“I’ve never lost a fight,” he told me indignantly.
“I believe you,” I agreed. “But the things that scare me…that haunt me…they’re not people or situations you can fight to save me. Most of what hurts me lives only in my own head now,” I tried uselessly to explain.
“Your past?”
“Yes. It left me with wounds that will never heal and issues that I don’t think I’ll ever learn to overcome. Those things can’t be fixed, not even by you. Those things are a part of who I am now. In many ways they made me smarter and tougher, but they also made me weak too.”
“You’re not weak, Cara. Don’t say that. You’re strong,” he insisted.
“That’s not important,” I dismissed. “What is, is that I don’t want you worrying about me so much, okay? I can take care of myself.”
“I agree.” I turned to him with shock, not expecting him to yield so easily, but then he smirked. “You can take care of yourself, but you won’t do it alone any more. I’ll help, and those things that haunt you inside, that you think can’t be fixed? I will find a way to make them better. Nothing hurts you, Cara.Nothing. I’ll fight everything that tries and Iwillwin.”
I took a deep breath as I tried to absorb his crazy words. I wanted to argue with him, tell him he was insane for even caring about me as much as he seemed to, when he barely even knewme, but there was one thing I was learning fast about Dante – arguing with him was pointless. He always assumed he was right in everything he said and did. Not in an arrogant way, or at least not in a mean-arrogant way. He was just sure in himself and I found it attractive most of the time if I were honest.
“I had a nightmare,” I admitted, instead of trying to respond to his wild statement. At least I was giving him some truth.
“What was it about?”
“I don’t really want to go there again, big guy,” I sighed.
“I don’t like you keeping things from me.”
“I’m not keeping things from you, Dante. I’m just…it’s too much to talk about right now. I feel so raw and if I start going into my nightmare with you, I’m scared I really will fall apart,” I tried to explain, my voice faltering slightly.
“Okay,” he said gently. He pulled me into his front and cuddled me close. “You don’t have to talk about it now, but I want a promise from you.”
“What promise?” I asked, lifting my head from his chest so I could meet his eyes.
“Next time you have a nightmare that scares you, I want you to promise you won’t try to manage it alone. I saw how much pain you were in, down here, beating at that bag and desperate. I can’t stand to even imagine you going through that again.”
“You want me to come to you?” I asked knowingly.
“Yes. That would be for the best,” he nodded. “But I understand that I might not be the only one you need, so I want you to promise you’ll come to one of us.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re mine. I knew that the minute I laid eyes on you, and that will never change, whether you except me into your life or not. I will always protect you and care for you.”
“I know. You told me that, and I do want you in my life, Dante. I’m not quite sure how yet, but now that I’ve found you, I don’t want to lose you.”
“You won’t. I’ll always be here,” he promised. “But I also know you’re attracted to Callan and Arran, aren’t you? Maybe Dario too?”
“Jesus! You can’t just ask me that!” I cried as my face set alight with heat.
“It’s okay. I have your answer now,” he told me with a nod. “That’s why I don’t expect you to always come to me. Youshouldcome to me, because I can protect you and take care of you most effectively, but I won’t be offended if you go to the others. They can take care of you too, and I can accept them also being in your life, if that’s what you want.”
“If that’s what I want? Christ Dante! I think you’re just trying to get a rise out of me!” I scoffed, trying to hide my embarrassment fast before he noticed it in that strange way he seemed to see everything. Had I been that obvious with my attraction to all of the guys, including him? I thought I’d hidden it pretty well for the most part.
“It worked, which means I was right. Will you make the promise? I don’t want you to be alone after you have nightmares.”
“Fine. I promise, as long as you stop talking crazy,” I gave in easily.
“Good. Do you feel better?” he asked.
“I think so.”
“I won’t leave you alone until you’re sure you feel better. Don’t worry.” He pulled me even tighter against him, which I hadn’t thought possible, but I was pressed so close to him now, that I felt his every breath against my skin. Not that I was complaining. Instead I held onto him too and just allowed myself to breathe in the safety he made me feel.
