Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Aria
“Really, I’m fine.”
Glancing up from the tablet in her hand where she’d been entering what Aria considered to be far too many notes for the given situation, Dr. Naomi Winters smiled. Not a cold, professional smile or even one meant to reassure, but rather a smile that said she knew something Aria didn’t.
“Aria, I’ve been the O’Rourke family’s personal physician for five years.
Trust me when I tell you that I know better than anyone what happens when you get on their bad side.
So if it’s all the same to you, I’m going to do my job, and I’m going to do it thoroughly, so that your boyfriend doesn’t have any reason to be pissed at me. ”
Okay, she could admit that was probably fair. But still. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than the door to the exam room flew open and Killian stormed inside, looking every bit like some dark angel set on revenge. His eyes locked on hers, and her heart stopped in her chest at the fury blazing in the brilliant green.
Without so much as a word or a look for anyone else in the room, he strode forward, cupping Aria’s face in his hands as his lips crashed down on hers. And then she was drowning in him, in want and need and something else too terrifyingly large to name.
“Right,” Dr. Winters mumbled. “Clearly not your boyfriend.”
Ignoring her, Killian lifted his head, his gaze still burning as his thumbs stroked along her cheekbones. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” he murmured.
The need to soothe, to comfort rose up in her and she laid a hand over his, not taking her eyes from his. “You couldn’t have known.”
“I should have been more careful with you.”
“Killian, you had me kidnapped so you could lock me in your house and keep me under a twenty-four-seven guard. You’ve been more than careful.”
From the other side of the room came a loud snort. “And you told me my books were bullshit.”
Suddenly remembering their audience consisted of more than just Dr. Winters, Aria cleared her throat as she pulled free of Killian’s grasp. “Ah, Killian, meet Goldie Quinn, the author I went to meet today.”
To his credit, Killian simply smiled at the woman standing in the corner beside Brody, a smug smile on her face. “It’s lovely to meet you, Ms. Quinn.”
“Goldie, please. And it’s very… interesting to meet you, Mr. O’Rourke.”
“Killian.”
Goldie’s smile brightened several watts. “Killian.”
“Not to seem rude, but why, exactly, are you here?” Killian asked, an edge to his tone that had Aria jabbing a finger in his side. Not that he paid any attention to her, the jerk.
Despite being in a room with two very powerful, very dangerous men, Goldie just continued to smile. “Aria was at my signing when she was attacked, which makes her my responsibility. I wanted to come along and ensure she’s unharmed.”
“Translation, she’s a nosy brat who doesn’t take no for an answer,” Brody growled, his scowl deepening.
Seemingly unperturbed by Brody’s observation, or his dark mood, Goldie lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “That, too.”
Killian shifted his attention to Dr. Winters. “Do you make it a habit of allowing any random person into your exam rooms, Dr. Winters?”
The pretty doctor met his gaze with a bland stare of her own. “No. But when the pregnant not-girlfriend of a mob boss says to let someone in, I let them in. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you take it up with her.”
Closing his eyes on a sigh, Killian pinched the bridge of his nose. “Aria.”
“What? It only seemed fair, considering I got her shot at.”
“Yeah, what was that all about, anyway?” Goldie asked, her tone brimming with excited curiosity. “Are the local families at war or something?”
“Yes.”
The simple, flat answer did what nothing else had managed to do so far. It wiped the smile clean off Goldie’s face.
“I should be going.” She managed to smile again, but it was distinctly more forced. “Aria, it was lovely to meet you. We should have coffee sometime. Preferably without the bullets. Good luck with… everything.”
When she turned to leave, Brody glanced over, one brow raised in question. Killian jerked his head and Brody slipped out behind Goldie.
“You’re not going to start stalking her now, are you?” Aria demanded.
The father of her child smiled, but it looked more like a baring of his teeth, and it was all she could do not to recoil at that glimpse of the monster he kept so well hidden beneath the fitted suits and polished manners.
“Of course not. Brody will simply be impressing upon her the importance of discretion in our line of work.”
“Don’t you dare scare that poor woman. She’s been through enough.”
“Better scared than dead.”
Well. She couldn’t really argue with that.
Dr. Winters cleared her throat, drawing their attention back to her. “If you’re done playing Mr. Badass, I’d like to finish Aria’s exam.”
“Of course.”
She waited a beat, clearly expecting him to leave. When he didn’t, she sighed and turned to Aria. “Do you mind if he stays?”
The thought of him leaving had her throat tightening for reasons she didn’t care to examine too closely just then. “No, it’s fine. He’s seen it all anyway.”
Again he bared his teeth in what could generously be called a smile, though it was more wolfish than threatening this time. “Good girl.”
“Shut up, O’Rourke.”
Humming lightly, he captured her hand in his, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles. “You should know the good doctor is well versed in all aspects of my… lifestyle. She’ll think nothing of me asking her to leave so I can teach my naughty little princess a lesson in manners.”
Embarrassment flooded Aria’s cheeks as she tried to tug her hand free. But he only tightened his grip and she wasn’t going to humiliate herself further by trying to wrestle with him, so she decided on the next best thing.
Ignoring him.
“What else do we need to do, Dr. Winters?”
“All your vitals look good, and you aren’t shocky or concussed, but I’d like to check on the baby. Have you had your initial checkup with your OBGYN yet?”
Aria opened her mouth to admit, however ashamedly, that she’d been too busy sulking to make an appointment, when Killian answered for her. “We’re seeing Dr. Byrd next week.”
“Excellent.” Dr. Winters beamed approvingly at them as she tapped a note into her tablet.
Annoyance warred with gratitude as she scowled up at him. “I can make my own doctor’s appointments, thanks.”
Lifting her hand to his lips, he brushed a kiss over her knuckles, and dammit if the butterflies in her stomach didn’t go nuts at that simple touch.
“Of course you can, princess, but Dr. Byrd was right there. She works with Naomi here at the private clinic, along with a couple other specialists. There’s no point in you wasting time and energy doing something that took me all of five minutes. ”
She couldn’t really argue with that, as much as she wanted to. “Still. I don’t need you controlling my life.”
“We can fight about it later. After we make sure the baby is unharmed.”
“I suppose that’s my cue,” Dr. Winters said cheerfully as if she hadn’t just listened to them bickering right in front of her. “Aria, just lie back on that table there and we’ll take a peek at the little bean, make sure everything looks good, and then you’ll be free to go.”
Nerves danced up her spine as she settled into position, still holding Killian’s hand.
But whereas before she’d simply been allowing him to keep his grip on her to avoid an embarrassing battle, now she was gripping him back.
As soon as her hand tightened on his, she felt his thumb move again, caressing her knuckles in a gesture designed to soothe.
Daddy’s right here, princess. I’ve got you.
Clinging to that silent promise, she watched as Dr. Winters set up the ultrasound machine and lifted Aria’s shirt to squirt the cold gel onto her stomach. Dr. Winters smiled, a genuine smile this time. “Ready to meet your baby?”
Swallowing hard, Aria nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”
A moment later, the sound of a heartbeat filled the room and Aria watched in wonder as a little gray blob appeared on the screen in front of her.
“There she is. Or he is, we can’t really tell just yet. But I can tell you that so far it looks like you have a perfect little bean in there. Congrats, Mama.”
Two little words, and they managed to knock the air clean out of her lungs. “Holy shit,” she whispered. “I’m gonna be a mom.”
Leaning in, Killian pressed a kiss to her hair. And when he spoke, his voice was thick with emotion. “You’re going to be an amazing fucking mom.”
“Hell yeah, I am.” Tears pooled in her eyes as she let out a shaky laugh. “I’m going to raise her to give you absolute hell, I hope you know that.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
They finished up the exam, with Dr. Winters printing out a photo of the ultrasound for them to take home.
Killian shook her hand and thanked her for everything, but when he smiled there was a hint of mischief in the gesture.
“We should get going. My sister is waiting for us out front and you know how she gets.”
To Aria’s utter shock, twin flags of color appeared on the doctor’s cheeks. “Reagan’s here?”
“She is. Would you like to walk us out and say hello?”
“Ah… Actually, I just remembered, I have… a thing. To do. Somewhere else. I’ll make some notes in Aria’s file for Dr. Byrd. Take care!”
Dr. Winters hurried from the room, leaving Aria staring at the closed door. “What the hell was that all about?”
“Naomi has a bit of a crush on Reagan, though she’s much too proud and committed to her ethics to admit it. And my sister is delightfully oblivious to the good doctor’s feelings, which brings the rest of us no end of joy.”
“Huh.” Well, wasn’t that an interesting twist?
“Indeed.” He held out a hand, clearly expecting her to take it. Part of her wanted to rebel, to remind him she could do something as simple as get off a damn table by herself if she wanted to.
But there was still part of her that was trembling from her brush with death, that wanted his comfort, and it was strong enough to have her placing her hand in his so he could help her down from the exam table.
And if he didn’t release her immediately and she didn’t pull away, it didn’t really mean anything. They were just two people who’d been through an extremely traumatic event together, comforting each other in the wake. Nothing more.
Reagan was, as advertised, waiting for them in the lobby when they exited the exam area. Worry knit her brows as she rose to her feet and reached for Aria, pulling her in for a tight hug. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, Dr. Winters says everything looks good. No shock or anything and the baby looks perfect.”
And then Reagan O’Rourke, the most badass woman Aria had met in her entire life, squealed like a little girl. “Oh, you got to see her? That’s so exciting! What does she look like?”
Reaching into her purse, Aria pulled out the printout they’d been given. “Kinda like this.”
Tears sparkled in Reagan’s eyes, but she seemed completely unashamed by them as she ran her fingertips lovingly over the photo before looking up, her gaze locking on her brothers. “She’s real. And she’s perfect.”
“She is,” Killian agreed, his voice shining with pride.
“This is a good thing.” Grinning, Reagan reached for Aria again, gripping her hand and squeezing. “Today was a hard day, but this is a very, very good thing. We needed this, needed to remember that there are still good things in the world. Things worth fighting for.”
“Aye. It is, and there are.” Killian looked away from his sister to meet Aria’s eyes and the world seemed to go still around her as his eyes filled with an emotion she didn’t want to recognize.
An emotion Reagan and Brody had both told her he felt, but she’d never actually seen in him before right that second.
Love.
Fuck.