Chapter Seven

I n the week that Demi had been on the ranch, Ledger's entire life had been turned on its ear more than when he left his SEAL team.

He was no longer taking night watch. While he missed the silence of deep night with nothing but the stars and the occasional howl of a coyote for company, he much preferred his humble billet on the floor in front of the futon.

He liked waking up to the sound of Demi breathing. Opening his eyes and seeing her face.

How many times had he wished he could dull his senses with a bottle of whiskey even before the sun came up? Sharing the shed with a woman he ached for day and night was starting to wear him down.

That morning, he woke from a dream of her too-full bottom lip trapped between his teeth while he sank into her tight, gripping heat.

Fuck, his balls were still as blue as the sky. And the scorching sun wasn't helping the level of heat burning inside him.

He never knew an angel could drag him through so many damn emotions in a week's time. One minute he wanted to pin her to the wall and bang her until that damn teacup collection hit the floor in shards. The next, he thought he'd go mad with the need to give Demi a piece of his mind.

And her ideas about him stepping aside and staying out of his child's life had his fists clenching.

He poured his irritation into patrolling the ranch every minute he wasn't watching over Demi.

What she required was rest. She'd been through an ordeal, and goddamn if he was going to add to her stress. No one could ever claim that he was responsible for a rocky pregnancy.

Not sleeping wasn't helping his mood either. Every little noise he heard outside the shed had him reaching for the weapon he kept within arm's reach. Even with the hours he did sleep, he both wanted to turn Demi over his knee and spank her sweet ass until she came to her senses and hunt down the man who attacked her.

The sun rose over the sprawling ranch, casting an orange hue over the land. Ledger tugged his work gloves over his hands. They were callused and rough, but gloves protected them from any cuts and scrapes.

Dragging a deep breath of crisp air into his lungs, he turned at the deep rumble of a low voice singing. Zach Webb rounded the corner of the barn, looked up and saw him.

He dipped his head at Webb. "How's it goin'?"

"Couldn't ask for a nicer morning. You're up early."

"Had trouble sleeping."

Webb let out a huff in reply. "Early mornings on the ranch are the best medicine for a bad night's sleep."

He met Webb's stare. The man wasn't well-liked on the Gracey—but he was respected. The family trusted his ability to lead the ranch hands and get the work done, yet Ledger heard the ranch hands discussing a matter of equipment going missing and Webb being among the suspects.

He drew the conclusion that Sean Gracey was a wimp and wouldn't stand up to Webb if he was in fact stealing from him, and he didn't look into the truth of the matter either.

Yet when it came to ranch security, Colton held Webb in high esteem. Hunter seemed to reserve his opinion on the man. And Wolfe, spending most of his time at Badlands and with Livia in town, didn't seem to have much of an opinion at all. But Ledger was a good judge of character, and he liked Webb.

Maybe because he saw himself in the man.

More than one late night, he saw the man awake, just walking the fence line. Whether it was on patrol of the land that he loved like it was his own or he had trouble sleeping too, Ledger didn't know. But he understood Webb on a different level than the others seemed to.

"I can guess what's keeping you awake at night. The vet is a beautiful woman."

His chest tightened. He yanked on the other glove. "She's pregnant."

Webb cocked a brow. "Yours?"

"Yeah. Only Colton knows. I'd appreciate it if you keep it quiet."

"Don't have any friends to tell."

Damn, Ledger felt that statement to the marrow of his bones. After his buddy died, he'd felt more alone than he ever had in his entire life. His mind knew that he had friends here on the Gracey Ranch waiting for him to join them. But the more stubborn part of his psyche told him that he'd lost his one and only true friend—the one who understood him more than the rest.

They weren't just brothers-in-arms. They were brothers in spirit.

"I know the guys suspect you're behind the ranch equipment going missing and then turning up at auction."

Webb stilled. The tendon in the crease of his jaw fluttered as he clenched his teeth. "People believe what they want about me. I don't give a damn. I'm not here to make them happy. I'm here to do my job."

"I respect that."

"Ever since the attacks started, things are fucked up around here. Mr. Gracey used to keep a tight rein on the operations. Then he lost Forest and things went downhill."

Ledger understood that. His own world had spiraled after his best friend died that day.

"Things have been real quiet around here this week." The spell of peace and absence of attacks gave Ledger a false taste of what domestic life would be like. Living with Demi—only he'd be damned if she wasn't in his bed, naked, at all times—might be similar to that peace.

Webb hooked his thumb in his front pocket. "I heard that some wolves were spotted yesterday."

"The wolves are a problem, but I'm still more concerned with the man who attacked her in the barn."

Webb nodded.

"Hunter spotted some wolves at the tree line close to dark. He took a shot with the tranquilizer gun Demi gave us to use, but he couldn't get a clear shot. They ran off."

Webb nodded. "Heard as much. You weren't with him?"

"No. I was doing a sweep of the perimeter before I retired for the night."

He nodded in a way that told Ledger he was distracted and not totally present. "I'd better get to work. The cows don't wait."

"No. They don't." Ledger had intended to dig into some hard work too, but now he had a burning urge to check on Demi.

With a raised hand, Ledger took his leave of Webb. The short walk to the she-shed had his guts gripping, and not with need—with an all-too-familiar sixth sense.

He quickened his pace. As soon as he reached for the door handle, he already knew the door was unlocked.

Open.

And he knew she wouldn't be there.

He barged in, heedless of how hard the door smacked the inner wall. He didn't give a damn if the teacup collection hit the floor and smashed.

"Demi!"

A quick glance at the futon revealed that she had made the bed with the pillows she hoarded all night lined up along the back. Her bag was gone.

She was gone.

"Fuck!" He whipped around and ran for his truck.

Damn her for leaving. She didn't even have the decency to tell him before deciding that her bedrest was officially over.

The door hinges of the old truck screeched in protest as if it didn't agree with the level of anger he opened it with. He jumped behind the wheel and took off for Eden. His fingers locked on the wheel until his joints ached from the tight grip.

Even if Demi's week of bedrest was up, and the pregnancy was no longer in danger, the threat against her wasn't gone. Someone had attacked her. She'd seen the man, even if he was masked.

The cops had the knife he'd used to injure the Graceys' horse, the one that could have been used on her.

He stomped the pedal to the floor, cursing the distance to town, and arrived at Demi's house just as she was getting into her vehicle.

Braking hard, he squealed tires and whipped the truck into her driveway, blocking her from leaving.

Her jaw dropped, and then anger rippled across her face.

He leaped out. Advanced on her. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going back to work, Ledger. You can't stop me."

He stepped closer, invading her space. The heat of her body struck him like a wall of flame.

He wanted to grab her, twist her thick hair in his fist and bend her over his arm, to kiss her until she surrendered to him.

She was right—he couldn't stop her. He had no hold over her. She could claim the child wasn't his, and until he could prove otherwise with a paternity test, he'd have no sway over her. With a doctor's clearance, she was able to go anywhere and do anything she wanted, and he didn't have any say in any of that.

He needed to find another reason to keep her by his side.

"Hunter missed two wolves last night."

She froze, blinking up at him. "You didn't tell me that."

"I didn't see the point. You couldn't go out with us and dart them anyway. But now that you're in the clear ," he emphasized the word, "we could use your help."

He read the indecision in her face. She wanted to help with the wolves. To prevent more animals from being attacked.

That mattered to him too—but more than anything he felt a bone-deep need to take care of her.

He held out a hand, palm up. "Will you come back?"

* * * * *

A shiver ran through Demi, unbidden and unwanted. Why did Ledger's voice have to affect her so damn much?

He didn't sound like he was asking her to return to the Gracey Ranch to help fight the wolves.

It sounded like he was asking her to come back to him.

She never even belonged to him in the first place.

But she was growing a tiny piece of him inside her.

She tilted her head, meeting his stare. "I'll come back tonight. After I see to my patients."

Even her agreement didn't appease the man—his jaw was still clenched.

"I don't like the thought of you being out there alone. Anyone could get to you."

She pursed her lips. "I was only attacked because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'll be fine."

His gaze washed over her. "I'll come with you on your calls."

Her brow hiked up. "I don't need a babysitter."

The struggle was plain in his eyes. Ohh, those eyes. They glinted in at least four—no, five—shades of gray.

He grabbed her car door and held it open. "I'm going. Get in."

"No one has bossed me around in years. You can't start now."

He leaned in. Inch by inch, he hovered closer. Her stupid lungs forgot how to inflate. Her silly heart slammed against her ribs.

"Demi. I'm asking you to let me protect you."

Her body then remembered that oxygen was a necessary part of being alive and sucked in a deep breath.

If the man who attacked her came back to finish the job? She'd need Ledger to keep her alive.

The masked man could have recognized her. He could be a resident of Eden. She could see him every day. He could be one of her clients.

She felt herself nod.

Stupid body, making decisions for me.

As if proving her point, her nipples were tight pebbles, straining toward the hard planes of Ledger's chest.

His gaze lingered on her mouth. The breeze teased a strand of hair free of her ponytail, sending it across her cheek.

Gaze shifting to the errant lock, Ledger lifted a hand and gently hooked a finger around it, directing it behind her ear.

Her insides clutched. Had any man ever looked at her with so much intensity?

"My first patient is waiting." Her voice sounded like a wisp, as reedy as the breeze. She started to glide into the car, but he wrapped his fingers around her upper arm, holding her.

His firm lips settled over hers. The pressure sent a thrill into her belly…and lower .

For a moment, she couldn't move or think about the horse with an abscess she was supposed to see. She could only think about kissing him back.

Going on tiptoe, she melted into the caress, moaning softly as he angled his head and deepened the kiss.

For the solid week that they shared the shed, she'd fantasized about him kissing her every time she woke up to his handsome face and each night when she drifted off to dreams of him.

His arm banded around her back, and he brought her up against his body. Dark need slithered through her. Her panties flooded. When she gripped his wrist and guided his hand up to her breast—to her aching nipple—she realized what she was doing and stopped.

She ducked into the car, plopping into the seat. A second later, as Ledger closed the door, she swore she heard his deep chuckle.

She needed a moment. Driving while under the influence of a very hot SEAL was dangerous. Combined with pregnancy hormones, he scrambled her senses as much as any substance.

"Where to?" His low voice sent tingles dancing over her nerves.

Get a grip. He's only a man.

But the hottest one you'll ever see.

She swung her stare back to him, sucking her bottom lip between her teeth and gently clamping down on the urge to order him into the back seat so she could ride him to pleasured abandon.

"Um. A horse."

His lips quirked at one corner. Amusement glinted in his eyes, highlighting what may be a sixth shade of gray. "What's the matter with the horse?"

Her gaze skidded over his rugged features, down his chest.

She gulped at the very apparent bulge distending the fly of his jeans.

Following her stare, he gave his erection an unapologetic nudge into a better position.

Demi quickly started the SUV and backed out of the driveway, forgetting that he'd parked the Graceys' truck behind her in the driveway until she slammed into it.

"Oh god!"

"Fuck! Demi, are you okay?" He shot out a hand and covered her lower abdomen with his big palm.

"Of course I'm okay! I barely drifted backward. It's the truck that's not okay!" She put the vehicle in park, and they both climbed out to assess the damage.

First, Ledger bent to examine her SUV. He rubbed a scuff with the big pad of his thumb. "That can be buffed out. It's only a scuff."

"And the truck?"

"Nothing could hurt this old thing." He laughed as he pointed at the steel bumper that had about thirteen other dents from previous mishaps on the ranch.

Suddenly, he looked at her. Hard.

"You sure you're okay? Maybe we should go to the hospital." He reached for her.

She stepped away. "I'm fine." Her first day back after a week off and she'd already had an accident and lost her mind over Ledger several times. How was she ever going to survive an entire day with him hovering around her…within grabbing distance?