Page 72 of In My Blood
Relieved to hear that, I rounded the table and sat beside my brother, leaning in to kiss his cheek as I took my seat. When he turned and smiled at me happily, I knew it had been the right thing to do. Dio’s words from the previous night, that Rafe was holding back from showing me the affection he truly wanted to,had been rattling around in my head. I knew I needed to show Rafe that I had gotten over my distrust of him. I didn’t want him to feel awkward around me. We were family.
“Did you have a good day,Piccola?” Dio asked as he leaned in front of Rafe towards me.
“I did,” I replied without hesitation. “I tried the gym this morning, which wasn’t my finest half hour, but Cal’s been keeping me company for the rest of the day, which was fun.”
“I discovered Cara can’t swim, so we ordered a swimsuit, and I’m going to start teaching her tomorrow,” Cal added.
He had taken the seat beside me and as he spoke he lifted his left arm and draped it across the top of my chair. He wasn’t actually touching me, but I felt some comfort in having his arm so close, not to mention he looked hot as hell when he leant back into his seat casually and left his muscular arm draped there over me.
“You can’t swim?” Rafe questioned.
“Not yet, but hopefully soon,” I returned with a smile that was completely genuine. I was happy, I realised, which was new.
“Is Callan qualified enough to be teaching Cara to swim? Maybe one of us should be doing that,” Dante grumbled as he came striding into the room with two bottles of beer in one hand, and a bottle of white wine and two glasses in the other.
“Christ Dante. I think at some point yer gonna have to accept the fact Cal isnae a wee lad anymore. He’s way more capable than ye give him credit fer. Of course he can teach Cara to swim. Ye know damn well that he swam in competitions when he was in school. I’ll bet he’s a better fuckin’ swimmer than you,” Arranchuckled. He made it sound playful, but I definitely detected a note of defensiveness for his brother, which I completely agreed with. Yes, Cal was younger than the others, but he was an adult, and from all I had seen, a very capable one.
“Arran’s right. Cara will be fine with Cal,” Rafe agreed.
“Fine, but she doesn’t go to the gym again without someone with her. She collapsed earlier,” Dante growled as he sent me a glare.
“I did not!” I argued as I glared right back.
“You collapsed? What happened?” Dio demanded as he looked between me and Dante.
“I didn’t collapse. I did five K on the treadmill, very slowly, and when I was finished I was utterly exhausted, so I laid down on the mats. I’ll grant you, it wasn’t a graceful descent to the mats, but I was conscious the whole time,” I explained quickly, not wanting Rafe or Dio to worry more than they already seemed to be.
“I saw you. You dropped like a stone. Pushed too bloody hard,” Dante countered.
“Get your eyes tested old man. Might need some glasses to spy on me next time,” I threw back with irritation.
“There is nothing wrong with my eyes. I have perfect vision, and the definition on our cameras is second to none. I know what I saw.”
“Fuck me! Back me up here, Cal, please?” I almost pleaded as I turned to him.
“I have to say, she seemed fine when you sent me hurtling down there, Dante. Tired and out of breath, but definitely conscious.”
“Either way, she shouldn’t be working out down there alone while she’s injured. If she does get hurt, or faints, no one will even know,” Dante dug his heels in.
“Well I won’t be working out again until I’m healed, so you can chill out there, big guy,” I told him. “My ribs are too sore anyway. That’s why Cal suggested swimming. I’m going to try that.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Rafe agreed.
“No swimming alone until we’re sure you are a confident swimmer,” Dante commanded flatly, and I just growled in frustration. What more could I do? The man was infuriating, but in the sweetest way.
“Come on, pal. Sit yerself down and leave it fer now. Cara is wise enough to make her own decisions. She isnae gonna go swimming by herself when she’s no’ feeling confident in the water,” Arran spoke up.
There was some grumbles from Dante, but he did take a seat across the wide table from me, and I sent him a small half smile, not wanting him to think I was angry with him. I understood, and secretly liked the way he worried a ridiculous amount for me.
“What do you want to drink, Cara?” Rafe asked.
“I brought wine,” Dante said as he held up the open bottle.
“Thanks, but I don’t drink. Living with our mother was enough to put me off of alcohol for life. I’ll just get a glass of water,” I explained as I moved to stand.
“I’ll get it.” Cal placed his large hand over my thigh to still me in my seat, and it sent heat racing through me like I had never known. His hand was so hot, that I could feel the heat of it through the leggings I wore, and he might as well have been touching my naked skin. I’d never had a reaction to touch like it.
“Thanks,” I sputtered as I tried to stop my brain from short circuiting. I’d had sex, and not just the things I allowed Justin to do to me. I’d had sex with a couple of guys when I was in school. I had thought it would be a way for me to take that piece of me back from the creeps who had tried to rip it away so many times. It hadn’t worked like that, and the sex with the guys I chose was uneventful – boring, even. I had never understood what all the excitement was about it, and I had convinced myself the love making I read about in romance books was nothing but fiction. But what just happened when Cal touched me – that felt like a taste of the things I had read about, and I found myself wondering if I would find sex with Cal as boring, or worse – traumatic - as it had always been before. Maybe not, but just the thought of trying made me feel slightly panicked, after what that monster had done to me just a matter of days before.
