Code Name: Kayla's Fire (14 page)

“Captain?” A tap on the door made him jump.

What the hell should he do? He quickly slid the tester back into the
box and buried it in the garbage can.
Breathe,
asshole.
“Ahh.” He swept one look around to make sure all was in its place,
and then opened the door, whisking the towel up.

Kayla took a step inside and bumped into his chest. When he didn’t move,
she craned her head up. “I have to go pee.”

That face, her eyes, the swell of her mouth and doll-like features
belonged to the only woman he’d ever loved, the most beautiful creature he’d
ever known and...

“Captain, I need to go,” she said ducking around him.

“Sorry.” She didn’t wait till he vacated.

“Something wrong?” she asked, blushing and avoiding his gaze.

“No,” it came out more as a croak.

What the hell should he do? Should he say something? Why hadn’t she
told him? Could Lapierre be the father? No, his mind shot back immediately, not
a chance. Kayla loved the guy, but she hadn’t crossed that line with him, at
least not recently. Kayla was the mother of his child. He backed out of the
bathroom not realizing he was doing it, and leaned against the wall because he
needed to.

Kayla flushed, washed her hands, and flicked off the light. When she
came around the corner, she bumped into him in the dark hallway.

“I’m going to bed.” She sounded exhausted.

Of course she was exhausted. The last few weeks suddenly made sense.
Her hunger, her tears, her emotions all over the place was because their baby
was growing inside her. He wrapped his arm around her, guiding her to the
bedroom. Climbing in beside her, he pulled her tight against him. His hand
settled against her stomach, and he gently caressed her. They both needed
sleep, but all he wanted to do was bang his chest, and tell the world. “I love
you, Kayla,” he whispered in her ear, and kissed her shoulder.

Her small hand slid over his, squeezing his fingers. It wasn’t until a
glow of light on the horizon threatened night to take a step back, and give the
day its turn, that his mind finally stopped whirling, and sleep took over.

* * * *

Kayla’s internal alarm buzzed, rousting her from sleep. Sunlight
filled the bedroom making her eyes sting. Burying her head under the pillow was
her first thought. After an episode like she’d had last night, a bulldozer
running over her would be preferred. Sluggishly, she threw her legs over the
side of the bed, and followed the sounds coming from the kitchen.

Thane looked up and stilled. He stared at her like he’d never seen her
before.

“If you say I look like shit, you’re in for it,” she warned.

A smile brightened his features as he maneuvered around the counter,
and met her in the living room. “Not exactly what I was thinking.” One finger
caressed the contours of her shoulder and trailed down her arm. “I don’t think
I’ve ever told you how beautiful you are to me.”

“Yes, you did. A long time ago, when you walked me to the bus stop on
graduation night, and I didn’t believe you then either,” she said, pushing her
fingers through mussed hair.

Thane gripped her hips gently. “Why not? It’s the truth, and I’ll
always tell you the truth.”

There was something very odd about him this morning. His voice was
strange, softer, far more so than his normally strong timbre. “Captain, are you
still drunk?”

A soft chuckle brushed against her ear as he ran the tip of his tongue
around her sensitive skin. “You can go back to bed if you want.”

She covered a yawn, and shook her head. “I’ve got to grab a shower and
get to work.”

He bit his lip. “Not today.”

“Huh,” her gaze shot to his. She pulled up the schedule in her mind.
“No, I’m on days today. I’m sure of it.”

He rubbed his neck and nodded. “You’re on special projects.”

Had she missed something? “What special project?” she asked, her brows
pulling together.

Sliding his hand into hers, he led her to the couch and helped her
sit. “We should discuss the plan for the Shark.”

“You explained the plan,” she said, laying back on the pillow. Reaching
for the blanket, she pulled it haphazardly over her. The softness of the
blanket made her languid. It wouldn’t take a minute to fall back to sleep.

Tucking the blanket around her, Thane used it as a good excuse to kiss
her instead of explaining. He crouched in front of her. Gentle, caressing
touches of his lips made her even more sleepy. His gaze flitted across hers.
“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.”

“You always say that.” His hand swept down her arm, coming to rest on
her stomach. “I’m sorry for what I said. I thought I was doing the right thing
by stepping aside, but I can’t. I’m crazy in love with you.”

Whoa, she blinked with all these confessions pouring out of his mouth,
and she didn’t really know what to do with them before her first cup of coffee.
“Greg told me what he’d said to you in the restaurant. I couldn’t let that
untruth breathe any more air.”

“I don’t think I could have lasted another day anyway. Even if you did
decide to leave, I wanted you to know everything. I don’t want us to keep
things from each other.”

She twisted her hands together, and he covered them.

“Everything,” he said again.

“So, what’s for breakfast?” She jostled her way from under the blanket,
and jumped up. She shouldn’t have done it because the world swayed to catch up,
and her stomach rolled.

Thane steadied her, and watched her carefully as if waiting for
something. With a slow hand, he slid from her hip to her stomach, and caressed
it again.
What the hell?
There was no
way in the world he could know. She’d only found out herself yesterday morning.

She’d been pregnant so many times, she should have recognized all the
signs, but with the melodrama of the Shark and Greg taking a hundred percent of
her attention, she’d missed it. It wasn’t until she was walking by the
pregnancy tests in the pharmacy on her way to pick up some toothpaste that the
piano fell from a second story window onto her head.

Instead of freaking out, like she expected, her world became amazingly
tranquil. Maybe it was because this child was in no immediate danger like all
the others she’d lost over the years. She swallowed deeply, caught in Thane’s
gaze. “Can I help with breakfast?”

“Kayla? You have something to tell me,” he stated carefully.

“No, I don’t.” She stepped away, her hands clasped and raised to her
mouth. Holy shit! She hadn’t decided whether she was going to tell him or not.

Thane’s face broke into a brilliant smile, and a chuckle bubbled out
of him. “You are the most incredible woman I have ever known.” He nodded, the
smile broadening. “The most stubborn. The most beautiful. The strongest willed,
but you are the worst,”—he said laughing—“at lying.”

“What do you mean?”

“Kayla.” His eyes softened, and he looked all gooey and weird. “Are
you going to make me the happiest man on earth today?”

“You snooped in my garbage can?” she shouted at him.

Both hands shot up to ward her off. “I didn’t snoop. Honest.”

“Thane Herbert,” she choked on a laugh, and shook her head to rid
herself of it, “Austen.” His arm swept her tight to his chest.

“Kayla, are we going to have a baby?” he asked, pinning her cheeks
with his large palms.

Her eyes darted back and forth. His doing the same, but the
expectation and hope surprised her. She nodded.

“Oh, God, yes!” he shouted, and swung her into his arms, twirling her
around the room, which didn’t do a thing for her dizziness.

“Stop,” she ordered.

“Oh, sweetheart, I’m sorry.”

He stopped immediately, but he didn’t lower her to the floor, instead
sitting her on the kitchen counter, keeping her pinned between his arms. A
waterfall of tingles consumed her. He kissed her, and kissed her, and kept
kissing her, until she had to push on his chest to get some air. “Why aren’t you
pissed? You’re supposed to be all defensive and upset.”

“Upset?” he crowed. “I couldn’t sleep a wink all night. I wanted to
phone the entire team and tell them. I had to stop myself from throwing open
the window and shouting it out to anyone who was walking by.”

The front door opened, and Nina came through with Mace on her tail.
“Morning,” they both greeted.

“Where were you all night?” she said, piercing Mace with a look and
then Nina.

Mace took on a “hand in the cookie jar” expression, tossing the
question to Nina to answer.

She blushed, and shrugged her shoulders. “Beach.”

“Beach,” Kayla echoed, walking toward her, and they hugged each other.
“You spent the night on the beach? All night?”

“You guys feel like breakfast?” Mace asked, leaning against the
fridge.

“We’re celebrating,” Thane jumped in.

“Thane,” she said sharply, but the five-point smile on his face
blinded everyone in the room.

Both Nina and Mace stared at him with wrinkled brows.

“Sir, you’re kind of freaking me out with that smile. Is—is Lapierre
okay?”

Kayla gasped when he picked her up with a sneak attack from the rear,
and twirled her once before she could get away. “Don’t know, but this woman in
my arms is the most beautiful creature in the world.”

Mace cocked his head and looked to Nina for help. “Captain?”

He gently slid her down his body, then jerked around. “Where’s my
phone?”

She grabbed his arm. “What are you doing, Thane?”

 
“Sweetheart, you need to sit
down.”

A laugh launched from her, seeing he was totally serious. “I’m allowed
to stand up, Captain.”

“I think you should sit.”

She panned a look at Mace and Nina. Her alpha warrior was going to be
a pain in the ass.

“Why is he acting weird?” Mace asked warily. “Did they catch the
Shark?”

“We’re celebrating,” Thane announced.

“Yeah, you said that already,” Mace shrugged at Nina. “Are you still
drunk?”

Kayla knew what he was about to divulge, and slapped her hand over his
mouth, but he slipped it away. “I’m going to be a father. Me. She. We. We’re
pregnant.”

Mace’s mouth dropped open. “You guys? Get real. Holy shit.”

Nina’s expression streaked through shock, astonishment, and settled on
joy.

 
“Kayla!” She swooped her into a
big hug. “Oh, my God. Oh, my God,” she squealed, crushing her. When she finally
let go, Nina was talking a mile a minute. “I’ve got a zillion books I can give
you. And I’ve kept all of Gabby’s clothes. I’ll have mom and dad send them.”
She stopped and took a breath. “It’s a girl. I know it’s going to be a girl.”

“A girl? Hell yeah, we want a daughter. Then her little brother can
drive her mental,” Thane exclaimed. He couldn’t keep the excitement out of his
voice or a future that had hardly taken its first step.
Who was this man?

Mace’s grin broadened. “Good idea, then you’ll have someone else to
pick on instead of me.”

Kayla stepped back with her hand in the air. “Listen up.” She turned
to him. “Captain—and you two.” She paused, gnawing her lower lip. “You’re not
going to tell anyone. Do you understand? You have to remember what…” she
stalled, “what happened to me in the past.” She plunked herself on the couch, a
wave of nausea whirling through her. Thane crouched down beside her. “Thane, I
shouldn’t have said anything. You don’t understand. The baby is fine now, but
it won’t live.”

Her words took a little wind out of his sails. “Kayla,” he curled her
in his arms. “Our little piece of heaven is going to breathe air, and live a
long wonderful life, and so are we. I love you, and nothing is going to stop us
from having her.” His lips quirked. “…and her little brother.”

He couldn’t stop smiling. Mace was right. It was weird.

“I’d climb to the top of Everest ten times over to keep that look in
your eyes. You have to eat. We’re going out for brunch,” Thane declared.

“Hell, yes,” Nina trilled.

“You’re paying,” Mace said, taking a tentative step toward her. “I get
to be the godfather, right?”

Although she was trying to keep her news low key, she smiled at him.
“We’ll see.”

“I’m starving,” Nina reminded everyone.

“You should be,” Mace shot back, and his eyes took on a wicked glint.

Nina flushed deep red.

“Beach, huh?” the Captain said in a low voice as he passed Mace.

Nina’s curls were mussed, Mace’s skin a little too heated. They both
looked like they’d been up all night, but she doubted the ten-inch
fraternization rule stayed in effect.

“Thane?” He was halfway across the room, but within a second was
beside her again. “You have to be real about this.”