Ruthless Game

CHAPTER 11

Kane yawned and stretched, wincing a little when his wound, now almost completely healed, pulled a little. Keeping his eyes closed, he inhaled, just to breathe in Rose’s scent. She wasn’t in bed beside him, but she was close by. He had woken up to her every morning now for several weeks. He could get up and walk around with a cane, but only for short periods of time. He found convalescence very irritating. His body was weaker than it had ever been, and physical therapy and training seemed slow.

He caught the fragrance that was only Rose’s, a combination of fresh spring and wild summer. He could hear the soft pad of her bare feet as she came into the room and crossed to the bed. Her palm banded his forehead as she checked him for a fever. He reached up and covered her hand, preventing her from moving.

He loved her touch. Her warmth. The softness of her skin. The silk of her hair. He loved watching the way she moved, a little ballerina flowing and fluid as she tidied things. Already the first floor of the warehouse where he resided was being transformed into a home. Rose seemed to love the wide-open space of the enormous warehouse. He and Mack and the others of his “family” had added a couple of bathrooms and sectioned off a living area and bedroom, but that was as far as the building of his home had gotten.

The warehouse was three stories high and took up nearly half a block. On the corner, one side ran along the bay side, water lapping at the wharf where they stored a getaway boat. Jaimie Fielding had bought the monstrosity and was in the process of renovating it when the team had caught up with her. She resided on the top floor with her husband, Mack McKinley. The middle floor was their offices, housing the computers and so many other electronics it gave Kane a headache thinking about it. They had a gym equipped with the best training equipment available to them. They could put together a simulation of any building and do practice runs over and over until they were perfect in their execution. Their security system was state-of-the-art, thanks to Jaimie’s brilliance.

Kane had taken the bottom floor for his home in the hopes that someday he would find Rose and they could raise their family there. They had managed to acquire the warehouse next to theirs as well as two across the street. Negotiations were already in the works to try to acquire the apartment building directly across from them. They were putting together a fortress, a compound they could easily defend, one with multiple escape routes: water, land, and even air.

Kane opened his eyes slowly, just to drink in the sight of Rose. She wore one of his thin, button-down-the-front shirts. It completely enveloped her small body. Under the white material, he could see the outline of one of the nursing bras Jaimie had bought for her. He didn’t see much else. Her legs were slender and shapely, her feet bare. She must have just gotten out of bed and fed the baby. Even her hair was still tousled, just the way he loved it.

It was amazing to him how quickly she had become his world. Rose and Sebastian. He felt at peace every time she brought the boy into the room and sat quietly nursing him, or simply rocked him to sleep while Kane convalesced.

His doctor, Eric Lambert, a surgeon renowned for his work in gene therapy, was usually the first choice when it came to the GhostWalkers. He had saved the life of Jesse Calhoun, a member of Team Two, and had immediately come to their aid when called. Now, it seemed, he had saved Kane as well. The man came nearly every day, barking orders and examining Kane, but so far, Rose had steadfastly refused to allow him near Sebastian. Kane found her stubbornness secretly amusing.

Rose definitely had an aversion to the doctor, never once leaving him alone with Sebastian or Kane. She was very reserved around Mack and Jaimie and the rest of his family, but that was all right with Kane. Everything about Rose was all right with Kane.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” she greeted, leaning down to brush a kiss across his mouth. “How are you feeling this morning?”

His heart fluttered. His belly tightened. His cock was already as hard as a rock. He’d grown used to the feeling she generated in his body—the instant flood of urgent desire. He even found he loved that rush. He felt alive. His fingers tightened around her hand, and he brought it to his mouth, nibbling for a moment on her warm, silky skin.

“More than good. Eric cleared me for training, sweetheart. I didn’t just leap into it. I’m a little sore, but it’s a good kind of sore.”

She gave him her little frown. “Well, I think you bullied him into letting you get back too early. You almost died, Kane.”

“But I didn’t. I’m tough. Where’s Sebastian?”

“I just put him down for his nap. He’s gaining weight finally. The doctor said he’s in good condition, considering he was born early.” She smirked. “Although he had to guess that from a distance. I don’t want him holding Sebastian. I’ve caught him twice with a needle and tube, trying to take his blood.”

Kane smiled, all male satisfaction. “Of course he’s healthy; he’s my son. Isn’t it rather usual for a doctor to take a patient’s blood?”

Rose rolled her eyes as she pulled her hand away. “I wanted to thank you, Kane.”

“For the perfect son?” He sat up, careful not to wince. It wouldn’t do for her to think she might be right about the training. She did like to fuss over him, not that he minded, but his family was giving him a hard time behind her back.

“Well, of course for him,” she agreed seriously. “But, for the first time in my life that I can remember, I don’t wake up afraid. For the last few months I’ve been looking over my shoulder, knowing Whitney was a step behind me.”

“As long as he’s alive, honey, he’s going to be breathing down our necks. We can never forget that Sebastian is at risk.”

She nodded solemnly. “Unless we’re alone, secure in our home, I don’t leave him alone, even with others.”

He paused in the act of swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “Rose. You can trust my boys and Jaimie. They’re family. They’d protect you and Sebastian with their lives.”

Rose turned away from him, a graceful, flowing movement that always captured his attention. He reached out and caught her wrist, tugging so that she fell against him. In one motion, he spun her under him, his hands stretching her arms out above her head, pinning her to the mattress.

“I saw that look on your face, Rose,” he murmured and bent his head to trail kisses from her chin to the corner of her mouth. “All closed off, refusing to accept my family into your world.” He brushed more kisses back and forth across her lips. “So resistant to the idea of good people helping with our baby.”

Beneath him she stiffened, rejecting the idea. Tension ran through her, and for a moment she pushed up with her arms. He easily kept her wrists pinned to the mattress, brushing more kisses over her eyelids and down her cheek, back to the corner of her mouth. When she relaxed under him, he lifted his head and looked at her.

“Whatever am I going to do with you?” he whispered as his teeth nipped her stubborn little chin. “You’re giving me trouble already, Rose.”

“I’m not as trusting as you are,” she explained.

“No?” He could feel her body, warm silk, melting beneath his, drawing his attention to the shape and feel of her.

Kane transferred her left wrist to his other hand so he had both pinned in one hand, leaving him free to explore the way he wanted. “I dream of you, Rose.” He slipped the buttons open on her blouse. “Every damn night.” He pushed the two edges of her blouse apart to expose her soft skin.

Her stomach muscles bunched. His gaze leapt to the exposed bare skin, and he bent his head to press kisses from underneath her breasts down to her belly button. His tongue tasted that smooth expanse of skin. “When I was unconscious I dreamt of you, just like this, lying under me, my hands on your body. I woke up a thousand times, my body so damned hard I could barely move with wanting you.”

“You should have told me,” she whispered, her voice unsteady. “I would have ... helped.”

His entire body jerked, not just his cock. Her tone, that whispery brush of velvet, slipped inside of him and wreaked havoc with every nerve ending. His heart went wild, and blood rushed hot through his veins. She could turn his world erotic just with the sound of her voice. He nibbled his way around her soft tummy and then took a small bite.

“What did Eric say about making love?”

Her hands came up to find his hair, smoothing her fingers through the strands. “I’ve stopped bleeding and I feel healed. It’s been several weeks, Kane.”

“What did Eric say?” he repeated.

She scowled at him. “As if I’d ask his permission for something like that.” She blushed when he kept looking at her.

“I don’t want to take chances.”

“It’s my body. I know it better than he does,” she said stubbornly and pushed the shirt completely off her arms. “In any case, you’re more apt to have a problem than I am.”

He took that as a challenge, kissing his way back up to her breasts where he undid her nursing bra. He licked at her nipples until he had her squirming.

“You’re going to get my milk flowing,” she cautioned.

“That’s all right,” he murmured, losing himself in the sweet exploration of her body. “What’s wrong with that?”

“It will be messy. I’m going to drip all over us.”

“Sex is messy, honey. It’s supposed to be hot and sweaty and feel so damn good you just don’t care.” He kissed his way back down her tummy. Her skin was so hot and soft. The memories of her haunted him day and night. He remembered the way she felt, the way her body fit so perfectly to his.

He took his time, his hands and mouth mapping her body leisurely and imprinting it in his mind all over again. He wanted to know every place that sent her squirming, her hips bucking, her mouth gasping. He loved her breathless moans and the way she was so responsive to his touch.

“It’s been too long, Rose,” he whispered against her soft belly. He could tell that her body, so long fit and strong, was already firming up. He kissed all the way down to the vee at the junction of her legs.

“Kane.”

The little gasp was a plea or a protest. He doubted if she knew which. He swirled his tongue, drawing patterns along her sensitive tummy while his hands eased her thighs apart, allowing him to settle more firmly between her legs. Her thighs were firm and so slender it made his heart pound. He was a big man, and she was very small, built like many of the Asian women he’d seen. She seemed fragile, and with his enormous strength and big hands, he was a little afraid he might hurt her.

His body remembered how tight she’d been surrounding him, strangling him, clamping down on him like a hot, velvet vise. He knew his cock leaked in anticipation, desperate to find that paradise again, but he was determined to do the right thing by her. He wanted to make absolute certain that he wouldn’t harm her or hurt her if they made love.

He lowered his head, closing his eyes as her feminine scent enveloped him. There was rapture in the fragrance that was uniquely Rose. He caught her small bottom with one hand and lifted her hips as he bent to her. He felt the satisfying shiver going through her body even before he blew warm air across her mound.

He doubted if she would believe that he was already far in love with her, a complete goner—that he had been before he’d allowed Whitney to pair them, but he could show her. With his body raging at him and his mind filled with an all-consuming love for her, he tasted her. Her body shuddered and bucked with just that small attention—and he was damn good at details. He took his time, lavishing attention on her with his mouth and tongue. His fingers stroked deep into her and withdrew.

He couldn’t help but watch the helpless pleasure glazing her eyes. He loved that look. He loved that he could make her as mindless as she could him. He had never thought that seeing to a woman’s pleasure could give him back so much. He felt every shudder, heard every moan and whimper as music. Her hips bucked in his hand, her body writhed. Hot nectar flowed, and he devoured her intimately, driving her up time after time until she pleaded and demanded and all but pulled his hair out.

He didn’t want to stop. She made him hungry for more with her desperate moans and pleas. He hadn’t known how powerful and satisfied a man could feel when his woman tossed mindlessly beneath him, gasping and begging for release. He sent her tumbling over the edge when he heard the panic creeping in. Even as her orgasm tore through her body, he couldn’t help stroking her gently with his tongue just to share the experience with her.

His body was on fire, and he swore a jackhammer was in the process of drilling through the middle of his skull. His blood thundered in his ears and hammered through his cock. The sensation in his groin had gone from a dull ache to a savage pounding, but strangely, he found himself very satisfied.

Rose lay under Kane, his larger body sprawled over hers. Her body trembled and shuddered, the sensations almost more than she could take. Kane could do that to her, make her think of her body as belonging to him. He seemed to know exactly the places to stroke, or bite, or lave with his tongue for maximum results. She stroked his thick hair and looked into his eyes. She could see adoration there—more even—love. It humbled her, shocked her. She could barely make herself believe that a man like Kane could feel that way about her.

She knew nothing of life outside the military compound where she’d been raised, and she’d never known love. She was afraid to recognize it in Kane’s eyes, but it was hard to miss the emotion when he touched her so tenderly. It was difficult to miss it in the way he looked at her. And it was impossible to miss the fact that there was more than lust in the way he made love to her. This moment had been all hers.

Tears burned behind her eyes. She’d sworn she would always tell him the truth, let him see how she felt about him, no matter the cost to her pride, but her emotions were so strong, so overwhelming that she closed her eyes, unwilling to strip herself naked. She was already so vulnerable to him.

He held her as the ripples continued through her body, asking nothing for himself, even though she could feel the need raging through his body. His erection was thick and hard and pulsing against her thigh. He made no move to sate himself, and she knew he wouldn’t. He would put her first. Always put her first. She might not know about relationships, but she was coming to know the man she’d chosen to be the father of her child. He was more than the integrity she’d first seen. More even than the honor. He was a man among men. The man who, for her, stood head and shoulders above the rest. She was fast coming to worship him.

Kane looked down at her averted face and saw a tear trembling on her long lashes. His heart skidded in his chest. Had he hurt her even without penetration? Leaning on his elbows he framed her face, holding her still. “What is it, sweetheart? Tell me.”

Her eyes opened, and everything in him stilled. There was so much emotion staring back at him. “Make love to me, Kane,” Rose whispered, her slender arms creeping around his neck, holding him to her. “Please, I need you to make love to me.”

“I just did,” he said, trying not to growl with his body hard as a rock and his head pounding with thunder.

“Didn’t you hear me?” That soft little whisper stole his heart for all time. She buried her face in his neck, her mouth finding that sensitive spot at the junction of shoulder and neck. “You know what I want. You inside of me.”

“Not until we talk to Eric.”

“I said I was fine.” Her lips slid like silk against his skin, an enticement, a miracle.

Kane shivered. “I know, sweetheart, but I never want to take a chance on hurting you. Not ever again. When we make love, I don’t mind hot and sweaty, or rough or gentle, but I mind hurting you. Loving you is all about making you feel nothing but pleasure. I can’t get the damn prison out of my head.”

Her teeth nipped him and sent his temperature soaring. His entire body shuddered. He bunched all the black silk in his hand and tugged at her hair. “You’re killing me, honey.”

“Then make love to me properly.”

“You’re going to give me hell until you get your way, aren’t you?”

She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. She made no effort to hide the dark, passionate hunger in her eyes. “Yes.”

He laughed softly, happier than he’d ever been. “You like your way, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

He pulled her head back farther and took possession of that soft, intriguing mouth. That mouth that could be sassy and sexy and so damn tempting that all his good intentions were in danger of going by the wayside.

“When it comes to your health, I’m absolutely unbending.”

“Really?” Her laughter was muffled against his mouth. Her hand slid down his chest. When it hit his stomach, every muscle bunched and tightened. “I think it’s only fair to allow me the chance to change your mind.”

“Don’t you dare.” He caught her lower lip between his teeth and tugged gently in warning. “You’re going to get yourself in trouble.”

Had he ever played with a woman before? Had fun even with his body screaming at him? It was a new experience. He’d never had a lazy morning in bed with a woman. Come to think about it, he’d never had a morning with a woman in bed. He didn’t do that kind of thing. He didn’t pretend love. He hadn’t known what loving a woman was until he’d seen Rose day after day.

He held her close to him, savoring the feeling of being part of her. “The first time I ever saw you, Rose, you were standing in the exercise yard laughing. I couldn’t believe the sound, so happy and carefree when, by that time, I’d already figured out that all of you were virtual prisoners. I turned around and felt like someone punched me in the gut hard. A full body blow, you know, rocking me.”

She rubbed his taut abdomen, her fingers lingering on his skin. The lightest of touches, but still, after their intimate contact, her touch shook him—or maybe it always would.

“The sun poured down on your hair and turned it this amazing color of blue black that I’d never seen before, and the shine to it was incredible. Then you sprinted, Rose, flowing across the yard, running up the side of a wall, doing a somersault in the air and landing, almost all in one motion. You walked back to the group of women laughing again, as if you’d enjoyed the flight. And when you walked, hell, woman, it was a fucking sin the way you moved—like the sexiest dancer alive. I forgot all about that high fence and what it meant. You were sunshine.”

How could he explain to her how he felt? He was a soldier, a man dedicated to his unit, to his duty. He was good at what he did. He liked the rush he got in dangerous situations and the satisfaction of a mission completed. He’d never considered that there was another side to him, a man starving, out in the cold and rain. He hadn’t even known that about himself until that moment. She seemed to live in every moment, worshipping the sun, turning her face up to the rain, even opening her mouth to catch the droplets. That had been the sexiest thing in the world to him. He had been obsessed with watching her, taking every opportunity to guard that side of the compound so he could see her.

He had known it was a dangerous game he was playing with himself. The likelihood of meeting her had been small, but he’d developed a need to see her every day, even if from a distance. He thought he’d hidden his growing need very well, but obviously Whitney had known. Rose had once asked Kane what his weakness was, and he’d replied honestly that it was her, Rose. Whitney had known all along.

Kane rolled over and linked his hands behind his head. Rose did the same. They lay staring at their toes. Her foot was nearly half the size of his, and he rubbed his along hers, wiggling his toes. She laughed, and he closed his eyes briefly, savoring the sound. He threaded his fingers with hers and brought her hand to his mouth to nibble some more on her.

“I knew you came out into the yard three times a day, the gym once, and the training buildings twice a day. I traded shifts and pulled doubles so I could be where you were. I felt like a damned stalker, but after a few times, I couldn’t help myself.”

She turned her head, her dark, almond eyes wide and a little shocked. “Before Whitney paired us?”

He bit down on her finger and then sucked the sting away. “Way before.”

“Are you certain he didn’t pair us before you ever saw me? Because I was pretty much—to the best of my ability—doing the same thing to you.”

Her voice was a little shy as she admitted it to him, stealing his heart even more. “If the body reaction was anything to go by, I’d say no to that, Rose. Once he did his thing, every time I got close to you, I couldn’t control myself, and I’m pretty damned disciplined in that department.” He looked down at his heavy erection. “I still can’t. Fortunately, I don’t want to.”

Her gaze caressed his thick shaft hungrily. “Then let me see what I can do to help out.”

“I want to be inside you. You’re only making me crave you more.”

Her face lit up, and he inwardly groaned. That had been the wrong thing to say. She sat up, her hair swinging around her face in all directions, sexy as hell. He groaned, knowing he was lost. The woman had a hold on him and was slowly but surely wrapping him around her little finger. He caught her finger and bit it, just to try to articulate without words what he thought about that particular fate.

She laughed, leaned down, and took him deep into the heat of her mouth, without preamble, shocking him with sheer erotic magic. She engulfed him completely, pushing her head down, holding him tight for a moment, her throat working as if she might be swallowing and then, just as abruptly, she slid her lips lovingly back up his shaft, her tongue fluttering as she drew the sensitive mushroom head free. He saw stars.

Rose sat up, quickly straddling his hips and very slowly, inch by slow inch, began to take him inside her body.

“Rose,” his faint protest came out strangled. His hands went to her hips, but he couldn’t find the strength to lift her away from him. She’d engulfed the head of his shaft with sheer fire. He opened his mouth again, but nothing came out but a long-drawn-out groan of pleasure.

“Yeah.” She smirked at him. “That’s what I thought you’d say.”

“Easy, then, sweetheart. We have to go easy.”

She smiled her mysterious smile. “I promise I’ll be easy on you.”

She threw back her head, arched her back, reaching behind her with both hands to steady herself as she continued to lower herself on him. Due to breast-feeding, her breasts were large for her frame, emphasizing her narrow rib cage and slender hips. She looked so wild and sexy he could barely catch his breath, let alone protest.

She did a lazy spiral with her hips, as his shaft penetrated deeper. The movement was exquisite on his cock, a slow gripping like a tight fist, closing around him in slow motion, drawing his shaft deeper into her tight, hot, silken sheath. The feeling was unlike anything he’d imagined, that slow, scorching clasp that took his breath and mind all at the same time. He heard his own heartbeat and reached up to press his hand over her heart so that it beat into his palm.

She wiggled again, an aching circle as her body opened for him, accepting his invasion, taking him farther into her haven. She lifted her hips just a little and dropped down, seating herself to the hilt. His breath exploded from his lungs; the friction sent flames rushing out of control throughout his system. He felt as if his very skin sizzled with electricity.

Eyes narrowed to slits, he watched every movement, as she began an unhurried sensual ride. He loved the undulating motion of her body, graceful and sinuous, her muscles flowing beneath her soft skin. Her eyes were slumberous, her lips parted. He stroked her silken skin, unable to keep his hands off her. She didn’t like her milk to start flowing, thinking it messy; he loved the idea of her carrying and giving birth to his child. The evidence of it only inflamed him more.

Her breasts jutted toward him, swaying gently, the nipples hard and peaked. She looked so beautiful with her skin flushed and her eyes slightly glazed. His shaft swelled even more with the attention. He was deeper than ever, thrusting up through those soft petal folds, meeting resistance with each stroke, and driving to meet her downward rhythm. Her muscles tightened around him, milking, eliciting a strangled groan from him.

“You’re going to make me crazy,” he whispered, feeling on fire.

She had an almost dreamy look on her face, concentrating on each rhythmic stroke as her body rose and fell. He gathered the strength in his body, and as she began her descent he drove up. She cried out, her head tossing.

The feel of filling her, stretching her, her silken body reluctantly giving way for the steel of his shaft, bathing the broad, flared head filled with sensitive nerve endings with her scorching-hot feminine lubrication was an incomparable feeling. He knew he was coming far too close to adoration, but what the hell did it matter when he felt like this? When she looked like that?

“That’s right, sweetheart,” he encouraged. His hands fell to her hips, urging her to keep going. He didn’t want her to ever stop. He could feel every nerve ending as her silken body suckled his cock as she rose over him again.

The mixture of such deep love shaking him and the rising lust as his body anticipated the explosion shook him. He actually felt her stomach muscles clench, and his followed suit. She shuddered with the effort to hold back as she lowered her body over his, circling, gripping, squeezing him tight so the sensation was almost excruciating, whether with pain or pleasure he couldn’t quite comprehend.

His hands gripped her hips harder, and he drove into her again as she came down. She cried out, as the ripples radiated through her body. He picked up the pace, thrusting deep over and over, taking them both careening over the edge. Little stars burst behind his eyes, and for a moment he swore there were fireworks exploding in his head—and maybe through his entire body as well.

He flooded her body with jet after jet of his hot seed with her orgasm pulsing around him, still gripping hard and milking the last drop from him. He reached up and drew her down over him, her breasts pressing tight against his chest. The action sent powerful ripples through her body, and he shuddered with pleasure as the almost brutal pressure squeezed his cock.

Rose would forever hear her own heart beating wildly. The sound roared in her ears and pounded through her veins. She hadn’t had many sensual experiences, but each time he touched her felt incredibly sensual. The erotic orgasm continued to pulse through her body with shocking intensity. She lay with her head on his chest, allowing, just for a moment, true terror to hold her in its grip.

Kane could shatter her with the wrong look. The wrong touch. One word. He owned her. Shared her skin. Her heart. Even her soul. She touched her head to his heaving chest, inhaling him. This man. Her man. Her body came apart and flew. Her soul did the same. She’d never considered, all those months ago, that he would become such a part of her that she wouldn’t want to have to find a way to live without him.

It all came down to trust. She’d trusted him with her body. And with her son. And now with her heart. She had just given herself to him. All of her. Every inch. Was that what love was supposed to be? Handing the very core of your being into another’s keeping? The doing of it was terrifying. Exhilarating. So unexpected.

Kane’s arms were comforting, as was his scent. She stayed right where she was, straddling his hips, her thighs hugging his, feeling safe, even as she felt totally exposed. He stroked her hair, his hands gentle. She always found his gentleness surprising. He was a big man and looked as dangerous as hell. She wasn’t used to gentleness or caring. She hadn’t known she could feel the way she did about anyone, let alone a man.

Because of Kane, she had Sebastian. She had a home. A life. At least the opportunity for those things if she had the courage to see it through.

“Are you crying, sweetheart?” Kane asked.

His tone, unfailingly understanding, made her want to weep the tears that remained gathered behind her eyes. “Not exactly. It’s just that you’ve given me so much, Kane.”

His hand stilled in her hair. “It’s the other way around, Rose. I wasn’t fully alive until you came into my life. I wasn’t unhappy, but then I didn’t know enough to be. You showed me what life could be like.”

Rose’s heart took a slow, somersaulting turn. He’d described in words exactly how she felt about her life. She knew the few soldiers she’d met felt sorry for her, but neither she or her “sisters” felt that way about their lives. They didn’t know any other way to live. They had enjoyed many aspects of their childhood. It had been harsh and even at times cruel, but they had been close and enjoyed the physical activities they excelled in.

Now, after feeling an alien in a strange world when she’d been on her own, she realized she hadn’t known real happiness. Kane had shown that to her. He had brought her so much, and if he ever betrayed her ...

A small sob escaped, and she clamped down on it immediately, ashamed of her weakness.

“Baby,” Kane soothed. “Listen to me. You have to look at me while I tell you this. I know when you look into my eyes, you know when I’m speaking the truth.”

Baby. He’d never called her by that specific endearment. She wasn’t a baby, but she felt newly born. The caress in his voice shook her almost as much as the tenderness. Rose took a deep, steadying breath and forced herself to lift her head. If he hadn’t heard what her body had said to him, he would see it when he looked into her face. She loved him with every breath she took, and she was terrified. She’d put herself into his hands without meaning to do so, and now he had all the power.

Kane’s green eyes searched her face for what seemed a long time before meeting her gaze steadily. “I can only guess how scared you are right now, Rose. I am too. Not of Whitney. Not of being a father. I can handle both of those things, but of you—us. I’ve never felt so vulnerable to another human being. You have my heart, Rose. It sounds stupid and corny and I’m not that kind of man to say pretty words women like to hear, but if I could—if I could find the right way to say you terrify me without sounding like an idiot—I would.”

Happiness swept through her. He was right; she could see the naked truth in his eyes. She liked that he deliberately made himself so vulnerable to her, exposing his feelings and trusting that she wouldn’t ... betray him. He was telling her he understood, taking the chance before she could find the courage.

She found his mouth almost blindly, melting into him, uncaring that her milk was beginning to flow, something that embarrassed her and made her feel decidedly not glamorous or sexy. She felt his firm lips heat, and her heart skittered in her chest. Kissing him was rather like tumbling into a beautiful dream. She could kiss him forever, for always. His hand bunched in her hair, sending a thrill down her spine. There was an instant response, his arms turning to steel, caging her, his mouth moving over hers, deepening the kiss until she thought her heart might explode from her chest.

She raised her head slightly and looked down at him, the tip of her tongue sliding along his bottom lip, savoring the taste of him. “I’m scared too, Kane,” she admitted. “I thought you were a logical choice for the father of my baby.” A slight smile welled up. “You’re very good-looking, and you have strength of character and integrity. There’s no cruelty in you. No subterfuge. I thought we’d live together and be happy and comfortable.”

She watched the smile soften his beautiful mouth and creep into the vivid green of his eyes. “Comfortable?” he repeated and squirmed a little so that she felt him, semi-hard, moving deep inside her. “That might not be the best word to describe us together.”

The sensation along with that teasing, suggestive grin, set off tiny explosions throughout her body. “My point exactly. My body’s reaction to you might be more than I expected, but with Whitney pairing us, I knew we’d be compatible sexually. I just didn’t know how deeply I would feel about you. I thought it was too soon. Too fast. But I realize it’s been growing in me since the very first day I saw you.”

“We’re in this together.” His voice was so tender, so gentle, she almost felt the sound like a caress washing over her skin. “And it will get rough, Rose. Whitney isn’t going to let up just because we found each other. If something happens, you know I’ll never stop looking for you. I would find both you and Sebastian. I’d come for you.”

She studied his face. He hadn’t raised his voice. There was a quiet strength in Kane. A core of steel. He would never back down, never swerve from his chosen path. She shivered, thankful that she was his chosen path.

“I know that,” she replied, surprised that the conviction was strong in her.

“You have to trust me, no matter how bad it gets, Rose. We can do it if we’re together. That’s the entire point of a pairing. We should have all the tools to defeat anything or anyone in battle together. He manipulated our DNA and enhanced us both physically and psychically to fit together in every conceivable situation, so together we’re strong.”

Whitney had always been the all-powerful figure in her life. She’d never conceived of the idea of actually defeating him. She had run, but in the back of her mind, she’d accepted the idea that in the end he would reacquire her. She had wanted to make it as difficult as possible, and if she could, hide the baby where Whitney could never find him. She even accepted that Whitney might kill her for her actions, but always, she knew, he loomed large, a dark threat that would ultimately find her.

She reached down and rubbed at the tattoo she’d grown so fond of. Instantly Kane covered her hand with his. “Did you tell Mack or Javier about the satellite?”

She nodded uneasily. “Javier and Jaimie spent some time looking at it. I didn’t mention because ... well ...” Her voice drifted off. The truth was, Whitney already knew where she was, and Kane had been unconscious a lot of the time. The tattoo had become the least of her problems.

The doctor, who she distrusted on principle, had performed a three-hour surgery while she paced, nearly inconsolable, outside the door of the makeshift operating room. The last few weeks, she’d immersed herself in caring for Kane and the baby, and for once in her life, she’d allowed herself to think of nothing else, not even the threat of Whitney.

Jaimie McKinley, who owned the building, had been nice to her, shopping for clothes and baby items, but nothing had mattered but Kane’s recovery. She’d barely forced herself to get sleep, afraid if she closed her eyes, he would die. She’d kept Sebastian with them every minute, uncaring that the doctor wanted her to rest or that everyone had offered to watch the baby for her. Rather than accept help, she’d kept them all together.

Jaimie brought meals, and men poked their heads in constantly to check on Kane, but she tried to ignore them, terrified but determined. She didn’t want to admit she hadn’t been exactly cooperative with his friends.

A strobe went off, flashing in the bedroom, a signal the front door had been opened. Automatically, she slid off Kane and reached for her robe and the gun she kept inches from her fingertips.

“Sweetheart, no one has the code but family,” Kane said. “You just can’t break Jaimie’s codes.”

“Nevertheless.” She crept silently across the floor and stood to one side of the door, the gun ready.