Page 21 of Rocky Mountain Home

“You said there’s a set in every generation. Oh my God, what if I’m having twins?” She collapsed dramatically onto her back and stared up at the sky.

Jesse stretched out beside her, obviously trying to temper his amusement. “You don’t know?”

“Haven’t gone to my first prenatal yet,” she confessed. “It’s a week away.”

His expression changed. “That’s late, isn’t it? I could have sworn my sisters-in-law were dragging my brothers to the doctor the day they suspected.”

She curled up and nodded guiltily. “I was in denial for a while, and then I wanted to figure out for sure what I wanted to do. I tried to find you, as well—”

Jesse paused. “You want to keep the baby, don’t you?”

That was one question Dare could answer now without hesitation. “Yes. It might be crazy, but I think it’s the right thing to do.”

He nodded, and she was glad to see relief on his face. The baby was a shock, but he wasn’t going to try to change her mind about keeping it.

Not that proposing made her suspect he would.

Lordy. He’d proposed…

They cleaned up the picnic and headed back to her cottage, another stretch of silence between them. This time it wasn’t quite as comfortable, but that was more because Dare was thinking hard about what would happen when they got home.

They’d talked, they’d eaten. Was it wrong that images of fooling around kept flashing into her brain?

Sex got you into this mess, the angel on her shoulder reminded her.

Really hot, body-shaking sex that had not sucked? I remember, the devil on the other side retorted.

Jesse held the door open for her then followed her inside. It was bright daylight, and would be for a long time, so she debated asking him if he wanted to sit on the porch.

The alternative was asking him to strip and make her evening.

Dare ignored him for a moment and filled a glass at the kitchen sink, drinking the water as she gazed out the window and tried to slow her racing libido. There were cattle in the field on the far side of the lake, and she watched them graze. Peaceful and calm, completely different than the wild thoughts racing through her brain.

He stepped behind her, a hand landing on either side of her hips on the counter. Far enough back he wasn’t pinning her in place, but she was definitely in his arms.

Dare took a deep breath then pivoted.

Her gaze met heat and desire, and she swallowed hard to stop herself from too willingly accepting his unspoken invitation.

“I don’t know if we should do this.”

He caressed his knuckles over her cheek. “Are we doing something?”

Jerk. He was going to make her say it. “We could be. I just don’t know if we should.”

His fingers brushed lower, slipping down her neck. “I don’t seem to remember us having any problems doing it. I had fun, you had fun—or at least I’m pretty sure you had fun. Four or five times. Maybe six?”

“You’re playing dirty.” Every nerve in her body was tingling. Dare managed to get out the words, but her voice had gone low with lust. “The sex was awesome, and you know it.”

His cocky grin was back in place. “A guy likes to hear it, though.”

Amusement and desire warred, and she couldn’t decide what to do.

Jesse didn’t have the same hesitation. “Let’s put this into perspective. We met one night, and had a good time. If there weren’t consequences to that evening, and I tracked you down, what would you have been thinking right now?”

“I would have jumped you,” she admitted, the confession bursting free. “Three hours ago. The instant you arrived I would have hauled you into my bedroom, and we probably wouldn’t have come up for air yet.”

It was his turn to hesitate, the hand on her hip tightening as he fought for control. “Now who’s playing dirty?”