She bit her lip uncertainly. “I don’t wear perfume,” she answered honestly.
He sniffed again, sending a series of erotic shivers down her spine. “Soap, then. What kind of soap do you use?”
She drew in a shaky breath, hoping he didn’t notice. His nearness was making her weak in the knees. “Dove.”
“Dove,” he repeated, as if committing it to memory.
“Mm-hm.” It was her one staple, the one thing she refused to give up under any circumstances. She had traded food, shoes, clothing, water – even her coveted Tootsie rolls – to ensure she always had a bar with her at all times. The simple item kept her anchored to her humanity when it seemed like all else had been lost. The moment she found herself in civilization, she’d bought herself a dozen bars of Dove and the biggest bag of Tootsie Rolls she could find. The woman at the checkout no doubt thought she was a little strange, but Rebecca didn’t care.
He nodded as if satisfied, closing his eyes briefly and pulling away, letting his arm move slowly back to his side. She wondered what he would think of her little obsession, or if he sensed just how close she was to coming undone in that moment. Either way, she couldn’t linger another second without him finding out.
Just like in the jungle, she felt the need to flee. His pull was too strong, and once she surrendered to it, there would be no turning back. Never mind the fact that he had no idea what he was doing to her, or her knowledge that he would be appalled by her complete lack of self-control. His response to her brief, impulsive hug earlier had made that clear enough.
Whatever she had thought she might have felt – namely barely irrepressible joy at seeing him again, he obviously didn’t feel the same way. She fought the urge to wrap her arms around herself as the sudden chill overtook her.
“It was nice to see you again, Kane.”
She forced her feet to move, feeling his eyes following her down the length of the corridor until the door swung closed behind her.
Chapter Four
“She needs a break,” Kane told Michael. Michael, in the process of setting the arm of an older woman who slipped in the muddy flood waters around her house, glanced at him questioningly.
“Who?”
“Rebecca.”
“Aidan’s sister?” Clearly word travelled fast.
Features set, blue eyes like ice, Kane nodded. “Make her sit down and eat something.”
“I suggested she do that hours ago,” Michael replied.
“And?”
“And what?” Michael patted the woman’s arm as she looked back and forth between the two men, clearly sensing a bit of gossip. “You’re all done, Mrs. Chandler,” Michael told her, gently nudging her toward the door. “Keep that elevated for a few hours and take some ibuprofen if it’s bothering you.”
He waited until the woman was out of earshot before speaking again.
“You seem to be under the false impression I have some control over what she does,” Michael said with a twinkle in his eye. He’d never seen Kane take an interest in anybody before.
“She’s working for you,” Kane said, crossing his massive arms over his massive chest and taking up most of the available space in the already-cramped room. To anyone else, he would have appeared more than a little imposing. Michael, like the rest of his brothers, was used to it. It was just the way Kane was. Massive. Immovable. Unwavering. Like a glacier, he would move slowly, deliberately, and in his own good time.
“She’s volunteering,” Michael corrected. “Completely of her own volition. If you’re so concerned, why don’t you do something about it?”
Kane’s jaw clenched; his muscles flexed involuntarily beneath his damp clothes. It was so out of character for Kane to be concerned over someone he never met that Michael had to take pause. Kane never did anything without reason.
“What concern is she to you anyway?”
Kane hit him with the full power of the distinctive Callaghan eyes. They all had them, but like everything else they shared, Kane’s seemed larger, more potent than anyone else’s. “She’s the woman from Namibia.”
It took a moment for Kane’s words to completely register. His eyes widened in disbelief. “The one Ian’s been looking for all this time? No shit?”
“No shit,” Kane confirmed.
“Jesus.” Michael leaned back against the counter, stunned. “Are you sure?”
Kane shot him an irritated glance that told him he should have known better. Kane wouldn’t have wasted his breath otherwise.