Read Online Baby Mine (Stubborn Texas Siblings Book 1) by Faith Loveright - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Faith Loveright
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by and for the most part, Eric had managed to stay out of the house during the hours that Madeline wasn’t working. He was always close enough to see her car in the driveway. Even as he got to know her well enough to know that when she gave her word, she would keep it; he worried that she would run off when he wasn’t paying attention.
Sadly, he wasn’t strong enough to be there in the house when she was there and wide awake. Especially near bedtime when she was wearing her skimpy nightgown. Those hours were the most important for him to stay as far away from her as he could possibly get. If he didn’t, he knew they’d both be in danger. If there was only one thing he was absolutely sure of, it was that if he lost his will power, she wo uldn’t be strong enough to douse the insanely intense flames of desire that would surely ignite.
The craziest thing was, the more the pregnancy showed, the more he found he wanted her. Riding the range, knowing she was just there, in his house; looking desirable and feminine, he was at the end of his rope and he knew it. It was nearing midnight and he was exhausted. If he was sure she was sleeping, he’d risk going into the house and grab some dinner before collapsing in his bed. Sadly, with her having the day off the following morning, he knew that she would still be up and about. Ever since he managed to convince her that he had every intention of having their daughter grow up in his house, she’d been Hell bent on preparing the nursery.
He’d proudly built a crib with his own two hands, with his little brother laughing his ass off the whole time. They’d figured out that Jeff was the donor that Madeline had chosen as her unborn child’s father. They’d had a laugh about it, but as of yet, he still hadn’t found a way to tell Madeline that the man she’d chosen to procreate with was his own brother. He wasn’t sure why it meant so much to him, to keep that from her; but it meant everything to him to keep Jeff out of the equation.
It drove him around the bend that his little brother went out of his way to rub it in that the woman now living with him, getting ready to give birth to his child had not chosen him to be her baby’s daddy. Jeff took great pride in rubbing in the fact that he’d been the one that Madeline had chosen. Eric had tried to reason with his brother… pointing out the fact that the only reason she hadn’t chosen him instead, was because he wasn’t an option. Jeff had enjoyed a great laugh over that statement and then he’d rudely made a comment that the mighty had fallen as they always do... hard.
Eric had spent a great deal of time arguing that accusation but Jeff had only laughed and declared that he was protesting entirely too much for there to not be some truth to the statement. After that, Eric had gone out of his way to avoid the subject altogether. He didn’t need his little brother pointing out the very things he was struggling to ignore.
He didn’t want to admit how much more time he spent thinking about being with Madeline… and it wasn’t just in the dark of night, when his defenses were down because of the sleep that he’d succumbed to, any more. The more time they’d spent together, the more he thought about the woman who was pregnant with his daughter.
In the last week, he’d spent a lot of time in the cemetery, crouched at Victoria’s grave. The more time he spent thinking about Madeline, the guiltier he felt and the more he’d felt the need to go to the cement marker with his wife’s name engraved on it. If for no other reason than because he thought he owed it to her to right the wrong that he was inflicting on her due to h is wayward thoughts.
He thought about the pretty paintings that Madeline had lovingly convinced her friend to come and put up on the nursery wall. There were horses, birds, butterflies, lilies, roses, clouds, a barn, and the silhouette of a cowgirl swinging a lasso over her head. A smile tugged at
Sadly, he wasn’t strong enough to be there in the house when she was there and wide awake. Especially near bedtime when she was wearing her skimpy nightgown. Those hours were the most important for him to stay as far away from her as he could possibly get. If he didn’t, he knew they’d both be in danger. If there was only one thing he was absolutely sure of, it was that if he lost his will power, she wo uldn’t be strong enough to douse the insanely intense flames of desire that would surely ignite.
The craziest thing was, the more the pregnancy showed, the more he found he wanted her. Riding the range, knowing she was just there, in his house; looking desirable and feminine, he was at the end of his rope and he knew it. It was nearing midnight and he was exhausted. If he was sure she was sleeping, he’d risk going into the house and grab some dinner before collapsing in his bed. Sadly, with her having the day off the following morning, he knew that she would still be up and about. Ever since he managed to convince her that he had every intention of having their daughter grow up in his house, she’d been Hell bent on preparing the nursery.
He’d proudly built a crib with his own two hands, with his little brother laughing his ass off the whole time. They’d figured out that Jeff was the donor that Madeline had chosen as her unborn child’s father. They’d had a laugh about it, but as of yet, he still hadn’t found a way to tell Madeline that the man she’d chosen to procreate with was his own brother. He wasn’t sure why it meant so much to him, to keep that from her; but it meant everything to him to keep Jeff out of the equation.
It drove him around the bend that his little brother went out of his way to rub it in that the woman now living with him, getting ready to give birth to his child had not chosen him to be her baby’s daddy. Jeff took great pride in rubbing in the fact that he’d been the one that Madeline had chosen. Eric had tried to reason with his brother… pointing out the fact that the only reason she hadn’t chosen him instead, was because he wasn’t an option. Jeff had enjoyed a great laugh over that statement and then he’d rudely made a comment that the mighty had fallen as they always do... hard.
Eric had spent a great deal of time arguing that accusation but Jeff had only laughed and declared that he was protesting entirely too much for there to not be some truth to the statement. After that, Eric had gone out of his way to avoid the subject altogether. He didn’t need his little brother pointing out the very things he was struggling to ignore.
He didn’t want to admit how much more time he spent thinking about being with Madeline… and it wasn’t just in the dark of night, when his defenses were down because of the sleep that he’d succumbed to, any more. The more time they’d spent together, the more he thought about the woman who was pregnant with his daughter.
In the last week, he’d spent a lot of time in the cemetery, crouched at Victoria’s grave. The more time he spent thinking about Madeline, the guiltier he felt and the more he’d felt the need to go to the cement marker with his wife’s name engraved on it. If for no other reason than because he thought he owed it to her to right the wrong that he was inflicting on her due to h is wayward thoughts.
He thought about the pretty paintings that Madeline had lovingly convinced her friend to come and put up on the nursery wall. There were horses, birds, butterflies, lilies, roses, clouds, a barn, and the silhouette of a cowgirl swinging a lasso over her head. A smile tugged at
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