“Growl all you want,” she told him. “and get all dominant on me.” Her eyes sparkled as she licked a line across his jaw, feeling his entire body tense. “I love it, and I have to tell you - it just makes me want you all that much more.”
Another growl rumbled deep in his chest. He managed to mute it somewhat by taking total possession of her mouth. By the time he released her, they were both breathless.
She leaned her forehead against his. “I don’t want to wait, Kane. Can’t we just exchange vows quietly now,” she asked, panting softly, “and have the big family wedding later?”
Kane stilled. Could they? Why not? He kissed her soundly, leaving her quite breathless and unfocused for a few minutes as he praised her for being so clever.
“Sean,” he barked into his cell phone. “Got plans for this weekend? Good. Cancel them. Tell Nicki to pack an overnight bag and fuel up the plane. We’re going to Vegas.”
*
Of all the times she had been on a plane, this was the best by far. Admittedly, Rebecca did not count herself among the best of flyers. ‘Air’ time for her was synonymous with ‘sick’ time more often than not, and the smaller the plane, the bigger the problem. But she’d never experienced anything quite like this before. The small private number was surprisingly roomy and comfortable, and Sean was piloting it with exceptional skill. She’d been on jets that hadn’t been handled so smoothly, she told him honestly.
Kane was beside her the whole time, holding her hand. And Rebecca knew, with absolute certainty, that whenever Kane was with her everything would always be alright. If she started feeling queasy, or they hit a pocket of turbulence, all she had to do was look into his eyes and she forgot about everything else.
They were on their way to Las Vegas. To get married. Rebecca had to keep pinching the back of her hand to ensure that it wasn’t just some bizarre dream. At least until Kane started kissing her hand to take away the sting, then she found herself doing it just so he would kiss it some more. Eventually, though, he caught on, and his tender kisses became delicate swirls with his tongue, at which point she was forced to stop for the sake of her own sanity.
The whole thing was surreal; beyond exciting. The only negatives were that her brother was not with them and the fact that Angus had been left behind.
Though Aidan would probably be upset that she had eloped, he would understand. She just wished she’d had a chance to tell him in person; instead she’d been forced to leave him a voicemail because he was away on business. He would still walk her down the aisle and “officially” give her away at the church wedding in three months. She would remind him of that if he seemed overly bothered by the elopement.
Angus, however, was a different story. The dog had placed his huge head between his paws and looked at her with such big, sad eyes when she sat on the floor and explained things to him (for she fully believed that Angus understood most, if not all, that she said to him) that she had almost reconsidered, electing to wait the three months rather than disappoint him. The poor guy had already been abandoned at least once; it nearly killed her to think that he might believe she had done that to him as well.
Maggie assured her that Angus would be just fine. He loved the farm and little Ryan, and Rebecca knew for a fact that Maggie slipped him goodies all the time. Plus there was George, Maggie’s aging Bassett. He and Angus had become fast friends. Maggie had even messaged Rebecca a picture of Angus curled by the fire with George and Ryan snuggled up against Angus’ side, each of them sleeping peacefully. The thoughtful gesture had gone a long way in alleviating some of the guilt she felt at leaving him behind.
Once they had landed, it didn’t take too long to find an appropriate chapel. The challenge was finding one with an actual, mainstream Christian minister; they skipped over those boasting claims such as ‘a reverend of the church of the divine cosmos’ and the like. Even more difficult was finding one that was not completely bedecked in neon. Not an easy thing to do in Vegas.
Finally they settled on a very plain, very simple little place only slightly off the beaten path (thanks to help from Ian back home; the man could locate anything anywhere). In less time than it took to rent a car, Rebecca officially became Mrs. Kane Callaghan. As a concession to the folks back home, Sean recorded the whole thing on his iPhone and broadcast it to the Pub, to the Celtic Goddess, and to Michael’s house so they could all be a part of it, too.
Nicki used some of her Vegas connections to book them a honeymoon suite at the Grand, then she and Sean left the newlyweds alone for a little bonus honeymoon of their own.
––––––––
“Stop,” Kane commanded. “Don’t move.”