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I looked into his oh-so-soft, beautiful, light brown and green eyes then tingled from head to toe.
Gripping the edges of my robe harder, pissed at myself for being attracted to him, I snarled, “I’m not some trophy for you to dress up and parade around.”
“Jesus, woman, can I pay you any compliment that you don’t find offensive? You’re not a trophy, you’re a beautiful woman. I thought these outfits would look good on you.” Frustration rolled off him in waves before he took a deep breath and let it out slowly through his nose. “I thought you would like them. I’m sorry I was wrong.”
My gaze was drawn once again to the gorgeous, designer dresses and outfits that were absolutely stunning and exactly to my taste. It was almost eerie how well Ramón’s personal shopper had bought for me, how perfectly they’d guessed my style. Shit, I don’t even know if I have a style. Most of my clothing was chosen to conceal, to hide my curves, to ‘support.’ These lovely creations spread out on the bed were made to flatter, to highlight, to gracefully define. None of them were slutty, but they certainly weren’t conservative either.
Knowing I was being an ungrateful, and irrational bitch—one of the outfits was head to toe Coco Chanel, for God’s sake—I tried to calm myself. “I appreciate you going to all this effort for me, really I do, but I have my own clothes. I just need to go…crap, I’ll have to take a taxi to get my car then I can go to whatever storage unit has my things. Is Mark still here? Maybe he’ll give me a ride.”
To my surprise, Ramón pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut before murmuring out a prayer in Spanish for the Blessed Mother to give him strength. “First off, I will take you anywhere you want to go. Second…I’m guessing no one has informed you of the damage your apartment sustained?”
Blinking at him, I cocked my head to the side, my wet curls momentarily blinding me before I flipped them back. “Yeah, there was some damage, but it’s not like my clothes got destroyed, right?”
“Yeah, they kind of did. The walls at your apartment were as thin as fuckin’ paper. I’m shocked none of your neighbors got hurt. Your bedroom was right behind where Manny and his fucktards were standing when Mark opened fire on them. Your stuff didn’t fare too well.”
“They shot up my bedroom?” My knees went a little weak as I thought about his words. “Holy shit, if I hadn’t been unconscious on the floor—I’d be dead.”
He closed the distance between us, sweeping me up into his arms before relaxing on the low divan that sat at the end of the massive bed. “Easy, mami.”
I wrapped my arms around him, resting my head on his chest, the steady thrum of his heart giving me something to focus on other than my growing panic, a distraction I desperately needed. “I’m sorry. I’m not usually clingy like this.”
“I know.”
“What?”
“Hannah’s talked a lot about you. Especially how strong you are, how you basically rescued her from the abusive fucks she calls parents. You were a little girl, and still you recognized she needed help and you made sure she got it.”
Blushing, I fingered the soft material of his t-shirt. “Anyone would have done that.”
“No, sweetheart. I wish that was true, ‘cause the world could use more people like you, but it’s not. Reality is, most of us are selfish fucks and assholes.”
“Which one are you?”
He grinned. “Both. You know it’s true. Think about how I was when we first met. So wrapped up in my own bullshit, I was just lashing out at anyone that came near me. Don’t tell me you weren’t pissed at me over my shit attitude.”
Leaning back in his arms, I didn’t fight him when he took the lapel of my robe and dried my tears with a gentle touch that melted me. “You were such an asshole.”
“I was, and I’m sorry. Like I said before, I was going through some shit at the time and feeling angry at the world.”
A tiny ball of hurt that I’d still carried around somewhere buried deep inside of me dissolved and I reached up, cupping his cheek and enjoying his smooth, warm skin. He’d shaved for me, and his dark skin was like rough velvet beneath my fingertips. For a moment, I simply enjoyed touching him, and Ramón seemed to revel in the attention. His full lips parted and a look of peace came over his face that nearly broke my heart.
Clearing my throat, I said, “I forgive you. But if you ever pull shit like that with me again, I’ll kidney punch you. Normally, I’d say I’d knock you out, but you’re so big I’ll have to stick with your kidney.”
