Ghostwalker 09 - Ruthless Game

saint of soldiers.”
    She frowned as she put the baby into the warmer. “What does that mean?”
    He shrugged. “Just a suggestion. You can choose a name. Just not a crazy one,” he qualified.
    She studied his face. The hard jaw. The etched lines. Very gently she stroked her hand over his tough features. “Sebastian it is. You can tel me what a patron saint is later, since I have no knowledge of such things. Sebastian Kane.”
    “Sebastian Kane Cannon. You’re going to marry me and use my last name, right?”
    “Is that supposed to be a proposal?”
    He wrapped his arm around her waist and tipped her head up toward his. “I can make you happy, Rose. And I can protect the two of you from Whitney and anyone else who wants to experiment on us or kil us. I’l always be loyal, but you have to know I’m a soldier. That’s who I am. I have a family we’l be part of. My first loyalty wil always be to you and the boy, but I’l do what it takes to protect my unit as wel .”
    “Are you trying to convince me to stay with you or to run?”
    “I don’t want you to stay under false pretenses.” He framed her face with both hands and let himself fal into her dark, almond eyes. She could take his breath and any good sense he’d ever had and it was perfectly okay with him. He might feel like an idiot, but that was okay as wel —as long as he had her.
    “Fighting Whitney is always going to be a part of my life. Not just for us but for every other GhostWalker and the children they’l have.”
    She nodded her head. “I can accept that. I figure he’d just keep coming after me.”
    “I said children,” he pointed out.
    A slow smile curved her mouth. “I caught that. I’m actual y quite intel igent and quick on the uptake, Kane. I knew you said that for a reason. I’m not afraid of having more children.”
    “I’m going to kiss you.”
    A dimple appeared beside the corner of her mouth. “Do you think it necessary to tel me first?”

    “I was being a gentleman and warning you.”
    “I think if you’re planning on marrying me, you should know a few things about me. Kisses wil be an everyday requirement.”
    Kane didn’t need any more encouragement. He’d been afraid Rose would shy away from physical contact, and he was prepared to take his time—get her used to his touch. Kissing had the green light, and he was more than ready to take ful advantage of the situation. A man could do a lot with kissing when he was serious about it.
    Kane slipped out of the house as he did each night. Rose always made a pretense of opening the door in the evening and looking around, which al owed him to move into the shadows unobserved. He knew if the sentries were watching, they’d have their binoculars on Rose. They had no idea anyone else was even in the general vicinity, let alone in the house with her. He knew the moment he left, she set alarms and crawled into the space along the windows with a sniper rifle to cover him.
    This was the only time he ever real y worried. He knew the tunnel left them vulnerable. Rose couldn’t watch him and both entrances. And she had the baby to look after, which he’d pointed out repeatedly had to be her first priority. As a wife, she was going to be a handful. She definitely didn’t take his suggestions—or his orders. She smiled at him, her eyes looking at him with an expression that twisted him up inside, but she didn’t al ow whatever she felt for him to stop her from doing exactly what she wanted—or what she thought needed to be done.
    He made his way to the first slope before turning back to send a smal breeze low over the sand to obscure any tracks he might have made. It was always the little things that tripped a soldier up. He had learned to pay attention to the smal est detail. He stayed low, knowing it would be almost impossible to see him moving along the ground, especial y as he stayed in the darker dirt patches or near boulders and waves of saw grass.
    The camp Whitney’s men had set up was only about a mile away, and they were getting careless. They left tracks often. More, he sometimes smel ed them smoking or drinking. Twice he smel ed meat cooking. Carlson James often prowled close to the house and seemed to be getting surlier with each night passing. If their orders were to wait until they’d confirmed Rose had given birth, Kane was certain they’d never make the distance. Both men were bored, and neither had the disposition for being dropped in a desert