Maya Banks - Forged in Steele

“Shhhh, don’t say that. You’re not to blame for that maniac’s doings. And he’s gone now. He can’t ever hurt you again.”

“When can I see Dad?” Maren asked anxiously.

Diana smiled ruefully. “If he has his way, he’ll be here as soon as humanly possible. He’s had the entire floor in an uproar. You know him. He’s a terrible patient. He’s telling the nurses how to do their job. Ever the doctor. He questioned the credentials of the doctor in charge of your care. He wanted only the best. He’s bruised and banged up, but nothing serious. No broken bones. Nothing that won’t heal in a week or so.”

“Thank God,” Maren whispered fervently. “I love you, Mom. I’ve missed you so much.”

Diana squeezed her again. “Your young man has sat at your bedside when he very much needs to be in a hospital bed himself. He’s in far worse shape than your father and they’ve admitted him. But Steele refused anything beyond cursory treatment in the ER because he couldn’t wait to get to you.”

Maren looked beyond her mother and found Steele’s gaze, love and a watery sheen shining in her eyes.

“He’s a good man,” Diana said. “You chose well, Maren. He’ll protect you and your child with his life. A mother can’t ask for more than that for her daughter.”

“I know,” Maren said softly, her gaze still locked with Steele’s.

Diana pulled away and then glanced at Steele, understanding in her eyes.

“I’m going to go back and check on your father. Maybe he’ll calm down now that you’re awake and I can tell him you’re doing just fine.”

Maren squeezed her mother’s hand. “I love you, Mom. Tell Dad I love him and that I’ll see him soon.”

Diana leaned down to kiss Maren’s cheek and then she turned and to Steele’s surprise and befuddlement, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly before going up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.

“Take care of my baby,” she said fiercely.

“Never doubt it,” Steele said in a grave tone.

Diana turned back to smile at Maren and then left the room.

“When can we do the sonogram?” Maren asked anxiously.

“I’ll go tell the nurse you’re awake. I knew you’d want to see the baby as soon as you woke, so I made sure they had the portable sonogram moved to the floor. I’ll go get her now so she can page the sonogram tech, and then you and I will meet our child. Together.”

MAREN lay in the hospital bed, Steele standing at her side, his fingers laced tightly with hers as the sonogram tech pressed the wand to her belly.

“Want to find out what you’re having while I’m poking around?” the younger man asked.

Maren automatically looked up to Steele, a silent question in her eyes.

“Yeah,” Steele said, eagerness in his expression. “I’d love to know. Unless you’d rather not?”

“No, I want to know too,” she whispered.

Anticipation gripped her. She squeezed Steele’s hand even tighter and he added a second hand to hers, sandwiching her hand between his.

The tech smeared gel on her belly and slid the wand around, pressing in at certain spots as he watched the monitor. Maren’s gaze was glued to the screen, holding her breath as she waited for confirmation of that tiny life inside her.

“There’s the heartbeat,” the tech said, pointing at the blip at the bottom.

Tears filled her eyes and the screen went blurry. The tech poked and prodded, positioning the wand as he took a series of shots.

“I’d say the little tyke is doing just fine,” the tech said. “Now let’s see if I can get him or her to cooperate and show us if it’s a boy or a girl.”

The next seconds seemed a lifetime as the tech angled and pressed. The images didn’t seem real. The tech pointed out features. The beating heart. The head, legs and arms. It was pure magic. This was their child, alive and well, safely ensconced in her womb.

“Ah, here we go,” the tech said, a smile broadening his features. “Looks like we have a little girl. See? No penis. And she’s not modest at all. No mistaking here. She’s definitely showing us all she has.”

Maren heard Steele’s sudden intake of breath and her heart lurched. Had he wanted a boy? Was he disappointed? But when she looked up, she was floored by the glitter of tears that shone brightly in Steele’s eyes. He looked enraptured. His gaze was riveted to the monitor and he looked so shaken, so in love, that her own throat knotted as she watched his reaction to the news he was having a daughter.

“A daughter,” he whispered, the words choked and broken.

Then he lowered his gaze to Maren and she was struck by the depth of emotion in his eyes. Not just for the image of their daughter. But for her. His love for her shone like a beacon, so unmistakable that she was overcome.

He leaned down and kissed her, sweet and infinitely tender. As soon as the tech wiped the gel from her belly and began putting away the equipment, Steele slid his hand over her belly, cupping it possessively. Then he broke away from her and bent to press a kiss to her abdomen.

“A daughter,” he said again, so much awe in his voice that she smiled.

“What in the world are you going to do with a daughter?” she teased.

Steele straightened, a panicked look entering his eyes. “Oh shit. Boys. Oh hell no. She’s not dating until she’s thirty.”

Maren laughed. “Don’t you think you’re being a little overzealous?”

He was utterly serious when he shook his head.

Neither noticed when the tech rolled the sonogram out of the room and shut the door, leaving the two alone.

Steele pulled the chair back to the side of her bed, positioning it as close as he could manage, and then he leaned over the bed, grasping her hand in his.

“I love you, Maren. You scared the hell out of me. I love you more than I ever thought it possible to love another person. I care deeply for my team. I care about KGI. I respect them and they have my loyalty. But nothing compares to what I feel for you. You have my love, Maren. You’ll always have it.”

She breathed in deep, savoring the heartfelt words. He said them in an almost awed tone, as if he didn’t quite understand it himself and marveled at the idea of feeling so deeply for another person.

“I love you too,” she said softly. “So very much, Steele.”

“This isn’t the way I wanted to do this,” he said in a gruff, uncertain tone.

She cocked her head, studying his expression, the sudden unease and the uncertainty that crept into his gaze.

“I’m not good at romance stuff. I don’t have a lot of experience with it. I’m not in touch with what women want or expect when it comes to this stuff. I can only tell you what it is I want more than I want my next breath.”

Her pulse bounded and her heart leapt. “And what do you want, Steele?”

“You,” he said bluntly. “Forever. Mine. With me. Wherever life takes us. I want my life to be with you. Marry me, Maren. Let’s make a family together. Let’s make it official and have a wedding that will make me want to crawl out of my skin and invite your family and my team and all of KGI. The details don’t matter. I want you to have whatever it is you want. All I want out of the deal is you. And our daughter.”

She sucked in her breath, staring in awe at the sincerity blazing in those intense blue eyes. He wanted forever. He wanted her. He wanted to get married.

The longer she took to answer, the more agitated he looked. She swallowed back the huge knot growing in her throat and nodded and then finally found her voice. “Yes. Oh yes, Steele. I want that more than anything.”

“Thank fuck,” he muttered. “I was scared to death you wouldn’t want the same thing I wanted. I was scared to death of losing you. Of me not being what you wanted. Or you not needing me as desperately as I need you.”

She reached to touch his face, lightly running her fingers over the firm cheekbone and then down to his jaw.

“I love you, Steele. I want to be with you. But what about our jobs? What do we do?”

His expression grew serious. “Home is wherever you are, Maren. I’d like for us to stay at my place until after the baby is born and is old enough to travel. Then, if you want to go back into the field, I’ll go with you. I never want to hold you back. You’re a damn good doctor and I want you to be happy doing what you love. If that means relocating to be with you, then I’d do it. No regrets. I’d never look back.”

“And KGI? What about that?”

He hesitated a moment but then looked her squarely in the eye. “You are more important to me than KGI. You and our child. I’d walk away in a heartbeat if it’s what would make you happy. If it made you feel more secure. My job is dangerous, Maren. There are no guarantees when I leave on a mission that I’ll come back. If you can’t live with that uncertainty, then I’ll give it up. I never want you to feel that you come second to anything else in my life.”

“Oh God, you have to stop,” she said with a sniffle. “You’re going to make me cry!”

“I only want you,” he said quietly. “Everything else is meaningless unless you’re with me.”

She continued to stroke his face, fanning out her fingers as she gazed lovingly at him.

“I know how much you love your job. It’s a calling. Just like my job is. It’s who we are and it’s not fair for either of us to change who we are just to be together. For now, and for a while after our daughter is born, I’d like to stay with you. In Tennessee. I want my parents and my brother to see my daughter and spend time with them. I want to go visit them and have them visit us. I want to be a bigger part of the KGI family instead of being on the periphery and only seeing them when they come to me for medical treatment. I’m sure I can find something to keep me occupied while you’re off saving the world.”

“You could open your own practice in Dover,” Steele said. “I talked to Sam, Garrett and Donovan about it. KGI needs a doctor. We have three teams now and we need an onsite doctor. Also, Doc Campbell is talking about retiring, but he’s a hands-on doctor. He still makes house calls. He has a rural clinic. I think you and he have a lot in common. You could talk to him about working with him and maybe taking over his practice when he retires. The possibilities are endless. I don’t want your talents to go to waste. You’re too good a doctor for that, and I know you wouldn’t be happy not practicing medicine. It’s who you are, just like KGI is who I am.”

Excitement crept up her spine. The idea of practicing medicine and working with and near Steele was hugely appealing. Plus she liked the members of KGI. And working in a rural clinic and even making house calls was precisely what she’d been doing for the last several years of her life.

“I like that idea,” she said. “It would be perfect. We could stay in Tennessee until our daughter is older and then decide whether I want to go back into the field. Who’s to say that I won’t have another child after this one?”

A look of savage satisfaction crossed Steele’s face. His eyes blazed and utter contentment settled over his features.

“Never thought this would ever come out of my mouth, but I’d love to have more than one. I loved having an older brother.”

Pain briefly registered in his eyes as he thought about his own brother. Maren touched his face again, and he leaned into her palm, turning so he pressed a kiss to the inside of her hand.

“Our daughter would need a playmate. Not that she wouldn’t have plenty of those with all the Kellys popping out children. By the time our daughter is born, who knows how many more Kellys will be scheduled to make their appearances.”

Maren laughed. “You’re probably right about that. I know Sam would love another child. And it’s only a matter of time before Garrett and Sarah start thinking about babies. I’ve seen Sarah with Charlotte and she’s hooked.”

“So you’ll marry me and move into my house? Or would you prefer to live closer to the compound? I can sell my place and build whatever you want.”

God, she loved this man. And it was obvious he loved her just as much. He was willing to make so many sacrifices because he wanted her happy.

She shook her head. “I love your house. It’s perfect. The perfect hideaway when we want to escape the world and just be together.”

He leaned in and brushed his mouth softly across hers. “I like the way you think. But you still haven’t given me my answer.”

“I did too!” she said in exasperation.

“Tell me again,” he said, his expression growing serious. “I need to hear it, Maren. Give me the words again.”