The Cowbear's Curvy Christmas (Curvy Bear Ranch 2) (12 page)

“A gut feeling? Yeah, I get those, but I usually ignore them.”

“You shouldn’t.”

A flutter danced across her belly. “Do you have a gut feeling about something?”

“I do.” He smiled softly.

The tempo of her heart matched that of a galloping horse. “I do too, but I don’t know what to do about it.”

“We belong together. I know it sounds crazy, but from the depths of my bones, I know it’s true.”

“Mack, we’re so different. I’m a city girl, you’re a cowboy. I don’t know anything about living on a ranch.”

“I could teach you.”

She shook her head. “I’m pregnant with another man’s baby. Why would you want someone with all that baggage?”

He shifted closer. “It’s not baggage, it’s part of who you are.”

“You hardly know me.”

“Here’s what I know. I’ve been waiting my whole life to find my soulmate. For as long as I can remember, my parents told me that when I met her, I’d know without a doubt that she was my fated mate. I felt that when I met you. I’ll admit, it took me a few days to recognize it, but I see it now.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but he held up his hand.

“Just think about it. I don’t want you to decide anything now. But if you’d just give me a chance, I swear I’ll show you how much you mean to me.”

“I don’t know...”

He slipped off the edge of the bed. “I know it’s sudden and it sounds crazy, but please, just listen to your heart. If you think there’s even a spark of interest, don’t you think it’s worth exploring?”

She couldn’t fault his logic, even though the whole situation was illogical.

He bent to kiss her gently. “Get some sleep. Maybe you’ll wake up and decide that you want to stay with me forever.”

She smiled. “If only it were that easy.”

“It could be.”

As he walked out the door, a part of her wanted to call him back. He was right. There was something special happening between them. She’d never felt so many emotions at once. It was all so confusing and exhausting. She didn’t know what to do with the warring thoughts in her head. Should she listen to her heart and give him a chance? Or should she cling to logic and walk away from him?

She pulled the blanket up to her chin. Her heart knew exactly what she wanted—him. But she’d never followed her heart before. She’d always done what was expected of her. Well, except for when she moved to Montana to work on a ranch. That had been completely out of character. And maybe that’s exactly what she needed; to follow her instinct and find out if Mack could steal her heart.

Chapter 12

The next morning, Madison wandered into the kitchen just as the sun rose over the mountains. Light bounced across the glittering snow, giving it the magical feeling of the Christmas season. As she turned on the stove, she couldn’t help but think about how she felt more welcome in Mack’s family than in her own family. The way the brothers cared for each other made her want to be a part of so much love.

A soft, feminine voice came from behind her. “Good morning. I was up early so I thought I’d come in and help you.”

“Rachel, right?” Madison had heard about Brady’s whirlwind romance with his old high school love, but she hadn’t met her until now.

“Yep. It’s nice to finally meet you. We’ve been gone a few days. Brady and I wanted to have a winter wedding, so we’ve been in Bozeman looking at dresses. Well, I look at dresses while he tries on tuxes.”

“Congratulations. Weddings are exciting, well... and stressful.”

“I’m ready for it. I’ve been in love with Brady my whole life. We just took a while to figure it out.”

Madison set a frying pan on the stovetop. “When did you know?”

“Know that I was going to marry him?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s see, it was about ten a.m. in my first class of sophomore biology in high school. He smiled at me and I almost fainted. He was the hottest boy in school, still is if you ask me, and I couldn’t believe he knew I existed. Not that he was a snob, mind you, but I didn’t feel very pretty back then.”

“You’re gorgeous.”

Rachel blushed. “Thank you.”

Madison cracked eggs into the skillet. “So, you knew right away?”

“Yep.”

“How?”

Rachel laughed. “I just knew. Sometimes you meet someone and you instantly know you’re going to be their friend. Or you know they’re meant for you. I don’t know how to explain it, other than you just know.”

As Madison flipped the eggs, her heart beat wildly in her chest.
You just know.

Rachel said, “I’m curious, why are you asking?”

“I…well…”

“It’s Mack, isn’t it? I don’t blame you, he’s got the same Grant boy genes. This ranch is crawling with hot, single cowboys.”

Madison smiled. “They don’t make men like that in Seattle. At least not the ones I dated.”

“It’s all the clean mountain air. So tell me everything. How did you meet?”

Heat crawled up Madison’s neck as she flashed back to the steamy sex in Mack’s truck outside the bar. “I met him a few days ago. I applied for the manager job and got it.”

“And?”

Madison set the spatula down. Something about Rachel made her instantly comfortable. Maybe it was because she was also in love with a Grant brother. “This is going to sound crazy.”

“Try me.”

“Mack thinks that we’re fated to be together.”

“That’s not crazy.”

“But he’s a…”

“Bear?”

“Yeah.”

“Brady’s a bear too.”

“Mack told me they all are.”

“It comes in handy sometimes. Especially when it’s time to cut logs for the winter.”

Madison asked, “Isn’t it scary? I mean, how do you know he can control his bear-self?”

“Brady can control it most of the time. The only time he can’t is when someone he loves is in danger. I heard Mack almost mauled your ex in the middle of the night. That had to be scary to watch.”

“That’s part of why I’m so confused right now.”

“Are you having the heart versus mind war? I do that all the time. I try to listen to my heart, but my mind likes to jump in and complicate things.”

Madison nodded. “That’s exactly how I feel.”

“When it comes to matters of love, go with your heart. Based on my experience, when I followed my mind instead of my heart, I got myself into a total mess. It took my son almost dying before Brady and I decided to stop listening to our egos and listen to our hearts instead.”

“How is your son?”

“Jimmy’s doing great. He needed a bone marrow transplant, but it worked. Thank God, because I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost him.”

“Where is he now?”

“He’s back at the main house with Brady right now. We got in late so I’m letting them sleep in. I have to get going in a minute. I’m going to wake them up in time for breakfast. I just wanted to pop over and meet the woman who kept Mack up worrying all night.”

“He was up all night?”

“Sitting in the dark when we got home. Scared the shit out of me.”

Madison frowned. “He wants me to stay with him.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know. I have my ex to deal with, and I’m pregnant.”

“Congratulations?”

“It’s my ex’s baby. Part of me is hesitant to drag Mack into my life. It’s a mess. I don’t know why he wants me.”

“I’ve known Mack for years. Trust me when I say I thought he’d be single forever. If he’s asking you to stay, then he’s fallen head over heels for you.”

Madison gave her a skeptical look. “In the course of a few days?”

“Why not? When you know, you know.”

“It just seems fast. Like maybe my hormones are making me crazy.”

“Or maybe you’re fated mates and meant to be together.”

“You really believe in fate?”

“Yes. We all have the ability to decide our own fates, but why fight something that just feels right? That’s how I felt about Brady. The whole time we were apart, I thought about him. I didn’t really date anyone else. I didn’t feel that pull in my heart. No one can make me feel the way Brady does because he’s my fated mate.” Rachel stepped in to give her a sisterly hug. “Anyway, I have to get going. Don’t think about it too hard. Sometimes love is totally irrational.”

Madison hugged her back. “Thanks.”

As soon as Rachel left, Madison leaned against the counter. Fated mates could definitely explain that little flutter she got in her belly every time Mack walked into the room. And, as if destined to walk in at that exact moment, Mack strolled in.

“Good morning. I was going to come help you make breakfast, but it looks like you have it handled.”

Her heart soared as knots of doubt untangled in her stomach. “Thanks for coming to help.”

Each step he took toward her made her want to get even closer. She closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around his waist.

He pulled her tightly against him. “I was thinking we could have a picnic for lunch, just the two of us.”

She laughed. “It’s ten degrees outside.”

“I’ll keep you warm.”

“In the middle of winter?”

“I’m hairier than you are.”

She smiled. “That’s true.”

“Okay, so maybe a picnic isn’t the best plan. But I wanted to spend some time with you today.”

An idea popped into her head. “I know how we can still have a picnic without freezing.”

“Really?”

She lowered her voice, and in a conspiratorial tone said, “Meet me in my room at noon.”

***

Madison smoothed the red and white picnic table cover that she’d found in the closet across the floor of her bedroom. She couldn’t sit outside in freezing weather, but she could still grant Mack his picnic wish.

As she hurried to set plates, cups, and utensils on the placemats, she hummed. The talk she’d had with Rachel really helped make things clear. After breakfast, she’d stood on the back porch and had sipped coffee while considering her choices. Eventually, she was able to push aside the negative chatter and listen to her heart.

A knock at the door drew her attention. She stood and pulled the hem of her sweater down over her jeans. After a quick glance in the mirror, she hurried to the door.

She opened it to find Mack standing outside with a huge bouquet of red roses.

“Oh wow.”

“These are for you.”

“Thank you.” She grabbed the vase from him. Not only was it a completely sweet gesture, but he’d also brought a vase. Most men wouldn’t even think of that. She mentally added “thoughtful and considerate” to his list of amazing attributes.

His eyes lit up. “You really made a picnic.”

“You wanted one. I made it happen.”

He took the vase from her and set it on the dresser. “There’s something else I want more.”

“Oh?”

“Uh-huh,” he murmured as he gathered her into his arms.

As she pressed against him, she whispered, “And what might that be?”

“You. I know we haven’t known each other long, but I’m in love with you. I’ve never felt like this before, not with anyone. If I have to beg you to stay, I will. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“You don’t have to beg. I want to stay.”

A smile spread across his face. “You do?”

“I thought a lot about it today. We haven’t known each other very long and that was really what was holding me back. Well, that and being pregnant with Ben’s baby. Are you really sure you’re up for loving a woman who’s going to give birth to another man’s child?”

His hands dropped to her hips. “I love you and your baby. I know that it’s not going to be easy, but I don’t care. I need you. I love you. And I don’t care what I have to go through as long as I can be with you.”

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. “I love you too, Mack.”

He brought his lips to hers and sealed their love with a kiss hotter than a Yuletide fire. When he finally pulled back, she was breathless.

He wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas present.”

She half-sniffed, half-laughed. “It’s not even Christmas yet.”

“Well this year, Christmas came early.”

A bolt of desire zigzagged through her core. She stood on the tips of her toes and leaned up to wrap her arms around his neck. “Show me how much you love me.”

“Are you sure it’s safe?”

She nodded. “I asked Harriet when she examined me. She said the fall hadn’t hurt the baby and that my pregnancy was progressing normally.”

“But she said you needed to rest.”

“I’m rested.”

He walked her backward toward the bed. “You’d better be.”

She pulled her sweater over her head. “Is that a warning?”

He grinned. “More like a promise.”

“You’d better make good on it.”

After lying on the bed next to her, he propped up on one arm. With his free hand, he traced a figure eight around her breasts. “I love your body.”

As he bent to kiss her lips, she whimpered. Warm heat flooded her moist center. She’d never been so turned on so fast by any other man. Virile masculinity flowed from every pore in his rugged body.

When he slipped his tongue between her lips, she ran her hand over his ripped biceps. God, she’d get to have his hands all over her for the rest of her life. How on earth did she get this lucky? Maybe it really was fate.

He dragged his lips across the side of her neck before nibbling on her earlobe. “Take off your pants.”

She unbuttoned them and shoved them, and her panties, down to her knees. His roving hand grazed her belly as he reached to pull the rest of her clothes off. As he yanked his sweater over his head, she marveled at the rippling display of powerful muscles on his chest. His stomach clenched showing off a perfect six-pack.

“You’re so sexy,” she whispered.

“I try.”

“You don’t even have to try.”

She rolled him onto his back and knelt between his thighs. After unbuttoning his pants, she yanked down the zipper. She dragged his pants past his thighs and once they were free, she tossed them into the growing pile of clothes.

A thick, long bulge poked up against his boxers. She reached in and fished out the hot, throbbing length of him. Before she could try to kiss his cock, he sat up and rolled her onto her back.

“I can’t wait. I need to be inside you.”

“Yes,” she murmured.

He knelt between her thighs and gently pushed them apart. Instead of taking her fast and hard, he eased in, filling her so completely that the sensation of falling overtook her. She clung to him with urgent desperation. Each stroke brought them closer together. Each brush of skin on skin melded their souls together.

She arched to meet him and cried out as the tension in her body built. He drove her crazy with his perfect rhythm. But beyond that, the way he took her so thoroughly blasted away any shred of doubt she had about their love for each other.

When she’d moved to Montana, she sure as hell hadn’t expected a whirlwind romance, but that’s exactly what she’d found. A rush of gratitude swirled through her heart.

He wrapped his arms around her and moaned. “Oh, God. I need you.”

“I need you too.”

“Come with me,” he whispered urgently.