Free After Midnight: (A Penguin Special from Signet Eclipse) (Killer Instincts) by Elle Kennedy Page A

around, or knitting sweaters with my mom while I go work at my dad’s mechanic shop.”
    She had to smile. “You’d hate being a mechanic.”
    His deep sigh tickled her forehead. “I would. I really, really would. I’m a soldier, and I
like
being a soldier. If we have this baby, there’d be changes, sure, but I know we’d be able to figure something out. Maybe we can buy a place in Aspen like Luke and Liv. Take turns staying home and kicking ass.”
    “That was Noelle’s suggestion,” she said with a shaky laugh.
    Kane blinked. “She actually had an opinion about how we should raise our kid?”
    “I know, right? It’s crazy.” Abby hesitated. “She doesn’t think you’d want me to change . . . is she right?”
    Kane answered with absolute conviction. “I don’t
ever
want you to change. I love who you are, sweetheart. You’re strong and smart and loyal and fierce. You have so much to teach a child, and yeah, maybe you don’t show your emotions at the drop of a hat, and maybe you won’t be all gushy and lovey-dovey with our kid, but I know you’ll love him or her with all your heart and protect them until your dying breath. The same way you love and protect me.”
    “You protect me too.” Her voice wobbled. “You
see
me. All the sides I don’t show anyone but you.”
    “I know.”
    He kissed her again, and suddenly she was surrounded by his familiar scent, spicy and masculine, and that familiar touch, strong and unyielding.
    “I don’t know what I want to do,” she whispered against his lips.
    His large hands splayed over her waist, stroking reassuring circles on the small of her back. “I won’t push you. I promise you, we’ll figure this out. We can talk through every option, every scenario. We’ll even make a pros and cons list—I know how much you love those.”
    “And if I choose not to keep it?” she hedged.
    “Then I’ll respect your decision.”
    Worry washed over her. “You won’t resent me for the rest of our lives?”
    “I could never resent you,” he said fiercely, reaching for her hand. “I love you. We vowed to always be there for each other through thick and thin, and that’s exactly what I intend to do. I can’t live without you, sweetheart.”
    She smiled through the sheen of tears. “I feel exactly the same way.”
    He didn’t let go of her hand as he led her back to the bed. His warm grip was like an anchor, grounding Abby to the man she loved.
    She felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest. She hated fighting with Kane, hated feeling like their relationship was being threatened, because at the end of the day, Kane Woodland was the only person in the world who truly mattered to her.
    “I love you,” he said thickly.
    She stood on her tiptoes and brought her mouth to his. A soft brush of their lips, but it didn’t take long before the kiss grew hotter, deep and desperate. Before she knew it, they were urgently undressing, and then they were skin to skin, his hard chest crushing her breasts, his heavy erection resting against her belly.
    She shivered when his hands glided down to her butt. He gave it a seductive squeeze, then shifted her slightly and angled his hips.
    He was inside of her before her back even connected with the mattress.
    The feeling of sweet, perfect completion summoned a sigh from Abby’s lips. God, she loved this man. Even when he was bossy, even when he was acting like a dick. Kane Woodland was
hers
, and she loved every single thing about him.
    “So good,” he said hoarsely. “Being inside you . . . it’s the greatest feeling in the world.”
    His lips found her neck, teeth grazing the sensitized flesh before his mouth traveled up her jaw and closed over hers again. He groaned when their tongues met, and she felt his cock pulsing inside her, thickening even more.
    Abby hooked her legs around his waist and dug her heels in his tight buttocks, the position bringing him deeper inside her. They moved together in a lazy