The Cowbear's Secret Christmas Baby: Christmas Paranormal Romance (Curvy Bear Ranch Book 1) (11 page)
Authors: Liv Brywood
He rocked into her, angling his hips to give her as much pleasure as possible. He knew he was in the right spot when her eyes flew open.
“Ugh,” came her garbled cry as she tumbled into ecstasy.
She quivered and pulsed around his straining cock. He desperately wanted to let go, but held back. He waited until her eyes fluttered wildly and her mouth locked in a perpetual, soundless scream.
When he couldn’t wait another second, he found his own release, burying himself into her and clinging to her as if he’d die without her. He pressed his face into her neck as the last shudder left his body.
As he rolled to lie by her side, she turned and smiled. “I missed you.”
“You’ll never have to miss me again,” he promised as a plan formed in his mind.
Rachel stretched and yawned as she woke up in Brady’s bed. Sheets lay tangled every which way and pillows had been thrown across the room. She lazily patted the bed, searching for his warmth. When she didn’t find him, she sat up.
He was gone.
Her heart fluttered. He hadn’t left her again, had he? They couldn’t have shared such an incredible night together if he meant to leave her again, right?
Alarmed, she swung her legs over the side of the bed. She opened his dresser and grabbed a fresh shirt. She could shower later, after she’d found him.
As she padded down the hall, she passed her mom’s room. She carefully opened the door and found her mom sitting on the edge of the bed reading a book to Jimmy.
“Have you seen Brady?”
“Not since this morning. He said I should let you sleep. He has some business he needed to take care of in town.”
“Oh.” She couldn’t hide her disappointment.
“Did everything go okay last night?”
“I thought so.”
“I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”
“If you’re okay with Jimmy, I’d like to go check the front of the house.”
“Mommy, Namma’s reading the monkey book again.”
Rachel smiled. “I know she
loves
that story as much as you do.”
Her mom smirked. “Loving it.”
Rachel chuckled. A couple of days earlier, her mom had told her that she really needed to buy him some new books. Apparently she was sick of reading the same book over and over. But, it was his favorite, so they’d agreed to endure it.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Did Santa come last night?” Jimmy asked.
“Not yet. Not until the night before Christmas.”
Jimmy frowned. “I hope he doesn’t get lost.”
“He’ll be able to find you wherever he is,” she promised.
He seemed satisfied with that answer and returned his attention to the book. As she backed out of the room, she couldn’t help but smile. He was growing up so fast. She was glad there wouldn’t be a time when he couldn’t remember his father. After making love all night, she’d asked Brady when they should tell Jimmy. Brady had said that today would be perfect. She couldn’t understand why he wasn’t in bed when she’d woken up.
She padded down the hall into the living room. Mack sat on the sofa reading the morning newspaper. He set it on the coffee table when she walked in.
“Hey, you’re up early.”
“What time is it?” she asked.
“A little after seven.”
“It’s not that early.”
He grinned slyly. “Brady said you two had a late night.”
Heat rushed into her cheeks. She wanted to die from embarrassment.
Mack chuckled. “Don’t worry, we’re all adults here. Brady can do whatever he wants.”
“Do you know where he went?”
“Not sure. He took off about an hour ago but said he’d be right back.”
“I guess I should get breakfast going,” she said.
“You don’t have to do that. Sarah, our cook, should be coming into work soon.”
“I didn’t know you had a cook.”
“She basically runs our bed and breakfast during the Christmas rush. I don’t know what we’d do without her.”
The shrill ring of a telephone interrupted their conversation. Mack reached for the phone.
“Hello?”
Rachel wanted to give him some privacy so she walked into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. She’d just closed the lid when Mack joined her. A shocked expression washed across his face.
As she wiped her hands on a dish towel she asked, “What’s wrong?”
“That was Sarah. Her mom’s in the hospital. She’s extremely ill and Sarah needs to fly back to Chicago immediately.”
“Oh that’s horrible. I hope she’s okay.”
“I hope so too. She’s been with us the last two years. She took over the bed and breakfast when our mom died.”
“I’m sorry about your mom,” she said.
“Thanks.”
“I can still help with breakfast. It sounds like you’ll need it.”
He frowned. “But you’re our guest.”
“I’m happy to help. It will keep me from going nuts wondering where Brady went.”
Less than an hour later, she picked up the dinner bell and rang it. Three of the other brothers, Hank, Logan, and Drew, stumbled into the dining room.
Hank said, “Mmmm, bacon.”
She chuckled. “Enough for an army.”
Logan laughed. “With five other brothers, every day is like feeding an army.”
“You all need wives,” she joked.
Mack laughed heartily. “I think I do just fine without a nagging woman after me all the time.”
She put a hand on her hip and waved a spatula at him. “Watch your mouth, sonny, or no bacon for you.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes.
She smiled as Jimmy and her mom took their places at the table.
“Pancakes!” Jimmy shrieked.
“I tried to make monkey faces but…”
June slid a pancake onto Jimmy’s plate. “We can draw a face with syrup.”
“Good idea.”
The rumble of a truck sounded in the driveway. Rachel leaned over the sink to peer out of the kitchen window. Brady jumped out of the truck and strode purposefully into the house. When he walked into the kitchen, all conversations came to a halt. The look on his face was a cross between a deer in headlights and someone who’d just seen a ghost.
He cleared his throat. “Uh, can I see you for a minute?”
Rachel set the spatula down and wiped her hands on a towel. “Sure.”
As she followed him into the living room, her heart beat wildly. Something was seriously wrong.
Brady paced back and forth in front of the couch. “Uh, please sit down.”
She did. “Is everything okay?”
He gave her a lopsided grin. “I just don’t know where to start.”
Her heart dropped. “Look, if you’re—”
“Wait, let me get this out.” He stopped pacing and knelt down in front of her. “From the moment I met you, I knew you were the one for me. I made a bad decision when I abandoned you to join the Marines, and you made a bad decision when you didn’t tell me about our son. But that’s all in the past now. When I woke up this morning, I couldn’t imagine living my life without you.”
As he shifted to kneel on one knee, her breath caught in her throat.
He continued, “Last night, sitting out on the porch, I knew that I’d be a fool to ever let you go. I love you, Rachel. I’ve loved you since the day I met you, and I loved you every one of the days we spent apart. I never stopped loving you. I couldn’t. You’re my mate and we’re destined to be together.”
She choked out a sob as he pulled a black velvet box from his back pocket.
He said, “I want to spend the rest of my life with you and with our son. I want us to be a family. So if you’ll have me, I’d love to have the honor of making you my wife. Will you marry me?”
The tears of joy she’d been holding back spilled down her cheeks. “Yes. Oh, God. Yes. I love you so much. I’ve loved you forever and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
As he slid the ring onto her finger, the huge diamond glittered in the light from the Christmas tree. She leaned forward into his embrace and they sealed their commitment to each other with a long, sensual kiss that she felt all the way to her toes.
“Does this mean you’re going to be my daddy?”
She turned to find Jimmy, June, and all of Brady’s brothers standing open-mouthed at the entrance to the living room.
Brady released her and held his arms open for his son. “Yes. I’ll be your daddy forever.”
Jimmy ran forward and Brady locked him in a tight embrace. Rachel joined the two most important men in her life in their first family hug.
Over Jimmy’s shoulder, Rachel locked gazes with Brady. Tears of joy ran down her face. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He kissed her.
Mack said, “I guess we’d better get ready for a wedding.”
Brady laughed and helped her to her feet. “The sooner the better.”
Jimmy beamed. “This is the best present ever.”
***
Hours later after the celebratory breakfast, Brady joined Mack on the porch. “You seem upset. Is it about the wedding?”
“No, not about the wedding, I’m really happy for you.”
“Then what is it?” Brady asked.
“With Sarah gone and the opening weekend of the bed and breakfast coming up, we’re in serious trouble. I can’t manage the ranch and take care of the bed and breakfast at the same time.”
“Can you hire someone?”
“Where would I find someone on such short notice?”
“Put an ad online.”
Mack huffed. “We can’t just take in any random stranger.”
“So get a few people up here, do some interviews and pick the one that’s the least crazy.”
“That sounds like a disaster in the making.”
Brady laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll figure it out. Hell, maybe we’ll even be able to find you a wife.”
Mack glared at him. “I have enough responsibility without taking on a relationship. Besides, I am perfectly happy alone.”
Brady shrugged. “I used to think so too, but then Rachel came back to me.”
Mack said, “You don’t want to keep your woman waiting.”
“Never say never.” Brady slapped Mack’s back before walking back into the house.
He found his future wife in his bedroom. As he walked up behind her, he slid his arms around her belly. “Hey, sexy.”
She turned and smiled. “I think we should start a new Christmas tradition.”
He nibbled on her neck. “I can think of a few.”
“It would involve the whole family, Jimmy too.”
He leaned back. “Okay.”
When she told him the idea, he readily agreed.
After bundling Jimmy up in snow pants, boots, and a waterproof jacket, they walked out into the field behind the porch. The winter sun splashed across the snow making it sparkle like a million diamonds.
Rachel said, “I’ll go first.”
She put her arms out and leaned back, falling into a heap of snow. She waved her arms up and down.
Jimmy’s face brightened. “Mommy’s making an angel.”
He plopped down on his butt then lay back and copied her. “I made one too. Now you, daddy.”
Humbled by how lucky he felt, he dropped onto his back and made his own angel. His new family was a gift. One that he’d give thanks for every day for the rest of his life.
### The End ###
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Don’t miss the other books in the series:
The Cowbear’s Secret Christmas Baby
(Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 1)
The Cowbear’s Curvy Christmas
(Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 2)
The Cowbear’s Christmas Shotgun Wedding
(Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 3)
The Cowbear’s Christmas Bride
(Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 4)
The Cowbear’s Curvy Valentine
(Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 5)
The Cowbear’s Mail Order Bride
(Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 6)
The Cowbear’s Summer of Love
(Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 7)
Don’t miss the next book in the series…
(Curvy Bear Ranch, Book 2)
Description
Jilted bride Madison Collins needs a peaceful place to hide out from a disastrous pre-wedding scandal. After a drunken night in the arms of a sexy cowboy, she's hungover and unprepared for a job interview at the Curvy Bear Ranch. The moment she arrives at the remote Montana ranch, she knows she's in a heap of trouble. Its rugged owner, Mack Grant, is the cowboy who'd turned her into a quivering, moaning wild-woman the previous night.
Mack knows it's forbidden to go near the new hire, but he can't stop thinking about her curvaceous body and the way she melted in his arms. When she nearly burns down the B&B, his attraction to her is the only thing that keeps him from firing her. But when her ex-fiancé shows up intent on hurting her, Mack can't contain his bear. With his thousand pound secret out in the open, will Madison be able to see past all that fur and into his heart? With the magic of Christmas on his side, Mack will do whatever it takes to claim his fated mate.
Excerpt
Mack said, “I picked you up in a bar and had sex with you in the parking lot. I don’t know how honorable that makes me.”
She laughed. “That’s different.”
“Oh?”
“We were just having fun, blowing off steam. It didn’t mean anything.”
“And in the barn?”
She swallowed and looked away. “I’m sorry about that.”
He gently clasped her chin and turned her face back to his. “I’m not.”
With only a whisper of space between them, an arc of energy sizzled across her lips. She couldn’t turn away, not when his dazzling hazel eyes stared at her so intently.
He closed the distance and kissed her with a gentleness that made the world fall away. The only thing that mattered was the brush of his lips across hers. Tendrils of desire unfurled in her belly. She leaned into the kiss and let him pull her into his lap.
As she wrapped her arms around his neck, a blast of snow-drenched air whipped her hair to one side. He brushed the errant strands away and caressed her cheek with the back of his knuckles.
When he finally pulled away he murmured, “I can’t stop kissing you.”
Buy The Cowbear’s Curvy Christmas