Beauty and the Bull Rider (Hotel Rodeo #3)(32)

He felt his color rising. “I guess that might be a bit of a problem.” A day hadn’t gone by since that kiss in her kitchen that he hadn’t had to take himself in hand.

“All right,” she replied slowly. “Do you think you might be able to . . . er . . . abstain for the next few days?”

“I s’pose I can manage as long as you can keep your hands to yourself,” he teased.

She ignored the bait. “The clinic is over in Ardmore. It’s usually not too hard to get an appointment for labs and specimen collections. Do you think you could go on Wednesday? If we ask them to expedite the lab results, we should have everything back by the time I reach my peak fertility window.”

“Damn,” Zac muttered. “That’s a bit of a problem.”

“Why’s that?” she asked.

“I’m driving to Vegas tomorrow to meet with Ty.”

Her smile faded. “You’re leaving again? But you just got back.”

“I know,” he sighed. “But he’s leaving in a few days on a trip out of the country and I need to set some things straight with him before he goes.”

“What kinda things?” she asked.

He paused. “Delaney kinda things. Although he technically doesn’t have any say over anything that goes on between you and me, I don’t like the idea of doing anything behind his back. He and I need to talk.”

“I see your point,” she said. “This situation could get really awkward.”

“Don’t fret about that. I can handle Ty,” he reassured. “Maybe I can get my testing done first and then leave for Vegas. A coupla days delay won’t matter none as long as I get there before he leaves.”

“When will you be back?” she asked.

“I was originally planning to return by the weekend, but if I have to wait and go to the clinic first, it’ll probably be next Tuesday or Wednesday.” Now that he knew Delaney would be waiting for him, his driving time just got a lot shorter. He’d burn up the highway and go eighteen sleepless hours to get back to her in time.

“But that’s too late!” Delaney lamented. “I’ll miss my entire window.”

“What do you mean?”

“If we don’t do this by next weekend, I won’t have another chance for twenty-eight days.”

“Why’s that? I don’t understand. Back in high school, they scared the bejeesus out of us talking about how easy it is to get pregnant.”

“It only is if the timing is just right, or all wrong,” she said, “depending on how you look at it. A woman’s peak fertility window is based on the five-day lifespan of a man’s sperm and the life span of the egg, which is only twenty-four hours. That means the best chance of getting pregnant is from five days before ovulation through to the day of ovulation. After that, it’s virtually impossible to get pregnant.”

Vegas just became the trip to hell.

Zac rubbed his chin in thought. After today’s act of supreme self-restraint, he didn’t think he could survive another whole month of waiting. “All right then. I guess you’ll just have to go with me.”

“Go with you? To Vegas?”

“Why not?” he asked.

“I can’t just up and leave. I have a ranch to run and cows to breed.”

“I could ask Bart to look after the ranch,” Zac said. “As to the cows”—he shrugged—“I guess you need to think real hard about what’s more important to you.”



Delaney gazed out over the lake. The shadows of the surrounding trees had lengthened, and the ripples in the deep blue waters had taken on hints of orange and pink as the sun dipped in the sky. She’d enjoyed this time with Zac more than anything she could recall in recent memory. He’d surprised her in so many ways. The bull and two heifers he’d bought with her in mind, the dinner, and his even more astonishing act of self-restraint, all revealed a thoughtful and romantic side that she never would have suspected he possessed. He was the first person who’d ever put her needs and desires ahead of his own. She wondered if that would change after they slept together.

“Sun’s getting ready to set. We’d better pack up soon,” Zac remarked, but made no move to do so.

“I wish you weren’t leaving,” she said.

“I wish you’d go with me,” he countered.

“I told you why I can’t.”

“No, you told me why you won’t. There’s a big difference. You could go if you really wanted to.”

“I’m not going to drop everything on a whim, Zac. Yes, I’m eager to start trying for a baby, but one month isn’t going to make a lick of difference . . . unless—” She sat up abruptly. “You are coming back, aren’t you? I know we haven’t consummated it yet, but we do have a deal, right? You aren’t planning to stay in Vegas, are you?”

“I wasn’t planning to stay,” he reassured. “I have every intention of coming back as long as I have something to come back for. Do I, Delaney?” he asked softly.

She gazed up through her lashes. “Do you really have to ask me?”

Once the first frenzy of lust no longer fogged her mind, she’d tried to adopt a businesslike attitude, but she was anything but blasé about sleeping with Zac. He’d already given her a small taste of what was in store—or better said, he’d done the tasting—and he’d promised much more to come. She’d told herself this whole arrangement was only about baby-making, but it was impossible to ignore her heightened sense of anticipation.