Page 60 of In My Blood
“No. I know. And I also know that you are beautiful just the way you are, too. So what if you didn’t finish high school? You had reasons for that, and it doesn’t make you any less intelligent. You’re smart, Cara, and not just book smart. You’re street smart, which, considering the family you’re a part of, is very important. Please don’t talk about yourself that way again, because none of it is true. You’re perfect as you are, and Rafe loves you. I’ve known you one day and I’m desperate to know more about you, and spend every minute you’ll allow me to have with you.”
“Jees,” I sniffled as I swiped tears from my cheeks. “Way to make a girl blub.”
“Sorry, but it needed to be said. I wanted to be clear that I didn’t believe a word of that hate you poured forth about yourself.”
“Understood,” I nodded as I swiped at my eyes. “And for the record, I like you too Cal. I look forward to us getting to know each other, preferably without the gun fight next time.”
“Hmm. No guarantees on that ‘round here, but we’ll try,” he joked, making me smile again. Had anyone ever made me smile as easily and as frequently as Callan did? I didn’t think so.
CHAPTER 16
CARA
The doctor was exiting the kitchen as me and Cal walked in, a short while later. He had leant me another hooded sweater, this one pale blue, and some more socks. I’d taken a quick shower, feeling the need to wash away the blood smell I could feel clinging to me. I knew that was likely my emotions playing tricks on me after everything, but the shower had helped me to feel better. Afterwards I had pulled on some sleep shorts – which had been the last clean item in my back pack – with the items borrowed from Cal and then gone in search of him again, feeling better when he was at my side in that vast, strange house.
He'd answered my knock on his bedroom door in seconds, also freshly showered and dressed in shorts that ended midway up his muscular thighs, and a t-shirt that highlighted his toned and tight body beneath it perfectly. His hair was wet and brushed back from his face, making him look older and neater. Either way – wild or neat hair – he was hot.
He’d held my hand as we left his room and walked down all of the stairs towards the kitchen, and I hadn’t said a word, because I enjoyed his touch, even though I knew it was a little odd to be so attached when I hadn’t even known him twenty-four hours. I was touch starved, and had been for many years. Iwasn’t turning away contact that I desperately needed, and that soothed me the way Cal’s touch did.
“Ah! Here they are, our wee gun slingers!” Arran joked uproariously as we walked into the kitchen. I loosened my grip on Callan in case he wanted to let go in front of his brother, but he just grabbed my hand tighter in his and pulled me closer to his side.
“Jesus Arran, I’m six feet two. You can’t call me ‘wee’ anymore,” Callan groaned.
“Yer know yer’ll always be wee to me, brother,” Arran told him with a grin. He was sitting at the central island opposite Dante, and for some unknown reason I hadn’t noticed until that moment that Dante was shirtless!
I was transfixed as my eyes roamed over the tattoos and muscles on Dante’s upper half, and there were so many of both. His body was just as I had imagined it to be beneath his shirts. There was muscle on muscle, his biceps bigger than any man I had ever seen. The muscle continued down his arms, up his neck and across his tight chest. His abdomen was hidden from me by the counter, but I imagined it had a perfect six pack, or an eight pack? What was the biggest ‘pack’ you could have, because I was sure Dante had it.
His golden skin was hidden beneath tattoos that covered every inch of him from the waist up, I was assuming, since I couldn’t quite see all the way to his waist. I was too far away to make out what the art work was, but it covered his skin from where I could see, went right up his chest and onto the bottom half of his neck. The tattoos covered his shoulders and the tops of his arms, but there was nothing further down his wide, muscled, and veinyforearms. The designs did sweep around the side I could see, and I was eager to move and see if they covered his back too. I wanted to get closer to see the artwork.
“Eyes are up here, Love,” Dante said, and when I moved my roving gaze to his eyes, he was smirking at me.
“Um, sorry,” I whispered. “Just…your tattoos. You have a lot…” I stuttered nervously as I looked anywhere but at him.
“They all do, except me. I’m no’ into the pain. I much prefer pleasure, hen, if ye ken my meanin’” Arran flirted mercilessly.
“Ken?” I questioned as I looked right at him, refusing to let him embarrass me or see my blush.
“It’s a Scottish word. It just means ‘know’ as in ‘know what he means,’” Callan explained.
“Oh. Well then, I dokenthat you are in infernal flirt, Arran,” I teased as I pointed a finger towards him.
“Me? Nah, lass. Ye’ve got me all wrong,” Arran said as he fluttered his eyelashes at me innocently.
“She hasn’t,” Dante cut in flatly.
“No, she hasn’t,” Cal agreed. “Where’s Terza? Cara needs to eat something before she wastes away.”
“She went into town to pick up the dry cleaning. I can make something,” Dante offered as he got to his feet with some struggle.
“Sit back down!” I barked as I rushed towards him and set my hand on his giant shoulder. I’d like to think I pushed him backinto his seat, but it was clear Dante didn’t move anywhere unless he wanted to. He was an immovable tank of a man, and when I stood as close to him as I was then, I felt as small as I ever had in my life.
“Bossy wee thing, aren’t ya?” Arran laughed.
“Dante was shot! He’s not cooking anything for anyone. He should be resting!” I told them all with annoyance.
“I wasn’t shot. A bullet grazed me. It’s not even bleeding now. Doc stitched me up,” Dante told me, but I was relieved he had sat back down.
“You still lost too much blood. You stay there and don’t move. I’ll make some food. You need to eat too,” I ordered him, but when I tried to turn away to go to the fridge, Dante caught my hand in his and pulled it, turning me back to face him.
