Kane crouched down, ignoring the close proximity and the scent of Dove it brought with it, and took a look while she held the flashlight over his shoulder. With one or two twists he had the matter resolved.
“Thanks,” she said, regarding his muscular arms with a blatant appreciation that had him fighting the urge to preen and flex. “I’ve been working on that for an hour.”
“You missed your calling,” he said easily. “You’d make one hell of a plumber. If you’d had a longer wrench with better leverage, you would have nailed it.”
Rebecca grinned at the praise, then suddenly seemed to realize how she must look. She attempted to brush some of the dirt and cobwebs off of her, but only resulted in smudging herself more. Kane couldn’t completely withhold his smile.
Eventually she admitted defeat with a heavy sigh and led the way back up the steps. He didn’t know why she seemed so worried about her appearance. He’d already seen her in the jungle, covered in blood and gore and more than a little perspiration. Not to mention their encounter the night of the flood evacuation. And in both of those situations, she was still quite possibly the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. So what were a few cobwebs and grease marks?
Kane followed behind her. He decided then and there that being behind Rebecca on a flight of steps was a very nice place to be, indeed. Too bad they were only going up one floor. He briefly considered dropping the wrench over the side to prompt an encore, but thought it might be too obvious. Rebecca was intelligent enough to see right through such a lame attempt to ogle her backside.
In his defense, it was a hell of a nice backside – nicely curved, just the right size for his large palms.
Emerging into the kitchen, Rebecca made a beeline for the sink. “So,” she said, breaking into his reverie, “to what do I owe the pleasure of your company today? Dropping off more supplies?”
It was a valid question. Hardly a day went by when Kane wasn’t delivering something to the shelter. Sometimes food. Sometimes equipment. It didn’t matter. That wasn’t the primary reason he wound up here every day.
She glanced back, and he was forced to move his gaze from the swell of her hips upward lest he be caught gawking.
“No,” he said. “Actually, I’m here on more of a rescue mission.”
She raised her eyebrows, leaning against the sink as she rubbed at the grease between her fingers vigorously. “Sounds intriguing. Someone I know?”
“As a matter of fact, yes. See, I was just over at the Pub, and I overheard these nefarious female types plotting their next move.”
Rebecca laughed, though he didn’t miss the fleeting expression of dread crossing her face. “What is it this week? Wait – don’t tell me – belly dancing? Speed dating? Self-defense classes?”
At least she had a sense of humor about it, although the self-defense classes seemed like a good idea. Kieran held them every week down at BodyWorks, all ages, all levels. Kane would feel a lot better if Rebecca took a few, even if she just learned the basics. Maybe he’d plant a suggestion somewhere.
Or better yet, maybe he could show her himself. Yeah, that would be nice. The two of them alone, him teaching her a hundred different ways to neutralize an attack. It would require a lot of physical contact, and would offer the perfect excuse for her to touch him beyond the innocent brushes and sly little nudges.
“You’re not far off, actually. There’s a Zumba class down at BodyWorks this afternoon, and when I left they were compiling a list of eligible males between the ages of twenty-five and forty on your behalf.”
“Oh my.” Rebecca hung the towel on the oven door and leaned back against the counter. Kane forced himself not to think about how the pose emphasized her breasts, or how it bared the delicate skin of her neck as she tilted her head to look up at him. Instead, he picked up the damp towel and rubbed gently at the smudge on her forehead, ignoring the saucer-sized golden brown eyes that regarded him as he did so.
“My thoughts exactly.” Satisfied that the smudge had been duly eliminated, he placed the towel on the counter and stepped back.
Rebecca abandoned the counter, grabbing two Cokes from the fridge and offering one to him. “So. What’s the plan? Should I grab some snacks and lock myself in the basement, pretend I’m not here?”
His eyes glistened with amusement. “That’s one option. But I think they’ll find you. They’re quite resourceful, you know. Plus they can sense fear.”
“Hmm. That would be bad.”
“Very bad,” he agreed, closing the space between them a little. It was only a step or two, but even that was enough to send his body temperature rising several degrees.
“Well, I defer to your obvious tactical expertise. What do you suggest?”
Kane smiled. She was teasing him, he knew, but it was with done with such affection that it was easy to mistake it for flirting. Flirting annoyed the crap out of him. Except when Rebecca did it. If that’s what she was doing.