“Okay…” she hesitated. “Why?”
“Because talking to you helped me sleep. Your voice is music to me.”
“Oh…” She had to be blushing again. “I’ll call.”
She didn’t want to leave, but Dante was hanging by the doorway, waiting.
“Remember, he’s looking out for you.” Angelo reminded her.
“Right.” She leaned in before she could think twice and kissed Angelo on the cheek. Then she rushed toward Dante and out the door.
You’re so stupid, Kara… letting that man into your heart when you know you’ll have to leave him.
But she didn’t want to keep him out.
Chapter Seven
Angelo could still taste Kara on his lips. It was more powerful of a drug than anything the nurses or doctors had given him here at the hospital. It was certainly more powerful than the morphine that had been raging in his system and had played a role in his desire to kiss her so soon when he’d known it could send her running. It had seemed like such a great idea at the time…
He knew he had risked scaring her when he had pulled her head down for a kiss, but God, it had been worth it. Of course now that the nurse had adjusted his morphine drip, his head was clearing up a bit and with that came the knowledge that he’d pushed her too far. He needed to be someone she trusted, not someone who pushed her boundaries and created a power imbalance between them. He was also careful not to overstep, but with Kara he’d just leapt right over the edge and followed his desires. She’d responded so eagerly, so much so that he felt sure that she’d wanted him to kiss her, she’d even lightly dared him to. Surely she wouldn’t have done that if she’d felt merely obligated to indulge him simply because he had promised to protect her.
Angelo replayed that kiss in his mind and closed his eyes, letting the memory wash over him in all of its intoxicating details.
When her curtain of red hair had fallen around their faces just before he had closed his eyes, he had been captive to Kara, trapped within a world that held only her face, her name. And he never wanted to leave.
If his niece hadn’t interrupted them, he might have kissed Kara until the stars fell from the sky. He’d had wonderful, sensual, powerful kisses from other lovers, ones that had changed him for the better, but none had been likethis.
Knowing that had shaken him to his very foundation and made him question the nature of his reality. Kissing Kara could not be real, yet it had been because while he’d had vivid dreams before, this was beyond that. He had felt the caress of her hair against his face, the little pattern of uneven breaths that escaped her lips, felt the hum of her body as she had kissed him back with a hesitant, but excited play of her tongue with his.
In that last moment when their lips had parted, he had seen fear in her eyes. But not the kind of fear connected to her father. Maybe he was crazy, but he thought he saw a fear of wanting something too much, or perhaps it was a fear of losing something.
He needed to know what frightened her, but he knew she wouldn’t tell him. His Irish treasure had secrets fathoms deep, so deep he may never be able to dive deeply enough to discover them all. He would never stop trying to reach her, to understand her, toknowher. Knowing another person in a relationship was just as important as the spark of attraction. With Kara it seemed everything was the opposite of what he was used to.
In the past, he’d chased and longed for a spark, while managing to learn about his romantic partners and enjoying that. There had never been the spark of true fire, he’d feltsomething was missing. Now with Kara… he had sparks in abundance, but would he ever get the chance to know her as deeply as he’d known the women he’d been with in the past? What were her hopes, her dreams, her secret longings? He craved that knowledge, wanted to know everything, but how could he get her to open up to him?
He closed his eyes, as his own deep longing made his chest ache. Kara was a Christmas gift, one he’d never imagined he would have received. That was the truth. She’d come into his life with danger and drama, but he knew she was worth whatever came his way. And he would do anything to protect her.
Angelo’s phone vibrated and he saw Jared’s name on the screen.
He hit the answer button. “Merry Christmas!”
Jared chuckled. “You sound better. Did your family drop by to see you?”
“They did.”
“Glad to hear it. Okay, I have two pieces of news, good and bad. Which do you want first?”
“Er… Good?” Angelo guessed.
“Thad proposed to Veronica. That Cinderella themed proposal he planned at Disney World went off without a hitch. They are flying home tomorrow morning.”
That was something to be thankful for. Thad had been planning that for the last month, and was terrified Veronica would find it corny. But Lyra, Thad’s co-conspirator and Veronica’s adorable four-year old daughter, had insisted it would work. It looked like she had been right. Thad, once a charming playboy who’d never dated the same girl twice, was now getting married. Angelo had been wanting Thad to find that kind of happiness for so long, and now he finally had.
“That’s wonderful,” Angelo said. He could only hope he’d be so lucky someday.
“He plans to come straight to the hospital when he gets back, if you’re still here.”
“Hopefully I’m not. So what’s the bad news?”
