by Maya Banks
He’d been very clear that he was having sex with her to get her out of his system. It didn’t get less romantic than that.
“Take care of yourself, Maren,” he said.
“Always,” she said, echoing his cocky response.
He touched her cheek and then rose as she pulled the sheets higher up her body. He looked down at her a long moment and then his lips firmed, almost as if he were resolving to leave. Then he turned and strode out of her bedroom. In the distance she heard her door open and close and then silence descended until she could hear every creak, every little noise outside her windows.
She closed her eyes and rolled into the space Steele had occupied. It was still warm from his body heat. It still smelled of him. She buried her face in the pillow where he’d rested his head and inhaled deeply.
It had been the best and worst night of her life.
The best in that she’d never had sex with a man who equaled Steele. She never would.
The worst in that it only clearly outlined everything she’d never have.
Sometimes it was better not to ever live the fantasy. Because when reality descended, it outlined in stark detail just how much the real world sucked. The whole adage about how it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all?
Complete BS.
In this regard, it was likely far better to have never had scorching-the-sheets sex with Steele than to have had it, tasted it and know she’d never have it again.
She closed her eyes, knowing she really needed to get up, shower and head to the clinic. The locals would be stirring and waiting for her to open. She faced another day just like all the other days. Illness, broken bones, minor injuries, checkups and cuts and wounds to stitch.
Another day in paradise.
The problem with that was that she’d spent the night in paradise. Now she faced the drudgery of her normal life. And now that she’d had a taste of utter perfection, the reality waiting for her was depressing as hell.
CHAPTER 7
THE KGI teams, all three of them, gathered in the war room of the Kelly compound for the post-mission report. Now that Christina Westlake had been delivered safely to her family and his own team had gotten the care they needed, Sam had called a meeting to get the rundown on the clusterfuck that was the extrication of Christina Westlake from the hands of Matteo Garza. Ten days had passed, but the mission still occupied Steele’s thoughts, and not because it hadn’t gone exactly as planned. It had everything to do with Maren and the unforgettable night they’d spent together.
Using that night to get her out of his system? Hell, she was further under his skin than ever. He couldn’t sleep, because she was there as soon as he closed his eyes. Her scent, the way she’d felt against him. The way it had felt when he’d slid into the tight clasp of her body.
He shook off thoughts of her—she was more of a distraction than ever—and took in the other occupants of the room. He surveyed the newest team with a keen eye. He had a lot invested in them. He’d been responsible for the majority of their training while his team had been on “administrative leave” for several months.
They were good. They had a long way to go, but they were led by the youngest of the Kelly brothers, Joe and Nathan. Twins who’d served in the army until recently. Both had been discharged under less-than-ideal conditions. Joe had been injured but had returned home to heal. Nathan, however, had been kept a prisoner and tortured for months. His journey home had taken much longer and had come about in a highly unorthodox—and unbelievable—manner. Shea—now his wife—was a telepathic empath who’d reached out to him in his darkest hour and had saved him. Literally.
It was still hard for Steele to wrap his head around, but he’d witnessed the extraordinary abilities of Shea firsthand. He knew it wasn’t bullshit. Just as he’d witnessed her sister Grace’s amazing healing abilities.
The Kellys attracted all kinds, but they were good people. The very best. Steele wouldn’t work for them otherwise.
He stared at the two newest recruits, Skylar Watkins and Zane “Edge” Edgerton. They, along with Nathan and Joe Kelly and Swanson, or “Swanny” as he was called, all made up the third KGI team.
Steele led his team, and the other team belonged to Rio. It was an adjustment to have another team that shared missions with them. Steele wasn’t altogether sure he liked it. True, KGI was now able to take more missions than before, now that they had the extra team, but Steele was reserving judgment until he knew how much the new team was going to infringe on his team’s action.
Steele didn’t have a family to spend down time with. He had no wife. No loved ones. When he wasn’t on a mission, he retreated to his farmhouse. Until P.J. and Cole had hooked up, his team hadn’t had outside emotional ties either. They spent time with family, but for the most part, the team was their family. It was what made them perfect for the team. Their first loyalty was to KGI and to one another. Having no emotional baggage enabled them to give one hundred percent to their clients.
Already Steele sensed a deep thread of camaraderie within the new team. They were close knit. They’d trained together sixteen hours a day in the beginning. By the end, they were spending every hour of every day together. Steele firmly believed in the mantra Live and die by the team. It was something he had pounded into every one of his team members and a philosophy he’d tried to enforce on the new team as well. By the looks of it, he’d at least been partly successful.
Giving a nod of satisfaction to Sam Kelly, who was also eyeing the newest team, Steele relaxed and leaned back against the wall as he waited for the meeting to begin. Already he was plotting his escape to his home, where he could enjoy peace and solitude.
Thoughts of Maren invaded again, and his lips tightened. So maybe having sex with her hadn’t been the best idea. In the back of his mind, he’d known that once wouldn’t be enough, but he’d reached the point of desperation. He couldn’t function for thinking about her. Once it had become apparent his team needed to stop in for medical care, he’d been consumed with images of her. Of him being inside her. Of what she’d look like naked. Of how she’d taste.
God, he could still taste and smell her.
Oh, he could have gone elsewhere for medical treatment. He could have flown stateside with his team and had the girl taken care of on U.S. soil. Her parents would have likely preferred that option over waiting another day before they saw their daughter safe and sound.
But Steele had seized the opportunity to finally address the attraction between them. He hadn’t known whether it was reciprocated, but he’d been determined to lay it out and get her into his bed. Or rather her bed. It was stupid to think having sex with her once would actually satisfy him and get her out of his head. He’d thought of little else ever since crawling out of her warm bed several days before. Thank God she was thousands of miles away and not readily accessible or he’d likely be on her doorstep the minute he got out of this damn meeting.
He had to get it under control. This obsession sucked. He prided himself on having iron control. Being cool and unflappable in any circumstance. He damn sure hadn’t been in control when he’d finally gotten her naked. He’d acted like an eager rookie seeing action for the first time.
He shook his head, cursing his inability to focus on the matter at hand.
“Steele?”
He looked up to see the others staring at him. Sam had a peculiar look on his face, and it was then Steele realized the meeting had long since started and Sam was evidently waiting on his report.
Fuck.
“You with us?” Garrett Kelly asked dryly.
Steele bit back the urge to tell him to fuck off and cleared his throat instead.
“Where are we?” he asked calmly, ignoring the surprised looks from his own team, much less the looks from the rest of the assembled members of KGI.
Donovan arched one eyebrow. “We were waiting for your rundown of the mission.”
“Not much to tell. We went in, got the
girl, we got out.”
“And the dead bodies?” Garrett asked pointedly.
“Collateral damage,” Steele replied. “It was unavoidable. Garza got stupid. It was either him or one of us. We gave him every opportunity to stand down. I was clear that all we wanted was the girl. He was equally clear that he didn’t give a shit about her. That should have been the end, but his ego took a hit because we made him and his security look like amateurs. He pulled a gun. Dolphin had no choice but to fire.”
“And the girl?” Sam prompted. “How did she end up with a bullet wound?”
Steele’s eyes narrowed at the question.
“She threw herself in front of Garza. Winged her but hit Garza.”
Dolphin nodded and started to speak up, but Steele silenced him with a look. Steele was responsible for the mission. He was responsible for his team. He and only he answered to the Kellys.
Sam sighed. “Her parents are thrilled with her safe return, but they’re less than thrilled over the fact that their daughter got shot by the people charged with her extrication.”
Steele shrugged. “She’s alive.”
Donovan bit back a chuckle. “That’s true enough.”
Garrett nodded. “Considering the situation, we’re damn lucky she didn’t get killed. I’m satisfied with the mission and the results.”
Steele lifted an eyebrow in Garrett’s direction. “Was there any doubt?”
“No,” Sam broke in. “I just wanted your side. Her parents have asked for a full report and I wouldn’t provide one, or an explanation as to how their daughter was injured, until I heard directly from you. As far as I’m concerned it was a righteous mission and it was successful. But I also wanted to be able to provide her parents with in-depth details so they know what kind of man their daughter was mixed up with. Maybe she’ll make better choices in the future once she realizes Garza didn’t give a shit about her or whether she took a bullet for him.”
Garrett snorted. “Not likely.”
Sam glanced Steele’s way again. “You up for training team three a few more weeks? Our schedule is clear for the next while, and I wanted to take advantage. Rio is heading back to Belize for some R and R.”
Reading between the lines, Rio was going back to his wife, Grace, and their adopted daughter Elizabeth, and he’d be off the grid for a while. Which meant Steele pulled training duty. Again.
“As long as the rest of my team gets some time off,” Steele said.
The frowns on his team members’ faces told Steele they weren’t happy with his directive, but he also knew they could use some more downtime. Cole and P.J. were newly married and still working through some heavy shit. He’d never offer P.J. disrespect by saying it in front of the others, but she needed more time to focus on her healing and her relationship with Cole. A happy, well-adjusted team meant a more focused, competent team, and in their line of work, they couldn’t afford fuckups.
The rest of his team could use the downtime as well. They were a tight-knit group and Baker, Renshaw and Dolphin had taken the shit that had gone down with P.J. hard.
Sam nodded. “Done. Time off. Next mission will be drawn by Rio and his team unless we get something on the fly in the next few weeks, and then, depending on what the situation is, Nathan and Joe can take the assignment with either you or one of us as team lead.”
Steele nodded. Though Sam, Garrett and Donovan didn’t officially lead any of the teams, they’d taken the lead plenty of times, often taking missions with Steele and his team or Rio and his. With the addition of the new team, it was doubtful Sam would send them off on their own for some time. Which meant the oldest Kelly brothers would head the newest team on any missions they were assigned.
“We can help with training,” P.J. spoke up, a frown knitting her brows. “We’ve had enough downtime.”
Cole slid an arm around her in support as he looked in Steele’s direction. “You haven’t had any downtime, boss man. The rest of us have. We could help with training while you take some R and R.”
Steele shook his head. “Training is downtime. You don’t get a choice in this. You’re off work until I say differently.”
P.J. rolled her eyes, but there was something else there when she looked at Steele. Gratitude. Loyalty. And shadows still lurked in their depths. Steele wanted those gone. It would take a while. It wouldn’t happen overnight. But he worried about P.J. Even as he understood what she needed most was normalcy. A routine. Working with her team. That was the best medicine. But even the best medicine had to be given in moderation.
“Take a few weeks off,” Steele said. “We just came off a mission. You’re due. I don’t want to see any of you until I call you up again. We clear?”
Dolphin grinned. “Yes, your almightiness. We’ll bug out and get out of your hair.”
“Thank fuck,” Steele muttered.
“Good God, the man is cracking jokes again,” Renshaw said in horror. “What’s this world coming to?”
“If we’re done, I’m bugging out. Got a flight to catch,” Rio said, speaking for the first time. But then that was Rio. Quiet. Reserved. His entire team kept to themselves, quiet and moody just like him. The rest of KGI often joked that Rio and his team were cave dwellers. But Steele could definitely see the positives in that. Everyone had their own version of their caves. Steele’s just happened to be his farmhouse on his hundred-acre spread not far from the KGI compound.
It paid to stick close. It was a bitch having to fly in every time they pulled a mission. It was why he’d bought the acreage in Tennessee. He could have his solitude but never be far from the action. Now that P.J. had married Cole, they lived at Cole’s place just a thirty-minute drive from the compound.
“Give Grace and Elizabeth our love,” Donovan said to Rio.
“And Shea wants to know when you’re bringing Grace for a visit,” Nathan interjected. “She’s been hounding me for days.”
Rio smiled in Nathan’s direction. “Tell her soon. I want some time with them before I share her with the rest of her family.”
Nathan nodded. “I’ll let her know.”
They were interrupted by a cell phone going off. Everyone glanced around, but it was Ethan who scrambled for his phone. Usually they left their phones off during meetings and mission report, but Ethan’s wife, Rachel, was expecting twins, and Steele recognized the ringtone as being hers.
Ignoring everyone else around him, Ethan picked up the phone and stuck it to his ear.
“Everything okay, baby?”
He went silent and then his eyes widened.
“Holy shit. Okay, stay calm. I’ll be right there.”
Ethan disconnected the call and everyone stared expectantly at him.
“That was Rachel,” he said unnecessarily. It wasn’t like the big man called anyone else baby. It fascinated Steele how such big, badass men dissolved into putty around the women they loved. Four of the Kelly brothers had married and so had Rio. Dolphin and Renshaw had a betting pool as to who the next victim would be and who would fall head over ass in love next.
Steele let them have their fun just as long as his damn name wasn’t in the running. He didn’t begrudge the others their happiness if that was what did it for them. But he wasn’t in a hurry to make himself vulnerable by handing over his balls to a woman like so many members of KGI had already done. No thanks.
“Everything okay?” Garrett asked in concern.
Ethan took a deep breath and ran a shaking hand through his short-cropped hair. “Yes. No. Hell, I don’t know. Rachel’s in labor. She thinks it’s the real thing.”
Sam frowned. “I thought she was scheduled for a C- section next week? They aren’t going to let her deliver, right? Aren’t the babies still breech?”
“Uh, yeah,” Ethan muttered. “Tell them that, though. I gotta split. She’s at the house and I need to get her to the hospital.”
“Better let me drive you,” Donovan said, putting a hand on his younger brother’s shoulder. “You’re s
haking like a leaf. Wouldn’t want you to end up in a ditch and having to deliver the babies yourself!”
Ethan paled. “Uh, yeah, maybe that’s a good idea.”
CHAPTER 8
THREE hours later Steele found himself standing in the crowded maternity waiting room with not only the rest of the Kelly family but also most of KGI as well. All waiting anxiously for the newest arrivals into the Kelly fold.
Excitement and an air of expectancy permeated the entire waiting area. Marlene and Frank Kelly were present, as was Rusty, the youngest Kelly adoptee into the family. She was home for the summer between her freshman and sophomore years of college and was currently helping out in Frank’s hardware store.
Even Sean, the local sheriff’s deputy and also an honorary member of the Kelly family, was in attendance. Tension was thick. Garrett was pacing as Sarah stood to the side, hands twisted in front of her. Sam sat with Sophie while Donovan distracted and teased their daughter, Charlotte. Nathan and his wife, Shea, sat off to the side while Joe, Swanny, P.J., Cole, Dolphin, Renshaw and Baker all sat on the floor against the wall. There were people everywhere. Far too many. Steele was itching to be gone, but he waited, just like the others, for news of the twins’ safe delivery.
This was a day long awaited by all of the Kellys. Rachel had been the first to marry into the Kelly family. She and Ethan had traveled a long, winding road back to one another. Rachel occupied a special place in all their hearts, and that extended to the teams as well. They’d all gone on the mission to rescue Rachel after it was discovered she was alive and held prisoner after everyone—including Ethan—had believed her dead an entire year.
Even if Steele was uncomfortable in this environment, surrounded by happy, rejoicing people who had an unbreakable bond, he wanted to show his support. KGI was his family. He was loyal to them above and beyond just being people he worked for. And he wanted to support Rachel. One of the strongest, most loving women he’d ever met. He had a hell of a lot of respect for her. And he’d go to the wall for her—and any Kelly who ever needed his help.