Chapter 3 - THE EMBRACE OF A GHOST
A electric shock seemed to paralyze every nerve in Adrian Kane’s massive frame.
He sat frozen, his broad hands hovering two inches above her small back, his dark eyes wide with absolute, unadulterated shock. He hadn't held a child in three years. He hadn't let another human being touch him without a professional handshake in three long, agonizing years of grief and self-imposed exile.
Nora didn't care about his shock.
She shifted her tiny body on his lap, turning so her back rested against his broad, warm torso. She pulled her worn stuffed rabbit up against her face, snuggled her small head directly into the center of his chest—right over the dark, tattooed outline of an anchor—and let out a long, contented sigh.
The warmth of her small body hit his skin like a furnace blast in a frozen wilderness.
Adrian swallowed hard, his throat working dryly. His hand slowly, hesitantly descended, his scarred, powerful fingers hovering over the pale-blue bow in her hair. He wanted to push her away. He wanted to uphold the wall of ice he had built around his shattered heart. But as he looked down at the soft, innocent child curling against his bare chest, the iron grip of his anger began to crack.
Within seconds, the soft, rhythmic sound of steady breathing filled the space between them.
Nora had fallen fast asleep.
Her long, dark eyelashes lay peaceful against her small cheekbones, her thumb slipping slightly into her mouth as her curly hair rested against his tattooed collarbone.
For the first time in three years—for the first time since the night emergency doctors had pronounced his wife Evelyn dead following a mysterious, tragic accident on the coast—Adrian Kane’s terrifying expression softened.
The sharp, dangerous lines of his jaw relaxed. His broad shoulders dropped half an inch. A faint, almost imperceptible breath escaped his lips as he looked down at the tiny girl sleeping peacefully on his bare chest, completely trusting a man the rest of the world considered a monster.
May you like
He slowly, gently wrapped his left arm around her small back, supporting her tiny weight, his steel watch catching the amber sunlight.
And then, something shifted beneath her delicate floral dress.
