Belle Cline is carrying a heavy secret that is becoming impossible to hide under her thin cotton shirts.

On the sprawling Eastwood Ranch, the physical pressure is building to an agonizing peak, and only one man has the clinical eye to notice her distress. Jace Eastwood is a man of rough commands and calloused hands, and he treats his territory with a possessive streak that leaves no room for secrets. When Jace discovers Belle's condition in the shadows of the calving barn, he doesn't turn away. Instead, he demands total submission, treating her with the same raw, primal care he gives his prize livestock.