Page 99 of In My Heart
“Steady now, Cara,” he murmured against my hair, holding me tighter. “I've got you.”
I buried my face into his shoulder. The ache in my chest loosened just slightly as he rubbed a slow hand up and down my back. It helped. Having him that close helped to calm the chaos in my head some.
“Rafe will come around eventually,” he said softly. “He loves you too much not to.”
I wanted to believe him, but the darkness inside me was telling me not to – that things were never that easy. Not for me. Never for me.
Cal tilted his head enough to kiss my temple first, then the corner of my eye.
“And Dario and Arran are searching for Dante. You don't have to carry all of this alone. We’re here for you.”
My fingers tightened against the back of his neck and I pressed my forehead against his, just wanting to be closer. He cradled me against his front tightly and kissed me again, this time properly. Slow and careful. Like he was trying to soothe every frayed edge inside me and it started to work. I melted into him immediately and gave into the kiss and to him.
The cold air, the city, the panic in my head - all of it blurred as his lips moved against mine with his usual patience. I kissed him back harder than I meant to, desperate for the warmth of him, and his grip on me tightened in response.
“Easy,” he murmured with a faint smile against my mouth.
I huffed a laugh despite myself.
“You started it,” I argued.
“Did I?”
His lips brushed mine again, teasing now, and I felt the smile against my mouth before he kissed me deeper. Heat unfurled low in my stomach, as my hands slid into his hair, tugging lightly. He made a soft sound that sent another wave of warmth through me. I wrapped my legs even tighter around his trim waist and shamelessly pressed my core against him.
He growled a little this time, which only made me move more. The blanket slipped halfway off my shoulders, and Cal's hand immediately moved to my bare skin, stroking gently down my arm as if he couldn't help himself. His touch was careful, reverent almost, but there was still unmistakable hunger beneath it.
“You’re too cold,” he murmured eventually, making me smile. These guys never stopped taking care of me, and I had to admit, I revelled in it.
CHAPTER 25
CARA
He carried me inside without putting me down once, not that I asked him to. In his arms I felt the peace I had needed so desperately for most of the day.
The bedroom I had woken in, which Cal carried me back into, was dim and warm, curtains left partially open so the city lights seemed to illuminate the white sheets. Cal walked us straight to the bed before lowering me onto the mattress like something precious.
The blanket pooled around me as I sat there, looking up at him with awe. He looked so perfectly handsome in that light, the bone structure of his model-like face looking as though it were backlit for the perfect cover shoot. His muscles tensed and bunched with his movements and I found my eyes following, watching the way the tendons in his forearms worked as he released me.
He leaned over me, one hand braced beside my head as he kissed me again, slower this time, thorough enough to make me forget my own name for a few seconds as I became completely lost in him and that moment.
His fingers slipped beneath the edge of the blanket and pushed it aside carefully, exposing my skin inch by inch.His palm glided over my waist, then my hip, soothing and possessive all at once. Every touch reassured me that he was there, that he had me. Every touch drove me higher and higher with need for him. I arched into him shamelessly, and he smiled against my lips.
“Feeling better?” he whispered.
“Maybe a little.”
“A little?”
I kissed him before he could smirk properly, earning a quiet laugh from him that vibrated against my mouth.
“I’ll have to try harder,” he murmured.
His hand slid up my side slowly, fingertips tracing my skin with deliberate gentleness that made my breath catch. He paid attention to every reaction, every inhale, every small movement beneath him, guiding the pace without ever forcing it. Every touch, every kiss, every glance, and soft smile told me I was safe. Every time I met his eyes, I told him I believed it.
He was so careful with me, so watchful of my reactions, so reverent every time his fingers grazed my skin, or his lips caressed mine, like I was something worth protecting. Something special to him.
I pulled him down closer, kissing him eagerly, wanting him to know what he meant to me too. He gave me a moment, maybe two to have control, then his restraint slipped just enough for the heat between us to sharpen.
