Kara appreciated his help since her hand still stung fiercely. She’d been such a fool to try to climb out the window. She hadn’t expected it to crash down and shatter the glass, or for her hand to be caught on the glass as it did so. All because she had thoughtgetting away as fast as possible would save her from hearing more of the conversation that had torn her apart.
As she slid the sweatshirt on and breathed in Angelo’s scent, she felt the weight of his gaze on her. Kara blushed as their eyes met, but his brown eyes were soft and warm with some emotion she couldn’t quite name, but it sent her heart fluttering madly.
“We can wait a few more minutes, if you need time,” he said.
How could he know so easily what she might need?
“I think I’ll be okay,” she let out a controlled breath then nodded at him to proceed into the kitchen ahead of her.
“Forgive my friends for their… opinions,” he said as he hesitated by the bedroom door.
“It’s okay, Angelo. I understand. Really, I do.” It was just that those opinions had hurt her. She’d never let herself be in a position to get hurt like that before. She’d always kept to herself, focused on the next town, the next life she’d assume. She didn’t make friends, she didn’t have boyfriends. Yet the moment she’d slept with Angelo she’d started to develop feelings for him. His best friends who were as close as brothers to him, according to his family, thought she was a danger to him and not worth protecting.
That hurt so damn much.
He put his hands on her shoulders, then cupped her face instead, his eyes burning as he looked down her.
“They all have women in their lives, women they love. I’ve watched it happen, watched them find joy. Now it’s my turn, and maybe I’m a fool, but I think you’remine, Kara. I think you belong here with me. I’m going to do whatever I can to make you safe, to give your life back so that you can choose to be with me if you feel the same about me.” He stroked his thumb over her bottom lip.
Kara couldn’t move as he lowered his head and then it was easy, so natural, to be kissed by him. The feel Angelo’s mouthcoaxing hers into her response stirred that life to fire within her again.
“You say the most wonderful thing sometimes,” she murmured against his lips. “Wonderful and alittlescary.”
“I never want to scare you, Kara.” He nuzzled her nose with his.
She leaned closer into him, gladly relying on the strength of his arms and his soft breath against her cheek. “It’s just… I’m not used to this, feeling so much or having so much to lose.”
“Then let me be here for you, let me lend you my strength,” he kissed her again. “Trust me,principessa. Trust me.”
For a moment she just let herself feel, let her heart feel, instead of her head dominating everything. She did trust him, she realized with some surprise and no small amount of fear.
“I do.”
God help her, she did trust him, but the fear of father’s men was a black cloud that drew ever nearer. When it came to keeping Angelo safe, she knew she might have to leave, even if he didn’t want her to, even if it broke her heart.
Chapter Eleven
Kara could feel the gazes of Angelo’s friends on her while he cooked pancakes. They weren’t scowling at her, but she could feel their curiosity and interest, and it made her a little uncomfortable. Dante’s words about Angelo from earlier came back to her.
He’s been lonely for a long time.
Was that why they were so curious? She knew they were aware of her situation, that she wasn’t really with Angelo, so they couldn’t assume that anything was happening between them… then again, they’d all found her inhisbedroom. Since his family was gone, she could have slept in one of the other guest rooms, but she’d slept in Angelo’s bed. Surely they didn’t know that she and Angelo were intimate. They couldn’t know, could they? Her throat grew dry as she glanced at Angelo, her body heating with the memory of last night and how wonderful it had been. The way his hands had touched her, caressed her, his lips worshipping her and the exquisite pleasure that had sent her flying.
Jared picked up a manila folder full of articles and with a glance at Angelo, he passed it to Kara.
“This is what Roarke’s security friends dug up on your father. Is there anything else besides what’s in here that we might need to know?”
She opened the folder and examined page after page of her father’s life. Crime after crime, deaths, theft, bribery, it all twisted her stomach. What made her the most sick was when she came across a picture of a younger man… a man who’d had an attractive edge to him. It was a picture of her father as a younger man. The man who had seduced her mother for a night. She saw hints of her own features in his face. Her eyes were little like his, her mouth like his. Before today, she’d only ever seen one picture of her father from a newspaper article that reported his death. The face in that photo had been an older man, one ravaged by time.
The room was absolutely silent except for the sounds of Angelo making breakfast. She stared at the death certificate that bore her father’s name.
“I know so little about him,” she confessed. “My mother said she learned about his reputation when she was a teenager but didn’t know what he looked like. It was only after she found out she was pregnant and went back to the bar to ask around about him that she learned that her one night stand was with none other than Sean O’Brien. She said goodbye to her family and fled the country.” Sometimes her mother’s stories about her past felt like another life, one never connected to her.
Kara placed the death certificate back in the folder and closed it, sliding it back towards Jared.
“I’m sorry I can’t give you much more information.”
“That’s okay,” Jared said evenly. “We learned your father’s number two is a man called Cormac Callahan. Do you anything about him?”
