KGI [7] Forged in Steele

by Maya Banks

  “Inside me. Please, Steele,” she panted. “I want you now. I’m so close and I want you inside me when I come.”

  “And I want to be inside you when you come. Tight like a fist around me and then when you get wet and silky? Never felt anything better,” he growled. “Want to see those eyes all cloudy with desire, those glasses perched so cute on your nose while you go wild for me. Only me.”

  He rose, gripping her knees and spreading her wide as he positioned himself over her. He thrust forward, planting himself deep on the first thrust. Her hands flew to his shoulders, her fingers digging in as ecstasy engulfed her. Rising, sharp, overwhelming.

  He began plunging, back and forth, hard and then harder still. Fast, forceful. His hips slapped against hers as his body came down over her. He covered her completely, his face buried in her neck as he continued to pump in and out of her. His teeth grazed her skin and then he sank his teeth gently into her neck, his tongue immediately soothing the love bite.

  “Not going to last,” he breathed. “You feel so damn good, Maren. I could do this forever.”

  She smiled dreamily as she ran her hands up and down the muscled wall of his back. She let them drift lower, feeling his buttocks rise and fall over her.

  “I could too,” she whispered. “You’re very good at it, Steele.”

  He chuckled against her neck and then kissed a path to her jaw before finally claiming her mouth again.

  “Come with me,” he whispered. “Let’s go together.”

  She closed her eyes and hugged him tightly to her. He slid his arms beneath her, holding her just as tightly to him. Tangled legs and arms, bodies joined, undulating. Hot, breathless. Kissing, gasping, soft sighs of pleasure.

  It all ran together in a hazy blur as her orgasm crashed over her. She felt suspended in air and then began to slowly drift downward, floating back down to the bed where she lay beneath him as his chest heaved against hers.

  “Steele?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Next time I want on top. I’ll even wear my glasses.”

  His body shook with laughter, and then he kissed her nose. “You got it.”

  CHAPTER 13

  MAREN was draped over Steele’s body, warm and lush, her soft breathing signaling she was sound asleep. He made no effort to move her. He liked the feel of her in his arms, covering his body like a blanket.

  He toyed with her hair, twining it around his fingers before gently tugging it away from her face so he could see her soft cheek. Her eyelashes rested against her skin, a shade darker than her light blond hair. She moved up and down with the rhythm of his own breathing and her legs were tangled with his.

  Gently, so as not to awaken her, he slid the glasses from her face and set them on the nightstand so she’d rest more comfortably.

  They’d finished their last bout of sex an hour earlier, and Maren had drifted into sleep after riding him long and hard. He’d loved every minute of having her atop him, head thrown back, hair flowing down her back, her breasts pushed forward so he could touch and taste. As promised, she’d left her glasses on, perched precariously on her cute nose while she fucked him senseless.

  God, he was losing it. Thinking about her cuteness. Her nose and glasses for Christ’s sake. He glanced down, watching as she slept deep. Secure. Like she knew she was protected, and she damn well was with him.

  He remained awake, though, savoring the still and quiet that had descended. And he liked having Maren in his bed. Or rather her bed. He leaned his head forward to press a kiss to the top of her head and left his lips there a long moment as he inhaled her scent.

  He was in deep shit.

  He didn’t have time to ponder that particular revelation because his sat phone went off.

  Goddamn it. Not now. Anytime but now.

  Maren stirred and lifted her head with a frown. “What’s that noise?”

  He sighed. “I have to take that. Sorry.”

  She started to slide off him but he rolled, gently setting her aside before he reached over her to where he’d put the phone on her nightstand.

  “This better be goddamn important,” he growled into the phone.

  “Steele, it’s Sam. Sorry, I know you’re taking downtime, but I need you for this. Rio and his team already drew a mission.”

  Steele’s lips tightened and he glanced sideways to where Maren was lying on her side, head propped in her hand as she silently watched him.

  “Give me the rundown,” Steele said.

  “How soon can you be here?” Sam asked. “Don’t have time to get into it now. I have more calls to make. Are you going to contact your team or do you want me to call them in?”

  “I’ll call them,” Steele said shortly. “I’ll be there in twelve hours.”

  He laid the phone aside and then turned to Maren. “I’m sorry. I have to go. Sam needs me.”

  She didn’t quite quell her disappointment. Her eyes dimmed even as she nodded her understanding. He wasn’t any happier about the interruption than she was.

  He leaned down, tucking one finger underneath her chin and lifting so her lips were even with his. He kissed her lingeringly, savoring the sensation of her soft mouth against his.

  “This isn’t finished,” he said. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Do you understand?”

  “Yeah,” she whispered. “Be careful, Steele. I’d rather you not come back because you need medical attention. I want you to come back because I’m irresistible.”

  He grinned. “I think that’s a safe bet, although if I end up hurt, I won’t turn down your medical expertise. You can kiss it and make it better.”

  “Deal,” she said.

  Though he knew he had to get moving if he was going to make it back to Tennessee when he’d said he would, he was reluctant to leave her bed. He hesitated, watching her, tempted to roll her back over and slide deep inside her.

  And then he thought, why not? He had no idea how long he’d be gone—and he had every intention of returning so they could address whatever it was between them—and there was always the chance, on any mission, that he wouldn’t make it back.

  He leaned into her, wrapping his arms around her and rolling until he was atop her. He made a grab for a condom, only to not find them where he’d left them.

  “It’s okay,” she whispered as she smoothed her hands over his face.

  Still, he hesitated. “Are you sure?”

  She nodded. “It’s been a long time for both of us. I’m clean. You’re clean.”

  “The idea of being inside you without a condom is right up there in my top three fantasies.”

  She laughed softly. “Well, since I’m pretty sure we’ve already knocked out the rest of your top five, you may as well take out the third. You’ll have to think of new fantasies while you’re gone so we can work on those when you get back.”

  He slid inside her and groaned as she went wet and silky around his cock. His jaw tightened as he fought off his impending release. Two seconds inside her and he was ready to erupt.

  He rested his forehead against hers, their breaths mingling. Then he kissed her softly as he held himself still inside her.

  “You make me want to do something I’ve never done before,” he admitted. “I’m tempted to call Sam back and tell him I can’t do it.”

  She stroked his jaw and then raised her lips to kiss him. “You’ll be back.”

  “Yeah. Count on it, Maren.”

  He began to move inside her, slow and leisurely. He wanted to prolong the moment, wanted to savor his last minutes with her before the real world intruded again.

  Her legs wrapped around him, trapping him against her, and her arms circled his shoulders, her fingers digging into his back.

  He kissed her again, their tongues colliding as he deepened the kiss.

  “I’m coming back,” he said in a strained voice. “Believe that, okay? I know I never said I’d be back that first time, but this isn’t over. We’re not finished. As soon as I wrap things up
, I’m heading back.”

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  Her eyes flared and her body tightened, suddenly going hot and wet around his cock. Her pussy fluttered and clenched him tighter as her orgasm rolled through her body into his. He thrust deeper, committing to memory just how good she felt without the barrier of latex. And he knew he’d never have her again with a condom. No way in hell he’d go back after experiencing her silky softness against his skin.

  He plunged inward again and then began thrusting hard and deep as his release swept over him, colliding with hers. They strained together, moving in rhythm, each reaching and desperate for the same thing.

  And then he collapsed on her, covering her completely as he tried to catch his breath.

  “Incredible,” he murmured. “I’m so damn sorry we didn’t have more time.”

  She kissed his shoulder and smoothed her hands over his back. “We’ll have time later.”

  He lifted himself off her and kissed her one last time. “Bet your ass we will. No force on earth is going to keep me from coming back to you.”

  CHAPTER 14

  MAREN stared at the fax machine as the results of the labs she’d couriered out began to print. She held her breath, nearly paralyzed with nervousness. Steele had departed three days earlier, and she hadn’t heard from him—not that she’d expected to. There was no telling just how long he’d be gone, and the very last thing she’d wanted to do when he was leaving on a mission was to tell him she might be pregnant with his child.

  She hadn’t wanted him to leave without knowing, but then she’d thought that he’d still be there when she got the test results back and she could tell him face to face. But telling him that kind of news, and that she didn’t even have confirmation yet, when he needed absolute focus and concentration wasn’t the right thing to do. How the hell was he supposed to concentrate when his mind was occupied with the knowledge that he might be a father? No, she couldn’t drop that kind of bomb on him, and now she was glad she hadn’t told him the minute he’d arrived because the result would have been the same. He would have had to go before she got the official results, and he’d be left wondering.

  Or maybe he would have actually told Sam he couldn’t go? It was a possibility, and one she would have never considered. His job was everything. It consumed his life. He’d admitted he was as married to his career as she was to hers.

  But now she was faced with the results, and she’d give anything for him to be here right now. It was selfish of her. Steele saved people. It was who he was, and he was important to KGI. But she wanted him here with her to face the news, whatever it was.

  The results were finished printing from the fax machine, but still, she stared down at the papers, hesitating as if they were a creepy bug about to bite her.

  “Quit being such a coward,” she muttered. “You knowing one way or another doesn’t change what is. If you’re pregnant, you need to know. If you’re not, then you still need to know.”

  After having an argument with herself, she snatched up the printouts and walked back to her desk. She placed the papers in front of her and then sat, taking a deep breath.

  She rifled through, looking for the name she’d put on her labs. She’d go back and read the other reports later. If she attempted to make sense of them now, she’d just have to do it all over again anyway. Her only focus was on knowing whether she was pregnant.

  Her pulse leapt when she got to her results and she quickly scanned, absorbing those few, life-changing words.

  Positive for pregnancy.

  She stared in shock, paralyzed by the revelation. Yes, she’d certainly known, suspected, that it was a good possibility. But somehow seeing it there in black and white burst her denial bubble. Maybe in the back of her mind she’d thought the results would come back negative and it all would have been a presumptuous fear on her part. But there it was. She was definitely pregnant and Steele was definitely going to be a father.

  Oh God. She was going to be a mother.

  She sat back in her chair and blew out a long breath. She cupped her hand over her still-flat belly and marveled that there was a tiny life growing inside her. And then, as if knowing the results had suddenly instigated her symptoms, she lurched for the wastepaper basket and emptied the contents of her stomach in a violent retch, her glasses falling down her nose and nearly into the trashcan.

  She stayed there, hanging over the basket for a long moment as she tried to catch her breath. Her stomach was in knots and nausea overwhelmed her. Her pulse was racing and sweat broke out on her forehead.

  When she was certain she wasn’t going to vomit anymore, she staggered out of her office and into the bathroom so she could wash out her mouth and splash cool water on her face. Then she caught her reflection in the mirror and winced at how pale she appeared.

  She braced her palms on the sink and closed her eyes. Pregnant. She was carrying Steele’s baby. No matter how many times she thought it or replayed those three little words on the lab results, she still couldn’t quite wrap her brain around it.

  It changed so much. It changed everything.

  Never mind the fact that Steele was not going to take this kind of news well. She wasn’t taking it well! She had a practice in Bumfuck, Costa Rica. It wasn’t an ideal place to have a baby. The nearest hospital was a two-hour drive over crappy roads. She had no access to good prenatal care. Not that she wasn’t fully capable of overseeing her own pregnancy, but she didn’t have things like a sonogram. Or access to sophisticated testing. She had the bare essentials. She sent off labs on her patients to a facility in San Jose, but for anything requiring immediate attention, she directed her patients to make the long drive to the hospital.

  What the hell was she going to do?

  There was also the fact that while she didn’t mind the dangers of having her practice in a rural area, it was not a place she’d want to have a baby in. She couldn’t very well devote all her time and energy to her patients if she had a newborn to care for.

  She walked back to her office in a daze, settling back into her chair. She took off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose between two fingers.

  This was completely unexpected. But that was what she got for playing with fire. And having sex with Steele was definitely playing with fire. It had been irresponsible and now they’d both pay the price.

  She cringed at the thought of laying this kind of news on him. She couldn’t imagine him taking it well at all. He was no better prepared for the responsibility of a baby with his line of work than she was with hers.

  How on earth were they supposed to be solid parents when he was off to parts unknown on dangerous missions and she was stuck in an isolated, rural section of Costa Rica providing free medical care for the locals?

  That was even assuming he’d want any sort of responsibility when it came to their child.

  She winced, knowing it was a shitty assumption on her part. Steele didn’t strike her as the kind of man who’d ever shy away from responsibility. He’d step up. She had no doubt about that. But she couldn’t see him being happy about it.

  He’d provide financial support, but she didn’t need that from him. She had an inheritance from her grandparents that she’d split with her brother, and her own parents provided generously whether it was medical equipment and supplies she needed or basic requirements like food and clothing.

  She could always move back to the United States and open a private practice, but the thought of that depressed her. She wasn’t cut out for it. With her upbringing, there had never been a question of her having a cushy office, making rounds at a hospital and scheduling time off for vacations. She’d known from the start that she wanted to be a doctor, and she wanted to follow in her parents’ footsteps by traveling the world and offering her services to those who wouldn’t otherwise have quality healthcare.

  But she was also practical, and she knew that with the news of her pregnancy came the knowledge that at least for the short term, her
plans would have to change. She’d do nothing that put her child at risk.

  Her priorities had changed in the blink of an eye. One night of burning-up-the-sheets hot sex had irrevocably altered the course of her life. And maybe Steele’s as well.

  She just hoped like hell he didn’t hate her for it. While she shared responsibility for her pregnancy, it certainly wasn’t entirely her fault. Whatever damn condoms he’d used were faulty!

  Or maybe he was such a badass that a condom couldn’t hold his little swimmers back.

  She laughed at that thought and wiped a hand over her face to relieve some of the tightness. Then she stared back down at the lab report and sighed.

  She was done for the day. Patients were long gone. And she still sat in her office as dusk descended, staring at a piece of paper that had upended her entire existence. What she needed was to go back to her cottage, fix herself a nice cup of hot tea and put her feet up.

  And then she had to hope that Steele wasn’t gone for weeks on whatever mission he’d been called up on. Now that the initial shock had worn off, her anxiety was through the roof. Steele needed to know so he could process whatever surprise he felt, and then they could work together to find the best solution for their child.

  Their child.

  She rubbed her belly again as awe set in. She was going to have a baby.

  No, it certainly wasn’t the way she’d planned it. Granted, she wasn’t getting any younger, but she’d always figured she’d find a nice guy, maybe even a doctor who shared her goals, settle down, get married and then have children. Much as her own parents had done. Then she and her husband could travel the world with their kids, showing them all the things she’d been shown as a child.

  Unfortunately none of that was going to happen now. She was doing it all backward.

  Still, the thought of a baby wasn’t an unwelcome one. It would definitely take time to process everything and come to terms with all the many ways her life would change. She smiled, already picturing a little boy or girl with blond hair and blue eyes.