by L. A. Casey
I couldn’t help it, I laughed.
“What’s so damn funny?” Kane snapped.
“You,” I said still laughing. “You’re such a prick and so very predictable that it’s funny.”
“You should really—Hey! Kane! Let go of—”
I widened my eyes when my front door slammed and Kane was the one who shut it... in Keela’s face. He was going to die when she got her hands on him.
“You’re dead Kane Slater, do you hear me? D.E.A.D!”
Kane snorted as he flipped the lock on my door. “Whatever you say, short stuff.”
Keela screeched and smacked at my front door with her hands. “I’m gettin’ Alec and Nico and comin’ right back here to get you!”
“Good luck.”
I shook my head. “What was the point of that? I’ll just ignore you and when Keela gets her hands on you, she’ll kill you.”
“I’m not worried about Keela Daley, babydoll.”
You should be.
“Kane, I’ve been a wreck all day thinkin’ about this mornin’. I’m tired. I just want to go to bed and not wake up until Monday.”
I stood up and made a move to walk towards the narrow hallway that lead to my bedroom, but Kane stood at his full height in front of me and showed no signs of moving.
“Will you at least look at me?”
I grunted, “No, just get out of me way.”
“No.”
I growled, “Kane.”
“Aideen,” he calmly replied.
I balled my hands into fists. “You’re makin’ me mad on purpose. Just move.”
“Not until you hear me out.”
I threw my hands up in the air and turned my back to him. “There is nothin’ to hear out. You’re a pig just like your brothers, and just like me own brothers. You don’t respect me—”
“Bull-fucking-shit. I respect the hell out of you.”
I humourlessly laughed, “Is that why we always argue and fight with one another? Your respect for me requires that?”
“We argue because it’s just what we do. It’s our foreplay.”
I gasped, “Foreplay? You have got to be jokin’ me.”
I held my breath when Kane gripped my arm and turned me to face him. “I’m not kidding. You know good and well why we fight so much.”
“Nope, you’ll have to enlighten me.”
Kane growled, “It’s because you want me just as much as I want you.”
Sex.
It was always about sex.
“Sex with you just results in pregnancy. I’d rather be celibate, thank you very much.”
Kane placed his fingers under my chin and lifted my head until I looked at his face. My eyes zeroed in on his bruised jaw and black eye.
“Sex with me doesn’t usually result in pregnancy. I lost focus that night. There is just something about you. I couldn’t think about anything but being inside you.”
How often was he going to bring that bloody night up?
I gritted my teeth when I felt my cheeks heat up. “It was a moment of stupidity.”
Kane glared at me. “It was a long ass moment that was repeated three times in the space of a few hours.”
I turned my head away from him. “We talked about this, it is not happenin’ again. We have bigger problems than arguin’, sex, or even fightin’. I’m pregnant with your baby, Kane. This is serious.”
His face hardened. “I know damn well this is serious. Do you think I’d be here if I didn’t know that?”
I shook my head. “You’re here because you hit me this mornin’ and you feel bad about it.”
Kane’s eyes flicked down to my still swollen cheek that now had an array of dark colours on it. He lifted his hand and gently brushed his fingers over the tender area. I winced a little and it caused him to frown.
He lifted his other arm, cupped my face with both of his hands, and lowered his head down to mine. I froze because I wasn’t sure what he was doing.
“Kane?”
He swallowed. “I’m so sorry.”
I blinked. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not,” he instantly replied. “I’ve never laid a hand on a woman in my life, and to hurt the woman carrying my baby... it makes me sick with myself.”
Oh, God.
“Look, I’m more pissed about the fight you got in with me brother than gettin’ a knock from you. You didn’t mean to hit me. It was me own fault for tryin’ to stop you and James.”
Kane lowered his hands away from my face and lifted his head. “That still doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“If you’re goin’ to feel like shite, then feel like it because you almost killed me brother.”
Kane rolled his bright blue eyes. “He hit me first.”
“So? You couldn’t be the bigger man and back off?”
Kane grunted, “He was gunning to hurt me, Aideen.”
“He doesn’t like you, and he found out you fathered me unborn child, it’s not like it was completely unreasonable.”
“I don’t like him either, but do you see me attacking him or any of your other brothers when I see them?”
It was a rhetorical question so I stayed mute.
“You’re silent because you know I’m right,” he huffed.
“Maybe so, but it still doesn’t change anythin’. You really hurt James, Kane.”
“He hurt me too, Aideen. Do I not matter?” Kane snapped.
“That’s not fair.” I frowned. “You do matter; you’re the father of—”
“I only matter because I’m the kid’s father?”
Uh.
“Please, I don’t want to do this.”
“Tough shit,” Kane snarled, “because I do.”
Here we go.
“Before yesterday I was just a woman you could barely tolerate. Stop tryin’ to make it out to be more just because I’m growin’ your kid. You pretty much hate me, Kane.”
Kane lifted his hands up to his head, ran them through his hair, then turned and walked over to the window in my sitting room. He placed his hands on the windowsill and stared through the pane of glass. “Before yesterday you were a woman I could barely tolerate, and today you’re a woman I can still barely tolerate, but that’s not all. You’re also a woman who gives me daily life-saving injections. Do you think I would let someone who I hate jab me?”
I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing.
“What?” Kane asked as he turned to face me. “No smartass reply?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Give me a second, I’ll think of somethin’.”
Kane lightly shook his head. “I don’t hate you, and I know you don’t hate me. We aren’t friends, not even close, but we are closer than we were before I found out I had diabetes. That has to count for somethin’, right?”
“Yeah, it does,” I said then widened my eyes when I thought of his diabetes. “Your second injection!”
I had given him his first injection this morning before we went to my father’s house, but I never gave him his second.
Kane held up his hands. “It’s okay, I have my kit with me.”
I noticed then that he was paler than I would have liked and it made me mad at myself. I took on giving his injection to him as a responsibility and I flaked on him.
“I’m so sorry, I forgot—”
“Hey,” Kane cut me off. “You have a lot on your mind—don’t worry about me.”
“I can’t help it,” I murmured, then widened my eyes because I didn’t mean to say it out loud.
He raised an eyebrow at me. “You can’t help but worry about me?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I sometimes wonder what will happen if you don’t get your injections on time or if you have to wait a day or two for them.”
Kane blinked at me. “That’s kind of nice.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Freakin’ meself out is nice?”
He snorted, “No, but that you freak out over something to do with me is nice. You never usually worry ab
out me.”
I pointed at my stomach. “That all changed yesterday.”
Kane’s eyes dropped to my belly. “Everything changed yesterday.”
“Yep.”
He looked up at me then looked around my apartment. “It’s small here.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I’m aware of that. It’s one bedroom because it’s just me, but now that it’s not going to be just me, I’ll have to figure somethin’ out. I’ll find somewhere bigger that’s within me budget.”
Kane stretched his neck. “Or you could just move into my place. That’s still an option. We have three bedrooms that no one is using now that Dominic, Damien, and Alec don’t live there anymore.”
I shook my head. “We’re civil today, Kane. That could change tomorrow. I don’t think makin’ such a huge decision right now is a wise choice.”
Kane shrugged his shoulders. “Well, the offer is on the table. Take me up on it whenever you want.”
I wouldn’t.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Kane nodded his head then reached down and took out a black pouch from his pocket. I walked over to him and held my hand out. He gave me his insulin kit and got to work at unbuttoning his trousers.
I gasped, “Wait!”
Kane’s fingers froze on his zipper. “What?”
I grunted. “I’m on the second floor; people can see in me windows.”
Kane looked at both of my windows and snorted, “They probably would be happy to see me with my pants down.”
I rolled my eyes. “Then get one of them to be up close and personal to you in all your trouserless glory.”
Kane laughed as I walked over to my window and drew my curtains. Before I closed them, I noticed there were no cars in front of my building and it made me smile.
“Keela went to get Alec and Nico like she promised.”
I turned to face Kane when he laughed. “Come on, babydoll. My brothers knew I wouldn’t leave here without seeing you. They’re prepared to deal with Keela.”
“Even a pissed off Keela?” I asked.
Kane smirked. “Especially a pissed off Keela.”
I shook my head. “You’re sentencin’ yourself to death.”
“I can deal with Keela Daley, trust me.”
What a stupid lad.
“Whatever you say, Kane,” I chuckled and opened up the insulin kit in my hand. I tested his blood sugar first with the glucose meter and when I got the result, I adjusted the pen with the correct dosage of insulin. I then kneeled before Kane and looked up at him and said, “Close your eyes.”
He shook his head. “I’ll just keep my eyes on you and not your hands.”
“Um, okay,” I murmured feeling unsure why he wanted to watch me. Whatever, it kept him calm and at ease and made this task go by quicker.
I uncapped the insulin pen, reached in and pinched a fatty part of Kane’s inner thigh and went in. I pushed the needle tip into his skin then pressed the injector button on the pen and delivered the insulin into his body.
After ten seconds I withdrew the needle, recapped the pen and popped it back into the insulin kit. “Give the kit to Branna when you get back home. Tell her to change the needle and to put it into the yellow bucket. Fresh needles are in the top press and she just has to click it into the pen. Easy peasy.”
When Kane said nothing, I looked up at him and flinched a little when I found him looking at me.
“What?”
He licked his lips. “I always want to kiss you after you do this for me.”
Oh.
I got to my feet and busied myself with zipping up the insulin kit. “Don’t forget to tell Branna what I just told you.”
“Aideen.”
I walked over to my front door. “Make sure she knows to change out the needle. It’s very important.”
“Aideen.”
I opened the door. “I don’t want a used needle to give you an infection—”
“Aideen!”
I jumped. “What?”
Kane buttoned up his trousers as he walked towards me. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
I looked away from him. “I know, but I just don’t think any talk of kissin’ or sex is good around us. We have more important things to focus on, right?”
I wasn’t looking at Kane’s face, but I could imagine his jaw set as he said, “Whatever you say, babydoll.”
I sighed, “Okay, so... just come by tomorrow for your injections. I’ve a bunch of things to figure out before I go back to work on Monday.”
“Fine.”
I heard a rapid pace of footsteps storm down the hallway outside my apartment just as Kane stepped outside. I jumped back when, out of nowhere, Keela dived onto his back.
“I told you I’d be back!” she bellowed.
Kane swung around and wheezed when Keela’s arm locked around his neck. “Can’t... breathe.”
More footsteps sounded then.
“Damn it, Keela!” Alec’s voice snapped. “Get off him.”
“Since when can she run so fast?” Nico’s voice rasped. “She is like a fucking bullet.”
I stood and watched Kane swing around with Keela still on his back. Alec pulled at Keela but she didn’t break her hold. Nico shook his head and put his hands under her armpits and tickled her. I think she was off Kane and in Nico’s arms in less than a second.
“You fucker!” Keela snapped at Nico then shivered and locked her arms at her sides so he couldn’t tickle her again.
“I was leaving!” Kane snapped and rubbed at his neck.
Keela looked at me when Nico sat her on the ground. “Are you okay?”
I nodded my head. “Yeah... b-but can you stay tonight? I don’t really want to be on me own.”
“Of course. I have me overnight bag in the car,” she said and looked at Alec. “Will you grab it for me, please?”
“Apologise to Kane first.”
Keela snarled at Kane, “Trick me again and I’ll kill you for real.”
Alec rolled his eyes. “Close enough, I’ll be right back.”
I couldn’t help but snort as Alec walked down the hallway. I looked to Nico and found him looking at my cheek. I waved him off. “It’s fine.”
“It’s bruised and a little swollen.”
“So is your face, and Kane’s.”
“We’re fine though.”
“So am I.”
I felt Kane look at me then so I again waved Nico off. “Honestly, it’s okay. It was an accident.”
Nico smiled at me. “You can tell him that all you like but he will still feel like crap for causing it.”
I frowned. “And you know that because?”
“Because I accidentally hit Bronagh during a fight with Jason Bane a few days after I first met her. And even though I didn’t mean to do it, I still feel like shit when I think about it, and it’s been years since it happened. I won’t ever forgive myself for hurting her.”
I didn’t know why, but I thought that was really sweet.
I looked from Nico to Kane. “I’m really okay. Trust me on that, please?”
He nodded his head, but I could see he still felt bad about the bruise.
I looked back at Nico when he laughed, “Told you so.”
I rolled my eyes. “When he sees me in labour it will overshadow some stupid bruise. When I’m screaming in pain, you can feel bad and be fully aware that you’re the cause of it.”
“Jesus, Aideen,” Kane groaned. “You were on top of me the majority of the time so technically speaking you brought this upon yourself—”
“Don’t finish that sentence, you won’t live to see the birth of your child if you do,” Keela said and held her hands up in warning.
We all laughed at her.
“Have a boy,” Nico said to me, his tone dead serious.
I laughed, “It doesn’t work like that, sweetie.”
“Just keep thinking of the baby being a boy and he will be.”
I laughed, “Okay, I’ll do that for you.”
Nico smiled happily.
Keela nudged him. “When Bronagh eventually gets pregnant, you both might have twin girls since you’re a twin.”
Nico grabbed his chest. “Don’t wish that upon me, I can’t have one girl let alone two.”
“Why not?” I giggled and leaned against my door frame.
Nico gave me a duh look. “You’ve seen Bronagh, she’s stunningly beautiful. Any girls she’d have would take after her and I cannot live my life fighting off every stupid boy that sniffs around my girls. I feel sick just thinking about it.”
I smiled. “Not all teenage boys are creepers.”
“No, but I know what all teenage boys think about. It’s all I could think about when I first met Bronagh. It’s all I still think about and I’m a grown man so yeah, I want boys, not girls. All boys. Ten of them.”
Kane groaned and looked up at the ceiling. “Please God, I don’t want any of what Dominic just said. Please bless me with a boy. Please.”
Myself and Keela fell around laughing.
“I want a girl just to torture you,” I said to Kane.
He growled at me, “She-devil.”
I laughed so hard I gave myself a stitch.
“Stop,” I wheezed. “I’ll wet meself.”
Kane smiled at me. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? Please don’t worry about things—it really will be okay. I promise.”
I felt the other two look at me, but I focused on Kane and said, “I’m holdin’ you to that promise.”
And I did.
8 weeks later...
“Make sure you get the DVD, Aideen. Pregnant or not, I’ll kick your arse if you don’t. I want to see me niece in all her 4D glory.”
I saluted my oddly aggressive best friend. “I’ve got this, Kay. Trust me.”
Keela nodded her head to me once and then switched her gaze to Kane. That was when her eyes narrowed and her hands balled into fists.
Uh-oh.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Kane said to her, his tone firm. “You went to the first big appointment, the rest are mine.”
He sounded manly, but really he was being a bitch because he wouldn’t look at Keela directly in the eye when he spoke to her.
“Don’t talk to me, you,” she growled.
I wanted to smile, but I knew better so I didn’t.