12. #2
Rin laughed before he said, “They seem like they’re very good at their jobs. Do they work in your father’s, er, company?”
I giggled as I shook my head. “They have no affiliation with any of the four families other than the paychecks they receive for being my companions.”
“Then how did you find them?”
“They are Marines. Each of them spent ten years in the military and then retired to go into private security. The second I saw their resumes, I knew they were the ones for me.”
“Your father lets you select your own guards?”
I smiled uncomfortably before I said, “When I was younger, he was very careful about who he hired to be with me, but it always seemed to be an older man who I had nothing in common with. Now, he’s very selective about who guards my brothers, but he tries to make sure that they’re a good fit.
Their guards are younger, mostly around my age, and they’re physically fit and active, which makes it easy for them to blend in with the boys. ”
“I saw them playing with your nephews and the other children at the cookout.”
“Exactly. My brothers’ guards play soccer and all the other sports the boys love, but they also hang out and get their ass kicked at video games too.”
“That’s cool. Intrusive, but cool.”
“It may seem intrusive, but it’s necessary,” I said sadly.
Rin must have sensed that I didn’t want to talk about the subject anymore, because he reached out and picked my hand up off the table. He brought it up to his lips and kissed my knuckles before he said, “Thank you for agreeing to have dinner with me, Stan.”
I knew I was blushing when I said, “Thank you for inviting me. I love the place you chose. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I caught a whiff of the food.”
“It’s one of my favorite places to eat.” Rin let go of my hand and pulled a menu out of the holder at the end of the table. He slid it across to me and said, “I’ve eaten here enough that I can answer all your questions about the menu and even give you a review of each item if you need one.”
“You’re the perfect tour guide.”
“I’m a handy guy to have around.”
Rin’s hand was resting on the table above the menu in front of me and making it so that I couldn’t focus on the words on the page. Instead, I wondered how a man’s hands could be sexy. That wasn’t a thing, was it? Maybe it was, but it had never been for me before . . . yet here we are.
The palm of his hand was wide - much wider than mine, and his fingers were strong and squared off at the ends where his nails were clean and trim. I’d felt his hands before when he held mine or touched my arm, and I knew that they were strong but gentle at the same time.
The top of his hands had large tattoos covering almost all of the skin from his wrists to his knuckles, which was another thing that I’d never considered sexy until now.
Since he was wearing short sleeves, I could see where the hand tattoos connected with the ones on his arms, and I took my time studying them too.
The tattoo on his right hand was a skull wearing a viking helmet, and it was so well done that it seemed like it could spring to life at any second.
His left hand was home to a dragon’s head, and its body covered most of his lower arm.
The details were so vivid that I could see symbols woven into the scales, and I wondered what they meant.
“Do you have any tattoos?” Rin asked.
My eyes darted up to his and I realized that he’d been watching me study him this entire time. I answered, “No. I don’t have any tattoos.”
“A blank canvas.”
“I suppose, but it’s a canvas that’s going to remain blank, at least until I find an image that I feel is important enough to keep with me forever.”
“That’s a good way to look at it. We get way too many walk-ins who pick something random for us to tattoo on their body. I’ll never understand how someone can be so flippant about something so permanent, but I’m not here to judge, just ink.”
“I’ve always thought that I may get a tattoo at some point, but it’s never really felt all that urgent to me. I had friends in school who were dying to get one, probably as a form of rebellion. I guess I bucked the trend and went the opposite way.”
“A rebel. I like it.”
The server appeared at our table, and I gave her my drink order, choosing to have a beer rather than my usual glass of water or tea. I had barely even glanced at the menu since I’d been too busy studying Rin’s artwork, so I scrambled to decide what to eat.
Once I made my choice, Rin asked, “Do you ever hang out with your guards, or is it a strictly business relationship?”
“I consider them to be some of my closest friends, and I’m not just talking about Sho and Avi, but Ciro too. He’s actually stepped into somewhat of a big brother role, I suppose. I enjoy his insight into most things even though there are times he makes me crazy.”
“My sister said it’s been hard for Bella to get used to having people around all the time.”
“I would imagine that is something that would take some time to get used to. Living here is much different from being at home, mostly because my security detail actually lives with me. None of them were very happy about the situation at first, but they started to feel a bit better once Ciro sunk his teeth into the security features of the house.”
“Has anyone ever attempted anything, or do you have guards due to the implied threat?”
“My father has made friends from all over the world in all walks of life, but he’s also made enemies far and wide of varying calibers. There have been threats, even a few aimed directly at me, so that’s why security is a very serious issue for us.”
“My dad and papa would do anything in their power to save each other or one of us if it came down to it.”
“Exactly. The men and women in my family would burn the world down if something happened to one of us. My dad is wonderful to me and my brothers and very loyal to the men that surround him, but I have no illusions that he can be vicious when it comes to protecting his family.”
“My parents are the same way. After the wreck, they were wracked with guilt because they never saw it coming. But my mother had gotten very good at hiding her addiction, so there was no reason for them to blame themselves.”
“But they did anyway.” When Rin nodded, I asked, “Are they content together now or do they . . .” I laughed softly before I said, “I’m not sure how to word the question, but it’s none of my business anyway.”
Rin smiled before he said, “They are very secure in their relationship, but they occasionally like to . . . How did my aunt put it? Entertain company.”
I was still chuckling when the server set our food in front of us. I looked over and found Avi and Sho relaxing with the men they were sitting with, but noticed that they were still alert and watching me. When Sho caught my eye, she nodded toward Rin and fanned her face, which made me smile.
When I looked back at Rin, I saw him smiling and knew that he’d seen the exchange when he said, “I’m glad they seem to approve.”
“So am I.”