“Not anymore.”
“Then we’re fucked. Because the only way Rebecca is going to stick around is if you find a reason for her to.”
Chapter Eighteen
Two Weeks Later
There were too many men hovering around her, vying for her attention. It certainly didn’t help that she looked beyond gorgeous in that silk sheath that passed for a dress, or that her hair had been expertly styled so that it draped in cascading waves around her pretty face. Kane was seriously beginning to question the sanity of any plan that had her looking like that and in the vicinity of any man still attached to his balls.
The bruises had faded, though she still seemed to favor the off-to-the-side part of her hair. He did, too. It had a way of accentuating the almost imperceptible almond shape of her unusual brown eyes. Not for the first time, he wondered about her heritage. It didn’t matter to him in the slightest, but it was intriguing.
She and Aidan were definitely brother and sister – there was no doubt about that. When they stood next to one another it was impossible not to see the uncanny resemblance – skin with a natural, darker golden glow, like they had just spent the day at the beach. Honey gold hair streaked with darker and lighter strands provided a spectacular illusion of depth. Secretly, Kane had always assumed Aidan achieved that look chemically, but he knew Rebecca didn’t, so he’d been forced to revise that opinion.
Most intriguing of all, however, were their distinctive eyes. They were a deep, rich brown ringed in hazel and mahogany, liberally sprinkled with shimmering gold. The total effect was striking, really. Looking at the two of them together you had the strange feeling that you were looking at two people who were just a bit beyond everyone else, perhaps the last in some exotic lineage. Maybe, at some point, he would ask Ian if he’d ever looked into Aidan’s background. He had a feeling he had; Ian was a nosy by nature, and would have wanted to know everything about anyone who spent as much time with Lexi as Aidan did.
She hadn’t spotted him yet. Observe without being observed. It was important that he understood every player, every angle, every nuance. Kane was nothing if not thorough once committed to a mission.
One young man seemed particularly tenacious. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of Rebecca. He hung on every word she said, though she rarely spoke. The little bastard kept finding ways to touch her, to brush against her, lightly place his fingertips on her arm.
“His name is Phoenix,” Ian said quietly into his ear. He and Jake had taken over behind the bar, dismissing Aidan’s hired help. It was mostly family here anyway.
“What the hell kind of name is that?” Kane mumbled, leaving Ian trying to hide the grin.
“He works here. Lex says he’s one hell of a sous chef.” He was too damn good looking, too. About six foot, give or take. Lean. Had a bit of a Mediterranean look about him, like he might be part Greek, like Lex. He was so obviously not Rebecca’s type. And he kept touching her.
“Why does he keep touching her like that?”
Ian pretended to look. “She doesn’t seem to mind.”
But she did mind. Kane could see it clearly. His lip curled back in a snarl.
“Kane, man.”
“What?”
“You’re growling.”
Oblivious to the stares of his family, he stalked across the room and tapped on the kid’s shoulders. “Phoenix” might have been a grown man, but next to Kane’s six-five, two-fifty pound frame, he looked more like an adolescent.
“Think we should have told him Phoenix is gay?” Jake chuckled.
“Where’s the fun in that?” Ian answered, the ever-present mischievous gleam lighting his blue eyes.
Kane took Rebecca’s hand, ignoring her look of genuine surprise at his sudden appearance, and led her out to the dance floor. She couldn’t refuse him without making it obvious, and he was betting on the fact that she would not want to cause a scene.
“What are you doing?” she asked. He loved that her voice was nearly breathless, loved that it was his presence making her feel that way. Kane held her close.
He felt her soften against him. God, it felt good. Rebecca made all the pain go away. Just touching her drained all the darkness, refilling him with light and warmth. He must have been a complete idiot to believe for one moment he could go the rest of his life without this. With each breath he drew in her soft, clean scent; it was so soothing, like cool silken sheets over his heated skin. For a few minutes they said nothing, each too intent on absorbing every last sensation from the other.
It was Kane who finally broke the silence. “Why were you dancing with him?”
It was hard not to take pleasure from the bemused expression on her face as she tilted it upwards to look at him, as if she had no clue who he was talking about. In two minutes he had managed to completely obliterate the thought of another man from her mind.