Expectant Father (10 page)

Becca hesitated mid-step. It didn’t matter if Aiden was flirting or not, either way he was off limits, a hazard, a line she should not cross.

Aiden caught up to her. “He’d have realized your insight sooner or later.”

“I’ll bet on never.” Becca’s shoulders tensed. The more he talked about Carl, the more uptight she became.

“That’s all right. Unlike you, Carl will never be the sharpest tool in the shed.”

Compliments didn’t mean much when Becca didn’t have anything to show for the afternoon, except for her renewed determination to convince Sirus to change attack strategies on her own.

“That was a compliment. One usually responds to a compliment with a thank you.”

Becca stopped and squared off with Aiden, tossing her braid over her shoulder. “I’d thank you except for the fact that I wanted Julia to see the ridge. I was hoping she’d come to the same conclusion as you and I did. I was hoping she’d help me convince Carl.” She tossed her hands in frustration. “Oh, and, I’d thank you for helping me enlighten Carl, only you ruined it by wanting to pound the living daylights out of him!”

“Wow, you don’t keep it all inside, do you?” The teasing glint in his eye was too much.

“This isn’t a game, Aiden. There are lives at stake.” Not just on the mountain, but inside her belly. What the two of them said and did had profound implications on the future. Would Aiden honor his word and keep her secret?

“Oh, come on. You think Socrates is going to take Carl’s word over yours? Give the man more credit.”

Recalling her conversation a few days ago where Sirus had refused to talk about new strategies, Becca crossed her arms, dropped her chin and stared at Aiden.

His grin faded. “No way. You told Socrates and he ignored you?”

“Contrary to what you might think, no one takes my recommendations all the time. Everyone advises the Incident Commander. I’m a voice of one.” Turning away, she blinked back the tears, unaccountably feeling beaten.

It must have sunk in to Aiden that she was upset, because he was taking her awkwardly in his arms before she knew what was happening. Her belly and their baby bumped into him. A woman with sense would have put distance between them.

But Becca craved a little tender loving care. She was tired of pushing herself, tired of putting on the indestructible front for everyone in camp, and ruing the day she’d taken this assignment. As Aiden’s hands roamed across her back, leaving a welcome heat in their wake, she didn’t pull away.

Strong, independent woman that she was, Becca sighed and melted further into him.

“I’m sorry, Bec. I had no idea how important this meeting with Carl was. I’ll admit I was wrong in sending Julia back, but don’t blame me for what happened with Carl. He wanted to fight as much as I did, probably more.”

“If you think an apology is going to smooth things over, you’re sadly mistaken.” Weakling that she’d become, she sniffed against his shoulder.

“How about a kiss to make it better?”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Still, she found herself raising her head. Just so she could gaze into his eyes and tell if he was serious or not.

His eyes were black, brimming with desire. Places that shouldn’t get warm sparked to life.

“It’s just a kiss, Bec.” And to prove it, he placed a gentle kiss on her nose.

No fair! Becca wanted to cry out that she’d been cheated. Her body nearly trembled with wanting more of Aiden’s touch. It was just a kiss, after all. Nothing bad ever came of kissing, except the crankiness from not getting one, right?

She had to admit that he was right to limit their kiss. They shouldn’t have any contact at all until she landed the Boise job. After that, they shouldn’t exchange more than friendly handshakes if they were to create a healthier environment for the good of their child. Aiden was just being a gentleman and offering emotional support during her breakdown. Becca was the one reading more into it. She was the one wanting more of his forbidden fruit.

Becca was about to pull away and try to console herself that she’d escaped with her dignity intact when his lips moved onto hers. She gave a breathy moan as her eyes drifted closed and she surrendered to the remembered taste of him, his warmth and the feel of his firm body.

Pulling her closer, Aiden kissed her fatigue away, gave her strength and made her want to continue fighting the system for safer, saner ways to fight fire.

Safer. Saner.

Was she insane?

Becca stumbled back, shrugging off Aiden’s steadying hand, immediately missing his touch.

“A-A-AY!” She yelled, regretting that she had no sense of self-preservation.

Even now, staring at Aiden, she throbbed with the call of her body to his. Enticing him into bed when she’d needed his sperm was one thing. Inviting him in for no other reason than their mutual pleasure was another.

“Y
OUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS
could be improved,” Spider tried to make light of the situation. So they’d kissed. They’d kissed before.

And fallen into bed for a glorious evening.

He stood rigidly at attention just remembering Vegas, further charged by the residual effect of the sizzling kiss they’d just shared.

“I… I… I…” Becca stammered.

Spider couldn’t stop the proud smile on his face. He had quite an effect on this woman, as she did on him. Pregnant or not, she made him feel hot-hot-hot.

“Don’t you wish that we’d met under different circumstances?” Spider could imagine how great it would have been to have dated Becca. She was smart, beautiful, challenging, and a babe. He let his gaze run over her soft, tempting curves. Yep. Even pregnant, she was a babe. “Maybe we could go out sometime.” To her place. To a motel.

Suddenly, coming to visit his kid took on a new dimension. Being a dad wasn’t going to crimp his lifestyle. Becca would greet him at the door with that sultry smile. And nap time. Whoa. Nap time was going to be—

“No!” she practically shouted. “We can’t date. Have you lost your mind?”

“No. I’m just…”
Fantasizing?
God, no. She’d kill him if he said that. Backpedal!
Almost having a wet daydream?
Even worse. Think faster! “Uh… Trying to make the best of the situation.”

Becca narrowed her eyes. “Just because we’re having a baby doesn’t mean I’m stupid enough to sleep with you again.”

Ouch. Anger kicked in and overrode mind-numbing desire. “Maybe I thought we should get to know each other better. Jeez, I wasn’t looking for a good time.” Liar, liar, pants on fire.

“Thanks for the compliment.” She did the crossed-arms, chin-cocked stare. She really had that move nailed.

“I didn’t mean it wasn’t good… I mean, it was great, like old times.” Smooth, he wasn’t.

“You are so out of control. They let you manage and take responsibility? You don’t do so well under pressure.”

She couldn’t just insult him like that. Not when he was still straining against his zipper, damn it. “Oh, I do very well under certain kinds of pressure. What about you? Having trouble managing?” Clearly, Julia was a challenge for Becca.

The color in her face faded, but she kept her game face on. “Like your management skills are stellar.”

“Hey, I tell my team what to do and don’t put up with any shit. Being straight up has worked wonders. You ought to try it with Julia.”

“Really? Are you straight up with Victoria?”

He held up a hand. “That’s a different thing entirely. She’s not performing. I’ve saved her butt twice this week and by being tough, I’m hoping she’ll save her own life next time.” Why was everyone defending Victoria? First Golden, then Doc and now Becca.

“You’d help her out if she were a man,” Becca said over her shoulder as she headed down the trail.

“No. I’d be just as quick to get a man off the team. Incom
petence is deadly.” Especially on a fire as deceptive as this one, where there was little warning before the dragon attacked.

“And if you argued with Victoria, you wouldn’t try to beat your opinion into her, like you did with Carl?”

“I did
not
fight Carl. You know I’m never going to hear the end of what happened up there from Mr. Weatherman. You emasculated me!” He caught her surprised backward glance. “Yes, I know what that big word means. And don’t go accusing me of being a chauvinist, because I’m not.”

Spider shook his finger at Becca, which did no good because she was now three steps ahead of him and he was pointing at her back. The adrenaline was pumping through his veins so quickly now, his thoughts bounced from one topic to another. “Besides, don’t think I didn’t notice how you tried to sway Carl up there. Women are always trying to manipulate men in one way or another. You were waiting for the right moment to move in for the kill, only you miscalculated how thick-headed he was.”

Spider drew a quick breath before she could get a word in. “If I hadn’t forced the issue, you’d probably still be up there, batting your eyes and trying patiently to get Carl to see it your way. You let him talk down to you, just like you let Julia give you grief. Jeez, Bec, she’s your direct report, and he’s just a washed-up weatherman. You know what you’re doing. Force the issue with them, for once, instead of being so passive.”

She turned to face him. “I think I’ve had enough for one day.”

“Still don’t believe me?” He shook his head. Man, she was stubborn. “Well, let me give you one more thing to think about. I forced the discussion about the baby with you. If I didn’t press it, you wouldn’t have confessed. And I’ll keep being proactive because I go after what I want.” He stared at her for a few seconds before he realized that he’d stopped talk
ing because his gaze had started to drift over those curves. He swallowed, trying to regain his composure. “So, one more question. What’s it going to take to get you to explain the terms of fatherhood to me?”

She didn’t even hesitate. “Quiet time and space.”

Those were two things he wasn’t going to give her.

“Q
UIET TIME AND SPACE
,” Becca repeated just to make sure he understood. Then she started toward camp again. Passive? She was far from passive. She went after what she wanted. Didn’t she?

Well, maybe not with the in-your-face bravado that Aiden did, but she didn’t think she was as passive as he made her sound. She was trying to protect her plans. How could that be passive?

“You do get the strangest ideas.” Aiden’s reply was laden with sarcasm. “When is the baby due? You can at least tell me that.”

If she could have walked off and left him, she would have. Because she couldn’t, she had to answer. “October. Can’t you hold off talking about this until then? The more you talk about it, the more likely someone will overhear and find out about you.” She’d have to stop soon. Her legs were shaking badly from fatigue. The last thing she needed was to fall down.

Who was she kidding? The last thing she needed was to stop. He’d just get another chance to talk something out of her. Or worse, kiss her senseless again. Despite all he’d said and done today she still craved his touch.

Her foot slipped just a bit.

Aiden steadied her arm from behind before she released her breath.

When had he gotten so close?

“I swear, you’re going to kill yourself. Sit down a minute until you calm down.” His breath wafted over her ear.

Panicky, sweaty and speechless, but knowing she was a danger to herself and the baby, Becca sat down in the middle of the trail, forcing Aiden to move back or below her. He stepped around a tree and stood below her on the trail, so that the sun was at his back and she sat in his shadow.

“I’ve gotta admit, I’m learning something about pregnant women.” He held up his hand and started ticking off fingers. “Don’t surprise them. Don’t make them mad. Don’t call them big. Give them space, peace and quiet. Anything else I need to know?”

Becca crossed her arms over her belly, refusing to respond to his baiting. The baby had been fairly still all afternoon, possibly because she’d been marching around like a crazy person. “I keep telling you there’s nothing you need to concern yourself with. You wanted to know. I told you. We agreed to my terms. Don’t rush me.” She had to think about this next step very carefully. And she wasn’t sure he’d keep the news of his impending fatherhood to himself.

“I admit I never planned on having kids. My parents were less than perfect and I don’t want to repeat their mistakes.” Aiden sighed, admitting, “And I’m not patient. Once I decide to do something, I take care of it right away. I need to know what my role is going to be or I’ll drive myself crazy with wondering, which means I’ll drive you crazy with asking.”

If he’d been angry or bitterly sarcastic, Becca would have repeated that the baby was her concern, not his. But he wasn’t. He was nice again, and the reference to his parents had her imagining a little boy with black hair and eyes, alone and un-loved.

Her eyes filled with tears. She was never wishy-washy. It had to be the hormones. It had nothing to do with the way his
dark eyes compelled her to listen and soak him in, as if just the sound of his voice and the depth of his eyes could reassure her that things would be all right. Logically, she suspected things would never be the way she planned now that Aiden knew her secret, but meeting his gaze was somehow soothing.

“I don’t even know you,” Becca said steadily, even though she knew it was a lie. She’d learned more about Aiden in the past two hours than she’d known when she’d slept with him. But self-preservation made her press on. “It’s hard for me to talk to someone I don’t even know about something as personal as my baby. You agreed that I could set the boundaries. Right or wrong, if NIFC gets wind of my situation with you, that job I want is in jeopardy. You’re going to have to keep your distance on this fire.”

Aiden started to speak, but she cut him off, feeling stronger now that she’d had a few moments off her feet. She needed time to think this through. “That will have to do for now.”

“As long as you agree it’s only
for now,
” he clarified.

Clinging to silence, Becca would do no such thing.