The Proposal & Solid Soul - Brenda Jackson [52]
Hercules was now in Jason’s stalls and Jason was working with the insurance company on the repairs of her ranch. He had arranged for all the men who’d worked with her before the fire to be hired on with his horse training business.
Although she appreciated him stepping in and taking charge of her affairs the way he’d done, she hadn’t been able to put her uncle Kenneth’s warning out of her mind. She knew it was ludicrous to worry about Jason’s motivation because he had been honest with her from the beginning and she knew why he’d made the proposal for their marriage. She was well aware that he didn’t love her and that he was only married to her for the land and Hercules. But now that he had both was it just a matter of time for him before he tried to get rid of her?
She would be the first to admit he never acted as if he was getting tired of her and still treated her as if he enjoyed having her around. In the afternoons when he returned home from work, the first thing he did after placing his Stetson on the hat rack was to seek her out. Usually he didn’t have far to look because she would be right there, close by. Anticipating his return home always put her near the door when he entered the house.
Bella couldn’t help noticing that over the past couple of days she had begun getting a little antsy where Jason was concerned because she was uncertain as to her future with him. And to make matters even worse, she was late, which was a good sign she might be pregnant. She hadn’t told him of her suspicions because she wasn’t sure how he would take the news.
If she were pregnant, the baby would be born within the first year of their marriage. Would he still want a divorce even if she was the mother of his child, or would he want to keep her around for that same reason; because he felt obligated to do so? But an even more important question was, did he even want to become a father? He had questioned her feelings on motherhood but she’d never questioned his. She could tell from his interactions with Susan and Denver that he liked kids, but that didn’t necessarily mean he wanted any of his own.
Bella knew she should tell him about the possibility she could be pregnant and discuss her concerns with him now, but each time she was presented with the opportunity to do so, she would get cold feet.
She walked into an empty room he’d converted into an office and sat down at the desk to glance out the window. She would finally admit that another reason she was antsy was that she knew without a shadow of doubt that she had fallen in love with Jason and could certainly understand how such a thing had happened. She could understand it, but would he? He’d never asked for her love, just her land and horse.
She heard the sound of a vehicle door closing and stood from the desk, went to the window and looked down. It was Jason. He glanced up and saw her and a smile touched the corners of his mouth. Instantly she felt the buds of her nipples harden against her blouse. A flush of desire rushed through her and she knew at that moment her panties had gotten wet. The man could turn her on with a single look. He was home earlier than usual. Three hours earlier.
Now that he was here a lot of ideas flowed in her mind on how they could use those extra hours. What she wanted to do first was to take him into her mouth, something she discovered she enjoyed doing. And then he could return the favor by putting that tongue of his to work between her legs. She shuddered at the thought and figured her hormones were on the attack; otherwise, she wouldn’t be thinking such scandalous things. They were definitely not things a Miss Prim and Proper lady would think.
He broke eye contact with her to walk up the steps to come into the house and she rushed out of the office to stand at the top of the stairs. She glanced down the moment he opened the door. Jason’s dark gaze latched on her and immediately her