The Durango Affair

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw him move closer into the room. She turned slightly and watched as he walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains. His concentration was on the view outside, but heaven help her, her concentration was on him. And what a view he was. How a man so tall, long-legged and muscular could move with such fluid grace was beyond her. But he managed to do so rather nicely.

She had noticed that about him from the first. There was something inherently masculine about Durango Westmoreland and the single night they had made love, she had discovered that what you saw was what you got. He definitely could deliver. That night he had tilted her universe in such a way that she knew it would never be the same again. Even now, a warmth moved slowly through all parts of her body just thinking about all the things they had done that night. No second, minute or hour had been wasted.

Durango suddenly turned and his gaze rested on her, longer than she deemed necessary, before he said, “It looks simply beautiful out of this window. Nothing but mountains all around. And this time of year when the snow falls, I think it’s the most gorgeous sight that you’d ever want to see.” He then turned back around and looked out the window again.

Mildly interested and deciding not to pretend otherwise, Savannah crossed the room to stand beside him and her breath caught. He was absolutely right. The panoramic view outside the window was beautiful. She hoped she had the chance to capture a lot of it on film before she left. “Have you lived here long?” curiosity pushed her to ask.

He met her gaze and smiled. “Almost five years now. After I finished college and got a job with the park ranger service, I lived with my uncle Corey on his mountain for a couple of years, until I saved enough money to buy this land. It was originally part of a homestead, but after the elderly couple who owned it passed on, their offspring split up the property and put individual parcels up for sale. My ranch sits on over a hundred acres.”

“Wow! That’s a lot of land.”

He smiled. “Yes, but most of it is mountains, which is one of the things that drew me to it. And a good portion of it is a natural hot springs. The first thing I did after building the ranch house was to erect my own private hot tub out back. If the weather wasn’t so bad, I’d let you try it out. A good soak it in would definitely guarantee you a good night’s sleep.”

Savannah couldn’t help but smile at the thought of that. “A good night’s sleep sounds wonderful. The flight out here was awful.”

Durango chuckled. “Unfortunately it usually is.” He then checked his watch. “How about I put dinner on the table? Earlier I smothered pieces of chicken in gravy, and made cabbage and mashed potatoes. You’re welcome to join me after you settle in.”

Savannah felt her stomach growl at the mention of food. Dinner was her favorite mealtime since she could never keep any breakfast down for too long. The only thing she had risked eating that day had been saltines. “Thanks, and I’d like that. Do you need any help?”

“No, I have everything under control.” He turned to leave the room then stopped before walking out the door. “You’re a city girl, but your name isn’t.”

Savannah arched a brow. She remembered what Jessica had shared with her once regarding Durango’s aversion to city women. “It’s my mom’s favorite Southern city and she thought the name suited me.”

He nodded, thinking the name suited her very feminine and genteel charm, as well.

A short while later Savannah followed the aroma of food as she walked down the stairs to the kitchen. She stopped and glanced around, getting a good look at the wood-grain kitchen counters and the shiny stainless-steel appliances. The kitchen was a cook’s dream. From one side of the ceiling hung an assortment of copper pots. Unlike most men, Durango evidently enjoyed spending time in his kitchen.

He must have heard her sigh of admiration because he then turned, looked at her and smiled. “All settled in?”

Forcing her nervousness away, she nodded. “Yes. I didn’t bring much since I hadn’t planned on staying.”

“You might as well get comfortable. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re stuck here for a couple of days.”

Savannah frowned. “Why would you think that?”

Durango leaned back against the counter and gestured toward the window. “Take a look outside.”

Savannah walked quickly over to the window. There was a full-scale blizzard going on. She could barely see anything. She turned around. “What happened?”

Durango chuckled. “Welcome to Montana. Didn’t you know this was the worst time of year to come visiting?”

No, she hadn’t known. The only thing that had been on her mind, once she’d made her decision, was to get to him and tell him about the baby as soon as she could.

She glanced back out the window. “And you think this will last a couple of days?”

“More than likely. The only thing we can do is to make the most of it.”

Savannah turned and met his gaze, taking in what he’d just said. It was simply a play on words, she presumed. She hoped. Being cooped up in the house with Durango for a couple of days and making the most of it wasn’t what she’d planned on happening. It didn’t take much to recall just how quickly she had succumbed to his sexiness. All it had taken was a little eye contact and she’d been a goner.

“Come on, Savannah. Let’s eat.”

Savannah regarded him for a moment before crossing the room to the table where he’d placed the food. “Aren’t you concerned about losing power?”

Durango shook his head. “Nope. I have my own generator. It’s capable of supplying all the energy I need to keep this place running awhile. Then there are the fireplaces. I had one built for every bedroom as well as the living room. No matter how cold or nasty the weather gets outside, you can believe we’ll stay warm and cozy inside.”

Staying warm and cozy was another thing she was afraid of, Savannah thought, taking a seat at the table. There was no doubt in her mind that she and Durango could supply enough sensuous fire to actually torch the place.

“Everything looks delicious. I didn’t know you could cook,” she said, helping herself to some of the food he had prepared, and trying not to lick her lips in the process. She was so hungry.

Durango smiled as he watched her dig in, glad she had a good appetite. A lot of the women he’d dated acted as if it was a sin to eat more than a thimbleful of food. “I’m a bachelor who believes in knowing how to fend for myself. On top of that I’m Sarah Westmoreland’s son. She taught me Survival 101 well.”

Savannah tasted the mashed potatoes and thought they were delicious. “Mmm, these are good.”

“Thanks.”

After a few moments of silence Durango said, “I noticed you aren’t showing yet.”

Savannah met his eyes. She had felt the heat of his gaze on her, checking out her body, when she’d crossed the room to stand at the window. “I’m only two months, Durango. The baby is probably smaller than a peanut now. Most women don’t start showing until their fourth month.”

He nodded. “How has the pregnancy been for you so far?”

She shrugged. “The usual, I guess. What I’m battling now more than anything is the morning sickness. Usually I don’t dare eat anything but saltines before two o’clock every day, which is why I’m so hungry now.”

Durango’s eyes widened. “You’re sick every day?”

He looked so darn surprised at the thought of such a thing that she couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yes, just about. But according to the doctor, it will only last for another month or so.”

She tilted her head and looked at him. “Haven’t you ever been around a pregnant woman?”

“No, not for any length of time. When I went home for Easter last year, Jayla was pregnant and boy, was she huge. Of course, she was having twins.” He grinned. “Twins run in my family and there’s even a set of triplets.”

Savannah raised her eyes heavenward. “Thanks for telling me.”

Catching her off guard, Durango reached across the table and captured a lock of her hair in his hand, gently twining the soft, silky strands in his fingers. “I think triplets would be nice, and all with beautiful hazel eyes like yours.”

Savannah swallowed tightly as her grip on sanity weakened. The way he was looking at her wasn’t helping matters. She sensed his intense reaction to her was just as potent as hers to him. It was just as strong as it had been that night, and at that moment the desire to have his hands on her again, touching her breasts, her thighs, the area between her legs, was strong and unexpected. If he were to try anything right now, anything at all, it would take all her willpower to resist him.

“I want to be around and see how your body changes with my baby growing inside you, Savannah,” he whispered huskily.

His words flowed over Savannah, caressing her in places she didn’t want to be touched, and making a slow ache seep through her bones. “I don’t know how that will be possible, Durango,” she whispered softly.

“It would be possible if we got married.”

She frowned and pulled back from him, breaking their contact. “You agreed not to bring that up again.”

A smile touched the corners of his lips. “I know, but I want to make you an offer that I hope you can’t refuse.”

She lifted her eyebrows. “What kind of offer?”

“That we marry and set a limit on the amount of time we’ll stay together. We could remain married during the entire length of your pregnancy and for a short while afterward—say six to nine months. After that, we could file for a divorce.”

She was stunned by his proposal. “What would doing something like that accomplish?” she asked, feeling the weight of his gaze on her and wishing she could ignore it.

“First, it would satisfy my need and desire to be with you during your pregnancy. Second, it would eliminate the stigma of my child being born illegitimate, which is something that is unacceptable to me. And third, because you believe I’ll end up doing to you what your father did to your mother, at least this way you’ll know up front that the marriage will be short-term and you won’t lose any sleepless nights.”

Savannah’s frown deepened. “I never said I thought you would do me the way my father did my mother.”

“Not in so many words, but it’s clear you believe if I married you just for the baby that things wouldn’t work out between us. And in a way I have to agree. You’re probably right. Our marriage would be based on a sense of obligation on my part. There has to be more to hold a marriage together than just a baby. And to be quite honest with you, I’m not looking for a long-term marriage. But a short-term union, for our baby’s sake, would be acceptable to me. I believe it would be acceptable to you, as well, because we’d know what to expect and not to expect from the relationship.”

It seemed like a million questions were flashing in Savannah’s mind, but she knew the main one that she needed to ask. “Are you saying you’d want a marriage in name only? A marriage of convenience?”

“Yes.”

She swallowed and continued to meet his gaze. “And that means we won’t be sharing a bed?”

He studied her for a moment and knew what she was getting at. His desire for her was as natural as it could get, and he didn’t see it lessening any. If he wanted her at such a high degree now, he could just imagine how things would be once they were living together as man and wife under the same roof. Yes, he would definitely want to sleep with her.

Leaning back in his chair, he said, “No, not exactly. I have other ideas on the matter.”

She could just imagine those ideas. “Then keep whatever ideas you have to yourself. If, and I said if, I go along with what you’re proposing, we will not share a bed.”

“Are you saying that you didn’t enjoy sleeping with me?”

Savannah huffed an agitated sigh. Who had slept that night? Neither of them had until the wee hours of the morning. From what she remembered—and she was remembering it quite well—it was round-the-clock sex. And she had to admit, it was the best she’d ever had. The year she’d spent with Thomas couldn’t even compare. “That’s not the point.”

“Then what is the point?” Durango countered.

“The point is,” Savannah said, narrowing her eyes at him, “regardless of the fact that I did sleep with you that night, I usually don’t jump into any man’s bed unless I’m serious about him.” She decided not to tell him that she’d only been serious with two other guys in her entire love-life history.

He leaned forward. “Trust me, Savannah, once we’re married, we’ll be as serious as any couple can get, even if we plan for our marriage to last a short while. Frankly I see no reason why we shouldn’t sleep together. We’re adults with basic needs who know what we want, and I think we need to start being honest with ourselves. We’re attracted to each other, and have been from the first, which is why we’re in this predicament. Things got as hot as it gets.

“And,” he continued with an impatient wave of his hand to stop her from saying whatever it was that she was about to say, “we might not have been in our right minds that night, since we might have overindulged in the champagne, but we did enjoy making love. So why pretend otherwise?”

Savannah scowled. She wasn’t pretending; she just didn’t want a repeat performance, regardless of how enjoyable it had been. “You’re missing the point.”

“No, I think that you are. You’re pregnant and I want to be a part of this pregnancy. It’s important that I be there with you during the time you’re carrying our baby, to bond with him or her while he or she’s still in your womb and for some months following that.”

“And just how long are you talking about?”

“Whatever period of time we agree on, but I prefer nothing less than six months. I’d even go into another year if I had to.”

She frowned. “I wouldn’t want you to do me any favors.”

“It’s not about doing you any favors, Savannah. I intend to always be a part of my child’s life regardless of whether you and I are together. But I think six months afterward should be sufficient, unless you want longer.”

When hell freezes over. For a few moments Savannah didn’t say anything. What could she say when he was right? They had been attracted to each other from the first.

But what happened that night was in the past and she refused to willingly tumble back into bed with him again, and he had another thought coming if he assumed that she would. Evidently he was used to getting what he wanted, but in this case he wouldn’t be so lucky.

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