Guardian Angel: Callaghan Brothers, Book 5

by Abbie Zanders

  “You too?” he said, suddenly feeling as if he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

  Maggie smiled and winked. “You’ll get nothing from me, Kane Callaghan, so you best not even try.”

  When he saw Jack kiss Rebecca’s cheek, saw her bow her head and nod to something the old man said, he was more than ready to reclaim his bride. All of his brothers had danced with her, as well as his father, her brother, and her father. Yes, he knew it was tradition, that with each dance they were forming an unspoken bond with her, accepting her as part of the family. He had done the same with his brothers’ wives, and had been amused by the fierce, watchful gleam in their eyes as he had done so. Now, he understood, and it was they who were now watching him with amusement.

  He didn’t care; all that mattered was getting to her. Too much time had passed with too much distance between them. He strode across the dance floor to claim his wife. Without a word he pulled her into his arms, against his chest, and breathed a sigh of relief. It was amazing how much he’d come to need her touch; how her nearness could calm him.

  They danced wordlessly for several minutes. He closed his eyes and allowed her to seep into him, to soothe him. She melted against him just like in his dreams. She was more than content there. There was no doubt in his mind that she was every bit as happy to be in his arms as he was to have her there.

  “You okay, sweetheart?” he whispered softly into her ear.

  She nodded against his chest, her answer little more than a murmur on a sigh. Kane cupped his hand beneath her chin, needing to see her face. The pure love he saw there nearly brought him to his knees, but there was another look, too. One of longing mixed with confusion.

  It was the same look she’d had when he’d sat himself down in the jungle and told her to go on without him. The same one he’d seen when they’d sat on the porch of her little Victorian and he tried to apologize. He didn’t recognize it for what it was either of those times, but he did now. Rebecca wanted him to say or do something, even though he had no idea what that something was. Kane leaned down and kissed her; there was nothing else he could do.

  The moment his lips touched hers, her hands tightened around his neck, his arm. There was a desperation in her surrender that ripped through his chest, as if he’d done something incredibly right. He’d felt this before, too. Twice. Once, in the jungle, when he had neutralized those that would have done her harm and scooped her against him in a run for cover. She had clung to him then, so tightly that he was able to maintain the ability to use his weapons without fear of losing her. The second had been after he’d gone down on bended knee and proposed.

  He wasn’t sure why kissing her had been the right thing to do, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Rebecca was feeling conflicted. For whatever reason, she hadn’t yet shared exactly what she was conflicted about with him, but she would, when she was ready. And apparently holding her and kissing her was what she needed most from him at that moment, and he was definitely onboard with that. As a matter of fact, he would be more than happy to devote the next several hours to kissing and pleasuring every inch of her.

  A low growl rumbled through his chest as he considered all the ways he would make love to her the minute they were alone. Rebecca’s smile was hungry when he finally pulled away.

  “I love when you make that sound,” she whispered, discreetly licking his neck as she resettled her head on his shoulder, making his cock throb. “It makes me want to go down on my knees.”

  Kane groaned. If only they weren’t in the middle of a crowded dance floor. If only it wasn’t their wedding. The evening couldn’t pass fast enough for him. “Soon,” she purred against him, sensing his thoughts.

  He gave her a little squeeze, making sure she felt every inch of his desire through his tux and her gown, a promise and a challenge. She subtly rubbed against him on the premise of checking her bustle, accepting his challenge and offering one of her own. God, he loved her.

  He closed his eyes, reaching deep for the patience and self-control that had always come so naturally to him. Rebecca had a way of threatening both.

  After tonight they would be leaving for his – their – remote cabin. Just the two of them. Yeah, that was worth waiting for. For now, he would be content to hold her and try not to dwell on just how well their bodies fit together. Instead, he would put his mind to work on the puzzle at hand, let it sift through what he did know in an attempt to deduce what he didn’t.

  Rebecca wasn’t one to confide in others. If she hadn’t told him, then she probably hadn’t told anyone else, either, which meant that whatever it was, those who “knew” had simply guessed based on obvious clues. He felt he knew his wife better than anyone. If others had been able to figure it out, then he would as well.

  Kane held her close against him and looked around as they moved to the music, pleased to feel her melt into him with each step. She moved perfectly with him, letting him guide her even as she anticipated his every move with unerring precision. It gave him great comfort. Whatever was consuming her thoughts, he still apparently had the ability to soothe her, and that shot great waves of both relief and hope through him.

  The first rule of gathering information was to observe, so that’s what Kane did. He looked beyond his beautiful wife, seeking out those supposedly privy to her secrets. Without fail, he found the women eyeing them carefully, anticipation in their knowing eyes. The men, however, seemed gloriously unaware. They were laughing and drinking, in high spirits and having a good time. That made him feel somewhat better; at least he wasn’t the only one who didn’t know what was going on.

  So what would women pick up on that men would not? He frowned to himself. Whatever it was, it was probably something intangible, something based more on emotion or intuition than outright observance, something that women would be more sensitive to than men. His brothers, like him, were highly skilled in picking up anything remotely unusual or out of character no matter what they were doing, and none of them gave him the impression that they had noticed anything.

  It was a start, but the possibilities were daunting. No matter how intelligent a man was, it was impossible for him to follow a woman’s logic. Any number of things could be viewed as vitally important to a woman and completely overlooked by a man. It was just the nature of the beast.

  Rebecca, however, was unlike any woman he’d ever met. She’d come a long way in these last few months, much more comfortable around his sisters-in-law than she had been, but she was still intrinsically different. She was not one given to fanciful things. Whatever kept bubbling up and commanding her thoughts on a day like today had to be important.

  A little spark ignited along the base of his skull, signifying he touched upon something significant. A rush of sensing he was on the right track flowed through him.

  Something important to women, that was the key. He looked again. Women. Married women. Mothers, with the exception of Nicki. Though hadn’t he felt a bulge around her slim midsection when they’d been dancing? He glanced over at Sean. Yep, his brother was grinning like an idiot. Nicki was pregnant, alright. He’d seen the same look on Jake’s, Ian’s, and Michael’s faces enough over the past few years to recognize it.

  Another tendril of awareness tickled the back of his brain, just out of reach.

  He had to apply more logic if he wanted to get anywhere. They had been teasing him, hadn’t they? With each dance, one of them had dropped a clue, baiting him, daring him to connect the dots. Perhaps if he examined each of them in turn, it might lead somewhere.

  “But you are a possessive man, Kane. She knows this. She worries that you will not look with favor upon those who also crave her love and affection.” Rebecca loved people, cared for them. No one could devote as much of themselves to others as Rebecca did and not feel that way. It was her heart that had touched him in the first place – the purity and limitlessness of it. Hell yes, he was possessive, but he was also completely secure in the knowledge that the
love Rebecca had for him was unlike any she felt for anyone else. Nothing could change that. Not in this lifetime.

  “She certainly is glowing tonight, isn’t she?” Christ, yes, she was beautiful. Her honeyed hair was so shiny it took on a glow of its own, as if it had absorbed a thousand candle flames and was lit from within. Her skin was radiant, flushed a delicate pink beneath the bronze dusk that was her natural color. Her eyes were clear and deep, a crystalline liquid brown filled with swirling golden flecks, like someone had just shaken a snow globe.

  “And about damn time, too. You’re not getting any younger, you know.” He was the eldest son, half-way through his thirties. Rebecca was no child either. Granted, the lives they had each chosen for themselves up to this point might make them seem older than their physical years, but they were young enough to enjoy a long, full life together.

  “I’m so happy for the two of you.” Lexi’s comment was perhaps the most non-specific, but the one he had felt the most. Lexi was happy for them. Very happy. Happier than he would have expected, given that technically, he and Rebecca had been married for three months, and had been acting as man and wife in every aspect. Was Lexi simply that thrilled that Rebecca had been reunited with her parents? Lexi was close to Aidan and his parents, and had come to care for Rebecca as well. But hadn’t Lexi’s comment been directed at both of them, and not just Rebecca specifically? Was she happy that they had both decided to “retire” and get away?

  “You’ll get nothing from me, Kane Callaghan, so you best not even try.” Maggie. Maggie knew things. She’d known that Michael was dying, even though he was thousands of miles away. She was the one who had provided them with the clues that led Sean to Nicki. Michael said she didn’t like talking about it, but when Maggie spoke, he found they all listened. What had she been trying to tell him with that teasing wink and knowing smile?

  What would crave Rebecca’s love and affection? What would make her glow? What would be contingent upon a relatively young age, make Lexi gush, and have Maggie winking devilishly?

  The answer hit him suddenly and without warning; he was totally unprepared for it. His heart stopped and he found it difficult to breathe. Rebecca looked up in alarm as he simply froze in place. “Kane, is everything alright?”

  Kane pushed her away enough to look into her face. He glanced down into the soft brown of her eyes. He saw so much love there it was nearly his undoing. And then he knew.

  Kane crushed his mouth to hers. Rebecca was the air he needed to breathe, because his lungs simply weren’t working on their own. He lifted her in his arms, holding her chest to his so that her heart could coax his into beating again.

  “Looks like he figured it out,” Taryn said with a smile, as the women exchanged high-fives all around.

  “Figured out what?” asked Jake. The others looked just as confused. The women laughed.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Kane fled the ballroom with Rebecca in his arms in search of privacy. It landed them in a linen supply closet. Kane sat Rebecca gently down on a folding table, then immediately began pacing. It was a small room; he could take only a step or two in each direction before the limited space demanded he turn and go the other way.

  Rebecca eyed him warily. “Kane?”

  The fear in her voice nearly undid him. He stopped and kissed her again, a thorough, demanding kiss that left her breathless. She moaned and snaked her hands behind his neck. Before he could stop himself he lifted her gown and released the fastenings of his pants, stepping between her legs and sliding into her. He needed her, needed in her, now.

  Ah, the noises she made. A little gasp, a muted whimper, the soft moan of ecstasy. He buried himself deep inside her. Only now did it all make sense to him.

  Rebecca was pregnant. Why hadn’t he thought of that? He came from a family of seven sons. His married brethren were continuing the fertile tradition. He and Rebecca hadn’t used protection once – the very idea was unthinkable – and they had certainly been spending a lot of intimate time together.

  He thought back. Not a day had gone by since they’d taken their first vows more than three months prior that they hadn’t made love. If he’d been a smarter man he might have thought that strange, given the nature of women and the way things generally worked. He’d been so caught up in everything else that he’d never given it a second thought. Why had it not occurred to him before this?

  He moved inside her, slowly and tenderly. She clung to him desperately with a need that greatly surpassed the physical, reaching down inside him, entwining into his heart and soul, her body trying to tell him what her lips could not.

  Only when he felt her submit to her body’s demands and clench around him did he allow himself release as well, filling her, celebrating their love. He stayed joined with her, holding her close so that he could feel the beat of her heart against his chest slowing to normal levels.

  “I couldn’t wait,” he said simply when she gazed at him with those half-lidded eyes, questioning.

  “Mmmmm.” He knew she would not speak for at least a few minutes; she never did after they made love. The more intense her orgasm, the longer it would take for her to regain her voice. That was fine with him. He’d come to treasure her soft sighs and sated purrs.

  Reluctantly he withdrew from her, grabbing a few of the expensive linen napkins to carefully clean her before righting her gown, then taking care of himself.

  * * *

  “Kane?” she said quietly as he lifted her from the table and set her back on her feet. Her sex still throbbed from his possession, his release hot and thick within her, though she already missed him. If they were somewhere private, they would simply drift off in each other’s arms, and Kane would be inside her, making her whole. It would be easier to tell him that way, but she could wait no longer.

  “Yes, love?” His deep voice filled the small room as his body commanded it, commanded her. The very idea that he loved her sent shivers of delight up and down her spine. But how would he react to what she was about to tell him? And she had to tell him. The secret was burning her up from the inside out.

  “I love you.” Chicken, she berated herself.

  Knowing eyes settled on hers, a sexy tilt to his lips sent her heart racing again. How could he do this to her so easily? A look and a smile and she was melting before him.

  “I love you, too.”

  She dropped her eyes, unable to hold his gaze. The cummerbund around his slim waist was really quite fascinating. So silky, shiny. She let her hand trail along it, feeling the material beneath the pads of her fingers while he waited patiently for her to say what was really on her mind. Kane knew. He always knew.

  “IthinkI’mpregnant.”

  His smile grew to a full half-grin as he lifted her chin and forced him to look at him. “I know.”

  Rebecca blinked, her eyes wide. “You do?”

  The grin spread across his face, chocolate and brandy suffusing his breath with a heady mixture she still tasted on her tongue. Her head swam as he kissed her nose. “Yes.”

  Rebecca blinked again. He knew? How could he possibly know? The realization had just hit her that very morning, a sudden epiphany in the bathroom when the forgotten, unopened box of tampons toppled over in her attempt to reach the new bottle of shampoo. When was the last time she’d needed one?

  Granted, she had never been one of those women whose cycles occurred with the accuracy of a Swiss timepiece, but she had never thought much of it. Stress, irregular sleeping and eating patterns, serious injuries – all those things that had played such a prevalent part in her life – also affected her natural biology. It was not uncommon for her to go several months without having need of feminine products. She’d never really given it much thought, and pregnancy had certainly never been a concern.

  But now... things were different. She was in Pine Ridge, not some third world nation. She ate regularly. Got plenty of sleep. And was married to a gorgeous, virile man with an insatiable appetite for sex. The que
stion “how can I be pregnant?” suddenly became “how can I not be?”

  The instant panic that followed her revelation had literally brought her to her knees. A baby? They’d never discussed having a family, and certainly not this soon. She, like Kane, was looking forward to leaving the world behind for a while. Going up to the mountains and staying there for weeks getting lost in each other. What would he think of a baby?

  Nausea roiled within her. She forced it back down, telling herself it was only the power of suggestion. After all, she hadn’t experienced anything like morning sickness... or had she? When was the last time she’d actually eaten breakfast? Mornings were hazy at best. She’d wake up with Kane already moving inside her – she loved his special brand of wake-up call. Desire and lust overrode everything else for a while. It was Kane who usually rose out of hunger first; more often than not, she opted for a little more time beneath the covers. It was only well into the day that the desire for food roused her.

  And she had been very tired these last few weeks. She’d been blaming it on their excessive sexual appetites, and all of the time and effort that went into planning a wedding – flowers, music, fittings, etc.

  It was there, on her bathroom floor, just hours before her big church wedding that the truth hit her. She was carrying their child.

  Power and sensuality surrounded her as Kane brought his lips within inches of hers, allowed his finger to trail along her jaw. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  The chastisement in his eyes was tempered with amusement. So far, so good. “I just realized it this morning. I didn’t know how you would feel ...”

  The amusement vanished and his eyes darkened to sapphires. Anything else she might have said was abruptly halted by Kane crushing his mouth to hers.

  “Do you still have any question of how I feel about this?”