by Evie Nichole
“Kiss me,” Darren growled. “I need you so badly, Maggie. Do you have any idea how much you turn me on?”
His words set her aflame. She cupped his face in her palms. The stubble on his cheeks tickled. The room was still dark, and the lack of her sight made every other stimulus that much more intense. She found his lips in the darkness and kissed him deeply. She nibbled his lower lip and then smoothed her tongue over the soft surface.
Darren moaned and wrapped his arms more tightly around her body. She felt a wave of excitement wash over every inch of her body. His taste, his feel, the way it felt to be in his arms, it was all part of a bigger need to be as close to this man as possible. She could feel his erection hardening between them. It didn’t scare her. It didn’t intimidate or bother her. It excited her. This was what she wanted. This was the buildup and the arousal and every moment that was leading up to something even bigger.
Maggie spread her legs and moved them to the outside of Darren’s body. Her skirt was becoming bunched up around her thighs. Her core was aching, and everything between her legs was wet and hot. She moved herself closer to the bulge beneath his fly. Still kissing him, she felt their bodies grind together to mimic the act of love.
He moved his hands to her face. Sifting his fingers through her hair, he cupped the back of her head and kissed her deeply as she moved against him. There was no pushiness on his part. He seemed content to wait and let her lead. That alone made her even more excited. She had never felt so confident and so natural with a lover. She wasn’t worried about what would happen next. She was too busy enjoying right now.
Heat built at her core. Maggie arched her back and pushed her mound even harder against the ridge at Darren’s groin. Her body was on fire. Her breasts were heavy, and her nipples were taut and almost painful. She pressed against Darren’s chest and whimpered. He put his arms around her body. With one hand on her back and one hand on her bottom, he gently helped her steady her rhythm as she ground against him.
Maggie’s mind was spinning. It was as if every nerve was firing at once. The rubbing sensation grew more and more intense. More pressure. More heat. More friction. And then, all at once, she felt something snap below her waist. Sucking in a quick gasp, she cried out. Pressing her face to his chest, she muffled the shout that wanted to escape as her body climaxed in rolling waves of release that left her feeling tingly and oh so wonderful.
It was beautiful. It was so beautiful! Darren’s arms steadied her as he held her close. His lips pressed against her forehead, and she realized that he was whispering to her. “That’s my girl. So precious. So perfect. Feel good, sweetheart. I want you to feel good.”
His words were the icing on the cake. She shuddered against him and then collapsed as though she was about to fall back asleep. Every muscle in her body was utterly relaxed. She was boneless and feeling fantastic. She pressed one last kiss to his lips and then rubbed her nose playfully against his.
“And how’s my girl now?” he asked, a note of teasing in his voice. “Because I must admit that I feel amazing.”
“You do?” Maggie’s cheeks heated up as she realized that he had given her a wonderful gift and yet he’d gotten nothing for himself. How many men would tolerate that? “I feel kind of bad. You—uh—didn’t get yours.”
“It isn’t about getting something.” He traced her cheek with his fingertip. “It’s about loving the way that you react to me. It’s flattering to think that you can climax just from being with me in such a”—he paused as though he were searching for the right words—“G-rated setting, I guess.”
Maggie could not help but laugh. “A G-rated setting, huh? Are you trying to be PC or something?”
“Don’t you feel it?” he whispered. “There’s something happening between us, and it’s special. It’s not like anything else I’ve ever felt, and I don’t want to make it as though it is. I don’t want to pretend it isn’t incredible.”
“And that means you’re being a very wonderful gentleman about the whole thing?” Maggie wondered out loud. “That’s really—it’s sweet.”
“I’ve had my share of one-night stands and crass sexual encounters.” His arms seemed to tighten around her body. He pressed a fervent kiss to the top of her head. “You’re different, Maggie. You’re better than that. I want you to be better than that, and I want to be better for you. Do you understand?”
She did. In fact, she probably understood more fully than he realized. How many people had told her that this man was not what he seemed? How many people had claimed that he was a lazy man who only wanted one thing and would only stay until the money called him elsewhere? This was her proof that it wasn’t true. This was what every woman dreamed of hearing.
You are different. You are special. I want to make a life with you.
“It feels like a dream,” Maggie whispered.
Darren snorted. “Ah, sweetheart, if it was a dream, we wouldn’t have so much damn drama on our doorstep.”
“Drama?” Maggie tried to stop the yawn that snuck up on her but could not. She was just too relaxed. “What drama?”
“My brother is passed out in his bathroom. My niece is asleep in her room around the corner. You have a coworker who is power-tripping on you. Your school has a bully problem. I don’t know what’s really going on with my adopted sister, Jesse. And my baby mama drama is worthy of some daytime talk show.” Darren delivered this last reminder with more than a little bitterness.
“We should talk about that,” Maggie said, rousing her brain from slumber. “You need to get a place. Can you do that?”
“I will.” He sounded as though he were absolutely determined. “I’ll do it tomorrow—or today. Whatever.”
Maggie mumbled something that might have been the word “good.” She couldn’t really tell. Her brain was too sleepy. “Once you do that, I know an attorney. She’s good. She’ll get you your custody. You might actually be surprised what happens.”
“I don’t like surprises.” His voice was what she would have called dead serious. “Surprises almost always end badly. I just want to see my kid. I want him to know me. God knows what that woman has told him about me.”
“Then, we’ll need some help,” Maggie told him groggily.
She was busy in her head talking to social workers and therapists. She could see the whole thing unfolding in her mind. Then she pictured herself with a little tiny Hernandez in her arms. Maggie was reading stories and tucking the little boy into bed. She made him peanut butter sandwiches and took him to the park to play. This was not a case of her biological clock ticking. She felt as though it were broken entirely. She wanted kids and a husband and the whole crazy thing.
“Darren,” Maggie whispered.
He cradled her in his arms and gently nuzzled her head before kissing her temple. “What, sweetheart? I thought you were asleep.”
“Do you want more kids?” Maggie asked suddenly. Was she even coherent? She shouldn’t be discussing these things if she wasn’t even conscious. “I want kids.”
“I hope that you have kids someday soon,” Darren told her warmly. “You’re going to make an incredible mother. Your children will be the luckiest kids on the planet to have you for a mom.”
“But do you want kids?”
She felt as though her brain were totally checking out. The numbers on the clock read 5:00. It was still so early. The sun wasn’t even up yet. She couldn’t stay awake anymore, but she wanted so badly to hear his answer. Did Darren want more children? If he didn’t, that meant this was all for nothing. The idea hurt Maggie’s heart. She was falling in love with Darren Hernandez. It was time to be honest with herself about that. But she wasn’t going to marry a man or be with him when the two of them didn’t have the same goals and aspirations for their lives. It wouldn’t work. Darren was better than that. She would never want him to wake up one day and look over and think that he was trapped in a relationship where he wasn’t having his needs met. That would break her heart.
/> “Maggie, I would love to have children with you.”
The words seemed to drift out of the ether. She could not even be sure that she had heard them correctly. But her heart knew. It settled down, and she pressed her face to Darren’s warm chest and drifted off feeling as though she were the luckiest woman in the entire world. Sure. There were some pretty weird things going on recently, but it was all going to smooth out. It would all be fine. And in the end once, they got through the rocky stuff, they were going to be together, and that was really what mattered.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Mornings sucked. That was pretty much what Darren’s life had come to. On the other hand, the reason that mornings sucked was that the mornings were the only time he ever spent at the corporate offices of the Hernandez Land & Cattle Company.
It did not help his mood any that he had had to get up super early, get Laredo out of bed, and then ask Maggie to help Bella get ready for school while Darren got Laredo ready for work. In the end, Darren had barely had enough time to give Maggie a quick kiss as he ran her by her house to get some fresh clothes before taking both Maggie and Bella to school.
The entire time, Laredo had been snoozing in the backseat of Darren’s truck. There he was, the good brother, camped out in the seat in his custom-tailored Western suit while Darren shuttled him and his kid around because Laredo was too hung over to do it. Now, the two of them were in a meeting where everyone’s favorite father—Joe Hernandez—was waxing poetic about how wonderful Laredo had been in securing a dozen new rodeo stock contracting jobs for the upcoming season.
“Laredo,” Joe said heartily from his place at the front of the conference room. “I believe all of us just want to give you a hand. You’ve been instrumental in building this company into one of the top stock contractors in the West.”
Laredo did not immediately respond, of course. Darren had to kick him. Hard. “Huh?” Laredo’s chin had been dipping dangerously low to his chest. Now he struggled to sit up without slamming his face on the tabletop.
“Laredo?” Joe’s brows drew together in consternation. “Are you feeling well?”
“No.” Darren was the one to answer. “He’s a little under the weather, actually.”
Joe gave a hearty laugh. There were half a dozen other employees in the room who did not look quite as tolerant or amused as their boss. Joe gestured to Laredo. “The man can’t even stay home when he’s ill. That’s dedication.”
“Actually,” Darren snorted. “That’s alcohol. But you can call it what you want.”
“Excuse me?” Joe’s icy glare slid over to Darren. “You’d better watch your mouth, boy.”
“Boy?” Darren stood up, taking his time to unwind his legs and stand to his full height of six foot one inch. He topped out his father’s five foot eleven inches and was easily twice as broad as the old man. “I think that word has lost a bit of its sting, Pops. But if you want to keep sitting here spouting off about how wonderful Laredo is, why don’t you tell the men here why you’re really happy with Laredo?”
There were certainly some interested expressions around the room. Hernandez business did not typically get aired in front of anyone. No doubt the others were eagerly anticipating the moment when they would finally found out some dirt.
Joe stabbed his index finger in Darren’s direction. “Shut your mouth, boy.”
“Why?” Darren snorted. “Because you don’t want everyone to know that you’re trying to find a way to steal the Collins ranch from your adopted daughter? Are you ashamed of that at all? Because the woman is twenty-one and absolutely capable of running her own place. She deserves a chance to try and run that ranch. Her father was your best friend. Why do you honestly believe you have a right to that land?”
“It’s mine!” Joe snarled. He actually lurched toward Darren as though he were going to punch him in the face. “And you’d better shut your trap if you know what’s good for you. I’ll have you out on your ass so fast that your trust fund will buckle under.”
“Fortunately for me,” Darren drawled, “you can’t kick me off the board of directors and take away my salary any more than you can force Jesse Collins to sign over her land to our company.”
Laredo stirred at the table. He started to mumble something, but the end of it came out in a groan that sounded almost like a snore.
“Laredo!” Joe said sharply. “Would you say something? Can’t you control your useless brother?”
“I’m not useless,” Darren argued. “I just don’t run my life the way you would. To you, that makes me no good and lazy.”
The other employees were looking really uncomfortable now. In fact, two of the old cowboys that were in charge of bloodlines, breeding, and stock reports got up and mumbled excuses before leaving the room.
“You are a disgrace,” Joe said in a low voice filled with malice. “I don’t know what your problem is, but you need to take it out of this building. I don’t want you back here. Ever. You get me?”
“Sure.” Darren pointed to Laredo. “But you’ll need to make sure he gets home. He was too hung over to drive this morning. I had to take Bella to school as well. So, maybe you can tell Mom to pick her up after school. In fact, you should probably tell Mom to take Bella home with her after school. It might do the kid good to spend a few days with Grammy and Grandpop since her daddy is too damn drunk in the evenings to take care of her.”
With those parting words, Darren turned on his heel and stalked out of the conference room. He had certainly set fire to that particular bridge, but the only problem he could see in doing that was the whole finding an apartment thing. There had to be a way around that. He had to be able to find a small place that would be acceptable for a guy like him and a young son. Of course, he was going to need to take a close look at his finances and his assets. He had a job, but for how long? Maybe it was time for him to really get involved in this whole adulting process. At twenty-six years old, some might say it was long overdue.
“Wait!”
Darren turned in surprise. He would have never expected to see his brother’s secretary chasing after him. Darren barely knew the woman. She had been working for Laredo for nearly ten years now, and her name was Gloria. She wasn’t a young woman. Darren would guess her to be in her fifties. Right now, she looked as though she were going to break a hip or something running in those heels.
“Gloria?” Darren could see the elevator opening right in front of him, and all he wanted to do was get inside and get out of here. “I really need to go. Laredo will be fine. He’s just having some issues.”
“That man,” Gloria puffed. She looked annoyed as she waved her hand dismissively in the air. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him lately. He’s acting like a fool!”
“So, this isn’t about Laredo?”
“No.” Gloria shook her head. “That Carly woman has been phoning here all morning long demanding to talk to you. She claims she’s taking you to court. I thought you would want to know.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That you were in a meeting.” Gloria narrowed her gaze. “It’s never set well with me that she took your son from you. I think you’ll make a wonderful father.” Gloria pursed her lips and then pulled out a folded-up piece of paper. “A very good friend of mine is a landlord here in Denver. I’ve spoken with him about you. He has some houses for rent in good neighborhoods in the city. Call him. He’ll work with you. He’s got a bad baby mama in his life too.”
Darren stared at the paper for a moment. “Laredo was supposed to be getting me an apartment in one of our company buildings.”
“You don’t want to do that, honey.” Gloria patted him on the arm in a motherly fashion. “You need to keep yourself as separate from this place as possible. Get your own life, Darren Hernandez. God knows that’s what Laredo should have done years ago. Look what this is doing to him. Don’t let it do the same to you.”
Darren forced himself to pause for a minute. Gloria was doing him a
huge favor. Why? “Did Laredo put you up to this?”
She shook her head. “No. Your brother is so caught up right now in this private war he has going on with his father and your brother Cal that he doesn’t ever think past what’s happening here at work.”
“With Cal?” Darren gaped. “What is he arguing with my brother about?”
“Cal is really upset with Laredo for putting pressure on poor Jesse.” Gloria’s whole demeanor shifted when the topic turned to Jesse Collins. It was as if even here in the hallway Jesse and her situation were about as hush, hush as it got. “Cal has even come into the office.”
“Cal left the ranch?” Darren felt his jaw hit the ground. He could not remember the last time Cal had left the Hernandez ranch property to do more than get supplies in one of the nearby small towns. With the advent of Internet shopping, Cal really only needed to leave a few times a month for fresh food.
“Calvin was not happy.” Gloria shook her head and gave a little shudder. “Your mother was here that day too. There was yelling all up and down the hallways that day. The other employees just went home. Nobody wants to be around when you guys are going at each other like that.”
“I can imagine,” Darren murmured. “And they were all arguing about Jesse?”
“Your mother thinks your father is being too pushy with Jesse.” Gloria glanced around as though she were afraid someone would hear that she was repeating Hernandez family business. “I think your father is trying to hold everything together because that’s what he knows. He’s afraid of change.” Gloria made a face. “It happens to all of us as we get older.”
“I think it’s more than that,” Darren murmured. He heard someone slamming out of the conference room and stomping down the hallway. “You’d better go. I have a feeling my father wants the last word.”