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Blaze moved me closer to him and tightened his grip, slipping his other hand between us and stroking the place where the scar marred my skin.
“Do you remember where all of your scars are from?” Julius asked.
I shook my head. “Not all of them. Just the bigger ones. The small scars like this”—I pointed to a tiny scar on the side of my cheek and turned my head so they could all see. From where the other three sat near the sofa, I doubted they could even make out the pale mark—“I have no clue where it came from. I have tons like that.”
“I can’t remember where most of mine came from either,” Garrison said.
Blaze took a deep breath, drinking in the scent of my skin, and I had the urge to kiss his bare chest. “I don’t think I know where a single one of my scars came from,” he admitted.
“What scars?” Garrison teased. “The ones that you get when you clean out your computer?”
Blaze narrowed his eyes and pushed himself up on an elbow, loosening his grip on me as he scowled at Garrison. “I guess I do remember one. You know, the scar I got when I was shot protecting your ass.”
Garrison laughed. “Been there, done that, brother.”
Julius spoke up. “I think Talon’s the only one of us who hasn’t been shot at least once,” he said, gesturing to his ear with its ravaged lobe. I hadn’t realized the injury was from a bullet, but it made sense.
“I think getting blown up is close enough.” Talon rubbed at the flare-shaped scar on his thigh—barely exposed beneath his boxers. Looking at it, I guessed it’d been shrapnel from a mine or some other land explosive during his military days. He was lucky he still had his leg.
I cut in before their usual competitive natures could take the conversation on too far of a detour. “Scars don’t matter.” I sat up and looked over myself. With my nakedness fully on display, all four of them shut up. “What matters now is that we don’t add to what we’ve already got and that we stop dwelling on the past.”
I needed to take my own advice, especially when it was my internal scars that seemed to drive me forward these days. Although dwelling on my past was really all that I could do when my “past” wasn’t completely history yet and seemed to be defining so much of my present.
I glanced at the clock on the rock wall and sat up straighter with a start. It was later than I’d realized. “I’m supposed to meet my dad for brunch at eleven,” I said, scrambling to my feet. If I didn’t get a move on diving into the shower, I’d either have to show up smelling of sex, nude, or late. I wasn’t too keen on any of those options.
“Go do what you need to do,” Blaze said with a small smile.
I stopped at the edge of the room just for a second, looking back at all of them as they enjoyed the view of me walking away. It didn’t bother me, partly because their mostly naked bodies stirred up plenty of the same lust that I saw in their eyes in me… and partly because I saw just as much admiration and affection there as anything more carnal.
“You know, you’re just as much my family as he is,” I said firmly. “We’ve fought together and bled together—you’ve looked out for me even when you barely knew who I was… You mean a lot to me. I want a relationship with my birth family, but that doesn’t mean I’m giving up what I have with any of you.”
Julius gave me one of his measured but genuine smiles. “I’m sure we’re all glad to hear that. The crew sticks together. Now go get your brunch.”
I took the shortest shower in human history, threw on my clothes, and summoned an Uber to make the trip into the city proper. I made it to the café at eleven on the dot and found Damien Malik waiting just outside the wrought-iron fence that surrounded the large patio. He greeted me with a smile and a wave toward the gate.
“It’s too nice a day to waste it sitting inside,” he said as the hostess guided us to one of the patio tables. With the sun beaming down on us and cheerful music tinkling through the café’s open door, I was inclined to agree with him.
“I’m not going to argue with fresh air,” I said, taking my seat.
A waitress appeared with a flash of a smile. “Can I start you off with any drinks?”
My father ordered a coffee, but I figured I’d better forgo caffeine, since my nerves were already a bit jittery in his presence with the Hunter’s insinuations and Anthea’s unknown soil analysis hanging over my head. “Lemonade for me,” I said, since I deserved at least a little sugar.
Damien leaned back in his chair, seeming more relaxed than usual. “It’s good that you enjoy getting out and about,” he said. “Keeps the mind sharp and the body healthy. And it’s nice just being out in the sun for its own sake.” He chuckled. “Not everything has to be for a purpose, of course.”
“Always nice when the enjoyable things are good for you too,” I replied with half-hearted amusement.
He tilted his head. “You know, you might enjoy the heat even more if you made use of our swimming pool. Your mother has mentioned that you always leave when most of the activity moves to the pool. We’d love to have you around even more, of course, now that you’re getting settled in. There’s no reason you shouldn’t become a full member of the Malik family.”
I curled my scarred fingers toward my palm, thinking of all the other scars I wouldn’t be able to hide in a bathing suit. The Chaos Crew had viewed them with the curiosity of men who’d been through similar trials. Their only horror had been at the brutality I’d endured as a child. The Maliks would be horrified by everything about my marked-up skin. I didn’t want to have to tell that many more lies.
As I groped for an appropriate answer, I glanced around the open patio. The patrons looked as well off as my father. Pearl necklaces and expensive suits abounded. The only person who stood out from the wealthy crowd was a kid in a T-shirt and jeans who couldn’t have been older than fourteen, leaning against the restaurant’s siding like he was waiting for someone.
“Chlorine really irritates my skin,” I told Damien as I turned back to him. “And I burn too easily to enjoy just tanning.” Two small lies to prevent a whole lot of bigger ones. “But if no one minds me hanging around by the side of the pool in regular clothes, I can stay later more often.”
The waitress returned with our drinks, and my father sipped his thoughtfully. “I think that would be nice. The more you’re around, the easier it’ll be for you to find your place in the family legacy.”
That word again—legacy. He talked about it as if that were the end goal of all these visits, as if there were something more I’d discover about the family once I’d gotten to know them even better. A prickle ran down my spine, the Hunter’s insinuations rising up from my memory.
