“Good.” She studied his hand, wondering if she was ready. “I love you, too.”
He gently tilted her head up. “Really?”
“Really.” Their eyes met and he kissed her. “I love you, and Eve.”
Smiling, he kissed her again, and before she knew it she was laying underneath him, looking up into his eyes. “Do we think Eve is going to wake up and interrupt us?”
“Probably, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.” Gently she stroked her fingers down his back, feeling him shudder, and she knew then he truly wanted her. “It’s something we’re going to need to get used to, especially if we’re planning on having children ourselves.”
Nodding, he tugged her t-shirt over her head. “I wonder what colour they’re going to end up being.”
“I don’t know. My brothers are both darker than I am, so it’s possible they could go either way.”
“As they’ll be your children they’ll be beautiful, whatever colour they end up being, but I would love a little girl the same colour as you. Eve’s baby sister.”
Laughing, Tyra undid the buttons of his shirt. “You’re really getting ahead of yourself now. I want to be together at least eighteen months before we even think about having children. I want to make the most of having the two of you in my life. Then we can start having babies of our own.”
“You really love her, don’t you?”
“I do.” She smiled. “Your daughter is beautiful.”
“Our daughter, I hope.”
“I hope too.”
Their lips met again, Kent kissing her harder than he had done before, pressing tight against her. She felt him undoing her jeans and did the same to him. As they tugged their jeans down Tyra couldn’t help thanking her lucky stars for the little extra she had, which was just enough for her to buy some beautiful underwear. “You’re gorgeous.” He kissed her stomach. “I like the matching set.”
“You know all about my terrible underwear, so I wasn’t worried about wearing it, but it was nice to have something like this to wear. I like having nice underwear.”
“What size are you?”
“I’m sure you can find out.”
“That’s true.” Before she had a chance to stop him he’d managed to take her bra off. “34 C. Okay, I can remember that, and I’ve bought enough of the stuff to know every place I go to is going to be a slightly different size.” He pulled her panties down. “Size 12.”
“Hips. If I had less of them I’d be able to wear smaller panties.”
He stroked his hands over her hips, shaking his head. “I’m glad you don’t have less of them. I like them just the way they are.” He pulled his own boxers off, revealing his erection. “You’re beautiful, Ty.”
“You’re rather handsome yourself, Mr. Pierce.” She stroked her hand down his cock and he made a sound that made it obvious how much he liked what she was doing. “How long has it been since you did this?”
“A little while.”
“I thought that was the case.” She pulled a condom out of her jeans pocket, before rolling them onto the floor, so she was on top of him. “Maybe I should be in control this time.” Slowly she moved down his body, so she was hovering above his cock. “This is very nice.” She ran her tongue from the very tip of his head to the base. “I definitely think I’m going to have a lot of fun with this.” She drew his head into her mouth and sucked it. “We’re going to have a lot of fun with this.”
She tore the condom packet open and took the condom out. With gentle hands she put it on, watching him as she did, and she could see how much he liked it. Once he was covered he rolled them over again, so he was on top. “It hasn’t been long enough I’ve forgotten how to do this.”
“Really?”
“Really.” Kent smiled at her. “I think I can still make you feel good.” Slowly he slipped himself inside of her and she couldn’t help making a sound. “It’s not as though I had to try very hard, was it?”
“It’s been a while for me too.”
Their eyes met as he thrust into her. Tyra stroked her hands down his back, to his ass, and then back up. She liked touching him and she knew she wasn’t going to be able to stop herself in the future. Being with him felt right. Having sex on his living room floor felt right. For the first time it didn’t feel like the ghost of Madison was there, because they were a couple, so they were making the house that had once been her home into their place. She pushed thoughts aside, focusing on Kent.
“I love you, Ty. We are going to make this work.”
“Yeah, we are.”
She felt him stroke his hand over her clit. “Is that okay?”
“It’s better than okay.”
“Good.”
He increased the pressure slightly and all she could do was stare up at him, her legs wrapped tightly around him. It had been a long time, and it had been even longer since someone had been willing to help her enjoy the sex, which made it that much better.
As he thrust deeper into her all she could feel was him, all she could see was him, and all she could smell was him. Everything about him attracted her to him. He stroked her clit in such a way she knew what he was trying to make happen and it wasn’t going to take long. Spending the night with him was something she’d been waiting for, only she hadn’t realised it until it happened.
As he pressed a little harder, in just the right way, she found herself tipping over the edge before she even knew she was anywhere near it. He came seconds after her, as though it was her climax that had brought his on.
“That lasted much less time that I thought it was going to.” Eve made a sound, that quickly became tears. “It’s just as well.” He slipped out of her. “Great timing, Evie.”
“I’ll go.” She pulled her jeans on without worrying about underwear and grabbed her t-shirt. “You need to deal with the condom.”
Before Kent could reply she was making her way up the stairs. When Tyra reached Eve’s bedroom she was wailing.
“What’s up, sweetie?” Tyra picked Eve up. “Did you have a nightmare?” The tears turned into sniffles. “In the not too distant future you’re going to be able to tell me all about these nightmares and when you do I’m going to tell you that nightmares are much less scary if you share them with someone. The best thing you can do is talk to me if you have any problems, little one, because I plan on being around for as long as possible. I love you.” She kissed her forehead. “Your daddy and I are working things out, slowly.”
***
Waking up in Kent’s bed was strange. Waking up alone in Kent’s bed was even stranger, at least until he walked over to the door with Eve in his arms. “My other girl needed me.”
Tyra watched the two of them, and it was obvious how much he loved his daughter. “Is it easier now?”
“Yeah, it is.” He looked at her. “You noticed.”
“I noticed, but I wasn’t going to say anything, because I could understand why it wasn’t easy for you before. Now… you seem much more comfortable around her.”
“She feels more like our daughter now, than she does Madison’s. The other day I emailed her maternal grandparents, to tell them how she’s doing, but they didn’t want to know. They have no interest in their granddaughter, which isn’t exactly a surprise. They never did like me. They never thought I was good enough for Maddie. That makes Eve mine.”
“She’ll have two grandmothers who love her very much.”
“You’re certain about that?”
“Mom wants to meet her. Mom… she’s always been on your side. She told me I needed to talk to you about everything, because she thought we could solve any issues I might have, and she was right. You’ll like her.”
“I know I will, but it’s not always simple to take on a child that isn’t yours.”
“No, it’s not, but Mom knows how much I love Eve, and she knows that’s the most important thing. Even if something does happen between the two of us to bring this to an end I still want to be a part o
f Eve’s life. She feels like she’s mine too, as stupid as that probably sounds.”
“It doesn’t sound stupid at all.” Kent walked over to her and sat on the bed. “It sounds like you’ve become a part of our life, and I am so glad of that. I’m going to make the most of this second chance at love.”
Tyra smiled. “Good.” Their eyes met. “I need to talk to my friend soon, about moving in with her, because my lease is coming to an end soon.”
“You still could move in here, if that’s what you want.”
“A year, Kent. It’s not as though I’m not going to be here every day, so you’re still going to see me, and we can have regular nights we spend together. We just need to get to know each other as lovers, instead of friends, and I don’t want to rush things, because I want this to work.”
“Okay.” He smiled. “I would like it if you could cook some more of that chilli you made when Eve was ill.”
“I can do that.”
“I’d also like it if you could take me to your uncle’s restaurant. It sounds like it could be very interesting.”
“Thank you. I want you to become a part of my family.”
“You’re already a part of mine. Mom loves you. Eve is besotted. I… there are no words to describe how in love with you I am.” He kissed her. “I love you, Ty.”
“Love you too.”
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Wave upon wave of heat drifted up from the sand and washed over his face. Dust clouded the air from under the hooves of dozens of cattle, braying into the air as they trod along the edge of the fence line.
Atop his bay gelding, Brandon slapped his lasso against his thigh and let out a loud, shrill whistle. “Get’up!” he yelled at the cattle, as if trying to urge them faster. They were moving at a good pace though, all things considered. Everything was going well—for now.
The sudden drum of a horse’s hooves turned his attention back behind him, and he spun the gelding around to look at the oncoming rider.
It was a man on a dazzling gray gelding. The horse looked too clean for the dusty lands it had just ridden across. The pasture was sparse in the way of grass now that the cattle had eaten most of it down to spare shoots. The rider too looked out of place in a smart black suit rather than jeans and plaid shirt. A large top hat completed the look of the man. Brandon knew the rider though.
“Paul,” he said, a smile on his face and a gleam in his eye. It had been months since he’d seen his brother. “You’re looking good.”
“And you look like shit,” Paul replied, the grin on his clean-shaven face revealing the good nature of his words. He gave Brandon a glance-over, taking in the dusty clothes and the dirty beard on his face. “When was the last time you bathed?”
Brandon shrugged, turning his attention back to the cattle he was trying to move to a new pasture. Usually, he had the help of five other men. This was the first season he’d attempted such a feat alone. He had been so busy lately. He hadn’t even had a chance to go to town and post wanted ads for ranch hands for the summer. Winter had been easy. Now, he would have to figure out a time to go to town and find help because there was no way he could move the herd out to the sales in time on his own. That was suicide.
His stomach growled, reminding him that it had been hours since he’d eaten, and even then it hadn’t been more than a few strips of dried meat left over from the winter.
“When was the last time you ate?” Paul asked. There was a knowing tone in his voice.
Damn. He knew Brandon way too well. Was it that obvious how much work Brandon was trying to do on his own?
“This morning,” he answered. It was the truth. Paul had asked when he last ate, not what he ate.
“Who cooked breakfast with Ma now gone?” Paul asked.
Damn. Damn him. “No one,” Brandon replied. He tipped his hat down so he wouldn’t have to see the pity on his brother’s face.
Paul had been gone for years. He’d disappeared from the ranch as soon as he turned eighteen so he could attend college. Brandon couldn’t blame him. Paul hated the ranch. He’d escaped it to get his license in law. Last time Brandon had heard of his brother, he’d opened his own law firm in the city.
Before, it hadn’t been an issue. Pa had been able to handle the ranch on his own with the help of Brandon and the other ranch hands. However, with both Ma and Pa gone from the world—God rest their souls—the ranch had become more than Brandon could handle on his own, and most of the hands had been loyal to Pa, not Brandon. With Pa gone, they’d taken off to find work elsewhere.
Brandon had let them. What else could he do? He couldn’t force them to work for him. He wasn’t even certain he could pay them. He knew Pa had money and that they weren’t hurting, but the will had specified that Paul had first rights to that money, not Brandon, which made sense with Paul being older by five years.
If Brandon was honest, it didn’t bother him. He never cared for the family money, and Paul would be better at handling it. He was better at handling the ranch. He knew more about birthing calves than he’d ever know about finances.
He spat at the ground and frowned at Paul, daring him to say something about the lack of a cook. It was another thing he’d been meaning to get around to, but couldn’t really afford. Either way Brandon looked at it, things were getting bad at the ranch.
He hadn’t the money to hire hands to help with the cattle herds, and without the herds, there was no money coming into the ranch.
“Shit.” Brandon looked up at Paul, surprised to hear the curse word slip from between his teeth. Paul had always been a purer one. At least better than Brandon in the sense. “How long are you going to wait before you get married, Brandon?”
“I don’t need a wife,” Brandon grumbled. He crushed down the feelings that threatened to bubble up with the admission. He’d heard this argument many times in the past, and he really wasn’t interested in hearing them again.
Paul had been married two years now, and his pretty little wife, Samantha, was a dear. She was good to Paul and helped him meet new clients in the city through all her connections. Paul was becoming a socialite among men thanks to her help. Brandon would have envied his brother that, but that was before—
“You need someone in your life, Brandon. You can’t do everything yourself. Look at yourself. You can barely feed yourself.”
As if to add more fuel to Paul’s argument, Brandon’s stomach betrayed him and growled loudly. The gelding he rode snorted and shook his head.
“I don’t need a woman, Paul,” Brandon said. There was a hard glint to his eyes as he looked up at his older brother again. “I’m doing fine on my own.” A cocky grin crossed his face. “Besides, what kind of woman would want a grizzled ol’ man like myself? Look at me. It’s as you said, I can barely feed myself.”
Paul frowned, but his glance did dart over Brandon once more. It was as he said. He looked like a rancher who worked too much, ate too little, and slept only enough to say he’d gotten sleep. It was frightening in a way.
“Have you been sleeping outside?” he asked.
“Someone’s gotta watch the cattle. Coyotes are getting brave.” Brandon shrugged again, a gesture that was starting to infuriate Paul. That was his brother though. He’d shrug off the bad business and ignore it as if it didn’t exist. He only handled what was a problem right then and there, letting the worst of the problems wait until they grew too large for him to handle on his own.
Paul growled under his breath, raising his hand to wipe his face as if that would wipe away all his worries with it. He worried for his brother. That was why he was there after all, to check on him. He hadn’t had a chance to come since Ma and Pa’s death except to attend their funeral, and even then he hadn’t really had a chance to speak with Brandon. Samantha had scheduled a meeting with the mayor, one he hadn’t been able to get out of.
“How have you
been doing lately?” he asked, softening his tone.
Brandon glanced up at him, his eyes full of suspicion. That wasn’t a surprise. It was hard for Brandon to trust anyway. Everyone around him seemed to be up to something.
“Ride with me,” he said, his words gruff. He spun his bay around the slapped his lasso against his thigh again, yelling at the cattle to get on up. Ahead of them, the gate to the pasture he was herding them to was wide open. Already some of the cattle had made it inside and were milling toward the pond inside where they could drink or branching out to graze on the fresh grass before them.
Brandon corralled them inside and dismounted, dropping one of the bay’s reins to the ground before he strode over to the gate and closed it. Brandon spoke as he worked. Whether to inform Paul of everything that had been going on at the ranch or to just fill the air with words, he didn’t know.
“Just finished fixing this fence yesterday. Course I’ll need to ride the lines every day to make sure the cattle don’t break through and to make sure coyotes don’t sneak in, but it’s fixed for now. There’s plenty of grass to last them a couple of months and water to last longer than that.”
The Alpha Billionaire's Unexpected Baby: A Billionaire BWWM Pregnancy Romance Page 22
