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What happened in that dungeon was a wake-up call. One I’m ashamed I forgot in the first instance.
A spoonful of compassion, a few pretty words, and a pinch of desire and it seems I’m anybody’s.
Is that Stockholm syndrome?
I don’t think it is, but perhaps I’m not in the best frame of mind to answer that question.
Last night didn’t help. Ciaran riding in like a white knight - albeit in somewhat tarnished armor - only has me wanting to cling to him harder, and now I have to wonder which of my feelings are real.
Crawling out of bed, I head for the shower, but I’m stopped on the way there by the sight of a tumbler of water on the bedside table, along with a couple of painkillers, and a simple note saying, ’take these if you need them.’
Tears prick the back of my eyes as I swallow them down, and all over again, the wall I’m trying to build up against that man crumbles, ruining all the barriers I’ve just shored up.
He can’t possibly know how much this ostensibly simple gesture means after what the Viper put me through. But that tiny act of thoughtfulness has me in pieces all over again.
Goddamn, I need to grow a much thicker skin if I’m going to survive this.
Because the truth is, Ciaran’s kindness is confusing me far more than Vito’s brutality ever did.
Chapter Thirty-One
CIARAN
“Where’s the girl?” Callum demands as soon as I make an appearance the morning after I took her back to my suite.
“She’s back with me,” I tell him curtly, not in the mood for an argument over this. But to my surprise, all he does is nod and carry on eating his breakfast. What the hell?
Since it appears a full-on altercation isn’t on the cards, I sit down with him, despite my initial intention being to take Maricela a proper meal since I know it’s more than twenty-four hours since she last ate. I’m not up for treating women like shit - even those whom I’ve kidnapped - and I’m still out of sorts over what I allowed to happen.
“Gotta be honest, I thought you’d object to what I put her through,” Cal comments with a raised eyebrow like it’s really a question.
I shrug one shoulder. “I'm never going to overrule and undermine you in front of our men. That’s never been the way we work, and you know it.”
Callum nods, his expression serious. “Thought you might make an exception for her.”
I narrow my eyes over the rim of my mug. “If you really thought that, I’m surprised you pushed the envelope.” Taking a sip of my coffee, I contemplate his words and their implication, and decide to keep it generic. “But you know how I feel about the way women are treated. I thought we sang from the same song sheet as far as that sort of thing goes.”
Cal presses his lips together and nods. “You’re right, and we are. Maybe I was just trying to get a rise from you.”
I scowl, anger coiling within my gut and bubbling up at the idea he’d use another person to do such a thing. I open my mouth to rip him a new one, but he holds up his hands and continues. “You’re right, though. Using Maricela is a shitty way to do that. But I feel like there’s something there between the two of you. Something I wasn’t expecting.”
“I’ve fucked her, if that’s what you’re getting at,” I tell him bluntly. “But then she’s been warming my bed every damn night, and I’m no feckin’ saint. Did you really expect anything different?”
Laughter bursts from his mouth, and he shakes his head. “Who the hell knows what I was expecting,” he admits wryly, rubbing his hands over his face.
I smile back at him; a tension I didn’t know I was still holding leaching from my shoulders. It’s rare for my twin and I to be at odds, and things have been strained since Maricela’s arrival. “Now tell me you wouldn’t have done the same if you were in my position,” I demand, wondering for a second, if he’ll admit he prefers men. There’s not so much as a flicker in his expression, though; he just continues to grin in a rather more self-deprecating manner.
“You’ve got me there, I guess. Because you’re right, there sure as hell are no saints in this household.”
Finishing my coffee, I rap my knuckles on the table and stand. “I’m glad we’ve got that cleared up. Now, I’m going to scare up some food for the woman. I’d planned to do it a lot earlier.”
The look he gives me this time is more like he thinks I’m pussy-whipped or something. “Don’t go there!” I point a finger at him. “She’s not eaten for a day and a half because of your fucking chest-beating shenanigans, and starving our guests is not something I’m on board with.”
“She’s hardly a guest,” Callum comments, but I throw him the side-eye, and he declines to say any more.
“What do you think the Viper’s playing at?” he asks as I’m about to walk out of the room. “Why haven’t we heard from him? Do you think it’s because he really doesn’t know we’ve got her?”
I purse my lips. The same thought has occurred to me, too. “Honestly, I don’t know. I was expecting something by now. I’ll see if Maricela has any insights to share.”
