His to Protect

by Katie Reus

  She let out a strangled moan into his mouth and for a moment he thought she’d shove him away. He wouldn’t blame her if she did. He was pushing too fast. When her fingers twisted into his shirt, tugging him closer, he knew he’d won for the moment. Sweeping his tongue past the seam of her lips, he didn’t give her a chance to resist. He kissed her hard and dominating, the way he wanted to fuck her. The need to take this woman, to slake his never-ending lust around her, was a primal, living thing inside him. From the moment he’d met her it had been like that for him. Unfortunately she’d been very taken. So he’d ignored her as best he could, but it had become damn near impossible when she was one of the sweetest women he’d ever met. Now that she was the mother of his child, his need to claim her was even stronger.

  Breaking the moment, Charlotte shoved at him, wrenching her head back. “What was that for?”

  “That woman is nothing to me and no woman is going to be in our son’s or my life now except you. I don’t want any woman but you,” he growled, unable to stop the admission. Her eyes were wide and definitely surprised. Still gripping her, he loosened his hold and slid his hand around to cup her cheek and neck. He could feel her pulse pounding out of control.

  “Kellen, this is a mistake,” she whispered, suddenly looking exhausted.

  God, he loved it when she said his full name. He wasn’t sure if she meant the kiss or her coming there, but he didn’t care which. Neither were. He knew it. She just needed time to see it herself. Dropping his hand to give her a little space, he looked over her shoulder into the interior of the vehicle. He could see the outline of the car seat, but it was turned away from the window. Excitement and nervousness punched through him in equal waves. He couldn’t believe he was about to see his son for the first time. “Is he in there?”

  At the question, Charlotte’s entire face softened. She nodded. “Yeah. Sleeping.”

  His heart beat faster at the thought of holding his son. “You managed to pack all your things in this vehicle?” The mini SUV had decent storage but he’d expected her to have a lot more stuff, especially for a baby.

  She snorted, the sound irreverent and totally Charlotte. “No. My dad is hiring someone to bring over everything. They should be here in a few hours, but…” She trailed off, biting her lip.

  That was when he realized what she meant. “No buts. You said you’d try this temporarily.”

  “I know, I’m just worried you’re not prepared. Reece doesn’t sleep through the night yet and—”

  “I practically raised my brother.” Kell had been ten when his brother had been born and his mother had died a year later. He knew all about kids.

  Rubbing a hand over her face, she sighed. “Okay, let me get him out of his seat.”

  He waited impatiently on the curb as Charlotte pulled the small, sleeping baby with a thick mass of dark hair from the car seat. She cuddled him close to her chest, her expression soft as she watched their son.

  Their. Son.

  He moved closer, hovering behind her to get a better look at Reece and his heart melted. The sight of Charlotte holding Reece made it difficult to think straight for a moment.

  “He’ll probably be out for another hour. He ate right before we left,” she said quietly.

  As if to prove her wrong, those little eyes snapped open and Kell’s breath caught. Not that he’d ever worried about Charlotte lying about the paternity, but he knew right then and there, without a doubt, that this was his son. He saw those same eyes every day he looked in the mirror.

  The little boy looked at his mother, then him, then back to her. His tiny mouth opened and he let out the loudest cry Kell had ever heard. The sound pierced the quiet neighborhood as his face turned bright red. It also pierced his heart and made him feel useless to hear his son upset. A small being shouldn’t be able to make that kind of sound.

  Charlotte just snorted. “He’s hungry again. Greedy little thing. I’m going to feed him inside.” With that, she carried Reece up his driveway and into his house.

  Kell wanted to follow immediately but he sagged against the vehicle and tried to catch his breath. Knowing that he had a son and actually seeing the little boy were two different things. Unable to fight the grin on his face, he started gathering bags from the back of the vehicle. He wondered how soon it would be before he got to hold the little guy. No matter what, he was going to be the kind of father that he’d never had.

  * * * * *

  Charlotte slipped on a pair of comfortable yoga pants and a nursing tank top before heading out of the guestroom to find Reece and Kell. Kell had told her to shower and sleep and she’d decided to take advantage. Her family hadn’t been much help with Reece because they’d dealing with her sister’s antics, so getting even a small break was like heaven. She’d been able to shower, shave and actually put on a little makeup, making her feel like a woman again instead of just a mom. Kell had been so eager and excited to hold Reece it had been easier than she’d imagined to give them alone time.

  The men her father had hired had dropped off Reece’s bedroom furniture and all of her clothes a couple hours ago. She still had to unpack some boxes and hang up her clothes, but they truly didn’t have much. Luckily Kell didn’t have a lot of furniture in either guestroom so their moving in wasn’t an issue.

  When she’d left DC she’d sold all their furniture and purged almost everything she’d owned with her husband. She’d needed a fresh start and hadn’t wanted any reminders of her life with him. He’d hurt her enough with his lies and cheating. She deserved better. More importantly, so did her son.

  Despite her nervousness about moving in here with Kell, she smiled when she stepped into the living room. Kell was leaning back on his couch, his feet kicked up on the coffee table as he watched a football game. The volume was so low she could barely hear it. And Reece was tucked perfectly in the crook of his arm, sleeping soundly.

  “How’d he do?”

  Kell grinned, supremely satisfied with himself. “Perfect. He fussed a little over the bottle at first but took it after a few tries.”

  She’d pumped extra milk for him so she could nap. “Good. You can turn the television up, you know. He’s used to noise. It’s good for him anyway.”

  Kell’s eyebrows pulled together in concern. “You’re sure?”

  Fighting a grin, she nodded. “Yes. Trust me, you want this kid able to sleep through anything. It will save your sanity later. Are you hungry? Because I’m starving. I’ll cook.” Since Reece was clearly content, she wanted to keep her hands busy and keep her distance from Kell. Not because she didn’t like his company. If anything, she craved it too much and that was dangerous.

  “Yeah, but we can order takeout.”

  She shook her head. “No, I’ll cook. Before I do I want to go over some rules.” Including a very important one.

  His eyebrows quirked up as he slightly straightened. “Rules?”

  “That’s right. One, I’ll be paying you rent.” When it looked like he was about to argue she shook her head. “I’m going to be a contributing member of this household. With my savings, my trust fund and Andrew’s life insurance, I’m more than capable.” Some days she felt guilty that she didn’t have to work—though as soon as Reece entered preschool she was going back to teaching—but the fact that she was able to stay home with her son squashed all those feelings. “Second, no more kissing. Once this arrangement ends I don’t want there to be any confusion for either of us. Third, if I’m doing something you don’t like or something that annoys you, tell me right away. We’ve got a baby in the house and we’re two adults who’ve been on our own for a while. This will take some adjustment and I’m all about getting things out in the open so there’s no resentment. Okay?”

  After a long moment, he nodded. “Those are good rules—except number two. I won’t promise not to kiss you again.”

  She gritted her teeth. “Kell—”

  “You liked it,” he murmured, his voice all sin and seduction as it ro
lled over her. And his expression was heated and almost smug—because it was the truth.

  She had liked it. Way too much. Hell, she’d gotten wet from a simple kiss. Of course nothing about that kiss had been simple. It had been hot and dominating. And she knew from experience just how much Kell liked to dominate. But she couldn’t deal with that right now. Not if she wanted to stay sane and in control. “That’s beside the point. We can’t have things get complicated when we have no chance of something long term.”

  His green eyes narrowed. “And why is that?”

  She rolled her eyes, refusing to be baited. He knew exactly why. She’d been married to one of his friends. Then a month after her husband had died she’d found out about his cheating. She’d had her suspicions before but to her horror, she’d gotten them confirmed by one of his mistresses. Of course that was the night Kell had decided to show up to check on her. So she’d jumped him in an effort to drown her pain and get back at a man who was dead—then the next morning Kell had said he loved her. She still wished she could erase that from her memory. There was no way it was true. The man was too much of a player and she wasn’t going down that road again. Her heart couldn’t take it.

  She sighed. “Kell, I know what you’re like and while I adore you, neither of us are cut out for relationships.” It had been part of the reason she’d picked him for a one-night stand. She’d liked and trusted him and had assumed he wouldn’t want more than a night. Then he’d gone and shocked the hell out of her. And she hadn’t been able to deal. Because if there was even a small chance he’d been serious…no, just no. She absolutely could not deal with that right now.

  He straightened a little, anger glinting in his eyes. “And what exactly am I like?” He bit the words out.

  She swallowed hard, his fierce expression surprising her. It wasn’t like she was saying anything that wasn’t true. “Don’t forget that I knew you before we slept together.”

  “And?” One dark eyebrow arched in defiance.

  God, was he going to make her spell it out? Reece shifted slightly in his arms and they both froze. When he didn’t wake up, she let out a breath of relief. “And…you’re a player. I’m not judging, but come on, don’t pretend—”

  “Just stop,” he ground out. “I don’t give a shit what I was like before you, I’m not your dead fucking husband and I’ve never cheated on a girlfriend. I haven’t actually slept with anyone since you either.” When she started to roll her eyes at the absurdity, his intense look stopped her. “I tried—with that woman you saw in the driveway. It was a while ago, and I simply couldn’t fuck someone else when all I could see was your face. When all I wanted to do was bury myself inside you.”

  Her breath caught in her throat when she realized he was completely serious. Since she couldn’t even think about dwelling on what he’d just admitted, she decided not to comment directly. After living with her husband, she’d gotten pretty damn good at weeding out lies. Kell was telling the truth and that scared her. “Why was she here?”

  At that, he looked frustrated. “I have no idea, but it won’t be happening again.”

  “Okay.”

  “Okay, what?”

  “I mean I believe you. But that still doesn’t mean you’re ignoring rule number two.” She couldn’t deal with a relationship right now. Absolutely not.

  Kell laughed under his breath and as he did, Reece stirred and opened his eyes. When he saw her he started cooing and wiggling. Probably time for a diaper change then feeding. It was like a vicious cycle. And one she wouldn’t give up for anything. Without her having to ask, Kell handed him to her. When Reece immediately went for her breast, she started to unclip the snap on her nursing top, but stopped when she realized Kell wasn’t giving her any privacy. “Do you mind?”

  “I’ve seen them before,” he murmured, his voice holding a mischievous quality that should have frustrated her.

  “Fine.” Let him see how non-sexy she was right now. Maybe it would help convince him there was never going to be anything between them. But as she pulled her top down, for the briefest moment before Reece latched on, Kell’s eyes flashed with pure lust. Just as quickly, he shoved up from his seat and strode from the room, leaving her feeling more confused than ever.

  How the hell was she going to keep her sanity while living with him?

  Chapter 5

  Kell strode down the sidewalk toward Red Stone’s building in the business district. He hadn’t wanted to go to work today, but Charlotte had made it pretty damn clear he would be. Hell, she’d been insistent. Part of him was annoyed, but he knew he was getting under her skin.

  All part of his plan to get her to realize they were meant for each other. Last night he’d intentionally walked around with his shirt off and he hadn’t missed those covert looks she’d given him. Wide-eyed, full of lust and hunger before she quickly shut down and turned away from him.

  He still couldn’t believe she was living in the same city, much less under his roof, but he wasn’t going to balk at this second chance.

  “Kell, wait up!” He turned to see Travis, another Red Stone employee, jogging down the sidewalk.

  While he didn’t know Travis that well, Vincent and him were tight, and since Kell trusted Vincent’s opinion on most things that didn’t involve women, he figured the guy was all right. The Garcia party was the only job they’d actually worked together so Kell didn’t know what he was like in the field in a large scale sense.

  Standing on the sidewalk, he gave a half-nod to the tattooed former Marine. “What’s up?”

  Travis had a covered Styrofoam cup of coffee in one hand and two brownies wrapped in cellophane in the other. He handed him the brownies. “Noel said you left these at the shop.”

  Shit. He’d stopped at the local coffee shop that almost everyone in the business district frequented for a quick lunch, and had been so distracted by thoughts of Charlotte he’d forgotten what he’d bought for her. The woman had a wicked sweet tooth. “Thanks, man.”

  Travis grunted a response then tilted his head toward Red Stone and they resumed walking. “You working local right now?”

  “Yeah, Harrison’s got me doing only local stuff the next few weeks.” Because he’d requested it so he could be near Charlotte—but he didn’t tell the other guy that.

  “Me too. Makes Noel happy.”

  He knew Travis was recently engaged to the coffee shop owner, but that was about all. “I bet.” He also knew it made Travis happy too.

  The travel was the only downside to this job for anyone in a relationship, but most spouses of Red Stone’s employees dealt with it well. They had to or their relationships would tank. Relationships. He nearly snorted at the word. Overnight he’d gone from missing a woman so bad he ached for her on a daily basis to living under the same roof as her and their son. But they weren’t in a relationship.

  Not yet.

  He needed to keep his shit together if he was going to make sure Charlotte and Reece stayed under his roof. His phone buzzed in his pocket. When he saw Charlotte’s name on the caller ID he felt like a horny teenager with his first crush. Yeah, way to keep it together.

  * * * * *

  Charlotte tucked Reece’s blue and white blanket tighter around his little body as they stopped on the sidewalk next to Lummus Park. Of the two parks with the same name, the one in South Beach was her favorite. All the greenery, wide sidewalks and historic views of the art deco style buildings across from the beach/park area made her feel as if she’d stepped back into 1950s Miami. She loved all the older model cars lining the street, especially the 1958 Pontiac Bonneville Sport Coupe sitting in front of the Avalon Hotel she’d been in love with since she was a teenager. Yeah, she’d definitely missed Miami. Coming back here was the best decision she could have made for her and her son.

  After being confined under the same roof as Kell all day yesterday she’d needed the fresh air and to get out of that house. He’d wanted to call in for a personal day at work, but she’d convi
nced him not to. While he’d been amazing and loving with Reece they needed to keep their lives as normal as possible. Plus, the thought of spending an entire day with him was too much for her already frayed nerves. Once they’d gotten Reece to bed last night Kell had showered and decided to walk around wearing lounge pants and no shirt.

  It was his house and it wasn’t like she could tell him to put clothes on, especially when she had a feeling he hadn’t intentionally been trying to tempt her with that hot body. Unfortunately that was exactly what he’d done anyway. All those sleek muscles and defined striations just reminded her of how amazing things had been between them on a physical level. It had only been one night, but he’d been so giving. When she’d made that first move on him, it was like she’d unleashed something in him. Looking back she realized he’d clearly had feelings for her before that night. At the time it hadn’t registered. She thought she’d just been another warm body for him. But a man didn’t spend all night pleasuring a woman like that if he didn’t have feelings for her. She’d assumed they could both take what they needed and walk away. If only life was that easy.

  For the last half of her pregnancy and the last three months, her sexual needs had been dormant. Half the time she felt like a feeding machine, like her body wasn’t even her own.

  Until Kell was suddenly back in her life.

  Now she felt alive again and was utterly confused about that. She didn’t want to want him. She didn’t want to want anybody. After Andrew’s betrayal, yeah, she couldn’t even go there. Sighing, she turned the stroller around and headed back toward Lincoln Road. She was meeting her mom for lunch at a tapas restaurant and knew she’d have to feed Reece before she got there, but she’d wanted to get some walking in before they met. The fresh air was good for her son. The walk was quiet and despite the cooler February weather, a few people zoomed by on bikes wearing shorts and T-shirts.

  When Reece opened his eyes, blearily looked around and started that murmured cooing sound she recognized too well, she crossed the street and found a quiet bench in front of one of the historic hotels. As she finished up feeding Reece, she started to put him back in his stroller when she heard loud, frantic shouting coming from the side alley next to the hotel.