Rugged Daddy_A Mountain Man's Surrogate Romance

by Rye Hart

  “Then, I’ll pay off your loans.”

  “No, you won’t. That’s my bakery, Cameron.”

  “And you’re the woman I love. The mother of my child. I want to support you in any way I can. If paying off your loans and giving you the ability to expand and be better so your business thrives is what you need, that’s what I’m giving you.”

  “I can’t take you up on that offer. I’m sorry.”

  “If your bakery was in fine financial standing, would you move in with me?” he asked.

  “It would help things, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to take your offer free of charge.”

  “Then, don’t take it free of charge,” he said. “Let me own a part of your business. It can be an investment.”

  “You want to invest in a failing bakery? That doesn’t sound like a good move financially.”

  “Not in a failing bakery. In a bakery that will thrive once we’re done with it. Let me do this for you. Let me do this so you feel more comfortable moving in. So we can be a family, Heather. So I can take care of you. Forever.”

  I sat there, stunned at the opportunity presented to me. I tried to find all the faults and cracks in that plan, but there were none. The idea of Cameron investing in my bakery thrilled me. The idea of moving in with him made me happier than I’d ever been in my entire life. My eyes danced between his as I slid into his lap, my hands falling to his chest so I could really look at him when I said what I wanted to say.

  “Cameron Silver, will you invest in my bakery?” I asked.

  “Only if you move in with me and Audrey,” he said.

  “Then, I guess we should seal our deal with a kiss.”

  And before I could blink my eyes, he reached up and captured my lips. His hands dropped to my hips and pulled me into him, settling my body into his strength. I slipped my arms around his neck and smiled against his skin as each boulder of stress rolled off my shoulders.

  I was creating a family with the man I loved, and my bakery was saved. There was no way my life could get any better than this.

  EPILOGUE

  CAMERON

  NINE MONTHS LATER

  “So how’d your checkup go?” I asked.

  “It went well,” Heather said. “Luke’s growing on track, though I think he’s the cutest little chunker that ever did roll around on the floor.”

  “He’s getting pretty good at that. He knocked up against my leg the other day.”

  “If we aren’t careful, he’ll be walking before he’s one, and we’ll be chasing after him while he chases after bees,” she said.

  “I still don’t get his fascination with them. He’s been stung once already.”

  “Like you said. Tough as nails.”

  I opened the fridge and pulled out the steaks for dinner. I had them marinating while Heather and Luke had gone into town for their two-month checkup. I’d wanted to go with her. That protective part of me wanted to accompany her into town, but she wanted to get together with Nicole before the appointment and have a small lunch before she went to get poked and prodded.

  “How’s Nicole?” I asked.

  “Doing well. Just got back into town after traveling for work again. Oh, man. These steaks smell good. What’s on them?”

  “Salt, pepper, and a secret blend of spices.”

  “So paprika and garlic?” she asked with a grin.

  I chuckled as I started peeling potatoes over the sink. “So, I have a surprise for you.”

  I peered over at her with my mockingly guilty look, and she groaned.

  “Cameron, what did you buy now?” she asked.

  I wasn’t used to women turning down or discouraging gifts, but though her protests sometimes made it difficult to spoil her, I loved knowing I was much more to her than a free ride into luxury. “I bought a new place for your bakery.”

  She dropped the steaks into the cold pan as her head whipped over to me. “You what?”

  “I’ve been scouting out a few places ever since we got your bakery up and running again, and I had my eye on this one place for a few months now. It used to be some tax place in town, but they closed down a few weeks ago, and they put a ‘for rent’ sign in the window yesterday.”

  “You rented it yesterday?”

  “I actually bought it. While you were at your appointment.”

  “Cameron!”

  “What? Look, we hit roadblocks with expanding your bakery after we paid off your loans, and I’m sorry, but your bakery is in the weirdest place imaginable. This property has a lot of space, and it’s right in a prime spot downtown, much better than that other bakery you’re fighting against.”

  “Cameron. You bought a building without telling me?”

  “I actually bought the strip,” I said.

  Laughter fell from her lips as she shook her head at me. “First you walk onto a lot and buy me a giant fully-loaded SUV to carry around two little kids—”

  “Because you know we plan on having more. We’ve already talked about this,” I said.

  “And now you've just gone and written a check for a strip of stores in downtown Whitefish?”

  “It’s actually a decent strip. All the stores are doing really well, and now I can say I own my own herbal supplement shop.”

  “Cameron Silver, you’re insane.”

  “I’ve also hired a construction crew to start renovating it tomorrow using the schematics we wrote out before your current landlord turned us down to expand.” I refused to take on any shame over my purchases. She already knew darn well how much I was into real estate development.

  “Do you have any other surprises?”

  “If you just want to manage the bakery, I’ll help you find someone to work it. I’ve got marketing plans laid out already. You can focus on that end while someone else bakes and runs the thing. Or you can go back to work full-time, and I can be with the kids.”

  “You? A stay at home dad?” she asked.

  “Why not? I’ve done it for almost three years now. Plus, I work to keep my investments in tip-top shape so we can do things like this.”

  “Like buying fully loaded cars off the lot and purchasing strip malls.”

  I watched a smile spread across her cheeks as the steaks started to sizzle in the pan. She ran at me with her arms opened wide, and I dropped the potato and peeler into the sink. I wrapped her up in my arms and held her close, feeling her smile growing broader and broader against my skin.

  “Thank you so much,” she whispered.

  “All I want is to see you succeed, Heather. Anything I can do to contribute to that is what I want to do.”

  “But you should know there’s no way in hell someone else is running my shop.”

  “Then, it sounds like my stay at home dad status remains,” I said.

  I dropped her down to her feet and encompassed her lips with mine. I would never grow tired of kissing her. I would never grow tired of holding her in my arms. My life with Heather had been a whirlwind, yes, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Not my life. Not my fortune. Nothing. The life we had created on our mountain with Audrey and Luke was perfect, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more than what I already had in the palms of my hands.

  I pulled back from our kiss, and a mischievous smile crossed her cheeks before she looked back down the hallway.

  “The doctor gave me the green light,” she said.

  My brow ticked in confusion as a giggle fell from her lips. But the second she reached down and smoothed her hand against my cock, it registered, and a growl fell from my lips.

  “Where are the kids?” I asked.

  “Audrey’s taking a late nap, and Luke is fast asleep,” she said.

  She massaged my cock to life before she reached over and turned the stove off. She moved the steaks off the burner before those sultry brown eyes turned back toward me. My hands fell to her hips, and I hoisted her onto the kitchen island, my lips attacking her neck as her laughter filled the room. I worked her out of her pant
s and slid her apron above her head. She ripped my shirt off and used her feet to slide my pants down my legs.

  It had been more than two months since I’d felt her naked body against mine, and I wasn’t going to let a second go to waste.

  I plucked her off the island and carried her into our room. I shut and locked the door behind us as she giggled into my neck. I felt her heat and the dampness of her pussy against my body. I tossed her onto the bed and pounced like an animal attacking its prey. My lips curled around her engorged nipples as her hands weaved through my hair, tugging me and guiding me as I slipped down her body. I didn’t have it in me to tease her. I didn't have the self-control to draw things out. I’d longed for the taste of the woman I loved for weeks, and I couldn't deny my desire any longer.

  I slid her legs over my shoulders and looked up into her bright brown eyes. She smiled at me as I kissed her pussy lips, watching as her head fell back in pleasure. I slid my tongue deep. I groaned as her arousal melted into my tongue. I lapped at her clit, circling it and flicking it until her body shook against me. I knew it wouldn’t take her long. She had been waiting just like me. Her hips rolled into my mouth, and her pussy coated my cheeks with her scent.

  She spiraled into a frenzy as she unraveled against my lips.

  I held her hips down, pinning her to the bed as she bit down onto her bottom lip, stifling those beautiful sounds as they graced my ears. I licked her up and swallowed down every last drop. Her chestnut hair splayed over my pillow as her hands tugged at my head, begging for me to come up so she could taste herself on my lips.

  I was all too eager to allow her tongue to roll against my skin.

  She rolled us over and captured my cock with ease. I slid into her deep heat for the first time in months, and my toes curled against my feet. Fuck. Heather was fantastic. I gazed into her eyes as my hands held her waist, guiding her swiveling movements. My fingertips traced her stretch marks, and my hands cupped her curves. Her body grew more beautiful every single day I saw her, and I breathed out a promise I hoped would fill her with enough want to never let me go.

  “My tongue will memorize every line tonight,” I said as I looked into her eyes. “There won’t be a part of you untouched when I’m done.”

  Her hips rolled harder into mine as her hands curled into my chest. I thrust up into her, digging my heels into our mattress. Her tits bounced, her head thrown back. Her body shook for me as she rode my thickening cock. Her walls fluttered around me, and her juices coated my shaft, dripping all the way down to my balls. My hips snapped against hers while my hands dug into her juicy hips. Her jaw unhinged as silent pleas fell from her lips and colors sizzled in my vision.

  It tunneled, until the only thing I saw was her unraveling on my cock.

  “Cameron. Yes. I’ve missed this. Fuck!”

  I rose up and wrapped my arms around her, turning her over as her body shook. I pounded into her, pinning her hands above her head. My lips fell to hers. Her body jumped against me. She bucked and rolled and wrapped her luscious legs around my waist. I lost myself in her body. My cock became so engorged, it was nearly painful in the most exquisite of ways. I nibbled on her lower lip as she wiggled around underneath me. The rippling of her pussy walls assaulted my senses, sending electricity flying through my body.

  “Again. It’s coming. Cameron. Don’t stop. Please. Let me … let me … let—Yes!”

  Her back arched, and I dropped my face into the crook of her neck. She gasped for air, her fingernails curling into the backs of my hands. I buried myself in her body and allowed myself to release. I nibbled on her skin and sucked on her neck as I poured myself into her. Two and a half months without the feel of her. Two and a half months without being able to show her how much I loved her. Two and a half months with a deep, longing need that only she could satisfy.

  “I love you,” I whispered into her shoulder.

  My legs grew taut. My body shook. I slid into her, pumping the last of my cum deep into her precious body. She whimpered, filling the room with her breathless sounds. I kissed up her neck. Up her cheek. All the way to her lips.

  Then, I rolled us over so she rested on top of me, her legs spread and my cock sunken into her heat.

  Silver stars burst in my vision as her body trembled against me. I closed my eyes, allowing the sheer ecstasy that coursed through my veins to blind my mind. Everything stopped. Everything fell to the background. I turned my lips to kiss Heather’s cheek, feeling how deeply she panted for air as she laid against me.

  “I love you so much,” she said breathlessly.

  I slid my hands down to cup her ass before I slowly removed my cock.

  She fell off to the side, and I pulled her into my body. She grew limp against me, still shaking from the pleasure I’d just dealt her. I kissed her shoulder, working her through the body-wracking ecstasy. My hand slid to hers, our fingers lacing together as her hand rested on top of mine. I cradled the one woman in my life I cared about more than anything else. I closed my eyes and breathed in her womanly scent, taking in how it had changed with Luke

  Everything about her body had changed with our son, and I loved every second of it.

  “Okay,” Heather said.

  My brow furrowed as my eyes slid open. “Okay what?”

  “I’ll take the space for my new bakery,” she said.

  I smiled and pressed a kiss to her skin as she turned around in my arms. “If you can still move, I didn’t do my job right.”

  “From the phrases that fell from your lips, mister, it sounds like you’ve got all night to get it right,” she said.

  A growl sounded in my chest as her hand fell to my heart.

  “I’ve missed your touch so much,” she said.

  “I’ve missed you too,” I said.

  “Have you really already hired a construction crew?”

  “I really have. I’m taking the plans we drew up to them tomorrow so they can look it over and make suggestions for how to alter them for the new space.”

  “Could I come with you?”

  “Of course. We’ll take Luke and Audrey. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind seeing the place. I can show it to you while we’re in town.”

  “I’d like that.” She smiled.

  “Then it’s settled. We’ll get up in the morning, go to the construction appointment at ten. Then we’ll stop by and tour the place before getting some lunch.”

  “Does a name change come with this move?” she asked.

  “Do you want to change the name?” I asked. “Because I can make that happen if you want it changed.”

  She lifted her head. “Well, Heather’s Bake Shop is a little plain.”

  “I think it’s straightforward and to the point. You’re Heather, and it’s your bake shop.”

  “But what if I went with something more creative, something that encompassed what my life is now?” she asked.

  “I take it you have a name in mind already.”

  She nodded as a smile slipped across her cheeks.

  “Then tell me. What do you want the name of your new bakery to be?” I asked.

  “Born and Bread,” she said. “You know, since I was born and raised here in Whitefish. I think fresh loaves of bread would sell on a regular basis in a small town like this, so I could add that and take away some of my sweets that haven’t sold over the last few years.”

  The excitement that filled her eyes was exactly the type of excitement I wanted her to feel about her business. There was no way in hell I was saying no to something she had obviously been thinking hard on.

  “It sounds perfect,” I said.

  I licked my lips as my eyes scanned her naked body. Her neck flushed with lust as I rolled her over onto her back. “I need to finish dinner, Cameron.”

  My lips fell to her neck as a soft moan escaped her throat

  “The steaks won’t be cooked evenly.”

  I wrapped my lips around her nipples as her body arched into my face.

  “The
kids might wake up soon,” she said breathlessly.

  “But they aren’t up now,” I said as I slid between her legs. “So you can start repaying me as soon as possible.”

  As Heather’s back arched off the bed with my ministrations, I studied her. Watched her. Reveled in the taste her on my tongue again. I took my time with her, teasing her until she was begging me to stop. It was perfect. Everything about the moment was perfect. Her bakery was on track to be a success, she was willingly accepting my help with it, and our family had blossomed into an adventurous unit that was now seen and recognized around town.

  “Cameron. I can’t take it anymore. Please. Just let me come.”

  I pressed my lips firmly to hers and groaned as her body fell over the edge for me.

  There wasn’t a damn thing in my life I wouldn't trade and not a second I would give up if it meant changing the outcome of where I’d landed. Heather was a beautiful mother and a successful businesswoman, and I had the family I’d always wanted. Our cabin was a home and not a prison, Audrey loved her “new name,” and Luke was turning out to be the big, strong boy I knew he would grow to be.

  “Yes. Yes. Yes. I love you. Oh, Cameron. I love you so much.”

  And as I held onto her body while Heather’s orgasm poured her juices on my skin, my life flashed before my eyes. I saw vacations and traveling and hotels with spas and saunas. I saw graduations and proms and grandchildren and holiday dinners. I saw everything I thought had been robbed of me the second my life had careened out of control.

  And I saw it all with Heather.

  I’d never expected to trust a woman with my heart after my hellish marriage had ended in disaster, but once I’d stepped out of hiding, I’d sworn I’d never hide again, not even from my feelings. This was love like I’d never known with my ex, and unlike that relationship, I felt Heather’s love for me down to my soul.

  “I love you too, Heather. Forever.”

  The End

  EXCERPT: STONE HEART

  Just like the mountains of Oregon...