JOSH Read online

  But why had they tried to kidnap Jaycee again?

  And there was no doubt in his mind that this had been a kidnapping attempt. The guy on the roof was supposed to take Josh out. Gage, too. Leaving the one in the parking lot to kidnap Jaycee. Obviously, they wanted her bad, or else they wouldn’t have staged an attack in broad daylight.

  Was it the baby they wanted?

  Or was it Jaycee so they could eliminate her in case she’d seen something at the baby farm that she could use to make an arrest?

  Josh didn’t have answers for that and probably wouldn’t until he managed to catch one of those guards and question him. And he would catch one. Too bad that might not happen before there was another attack.

  That went through his head like a broken record, too.

  At least he’d managed to get the doctor out to the ranch to examine Jaycee. From what the doc had been able to tell, everything was fine with both the baby and her. Josh needed to make sure things stayed that way.

  He lay on the bed, stared up at the ceiling and listened to the sound of the shower running. Jaycee had been in there for a long time, but then she no doubt had a lot of tense muscles that needed relaxing. He wished he could say it was the end of the tension-causing events, but he couldn’t.

  This was just getting started.

  He’d already verified that the woman who’d come to the hospital cafeteria was indeed Miranda Culley, and that she’d never been held captive at a baby farm and had not made those 911 calls to set up the meeting at the cemetery. So why had someone impersonated her?

  To lure him out when he tried to rescue her?

  Maybe.

  But the lure hadn’t worked because no one pretending to be Miranda had shown up. Still, Jaycee and he had gone out to that cemetery, and he might have been shot if he hadn’t had plenty of backup with him. Jaycee could have been hurt, too, with a botched kidnapping.

  Heck, they’d come close to being shot again today.

  Josh touched the scar on his chest. It wasn’t hurting much tonight. Probably because he’d had plenty of other things to occupy his mind.

  Like keeping Jaycee safe.

  He had to do a better job of that, but all the measures seemed temporary at this point. Especially now with the decorating crew for the wedding on the grounds.

  Soon the caterers would arrive, too, and then the day after tomorrow, the guests. It was one wedding that Josh couldn’t attend. No way. Not with several hundred guests expected, and he couldn’t very well ask his uncle Boone to postpone it. That was why Josh had already called his brother about making arrangements for a safe house.

  If he couldn’t catch those armed guards and shut down the baby farms, then Jaycee and he would be joined at the hip, well, forever. A safe house and this apartment were going to get pretty darn small if things weren’t settled soon.

  His phone rang, something it’d been doing a lot since they’d arrived back at the ranch. Just calls to let him know that all their attempts to find those guards had failed. This time, he saw Grayson’s name on the screen.

  “Thought you’d like to know that Sierra left the hospital with her baby about an hour ago,” Grayson said. “Mason tried to stop her. The doctor, too, but she wouldn’t stay.”

  And that made her stupid. “Does she know about the latest shooting?”

  “She knows. Still didn’t change her mind. Before she left, Bryson made a fuss about seeing the baby,” Grayson went on. “I finally had a nurse let him see her through the nursery window. He took one look at the baby, cursed a blue streak and said she wasn’t his, that she didn’t look like him. He stormed off, mumbling something about demanding another paternity test.”

  “Valerie did say that Sierra could have had the results of the first test faked.” Of course, Valerie could have said that to shift suspicion from herself onto her.

  “She repeated that to Bryson. Valerie was with him when he saw the baby.”

  Another case of being joined at the hip. That closeness between two of their suspects bothered Josh, but he wasn’t sure what to make of it. Maybe it was something as simple as Valerie being his attorney. After the shooting today, however, he wasn’t about to take anything at face value.

  “What did Sierra have to say about Bryson and her sister’s reactions?” Josh asked.

  “Not much. She insists the child is Bryson’s and says to prove it she’ll have as many tests as he wants.”

  That didn’t sound like the offer of a guilty woman. Unless Sierra figured she could fake those results, too. Of course, it could have been all talk, because Sierra had left the hospital for some reason. Maybe because she was afraid for her life or maybe just because she was afraid of what Bryson might do to her if he found out she was lying about the baby’s paternity.

  The bathroom door opened, and Jaycee stepped out. She was wearing a stark-white loaner bathrobe, and her face was flushed, no doubt from the warm steamy water. For just a split second Josh got an image of her standing in the shower.

  Naked.

  His imagination was a little too good in that area, because he felt the heat coil through his entire body. Of course, it didn’t help that he had the real thing standing right in front of him and looking far better than a scared pregnant woman should look.

  “Call me if anything comes up,” he said to Grayson when he managed to stop himself from being tongue-tied. He ended the call and sat up.

  “No, you should stay there.” Jaycee motioned for him to remain on the bed. “I’d imagine your back is sore from sleeping on the floor.”

  Well, it didn’t feel good, but because of that heat coursing through him, it was best if he didn’t stay on the bed. At the moment it wasn’t a safe place to be. Because there was one stupid part of his body that might try to talk Jaycee into joining him there.

  “Sierra left the hospital.” He got off the bed, the mattress creaking a little. Stood. Faced her. “She took the baby with her.”

  Jaycee blew out a long breath. “I feel sorry for that child. Especially if Bryson is the father. The idea of him getting custody makes me a little ill.”

  Even though this was a serious discussion, she glanced at him. Then at the bed. She fidgeted with the tie on the terry-cloth robe, though it didn’t look as if it needed any kind of adjustment.

  Well, except for that V opening that went practically to her breasts.

  The garment wasn’t meant to be provocative, but it was on Jaycee. Her breasts looked ready to spill right out of there, and sadly, that stupid part of his body was hoping they did.

  Just to give his head and his mouth something else to do, he tipped his head to the kitchen area. “Bessie, the cook, sent us over some beef stew with one of the ranch hands. It’s in the microwave.”

  The stew didn’t get much of a reaction, but her eyes widened when her attention went to the table and the plate of doughnuts covered with plastic wrap.

  “I told Bessie about your doughnut craving,” Josh explained, “and she fixed those for you, too. She said I’m to tell you though that they’re not as good as the ones you’d get from the café in town.”

  The place they’d intended to stop before someone had tried to kill them.

  That had certainly put a hold on the doughnut plans. Instead, Josh had rushed Jaycee back to the ranch, literally locked them inside and set the security system.

  Jaycee gave a sheepish smile. “I’ll have just one and then some stew.” She crossed the room and dived into the plate of doughnuts.

  “I swear, I ate healthy while I was a captive.” She made that sound of pleasure again after she’d had a bite.

  The sound that reminded Josh of sex, the bed and other things that he shouldn’t be reminded of right now. Man, he really needed to get a grip.

  But that didn’t happen.

 
His eyes went wandering, and when Jaycee lifted the doughnut to take another bite, her robe shifted, and he got a glimpse of her breasts.

  No bra.

  No gown.

  Unless she had on panties, she was butt naked beneath the robe. His body didn’t let him forget that, either.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled.

  He looked to see what she meant. She’d noticed him gawking at her, all right. She fixed the robe to cover her breasts but then licked the sugar off her fingers.

  Yeah, he was definitely toast.

  He wasn’t sure why she was having this effect on him now. Maybe it was because he was pushing through the rest of the adrenaline crash. Or if he was truthful with himself, Jaycee had always had this effect on him.

  Well, before the shooting that nearly killed him anyway.

  Josh had been able to use that incident to keep the heat at bay, but he was failing miserably at it right now.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled again. And yep, she’d noticed that he was practically drooling over her.

  He muttered some profanity and moved away from her. “I think I’ll go ahead and grab a shower.” An ice-cold one to chill him down. Maybe two of them.

  But she stood and blocked his path.

  A really bad idea.

  The last thing he needed right now was to be close to her. Even if that was exactly what he wanted.

  “I don’t want this to be an issue between us.” She licked her lips this time, no doubt searching for any stray sugar bits left over from the doughnut, and she was driving him crazy in the process. “The attraction was always there. Always,” she repeated when he gave her a flat look.

  Yeah, it had been.

  And it still was.

  It took Josh several seconds to repeat the bad stuff that’d gone on between them. Several more seconds to drill it into his brain that while he did forgive her, crossing the line with her now could be dangerous.

  Did that stop him?

  Nope.

  With the sane part of him yelling for him to stop, he reached out, sliding his hand right into that robe, and he found exactly what his body was looking for.

  A warm, soft, naked woman who could burn him to ash.

  Even though she’d been the one to stop him from leaving the room, Jaycee suddenly got that deer-caught-in-headlights look. “Uh, you’re sure about this?”

  At least that was what Josh thought she said. He couldn’t be certain because he kissed her before she finished talking. Still, he caught the gist of what she meant. Like him, Jaycee knew the timing for this sucked. And not just the timing—everything about this was wrong, wrong, wrong.

  That didn’t stop him, either.

  He just kept kissing her. Kept sliding his hand deeper into the robe until he was cupping her breast. He swiped his thumb over her nipple and got a very good reaction.

  Or bad, depending on perspective.

  From his insane body’s perspective, it was the right reaction. She moaned, that little silky sound of pleasure, and she melted against him.

  She tasted sweet, like the sugary doughnut, but it was mixed with something else. Something dark and forbidden.

  Which she was.

  But that only made the kiss hotter. It only made him want her more.

  He shoved open the robe. He’d been right about the naked part. Not a stitch of clothes, and he broke the kiss just long enough to look at her.

  Yeah, he’d also been right about the burning-to-ash part.

  Before he could talk himself out of it, he backed her against the counter. He didn’t think beyond the moment of pleasuring her. Pleasuring himself by touching her. And his hand was already sliding between her legs when he got a quick slap back to reality.

  The baby.

  Or rather her pregnant belly.

  He shook his head, hoping to clear it. Didn’t work. And he opened his mouth to ask a question that he shouldn’t ask.

  Was it okay for them to be doing this?

  Of course, the answer was no. It wasn’t okay, but since his body wasn’t going to listen to that, he needed to know if it was physically okay for them to be doing this.

  He got his answer fast.

  Jaycee kissed him, pulling him right back to her. “There’s no reason to stop because of the baby. It’s okay for pregnant women to have sex.”

  There went his out. Because there were only two things that could have stopped him from jumping off this cliff—Jaycee saying no or her telling him she couldn’t continue because of the baby. But clearly she didn’t want an out, either.

  And Josh didn’t give her one.

  He shoved open her robe and dropped some kisses on her neck. Then her breasts, which were full and warm and smelled sweet like the rest of her. Each touch of his mouth caused her to make those silky sounds of pleasure.

  So Josh kept going.

  Kept kissing until the fire was burning too hot inside him. He was pretty sure it was burning inside her, too, because she kept fighting to get closer.

  “The bed,” Jaycee managed to say. She pulled him up, kissing his mouth and maneuvering him in that direction.

  She had the right idea about the bed, but it was taking way too long to get there. Everything was taking too long. Because his body kept hammering home that he needed her now.

  Without breaking the kiss, Josh scooped her up, took her across the room and eased her onto the bed. He reminded himself to stay gentle.

  But Jaycee didn’t help with that, either.

  The moment her back touched the mattress, she hooked her arm around his neck and pulled him on top of her. He kept most of his weight on his forearms, but Jaycee took full advantage of the gap between their bodies, and she unbuttoned his shirt. It involved a lot of touching, and when she shucked it off him, her clever hands went to his bare chest.

  Stomach.

  And lower.

  To the front of his jeans.

  Oh, man. Josh hadn’t thought the fire inside could get any hotter, but he’d been wrong. That did it. When he got his eyes uncrossed, he stood just long enough the rid himself of his boots and jeans. He would have gotten to his boxers next, but Jaycee reared up to help him.

  More eye crossing.

  Either she wasn’t very good at taking off a man’s underwear or else she wanted to torture him. Josh didn’t have time to decide which because she pulled him back onto the bed with her.

  “Let’s finish this,” she insisted.

  He did. Josh eased into her, and he had to bite back some profanity because she felt that good. That slick heat only made him need her more.

  And that need was yelling for him to finish her now.

  Part of him wished he could savor this moment, but that part of him lost the battle fast. Jaycee saw to that. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, pushing him deeper inside her. And faster. Until she could take no more.

  The climax rippled through her body, and Josh watched the pleasure of her release spread across her face. She touched her tongue to her top lip. Closed her eyes.

  Whispered his name.

  Josh didn’t even try to speak. Didn’t try to hold on for one last moment of pleasure.

  He just let himself fall.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jaycee just wanted to lie there in bed and enjoy every bit of this moment.

  But Josh obviously had different plans.

  He eased off her as if she was delicate crystal that might shatter beneath him, and he dropped on his back beside her. His breathing was still heavy, the pulse jumping on his throat, but because he was staring up at the ceiling, she could no longer look into his eyes.

  Which was just as well.

  Right before he’d moved, Jaycee had caught a glimpse of his “wh
at the heck have I done?” expression. She’d expected it, of course. Because part of her felt the same way.

  Probably not for the same reason as Josh, however.

  What she’d told him was true—she always had been attracted to him. That’s why she’d fallen so easily into bed with him five months ago. However, deeper down, it had felt like more than a mere attraction.

  And that scared the heck out of her.

  Josh had told her that he hadn’t considered himself father material because of his parents’ messy divorce when he was a kid. Well, she didn’t consider herself relationship material because of messy parents, either.

  Yet here she was. In bed with Josh again. Complicating both their lives.

  Still, she didn’t regret it.

  Even if she should.

  He groaned. Not quite as bad as the groan he’d made five months ago when he had learned she was in part responsible for his partner’s death and his own injury. She turned to him, ready to apologize—just to get it out of the way—but he leaned over and dropped a kiss on her mouth.

  “I moved back to Silver Creek because I thought it’d be safer,” he grumbled. “Ironic, huh?”

  She thought about that a moment. “Are you talking about me, the baby or the gun-slinging guards?”

  He turned his head, snagged her gaze. “Definitely not the baby.” And he planted another kiss on her belly. “The guards, for sure. You, well, you’re dangerous in your own way.”

  Jaycee cringed and pushed aside the memories of his shooting. Playtime was apparently over. Reality and their painful pasts were back. She pulled the sides of the robe over her naked body and started to get up.

  She didn’t make it far.

  Josh pulled her right back down with him.

  “I wasn’t talking about the shooting five months ago,” he clarified. He slipped his arm beneath her and brought her closer to him. “It’s hard for me to concentrate around you.”

  She looked down his body at the part of him that’d been very hard just minutes earlier, and she smiled. Yes, it was stupid. She didn’t have much to smile about, except this was the most relaxed and satisfied her body had felt in five months.