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July 15
“She’s sleeping now,”Alex reassured Cal. They stopped just outside the dispensary. “Dr. Cooper was very good with Sky,” he added.
Nodding, Cal hesitated. “At least, with rest, she won’t lose the baby. That’s the best news. Will you go find Lauren? She was filling out paperwork and a report about us on being board this carrier. Let her know Sky’s condition?”
“Of course. Where are you going?”
“I’m staying with Sky.” He saw Alex smile and give him a sage nod of his head.
“That is the best medicine for healing Sky could have.”
Cal gripped Alex’s hand, shook it, and turned, making his way back into the dispensary. Dr. Melanie Cooper was just coming out of a private room where they had put Sky. She was a petite brunette with brown eyes, about forty years old. Cal noted she wore a wedding ring. The doctor’s hair was short and close cropped. She wore her spotless white lab coat and a pair of dark blue slacks. “Doc?”
“Yes?” She looked up from her paperwork she’d been filling out on her clipboard.
“If it’s all right with you, I’m staying with Sky.” Cal expected blow back, but the doctor just smiled a little.
“I’m surprised you even left her side at all, Mr. Sinclair.”
“I just don’t want hassle about it, Doc. Sky has been through hell. I want to be nearby in case she needs anything.”
Reaching out, Melanie said, “It’s not a problem. You’re not military, you are civilians. You’re not breaking any rules. She is your fiancé. So, stay with her. I’ll give the staff orders not to intrude unless you come out of her room and need something specific for Sky. We have a console in our main office that they can continuously monitor all her stats on.”
“I owe you one, Doc,” Cal murmured, giving her a brisk nod of thanks, and heading for the door to the private room. There was a soft light coming from the bathroom, otherwise it was nearly dark. Sky was laying on her side, almost in a fetal position, and it tore at Cal. He sat down in a nearby chair to remove his shoes. Dressed now in a bright red polo shirt, jeans, and socks, he moved to the hospital bed and laid down, easing his bulk so he spooned his body around her back and hips. She stirred as Cal quietly slid his arm beneath her pillow and neck, and then gently brought his other hand across her belly. Sky sighed but didn’t awaken. Cal was always humbled by her sensory abilities. She might be in an exhausted, deep sleep, but Sky knew he was here. The moment he lay his hand against her belly, she utterly relaxed. He saw the tightness of her skin across her cheekbones soften. Cal swore he saw a hint of blush across them too, but the light was bad, and he couldn’t tell for sure.
He felt exhaustion stalking him. He laid his head on her pillow, her blond hair tickling his nose as he nuzzled into it, inhaling her feminine scent. Smiling to himself, Cal closed his eyes. He was keeping her safe. Curving around Sky, he became a physical, protective barrier between her and the rest of the world that had been hunting her ruthlessly all her life. Well, now it would stop, Cal thought, gently moving his hand softly against her belly. With the elder Alexandrov dead, the Russian mafia in New York City would be thrown into chaos. There was sure to be a fight to see who became their new leader. But whoever it was wouldn’t care a fig about Sky Lambert. Last night, the predators that had hounded the woman he loved with his life had met their end. As he felt himself sinking into sleep, Cal understood a new chapter in their lives was about to be opened. He had no idea what it was or where it would take them. What he did know was that he’d be at Sky’s side. And he wasn’t ever going to leave her again.
Sky drowsily awoke, realizing she was in the delicious embrace of Cal’s arms. Her mind was sluggish, exhaustion still claiming her as she barely opened her eyes. She inhaled Cal’s male scent. She inhaled life and possibilities. His breathing was slow, and Sky knew he had to be as tired as she was, for different reasons. She remained quiet in his arms, her head on his shoulder, his moist breath flowing across her neck and cheek. Was this all a dream? Something that she manufactured because she so desperately needed Cal? Needed to be held by him? To feel safe once more? Without thinking, Sky moved her fingertips across his large hand that cupped her belly with such protective tenderness. She felt his roughened skin beneath her fingers and smiled, finally resting her palm over his heart. When she’d given up, lost all hope, he had rescued her. Guilt ate at her. She hadn’t kept her faith; she’d quit on him. Shame flowed through Sky. Closing her eyes, she replayed the attack and firefight.
At all times, Cal had placed himself between her and the danger. He’d have taken a bullet for her. He would have died for her. As the memories raced across Sky’s mind, she felt Cal awaken. It wasn’t that his body jerked or suddenly tensed. It was just a sense he was consciously here, with her. He shifted onto his back, lifting his arm, drawing her up beside him. Sky drowned in his gold and brown eyes that were barely open and studying her. Gone was that hard mask he almost always wore, his game face. In its place, she saw his vulnerability, despite the harsh life he’d lived. The feathered lines around his eyes told her of how much he’d been out in the harsh elements. The lines around his mouth spoke of someone who was serious most of the time. Yet, as she studied Cal’s full mouth, sculptured and beautiful to her, she saw the corners naturally lifted upward. That told her he laughed a lot. And how she longed to hear him laugh, the way he did in their cabin. She ached to be home right now. To hear the silence that was so calming to her sensitive state. To rock her baby within her body in that old rocking chair Cal had brought at an antique store years earlier. He’d placed it in their master bedroom, and she loved rocking in it. His mouth lazily curved, and he slid his fingers through her hair near her temple.
“What are you doing awake? Don’t you know you’re sleeping for two now?”
His gruff teasing made her feel better. His fingers made her scalp prickle pleasantly as he massaged the area. Cal knew what she liked. “I just woke up,” Sky offered, her voice hoarse and drowsy. The choke hold Alexandrov had placed upon her had bruised her windpipe, Dr. Cooper had told her. It should heal up in less than a week, and she’d have her own tone and voice back.
Cal stirred and stretched like a big cat, his socked feet hanging over the end of the bed. He leaned over, kissing her brow. Propping himself up on his elbow, he allowed Sky more of the bed so she could lay on her back, looking up at him. Cal stroked her cheek, feeling a ton of emotions suddenly churning and boiling up through him. “I never stopped looking for you, Sky,” he began, his voice low and unsteady. “Lauren, Jack, Alex, and I, along with a lot of active-duty SEALs, were combing the world to find where you had been taken.” He saw her brow wrinkle. “It took us three and a half weeks to piece all the scraps of intel together. And if it weren’t for Alex’s input, we’d never have considered Costa Rica as a hiding place where Alexandrov had you imprisoned.”
Nodding, Sky closed her eyes, simply absorbing Cal’s tender touch, his calloused fingers moving from her cheek down to her chin. “I understand,” she whispered unsteadily. Looking up at him, she felt his finger move beneath her chin and gently lift her mouth closer to his so he could kiss her. Nothing felt so right as this moment for Sky. She strained upward, wanting desperately to kiss this man who had saved her, who had been her shield. His mouth tenderly bushed her lips. Sky made a soft sound in her throat, wanting more, wanting Cal. She wasn’t disappointed as his mouth curved against hers, rocking her lips open, sliding against her, luxuriating in her softness. Sky rested her hand against the stubble of Cal’s cheek, fingertips tingling in the wake as she stroked his hard jaw. Everything about him was blatantly male. Hard. Angular. Stubborn. Animal sensual.
Sky felt his mouth leave hers wet and aching for more. Cal smiled down at her, framing her cheek with his palm.
“Welcome home, sweetheart. You’re right where you belong.”
The words were emotional, vulnerable, and honest. It made Sky reel internally, the power of Cal’s love she saw mirrored in his face, heard in his unsteady voice. His eyes were alive with gold and umber, telling her how much he desired her. How much she knew he loved her. “I love you so much, Cal… so much…” and Sky’s voice caught, tears blurring his face momentarily.
“I know you love me.”
Cal was so confident. Knew himself so well. Knew her equally well. “With my heart. With my soul,” she whispered brokenly.
“Now, you’re carrying our baby. Loving her or him. When I hold you, I’m holding that little tyke, too.”
Sky nodded, overwhelmed with so many emotions, good and bad. “When Yerik told me I was pregnant after Dr. Zapata examined me, I didn’t believe him at first. But as I looked at my symptoms, I knew he was right.” Sky swallowed hard. “Cal, I was never so happy or so terrified.”
“Happy for us? Terrified of what he was going to do to you?” Cal saw pain come to her eyes. “Dr. Zapata told us that he was going to force you to abort your baby,” he explained quietly.
“Y-yes. And I lived in a special hell, Cal. I wanted to fight to save our baby.”
“Dr. Zapata was put into an untenable position, just like you.” Cal told her what Alexandrov had done to force the doctor to do the unthinkable: to abort Sky’s baby in order to save her own kidnapped children’s lives. He saw instant understanding come to Sky’s eyes.
