Ruthless Game

by Christine Feehan

  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 tur
n 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.