Guardian Angel (30 page)

Dione’s voice flowed through him, merging with his thoughts.  “But then, you are already quite aware of that, are you not?”

“Aye,” he agreed, without thinking, his eyes seeking Rebecca again.  The mere sight of her filled him with so many different sensations, urges, and cravings; he was still adjusting to feeling so much at once.

“Her love is her greatest gift, and she loves you above all others.  You must remember that.”

There was something intangible in Dione’s voice, something that compelled Kane to focus his attention back to her. 

“That sounds like a warning, Mrs. Harrison,” he said carefully.

“My daughter loves you.  She wants to make you happy.”

“I wish only to do the same for her.  Is that a bad thing?”

“If she feels like she is failing to provide that which you desire, it will destroy her.”

“She loves me, Mrs. Harrison.  She has agreed to be my wife.  That is more than I could ask for, more than I deserve.  I desire nothing else.”

“But you are a possessive man, Kane.  She knows this.  She worries that you will not look with favor upon those who also crave her love and affection.”

Kane blinked.  Did Dione think he would try to keep Rebecca from her family?  He looked over again at Rebecca, resting her head on her father’s shoulders, the tranquil little smile that played about her lips, and felt only a surge of love for her, happy in that moment because Rebecca was. 

He was about to assure Dione that his only desire was for Rebecca to be happy, that as long as it did not hurt or distress her in any way, he would not stand between her and her family.  Though he was arguably the most independent among his brothers, he understood the strong bond of blood, how much he and his brethren subconsciously drew from one another, how – even though they were all grown men - they unquestioningly looked to Jack as the patriarch of the Callaghan clan.  Before he could say so, however, Aidan stepped in, tapping Kane on the shoulders in an old-fashioned request to dance with his mother.

Dione’s words stayed with him, echoing over and over again.  Yes, he was a possessive man.  He took care of what was his, and there was nothing on this earth that was more
his
than the woman who had become his entire universe.  He would do anything for her.  He would kill anything that threatened her; in fact, he already had.  And he would do it again without question, without remorse, if need be.

Rebecca was aware of this.  She’d witnessed what he was capable of first-hand in the jungle.  Instead of seeming frightened or repulsed, however, she had thanked him for it.  Granted, she didn’t know about Johnny Fields, but he had never intended for her to.  It was enough that she was safe. 

And hadn’t she done the same for him?  Hadn’t she risked her life to save his in that same jungle, killing so he would be spared, despite the way he knew it tore into her soul?  Hadn’t she refused to leave him when that alone nearly decimated her own chance to emerge unscathed? 

No, he thought after a moment.  Even then they had recognized each other as kindred souls.  Deep down, she knew and understood him on a level no one else ever had.  She would never fear his intensity.  On the contrary, she basked in it.

K
ane’s eyes followed Rebecca on the dance floor, now in the arms of his brother, Jake.  She caught his eyes then, gave him a smile that exploded inside him.  He felt only the slightest hint of envy, laced upon the edges of the much larger anticipation of holding her in his arms again.

“Come on, big guy.  Dance with me.”  Kane felt a tug on his hand and looked down to see Taryn grinning up at him.  A quick glance toward Rebecca rewarded him with another smile, and he knew that she was doing some anticipating of her own.

“You move pretty good for a guy who’s been shot in the ass once or twice,” she teased, those glittering violet eyes holding amusement and something else – genuine happiness for him. 

“Only once,” he growled, giving her a pointed glare.  She laughed.  “Just be glad I like you.  Could have been worse.”  He snorted, his eyes seeking out Rebecca again.

“Such a serious face for such a happy occasion,” Taryn noted.  “What gives?”

Kane looked down at her, conveying his thoughts with just a look.

“Hey, I know you’re not big on sharing, but you and I, we have our secrets, don’t we?”  Taryn said.  “For example, I know Susie Matthews shared her cookies with you in Kindergarten.” 

Taryn ignored the icy look he gave her, as usual.  “And you know that I kissed a boy under the slide in second grade.”

The corners of his mouth twitched, remembering their highly unusual sharing session up at his cabin.  It seemed like so long ago.  “Only
after
you stomped on his foot and punched him in the nose.”

“Exactly,” Taryn said with a wide grin.  “So you see, you and I, we already have a precedent for confiding in one another here.”

He arched a brow, usually the only warning required to cease and desist.  She continued as if he hadn’t.  “I knew you had a thing for Rebecca all along.  You were the one a little slow on the uptake.  It’s why I set up that whole blind date thing.”

Kane growled softly under this breath.  “Payback is a bitch, little one.”

Taryn laughed.  “My point exactly.  Since you felt it was your duty to ensure that I ended up with the love of my life, I felt compelled to assist you with yours.  We’re even.  Now, tell me what’s going on.”

Kane sighed.  He wasn’t the Iceman anymore.  The realization probably should have bothered him more than it did.  “What are the chances of you dropping this?”

“Slim and none.”

“I could just hand you off to your husband and be done with you.”

“I could just shoot you in the ass again.”

Kane made a particularly quick move, swirling Taryn to the right.  Had he not had such a good grip on her, she might have sailed right across the room.  A few of his perfect white teeth gleamed.  “You could try.”

“Yeah, like I would do that to Rebecca.  She’d probably wait on you hand and foot, spoil you rotten.”

Kane laughed.  Taryn did have a knack for amusing him.  And they did share a unique bond.  It was against his nature to ask for help, but where Rebecca was concerned Taryn always did seem one step ahead of him.  Perhaps she could shed some light on the cause of this vague, growing sensing of unease he had. 

“Rebecca seems... preoccupied.”

Taryn shot him a look that was one step shy of “duh.”  “Geez, Kane.  Today is her wedding day, and Rebecca is the center of attention – not exactly her comfort zone, right?  Not to mention her folks – who she hasn’t seen in more than twelve years – just show up out of nowhere.  No wonder she’s zoning out a little.  It’s probably what’s keeping her sane.”

He’d considered the same things, and yes, there was some truth to Taryn’s words.  But he was her safe port now; he felt it every time she reached for him, felt her relief when she touched him.  Throughout the evening he’d barely left her side, not that he was complaining.  He loved the fact that he could do this for her. 

No, those things might explain the look in her eyes when she looked at the guests, or her brother, or her parents, but not when she looked at him.  That was something entirely different.  He knew it, felt it with the instinctive certainty he had with all things Rebecca. 

“It’s not that.  She’s got something else on her mind.  Something she hasn’t shared with me yet.”

“Still recovering from last night, perhaps?” she added mischievously.  “Judging by the way we had to scrape her out of the dumbwaiter this morning, I have a feeling you expanded her horizons, so to speak.  Maybe she needs some time to adjust.” 

Kane couldn’t completely contain the smug, arrogant look on his face.  “Her horizons are just fine.”

Taryn laughed, but there was a glimmer in her eyes, one that only strengthened the feeling he was missing something. 

“And I think her mother’s picked up on it, too.  I feel like everyone else knows something that I don’t, and I don’t like it.”

“Hmm.  Sucks for you.”  Taryn avoided his icy death stare and looked over to where Rebecca was now being led around the floor by Sean.  “She certainly is glowing tonight, isn’t she?”

“Taryn,” Kane warned, his voice low.  “You know something, don’t you?”

Jake appeared, taking her hand and tugging her out of Kane’s grasp.  “Really, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said, laughing as they danced away.

“Fuck,” Kane mumbled.

“Sorry, you’re a married man,” Nicki said, suddenly taking Taryn’s place.  “And about damn time, too.  You’re not getting any younger, you know.”

Kane narrowed his eyes at her, sensing that she, too, was having a bit of fun at his expense.  “Nicki, what’s going on?”

Her pale, silvery eyes sparkled like crystals.  “I’m dancing with the groom.  I believe it’s tradition.” 

“Nicki...”

She ignored him.  There seemed to be a lot of that happening this evening.  When had he lost control?  If there was anything he could count on, it was the ability to command and instill fear in others at will.  That no longer appeared to be the case. 

Nicki would say nothing more.  Sean reclaimed his bride, and Lexi took her place as Ian laughed loudly at something Rebecca said as they danced on the opposite corner of the floor.

He half expected Lexi to make some taunting comment as well, but she didn’t.  She simply told him how happy she was for him and Rebecca.  The sincerity, the warmth in her eyes touched him.  No wonder Ian was so protective of her.

“Marriage agrees with you,” Maggie said, her green eyes swirling.  Michael had mentioned the bizarre phenomenon once or twice, but Kane had never really taken notice before.  In fact, he tried not to think too much about Maggie at all since her “dreams” of their ill-fated mission in Northern Europe last year. Kane was smart enough to know that there were things on this earth he did not understand, and Maggie was one of those things.  As long as she took care of his brother – which she did quite well, in fact – that was all he needed to know.

It was hard to look away; the effect was hypnotizing.  It wasn’t a commanding stare, either, like he knew his was.  It was one you wanted to look into, one that compelled you, invited you, promising the answers you sought.  Even as he let himself be drawn in, they grew brighter before shuttering.

“You too?” he said, suddenly feeling as if he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Maggie smiled and winked.  “You’ll get nothing from me, Kane Callaghan, so you best not even try.”

When he saw Jack kiss Rebecca’s cheek, saw her bow her head and nod to something the old man said, he was more than ready to reclaim his bride.  All of his brothers had danced with her, as well as his father, her brother, and her father.  Yes, he knew it was tradition, that with each dance they were forming an unspoken bond with her, accepting her as part of the family.  He had done the same with his brothers’ wives, and had been amused by the fierce, watchful gleam in their eyes as he had done so.  Now, he understood, and it was they who were now watching him with amusement.

He didn’t care; all that mattered was getting to her.  Too much time had passed with too much distance between them.  He strode across the dance floor to claim his wife.  Without a word he pulled her into his arms, against his chest, and breathed a sigh of relief.  It was amazing how much he’d come to need her touch; how her nearness could calm him.

They danced wordlessly for several minutes.  He closed his eyes and allowed her to seep into him, to soothe him.  She melted against him just like in his dreams.  She was more than content there.  There was no doubt in his mind that she was every bit as happy to be in his arms as he was to have her there. 

“You okay, sweetheart?” he whispered softly into her ear.

She nodded against his chest, her answer little more than a murmur on a sigh.  Kane cupped his hand beneath her chin, needing to see her face.  The pure love he saw there nearly brought him to his knees, but there was another look, too.  One of longing mixed with confusion. 

It was the same look she’d had when he’d sat himself down in the jungle and told her to go on without him.  The same one he’d seen when they’d sat on the porch of her little Victorian and he tried to apologize.  He didn’t recognize it for what it was either of those times, but he did now.  Rebecca wanted him to say or do something, even though he had no idea what that something was.  Kane leaned down and kissed her; there was nothing else he could do.

The moment his lips touched hers, her hands tightened around his neck, his arm.  There was a desperation in her surrender that ripped through his chest, as if he’d done something incredibly
right
.  He’d felt this before, too.  Twice.  Once, in the jungle, when he had neutralized those that would have done her harm and scooped her against him in a run for cover.  She had clung to him then, so tightly that he was able to maintain the ability to use his weapons without fear of losing her.  The second had been after he’d gone down on bended knee and proposed.

He wasn’t sure why kissing her had been the right thing to do, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.  Rebecca was feeling conflicted.  For whatever reason, she hadn’t yet shared exactly what she was conflicted about with him, but she would, when she was ready.  And apparently holding her and kissing her was what she needed most from him at that moment, and he was definitely onboard with that.  As a matter of fact, he would be more than happy to devote the next several hours to kissing and pleasuring every inch of her. 

A low growl rumbled through his chest as he considered all the ways he would make love to her the minute they were alone. Rebecca’s smile was hungry when he finally pulled away. 

“I love when you make that sound,” she whispered, discreetly licking his neck as she resettled her head on his shoulder, making his cock throb.  “It makes me want to go down on my knees.”

Kane groaned.  If only they weren’t in the middle of a crowded dance floor.  If only it wasn’t their wedding.  The evening couldn’t pass fast enough for him.  “Soon,” she purred against him, sensing his thoughts.