d first interviewed for the job. But now, she couldn’t stop talking.
“I’m glad you’re telling me everything now. I suspected something wasn’t right this morning, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. I’m glad you finally told me.”
“You’re not always the easiest person to talk to.”
He huffed. “What?”
“When you interviewed me, you were rather abrupt… and a bit overbearing.”
“Me?” he asked indignantly.
“Yes, you.” She playfully tapped his hip.
“I just want things to go right on the ranch. Now that my parents are both gone, I’m the head of the household and it’s my responsibility to take care of my family.”
“You’re a good man.”
“I try. I have a legacy to uphold. The bed and breakfast is one of the most well-liked hotels in the area. We have a reputation for having a family-like feel. Many people who have stayed with us say that they felt like they were staying with family.”
She laced her fingers into his large hand. “I’m sorry I let you down. I understand if you want to replace me with someone who actually knows what they’re doing.”
“You might need some help in the kitchen, but you’re smart enough and resourceful enough to do the job. I have confidence in you.”
“Really?”
He gathered her into his arms and gave her a tight hug. “I might have to stand by with a fire extinguisher when you’re cooking, but you deserve a chance to continue.”
She nestled into his arms. He felt like a giant teddy bear. The way he held her against him infused strength into her soul. He was right; she could survive the next few weeks. She’d figure out how to cook without burning the place down. How hard could it really be? And with Mack by her side, she could accomplish it.
“Did your mom leave any cookbooks lying around?” she asked.
He laughed. “Actually, I was looking around for the Curvy Bear Ranch’s official cookbook. I could have sworn Sarah had left it on one of the bookshelves, but she may have stored it somewhere else. It’s filled with all of my mom’s old recipes.”
“I bet she was an amazing cook.”
“With six sons, she learned how to make hearty food as well as some amazing pies.”
“I love pie,” she said.
“She has a really old family recipe for huckleberry pie that will blow your socks off. I haven’t had it since she passed away. Sarah tried to make it once, but it just wasn’t the same. My mom had a magical touch. Her pie crust was always golden brown, and the flaky layers would melt in your mouth. I used to joke with mom that if I ever found a woman who could cook a pie like her, I’d marry her.”
Her smile dropped. “I hope you find someone to love. You seem like a loyal man, not one who will chase women’s skirts like a dog.”
“I picked you up in a bar and had sex with you in the parking lot. I don’t know how honorable that makes me.”
She laughed. “That’s different.”
“Oh?”
“We were just having fun, blowing off steam. It didn’t mean anything.”
“And in the barn?”
She swallowed and looked away. “I’m sorry about that.”
He gently clasped her chin and turned her face back to his. “I’m not.”
With only a whisper of space between them, an arc of energy sizzled across her lips. She couldn’t turn away, not when his dazzling hazel eyes stared at her so intently.
He closed the distance and kissed her with a gentleness that made the world fall away. The only thing that mattered was the brush of his lips across hers. Tendrils of desire unfurled in her belly. She leaned into the kiss and let him pull her into his lap.
As she wrapped her arms around his neck, a blast of snow-drenched air whipped her hair to one side. He brushed the errant strands away and caressed her cheek with the back of his knuckles.
When he finally pulled away he murmured, “I can’t stop kissing you.”
“Mack.”
He lay his cheek against hers. “I can’t believe someone let you go.”
She pressed her face into his chest. She didn’t want to think about her past anymore. The way Mack held her gave her hope that one day she’d find someone else to love. She wasn’t destined to spend the rest of her life alone. But as much as she liked Mack, she didn’t want to rush into anything. A rebound relationship with her boss would only complicate her life.
As another blast of frigid air whistled across the porch, she stood. “Let’s go find your mom’s cookbook. I’d love to make a pie tomorrow night.”
***
The next morning, Mack jogged through a fresh dusting of snow on the way to the bed and breakfast. He held a bouquet of peach roses in one hand and a tin of huckleberry hot chocolate in the other, courtesy of his early morning run to the market.
As he opened the door, a rush of burnt coffee assaulted his senses. He gagged for a second before kicking the door closed behind him. The scent grew stronger as he entered the kitchen.
Madison turned away from the stove with a spatula in one hand and a dishtowel in the other. “Hey, oh wow, those flowers are beautiful.”
He flushed. “I was thinking they would look nice on the dining room table.”
“I can’t believe you found fresh flowers in the middle of winter.”
“Sometimes the grocery store has them.” He eyed a coffee filter filled with burnt grounds. How on earth had she managed to burn coffee?
She followed his gaze. “I know what you’re thinking.”
“That a cup of coffee sounds amazing right now?” he smiled.
“I’m sure that’s exactly what you’re thinking.” She grabbed a mug and started pouring. “I’ll have you know that I only had to use the fire extinguisher once.”
“Only once? I’m impressed.” He took the mug of steaming coffee and gave it a tentative sniff. It smelled more like diesel than that rocket fuel she’d served the previous morning. At least she was heading in the right direction.
“I got up a little early and went looking for the cookbook. I couldn’t find it anywhere,” she said.
“Maybe she put it in storage in the attic. She had the recipes memorized.”
“We could check there after breakfast.”
Her smile lit up the room and sent a rush of heat through his body. How was it that he couldn’t talk to her for more than five minutes without wanting to bend her over the counter? His bear paced in agitation, waiting for him to cave to his animalistic impulses.
He slid off the stool and circled the counter. As he stepped up behind her, she turned and gasped. “I didn’t hear you coming.”
“I can be stealthy.”
She bit the edge of her lip in that alluring way that sent his bear into a fit of need. “I thought we decided this wasn’t a good idea.”
His gaze dropped from her lips to the curve of her throat. His bear longed to nuzzle her soft flesh and inhale her intoxicating scent. “It’s not.”
She dropped the hand towel on the counter and placed her hands on his chest. Even through his jacket and flannel shirt, he could feel the heat radiating off her palms. “Your brothers will be here in a few minutes.”
“I know.”
He slid his hands across her hips before pulling her tight against him. The rigid length of him pressed against her belly. She stood at least eight inches shorter than his six feet, but she was the perfect size for him.
“You’re supposed to be helping me make the biscuits,” she murmured.
“I’d rather be kneading you,” he growled.
He couldn’t resist leaning down to kiss her, but just as he was about to make contact, a puff of flour burst across his face. “What the—”
Through a cloud of white, he caught the shit-eating grin on her face.
“Did you just throw
flour at me?” He brushed at his face.
She giggled. “I had to figure out a way to stop you.”
He arched a brow. “You know what this means, don’t you?”
She smirked as she backed away. “That you’re making the biscuits?”
He laughed as he lunged for her. She deftly ducked under his arm and raced past him. As he darted around the counter, he scooped a pile of flour into his palm. “You’ve just declared war.”
An ear-splitting shriek cracked against his eardrums as she ran toward the dining room. He chased her around the table and back into the kitchen. She laughed as she grabbed a handful of flour and launched it in his direction. He dashed through the cloud of white and hurled the flour in his palm at her.
She hollered and brushed furiously at her shirt. “Wait. Wait.”
He scooped up another round of ammunition and trotted toward her. “Are you surrendering?”
“Never!” She ran toward the pile of flour.
He chucked what little he had left in his palm in her direction and missed completely. She didn’t. An avalanche of flour rained down on him like snow.
“I won!”
He laughed heartily. “Maybe you won the battle, but not the war.”
Her eyes went wide as he scampered around the island in the center of the kitchen. She tried to circle around to the right, but he changed direction and caught her. As she wriggled in his arms, he went impossibly hard. Quick bursts of breath blasted from his lungs. He lifted her onto the counter.
“Your brothers will be here any minute,” she said as he pushed her skirt up to her thighs.
He groaned and wrapped his arms around her waist. He buried his head in her belly, delighting in the fluffy softness. “You know what I really want for breakfast?”
“No,” she whispered.
“You.” He slid his hands up her thighs and grasped her panties. As he pulled them down past her knees, he inhaled her moist sweetness.
“We’re going to get caught.” Her husky voice inflamed his arousal.
“Just a quick taste,” he murmured as he brushed light kisses up the inside of her thigh.
She moaned and leaned back. As he parted her thighs, a rush of her scent curled into his nose and filled him with overwhelming need.
He nibbled the smooth flesh, moving closer to her wet core. The moment his tongue pressed against her mound, she shivered and clutched the edge of the counter. Soft mewls of pleasure accompanied every lick and nibble. When he found the tiny bundle of nerves at the apex of her pussy, her legs twitched and she clamped her thighs against his cheeks.
She whimpered. “Oh, God.”
He smiled against her, loving the way she moved under his lips. Although he wanted to spend hours tasting her, his brothers would be arriving shortly. Since he couldn’t risk getting caught, he sucked her clit between his lips and tugged gently. She cried out and fluttered against his mouth. As she moaned, her orgasm rolled across his lips. Long undulating waves of release pressed against his mouth.
He could have savored her forever, but the sound of footsteps in the hall spurred him to action. He quickly pulled her off the island and set her feet on the floor. She brushed frantically at her skirt and had just pushed it past her knees when Logan walked in.
With a smirk he said, “Looks like you’re cooking up something new for breakfast. Or have you sampled that before?”
Mack wanted to wipe the smile off his brother’s face. “You’re here early.”
Logan leaned a hip against the island. “And you look guilty as hell.”
Madison scurried out of the kitchen. It was all Mack could do not to chase after her. But he needed to set his brother straight first. “Mind your own business.”
“I thought she was off-limits.”
“She is now.” Although he couldn’t claim her, he sure as hell wasn’t going to allow his playboy brother to let his bear loose on her.
Chapter 7
Madison fled the kitchen and raced up to her room. She wanted to die of embarrassment. One second she’d been having the orgasm of her life, and the next, she’d had to endure the humiliation of having Mack’s brother walk in on them. Sure, her skirt was mostly around her knees by the time he caught them, but he’d known exactly what she’d been up to.
A knock sounded on the bedroom door. “Honey, it’s me. Can I come in?”
“Sure.”
Mack walked in with furrowed brows. “You didn’t have to run. Logan needs to learn to be a little more respectful.”
“He definitely needs to learn how to be on time instead of early.”
“Can I sit?” he asked. When she slid over, he sat on the edge of the bed. “Why did you run?”
“I was embarrassed. Logan must think I’m easy. I’ve only been here a few days and I’m already letting you stuff your face with me.”
Mack’s belly laugh broke the ribbon of tension in her spine. “Honey, you’re not a slut by any means. Why would you even think that?”
“I picked you up in the bar…”
“We picked each other up.”
“I seduced you in the barn…”
“It didn’t take much convincing.”
“And then I let you have me in the kitchen.”
He lay on his side next to her. Gorgeous hazel eyes watched her intently. “Why are you really upset?”
She rolled onto her belly and picked at the quilt. “I thought I had my whole life planned. We were going to have a big wedding. Probably have a white picket fence and two-point-five kids, and then everything, all of my plans, were gone in an instant. I’m sorry. I’m an emotional wreck.”
“You’re still healing. It’s going to take time.”
“Are you happy being single?” she asked.
He softly rubbed her arm. “I am.”
“Don’t you want to raise a family?”
“I have my brothers.”
“I mean a family of your own,” she clarified.
“If it happens, then I’ll be grateful. But if not, then it’s not meant to be.”
“So you believe in fate?”
“I think there’s someone out there that’s meant for me. When I find her, I’ll do everything in my power to keep her.”
She turned her head to look at him. “How will you know? I thought I had found the love of my life and it turned out to be a disaster.”
“I guess you just have to keep trying until you find the right person. Think of it this way: how much worse would it have been had you married him and found out about his infidelity later?”
“It could have been a lot worse.”
“So maybe what you need to do right now is exactly what you have been doing. Have sex for fun and worry about finding a new relationship later. I think the universe will put the right person in your path at the right time. You just have to be patient.”
“You’re probably right.”
“I know I’m right,” he said with a grin.
“We should probably get downstairs before your brothers get even more suspicious.”
“One quick thing first.”
“What?”
He propped up on one arm and leaned across her chest. “I love kissing you.”
She smiled. What was it about this man that made her as giddy as a teenager? She’d never felt like this with Ben. When they’d kissed, it had felt so perfunctory, so mechanical. But with Mack, when their lips met, it was like soft marshmallows melting into hot chocolate.
A groan escaped her lips before she could stop it. Although, why would she want to? She wanted him to know that his kisses reduced her to a puddle of liquid heat.
“You deserve a good man,” Mack murmured between soft kisses.
She leaned over, ready to take another kiss when her stomach cramped. As a rush of nausea overwhelmed her, she bolted up. “Oh, God. I’m going to be sick.”
After rushing into the bathroom, she slammed the door behind her. She dropped to her knees and bent over the toilet.
The biscuit she’d snuck earlier came up with a vengeance. Her stomach clenched and churned until she’d thrown up everything. As she slid down to the floor, the room spun.
Mack knocked once before rushing into the room. “Honey, are you okay?”
“I don’t feel so good.”
“Was it something you ate?”
She put her hand over her mouth so he wouldn’t smell her dragon breath. “I know I’m not the best cook, but I’ve never given myself food poisoning.”
“Did you eat anything different from what you’ve been feeding us? Did you eat anything from the forest?”
“No. I mean, I haven’t been feeling like myself lately. But I didn’t—” A sudden, horrifying thought took hold.
Mack must have read her mind. “You couldn’t be pregnant, could you?”
***
Madison hadn’t said a single word during the trip to and from the store. She held the plastic bag containing the pregnancy test that could change her life. As they bounced along the road to the ranch, her stomach churned. There wasn’t anything left in it, but her stomach didn’t seem to care.
Mack looked over at her. “Are you okay? Let me know if I should pull over.”
“I’m fine.”
She wasn’t fine. How the hell could fate be this cruel? Now that she’d had time to think about it, she’d been feeling slightly nauseous for the last few weeks, long before arriving at the ranch. So if she was pregnant, it wasn’t Mack’s. As if that would be any better.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” she whispered.
“You don’t know for sure yet.”
“Don’t worry. If I am pregnant, it’s not yours.”
“How do you know?” Mack asked.
“I didn’t recognize it until now, but I’ve been tired and nauseous the last few weeks. I just thought it was depression.”
“If you’re pregnant, what are you going to do?”
“I have to tell Ben.”
His jaw twitched. “That bastard has no right to your baby.”
“If it’s his child, he has a legal right.”
“Dammit.”
“Yeah.” She waited a few beats. “Sometimes I think God hates me.”
