Expecting Brand's Baby
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Emilie Rose
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One
She’d save the ranch tonight—even if she had to do it flat on her back.
Toni Swenson chewed her lip and studied the stream of people wearing jeans and cowboy hats flowing toward the National Finals Rodeo. Somewhere inside the arena there had to be a man with the kind of genes she needed. Genes, which would contribute the love of horses, cattle and open spaces to her son.
And it had better be a son, she thought, wiping her brow.
Toni herded along with the rest of the crowd. She swallowed to ease her dry mouth and wiped her damp palms on her jeans. Her heartbeat thundered like a stampede, nearly deafening her. Glancing wistfully back toward the exit, she took a shuddery breath, trying to pull oxygen past the invisible lariat tightening around her neck. Familiar scents and sounds surrounded her: barbecue and nachos, dirt and livestock. A combination unique to the rodeo.
Memories of happier times with her grandfather rushed at her and pulled her forward when her feet wanted to drag. Why had he died? The ache in her heart increased. And why had he felt the need to put this metaphorical gun to her head and force her to do something totally against her moral beliefs? He, more than anyone, knew why she didn’t trust men.
Sliding into her hard-backed aisle seat, Toni wiped her eyes and wondered how she could have stayed away from the sport of rodeo so long. Vet school had been difficult, but surely if she’d tried harder she could have found the time to attend a rodeo or two with her grandfather. Year after year her grandfather had brought her here, put her in her seat and ordered her not to move. A bitter smile twisted her lips. She’d rarely obeyed that directive. Once he’d disappeared toward the chutes, Toni had followed, staying out of his line of vision.
Cowboys and livestock fascinated her. Always had. Tonight, a rootless cowboy who carelessly used and discarded women was exactly what she had to find. It wasn’t as if she had a choice.
A whiskey-rough voice drew her gaze to a pair of cowboys coming down the aisle. “Remember the basics. Shoulders square. Free hand in front of you. Run like hell when you hit the ground. You’ll do fine.”
The dark-haired one with the bedroom voice slapped the younger man on the back. Thick muscles shifted in his forearm. Toni shivered. Arms like that could do serious damage in a fit of rage. He paused in the aisle beside her, waiting while his companion spoke to someone in the stands.
Black leather chaps framed the best backside Toni’d ever laid eyes on. She could scarcely miss the firm glutes and lean thighs parked just inches from the tip of her nose. All those tight muscles were wrapped in denim so snug he might burst a seam riding tonight. And he would ride. The number between his broad shoulders marked him as a competitor. The intensity of his voice labeled him as the winner even before the contest began.
He turned, allowing someone to pass. Toni sat back and shifted her gaze upward. It was either that or look at…something a lady shouldn’t stare at. Of course, a lady wouldn’t be planning the kind of encounter she had in mind for tonight, either. But if she wanted to hold on to the ranch she’d forget her principles.
The cowboy’s gaze brushed over the crowd, landing on her with the force of a hoof in the stomach. She couldn’t breathe and wondered if she’d pass out before he looked away. Those dark eyes beneath the brim of his black hat made her heart misbehave and her midsection flutter. His lean face could’ve jumped straight out of her fantasies. Sharp angles, square jaw, and high cheekbones. This was a devil of a good-looking cowboy. A man in control. Definitely not what she’d come for tonight.
She broke eye contact and looked past him toward his young, blue-eyed companion. Now, that was the kind of guy she needed. Someone carefree and careless, whose happy-go-lucky manner was as apparent as the dark cowboy’s take-charge attitude.
The blonde glanced her way. Toni forced her lips into what she hoped was a come-hither smile and fought the nervous urge to puke into her popcorn box. Blushing furiously, the young man turned away. Toni frowned and peeked at the dark cowboy. He’d witnessed her strikeout and was scowling at her. Heat flooded her cheeks. She’d bet Tall, Dark and Gorgeous had never struck out. Charisma oozed from his pores. No doubt he knew it.
Toni studied the scuffed toes of her boots and pulled in a deep breath. Remember what’s at stake. Remember the mission. The ranch meant too much to her to back down now. She set her jaw, thrust her shoulders back. She stood, intent on introducing herself to the younger man, but the black-haired devil had already hustled her quarry down the aisle toward the stairs.
With an admiring look at his retreating derriere, she shook her head. No man should look that good. It wasn’t fair to the female population—especially the ones like her, who wanted someone easier to handle. Toni gritted her teeth and followed. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—chicken out tonight. Looks weren’t the only things passed along on the DNA. She needed cowboy genes.
A rueful smile twisted Brand’s lips. He adjusted the brim of his hat. Brandon Lander, you’re getting too old for this business. That li’l buckle bunny had barely spared him one glance from her baby blues. She’d been too busy flirting with Bobby Lee. Hell, Bobby was barely nineteen, still a virgin, and planning to stay that way until he married his high-school sweetheart after Christmas. He wouldn’t know what to do with a woman like her.
Glancing over his shoulder as he turned toward the chutes, he spotted the blonde tailing ’em. Looked like she had designs on the kid’s virtue. Least he could do was help the kid resist temptation. He gave Bobby Lee a shove. “Hustle up. You’ll be late. I’ll be along directly. I don’t ride for a while yet.”
Wiping the smile from his face, he turned to confront the woman who seemed determined to lead a young man down the road to hell. With all those curves, it’d be a scenic trip. She was a tiny one, probably weighed little more than a good saddle. She looked fragile, the type some men would want to coddle and protect. But not him.
Fat, buttery curls floated over her shoulders to the tips of her breasts, framing an angelic face. Skin as smooth as the magnolia blossoms growing beside the front porch back home made his fingers itch to touch. No doubt her mouth would’ve looked like a rosebud if she hadn’t mashed it into such a determined line. It irked Brand more than a little that her huge blue eyes looked straight past him and locked on Bobby Lee’s back.
The fierce concentration on her features surprised him. She looked like a woman on a quest. He’d seen the same intense expression on many a bull rider just before they left the chute to face a ride that could mean life or death. But what kind of quest would lead a pixie like her behind the chutes? Determined to find out he stepped into her path and tipped his hat.
“Hello, li’l lady. Where you headed?” If her scowl was any gauge, Brand figured she didn’t like being called little.
“Excuse me.” She tried to step around him, but he widened his stance and looped his thumbs in his belt. She glanced briefly at his World Championship belt buckle. It didn’t seem to impress her. She stepped right and Brand sidled left, blocking her. She moved again, and he countered like a good cutting horse.
“I need to pass.” Those rosy lips pinched tighter and her face flushed. She gave her curls a toss. “Move, cowboy.”
“Can’t let you back there, darlin’. Bull riders only.” Damn, she was pretty. He took a minute to savor her sweetly curved form, working his way from her tapping toes to the sparks shooting from her eyes. There’d been a time when he’d let himself be distracted by a morsel like her, but not anymore. Her kind spelled trouble. In capital letters.
“Then there are a few riders not listed in my program.”
“Aw, darlin’, those are just wives and girlfriends. You with one of the fellas?” She wasn’t. Bull riders were a close-knit group, and if she’d belonged to any one of his buddies, they’d have been braying like a jackass, wanting everybody to know.
She swallowed hard and stiffened her shoulders. Some of the pink faded from her cheeks. “Not yet.”
The news shouldn’t have pleased him, but it did. Which only goes to show you where your brain is tonight, Romeo. “Look, darlin’, we’re fixin’ to ride. Why don’t you head on back up to your seat before you distract somebody and get ’em hurt.”
Her face flushed and her chin lifted. “Why don’t you move before you get hurt?”
Brand coughed to cover his chuckle. So she wanted to play tough? “Do you honestly think I’d be intimidated by a hundred pounds of fluff when my job is to ride a ton of crazy beef?” He faked a shudder. “You got me shakin’ in my boots, darlin’.”
She eyed his crotch—not in a complimentary way—and shifted her weight. She looked angry enough to end his reproductive years before he put ’em to good use. Brand rolled to the balls of his feet, prepared to dodge her knee.
“Wish me luck, Brand.” Bobby Lee’s yell distracted her and gave Brand a chance to shuffle back a step or two.
Keeping a wary eye on the angel with an attitude, he gave Bobby Lee a thumbs-up. The kid, one of the lowest scorers to make the finals, waved and turned toward the chute. It was a matter of pride that as the high scorer, Brand would be riding last. Still, he had a lot riding on his last go and couldn’t afford to be distracted by a spunky angel. He considered asking one of the ushers to show her back to her seat, but hesitated, somehow reluctant to turn the spitfire loose.
Toni scowled at the broad-shouldered man blocking her path. Thanks to him, she’d missed her chance to meet the potential father of her baby. Another clean-cut cowboy sidled up, but the band on his ring finger disqualified him. She sighed. Lady Luck was not with her and time was running out.
“Hey Brand, a bunch of us are gettin’ together to down a few later. Bobby Lee’s coming. How ’bout you?”
Toni straightened when he named the bar of the hotel where she was staying. Maybe all was not lost.
Dark eyes narrowed on her for a moment. “I’ll be there.”
Toni fought the urge to squirm beneath the challenging stare. The announcer called Bobby Lee something-or-another’s name. Toni shifted her gaze to her quarry in an attempt to break free of the devil’s spell. If the young cowboy in the chute was going to father her child, she ought to know his last name—if for no other reason than to avoid him after tonight.
The metal gate opened with a clang. Hooves, arena dirt and bull exploded into the air and the crowd went wild. Toni caught herself looking at the pushy dark-haired cowboy instead of at Bobby Lee. He moved closer to the ring, staring intently at the bull and rider. His right hand clenched in front of him, as if he were holding the rigging and living the ride himself. Something about his total concentration on bull and rider, something about him held her attention. Powerful muscles bunched and shifted in his forearm and beneath his shirt and jeans.
The noise of the crowd drowned out her pounding heart. Leave while the devil is distracted. Her feet didn’t move. She blamed her strange fascination on the fact that the cowboy’s thick drawl and lazy attitude hadn’t seemed to fit the intelligence and the intensity she’d seen in his eyes. She didn’t want to notice that anymore than she wanted to admit he was easily the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on.
Remember the mission. He isn’t what you need tonight, or any other night for that matter. He’s too big, too strong, too physical. A man like him could seriously hurt a woman. The hairs on her arms rose. She needed the easygoing cowboy clinging to the back of the bull bounding around the arena. And she only needed him for about thirty minutes.
Toni took a step back. Maybe Providence had smiled on her plan after all. It was the right time of the month for her to conceive this child her grandfather’s will insisted she bear, and the man who could help her do it would be coming straight to her hotel. She could meet him in the hotel bar—only twelve floors away from conception.
She would succeed tonight. Tomorrow she’d leave Las Vegas carrying the seed of her future and her link to the past.
It was the only way to hold on to her sanctuary.
Watching the door, Toni tore her cocktail napkin into thin strips. She sipped her drink and considered slinking off to her room alone. All too soon the boisterous cowboys came through the swinging doors with Mr. Wrong leading the way. Her stomach lurched. Toni leaned forward in her seat to see if Bobby Lee was in the pack and there he was. Suddenly, she felt nauseous. Women followed the men, enlarging their number to nearly a dozen.
The dark cowboy—Brand, they’d called him—seemed to be the center of attention. People patted him on the back as he passed. Hooking an arm around Bobby Lee’s head, he gave him a playful noogie.
He glanced up, his dark gaze locking onto hers with the intensity of a bull preparing to charge. She struggled to pull air past the knot in her throat and tugged at the low-cut neckline of the tacky black dress she’d bought in the hotel boutique. Brand’s eyes shifted downward. She wanted to cover her overexposed cleavage, but fastened her hands around her glass instead. The dress was a necessary costume for the role she had to play tonight. Seductress was a new one for her.
Brand said something, and the group shifted like a herd of cattle and headed in her direction. The moment of truth had arrived. Toni’s heart thumped. She had to do this. Had to. She chased the lump in her throat with another sip of margarita and forced herself to look beyond Brand to Bobby Lee.
She smiled, even though it felt as if it would crack the makeup she’d shoveled on, then patted her upswept hair. One sneeze would have the whole mess tumbling down. Toni fought to subdue the hysterical giggle squirming in her chest and aimed for a take-me-to-bed expression.
Brand bent his head toward Bobby Lee. Whatever he said caused the younger man to blush and drop back a step. Long before she was ready, the group hovered beside the semicircular booth. Brand winked and flashed her a heart-stopping grin.
“Hello, darlin’. Thanks for savin’ us a table.” Without waiting for an invitation, he gestured for his friends to sit down and slid into the booth beside her. He stretched his arm along the back of the banquette.
Another cowboy scooted in on Toni’s left, crunching her against Brand’s hard thighs and into the crook of his arm. Heat seared her. She jerked forward.
With a calloused finger, Brand traced a light pattern on her bare nape. A shiver skipped down her spine. Toni stiffened and tried to shift away, but another bump from the man on her left hemmed her in. Trapped.
She glared at Brand and hissed, “Give me some room.”
His teeth gleamed, straight and white. As potent as a caress, his gaze drifted from her eyes, to her lips, to her cleavage. Toni’s nipples peaked in betrayal. She wouldn’t make a scene by screaming at the pushy cowboy. That wouldn’t gain her any points with Bobby Lee who obviously worshipped the jerk. She inhaled slowly, hoping to calm her racing pulse.
Brand smelled of cinnamon and cedar rather than the sweaty bull and arena dirt she’d come to expect from rodeo cowboys. He’d traded the bold striped shirt he’d worn earlier for another, this one resembling an American flag.
She wouldn’t let a nice-smelling cowboy with a penchant for loud shirts distract her from her mission. She surveyed the others, dismayed to see Bobby Lee far down the table. With several people between them, she couldn’t speak to him without yelling. Brand and the beefy man had her boxed in, so moving closer was out. How in the heck would she woo Bobby Lee with her new Wonderbra from this distance?
Damn. Her first attempt at seduction shot down.
The waitress appeared and nodded toward Toni’s empty glass. “What’ll ya have, hon? Another one of those?”
No matter how much Dutch courage she needed, she wouldn’t accomplish tonight’s chore if she passed out first. She shook her head. “Iced tea this time, please.”
After giving his order, the beefy cowboy to her left leaned over her, practically pushing Toni into Brand’s lap. Obviously, he enjoyed the effects of her new lingerie. “What? No champagne, Brand? You ain’t celebrating?”
“How many is that now? Three?” A woman with artificial everything reached across the table to scrape an acrylic nail across the back of Brand’s hand.
Toni gripped her glass. It wasn’t like her to be bitchy, but she’d bet good money that neither the woman’s hair nor breasts were compliments of Mother Nature.
“Four.” Brand drew his hand out of the talon’s reach and threaded his fingers through Toni’s. She startled and tried to extricate herself from his warm, calloused grip, to no avail. Sparks hopped and skipped up her arm. His hands were huge with a multitude of tiny scars across the backs and knuckles. Like a fighter’s. She hated the telling tremor invading her limbs.
The mission.
The waitress returned. She winked at Brand and set a tall glass in front of him on a cocktail napkin that had a phone number scribbled in the corner. “The bartender sent over something special for you, Champ. Here’s your tea, hon.”
Toni waited for Brand to acknowledge the blatant invitation in the waitress’s smile. When he didn’t, the waitress distributed the rest of the order.
“You gonna quit now?” Silence fell over the table after Bobby Lee’s question.
Brand drummed the fingers of his free hand on the table. “Might. If I can find a place I can run by myself.”
“Tired of taking orders, huh? How many brothers you got back home bossin’ you around?” Bobby Lee asked.
“Too many, and damn straight, I’m tired of taking orders. Between them and my dad the ranch is at least a decade behind the times.” Brand raised his glass.
Bobby Lee grinned. “How about if I send some of my sisters down to meet your brothers? I know Mom and Dad would be happy to have at least a couple of ’em out of the house.”
Toni grimaced into her glass. She knew genetics, and this wasn’t good news. If Bobby Lee came from a predominantly female family, her chances of having a son with him were slimmer than say…if she bedded a fella with brothers. A major hitch in her plan.
She couldn’t think of an alternative—couldn’t think period, because from shoulder to knee, Brand lived up to his name. Surely, there would be singe marks along her side. She tried to move so that at least some part of her wasn’t plastered against lean, hard cowboy.
Another cowboy hailed them from across the room. He joined the group, squeezing into the booth. The gap she’d fought to put between her and Brand vanished. To make matters worse, Brand hooked his arm around her shoulder and pulled her even closer. She held her breath and arched as far away as possible.
Distracted by the strength of the hand cupping her shoulder and the cinnamony breath stirring the curls on her neck, Toni missed nearly all of the names bandied about. Hyperventilation threatened. She tried to shrug him off.
The thickheaded devil gave her a squeeze and shifted his fingers to massage her neck with a deft touch. “Loosen up. You’ve got knots the size of my fist back here.”
Her traitorous spine nearly melted. Toni lifted her glass and downed half of the cloudy liquid. It burned going down like no iced tea she’d ever had. Maybe the water was different in Vegas? She sniffed the glass. Was that bourbon in her drink or was it the beefy guy’s breath? He was drooling over her cleavage again. She put an elbow in his ribs.
Nursing her drink, she searched for a way out of her predicament. Should she risk fouling up the plan with Bobby Lee or look for another sperm donor with a predominantly male family?
One like Brand.
No, no, no, he was definitely not what she was looking for. No doubt he’d make the ordeal ahead memorable—heaven knows his fingers on her nape were addling her brain—but something in those sharp eyes of his told her he didn’t have a careless bone in his body, despite his profession. He wouldn’t forget something as important as protection. She set her glass down. It rattled against the table. What a mess. Her ranch was on the line and her hormones were in an uproar for the wrong man.
She’d loved dear old Gramps, and she missed him terribly, but he’d landed her in a mess. Under the terms of Gramps’s will she could lose her legacy, her sanctuary, land that had been in her family for generations, because she was female. Her grandfather had insisted a male inherit. A husband or a child. Toni had neither. She loved kids, but a husband…no way.
What if she ended up with a husband like her father, who had proved his point with his fists, or one who’d take the ranch from her if the marriage failed? Her lawyer had joked during their hasty phone call that settling the estate would be a lot easier if Toni were pregnant. The idea had taken off like a wild pony and led her here. She’d do anything to hold on to the one place where she’d always felt safe—even sleep with a stranger.
The beefy guy winked and leered. “I’m a calf roper, sweetheart. I’m fast with a rope and good with my hands. I like to tie ’em up.”
From the gleam in his eyes she didn’t think he meant just calves. She scowled at him over her glass. Brand glared and the man shrank back.
“You left.” Brand’s whiskey-rough voice murmured in her ear.
Toni choked on her drink and jerked her head around to find dark eyes just inches from her own. She wheezed. Brand patted then stroked her back. The fire licking up her vertebrae had nothing whatsoever to do with the liquid she’d consumed.
“You mean you didn’t see Brand ride?” somebody at the table asked before she could catch her breath. Or her wits.
The hovering waitress offered Toni a sympathetic smile. “Probably couldn’t stand it, could you, sugar?”
Somehow these people were under the impression that she and Brand were a couple. Since he was wrapped around her like kudzu, it wasn’t a far-out conclusion. To get any closer, he’d have to be a tattoo. If she wanted to end the night in bed with Bobby Lee, she had to straighten them out. “Look—”
“What’d you say your name was?” the silicone woman asked.
“Ah…Toni. But—”
“Brand’s sure kept you a secret,” she interrupted.
“That’s because—”
Brand put a finger to her lips. “We wanted to lock ourselves in the hotel room once the rodeo was over. Not coming out for a week.” His waggling brows drew snickers from his friends.
Stunned, Toni swiveled. The damned devil had just ruined everything. He snatched his finger away before she could bite him. “What did you say?”
He grinned. “Sorry, I let the cat out of the bag. I’d get down on my knees and beg you to take me on up to bed, darlin’, but it’d be kind of painful. Caught one of ’em on the gate.”
His eyes weren’t black, she discovered. They were the color of dark Godiva chocolate with lighter flecks of milk chocolate drizzled over the top. Good thing Godiva was out of her price range. Chocolate was the one thing she couldn’t resist.
“You…I…” The tug of an unwanted attraction erased whatever she’d been trying to say. She closed her eyes. Too big. Too strong. The mission.
“You’re right. I should’ve kept our secret.” He shrugged his impossibly wide shoulders and stroked a calloused finger over her cheek. Toni turned into a vessel of rampant hormones. What was it about him that did this to her? “I’m just a dumb cowboy, darlin’.”
His humility was patently insincere. She stifled the urge to dump the rest of her drink in his lap and pressed the cold glass to the fire he’d left on her cheek. If he’d wanted to spoil her chances with the other cowboys, he couldn’t have chosen a better way than marking her as his. Even if she could ditch this irritating bull jockey, she no longer stood a chance with Bobby Lee or any other man at the table—except maybe the beefy calf roper. She grimaced and downed the remainder of her drink. She might be desperate, but she wasn’t that desperate. She wanted a few words with this Brand character for screwing up her carefully thought-out plan. “Out!”
“You’re wanting to test the mattress already?” Innocence personified, Brand batted his ridiculously lush eyelashes.
She’d kill him. “Let me out!”
“All right, darlin’, but it’s no rush. We’ve got all night.” Capturing an errant curl, he twined it around his finger and added in a sexy whisper, “I promise I’ll be worth the wait.”
Fury vibrated through her. Awareness made it difficult to think. Damn the devil’s sorry hide. She shoved him hard enough to move a horse. Brand didn’t budge, but her fingers ended up buried in his chest. His firm, warm muscles contracted beneath her fingertips and Toni felt an insane urge to dig in. “I said, let me out.”
“Well, folks, the li’l lady wants me naked. Thanks for the party, but drinks are on me tonight.” Brand stood, pulled out his wallet, and tossed a couple of hundred-dollar bills on the table. He tipped his hat, then grabbed Toni’s hand and tugged her out of the bar to a chorus of raucous comments.
Cursing him under her breath, she stumbled after him. Her knees seemed to be working without direction from her head and when he stopped she fell into him. She wasn’t drunk, but she was as close to it as she’d ever been in her entire life.
“Are you crazy?” She planted her feet in the lobby.
“It’s not me that’s crazy, darlin’. You’re eyeing Bobby Lee like a starving dog eyes a bone. He’s not on the menu.”
Was this macho jerk in the tacky shirt calling her a dog? She ought to kick him in the—
“He’s engaged and staying that way.” Another group of cowboys burst through the front door of the hotel. One called his name. Brand swore and scooped her into his arms.
Her head spun. Afraid he’d drop her, Toni clung to his broad shoulders. He didn’t stop moving until they were behind a bank of plants beside the elevators. The doors pinged open. Brand ducked inside and dropped her legs. She slid against him until her feet touched the floor. Toni couldn’t turn him loose. The elevator whisked upward, leaving her stomach behind. Grasping his thick leather belt, she struggled for balance. She lifted her head to give him a piece of her mind, but choked back the words when the doors opened again. Several couples crowded inside.
One of the men gestured to the unlit numbers on the panel. “Which floor?”
Toni gave her floor number automatically and immediately regretted it when Brand gave her a smug smile. Fine. She’d take him to her room, tear a strip off his obnoxiously overconfident hide, then she’d go back downstairs and do what she had to do. If she couldn’t have Bobby Lee, there were a dozen other cowboys to choose from. With any luck she’d find one with an abundance of brothers.
She’d bet the ranch—and essentially that was what she was doing—that she could find a cowboy who’d let her have things her way. One who would be careless. And she’d start looking for him just as soon as she ditched this hardheaded bull rider.
The doors opened and Toni stepped out. Brand caught her elbow and followed closer than her shadow until she stopped in front of her door. With an irritated glare over her shoulder, Toni tried to stuff the key card through the slot but her hands were shaking too much. Brand took the card from her and reached around her to insert it into the lock. He crowded her, enclosing her in his scent, his heat. When he opened the door, Toni raced through, praying Brand wouldn’t follow.
No such luck.
