33. Dario
33
Dario
I ’d known Thea since she was 10. We’d grown up together. Shared our first kiss, hit second base, and were on the verge of losing our V card to each other before it all fell apart. Because of our history, even if Thea liked to pretend otherwise, I knew when she was hiding something.
At first, I put her distance from the guys down to the stress of the sex tape reveal and then being drugged and bundled off campus by Torrance. But it was becoming increasingly obvious there was more going on.
I watched as she played a board game with Verity. The two of them were thick as thieves, as close as two sisters could be. Despite the age gap, Thea had always adored her sister. It was why Francesco held so much power over Thea.
“You’re not paying attention!” Verity complained as Thea’s attention drifted away once again while I pretended to read a book.
“I am, Ver. Go on, it’s your turn.” She rubbed her eyes and sat up straighter. Verity moved her piece on the board and then giggled.
“I win! Again!”
“You’re too good at this game,” Thea joked, but it was half-hearted at best. When Verity got up to use the bathroom, she glared at me. “Stop staring. It’s giving me the creeps,” she snapped while packing away the board game.
“I wasn’t staring.”
“Yeah, you were.”
I dropped the book and focused on her. In a house this size, the guys were never far away, which meant time alone with Thea was in short supply.
“What are you hiding, cara ?”
Her face blanched. “Hiding? I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She spun away to place the game back on the shelf. From the way she looked at the door, I could tell she was about to disappear to avoid a conversation she didn’t want to have.
I leaped up and snatched her around the waist before she could flee.
“Yes, you do. So tell me, what are you hiding?” A sharp elbow hit me in the abs, making me grunt, but I refused to let her go. Not until she told me what was wrong.
“Fucking let me go, stronzo ,” she hissed in a low voice.
“No. I’m worried about you. There’s something wrong.”
She exhaled, some of the fight leaving her. “There’s always something wrong in my life. You of all people should know that, Dar. I’ve been in the shit since the day my father raped my mother and she got pregnant with me.”
I recoiled in shock. “What the fuck?” I’d never met her mother, but my dad had told me she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met, full of light and life. At least until Francesco got his claws into her. “How do you know this?”
She tried to push my arm away again, but I held firm. I liked the feeling of her body against mine. It had been too long. Too many days, weeks, and years of spinning out of control without her to ground me.
I missed her so damn much.
The years without her in my life had taken their toll, letting the darkness bleed into my soul. She was my light, and I needed her to keep the shadows away. I wasn’t sure she’d ever forgive me for my sins against her, but I had to keep trying.
The coconut scent of her shampoo filled my nose and set my body on fire. I wanted her so damn badly. All of her, not just the crumbs she threw my way these days. I hated the fact the others had touched her, tasted her, fucked her while I’d been cast out into the dark.
Yes, it was my fault, but I was trying, dammit, to make things right.
“He told me. Described how she screamed and cried when he raped her on their wedding night.”
“He’s a sick bastard,” I breathed in disgust. What kind of father told their daughter such a thing?
She made a noise that sounded like amusement. “I think we both know he’s that and more.” We stood in silence while I soaked in the pleasure of her slim body pressed against mine. “He said her father had promised her to him as a virgin bride, but Mom had slept with some other guy first. He never told me who, but I got the impression he hated this man.”
“Knowing Francesco, he probably hunted him down and killed him.”
“Yeah, probably. Mom tried hard to shelter me from Dad, so I don’t know if the guy was her one true love or not. I kinda hope so.” Her voice trailed off as she got lost in her thoughts.
I loosened my grip and spun her round, sucking in a sharp breath when I saw tears.
“ Cara , don’t cry. Your mama is free of him now.”
“I know,” she sniffed. “I just wish…”
“You miss her,” I surmised. God knew I missed my mama every single day.
“I hardly remember her, but I think I miss the idea of her, of having a mother to look after me, and be there for Verity. We needed a mother growing up in that fucked-up house.”
“You’re free of him now, cara . Both of you are safe here, so why don’t you tell me what’s wrong? Maybe I can help?”
She stiffened at the question and pulled away, causing my heart to fracture in my chest.
“There’s nothing wrong, Dar,” she said in a clipped voice, which told me the intimacy we’d just shared was now over. Her walls had come down for a moment, but with Thea, it was a case of one step forward and ten steps back. She hadn’t forgiven me yet, and I was beginning to think she never would. “Stop digging. You lost the right to my secrets when you leaked a sex tape starring me. Thanks to you, the world thinks I’m the slut who broke up Cassian’s star-crossed romance.”
A snort of derision escaped before I could stop it. I’d seen photos of Cassian’s fiancée and heard him talking about her. Frankly, I’d done him a favor. He’d even said as much one night after a few too many drinks.
But my actions had hurt the woman who meant the world to me, even if I had refused to believe back then. And if I could turn back time and destroy that damn file, I would.
“I’m sorry, cara , I was angry, and I wanted to hurt you. When Torrance told me to plant those cameras, I should have refused.” I ducked my head in shame. “Please forgive me.”
She sighed. “We both know refusal wasn’t an option, Dar. If it wasn’t you planting the cameras, it would have been someone else. It was my fault for being dumb enough to have sex with two guys, knowing full well Torrance had planned something.”
I bristled at the reminder of her having sex with those two stronzos . Neither of them deserved her. They were both entitled pricks, although I did feel a teeny bit sorry for Cassian. His father was almost as bad as Francesco.
My apology - and time - had softened her attitude toward me. The last time I tried to talk to her when we first arrived here, she refused to engage. Which was fair, given how stupid I’d been.
All our problems could have been avoided if I’d bothered talking to her all those years ago. But teenage me was an idiot, and the less said about that, the better.
At least she was still here, in the kitchen. Still willing to talk to me. I took that as a win. Sensing a desire to let bygones be bygones, I moved backward and pulled her onto my lap. She stiffened in my arms, but to my delight, did not attempt to escape.
“Dar, this is a bad idea,” she began. “What we had—”
“Is still here,” I interrupted. “For me anyway. Are you saying you don’t still feel the attraction between us?” She looked away and disappointment curdled my stomach. Had I lost her for good? I wasn’t sure how to deal with that. Without her, I had nothing.
My fingers curled around her slim wrist, marveling at how soft her skin felt under my touch. It had always amazed me how well she hid her lethality.
Thea’s femininity captivated me. Always had. Most men only saw her curves and delicate, heart-shaped face, dark cat-eyes, and pouty mouth. It wasn’t until she had a blade to their throat they realized they had woefully underestimated her.
“I never stopped loving you, cara . Even when I thought I hated you.”
“You sure hid it well,” she muttered sarcastically, referencing all the times I’d verbally abused her when we crossed paths again.
“I’m a fool, and I understand if you can’t forgive me.” I prayed she didn’t feel that way, but I would accept it if she did.
“Would I be sitting on your lap if I hated your guts, Dar?” she said with a faint trace of amusement.
She was definitely hiding something, but I didn’t want to upset her by asking for a third time, so I shoved my suspicions down.
“I missed this,” I admitted. “Spending time together, just you and me.”
“We’re not kids anymore, and it’s no longer just you and me.” No sooner had the words fallen from her lips than the door burst open. Verity came running in and slammed to a halt the moment she spied her sister perched on my knee.
Her eyes widened. “Should I leave you guys?” she asked.
“We were just, um, talking about the old days.”
Thea squirmed, attempting to extricate herself from my hold. Unfortunately, her wiggling around only served to make me hard, which she realized almost immediately. I had nothing to hide a hard-on, so I prayed she remained seated until Verity quit staring at us.
“Please don’t move,” I murmured in her ear. “Or I’ll be embarrassed.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” she replied in a low voice, reminding me of the time my father stumbled across us while we hung out in the woods at the back of Francesco’s house. We’d been making out before he appeared, and I’d had a massive boner. My dad elected not to comment, but I could still recall how embarrassing it had been for teenage-me.
You’d think that at my advanced age, I’d have gained control over my body, but nope. Thea still had the power to make me hard without even trying.
“Like you talk with Kyril and also Landon?” Verity asked with a sly grin.
“Dar and I are old friends,” Thea attempted to deflect, but from the way Verity’s grin widened, she’d figured out her sister was in a relationship with more than one guy. And was shit-stirring. “It’s different.”
My erection had finally subsided, so I gently pushed Thea off my lap and stood. Just in time, as Kyril and Landon strolled in, sweaty from a workout.
The Russian headed straight for Thea and pulled her in for a heated kiss, completely ignoring me as usual. I bristled at his stupid territorial behavior. After the operation to rescue Thea, I had a lot of respect for the guy, but he was still a dickhead.
“Are you going to kiss Thea too?” Verity asked me innocently. Landon’s gaze landed on me and he smirked.
“Have you added a new member to your harem, wifey?”
“What’s a harem?” Verity asked with a frown.
Thea pushed Kyril away, cursing under her breath, her lips swollen and her cheeks flushed. Once again, my dick stiffened in my pants at the sight of her looking so deliciously aroused, and I twisted away, pretending to pick up my book.
Of course the Scottish stronzo noticed my predicament. “Looks like he wants to join, wifey.”
Throwing him a glare, I quickly hurried out of the kitchen as Thea gave Verity a child-friendly explanation of what a harem was. I needed a cold shower, but now we’d cleared the air a bit, I felt a thousand times lighter.
I wasn’t sure whether my relationship with Thea would return to how it once was, but as long as she didn’t continue freezing me out, I could live with that.