“Let me help you up. Don’t try to move on your own.” Angelo cautioned as he realized broken glass was everywhere on the floor around her. He stood up and grasped her by the waist lifting her up into the air before he carried her to the bed. The wound on his abdomen screamed at being stretched by the movement but he didn’t care.
“Let me see it,” he said to see uncurled her fingers. Her blue eyes were still dark with storms as she watched him gently pull her hand away from her chest.
A decent size cut stretched across her left palm. She must have been cut when the window shattered as it slammed down. He was going to fix that damn window, even if he had to nail it shut.
“How bad is it?” Jared asked in open concern. He and Roarke were hovering nearby as Thad returned with the first-aid kit. He placed it on the bed next to Kara.
“It’s a long cut, but it doesn’t seem to be too deep,” Angelo said as he looked at Kara. “We could take you to an urgent care and have it stitched up?—”
“It’s not that deep.” She shook her head. “I’ve had worse.” Her voice was steadier now, as if she was regaining her emotional equilibrium.
“We could clean the wound and use a liquid bandage.” Thad suggested as he opened the lid of the first aid kit and dug through the contents. He shot her an apologetic look and then one at Angelo. Angelo returned it with the barest of nods. He forgave Thad for the words which had hurt him. His friend hadjust been trying to make sure he’d thought through all of the risks. He was never one to stay angry long.
“Here.” Thad handed a sanitizing spray to Angelo and some gauze pads.
Angelo carefully treated Kara’s hand, his heart aching every time she winced. Then he used the liquid bandage to seal it.
He blew softly on her skin to hasten the drying process and wrapped her hand with gauze. When his gaze lifted, he found Kara staring at him with a hint of his tears still in her eyes. The moment she was fully bandaged up he sat on the bed beside her and pulled her against his chest, hugging her to him. His three friends slipped out of his bedroom to give them a moment alone and he was grateful.
“You scared me,” he whispered in her ear.
She shifted a little and then stilled, her face pressed against his throat. Her warm breath stirred against his skin, and he felt the barest caress of her lips as she cleared her throat.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered back.
“The next time I say something that hurts you, talk to me,principessa. No running without talking. Agreed?” He lifted her face up to see her eyes.
“Okay,” she agreed.
“Good.” Angelo pressed a kiss to her forehead. “For the record, I want you here. I want to protect you because I want you with me. But I also want to protect you as a woman. Just like I would any other woman. You deserve safety, peace and freedom to live your life. I can want to do something for two reasons at the same time.”
“I understand.” Kara sniffed and brushed tears away from her eyes. “I just didn’t want to be any trouble or to put you at any more risk.”
“You won’t and even if you do, you’re worth it. Roarke has a security team watching over us. Nothing will get past them.”He could see she didn’t believe that, and he couldn’t blame her. She’d spent her entire life not being able to depend on anyone except her mother. He couldn’t imagine having to live through that. No family, no friends, not even a life of her own.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
She started to shake her head.
“Please let me cook for you,” he begged. He would feel better knowing if she had food in her stomach.
“All right,” she feigned a suffering sigh but there was a hint of merriment back in her eyes, and the color was returning to her cheeks.
“What sounds good? I can cook you anything.”
“I can just eat some leftovers?—”
“Kara, you wound me.” He leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose. “What about pancakes?”
“Pancakes sounds nice,” Kara replied shyly.
“It’s cold in the kitchen, you should put this on.”
Angelo helped Kara stand up, and she gratefully accepted the sweatshirt he handed her. She was missing her coat and didn’t know where he’d put hers.
She stared at the sweatshirt a moment longer.
“I also like to see you wearing my clothes,” Angelo added in that deep, slightly husky voice that reminded him all too well of last night. That warmed her up far more than any sweatshirt could.
