Page 12 of The Forbidden Cabrera Brother
‘Of course I would.’ He smiled, and just for a second she understood how power, charm and incredible physical perfection could be an intoxicating mix.
Her heart picked up a beat and she suddenly felt hot and bothered.
‘But,’ he continued, still smiling, ‘in this instance I’m not. Yes, there are broken bones, and it’ll be a while before those completely heal, and, yes, he’s been concussed, but all his vital signs are good and if he’s out of it just at the moment, Roberto, the consultant who was here, has assured us that a full recovery is to be expected.’
‘But you said that he’s in a coma.’
‘He’s out of it at the moment, yes. Perhapscomamight be something of a dramatic term.’
‘So how long do you think...does the consultant think...?’
‘Can’t put a timeline on it. Could be a day, could be a week. Doubtful that it’ll be longer. All the signs are good.’
‘That’s such a relief.’
‘It’s a disappointing end to what should have been one of the best nights of your life,’ Dante murmured, briefly lowering his eyes.
‘Yes, it’s a shame,’ she returned politely as her mind hived off in other directions.
‘You don’t sound too distraught.’
‘Of course I’m distraught.’
‘You were certainly upset when he toppled over.’ Dante was getting that feeling again, that vague, shadowy feeling that something didn’t quite add up but he couldn’t put his finger onwhat exactly. It was frustrating. In Dante’s world, everything added up. There were no loose ends because he always made sure that there weren’t any. He never asked himself whether he was missing out on the adventures that spontaneity could bring.
When he glanced back over his shoulder to the kid who had allowed himself to be carried away on the spontaneous adventure of straying out of his comfort zone with an older woman from a different background, it was like looking at a stranger. The stupid thing was that he knew that what he had felt at the time, and what had propelled him into throwing himself into his ill-advised affair, had had nothing to do with love. Infatuation, yes, and lust, most definitely, but that had been it. Everything else had stemmed from a defiant act of rebellion against a life that had been preordained from birth. Someone had to take the reins of the family empire and he had known, even then, that it probably wasn’t going to be Alejandro.
How had he known that? Dante could only assume it was because his parents had begun, automatically, to turn tohimfor his opinions on the stock markets, on trends, on modernisation,on the way forward. Bound within the confines of this life, he had broken free in an act of rebellion that had cost him dearly and not just in terms of the money he had recklessly flung at the woman. His pride had been injured and he had glimpsed a vision of weakness inside him that had required eradication. He had shut down his emotions and ruthlessly taken control of every aspect of his life.
Vague, shadowy feelings didn’t sit well with him. Neither did the way his body refused to obey his head when he looked at the pocket-sized redhead, who had no business getting under his skin the way she did. Her intentions were open to question and getting to the bottom of what she was up to with his brother was a straightforward matter. He would then respond accordingly.
So the jostle of unwelcome responses inside him that had nothing to do with the business of finding out what she was up to was an unwelcome reminder of a weakness he’d thought he had put to bed. It got on his nerves.
She wasn’t lying when she said that she had, indeed, been distraught when his brother had hit the ground. She just didn’t seem overly upset at the fact that he had hit the ground at their engagement party, thereby ensuring a premature and unwelcome conclusion.
Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t remember her flashing the diamond ring at all. What excited bride-to-be didn’t flash her engagement ring at her own engagement party?
He glanced at her finger. She was absently fiddling with the ring, slipping it off and on her finger, twisting it round and round. It was startlingly modest in its proportions.
Unwittingly, he looked at her, felt that tightening in his groin again.
‘I knew he’d been overdoing it with the drink.’ Caitlin spoke her thoughts aloud, eyes sliding away from Dante’s over-the-top masculine presence. Her conscience still plagued her. This had been a terrible idea, an awful plan and she should have argued more against it, but she’d allowed necessity to override common sense, and now thinking about poor Alejandro, lying unconscious on some sanitised hospital bed in an impersonal, clinical hospital room, filled her with remorse.
‘I should have done something about that. He’s not used to drinking a lot. He’s quite abstemious normally.’
‘Yes, that’s a curious one, isn’t it?’
Caitlin looked at him. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘I did recall that my brother doesn’t tend to hit the bottle hard. I just wondered why, of all nights, he should decide to sample every drink that went past him on a tray...’
He wasn’t going to let up.That was the thought that ran through her head. There had been a lull in the attack amidst the chaos of Alejandro being rushed to hospital, and during that lull she had glimpsed another Dante Cabrera, but normal proceedings had resumed and hejust wasn’t going to let up.
The man was like a dog with a bone, and not justany dog. Nothing she could turn her back on and ignore. This dog with a bone wasn’t a loveable poodle. He was a pit bull and he wanted to sink teeth into her until he prised every little secret out.
She had no intention of letting him do any such thing but her blood ran cold as she felt him circling her.
‘Who doesn’t feel nervous on an occasion like that?’ she responded smoothly. ‘Iwas a bag of nerves. As you know.’
