“I’ve brought some wine for us.”
Her eyes bright, she immediately turned to see Daniel withdrawing a bottle of Malbec along with a few foil wrapped packages from a bag attached to his horse’s saddle. Though she’d seen him toting the leather tote when he’d left the house, she’d thought nothing of it. But now, breakfast seemed as if it had happened ages ago. “I know you can’t have much, but there’s enough cheese and crackers to compensate.” He gestured to her with a smile that stole her breath. “Hungry?”
God bless the man.
Within minutes, they were settled on a dusty saddle blanket, lounging beneath the willow as they sipped at wine and nibbled at heavenly Camembert and cheddar. As she ate, Esme could only stare at Daniel, trying vainly to figure out exactly what she had gotten herself into.
“You really like this.”
Arching a dark brow, Daniel gazed down at her. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“I dunno.” The young woman devoured a cracker smeared with Camembert. “You have a gazillion dollars. You could eat at five star restaurants for every meal if you wanted. You could sit in a board room and order people around from up high. You could go anywhere you wanted in the world.”
Daniel’s lips curved in amusement at her statement before he swallowed a piece of cheddar. “I prefer the simpler things in life.” He gazed up at the clear sky and the green leaves that provided the shade above their heads. “Money is all well and good. It’s there when I need it. But money also changes people. Them and everyone around them.” Sighing, the blue-eyed man glanced over at Esme. “I’m not very good at pretending, Esme. I don’t like all the pomp and circumstance. I’d rather be here…on my ranch. With my baby.” He gazed fondly at her stomach, making her blush slightly for a moment.
“Well, forgive me for getting in the way. “ Her fingers curled over the slight swell of her abdomen. “Still got about twenty weeks before you meet face to face.”
“Oh, you’re hardly in the way.” Daniel’s low drawl sent tingles over the surface of her skin. “I would actually say the scenery is improved with you in it.”
Esme felt the warmth from her face creeping downwards towards her bosom. She’d never been very well endowed, but her hormones were doing things to her body that she’d hardly ever imagined. Her breasts had already swelled from a B to a C cup and she’d be willing to bet money that she wasn’t the only one who’d noticed.
“Daniel…” She tried gently, attempting in vain to push the memory of his brawny arms wrapped around her to the back of her mind. “What are we doing?” Her voice was hesitant – inquiring. Of course, Esme knew exactly what they were doing, She just needed to hear it from his lips – to quantify the fact that she was doing exactly what she’d promised herself she wouldn’t.
When his clear cerulean gaze met hers, there wasn’t an iota of pride or arrogance. Instead, his eyes were filled with enough genuine warmth to make her blush. Warmth, she reminded herself, that couldn’t possibly extend beyond the influence of the child in her belly. “Whatever we like.” His slow, sinuous smile ignited a fire within her that threatened to consume her with its intensity. “I’m supposed to have a gajillion dollars, remember?” When he tugged her towards him, the hunger in his eyes took her breath away
She could no more have refused him than she could have stopped her heart beating.
When he kissed her this time, it was in a slow, leisurely slide of his tongue against her own that had her arching against his larger form. As he nipped and licked at her mouth, for the first in her pregnancy, Esme found herself actually resenting the child inside her – if only because the slight swell of her belly didn’t allow her to climb Daniel like a tree.
Even though she was wearing a cotton bra beneath her t-shirt, her overly sensitive nipples almost immediately stood at attention, straining beneath layers of fabric to press into Daniel’s firm chest. It was as if every nerve ending in her body immediately kicked into overdrive, sending tingles of awareness along her skin as her arms wrapped about his neck firmly. He tasted sweet – like wine with the mellow, tart tang of the cheese they’d been eating – and something deeper. Something dark and primal that Esme had only imagined up until that point.
When his mouth left hers, she struggled to draw breath as his lips continued hotly over her throat. His teeth grazed gently over her collarbone, making her shudder in sensation a moment before his tongue dipped into the hollow he found there. With a low moan, Esme’s toes curled in anticipation.