Chapter Nine

W hen Ledger returned from the bathroom, he stopped with only one foot inside the bedroom.

Demi lay on her side, honey-brown hair tumbling across the pillow. A goddess's glow danced over her skin. On her neck and breasts, she bore the red marks of the small bites and nips he'd given her.

A growl started in his throat.

With each prowling step he took toward her, he couldn't tear his eyes off her. It was true—her nipples were a deeper shade of rose. Was that the only change in her body?

For now. We're in the early weeks of pregnancy.

Hold up. We?

Yes, goddammit. They were a team. He was also her bodyguard until they caught that crazy person who sliced up an award-winning rodeo horse and shoved a woman into a wall.

In long strides, he crossed to the bed. When he stretched out beside her, he pulled her into his arms.

To his surprise, she was soft and pliant. Cuddly.

He stroked a slow path down her spine. For some reason he couldn't explain, he did something he never did with a woman before.

He started talking.

"I joined the Navy right out of high school. I come from a line of Navy men. But I took it further than any of them and became a SEAL."

"It's definitely something to be proud of." Her eyes gleamed up at him.

His chest hitched with a quick intake of air at just how lovely she was. Slowly, he resumed with stroking a path up and down her back. "It is something to be proud of, but the reason why I got further than they did, is because they all died in service."

"Oh no. I'm sorry."

"I expected to be the next Bell to die serving his country. Somehow, I was spared."

She compressed her lips.

"Most of my team died during a strike," he explained.

She didn't speak.

"You knew?"

She nodded, rubbing her cheek against his pec. "Meadow told me."

"I figured she did. I saw her leaving the she-shed more than a couple times."

"She was kind to me and kept me company."

He grunted. "Colton found a good woman. I'm happy that they have each other, and that he found a place on the Gracey."

"You found a place too, right? The ranch needs the help."

He gave an awkward shrug. "Now that I'm out of the military, I have no idea what to do. I never saw any of this coming."

He never saw her coming.

For the time being, until the threat was neutralized and the Graceys could hire more ranch hands, he was stuck on the ranch, while Demi jaunted all over the county.

Her career was non-negotiable. She could no sooner stop being a veterinarian than he could stop being an alpha SEAL. After spending the day with her, seeing her in action, he knew that the people in the area needed Demi.

Even if she hadn't realized it yet, she needed him . But the way she was cuddled up against his chest…plus the way she had turned to him after being sick earlier tonight…he suspected that she might be coming to terms with him being in her life.

He was dug in—here to stay.

A sense of urgency jittered through him. He and his men needed to solve the issues surrounding the Gracey. Securing the ranch came first, and that meant digging deep and finding out more about this investor and what exactly the man thought he'd get by destroying the Gracey and everything on it.

He could only want the land. What purpose did it serve to maim a prized horse other than old-fashioned fearmongering?

Sliding his hand down Demi's spine, he curled it around her hip, pulling her even closer. For her, he would fight harder against the threat.

For their child.

For them , he would go down fighting.

* * * * *

It was too easy to melt against Ledger's warm, hard body. To bask in the security he provided.

"Demi."

No, no, no. Not now, when she was feeling so relaxed and all the good endorphins were rushing through her veins.

The tone of his voice sent her body into fight-or-flight mode. She was not ready for this talk.

But she couldn't run forever.

"We've been in each other's company for only a few weeks and slept together twice. I still feel like there's so much to learn about you."

Pushing into a sitting position, she issued a sigh.

He gave her a sharp look, then propped his spine against the headboard. He scrubbed a hand over his face and dragged his fingers through his hair, giving him a rumpled, boyish appearance that sent a dart of need to her core.

Exactly what she didn't want right now.

"Look, Ledger. You're a great guy."

His brow shot up. "Are you seriously giving me the old ‘it's not you, it's me' line, Demi?"

She drew the sheet over her bare breasts. She couldn't hold a serious conversation about ending relations with him if her nipples betrayed her every word by puckering in anticipation of his talented, deliciously callused fingers.

"I have a career. I earn good money, enough to take care of a baby. I already have a house. I've got this."

His rough bark of humorless laughter splashed a chill over her. "You've got it all planned out, don't you? I get it. I'm the man who always has a plan. Except that night I came to Badlands, I wasn't looking to get laid. Now look at what happens when I go through life without a plan—a surprise baby!"

"You don't have to stress about it. I've got this, Ledger."

"Saying things like that only causes me more stress, woman." The low growl and the way he drawled woman made her nipples shrink to hard buds and throb for his tongue.

"Well…what would cause you less stress?" She could negotiate.

He riveted those gray eyes on her. "I'd like to get to know you. Since you're the mother of my child."

As she focused on his hard, bare chest with a light sprinkling of hair, her vision blurred. Bringing her attention up to his face, she asked, "Like…we date?"

"Why not? Besides hardly being able to keep my hands off you, I actually like you."

An exhale of surprise passed her lips.

"I'd feel better about everything if we got to know each other better."

"But what if things don't work out? Then we have a child with parents that hate each other."

"You're saying we shouldn't try in case things end badly? C'mon, Demi. We're both adults. No matter what happens, we'll do our best to make it work for the kid."

Her lips felt too dry to speak. She swiped her tongue across the bottom one, and he tracked the movement.

"You realize in some circles, I could be seen as quite the catch."

His words caught her off guard. A laugh bubbled out of her.

"Is that so?"

"Mm hmm. Besides my glorious record in the military, I'm not too rough on the eyes."

That was the understatement of the century. The man was walking sex and sin.

He pulled the sheet away from his body and glanced down at his cock. "I'm above average."

She giggled. "Now that I can't argue with."

He grabbed her and rolled her underneath him, pressing that big package he had every reason to brag about against her pussy.

Stroking her hair off her face, he stared down at her. "I'm smart. Funny."

"You're funny every time you walk into the she-shed and shudder at all the girly flowers."

His lips quirked. "I'm handy."

"Mm. Maybe I need to see more of this handiwork."

His expression grew serious, those gray eyes darkening. "Demi, I can and will protect you and the baby."

She gulped. Her lover had the market on being a deadly weapon cornered.

Gliding that hand, that could maim or kill, down her body with such extreme tenderness raised chills all over her body. When he ducked his head and captured her lips, she breathed a sigh of surrender.

He lifted his head. "Does that mean you'll date me?"

"We're putting the cart before the horse, aren't we? Drinking the milk before buying the cow."

His teeth flashed in a grin. "I like these comparisons. Got any more?"

She laughed, low and throaty with desire. "I'm still thinking about that ‘above average' comment."

With a moan, he claimed her mouth in a kiss that melted her resistance all over again.

There may be no escape from the way he made her body come alive—and she didn't even want to. But now she had a bigger worry.

How was she going to shield her heart from him?