by Anna Hackett
She glanced at the sphere resting on the bed. “I guess we’d better get that to Ty.”
“He’ll be going nuts,” Seth said.
She tucked the sphere close to her side. He grabbed her hand and they headed down to the lab.
As they entered, Ty turned and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “I’ve been waiting for that.” He strode over and snatched the sphere from January.
“Nice to see you, too, Ty,” Seth said. “Yeah, we were in a few tight spots on the mission, but we made it. Thanks.”
January tried to hide her smile.
“You’re breathing.” Ty looked at January, his handsome, imposing face relaxing the tiniest bit. “I’m glad you’re okay, January.”
“Thanks, Ty.”
“Heard you bumped your head. Is that the reason you’ve taken up with this guy?”
She laughed and saw Seth glaring at the scientist. But she could tell he didn’t really mean it.
“Callie is waiting for you in Medical,” Ty said. “Don’t be late for your checkup. That woman is hell on wheels if you don’t follow her orders.”
Leaving the sphere with Ty, Seth led January back to the Medical area down the hall.
“God, I feel good.” She smiled at him.
His lips quirked. “Yeah?”
“My mom would be so happy.” January stopped. “About my job, the artifacts I get to see.” She slid her hands up his chest. “And about the sexy, hot guy I’m falling in love with.”
He pressed his forehead to hers. “Right back at you, hellcat. I’m falling, too, and I’m pretty sure I’m about to happily hit the bottom.”
Her heart clenched. “I feel the same.” She shook her head and laughed. “God, if anyone had told me a few weeks ago that I’d be in love with you, I would have laughed myself sick.”
“Ditto.”
She tightened her hands on his shirt and licked her lips. “Are you scared?”
“Oh yeah.” He gave her a long, soft kiss. “But I know we’ll work this love thing out together, and enjoy every step.”
God, she was definitely in love with this man.
He tugged her into a room filled with medical equipment, and several narrow bunks. Callie looked up from a screen and lifted a hand.
“So, this is your domain?” January asked.
Callie patted a bunk. “My home away from home.”
January sat on the bunk and swung her feet up. As she lay back, she looked up at the high-tech scanner arched over the bed on a flexible arm.
Seth stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest, watching intently.
“I’m going to scan your head,” Callie said, moving the scanner into place.
“I’ve never seen anything like this equipment,” January said.
“Ty developed it. It’s a full-body scanner.”
The machine made a near-silent humming sound. It moved over her body—down to her toes and back up to her head.
Nearby, Callie looked at a screen. January saw a picture of her body appear, glowing different colors.
“All done,” the medic said.
Seth helped January sit up. “I’m making dinner reservations for tomorrow. You’ll need something sexy to wear.”
“Then I’ll need to go shopping.” She grinned at him. “You got a secret romantic side, 007?”
“Yeah. I showed it to you in the shower just before.”
January snorted and Callie groaned.
“Please,” Callie said. “My sex life is nonexistent, so take some pity on me and don’t rub shower sex in my face.” Then the medic stiffened a little.
January straightened, and Seth slid an arm around her shoulders.
God. What now? January pulled in a breath. “Callie?”
“Hang on.” Callie was tapping at the screen, shaking her head.
“What’s wrong, Callie?” Seth demanded.
“Dammit, this can’t be right.” She turned, not meeting their gazes.
January grabbed Seth’s hand, panic setting in. She’d felt like this before, when she’d been waiting to hear about her mother in the hospital.
Callie straightened, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. “There’s no concussion. Your head is fine.”
“Okay,” January said, confused. “But?”
“Your hCG hormone levels are elevated.”
“What does that mean?” Seth growled, sounding like he was about to explode.
“January is pregnant.”
Silence filled the medical room.
January went still. “I’m what?”
“Pregnant. It’s very early. And when I say early, I mean really early, but this scanner can detect it.”
January felt all the air solidify in her chest. “I… I…” She looked at Seth. He looked like he’d been punched in the gut. “Callie, that’s impossible. I’m on birth control.” God, would Seth think she’d lied to him? “I haven’t been with anyone but Seth in a really long time. I can’t be pregnant in under a week!”
“Your hormone levels are elevated. And as for your birth control…I think I know what might have caused it to fail.” The medic’s gray gaze swung between them. “I think it was the artifact. Ty told me it appears to increase fertility in all living things, not just plants.”
Shock reverberated through January. “Oh, God.”
She swiveled to look at Seth. His face was blank and his eyes were wide.
“Seth?” She dragged in a breath. She felt like she was going to start hyperventilating.
Suddenly, a smile broke out on his face. “We made a baby.” His tone sounded reverent.
She blinked. He looked…pretty damn happy.
“It’s early days,” Callie said. “But yes, you did.”
Seth placed a palm on January’s belly. “Hell, James, we made a baby.”
January’s muscles relaxed, happiness peeking through her panic. “Seth—”
“I want a girl,” he said. “With thick, brown hair and hazel eyes.”
Callie laughed. “Should be interesting to see you as the father of a teenage girl wanting to date, Seth.”
Seth’s smile evaporated. “Hell.” Then he looked at January. “Boys. I want boys.”
“You’re truly okay about this?” January said. “A week ago, you didn’t do relationships.”
“Looks like I got tamed by my hellcat.” He pulled her close, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “But it’s your body, January…”
“Shh.” God, she loved him. “I want a girl.”
“Congratulations, you guys,” Callie said.
Seth scooped January into his arms and she let out a small cry. He strode out of Medical, down the corridor, and into the rec room.
The rest of the team was there, sitting around the tables, eating. Everyone looked up.
“What’s wrong?” Lachlan rose from his chair.
“I’m going to be a father,” Seth announced.
There was a stunned silence.
January smiled. “Apparently, I don’t have a concussion, but I do have a bun in the oven.”
“The artifact,” Ty said.
“Oh, hell,” Smith grumbled.
Axel frowned. “Does that mean we all have super-swimmers now?”
“We need to run some more tests,” Ty muttered.
Axel groaned. “Then I’m sticking to my hand until you get your results.”
As the others all started talking, January leaned into Seth. “I love you, Seth.”
He pulled her closer. “I love you, too.”
“You sure we can do this?”
“Absolutely. We’re going to rock at this parent thing. You’ve made me realize that with love and trust, anything is possible.”
He kissed her, and the rest of the room melted away.
God, she was the luckiest woman in the world.
Chapter Twenty-One
Seth looked into the mirror and straightened the jacket of his suit.
“Ready?” La
chlan stepped out behind him. He was wearing a similar dark suit, white shirt, no tie.
Seth nodded, eager to go. “I’m ready.”
Lachlan smiled. “Seth Lynch, chomping at the bit to get married. The impossible does come true.”
Seth grinned. He was so ready to claim January as his. His woman and the mother of his baby.
It had been several weeks since their return from Los Angeles, and it had thankfully been quiet for Team 52. Seth had taken some days off, and he’d spent every minute of that time with January—most of it in bed.
She’d been down to visit her dig, and he’d gone with her. He’d discovered he loved watching his woman work, and he enjoyed taking photos of her and her team as they worked. He was discovering a new love of taking photos of people and all their expressions.
He’d also set his mind to convincing her to move to Las Vegas and spend the rest of her life with him. When he’d given her an oval-shaped diamond, surrounded by emeralds, she’d quickly snatched it off him and said yes.
So, she was making the move to Las Vegas, and in talks with the university about how she could continue her work. She was even thinking about taking some time off when the baby arrived, and spending some time writing history books. The first one she had planned would be about the Snake Kings.
She’d also told him that she wanted to dedicate the books to her mother.
They’d also spent a lot of time arguing. His woman sure as hell could argue. He grinned. But he enjoyed seducing her out of her tempers.
Lachlan clasped Seth’s shoulder. “I’m happy for you, man.”
“We’re both lucky bastards.” Just months before, they’d both been considered scary and focused, and they’d avoided relationships.
“We sure are,” Lachlan answered.
They left the suite and headed for the elevator.
“You had to pick the Aurora,” Lachlan muttered.
Seth slid his hands in his pockets and smiled. “I wasn’t the one who dived off the roof with my woman and landed in the pool. I like the place.”
Lachlan grunted. “No jokes about Rowan falling off roofs. My heart can’t take it.”
Two women stepped out of a room. Both were wearing short dresses, dangly earrings, and high heels. As they spotted the men, smiles crossed their faces.
“Hello, there,” one of the women purred. “You guys looking for a private party?”
The other woman leaned around her friend. “Want some company?”
Seth jerked a thumb at Lachlan. “He’s taken, and about to stand up with me as I marry the only woman I’ve ever loved. She’s also carrying my baby.”
One woman snapped her fingers. “We were too late.”
The other woman winked. “What a shame.”
“Good luck!” The women headed off with a wave.
Seth and Lachlan stepped into the elevator. It whisked them upward, and soon they stepped out on the rooftop terrace of the Aurora Casino.
Chairs had been set up in neat rows and lanterns were strung up everywhere. Guests milled around. Seth spotted his parents sitting up front. His dad was tugging at the collar of his suit, and Seth’s mother was wearing one of her best dresses. Callie was chatting with them, trying to keep them comfortable. He scanned the rest of the space, seeing that the team was all there, including Jonah, Ty, Nat, and Brooks. There were also several archeology friends of January’s, as well as her aunt, uncle, and cousins. Both the cousins had been icy with Seth over the last few days, clearly protective of January. But slowly they were thawing.
At the end of the aisle stood the celebrant, dressed as Elvis. Seth shook his head. January had insisted that if they were getting married in Vegas, they had to be married by an Elvis impersonator. Seth didn’t care. He’d marry her naked in a shark tank if she wanted.
“Ready?” Lachlan said.
“Absolutely.”
They joined Elvis, standing there waiting, as the string quartet in the corner played soothing music. All the guests sat.
Then there was a pause, and the music changed.
Seth took a deep breath and looked down the end of the aisle. January’s friend Qian came first, her dark hair elegantly styled, and wearing a jade-green dress. She carried a bright bouquet of flowers.
January followed a moment later.
The air caught in Seth’s chest.
She looked gorgeous. She wore a romantic lace dress, with a deep V neckline. It hugged her body before flaring out at her feet, with a tiny train behind it. Her pregnancy wasn’t showing yet, but she was glowing. Her brown hair was pulled up in some sort of elaborate style, with a few delicate wisps escaping to frame her face. She carried a bunch of pretty, colorful flowers that were perfect for her. Bright and vibrant and lively.
Their gazes locked and she grinned. It was a wide, happy smile and they stared at each other as she walked to him.
January finally reached the two men and Elvis. “Hey.”
Seth pulled her close. “Hey.” Then, he cupped one palm over her belly. “Hey, sprout.”
Unable to stop himself, Seth lowered his head and kissed her. He was so grateful that January had busted through his defenses. There was nowhere else he wanted to be.
“Uh, that bit’s supposed to come at the end,” Elvis said.
As the crowd laughed, Seth stepped back. “Carry on.”
“Thank you for coming, everyone,” Elvis called out. “Shall we get the party started?”
Seth and January traded vows in front of their friends and family, the bright sun shining down on them.
“I now pronounce you badass and wife,” Elvis said.
Cheers went up.
Seth swung January into his arms and kissed her, long and deep.
“You’ve already knocked her up, amigo,” Axel called out. “Let your wife breathe.”
His wife. Seth lifted his head. He liked the sound of that.
He looked over at his team. Axel stood with an arm slung over Callie’s shoulder. Rowan was standing arm and arm with Blair. Smith was smiling. Nat was leaning into Brooks, dabbing her eyes. And Jonah was off to the side a little, hands in the pockets of his jacket, a faint smile on his face.
Axel raised a hand. “Now we can get this party started!”
Servers appeared, carrying trays of food and drinks. The string quartet left, and a DJ started playing from the dancefloor set up in one corner of the terrace. Behind them, they had a sparkling view of Las Vegas and the setting sun to the west.
Seth leaned down. “I love you, Mrs. 007.”
January laughed, full-bodied and with all of her energy. “Right back at you, Mr. 007.”
January finally realized what true, deep-to-the-bone happiness felt like.
She smiled as she watched her friends drinking, laughing, and dancing. Night had fallen, and the terrace glowed with lights from the Strip.
She wandered over to a table set up near the door. Seth had surprised her that morning with a large framed photograph of her mother that he’d organized with January’s aunt.
“She’d be so happy.”
January looked up and saw her aunt at her side.
“I know you were worried that this was sudden, and with the pregnancy—”
Her aunt linked her arm through January’s. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you, January. Like he can’t believe how lucky he is. That man, who I will admit is a little intense and frightening, loves you.”
“He does.” January automatically looked around and saw Seth across the terrace with Lachlan. God, the pair of them were handsome in their suits.
“And you him,” her aunt murmured, following her gaze.
“Completely.”
Then her aunt shivered. “At least he’s not quite as scary-looking as his boss.”
“Lachlan is good people,” January assured her.
“It sounds like they all are. Even if they are a little bit secretive about their military work.” Her aunt paused and smiled. “Happy?”
&
nbsp; “Happy.”
“And off to Tahiti for your honeymoon?”
January was excited. They had a full week away with no work, no phones, and definitely no bad guys. Just sun, sand, and her man.
She heard a sexy chuckle, and looked over to see Axel flirting with some of her archeology friends. But he soon abandoned them to join Blair and Callie on the dance floor. Smith was sitting at the bar, nursing what looked like bourbon.
She liked seeing Team 52 relax. She understood now just how dangerous their job could be, and how important it was. They were a crucial line of defense.
Rowan approached Lachlan, tugging on his hand and clearly trying to lure him onto the dance floor where Blair and Axel were now dancing up a storm. January looked back at Seth.
All hers. He was so damn handsome and looked mighty fine in his suit. Her own personal 007. She couldn’t wait to rip it off him.
Blair appeared, color in her cheeks. “Phew, I need a drink. Axel has some moves.”
Axel was now pulling a protesting Natalie onto the dance floor. Nat said something to him, her face filled with attitude. Undeterred, Axel’s grin just widened.
“Come on,” Blair said. “I’ll buy you a drink.”
“It’s an open bar.”
“Well, I guess you’re buying, then.”
Blair ordered herself a tequila shot and January a pineapple juice. Blair knocked the shot back.
“Are you tempted to fall in love, Blair?” January asked.
“If it happens—” The woman shrugged a bare shoulder, her unique eyes looking off into the distance. The light glinted off her silver prosthetic eye. “But I won’t compromise. I want the real deal.” She smiled at January. “I’m glad you found it, and I’m glad you give it to Seth. He’s a good man under the cool shell. And you guys are perfect for each other.”
January wrinkled her nose. “Unless we’re fighting.” Which they did. A lot.
Blair nodded. “And you both get off on it. Big time.” She winked. “And I bet the makeup sex is sensational.”
It was. Not that January was planning to share the details.
Callie hurried over, looking amazing in her shimmering, silver-gray dress. She was frowning. “Have you seen Kinsey? I never saw her arrive.”