Page 18 of Cautious

I don’t know what he found out, but I can guess. At this point, it doesn’t matter. He might think he has me all figured out, but Blake has no clue. Nobody does, and in his misguided bid to protect me, he has hurt me like everyone who came before him.

I don’t know how long I lie there, staring aimlessly out the window at the cloudless blue sky. It must have been a while when I feel the bed depress behind me. I don’t fight it when a strong arm wraps itself around me, pulling me back into a hard chest. My head and heart are torn between lashing out and drawing comfort from him.

“June called you,” I guess.

“She did. The question is, why didn’t you?” he says softly, rolling me over to face him.

“Because if I had called you, I’d have ended things between us without giving you a chance to explain.” I feel his body go solid at my words. “I’m so mad at you,” I whisper, my voice laced with tears once more.

His face looks pained as he tries to catch them with the pad of his thumb. “Baby, don’t cry. All I wanted was to keep you safe. I knew you were hiding something. I can’t protect you if I don’t have all the information.”

“I didn’t ask you to protect me. I didn’t ask you for anything,” I retort with a sniff, swiping my tears away.

“You’re my woman, Callie. Of course, I’m going to protect you.”

“Oh, really? And when did you start looking into me?”

“I had Marcus start digging the day you first came to my office. You shut down, and it had me worried,” he answers quietly.

“I’d known you for twenty-four hours then, Blake, I wasn’t your woman?—”

“You were mine the second you bounced your head off my chin on the steps outside your door,” he snaps.

I stare up at him in shock. “What?” That’s not possible.

His hand glides across my jaw as he dips his head and slants his mouth over mine. I resist for a minute, twisting my body to pull away, but Blake keeps a firm grip on my jaw until, eventually, I relent, my whole body melting into his.

We’ve made out a lot over the last seven weeks. Many of our dates ended in some pretty heavy over-the-clothes petting, but Blake always put a halt to things before they went too far. Now I have to assume it’s because of my history, and he’s worried he might trigger something.

He moves his hand to my waist, and I take the opportunity to pull away breathless, not wanting to let his voodoo kisses cloud my brain.

“What did you find out?” I ask, already dreading the answer even though I’m curious about how good these guys are.

“Callie…” His voice trails off when he sees the firm set of my jaw.

“It’s my life you invaded. Now tell me what you found out.”

“I know your father was serving a hefty prison sentence and that he died while he was inside,” he admits.

I shake my head, trying to keep my anger and the feeling of hopelessness at bay. “He didn’t touch me,” I tell him emphatically. If he found out my dad was in prison, then he also found out why he was there.

He studies my face, masking his feelings, but not quickly enough for me to miss the brief look of pity.

“He didn’t. He never touched me in anger or in any kind of sexual way.” I tell him the same thing I’ve told dozens of people over the years, but nobody listens.

“It’s okay, Callie,” he whispers, stroking my hair back from my face as I squeeze my eyes shut.

It’s not okay. It never was and never will be. But this is my cross to bear, and I learned early on that people only hear what they want to.

“Is that the reason why you won’t touch me? You think I’m damaged goods?” I question, feeling him tense at my words.

He presses his forehead against mine before speaking, his warm breath fanning over my face.

“You are not damaged goods, and the next time I hear you call yourself that, I will spank your ass.”

I glare at him, still pissed off to the max, but there is another heat present too and it has nothing to do with anger.

“You’ll spank me?” I snort. “Is that a promise or a threat?”

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