Captive: Fire on Ice #2

Only she can set herself free...

Two years ago, Jason and Kate Ryker were brought together by grief and bound to one another by love. Now married, they’re confronting their fears together.
But heartbreak finds them again, and the ties that bind Kate and Ryke are tested as she struggles against fear and sadness. As a grief counselor, Kate understands all too well the pain of her clients. And while her husband’s career as an NHL forward is at an all-time high, he’s coping with the frustration of feeling powerless as his wife's hopes slip away.
Kate’s unexpected journey sheds light on the fear that imprisons her, and reveals that only she can set herself free.

Prologue 

 Kate

I blinked and opened my eyes a little wider, making sure I was seeing it right. Yes. There were two distinctive pink lines crossing in the circle. It was a plus sign, which meant . . . 

I pulled the paper directions up from the sink and read them for the third time, just to be sure. And there it was. I was pregnant. 

Excitement and foreboding swirled together inside me. This was what Ryke and I had been trying for. It was what we wanted. But memories of the baby I’d lost kept this moment from being completely joyous.

I tried to force down the sadness. My doctor said I could go on to deliver a healthy baby just like other women, even after having a stillborn one. And the beginning of a baby inside me right now was Ryke’s. The dark, beautiful man who owned all of me.

Would it have his black hair and perfect white smile? Would it be a boy or a girl? Questions danced in my head. I squared my shoulders and smiled at my reflection in the mirror. I was about to give Ryke the surprise of his life. I wouldn’t allow this moment to be anything but happy.

He was dozing beneath the covers as I approached, hiding the stick beside my thigh. I was almost to the bed when he cracked his eyes.

“Morning,” he said, his voice deep and sleepy. “Get back in here so we can make a baby.”

“I would, but . . .”

“But what? You’ve got plenty of time before work, babe.”

I held up the stick. “We already made a baby!”

He sat up with a celebratory yell and reached for me, sweeping me from the floor into the bed with him.

“You’re pregnant?”

“Yes! You knocked me up! Well done, Ryker.”

He kissed me hard, grinning when he pulled back. “Hell, yeah! We need to celebrate!”

“What do you have in mind? Breakfast in bed?”

He stripped the tank top off my head and reached for one of my bare breasts. “Later.”