Chapter Ten

L edger moved around Demi's small galley kitchen with ease. From range to refrigerator, he pulled out the fixings for omelets while she sat at the table for two and did that glowing thing.

He'd noticed her beauty from the minute he spotted her sitting in his preferred booth at Badlands. That night, he'd kissed as much of her stunning, clear skin as possible.

His favorite patch just happened to be between her legs.

His cock stirred again. Even after taking her twice, he still wanted her. And from what he'd heard about pregnant women, her desire would only increase as the pregnancy progressed.

Cracking an egg into a bowl one-handedly, he slanted a sideways look at her. She watched him.

"How did you learn how to cook?"

He cracked another egg into the bowl. "Who said I can cook?"

"Well, you seem to know your eggs."

"I spent a lot of time alone in the mountains of California. I ate a lot of eggs."

"So you're a one-hit wonder in the kitchen."

He chuckled. "Why do you think I'm so good at takeout?"

As he whisked the eggs using a fork, she sat back in the chair, arms crossed over her middle. The protective pose she adopted, as if cradling their child growing within her, sent a spear of warmth to his heart.

"What made you choose California?"

He added milk to the bowl, along with salt and pepper. His escape to the mountains—from reality—wasn't something he ever planned to discuss with a single living soul.

While alone all those months, he'd had plenty of communing with the dead. And Colton, Hunter and Wolfe didn't need to be told that he felt responsible for his best friend's death. Or that survivor's guilt crushed him every goddamn day.

Why that blast had taken his friend instead of him was a question he asked himself hourly those early days after the strike.

She was waiting for a response from him.

Since he'd asked Demi to be open to dating him, he needed to do the same and answer her questions.

"My family vacationed in the mountains of California when I was a kid. I guess when I chose the location, it was because it was a good memory. I needed to cling to anything good to survive after it first happened."

She fell silent for a moment. Then her voice came out, soft and gentle. "After you lost your friends."

He nodded. Staring at the eggs sizzling in the pan, he picked up the spatula and stirred them.

"I'm sure it hasn't been easy on you, Ledger. I admire your strength to keep going. To move forward."

His throat constricted. "Processing the gruesome aftermath of losing most of our SEAL team damn near killed me."

She made a noise in her throat.

"I was never a person to go to extremes, but I could have easily picked up a bottle and used it to drown my pain. Instead, I hiked until my legs almost fell off. I sat up all night and lit gigantic bonfires in a vigil for the dead and raged at the injustice of it all." He choked on the memory of those dark days.

She got off the chair and crossed the kitchen, her bare feet silent. When she slipped her arms around him from behind and simply held him, he fell for her.

He fell hard.

Neither of them spoke—words didn't seem necessary. The fact that she understood his pain was more than he could ever ask for from somebody who didn't have any skin in that fight.

He covered her hand where it flattened on his chest with his free hand. "Thank you for that."

"Of course." She squeezed him one more time before moving away.

He slid the finished eggs onto a plate and added a toasted bagel. When they were both seated with their meals, he eyed her.

She took a bite of her food. "What do I need to wear on our first date?"

They'd emerged from their sexual haze to discuss when they'd officially begin dating. His opinion was there was no point in wasting time. After all, they only had seven more months, according to that ultrasound.

"You can wear casual clothes."

"Where are we going?"

He threw her a smile. "You surprised me with a baby. Let me surprise you with a date."

Her tinkling laugh washed through him with a gentle strum to his senses. "I have things I'd love to do with you. You were in the military. You must have a good sense of adventure."

His mind shot to the bucket list he'd seen in her drawer. "What did you have in mind?"

"I've always wanted to skydive." She popped another bite of eggs in her mouth as if it was an everyday occurrence for pregnant women to want to skydive.

He shook his head. "Absolutely not. I've jumped out of an airplane before. It's highly overrated. You're missing nothing. Even if you weren't pregnant, why would you jump out of a perfectly good plane?"

She scooped up more eggs. Her appetite seemed to be fine this morning, and he was glad to see it.

"I'd also love to zipline."

Another entry on her bucket list.

"Again, absolutely not."

"Well, what do you have in mind?"

Those entries weren't all bad. One in particular had caught his eye. Actually, he hadn't stopped thinking about it.

"We should start smaller. What do you think of skinny-dipping?"

She coughed around her bite of bagel. "Did you say skinny-dipping?"

He nodded. "Why not? The weather's going to be good, and I know the perfect spot."

She swallowed her food. When her lips stretched in a smile, he knew he'd won her over.

In the dating game, Ledger just earned one point. And Demi couldn't lose out. Once he got her naked in the water, in his arms, riding his cock…they were both winners.

After their breakfast, she went to get dressed and grabbed them some towels. Ledger took a moment to clean up the kitchen, stowing the dirty dishes in the dishwasher before he grabbed his phone and shot off a text to Colton.

I won't be back to the ranch until this evening.

Colton's response came quickly. That's fine. We need you on fire watch anyway. Going out with the doc on her rounds again?

She only takes emergency calls on weekends. I could use some advice.

Colton sent an eggplant emoji. When in doubt, fuck.

Chuckling, Ledger shot one back. I already know I've got champion swimmers. I need to take her someplace nice to eat.

Chicks dig picnics.

He thought about it. He'd never taken a woman on a picnic before. It wasn't on his bucket list—hell, he didn't even have one. Being around people agitated him. Crowds made him want to flee.

He could do this for her—for them. He was really good at takeout.

* * * * *

When Demi stepped into the living room dressed in her cutest sundress, with her sunglasses perched on her head and a beach bag holding two towels—and sunscreen for the parts that never saw the sun before—she came to an abrupt halt.

The blatant desire blazing in Ledger's eyes had her inner thighs damp with need.

Maybe going without panties on a skinny-dipping date wasn't such a good idea, after all. She was already keyed up, and seeing the look he gave her made her insides coil with need.

As he sidled forward, he issued a low whistle. When he closed his hands on her hips, dragging her against his chest, a white-hot thrill scorched her.

"You look good enough to eat."

She barely sucked in a breath before he dropped to his knees and whipped up her dress.

He froze. "Jesus Christ, baby. You're not wearing anything under here."

"I figured why bother—" She broke off on a cry of bliss as he thumbed apart her labia and delivered a slow lick to her pussy. "Oh god!"

Juices flooded his tongue, and he groaned in response. Her knees threatened to buckle, and she planted her hands on his broad shoulders to steady herself.

"Mmm." His rumble vibrated straight to her core. In a slow swipe, he ran his tongue over her clit and tunneled through her inner folds to her soaked opening.

She spread her legs wider, giving him the best chance at doing the best job eating her pussy.

Damn, he was as talented with that tongue as he was with his fingers and cock. Need spiked in her. The electric buzz of excitement shot her higher with each soft, slick flip of his tongue over her clit. When he dipped a thick finger into her sheath, she clamped down on it and cried out.

"Ledger!"

He rumbled again and doubled his efforts, sucking her bud while sinking his finger to the knuckle and stretching her.

Her inner walls pulsated. Her core tingled. Squeezing her eyes shut on the magnificent and mind-bending sensation of ecstasy, she rocked her hips with abandon.

When he withdrew his finger and sank it inside her again, she shook. Aware that her nails were probably leaving marks in his skin, she found she didn't care about anything but reaching the blissful end in sight.

His beard scraped her thighs and amped up her pleasure even more.

"Harder! Faster!"

At her command, he finger-fucked her with quick, firm plunges. The air filled with her moans and juicy noises. He drew her clit between his lips…batted it with his tongue…and sucked.

Her hips surged, rocking into his mouth as her release struck full force. She careened through the galaxy of stars blasting behind her eyes while shudder after shudder overtook her in the most decadent, most indulgent moment of her life.

When her inner walls stopped clamping on his finger, he slowly withdrew it. Lifting his head, he looked her in the eyes as he stuck it in his mouth and sucked it clean.

She shivered at the expression of total ownership in those gray eyes.

In one sexy alpha move, he glided to his feet. Lashing an arm around her middle, he anchored her to his chest. Boneless and still trembling from the aftershocks racing along her nerve endings, she could only cling to him.

"What did you do to me?" Her voice was a faint rasp.

His grin was all cocky attitude with a heaping side of smug satisfaction. "Made you come, my good girl."

From any other man's lips, those words would make her ball her fist and sock him in the soft parts. But when she was still quaking from the things he'd done to her, with his tongue and fingers, they sounded forbidden. Sinful.

She wanted more.

He patted her on the backside. "Shall we get going on our picnic?"

Slightly dazed, she nodded. He took her by the arm and led her to the door. She managed to slide her feet into her sandals and leave the house without falling on her face.

He insisted on driving, and she handed over her keys, watching as he stowed her bag in the back seat.

He did claim to be handy. And whooeee, was he. In the kitchen, in the bedroom…

Even on the ranch calls, he'd made himself useful by carrying supplies or equipment she needed to help an animal.

When a song came on the radio, he turned the volume up. Surprise rippled through her when he began singing.

She gaped at him. His voice, so rough and raw, evoked emotions that riveled the artist himself.

Sitting back in her seat, she thought about all the good DNA he'd dumped into the mix with hers. Heaped on top of his brains and brawn was a good voice?

"Is there anything you can't do?" she asked when the song ended.

He swung his head to pierce her in his gaze. "What do you mean?"

"Your singing voice. It's great ."

He blinked. "I didn't even realize I was singing. I guess the music just got to me."

Shaking her head in amazement, she sat back in her seat. "I shouldn't boost your ego any more than it already is. After you listed all your attributes earlier, I don't think you need another ego stroke."

His deep laugh spread like honey across her senses. With the sunshine streaming through the window and the pleasant feeling that lingered between her legs, along with some not-too-shabby company, it was impossible not to smile.

While she still didn't know exactly how to handle her heavy workload along with growing an entire child inside her, she had confidence in her ability to find solutions.

Ledger's refusal to step aside and let her go it alone was a stumbling block. But it was also a bit…refreshing.

If given an out, how many sperm donors would take it and never look back?

Each minute she spent with him, her respect for him grew. She saw him as a person, a man. A damn good man.

Somebody she would want in her child's life.

In her life.

The realization stole her breath. Hand fluttering upward, she pressed her fingertips to her mouth.

He braked. "Are you gonna be sick, baby? I'll pull over."

That Ledger was so tuned into her every action on top of all the other reasons for her to fall for him tormented her even more. She didn't have time to devote to a relationship. Her career took over her life, and when the baby came, she'd struggle even more. A man like Ledger required time and attention. How much longer would he stick around after he realized she was too busy to give him what he needed?

When he did inevitably exit her life, she'd be aching for him for another reason.