You are Mine (20 page)

“What’s all this now?” Brian asked. “You
barely cry through the mayhem in Michigan, and now when we get
home, you’re practically bawling.”

She tried to nod in agreement, but couldn’t
and turned in his arms so she could bury her face in his shoulder.
“They’ve destroyed her,” she said between sobs. “They’ve destroyed
our baby.”

Panicked, Brian pulled back to look into her
face, “
What
?”

“They’ve destroyed her,” she said again and
pointed to the unfinished sculpture. “I was making a bust of the
baby, and they’ve wrecked it.”

Relieved, Brian chuckled. “Oh! You scared me
for a minute,” he muttered before studying the sculpture. It was
crushed in a couple of places, but he thought it could be salvaged.
“Fuckers. Baby, I think you can fix it, though. Why don’t we get
closer and take a look at it so you can see what you need to do to
fix it?”

But Caroline was inconsolable and refused to
lift her head from his shoulder, or move anywhere near the
sculpture. She was plastered to his body now, her arms tight around
his waist.

“You know I can’t pick you up right now.
Will you at least walk over to the sofa with me so we can discuss
this comfortably?”

She said nothing, just continued to hold
onto him and started moving toward the sofa.

“I’m sorry,” she said between deep sobs once
they were sitting. “I just can’t seem to stop.”

“It’s all right,” Brian assured her. “After
all you’ve been through, you’re entitled.”

“So are you.”

He scoffed playfully. “I’m a man. Real men
don’t cry.” When this got no response other than more sobs, he
tightened his hold on her.

She moved in closer, practically burrowing
into him, and finally like a geyser bursting, confessed, “I thought
you were going to die…I was just so scared!”

“Aw baby, I know. I was scared, too, but
we’re okay, now, right?” he soothed and lifted her chin to kiss the
tears from her face, starting with her cheeks and ending with her
mouth. “Right?” She nodded her agreement and kissed him back, her
lips clinging to his. He kissed her again, this time sucking on her
bottom lip and she curled into his side and cupped his cheek,
opening her mouth for him. Brian gave vent to three days of pent-up
frustration and the kiss became hot and carnal in a matter of
seconds.

“I want you,” he said in an urgent tone.

She smiled shyly against his mouth before
running her finger over his lips. “You always want me.”

“That’s right, so let me have you.”

“I want you too, but your shoulder --”

“You’ll have to do most of the work,” he
told her as he pushed up her skirt until the hem of it was ringing
the top of her thighs.

She mewled her pleasure at his touch and
kissed him again. Brian slid back on the couch and brought her with
him so she was sprawled on top of him. Some shifting here and some
ripping there, and he was soon moving inside of her, sounds of
relief and welcome emanating from both their throats.

Caroline whimpered and leaned down to kiss
him again. He filled her so completely that she soon found herself
screaming her release into his mouth. Even so, she continued to
move sinuously on top of him, her body pulling him in and clenching
tightly around him until he was yelling out her name in delighted
gratitude.

CAROLINE pulled the throw from the back of
the sofa and spread it over them. “I suppose we should make our way
to the bedroom soon.”

Brian squeezed her naked butt, making her
squirm deliciously against him. “Not until you tell me just how you
know we’re having a girl.”

She shrugged a bare shoulder. “I just know;
that’s all.”

“Um-hmm,” he said skeptically, “And how
exactly do you know so much that you’re able to create a sculpture
of our unborn child?”

She kissed his chest. “Again, I just know,”
she said in a sing-song voice.

“Sure it’s not just wishful thinking?”

“Care to make a small wager,” she countered
in the same tone he’d used.

“You’re on, sweetheart.”

Epilogue

“All right. I want to know how you did it.”
It was a demand, but it was said in a cooing tone as Brian was
smiling down at the newborn daughter he held in his arms as he
spoke to his wife. The baby was five days old and he’d found it
difficult to take his eyes off her since the minute she was born.
She stretched and yawned, one tiny fist and arm popping out of the
pink blanket, and smiling, he stroked the fist until she opened it
and squeezed his finger.

“Hello, sweet Bella,” he cooed. “He-lohhh.
Daddy loves you; yes he does,” he assured her as she kicked her
legs as if she understood him. He bent his head and nuzzled her
downy soft black hair with his nose, happily taking in her sweet
baby scent. “You are the most
beautiful
baby in the world,
and guess what? Your mommy’s going to tell me right now what kind
of voodoo she practiced to know what she knew, or there’ll be no
more she-knows-which for her she-knows-what. It’s almost her
favorite thing in the whole world for your daddy to do to her, so
the stakes are pretty high. Yes, they are,” he cooed when Bella
turned her head in response to his voice.

“Brian!” Caroline sputtered with laughter
and he looked over to where she sat in their big four poster with
her back leaning against several pillows. “Don’t talk naughty to
the baby,” she chided. “Now give her to me. It’s time for her
lunch.”

She held out her arms and smiled at him, and
he was struck once again with how much he loved her. He put the
baby in her arms and tears stung the back of his eyes as he
realized how incredibly lucky he was. Speechless, he bent and first
kissed Caroline’s mouth and then the top of the baby’s head.

Caroline adjusted her clothing and gently
moved her nipple around Bella’s mouth until the baby latched onto
it. “There’s my sweet girl,” she murmured softly before looking at
Brian. “Now, what crazy idea were you bandying about before we were
interrupted by more important matters?”

Brian looked over at the bust of Bella
Caroline had completed three months before. It was an identical
match to the baby, even down to the straight hair lying thickly all
over the baby’s head. “I want to know how you did it. What kind of
witchcraft are you practicing behind my back?”

Looking smug, Caroline stuck her tongue out
at him. “A mother just knows. Now stop sounding like such a sore
loser. I won fair and square and I want my prize.”

She smiled again and still feeling dazzled
by the sight of his wife nursing his child, Brian said quietly,
“You got it, sweetheart. Gladly. Here are the keys to that house
you loved so much that day we went house hunting on the
island.”

Caroline looked at the shiny new keys he’d
dropped into her palm. Her smile was huge when she looked back up
at him. “You bought it already! When?”

“A few months ago,” Brian admitted
grudgingly.

“But the bet wasn’t --”

“I know, I know. The bet was still on, but I
decided that you were right about it being a good place to put the
bonus.”

She looked at him knowingly. “Whatever you
say.”

Shaking his head, he muttered, “Just so
spoiled.”

Startled laughter escaped her throat before
she said, “
You’re
the one who bought it! I merely presented
a logical argument.”

Brian let loose with a doubtful, “Um-hmm,”
before rising to lean over her and bracket her between his arms. “I
love you, Caroline,” he whispered lovingly.

She cupped his cheek and angled her neck
back to kiss him. “I love you too, darling.”

***

Barcelona, three months later

Cesare opened the small package given to her
by Alvarado. He’d said that one of his favorite clients had sent it
to him for her. She poured out its contents and the first thing her
eyes went to was a picture of a gorgeous, plump baby girl smiling
giddily at whoever was behind the camera. She couldn’t help but
smile and take a finger gently over a chubby celluloid cheek. “Oh,
how beautiful,” she said with a note of wonder and affection in her
voice. The message in the package said simply:

You helped to save us. You helped to save
our Bella. Words cannot express our gratitude enough, but thank
you. Thank you for our lives. If there is ever anything you need,
please don’t hesitate to ask.

There were two cards folded within the note.
One had the name and number of Jack Winthrop, and the other that of
Caroline and Brian Keenan. Cesare lifted a brow. She’d heard of
Winthrop and his former service as an FBI agent. She picked up the
second piece from the package -- a long rectangular box -- and
opened it. It held a hand-tooled leather holster. Beautifully made,
it was long and slender. Cesare reached in and pulled out the
stiletto. “Oooh. Lovely. Italian, I think,” she murmured and her
voice held the same note as it had when she’d looked at the baby.
She studied the stiletto, loving it with its bayonet-style blade
and light horn handle. She turned it over in her hands, and
startled, laughed out loud, wondering if the Keenans were serious.
Etched in the blade in elegant script was the phrase:

Veni, Vidi, Vici.

fin

About the author

Lisa G. Riley’s work has been called
“character and issue driven; exciting, passionate and thought
provoking.” The author of several novels and stories, Ms. Riley
writes in several genres including romantic suspense, erotica,
historical and paranormal. Her last novel,
Dashing Through the
Snow
, is a contemporary, (somewhat erotic) cozy mystery. Please
visit her at
www.lisagriley.wordpress.com
for more information on the work.

Other work by Lisa G. Riley:

Dashing Through the Snow

After the Morning After

Stolen
(co-authored with Roslyn Hardy
Holcomb)

Give Yourself to Me

Do Me Right

Given
(co-authored with Roslyn Hardy
Holcomb)

At Last
(Caroline and Brian)

Caught Up in the Rapture
(Jack and
Tracy)

Big Spankable Asses
(anthology)

Bound to Ecstasy
(anthology)

Honey Flava
(Zane anthology)