Ruthless Game (GhostWalkers #9)(53)
Author: Christine Feehan

Those softly spoken words penetrated, and she released Kane into the hands of strangers.

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 c**k 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.”