Pregnant with the Rancher's Baby: Reclaimed by the Rancher

“I’m sure she’ll love anything you get for her,” Jessie said, placing her hand on his arm. She stared at the stuffed toy for a moment before she smiled. “You know, I hadn’t thought about a unicorn theme for the nursery. But I really like it. Thank you for that.”

Nate grinned. “Nice to know I’m good for something besides making you pregnant.”

Her expression was thoughtful when she looked up at him and he briefly wondered if he’d said something she took offense to. The websites he visited during his research said that a pregnant woman could be overly sensitive at times and about things that normally wouldn’t matter.

“It’s kind of rough for dads, isn’t it?” she asked, suddenly putting her arms around him to give him a hug. “In a way, I’m sure you feel a little like you’re on the outside looking in. All of the changes are happening to me and all you get to do is watch.”

He automatically closed his arms around her and thanked the powers that be that he hadn’t upset her. “I don’t mind too much as long as I get to watch you.” Kissing her forehead, he smiled. “It’s my favorite pastime.”

“I love watching you, too, cowboy.” When she stepped away from him, her sweet smile sent his blood pressure soaring. “We’d better get this finished and drive back to your ranch.”

“Is there a reason we need to hurry back home?” he asked, watching her scan a car seat and stroller combination before moving on to add a high chair to the items on the registry.

Grinning, she nodded. “I think we need to take a nap.”

Confused, he stood in the middle of the baby-mattress aisle for a minute before it dawned on him what she meant. He had also noticed the websites mentioning that during the second trimester some women noticed a decisive increase in their libido because of all the extra hormones. It certainly seemed to be the case with Jessie. She had suggested an afternoon “nap” the past couple of days.

He couldn’t seem to stop grinning. He didn’t mind at all that she wanted him to take naps with her. Come to think of it, he was feeling a little “sleepy” himself.

An hour and a half later, Nate smiled as they entered the master bedroom and he removed his boots. “Thanks for letting me tag along while you scanned all that stuff at the baby store.”

She reached up to put her arms around his neck and he automatically wrapped his around her waist. “I love that you want to be so involved, Nate.”

“I wouldn’t think to be anything else but involved,” he admitted, realizing it was true. “Even if we didn’t plan on it happening, we created this baby together. I’m not going to just sit back and let you go through any of this alone. It’s a joint effort, darlin’. And like Lane would say in one of his poker games, I’m all in.”

“That means so much to me, Nate.” The expression on her pretty face robbed him of breath and he knew without a shadow of doubt that he wanted to be the only man she ever looked at that way.

Before he could process what that might mean, she raised up on tiptoe and gave him a kiss that registered a solid ten on his internal Richter scale. As her soft lips caressed his, her nails lightly grazed the back of his neck and sent a shockwave of heat racing straight to the most vulnerable part of him. Jessie had always had that effect on him and he knew for certain she always would.

“I need you,” he said, kissing her lips, her chin and along her jaw to her temple. His voice sounded a lot like a rusty hinge and he was surprised he was able to form a coherent thought, let alone verbalize it.

“I need you, too,” she said, sending another wave of heat through him when she kissed the pulse at the base of his throat. She reached to unfasten the snaps on his shirt. “You made me a promise the other night and I’m going to collect on it.”

“What was that?” It didn’t matter what she wanted. Right at that minute, he’d jump off a cliff if she asked him to.

“You told me that I could take your clothes off of you,” she said, grinning.

Nate laughed. “Well, never let it be said that I went back on my word. Have at it, darlin’.”

When she tugged the tail of his shirt from his jeans, Nate loved the playful look that crossed her face. Unless he missed his guess, she was going to treat him to a little sensual foreplay and a whole hell of a lot of torment before they made love.

Pushing the shirt from his shoulders and down his arms, he couldn’t wait to see what she had in store for him next as she tossed it aside and reached for his belt buckle. He was thankful she made quick work of the leather strap and the button at his waistband. His jeans had become way tighter than what was comfortable and he couldn’t wait to get out of them.