Rebecca heard the heartfelt plea in his voice, and realized how important this was to him. “For you, Aidan, I will try.”
He kissed the top of her head. “That’s all I ask.”
“He is a fine man,” Dione said, sweeping up to Rebecca with effortless grace. “And you love him very much, do you not? I can see it in your eyes, koukla mou. This one has captured your soul.”
It had been a long time since Rebecca had heard the Greek term of affection, and it brought tears to her eyes. “Yes, Mana. He is my soul. And he tells me I am his croie.”
Dione’s eyes glistened. “Ah, he tells you that you are his heart? That is good.” Kane glanced over from where he was speaking with Jake and Michael at that moment, offering Rebecca a secret smile of lustful promise that was not lost on her mother. “He is strong, and virile. He will give you big, fine babies.”
“Mana!” Rebecca blushed, her hand going reflexively right to her belly as her mother’s eyes twinkled.
“It is something you must consider, Rebecca, and soon. Have you spoken with him about it?”
“No,” Rebecca said softly, averting her eyes, no longer able to hold Kane’s gaze. Perhaps it was something they should have discussed, especially given the inordinate amount of time the two of them spent doing everything that would result in making babies. Even the merest brush of thought sent flashes of heat through her body as remembered sensations of Kane stretching and filling her, consuming her body and soul with his own, releasing so fully and thoroughly that even now she could feel it deep in her womb.
In any event, it would be a topic she could not postpone for much longer.
Thankfully, any further discussion on the topic was halted by her father’s arrival. “I wonder if I might convince my daughter to grant her father a dance at her wedding?”
“Of course,” Rebecca said, allowing him to lead her out onto the floor, remembering her promise to Aidan. Despite everything that had happened, she did love her parents. Aidan must have spoken to them as well. If her father was making the effort, then she could do no less.
“You look beautiful, sweetheart,” Evan said quietly. “You’re glowing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this happy.”
“I am happy.” Rebecca moved easily with him as memories flooded her mind. She caught Aidan’s watchful gaze, the approval in his eyes. “Do you remember how we would dance together when I was little?”
Evan smiled. “You mean when you used to stand on my shoes in your little stocking feet?”
“Yes,” she laughed, catching a glimpse of Kane dancing with her mother, wondering if he would someday dance with their little girl on his feet.
“We could never get you to put your shoes back on.”
“I hated those shoes.”
“It appears that you still do,” he said, glancing down where her bustled gown revealed delicate feet clad only in white silk. “If I remember correctly, you hated the dresses and the stockings, too, but at least you had the presence to retain those,” he laughed.
Rebecca’s laughter faded along with those early memories, memories of when she had been his princess and her father had been her entire world. When he still assumed she would outgrow her stubborn, independent streak and blossom into the heiress role that he believed was her destiny. It was probably the only time Evan Harrison had failed in accomplishing what he had set out to do. And yes, Rebecca was quite sure he saw it as a failure on his part. No matter how many years passed or how grown-up she’d become, it would always sting a little.
“I’m sorry I’m not who you wanted me to be, Daddy,” she said softly.
Rebecca tried to keep the tears at bay, but it was hard. She might be standing a little taller now, but inside, just for a few moments, she was a little girl again, burying her face in her father’s jacket. Even now the faint aroma of cherry pipe smoke and some expensive Italian cologne teased her senses, sending her back into a world she had all but forgotten.
He pulled her closer against him. “Is that what you really believe?”
She rested her head on his shoulder, unwilling to look into his eyes and see the disappointment she knew would be there. “I’ve spent my whole life fighting you. The dresses, the private schools, the friends you wanted me to have and the men you wanted me to date.”
“I only wanted the best for you,” he said, and for the first time, she heard genuine regret in his voice. “I thought I was doing the right thing, right up until you left, Rebecca.” He paused, taking a breath to compose himself. “I was afraid we’d lost you forever. It was only then that I realized I’d pushed you too hard, pushed you away. I love you, Rebecca. Exactly the way you are. And I don’t ever want to lose you again.”
Rebecca shut her eyes against the tears that began to escape at the words she never thought she’d hear.
“Although I cannot say with any truth that the thought of you settling down doesn’t ease me.”
Smiling into his jacket, Rebecca said the words that had been held on her tongue for way too long. “I love you, too, Daddy.”
* * *
“Be at peace,” Dione Harrison said with a touch of amusement as Kane’s eyes once again sought out Rebecca dancing with her father. “She is in good hands.”
Satisfied that Rebecca was not in distress, he turned his powerful gaze to Dione’s. It was clear from which parent Rebecca and Aidan had gotten their exotic features. Dione was an incredibly beautiful woman, and Rebecca, except for the brown eyes and honey hair, looked very much like her mother.
“They are very much alike, Rebecca and her father,” Dione continued. “They share the same infinite capacity for caring for others, the same indomitable strength of spirit. And like magnets, two forces so similar sometime repel each other, do they not?”
“They disagree often then?” He should know this, he thought. Not because it would have made any difference in how he felt – because he was more than certain that she had been created as the only woman capable of being his wife – but because it might have helped him anticipate and plan for times such as this. As it was, he’d been every bit as surprised as Rebecca when her parents were suddenly there.
Rebecca had never once intimated that she would have liked to have her parents in attendance. The one and only time anyone had made a reference to them was when Lexi and Aidan had been planning the guest list. Rebecca had quickly and summarily dismissed the invitation; she had received a disappointed look from her brother, but no further discussion ensued.
Aidan certainly hadn’t mentioned a thing about his back-of-the-church epiphany, though Kane wished he had. Kane did not like being surprised. If he had known, he certainly would have persuaded Aidan to postpone the meeting to a less public time and place, or at least ensured that Rebecca was as well prepared and well-insulated as possible.
Tonight he’d been forced to do little more than stand by her side while she dealt with issues on which he had not been fully briefed, and that did not sit well with him at all. Maybe it was because when she looked at him sometimes, he saw more than love. Maybe because she had confided to him once when she thought he was sleeping that she knew nothing would ever hurt her as long as he was around. Because sometimes she looked at him as if he was her knight in shining armor, and God, how he wanted to be that, to see her looking at him like that forever. For whatever reasons, he wanted to do everything he could to protect and to shield her.
Dione laughed at his question; the sound was as musical as Rebecca’s. “Without fail. Rebecca inspires a fierce passion in those she loves. It is in her blood.” Her mother’s eyes glittered then, dark and mysterious, and Kane thought once again about asking Ian if he’d ever delved into the Harrison ancestry – or, more specifically, Dione’s.
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 d
ifferent 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.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Kane’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.
Guardian Angel: Callaghan Brothers, Book 5 Page 23