The Cowboy's Baby(23)

Daniel cleared his throat, willing his erection to dissipate. “You don’t have any reason to apologize. I kissed you.”

“I didn’t stop you.” She replied almost instantly. “I should have.”

The silence stretched between them, uncomfortable and long. Finally, Esme exhaled a long breath. “I think I’m done riding for today. Thanks, Daniel.”

Before she could stride away from the paddock, the rancher caught her arm briefly, gently. “You’re sure you’re alright?” He knew the last thing he needed at this juncture was to touch her, but he couldn’t resist one last lingering second.

“I’m fine.” Her smile was forced this time, making him feel like the scum of the earth. “And the baby’s fine too.” Her final statement served to remind him why he’d brought her to the ranch in the first place; and truthfully, it wasn’t to take advantage of Alyssa’s absence and ravish Esme’s utterly delectable body.

No, it was to watch over the health of the child within her body – which Daniel was beginning to realize might be more vastly complicated than he’d first assumed.





***





Chapter Five: Developments



Coming here might have been a mistake.

Esme struggled with the notion as she ran her fingers over the tiny swell of her abdomen, soaking in the luxury of a hot bath.

Even though weeks had passed since her and Daniel’s “accidental” kiss during her first and only riding lesson, there wasn’t a day that passed that Esme didn’t struggle with her hormones and her own mind – both of which seemed to be growing increasingly rampant as her pregnancy progressed.

She could lie to herself – it wasn’t as if she wasn’t enjoying the luxury of Daniel’s estate. There was a temperature controlled swimming pool in which she could take a dip whenever she liked. She was able to walk the expansive grounds, through herds of cattle and horses, whenever she pleased, and get a taste of the outdoors in ways unavailable to her in the city. There were a thousand channels for her to watch on TV and even an indoor gym for her to take advantage of in her spare time.

But therein lie the problem: Esme had entirely too much spare time – and spending it trying to remain far from the reach of Daniel Hartsford was extremely hard.

She could still remember the way his mouth felt against hers – the way the polite, almost painstakingly careful man had pulled her flush against him, his erection pressing into her belly as he’d plundered her mouth with his own.

It had been one of the most exhilarating moments of her entire life. Quite frankly, Esme hadn’t known that kissing a man could be like that – hot, turgid and painfully arousing, almost as effective as a far more carnal form of foreplay.

So now, she had to deal with knowing exactly how Daniel tasted, knowing that his bedroom was only one floor above hers. There were nights she woke up covered in sweat, slick and aching between her legs as she cursed the ridiculous heights her hormones had been driven to.

He felt guilty.

She’d known it the moment she’d seen his expression in the wake of their kiss. Though he might worry that Alyssa might never come back, he knew there was a chance – and that kissing his surrogate on the property where Alyssa had once been with him was more than a little dangerous.

At the thought of the baby’s mother, Esme scowled. If she did come back, she’d better come back ready to take responsibility for her child. She hadn’t really appeared to take things seriously in the clinic and the fact that she’d walked out on Daniel so soon after conception spoke volumes of how important she considered the matter.

Tracing damp fingers over the minute bulge of her abdomen, Esme sighed. If she’d have known that being a surrogate would involve so much drama, she might have thought twice before signing up. As it was, she’d been so high strung that she had barely been into Daniel’s expansive, heavenly kitchen.

Perhaps that was the problem.

Since she wasn’t working anymore, her mind was idle – and when her mind was idle, there was little more for her to do than dwell over the devastating billionaire whose roof she was currently under. Stretching languishingly, the dark-haired woman hauled herself from the bathtub to dry off before slipping into her cotton nightgown.

While she could still fit the garment for now, soon it would be far too small for her. The young woman’s lips curved as she contemplated the fact. She would see what she could do to hurry it along and burn off some of her nervous energy.

After twisting her damp hair onto a knot at the top of her head, Esme made her way carefully downstairs towards the kitchen. As she always did since the incident with her and Daniel, she peered into the open living space at the bottom of the stairs before she took the last few steps. Daniel, she knew, usually retired to his room early if he wasn’t in his office and today was no exception. The entire first floor of the house was utterly deserted, and not for the first time, Esme found herself wondering where on earth the staff were that kept the house clean.